The ruling house of Adestor is comprised of “modified” growers referred to as all-gems, and they have the ability to use any magic of all the gems, including the magic of the newest species, and can inter-marry with any other One Race species. The monarchy is typically passed down to any of the children of the current rulers for whom the gem shines, and they all rule equally together as high queens and kings. Their spouses or mates, on the other hand, are referred to merely as kings and queens. They are shown equal amounts of respect, but are not considered rulers in their own right, unless the high kings and queens are absent. Gender is usually a non-issue in succession, as the first high ruler was a female who would go on to have two sons.
The remainder of royal lineages become nobles, who live in the capitol city. As all-gems are not technically part of any single gem, they almost always stay in the capitol city and a few intersection cities (cities that border two or more gems and act as hubs of trade and travel), but they have little trouble traveling fluidly throughout the entire kingdom. Nobles have largely abandoned their grower roots, and unlike their ancestors/cousins, they are not nomadic and do not travel as family groups, though the importance of the family group is still deeply ingrained in the culture. It is still uncommon for true growers to marry with other races, but now those that do have a place for themselves in the capitol city or intersection cities. They do not, however, automatically become nobles, not that anybody would know otherwise unless they checked the record of the royal house’s lineage. Nobles do not have ranks, a specific provision of the first high queen, but most of them occupy positions as royal advisors or ambassadors or in the inter-gem military that answers directly to the high rulers and acts mostly as a police force to enforce rules between the gems.
High royals and all-gem nobles tend to consider themselves above every other race, and very rarely see fit to actively interfere with the affairs of specific species and gems, but their presence serves to stabilize the gems, making a neutral power that prevents the gems from fighting each other for power, and can mediate conflicts between the gems peacefully. The culture tends to be all about organization, ceremony, and formality, and most tend to be highly educated and able to speak several languages. Ironically, however, it is not a terribly militaristic society, and much more stress is placed on diplomacy and intellect than on the ability to fight, though an aptitude with magic is well-prized, since the ability to use all magics is the ability most all-gems are most proud of, and this often automatically implies higher fire power than most races can boast to have. For all that intellect is prized, it is surprisingly rare for all-gems to bother learning magics that are more complicated to control, especially external-control magics.
The census is possibly the most important function of the actual government, besides generically keeping the peace, as most laws are left up to the discretion of individual species. The census logs not only the general population numbers for each species, but the number of species, their respective powers, their gem (as even new species are automatically born with a gem now), and what land they occupy. This requires each new species to register with their local gem government, and major interspecies events (such as a large war that changes certain borders) to be reported from the gem government to the high royals. Registration is a requirement for being considered a proper country whose sovreignty is recognized in the eyes of Adestorian law, and those species who do not register often lose their rights to the piece of land they were born with and become wandering nomads. “Wandering nomads,” as is their official title, are still recorded as part of the census, when possible.
Clothing, architecture, art, and food are generally considered sensitive topics in inter-gem relations. Each one of these are highly dependent on both the type of geography and the type of magic the species can use, but particularly clothing is a very touchy subject. Adestor’s rich cultural diversity has left most species with vastly differing styles of dress, and these styles are often deeply ingrained into the culture and are more often than not indications of both socially accepted morality and the social hierarchy for that species. That is to say, the clothing that marks one as royalty for one species can be starkly similar to the clothing that marks one as a slave in another, for instance. This can lead to openings for barbed comments and a general mess in diplomacy. Therefore, as a general rule, conversations about clothing between species are avoided, and most defer, at times begrudgingly, to the gem royals’ type of dress if they are forced to mingle.
The architecture of the high royals tends to be of a thin, but sprawling style, a bit like a spider or aboveground tunnel systems, with main hubs and thin, hallway offshoots usually made of a pale, light, and porous stone known as kaeliti, which is known to shimmer in the moonlight as if embedded with a thousand crystals. It is thought that kaeliti is a cousin of the rocks which make up Iuleran, and is found only around the mouths of the two major portals. It replenishes itself every 100 years or so, not unlike the whisper rocks, which disappear and reappear apparently randomly every 200 years.
All-gems can eat anything, by which I do mean pretty much anything – rocks, lava, emotions – but they typically prefer eating more conventional plants and animal matter. Much of their food is uncooked and most that are tend to be on the extremely crunchy side, but they also like a wide variety of thin soups, many of them cold.
Their clothing is based off of the traditional clothing of the growers, and are warm, but adaptable to most types of weather. They tend to consist of several layers, with the inner layer being sleeveless tunics with close-fitting pants, layered on top with short, chest-length jackets with long sleeves, and loose pants, the final layer including a wide, scarf-like piece of cloth meant to cover the head, usually decorative and kept around the shoulders, and a long coat secured at the shoulders. The tunic is secured around the waist, while the outer layers are secured at the waist, ankles, wrists, and shoulders, traditionally by tasseled, braided rope, but more commonly by a gauzy layer of thin cloth rolled into a rope. Clothing is gender neutral, but hair is worn very differently, with men keeping shorter hair sometimes arranged into thin braids, and women doing more elaborate loops, curls, and buns.
The only kinds of art that the all-gems care about are jewelry, poetry, and music. Jewelry and music mostly for their magical potential. Music is a sacred thing in Adestor, partially because it can actually hold magical power. Musical ability, particularly vocal music, is treated with the same level of respect as military power, perhaps more. The actual form of music appears to be irrelevant, and though there are trends of music which crop up, the magic they can enact is looked upon as more important. Music is probably the least structured form of what might be considered external-control magics, and tend to involve imposing one’s will on the magical energy of the land.
Jewelry is typically shards of gems worked into some sort of metal that can be worn on one’s person. Wearing gems on your person particularly for all-gems is done both for show and as a connection to the souls contained within the gems, and thus jewelry is both kept close to the skin and in obvious, showy places. There are many different types of jewelry, including shoulder chains, brooches, belly button piercings, waist chains, and anklets or toe rings, but these are usually passed over in favor of the more obvious large earrings cuffs or crawlers, rings, necklaces worn over the clothes, nose piercings, and bracelets. Crowns, and similar head ornaments, are worn only by the immediate family of the current rulers among the high royals. The current rulers wear what is known as the Seven-Pointed Crowns of Unity. Its design is simple and has not changed throughout the ages. It is thin, gold, and has seven evenly spaced points with a small gem on the tip of each point. The original crown with fragments of the original seven gems is passed down to the eldest of the high queens and kings of that time, but the others that have been produced are interchangeable. New crowns are now produced rarely if at all, unless one of the older ones breaks.
Ceremonies are an extremely important part of the life of the all-gems. The three important ceremonies in a typical individual’s life are their birth ceremony, their coming-of-age ceremony, and their death ceremony. All three are concepts found in many races. All-gems consider their coming of age to happen on their 14th birthday, despite their relatively long life, but most only conduct the actual ceremony in conjunction with the End Purification Ceremony, which is ironically the midyear purification celebration. An exception is made for the heirs, who have their coming-of-age ceremony start a month before the actual day of their birthday and end on the day of. They also succeed the throne on that day, serving as their coronation. Their titles remain Prince or Princess Heir until the previous generations die, but they are officially treated as one of the current rulers, and a second coronation does not occur, especially since the death ceremony of the previous rulers are meant to focus on those previous rulers.
Birth ceremonies and death ceremonies are held a few days after the actual event, when possible. Birth ceremonies involve a feast and the public presentation of the child to all seven of the gems. These can be large, public affairs, but are commonly smaller, more private affairs for the family, unless they are claiming the baby has succession rights. The death ceremonies for all-gems involve a sort of cremation of the body that involves magically lifting it into the air above a body of water, setting it aflame, and turning the ashes to gold dust to settle at the bottom. (Gold has no value as coin since it is the easiest thing for quite a few species to transmute.) It is usually held at dusk or dawn, and like birth ceremonies can be a big or small affair depending on the family. Coming-of-age ceremonies being longer and generally more complicated, usually at least involve a feast, musical performances (often done primarily for the purification celebration), and a performance of some kind by the ones coming of age – a complex feat of magic meant to symbolize their maturity and intelligence. Regular birthdays are rarely celebrated formally, though gifts or small, personal celebrations are not rare.
The End and Beginning Purification Ceremonies are largely the same as one another, last a day, and almost never have anything to actually do with the purification, instead largely involving a lot of unusually sweet drinks, music, and dancing. The purification ceremonies are a day where no one is required to work after daybreak before the sun sets, so it does often happen to be the most public and informal of the ceremonies.
The only other major regular ceremony observed by the all-gems is the annual Gem Ceremony, held for the first two days of the second week in the third month. The Gem Ceremony is officially a large feast to commemorate the enactment of the life-breather spell, with smaller symbolic gems decorating the hall, and the main event being a speech given by the current rulers. However, it actually serves its function as a time for various royals, leaders, or ambassadors to gather at the capitol for a few days to mingle and bring their concerns to the the high rulers.
Wedding ceremonies for all-gems do exist, but are very simple, usually involving the formal presentation of a gift from each spouse to the other, the sturdiness of the gift indicating the intended permanence of the marriage, and the tying of the right thumbs together for the duration of a small meal. For it to be considered valid, the ceremony must be witnessed by at least ten people of age, but there are no other requirements for the marriage to be accepted. Marriages are monogamous and considered to be for life (and not necessarily for love), and are usually only invalidated when one or the other commits a serious crime, including harming one another, harming their children, or threatening their family.
The high rulers don’t make a lot of laws interfering with the day to day life, culture, or interactions of specific species or gems. However, within their own society, there need to be rules, made by the high rulers and enforced by the military for anyone who enters the royal city. Some of these rules can actually get quite convoluted, but the core laws are relatively simple. Forbidden magics are forbidden. Killing is not allowed except as part of a formal duel or combat where both participants agree, or out of self-defense or defense of one’s property. Theft is therefore, about as heavy a crime as killing, but revenge killings for a theft or murder are also illegal. You can steal it back if it was yours, but not kill them in vengeance. Breaking an oath or transaction is considered a form of theft. Physically harming another person is a minor crime unless it involves sexual assault, but physically harming someone who is legally tied to you in some way or threatening to harm their family is considered a heavy crime.
An individual can decide who to give their possessions to upon their death, with a will, and this applies for both women and men. If they die without specifying, their possessions are split up as equally as possible between all their offspring. Land is the most valuable commodity because the capitol is a piece of land that does not expand. Parents are expected and required to take care of their children until the child reaches their coming-of-age, and if they can’t or won’t, that child will be passed on to one of their next closest relatives. Failing to care for a child who is legally under your care is considered a breaking of one’s oath to society, but the severity of the punishment changes depending on whether it is intentional or the product of unfortunate circumstance. A family barely making enough to support their three children, for instance, would still be punished for not being able to take in the children of the man’s recently deceased brother when they had no other siblings, but it would be akin to a slap on the wrist.
The most severely punished crime is treason. Treason is, at its core, doing anything to harm the royalty of Adestor. It largely involves an inflation of regular crimes. Killing a royal is considered one of the highest forms of treason, excepting only the attempted theft of one of the original seven gems (whose location are kept a secret as much as possible anyways). Breaking the oath to keep certain things secret (by selling confidential information, for instance), is a form of treason. Theft of a confidential and official letter would also apply. Threatening a trusted servant or messenger of the royal family into betraying their confidence, as well. Any form of treason is punishable by a very public execution, if discovered, and their family can come under very heavy scrutiny and even be heavily fined.
When a citizen of the capitol breaks one of these laws, there are a few possible punishments. Death is a rare punishment besides for treason, and indefinite imprisonment is the most common for those who are considered to pose a danger to others, but it is not unheard of or unusual for punishments to be in the form of fines, flogging, or sacrifices like the loss of property. The most common punishment for forbidden magics is the loss of a hand, but for other crimes, the punishment may vary depending on the circumstances. There is no formalized defined judicial system, but it is generally accepted that the high royals make the final decision in each case, though oftentimes high level advisors stand in for them, especially if multiple disputes happen at the same time, as they usually do.
This system is thought to be relatively fair because of the presence of the Royal Criminal Advisors. There are several different types of advisors, from military advisors who specifically advise on military decisions to the much more high level personal state advisors who are typically a part of the rulers’ trusted inner circle and are approached for wisdom on all matters of state (but it is important to note that advisors are not ministers and hold no true executive power). Royal Criminal Advisors are in the very strange category of being tested for military proficiency while primarily being high level advisors who work closely with the royals and often have personal relationships with them. Their main purpose is actually as investigators, to look into the details surrounding any lawbreaking, and reveal the truth when possible, which ironically makes them of less importance than most other advisors, as they rarely do any actual advising.
Currency is somewhat complicated in Adestor. The barter system is actually still quite popular in large portions of the land, particularly for species with neighbors who easily compensate for things they might need or want. In fact, the people of Tagap do not use currency at all, nor conduct trades with any other gems, though this is relatively rare in other gems, as even largely barter-based species will usually have a small circulation of actual coin for some farther-reaching trade. The barter system is technically not exempt from being taxed, but is functionally a little harder to track, as not everyone considers it income so much as a type of “sharing.”
The concept of coin itself tentatively floated around before the creation of the gems, but was nowhere near standardized especially since difficult-to-obtain objects that could be used as currency differed vastly depending on each species’ specific powers. With the advent of the gem monarchy, one of the most pressing advancements was the standardization of currency, and though it ended up being one of the last things finished in the first monarch’s lifetime as it ended up being an intensely difficult task, the recipe for it still exists today as the ingredients are nigh on impossible to obtain illegally.
Coins are a complicated mixture of dragon scale, vampire fang, kaeliti, gremlin hair, and gem dust embedded into a simple metal, in varying degrees depending on the worth of the coin. Kaeliti not being in vast supply, and gremlin hair, dragon scale, and vampire fang only really being easily obtainable if the respective species willingly give it away. Gremlins are somewhat feral, known to be rather scary, and their hair is short, thin, light, and hard to pick up. Regular vampire teeth will not do, and adult vampire fangs are difficult to take from a live vampire, while attempting to ransack one of their gravesites is basically suicide. Dragon scales, common though they may sound, can only be found by entering dragon country, which is entirely impossible to do without the express permission of the dragons, thanks to the fact that the borders to dragon country are heavily fortified with dragon magic, which is impervious to most types of Adestorian magic.
This complicated mixture ends up being incredibly sturdy, glittery, and possessing a rainbowy sheen difficult to reproduce. This has the added advantage of producing a small amount of magical force that feels unique depending on the mixture, which can further thwart all but the most powerful illusions to any sensitive species that so much as holds the coin in their hand. Coins go in increments of 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 40, and 100. There are no coins for any cost increment smaller than 1. While there is no exchange rate, thanks to this very strongly spread worldwide coin system, different species and gems do end up using them somewhat differently at times. The coins themselves are called coins as they would be in any language with the word available, but the currency is referred to as gaa. The exact mixture is a secretly closely guarded by the Royal Archives, and the design is incredibly simple, simply a small, pounded flat, approximately circular item with seven divets poked around the edges of the metal, and an Adestorian number magically branded into the metal to indicate how much they’re worth.
The main government finances itself largely through trade taxes and the sale of inter-gem technology and books developed by the Royal Archives. The main capitol also grows much of its own food. While all-gems technically have the ability to summon or create food out of nothing, that usually takes more energy than the meal gives. Trade between gems often occurs at intersection cities, and these are the cities most heavily taxed and monitored, though ironically, these cities have some of the worst crime rates, as they technically belong to no specific species or gem and have no technically observable governing body (remember the Adestorian royals don’t make a lot of laws pertaining to anyone not a citizen of the capitol).
There are several types of jobs found in the capitol city, and all of them can be filled by individuals from any species if they qualify for it, but most of them are dominated by all-gems. Beyond simply the positions as royal advisors or as part of the military, there are also jobs in agriculture, as teachers, as servants or messengers, or as portal jumpers. Servant and messenger jobs are self-explanatory, but have strict hierarchies and are very carefully screened to make sure that they are trustworthy and unbiased.
There are two levels of portal jumpers. The regular kind are tasked to visit the human world and learn their knowledge, a rather new job that has only existed the past billion years or so. The actual “portal jumpers” are specially selected to explore the Portal Field and bring back as much information as they can about the other worlds. This job has existed much longer than going to the human world, but since the implementation of that policy, portal jumpers going to the Barren Hub are taken from the best of those who have been to and from the human world. Portal jumping is a prestigious, but somewhat secretive and very dangerous job, but the portal jumpers who travel to the Barren Hub often feel compelled to constantly return to it.
Inter-gem technologies are complicated endeavors to bind specific types of magic to physical objects with triggers anyone can use. Binding magic to physical objects (a very different endeavor from the life-breather spell) has been a thing since before anyone can remember, down to ancient cursed objects, but customizing and mass producing them is another matter, especially for technology that requires multiple species’ magics to work properly. The development of inter-gem technology has been one of the foremost purposes of the Royal Archives since the creation of Vallessa, and the sale and distribution of that technology has been one of the most lucrative ventures of the high rulers. Beyond the salaries of those involved, the proceeds all go into the royal coffers. A few unique pieces of inter-gem technology are produced by individuals outside of the Royal Archives, the most notable being magical weapons, maps, compasses, globes, and time pieces, which can be produced a variety of different ways, but all require some form of complicated magic to create.
Messengers conduct most of the correspondence for inter-gem affairs. They usually carry letters written on paper and in Vallessa. They tend to be either all-gems themselves, or from a species that can move most distances quickly. For more sensitive correspondence, it is not unusual for the missives to be written in a language other than Vallessa, be enchanted so that only certain people can read it, or be carried orally by the most trusted messengers. Public communiques are most often sent by letters containing recorded messages, which can be visual reconstructions, or simply audio, audio recordings being one of the oldest and simplest technologies used frequently. This is generally held true for both personal and official correspondences, which are carried by the same messenger system, so messengers are often quite strong, well-paid, and hold a certain status of their own that can allow them access to some of the most secure places in Adestor. This system is perhaps rather archaic, considering the many different magical ways available to all-gems to communicate across the entire kingdom, but it has continued to stand mainly because it is more secure than many of these magical ways, it is considered more polite to send messages without making direct contact right away, and allows for a standardized formal system of communication.
The only species able to create portals were what were known as the humans, and Adestorian royals did not have human magics, so traveling long distances is actually not as easy and automatic a feat one might think considering the all-gems have most any magic available at their fingertips. They can move far distances quickly with a variety of different magics, but this is rarely done because it is tiring and a waste of energy. Instead, the most common mode of travel is something known as the grass wheel. This descriptor is technically accurate, but perhaps a bit misleading. The “grass wheel” is, in fact, a species of mobile plant that can be found in some form or another throughout the entire planet. They usually form a flat curtain on the ground, but can simply rip themselves out of the ground and make whatever shape they like to either blend in better, scare potential predators, and escape from those who might want to eat them. They have no sense of pain and can regrow their thick layers of blades rather easily provided the core inner layer which grows the roots is not much damaged.
All-gems have developed an odd sort of rider relationship with the grass wheel that is a combination of the magical ability to converse with them and straight up domestication. When prompted, these domesticated grass wheels form a hollow ball around whoever they are supposed to transport. Inside this odd ball, a seat forms attached to the sides of the ball, while the top, bottom, back, and front of the ball act as a wheel, freely rolling as the creature zips through the terrain. It is not the most comfortable method of transport, as it is not unlike riding inside a hamster ball by holding onto the sides, so enchantments are often added to make the ride a little smoother, but it is incredibly fast, and the grass wheels do not get tired or lost, once given a destination. Destinations must be projected mentally and must be explained by relative positioning, inhabitants, and geography, since they do not have a concept of place names, but how they seem to know where everything is when they have no eyes, is a bit of a mystery.
Grass wheels rarely transport non all-gem messengers, seem to be loyal to certain masters, and require a certain amount of mental strength and maturity to get under control at first. Their life spans appear to adhere to no rhyme or reason, except that they do not die while assuming a shape, so someone may wake up to find their favorite grass wheel dead after 5 years or 50, but one would never fail while in the middle of transport.
All-gems seem to enjoy traveling a lot, and quite a few jobs for all-gems entail a lot of travel whether as ambassadors, to gain knowledge, or transport things that need an escort. This is helped by the fact that there are several other royal cities peppered throughout all of Adestor, which serve as extensions of the capitol city and places for royals or nobles to stay or travel to while conducting business outside of the capitol. Some of these are pieces of land ceded (graciously or otherwise) by the original species born on it, as these did not start popping up until a few generations of high rulers had passed, but many of these are lands seized from wandering nomads, which those species are still resentful of, if they have survived at all.
Education in some form or another has existed since before the creation of the gems, but not in any standardized fashion. Several generations after the creation of the gems and establishment of the gem monarchies, it was decided that it was important for each species to teach their young at a basic level, the universal language Vallessa and how the gem government works. Being able to read and write their own language is encouraged but not required. The age cutoffs for each school varies according to species, particularly impacted by the type of economy the species relied on, but with this, actual centers of institutional education were established in almost every species, enforced, paid for, and checked on by the gem royals.
Besides standard education for different species, there are two major educational institutions in Adestor, the first being the Royal Archives and the second being the Royal Academy. The Royal Academy is a small city right next to the capitol city where young rulers and nobles can attend school together from any species and gem from the developmental ages 9 to 18. No one is required to attend, but it is generally a way to promote inter-gem interactions from a young age and improve diplomacy between species. The more interesting institution is the Royal Archives.
The Royal Archives is a tiny city that sits between the capitol and the Royal Academy. It has existed since the time of the first queen, and is essentially a store of several different species that are weak militarily, but have powers related to gaining and acting as storekeepers of knowledge. Species who could read the contents of rock or the compositions of bodies, species who had memories like endless storage spaces that could not be altered by any kind of magic and could pass those memories on through a willing touch, species who could read minds, species who could see the relationships of respect between other people by watching them interact mere seconds, species who could tell how magically powerful someone was in relation to the people around them just by glancing at them, species who could tell what magic people were capable of by touching them. So on and so forth. The Royal Archives have since acted as the keepers of the registry and a record of the history of the world since the creation of the gem monarchies.
The Archives are an independent, neutral group of species loyal only to the Adestorian royals, usually kept out of even the worst conflicts on the planet, because the store of knowledge they have tends to be too valuable for most people to attack them, and perhaps too dangerous, considering they know everything about everyone. These species surprisingly mingle very peacefully together and have developed their own kind of democracy, with representatives chosen to report to the Adestorian royals and keep watch over the Royal Academy and the gems’ registries and knowledge distributions. Their children are trained from a young age to be secure in their little country, to be unbiased, and to hone their skills in preparation for their future tasks as caretakers of pretty much all of Adestor’s knowledge. They’re a pretty isolated and egalitarian society that largely think of themselves as fundamentally and most importantly scholars, but they are technically considered citizens of the capitol.
Almost every new species is born with its own language, usually a human language of some sort, and this would make it complicated to converse between species. In order to provide a sort of universal unity, the third high ruler of Adestor ordered the Royal Archives to create Vallessa. Some older species have taken it on as their main language, but no species is born knowing Vallessa, and its dissemination became a core portion of the education. Vallessa is designed for consistency. It has only one dialect with no variations or formality levels, and its instruction is relatively strictly enforced everywhere. There are, of course, a few exceptions particularly with species more out of touch with the rest of Adestor, and in these cases occasionally dialects are formed when the species is comfortable with the language at all, but these cases are rare. Vallessa is a language not all species know, but it is almost required for most rulers of any species and especially for gem royals and nobles to have a working knowledge of Vallessa.
Because most sentient species are One Race, it is more than possible for people of different gems and species to inter-breed. Inter-species children are really not that uncommon of an event. They can occur through the parents meeting at intersection cities, during bargaining, or at royal academy. Inter-species marriages and children are also fairly common, some species that are similar enough and have had enough inter-species children have actually changed over time and BECOME one race, like water sprites and naiads. However, unless the species are extremely similar, quite often the child becomes unable to continue the line, or can only pass on one of their parent’s traits, which is why they’re considered separate species. If the inter-species child is chosen by the gem, they have to choose one species to rule, unless there’s another heir already set for one or more of the countries involved, but this is less common, as inter-species children are not often chosen by the gems.
There are also inter-gem kids. Inter-gems are so rare that the present ones number less than ten, besides the unclaimed ones born and abandoned in intersection cities. Often, inter-gems are the children of gem nobles who met at royal academy. In all of history there is not a single inter-gem who has passed on his or her line in any form or shape, except for the Adestorian royals themselves, though many say that it is because most of them die early from persecution or whatever else is in store for misfits like them. Many of them are banished or banish themselves to intersection cities.
If a gem royal mixes with a subject, it is not considered inter-species or inter-gem, and instead becomes part of the gem nobility, and in fact, this is the way gem nobility have propagated and prospered for many years. It is far from uncommon, especially as most gem nobility travel through lands fluidly. It is also believed that a few lines of gem royals with only crossover between two or three gems still exist, like a gem royal lineage that only has control over the earth, light, and change powers. The existence of such lineages isn’t exactly confirmed among the populace, but they do exist and live mostly in the Adestorian capitol since most of them are distantly related to the high royal line, though they existed before the royal lineage started to become recorded (before they were royals at all) so most are not written down. Those that don’t live in the capitol and its other royal cities, find their homes in intersection cities.
For cases where two individuals cannot have children, for whatever reason, there are soul children. Soul children are, simply put, the highest form of love for one another that a couple can express. When two double-souled individuals experience a strong love for one another, they can fuse their souls to produce ONE child. Of course, they separate and keep their souls afterwards, but the child is built based on the souls of the two parents. The traits from each parent that are most advantageous for the child to survive are fused. The parents’ control over their magic will, however, become weaker after this “transaction,” and this can only be done once, so it is not a thing to be done lightly. It is a feat of magic that most cannot accomplish until they have reached the age of maturity for their species, but it is not unique to any particular species.
Prophetic power is unlike any other type of magic. It is not species-specific, but blood-specific. Prophecies can only come from certain families of certain species, and denote extremely big events, so happen maybe once in a lifetime, depending on which species’ lifespan you’re looking at. The prophecy only occurs in the presence of others or in dreams and is actually usually remembered and phrased in their own way. They are not cryptic wordplay that the prophet isn’t aware they are making to another person, but they are often are vague and misunderstood, especially since the prophecies are often filled with themed cryptic symbolism. Themes can be very strange. They can be board games or clothing or agriculture, pretty much anything, but it’s always something that particular person can understand, though it might be hard for others to.
Those who can see the future are called seers. They can often hide their abilities, if they don’t talk about their dreams, and act on it without anyone knowing, and some don’t even realize they’re seers if their family hasn’t discussed it. However, the seer’s blood is usually only granted to one family in every species, if at all, and can skip many generations. Gifts of foresight are completely independent of magic personalities, and is more of a gift of the Creator than a piece of actually controllable “magic.” No magic personalities have any prophetic abilities, and it is very unclear how seers come to exist in the first place. They are extremely rare, and the fact that their power seems to suggest some kind of predestination disconcerts many people (a good incentive for most seers to keep their powers under wraps). The high royals try to record any prophecies made and the families and species they come from, but have only rarely succeeded.
The Affected are immortal children cast out from Adestor and living as clans in the human world. They are caused when an individual with particularly strong magical abilities does something drastic with their magic around the newborns of a species with significantly smaller magical presence. The magical force of using a major spell or releasing a flash of magic basically attacks the children’s still vulnerable nonmagical soul and will split it into two separate souls, acting as another magical personality, infused with the power of the invasive species, except it is not much different from their original one and is not connected to the normal one. They will live forever, because this split soul will not be able to leave with the normal one and thus the body will stay alive and the normal and magical souls will return again and again no matter how the body fails, until the body heals itself again. For some reason, this only occurs if the original species is both sentient and magical.
The developmental age these children grow to before stopping growth varies from person to person, but no Affected has ever grown past the 40th developmental year of their species. How fast they reach that age is completely dependent on the original species. Their physical appearance and powers differ, again, person to person, and are affected by the TWO species involved in their creation, not just the original. The children’s magic will usually encompass the abilities of their original species, and one or two aspects of the stronger species’ magic, though more potent and easier to control. Affected cannot be permanently scarred or maimed for reasons unclear even to themselves, and they also cannot bear children of their own for equally unclear reasons.
They are cast out to the human world precisely because their immortality and standing between the two species gives them no proper place in Adestor. They usually travel in packs according to when they were born and sometimes their species. Each clan gives itself a name and since the Affected cannot be killed, the clan name becomes extremely important in identifying one another. If a clan does not have a name, it indicates that the clan is weak and young, and it is largely not recognized by the other clans. The clan system is thought of as a way to protect and identify other Affected in the perilous world of the humans since not being able to die doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to get burned at a stake or almost get dissected (dismemberment is still not fatal, but it is one of the most excruciating experiences for an Affected, and takes the longest to recover from).
Now the Wezeer had two daughters; the elder of whom was named Shahrazád; and the younger, Dunyázád. The former had read various books of histories, and the lives of preceding kings, and stories of past generations: it is asserted that she had collected together a thousand books of histories, relating to preceding generations and kings, and works of the poets: and she said to her father on this occasion, Why do I see thee thus changed, and oppressed with solicitude and sorrows? It has been said by one of the poets:—
Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety, that anxiety will not last:
As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety.
When the Wezeer heard these words from his daughter, he related to her all that had happened to him with regard to the King: upon which she said, By Allah, O my father, give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die, and be a ransom for one of the daughters of the Muslims, or I shall live, and be the cause of their deliverance from him.—I conjure thee by Allah, exclaimed he, that thou expose not thyself to such peril:—but she said, It must be so.
When the Wezeer’s daughter heard the words of her father, she said to him, It must be as I have requested. So he arrayed her, and went to the King Shahriyár. Now she had given directions to her young sister, saying to her, When I have gone to the King, I will send to request thee to come; and when thou comest to me, and seest a convenient time, do thou say to me, O my sister, relate to me some strange story to beguile our waking hour:—and I will relate to thee a story that shall, if it be the will of God, be the means of procuring deliverance.
Her father, the Wezeer, then took her to the King, who, when he saw him, was rejoiced, and said, Hast thou brought me what I desired? He answered, Yes. When the King, therefore, introduced himself to her, she wept; and he said to her, What aileth thee? She answered, O King, I have a young sister, and I wish to take leave of her. So the King sent to her; and she came to her sister, and embraced her, and sat near the foot of the bed; and after she had waited for a proper opportunity, she said, By Allah! O my sister, relate to us a story to beguile the waking hour of our night. Most willingly, answered Shahrazád, if this virtuous King permit me. And the King, hearing these words, and being restless, was pleased with the idea of listening to the story; and thus, on the first night of the thousand and one, Shahrazád commenced her recitations.
Now the Wezeer had two daughters; the elder of whom was named Shahrazád; and the younger, Dunyázád. The former had read various books of histories, and the lives of preceding kings, and stories of past generations: it is asserted that she had collected together a thousand books of histories, relating to preceding generations and kings, and works of the poets: and she said to her father on this occasion, Why do I see thee thus changed, and oppressed with solicitude and sorrows? It has been said by one of the poets:—
Tell him who is oppressed with anxiety, that anxiety will not last:
As happiness passeth away, so passeth away anxiety.
When the Wezeer heard these words from his daughter, he related to her all that had happened to him with regard to the King: upon which she said, By Allah, O my father, give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die, and be a ransom for one of the daughters of the Muslims, or I shall live, and be the cause of their deliverance from him.—I conjure thee by Allah, exclaimed he, that thou expose not thyself to such peril:—but she said, It must be so.
When the Wezeer’s daughter heard the words of her father, she said to him, It must be as I have requested. So he arrayed her, and went to the King Shahriyár. Now she had given directions to her young sister, saying to her, When I have gone to the King, I will send to request thee to come; and when thou comest to me, and seest a convenient time, do thou say to me, O my sister, relate to me some strange story to beguile our waking hour:—and I will relate to thee a story that shall, if it be the will of God, be the means of procuring deliverance.
Her father, the Wezeer, then took her to the King, who, when he saw him, was rejoiced, and said, Hast thou brought me what I desired? He answered, Yes. When the King, therefore, introduced himself to her, she wept; and he said to her, What aileth thee? She answered, O King, I have a young sister, and I wish to take leave of her. So the King sent to her; and she came to her sister, and embraced her, and sat near the foot of the bed; and after she had waited for a proper opportunity, she said, By Allah! O my sister, relate to us a story to beguile the waking hour of our night. Most willingly, answered Shahrazád, if this virtuous King permit me. And the King, hearing these words, and being restless, was pleased with the idea of listening to the story; and thus, on the first night of the thousand and one, Shahrazád commenced her recitations.
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