ᴇᴀꜱᴛʀɪᴠᴇʀ
low fantasy | late 1910s | steam trains & magic mountains
Eastriver is a small industrial town of little note. It's far, far from the border of Astrijan, where a great war has been raging for the last 14 years. Its hills are rolling and neverending, the ghosts of mountains. It's a town nestled up to the Eanre Mountains, a place where no man goes and returns.
In ancient history, the lands now called "Eastriver" were home to the Kinaak, a gentle and honorable race of shepherds and medicine-women, worshippers of the mother of Earth, Kina. Now, what's left of Her people work in factories processing wool, turning mutton into tinned meat, and sewing leather into boots for the front lines. It's said that, even still, the odd weaver-woman or herb-picker may walk into those old hills and hear the voices of her ancestors.
The town is run by three major families: the Bookers, who have been mayors of the town for three generations; the Andrades, who believe the town might one day be the pinnacle of the ephemeral sciences; and the Kuznetsovs, who own the town's industry and the livelihoods of its people. Don't be fooled by their power, though: there are deeper forces in those alleys, in those mountains.
ꜱᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ
The town of Eastriver is small and remote, with only one rail line going in and out of town. It's a place caught between the old and the new: between rolling hills are both freshly built homes and ancient megaliths, sheep roam the hillsides and gather in hordes in industrial farms, and a proud nation of indigenous people work in colonizer's factories. It's a place with secret rules and strange customs, all in the hope of not incurring the wrath of the earth-goddess that the Kinaak worship: one does not fish in the river, when lost things are found they must be buried, no one goes to the mountains.
Outside of Eastriver are wheat fields and ranches, grassy hills, and small villages of Kinaak who have refused to integrate into modern society. There, shepherds mind flocks and send them into the hills alone for winter, steady hands dye beautiful fabrics and yarns, and old women watch giggling children play. Beyond, in the rest of Jevia, are distant cities, rocky coasts, and great lakes, each with their own myths and secrets.
The world of Eastriver is centered in Jevia (YEV-yah), a massive country whose sprawling lands are often wild and untouched. It's a place just past the threshold of industry: through its lands blast howling steam trains, on its coasts are bustling carnivals, and from its mountains waft ephemeral whispers.
To the west of Jevia is Astrijan (ASTRI-djahn), a place of beauty, wealth, and power. Nearly 15 years ago, Jevia and Astrijan went to war over a relatively minor dispute over rail lines. Since, it has ballooned into massive gunfights, capital bombings, and battles of espionage and information. Astrijan is ruled by a monarchy, and under that monarchy is a strict class system, determined both by an individual's occupation and parentage. Those not of neighbouring classes are forbidden to intermingle, and even in business one's class often offers an upper hand in negotiations. It's a place with both the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich, its massive population contesting that of the vastly less dense Jevia. To Astrijan, its greatest weapon is the number of poor bodies it is able to send to the front.
To the south of Jevia is Ublod (OO-blood), a communist oligarchy which evolved out of a revolution that occurred a little over thirty years ago. Allied with Jevia, Ublod offered much revolution-era weaponry to the war effort in the early days. Now that the war has raged on over a decade and Ublod has had to contend with its own inter-party strife, Ublod has mostly left Jevia to their own devices, its primary contribution to their alliance diplomacy.
To the east of Jevia is Myrunia (my-ROON-yah), a fairly insular and self-isolated country ruled by a matriarchy. Though most people in Jevia think little about the Mynese, a wave of immigration from the country nearly two centuries ago has led to many Jevians being of Mynese ancestry. Though only the southern tip of Myrunia touches the Eanre Mountains, it seems that the Mynese are both most connected to, and most superstitious of its secrets.
To the north of Jevia, across the Hetian Sea, is Ostral (OSS-truhl). The greatest ally of Astrijan, Ostral's benevolent dictator has contributed much to the war, from ships to diplomats. It's a place well known for its mercantilism, its pleasant beaches, and its massive fashion houses.
ᴄᴜʟᴛᴜʀᴇ
ᴘᴏʟɪᴛɪᴄꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴄᴏɴᴏᴍɪᴄꜱ
Jevia is a world of overwhelming but expedient bureaucracy: its government is functionally an oligarchy, run by a panel of judges who create and monitor a massive, detailed series of laws. It's a land of attorneys and solicitors as much as it is one of farmland and field: in order to navigate the arcane number of rules which govern Jevia, its government is bloated, bustling, and fast-moving. A man sent to prison for theft might see his sentence in a week. Papers pass through its lightning-fast mail system with overwhelming efficiency. If one has a child, it must be studiously and expediently documented, submitted, and reviewed in order for even an infant to travel. Every incident makes a rule, every rule becomes a law, and every law has a set punishment for failure to adhere to it. Fortunately for its people, Jevia is just large enough to make getting away with it possible.
Jevia's massive landmass is a benefit to its people in more ways that one, though: there are nearly endless industries within it, and Jevia is broadly a fairly self-sustaining country. Their greatest exports are coal and wheat products, while their greatest imports are luxury goods such as clothing, jewelry, and furniture. Broadly, however, Jevia is fairly self-sustaining and has been free of famine and extreme poverty since the two former countries that formed it became incorporated. It's most known globally for its extraordinary transit systems and its various environments and climates.
Because the majority of people in Jevia work in some sort of industry, the most common form of education in the country is apprenticeship, though many people still go to universities and get formal educations. Both apprentices and students are expected to learn their craft in a period of five years, starting between 16-20 depending on the individual and their craft. It's not uncommon to enter a business and witness its owner being assisted by a minimum-wage, teenaged apprentice.
ᴇᴛʜɴɪᴄɪᴛʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴀᴄᴇ
The world is made up of several major ethnicities: the Olmans (analagous to europeans), the Jevics (analagous to south east asians), the Mynese (analagous to central/southern africans), the Belics (analagous to south asians), the Emnan (analagous to west asians/arabs), and the Kivu (analagous to indigenous latin americans).
Jevia mostly consists of Olmans and Jevics, for whom Jevia is named. Ublod is also mostly made up of Olmans and Jevics, with a small Mynese population in the north. Myrunia is almost exclusively Mynese. Astrijan is primarily Belic and Emnan. Ostral is primarily Emnan and Kivu.
There are also smaller ethnic groups throughout the world, including the Kinaak, one of many indigenous groups that are native to the area around the Eanre mountains.
While there is ethnic discrimination in Jevia, it's fairly uncommon. Discrimination against small ethnic groups like the Kinaak (analagous to orientalism; racism centered on "otherness" rather than criminality or weakness) is not unseen, but the most commonly discriminated groups are those native to Astrijan, especially the Belics, as they are the more populous, the darker skinned of the two major ethnicities, and most sent to the front lines of the war.
Jevics are generally considered to be the most dominant ethnicity culturally in Jevia; obviously, the whole country is named after their people. Jevian culture most values Jevic art, Jevic fashion and beauty standards, and Jevic ethics and morality. It's not uncommon to see Olman women wear makeup that elongates their eyes, or to wear Jevic-inspired dress, or to utilise the imagery of the Sounnets, the southern mountain range which is still majorly Jevic-occupied, in their art. There is even a current revival of the Jevic language (people in Jevia speak Oljev, a constructed language combining Olman and Jevic) while there is not a similar movement to revive the Olman language.
ʀᴇʟɪɢɪᴏɴ
There are a few major religions in the world of Eastriver, though only one has a place of worship in the town of the same name. The Temple of the Divine is a church which worships two deities, a brother and sister god, and their two prophets, each musicians. Divinites are known for having services full of music, buildings full of art, and worshippers who are patrons. Each church is run by a monk and a nun, each titled Brother and Sister, who each represent the two halves of divinity. Devout Divinite worshippers wear broad-brimmed hats with black veils over them, in the image of the divine, whose faces are usually depicted veiled. Their greatest values are creativity, humility, and gender division and empowerment.
The most common religion in Astrijan is Nanna, which worships Nan, the sun. Their worship revolves around the rising and falling of the sun itself: at sunrise and sunset, Nannans meet to worship and pray together, musing over the ascent and descent of light over the horizon. The teachings of Nan value life and man's place amongst the world, and as such many Nannans are vegetarian or vegan. The goddess, Nan, is both a personified diety and literally the sun, and so while representations of her are the sun, she is often represented artistically through pottery, beadwork, and jewelry in wild and overwhelming colour. Nannans' greatest values are peace, altruism, and diligence.
The Kinaak worship the earth itself, who they call Kina. They claim that Kina is literally the earth, and that though she can see and touch all people on her, man's connection to her is strongest close to the mountains, most especially the ancient Eanre Mountains. A lucky few Kinaak, those who are women, say that they can speak and communicate with Kina through their ancestors. Some of these women claim to hear voices or distant trains. Others claim that some divine hand forces their legs to lead them to places they did not intend to go. Still others claim that the earth itself can claim their sight, letting sacred herbs and holy waters sparkle with ephemeral light. Their biggest worship days are the solstices, representing both the gift of the seasons. Kinaak are well-known for their worship practices of lamb slaughter, dancing, and feasting. The Kinaak most value harmony, generosity, and community.
Outside of religion is Ephemera, or what we might consider magic. Ephemera is all that is inexplicable in the world: it is miracle, it is coincidence, it is witchcraft. Ephemera is real and unreal, it is fleeting and forever. All that is certain about ephemera is that it is unknown, and where there is unknown, there are people desperately wishing to know it.
ɢᴇɴᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴇxᴜᴀʟɪᴛʏ
Gender in Jevian society is different from our own: though women do often raise children and men often work laborious jobs, beyond the common physiological differences between the sexes, men and women are often considered on equal but different footing. Most notably, women are very common in "factual" fields, like mathematics, engineering, and medicine: woman are considered very logical and fact-driven, while men are considered more creative. Men most often breach into the unknown: they are the scientists, the artists, the generals and the lawmakers. Conversely, women are considered most competent at repeating or expounding upon the theories and inventions of men, and though not relegated soley to the home, are often taught to pick up the slack and allow their male counterparts to do inventive work. It is also not criminal to be transgender, though transgender men often have many more rights than transgender women as trans men are seen as more virtuous and valuable for their contributions to society and war.
Sexuality in Jevian society is a little more complicated. Queerness in Jevia is referred to as being "sideways", a contrast to being "upright", or cisgender and heterosexual. There are sideways pubs, communities of people who are sideways, and those who study the culture and phenomena of being sideways, but broadly, outright homosexuality is not socially acceptable. While not illegal, many upright individuals feel scandalized by brazen shows of homosexual affection, even though public affection is not unusual amongst the upright. Thus, most queerness in Jevia occurs in the shadows, in pubs and drug dens, in private hotels and personal bedrooms.
ᴀᴇꜱᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄꜱ
Eastriver is majorly influenced by late 1910's fashion, and so the clothing of its people tends to vary between late 1900s to highly fashionable pre-1920s wear. I've spent a lot of time designing clothes for Eastriver, so rather than explain it to you I'll show you a variety of people of different classes and occupations for example:
The setting of Eastriver is inspired by the Appalachian mountains and its northern sister, the Scottish highlands. It's especially influenced by my childhood in Appalachia, in its rolling, grassy hills, its dense and mysterious woods, and its quiet solitude. Littered across the hills are ancient megaliths, old worship spaces made by ancient Kinaak. For the landscape, here are some various inspiration pictures (not mine):
Its architecture is a mishmash of various, mostly european, early and middle industrial styles. Think of fat bricks made of granite and limestone, cobble-paved streets, square tenement blocks, and sheet metal warehouses. Wealthier homes might look more ornate and victorian, or more stately and edwardian. A lot of Eastriver has been built up in the past half century, so its architecture is fairly modern, its oldest homes being either stone and mud-hewn Kinaak cottages or ancient stone megaliths. Its newest buildings have been made with the war effort in mind, and are generally made of corrugated steel.
ɴᴏᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ
Daniil "Hawk" Volkov: One of my three main "protaganists" of the setting. Daniil is a sleazy bar owner who has found a penchant for revolution stuck between his bloodlust, his Kinaak ancestry, and his love of utilitarian philosophers. Owns The Rusty Cage.
Ilya Volkov: One of my three main "protaganists" of the setting. Once a well-known architect in Jevia's capital, Ilya returned home two years ago after a bombing destroyed their work and their life. An alcoholic, an artist, and common hallucination-haver, Ilya's only hope is that their old haunts can bring them new inspiration.
Linnette Engman: Notorious lesbian & best friend of Daniil. A civil engineer, she was brought to Eastriver to redesign its confusing and enigmatic streets and alleyways. Instead, she mostly just chain-smokes and looks at pretty girls.
Katherine Andrade: Daniil's ex girlfriend and the bane of his existence. She and her older brother,
Gabriel, are the last heirs to the Andrade family. Her uncle, Bertrand, has arranged a marriage between her and the eldest Kuznetsov son in hopes to resolve this particular issue.
Bertrand Andrade: Uncle of Katherine and Gabriel. Head of the Andrade family. Owns most of the land in Eastriver, including much of the farmland adjacent to the town.
Alexiy Kuznetsov: Patriarch of the Kuznetsov family and owner of the Great East Manufacturing Company, which holds the town's factories, warehouses, and railway. Runs a textile mill, a flour mill, and a butchery.
Charles Booker: Eastriver's Governor. Though his job is elected, his father was governor before him, and he has held the position uncontested since his father's retirement and ultimate passing.
Nikita Meykov: A geoscientist/ephemeralist brought to town by the Andrades to assist in the construction and eventual operation of The Focus. Originally from Ublod, he fled after previous research projects were found to frequently be less than ethical. Child of one of the few Royalist generals not executed by the revolution.
Yassi: One of Daniil's frequent lovers. She is one of the few non-cis women with the Gift. For most of the year, she is a shepherd. In the winters, she works as a dancer at The Rusty Cage.
Kayura: A community leader of the Kinaak. Runs a safe house for women. Gatherer of herbs and maker of poultices.
Oylan "Buck" Sannaak: Daniil's right hand man. He and Daniil have been friends since they were kids. Works at the flour mill and is a union organizer for it and the butchery.
Curtis "Cub" Walker: Daniil's left hand man. Was in the military with Daniil. Works as a surgeon under Veda Mendel, the town doctor. Newly married, with a child on the way.
Sidney Nilsen: One of my three main "protaganists" of the setting. Sidney is an Inquisitor, a military-run leader of a crime-solving and intel-gathering unit within Jevia. He is sent to Eastriver, alongside his lieutenant inquisitors and men, to uncover some ephemeral miracle that might finally end the war with Astrijan.
Petyr Hughinn: Lieutenant Inquisitor. A once-psychologist with a penchant for ripping people's minds open at the seams. An ephemera skeptic.
Cyril Lucas: Lieutenant Inquisitor. She was once a doctor on the front lines, before her renown brought her into the inquisition.
