World The Sacred Imperial City of Solis

[JamesMartin]

From the grand palace complex in the heart of the city, a Queen is elected each generation from the daughters of the 12 divines, to serve for life alongside a High Priestess representing the Temples and the Divines and the Battle Lord who leads the armies abroad, bringing back slaves and plunder in their service. The empire consists of 13 cities, with Solis the capitol ruled directly by the Queen and sitting on the western edge of the Aureum Sea. Each of the other cities is consecrated to one of the divines and is ruled by either a family descended from the Divine or a guild that claims to have been founded by the divine.

Culture:

Society in the empire is rigid and highly structured, with professions suitable for free men and women each being linked to one of the divines and following regimented rules and systems. In general, masculine ideals and duties look outwards, towards war on the frontiers, while feminine ones look towards the improvement of the homeland. Soldiers are linked to the masculine ideal, the sun and the oak leaf, while the temples are run by Priestesses (always women) and are linked to the feminine ideal, the moon and the lily flower. Ages are strictly regimented within the context of their profession—both soldiers and priestesses are given to the army or the temple at the first signs of puberty, while adulthood typically comes in the early 20s. For other professions, these dates mark the start of apprenticeships or education and the times when they are considered skilled enough to begin full labour. These are marked with changes in dress code, expected hygiene and other things, such as the consumption of alcohol and the ability to mingle with the opposite sex.

Marriage as a concept is present by largely unused, with the only form of strict commitment between a man and a woman being tied to the birth of a child and raising them to adulthood. These relationships are frequently non-monogamous and extended polygamous families and half-siblings are not unheard of. Both as a result of the multiple years of physical maturity before adulthood, strict sexual segregation and the fact that a relationship without the prospect for children is tied together only by emotions, both gay and lesbian relationships are commonplace and frequently idealized as a manifestation of love without need for commitment. Two of the Gods and Two of the Goddesses are regarded as having been exclusively homosexual, these being the ones who opted to found a guild instead of produce any progeny with mortals, while others are considered to have been bi and to have engaged in complicated series of affairs amongst themselves. The other 8 families are said to strongly retain traits of their divine ancestor and have a long habit of intermarrying and adopting from among the lesser families in pursuit of emphasizing and preserving those traits.

The Divines:

Male:
Marcius, God of War and Fatherhood (Symbol of a Spear)
Farrar, God of Smiths and the Forge (Guild) (Symbol of a Hammer)
Hadrianus, God of Fishermen and the Sea (and storms) (Guild) (Symbol of a hook)
Callis, God of Liquor, Lust and Madness (Symbol of a Grape Vine)
Cato, God of Scholars and Learning (Symbol of a Scroll)
Felix, God of Hunting and Diplomacy (Symbol of a Bow)

Female:
Augusta, Goddess of Home and Motherhood (Symbol of a Scepter—the top looks suspiciously like a uterus)
Emilia, Goddess of Trade and Wealth (Guild) (Symbol of a stack of coins)
Deanna, Goddess of Growth and Farming (Guild) (Symbol of an ear of wheat)
Aurelia, Goddess of Beauty and the Arts (Symbol is usually a nude figure, but a dove is used for formal ceremonies)
Benedicta, Goddess of Religion and Sacrifice (Symbol of a Knife)
Agacia, Goddess of Law and Culture (Symbol of a balance scale)

Calander (Months are named for the divine, our names are used for reference):

January: Augusta (Mother goddess=childbirth=start of year)
February: Hadrianus (Fishing season height)
March: Emilia
April: Callis (Debauchery=Major festival after the spring thaw)
May: Aurelia (Beauty=Month when the flowers bloom)
June: Cato
July: Benedicta
August: Farrar (Forge=Hot=Summer)
September: Deanna (Fertility=start of harvest season)
October: Felix (Traditional end of the warring season=Diplomacy)
November: Agacia
December: Marcius (War god=death=end of year)

Every month is 36 days and there are 12 months in the year. These months exactly match the lunar cycle, with a two day new moon occurring on the first/last day of every month and a two day full moon at the mid-point.

Each of the temples of the divines serve a purpose related to their divine, including helping those who fall within their jurisdiction—as a result, the size of their adherents can vary wildly, with Auguta's Midwives, healers caring Marcius's soldiers, the orphan tenders of Arurelia and Farrar and the followers of Benedicta who educated all priestesses being among the largest, while others only maintained their temples and performed generic charity work. Healers and midwives are all priestesses by law and most educators and scholars are at least linked to the temples.


@BonnieEr

 

[BonnieBee]

Character Sheets​

Name: Patricia Anyssa
Patricia Anyssa, Anyssa meaning Pious or Chaste. As all Priestesses recieve when they take their vows, considered full sisters from that point onward. As high priestess, she has been marked by the Mothers of each temple with the symbol of their god. These symbols, a magical tattoo, change shape and colour, usually to represent whatever divine power she is touching, but also ensure that her arms and back are almost always covered by patterns of some kind. Patricia herself is cunning, ambitious and ruthlessly competent, known publicly for a kind and patient disposition, diplomatic personality and reassuring smile. Those who fail or disappoint her learn to their cost that she expects as much from others as she does from herself.

Spoiler: Patricia Anyssa

Sexuality: Bisexual (though with a preference leaning towards women)

Brief History:
Born the daughter of Queen Olivia Augusta, her father was a foreign philosopher of great intellect who became the first man in 150 years to be named Queen's consort openly. Taken from her mother as was tradition on her first birthday, she was raised by the Benedicta family in the sacred city and within a month of her menarche, was given to the priestesses to educate. She proved herself quickly, being raised to the sisterhood before she turned 18 and, when the old priestess of the temple of Benedicta died (after having served some 250 years), she was elevated to the position, in full knowledge of the fact that the queen was stricken by a disease that resisted all healing—a grief and melancholy that had followed her all her life and only worsened following the birth of her child.

When her mother died, the old high priestess went into retirement, in keeping with tradition. As the youngest woman to serve as mother of a temple in generations, she was chosen unanimously to take the role. Her first responsibility was bathing and preparing for the pyre of the corpse of her own mother. In this task, she learned for the first time her origins, always denied to her, finding the twin of a golden bracelet she had worn all her life.

Physical Characteristics:
Age: 28 (looks young for her age)
Height: 5'11"

- Skin Tone: Pale white with no tendency to tan (Use of magic has a healing effect, making both apparent age and changes like tans revert)
- Hair: Coppery red, an oddity she had always taken pains to show her pride in
- Eye Colour: A bright emerald green, the colour seems unnaturally vibrant when she has recently used magic
- Build: Tall and slender (relative to her height), she had an hourglass figure and a carefully toned athleticism, accentuated by curves somewhere between a C and D cup.

Name: Katrina Aurelia
Katrina, of noble and worthy descendant of Aurelia's blood. To look at skin deep Katrina is the safest of the eight maidens chosen to represent the divine houses. She is well mannered, and well spoken. She uses diplomacy to resolve conflicts she never encourages willingly, and though flared with competitive drive when compared to the tied eldest, was primarily encouraged by her sense of duty to the country and people she was taught may one day require her services in some way. Happy with her own company, Katrina is a sweet-natured woman with a pride for her nation and name. She will speak her mind but is partial to self-doubt when faced with criticism tending to by shy and bashful around even suggestions of anything sexual in nature.

Spoiler: Katrina

Sexuality: Straight / Borderline Asexual

Brief History:
Katrina was the firstborn of the Aurelia family, descendants they would tell you, of the goddess of Love and Beauty herself. The lineage boasts a long line of fair-haired and sun-kissed skin at all months of the year. Katrina's parents were no different. Her father married into the esteemed bloodline, her mother held the same platinum blonde that turned white with her old age and held herself higher than even the other houses.
Katrina was raised with the same ideals of purity and birth, trained as any good daughter to accept that one day she may take the throne.

Her mother passed away when she was just 14. But even with her source of trust gone, she was determined to continue the legacy her mother had set out for her - especially when her father became mute at his wife's passing. A state of mourning he refused to break even for the love of his three daughters.

And she did. Katrina took to the studies that would be used to judge her for the role. She danced, and she sang, and she spoke with a grace unmatched, the bell in her voice like a honey-sweet song that carried without raising in even crowded rooms - all the while holding the kindness of the speaker's tone. By 18 she was competing with the best of her competition in all elements aside from their ruthless natures. Where the other women would share each other's beds and excel in sheer confidence, Katrina much preferred to spend her time with books and in the gardens to practice the more elegant side of things. It was easier in her own company sometimes was all, and it gave her more time to focus on what was important: Her fate. Be it at the front or as a consort to her majesty.

Physical Characteristics:
- Age: 21
- Height: 5'6
- Skin Tone: Tanned Olive
-Hair: Wavy blonde that reaches her mid-back, though is often tied back into a half fish-tail braid.
- Eye Colour: A bright Oceanic Blue.

- Build: A slim figure on the petite side of proportions. Slightly more pear-shaped than an hourglass with her thin waist.
She has a slight amount of muscle in her arms and thighs from the faint work required in her dance and riding classes, as well as a well-defined stomach testament to her core strength. A B-cup bra size and just over a handful in the rear ~

Name: Virginia Benedicta

Name: Liviana Marcicius
Liviana, once of the Marticius house held true to the nature of her provenance. She can be forgetful of social awarenesses, details about what she considered 'small' things easily lost in the bigger picture of her mind. She is arguably the most physically strong of the group that excelled in planning and preparation.

Spoiler: Liviana Marcicius

Speaking Quirks:

• Ends sentences with Questions?
  (Either through uncertainty due to an awareness of her lacking memory or in accidental imposing inquisition)

Physical Characteristics:
- 5'7
- Curly dark (almost brown) ginger hair
- Brown eyes
- Light skinned
- Button Nose
- Plump

Name: Valensia Cato
Valensia of the Cato bloodline, God of Scholar and Learning blessed all of his descendants in the power of mind. From this house came the greatest astronomers and teachers, the most excellent abstract thinkers. It's a scary legacy to live upto and that anxiety was what defined most of Valensia's childhood. Every nurse expected more of her than Valensia seemed able to give, seeking refuge in books that always seemed to drift into non-fiction no matter how hard she tried to convince herself the writings of her ancestors' discoveries where what she wanted to focus on. She tends to avoid close friendships and would rather keep her own company.

Spoiler: Valensia Cato

Speaking Quirks:

• Occasional slight stutter
• Very limited speaking overall
• - Quite

Physical Characteristics:
- Brown Hair

Name: Harmonia Felix
Harmonia, the pride and joy of the house of Felix. Harmonia may not always seem like your typical child of the Hunter God, his bow renowned through the lands for its sharpened arrows that always hit their marks. Harmonia herself was agile and flexible. It was a well kept secret from all outside of her sisters in serving the problems she faced when under stress. Her hands had minds of their own when she held responsibility, shaking enough to make even rearing a string difficult. Her pride on the matter made accepting help a constant upward battle.

Spoiler: Harmonia Felix

Speaking Quirks:

• TBD

Physical Characteristics:
- Faded Ginger/Greyish hair
- Red tinted skin
- Skinny skinny

Name:Thalia Callis
Thalia! A testament to the house of Callis, Lust and Wine and Madness embodied into a young woman held back from corruption by sheer kindness in her soul. She's a live wire if there were such things in the grande city with a slight, unaddressed drinking problem. Despite being one of the oldest, she's naive and excitable as you would expect from the youngest. Emotional / Sensitive / Innocent / Lively

Spoiler: Thalia Callis

Speaking Quirks:

• Exclamation Marks are your best friend

Physical Characteristics:
- Short Cropped Hair

Name: Arabella Agacia
Arabella, Courtesy of the Agacia house. Agacia goddess of law and culture, gifted the sisters with a wise maiden who does not surpass the ambition she feels most suits her. She spent years getting close to Regina, one of many expecting her to be the next queen, a textbook social climber hoping to make it easy in life by being kept comfortable under her wing. There is a bitterness Arabella let go during the temple fires cleansing, but it did not take her resounding loyalty away from Regina. Arabella will purr for anyone who can offer her comfort - but Katrina often doesn't like to pick favourites.

Spoiler: Arabella Agacia

Speaking Quirks:

• Formal speech / complements
• Quick to agree with the most notable in the room / out of habit defaults to Regina

Physical Characteristics:

• Short Raven Hair

Name: Regina Augusta


Name: Vincent Marcicius
The blood-soaked general ...

Spoiler: Vincent Marcicius

Sexuality: Straight

Brief History: Vincent is and was a soldier. He killed his first man in battle when serving as a runner at 11 years old and never lost the taste for it. His strategic genius and ruthless pragmatism saw him rise through the ranks as fast as the law allowed—and sometimes faster. Finally, with the support of the young Temple Mother of Benedicta, he was named Battle Lord in his 30th year and since had led multiple campaigns, bringing unprecedented levels of wealth and slaves into the imperial treasury. Now, after the year of mourning kept his men inside their borders, he desires nothing more than to return to the battlefront.

Physical Characteristics:
- Age: 35
- Height: 6'6
- Skin Tone: Dark tan
- Hair: Short black hair with a slight curl, is known to sport a beard on campaign so as to not appear above his men
- Eye Colour: A pale grey
- Build: Massive even amongst a house known for warriors, he is broad and heavily muscled, his figure is marked by a lifetime of battle scars and a large black tattoo of an imperial dragon across his chest, a declaration of his devotion to the Empire's glory.

 

[JamesMartin]

Map of the Empire (full resolution):

https://imgur.com/a/guvsfew

The Imperial Provinces, their climate and exports:

Crownlands: Directly ruled by the Queen, this province largely consists of vast estates and farming villages, all of which supply their staple goods directly to the Capitol. It is known for its mild climate, with warm summers and cold winters without either becoming particularly extreme

Deanna: The Empire's largest single province, this vast breadbasket surrounding the Sikali and Sitara rivers supply enough barley, wheat, rye, rice and other staples to supply the entire Empire and then some. Vegetables and fruits from beans, lettuce and peas to apples and melons are grown and exported. Shielded from the worst northern winds by mountains and the trade winds from the southwest, it retains a warm climate much of the year and only rarely sees snow except in its border regions

Benedicta: A flat plain east of the mountains, fed by multiple rivers, it has become a hub for the growing of cotton and other labour-intensive crops, fed by a constant stream of slave labour from Marcius. In the open grasslands it supplies some of the Empire's finest horses, alongside herds of cattle bred for sacrifice. Its capitol is widely regarded as the grandest outside of Solis itself, the seat of the power of the Priestesses and the place where they go to finish their education. It is known for harsh winds and storms as southern and northern winds collide beyond the mountains, leading to eclectic weather patterns than can swing rapidly between extremes.

Aurelia: Contained within a lush valley, this province is a source of exotic fruits, flowers and other luxuries. Gemstones are frequently mined from its mountains and nowhere in the world are they larger or more flawless. Sheltered from the outside world, it is known for a mild climate year-round with little snow and few experiences of extreme heat.

Marcius: The harshest lands of the empire, this vast plain between mountains is scoured by winds, with long bone-chilling winters and brief, searing summers. It produces little excess, as its land is ill-suited to the production of crops beyond subsistence, particularly given the need to feed armies manning the border forts, but its combination of vast land and hardy folk has given it a reputation for feeding the Empire's legions an endless supply of hardened warriors—legions which in turn supply the Empire's insatiable need for slaves. It is the only province with more than three legions garrisoned, with fully half the Imperial army garrisoned in times when it is not engaged abroad.

Augusta: A fertile land of rolling hills, Augusta is considered by many as the Empire's heartland, its interior filled with farmers, orchards and pastures. Though lacking the seemingly endless abundance of Deanna, it's cloth trade, driven by its own production of wool, have made it prosperous, featuring the Empire's third-largest city. It is prone to longer winters and mild summers

Cato: The smallest of the provinces, this land is in many ways merely an extension of the city itself. Featuring the Empire's preeminent university and rivalling Solis herself for its places of learning, it is a land of philosophers, engineers, any other field not given to the Priestesses, exporting knowledge worth far more than any treasure. Its actual land is harsh and often barren, though the keeping of animals and the production of herbs have both found a place there. Though it is not the coldest province, snowfall trapped by the mountains has been known to bury everything save the city itself.

Farrar: A rocky land ill-suited for growing any but the hardiest of crops, Farrar has nonetheless found its prosperity not in the ground, but under it. Its mines run throughout the mountains, drawing iron, copper, tin, gold and silver through the labour of a near-endless supply of foreign captives. Those of its freemen not engaged in the management of the mines are the finest craftsmen in the world, forging and refining their metals, alongside fine timber from Felix, into finished goods that are shipped to the rest of the empire. Its climate is known to be cold and dreary, with brief summers broken by rain and near-constant fog joined by the smoke of ten thousand furnaces and forges.

Hadrianus: Rugged and coastal, Hadrianus holds the Empire's seas under its sway. The Queen's Navy is constructed in its harbours, timber from Felix turned into the finest craft for sea and river alike, some even capable of crossing vast oceans far beyond the borders of the Empire. Those of its people who are not shipwrights are fishermen and it is from here that the empire is supplied with fish, lobster, crab and other products of the sea, packed with salt mined from the province's coast. Prone to harsh storms, the province is cold and wet in winter and muggy in summer.

Felix: The wildest province, lying on the frontier of of forest so vast that though claimed by the Empire, no one from it has seen the other side, it is a place largely given to hunters, trappers and loggers, supplying the empire with furs, exotic meats and fine wood. The river valley that provides an artery to the rest of the empire is fertile, though relative isolation has given the province a unique free-spiritedness. Though Marcius has the best soldiers, many of the best generals and diplomats have come from Felix.

Callis: A warm province directly in the path of the trade winds, this land of rolling hills between three distinct rivers is known to produce the finest wines and olives in the empire, alongside its supply of sugarcane from plantations. As befits the land of the God of Debauchery, it is also known for festivals, fireworks and leisure—no noble family is considered prominent if they do not own an estate or villa along the coast of Callis. This warmth remains year round and rarely sees snow.

Agacia: A province between two wastelands, fed by a vast river with no known source, Agacia is the Empire's warmest province and the source of crops and goods unable to be found anywhere else. Along its rivers, vast quarries of stone in a dozen types and a hundred colours operate, shipping themselves overseas for the construction of vast public works. Nearly every estate or major city in the Empire has been made of Agacian marble and artists as far away as Aurelia refuse to carve in anything less. The city itself, carved in place from an old quarry, is known for producing the Empire's finest logisticians and bureaucrats, alongside a seemingly endless array of singers, poets and performers. This province remains hot year-round and only proximity to the Marmaro River makes it bearable

Emilia: A place far wealthier than its size would imply, Emilia is a province from which silk, pearls and other fine luxuries have been made—but more than that, it has long operated as a stopping point for trade between the other major imperial hubs—and most critically, as the meeting point for trade with outsiders. Except for diplomats, no free foreigner is permitted within any other province of the empire and from this monopoly, Emilia has extended a vast network of trade across parts of the world known only to the navigators and merchants of their guild and built the second-largest city in the empire. Its climate is warm year-round, never experiencing snow and only rarely suffering under the heat. Its westernmost island contains the Empire's only active volcano, from which a steady supply of Obsidian is produced.