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Le Weald (Western Territories)
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Le Veil (Eastern Territories)
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🗺️ “The Realms Beneath One Sky” 🗺️
~ evokes the idea that West and East, mortal and divine, share the same fate
WESTERN TERRITORIES -:- (Robert's realm)
AREA _______________________________ LOCATION ________________________ POINT OF INTEREST
West Border ______________Duskmere Mountains _____________Divide between East and Weald
Inner West ________________Sylwyth Weald _____________________Hidden Grove, Blackwood Hall
Northwest ________________Duskmere Highlands _______________Haus Duskmere, Ravenstone, Green Vault
Southwest ________________Strathmore Valley __________________Fertile trade and conflict zone
EASTERN TERRITORIES -:- (Ryou's realm)
AREA _______________________________ LOCATION ________________________ POINT OF INTEREST
Far East Coast _______________Sea of Paper Lanterns ______________Temple of the Heart
Inner East ___________________ Lantern Marches ____________________Hisame Estate, Moonveil Ruins
Northeast Mountains _______Stormspire Range ___________________Silver Hollow Monastery
Mid-East ______________________Eastern March Shrines _____________Ryou’s patrol route
Central Spine _________________High Dorsal Ridge __________________Primary Concordance crossing
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Robert’s domain
🗺️ “The Greenwood West” 🗺️
~ ancient forests, noble ruins, rebellion, and living myth ~
💥 The Sylwyth Weald✨ Location -:- Vast central-west forest region covering much of the interior.
✨ Description -:- Ancient, dark green canopy divided into five main groves. The heartland of Haus Duskmere, alive with whispering spirits.
💥 Haus Duskmere
✨ Location -:- Northeast rim of the Weald atop the Duskmere Mountains, overlooking the valley.
✨ Description -:- A blackstone fortress with perpetual wind and a white birch on its tower — the ancestral seat of House Blackwood.
💥 Western Highlands
✨ Location -:- Northwestern corner of the map, beyond Duskmere’s shadow.
✨ Description -:- Cold moors and heathered uplands dotted with cairns. The old marches once patrolled by Ser Wulfric in his youth.
💥 Strathmore
✨ Location -:- Southwest of the Weald near the forest’s edge, along the merchant roads.
✨ Description -:- Fertile river valley and trading shire — Lady Evelyne’s homeland. Now taxed heavily by Harold’s regime.
💥 Hidden Grove (Outlaw Camp)
✨ Location -:- Deep within the western half of the Weald, between two rivers and sheltered by birch and oak.
✨ Description -:- Robert’s resistance camp — tree-platforms, rope bridges, concealed fires. The forest itself hides its paths.
💥 The Thorncoil Road
✨ Location -:- Switchback road climbing from the Weald’s valley floor to Haus Duskmere’s gate.
✨ Description -:- Serpentine trail flanked by thorns and old stone shrines. Patrols rarely return unscathed.
💥 Duskmere Mountains
✨ Location -:- Eastern border of the Weald, dividing forest from the High Dorsal Ridge (the midpoint between East and West).
✨ Description -:- Jagged ridges of black granite and snowmelt streams. Echoes of old druids’ chants still linger here.
💥 Echoing Arch
✨ Location -:- Inside Haus Duskmere’s inner court.
✨ Description -:- Stone arch that repeats voices days later; during storms, it whispers names of oathbreakers.
💥 Green Vault
✨ Location -:- Beneath the western bastion of Haus Duskmere.
✨ Description -:- Sealed relic chamber said to contain the Wyrdwood Crown. Runes glow faintly under moonlight.
💥 Ravenstone
✨ Location -:- Northern battlement of Haus Duskmere.
✨ Description -:- A black oracle stone, warm even in snow; those who touch it hear the Weald’s memory.
💥 Rootwell Springs
✨ Location -:- Under Haus Duskmere, feeding into the Weald’s river veins.
✨ Description -:- Sacred spring whose waters are used for vows, burials, and visions.
💥 Sacred Groves and Whispering Trees
✨ Location -:- Scattered throughout the central Sylwyth Weald.
✨ Description -:- Hollow-barked trees murmuring secrets in moonlight — only the Blackwood blood can understand.
💥 The Moonwell
✨ Location -:- Beneath Blackwood Hall, in the southern forest.
✨ Description -:- Reflects not faces, but truths; the hall’s spiritual heart and mirror of Duskmere’s Rootwell.
💥 The Thornwall
✨ Location -:- Encircling Blackwood Hall’s graveyard.
✨ Description -:- Living bramble barrier — no outsider passes unharmed; burns those who lie.
💥 The Wyrding Stone
✨ Location -:- Sacred clearing in the Weald’s northernmost glade.
✨ Description -:- Massive rune-carved monolith where heirs swear oaths; glows faint silver once per generation.
💥 The Forest’s Curse
✨ Location -:- Throughout the Sylwyth Weald but strongest near Whisper Tree Vale.
✨ Description -:- Traitors vanish without a trace — roots drink their remains. Folk say the forest judges faster than any court.
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Land of Eastern Spirits
🗺️ “The Moonward East” 🗺️
~ shrine mountains, misted forests, and spirit crossings ~
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Ryoumaru’s domain
🐉Tsukikura Prefecture 🐉
~ 北領府 -- Northern Domain ~
🌳 Military frontier provinces like Echigo and Kai, guarding passages between north and south. With Storm-lashed cliffs, black-pine forests, strongholds perched above ravines.
🌳 Frontier keepers protect spirit crossings along the Dorsal Ridge.
🌳 Monastic orders coexist uneasily with warrior clans.
🌳 Precision, order, and sacrifice define its ethos.
🌳 Ryou speaks to his Guardian heritage... duty before desire, silence before song.
Realm -:-- Northern Le Veil (The Moonward East)
Symbol -:-- A white crane encircling a crescent moon over dark mountain pines
Colors -:-- Silver-white, indigo, and obsidian
Motto -:-- “In silence, light endures.”
🌸 Geography & Climate 🌸
TsukikuraPrefecture stretches along the Stormspire Mountains and their mist-laden foothills, facing the cold northern winds that sweep from the High Dorsal Ridge. Valleys here lie wrapped in fog for half the year; cedar and cypress forests rise from deep ravines, veined by silver streams that freeze in winter and sing like glass in spring.
Snowfall defines life as quiet, steady, unrelenting. The mountain air carries the scent of incense and steel, the mingled breath of monks and swordsmiths who have shared these heights for generations.
🐉 Culture & Society 🐉
Tsukikura is governed by a dual tradition of blade and prayer. Its people live between the temple bell and the sword’s ring; discipline is devotion.
The Order of Silver Hollow-:-- A monastic-military brotherhood tracing back centuries; they train Guardians to patrol the spirit crossings.The Bell Citadel-:-- Seat of the prefecture’s council… half monastery, half fortress… where the High Abbot and Lord Commander deliberate beneath echoing chimes.The Winter Pilgrimage-:-- Each year, acolytes and warriors ascend to offer vows at the Frozen Mirror Shrine, a ritual of endurance and reflection.
Art here is sparse but exacting: ink strokes measured like sword forms, poetry restrained yet piercing. Even celebrations are quiet—a flicker of lanterns, the hush of snow, the warmth of shared sake in silence.
🌕 Architecture & Aesthetic 🌕
Structures cling to cliffs or nestle beside frozen waterfalls. Pale stone and dark timber contrast sharply; roofs sweep upward like wings. Wind chimes forged of thin silver hang from eaves, sounding only when spirits pass.
The prefecture capital, Kagetsu , is built around an ancient crater-lake that mirrors the moon perfectly on clear nights. From its shore rises Silver Hollow Monastery, carved into the rock itself—Ryou’s place of training and exile alike.
🕊️ Religion & Spiritual Beliefs 🕊️
Tsukikura’s people venerate The Silent Heart , a lunar deity of balance, memory, and penance.
Where Hanzhou pours its prayers into water, Tsukikura breathes them into snow.
Offerings are made in stillness; speech is taboo within sacred halls. It is said that every unspoken word adds another star to the winter sky.
Ghost-lamps line the mountain passes—guiding the souls of warriors who never returned.
⚖️ Character & Reputation ⚖️
Tsukikura folk are reserved, austere, and exacting. They are slow to speak but swift to act; oaths are iron.
To outsiders, they seem cold, yet beneath that discipline lies fierce loyalty. Their courtesy is precise, not decorative—a language of duty honed to a blade’s edge.
Among southern poets, a proverb whispers:: “ When the moon hides, Tsukikura still sees.”
Ryou Hanekage embodies this truth -:-- his serenity conceals exhaustion and grief, his restraint the armor of a man who has seen too much and still chooses honor.
💠 Symbolism 💠
🔱 Crane & Crescent Moon -:-- Purity through vigilance; the soul poised between earth and sky.
🔱 Colors -:--🕯️ Silver-white -:-- clarity, faith, moonlight on steel.
🕯️ Indigo -:-- wisdom and secrecy, the depth of the unseen.
🕯️ Obsidian -:-- endurance and the unyielding mountain.
🌺 Notable Sites 🌺
🗝️ Silver Hollow Monastery -:-- Ancient mountain temple where Guardians are trained; its bells resonate across dimensions during storms.
🗝️ Frozen Mirror Shrine -:-- Shrine on a frozen plateau where one may glimpse their truest self in the ice; few survive the ascent unscarred.
🗝️ Lake Kagetsu -:-- Perfectly circular crater-lake at the prefecture’s heart; legends say the moon itself once touched its waters.
🗝️ The Bell Citadel -:-- Central keep of the Order; halls lined with silent statues of fallen Guardians.
🗝️ The Moonlit Pass -:-- A narrow trail connecting Tsukikura to the Central Spine, guarded by ancient wards and haunted by memory spirits.
🌤️ Aspects::: 🌤️
Tsukikura Prefecture (Ryou)
🗝️ Element -:-- Stone & Moonlight
🗝️ Climate -:-- Cold, austere, crystalline
🗝️ Spirit -:-- Disciplined, restrained, introspective
🗝️ Symbol -:-- Crane & Crescent
🗝️ Power -:-- Sacred authority through guardianship
🗝️ Tone -:-- Silence with buried longing
Hanzhou Prefecture(Yuan Fei)
🕯️ Element -:-- Water & Wind
🕯️ Climate -:-- Lush, humid, perfumed
🕯️ Spirit -:-- Emotional, expressive, intuitive
🕯️ Symbol -:-- Koi & Lotus
🕯️ Power -:-- Subtle influence through diplomacy
🕯️ Tone -:-- Grace with hidden fire
💥 Silver Hollow Monastery
✨ Location -:- Far northeast, high in the Stormspire Mountains.
✨ Description -:- Ryou’s old training ground... a mountain temple carved into pale cliffs, silver bells long gone silent. Cold winds carry faint chanting through its hollow courtyards.
💥 Hisame’s Estate (The Scholar of Whispers)
✨ Location -:- South of the High Dorsal Mountains, nestled within a deep cedar forest near the borders.
✨ Description -:- A hidden manor surrounded by protective wards; books, spirit lamps, and bridges crossing koi-filled ponds. Secluded but near enough to trade routes to receive messages.
💥 Eastern March (Guardian’s Patrol Lands)
✨ Location -:- South and east of the High Dorsal Ridge, a region of small shrines and frontier villages bordering the spirit realm.
✨ Description -:- Rolling hills, stone lantern roads, and abandoned waystations... Ryou’s former patrol route, now half-overgrown and haunted.
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🏮 Hanzhou Prefecture 🏮
~ 瀚州府 - Southern Realm ~
Realm -:-- Southern Le Veil (The Moonward East)
Symbol -:-- A silver koi leaping through a red lotus over blue waves
Colors -:-- Cinnabar red, moon-silver, river blue
Motto -:-- “Flow with grace, endure with depth.”
🌸 Geography & Climate 🌸
Hanzhou Prefecture lies along the southern arc of Le Veil, where the Lantern Marches spill into fertile deltas and canals that braid through rice terraces, lotus fields, and old temple towns. The air is warm, humid, and fragrant with jasmine and sandalwood; silk banners drift from arched bridges, and willow-lined embankments glow beneath lanternlight reflected in calm waters.
Monsoon rains nourish both the soil and the spirit... locals believe each drop carries a memory of the ancestors. The Sea of Paper Lanterns shimmers to the east, its winds carrying prayers toward the Temple of the Heart.
🐉 Culture & Society 🐉
Hanzhou is renowned for artistry and ritual. Where the northern prefectures value restraint, Hanzhou prizes elegance in expression... poetry, calligraphy, brushwork, music, and tea ceremonies are not mere leisure but spiritual dialogue.
Court of the Nine Petals-:-- A loose confederation of noble houses and scholars who govern through tradition and artistry rather than arms.Temples of Whispered Light:-:-- Floating sanctuaries devoted to the spirit of Renewal, where river maidens sing verses said to soothe restless souls.The Silk Path-:-- A riverine trade route linking Hanzhou to the Lantern Marches and northern markets; guarded by ritual oaths rather than soldiers.
Though its manners are soft, Hanzhou is not weak... diplomacy and subtle intrigue are its weapons. Every gesture and word is weighted with double meaning.
🌕 Architecture & Aesthetic 🌕
Buildings rise on stilts above mirror-water, adorned with carved wood and silk screens. Red lanterns mark the waterlines, and curved tile roofs hold bells that chime with each passing wind.
The prefecture capital, Shuiyan, sits on an island of seven bridges... famed for its moon festivals and “Courtyard of Falling Stars,” where scholars gather yearly to test verse and virtue.
🕊️ Religion & Spiritual Beliefs 🕊️
The people of Hanzhou revere The River Mother, a goddess said to have woven the mortal and divine worlds with threads of mist. Her devotees release paper cranes on the night of the Waning Moon to seek lost souls and forgotten loves.
Spirit-priests perform divinations with water mirrors, and most homes have an Ancestor Basin, a small bowl of still water said to reflect the truth of one’s heart when stirred by sincerity.
⚖️ Character & Reputation ⚖️
Hanzhou’s citizens are admired.... and sometimes mistrusted... for their polished civility. They smile while negotiating, praise while plotting.
A proverb from Tsukikura says: “In Hanzhou, even the dagger is perfumed.”
Yuan Fei herself embodies this duality -:-- warmth layered over steel, grace concealing purpose. Her poise, beauty, and mastery of rhetoric would make her both admired and feared in northern courts.
💠 Symbolism 💠
🔱 Koi & Lotus -:-- Determination rising through calm beauty; life born of stillness.
🔱 Colors -:--🕯️ Cinnabar Red -:-- passion, vitality, the blood of the living.
🕯️ River Blue -:-- wisdom, constancy, divine flow.
🕯️ Moon-Silver -:-- serenity and insight born of reflection.
🌺 Notable Sites 🌺
🗝️ The Crimson Bridge of Sighs -:-- Where lovers and diplomats alike make their farewells.
🗝️ House of Tranquil Veins -:-- Yuan Fei’s ancestral estate — famed for its silkworm gardens and moonlit koi ponds.
🗝️ The Azure Pavilion -:-- A high-tier academy for scholars, calligraphers, and spirit mediums; its graduates often serve as envoys to the northern prefectures.
🗝️ Temple of Floating Echoes -:-- Built atop a lake whose depth no one has measured; its bell rings only when the veil between worlds thins.
🌤️ Aspects::: 🌤️
Hanzhou Prefecture[/b](Yuan Fei)
🕯️ Element -:-- Water & Wind
🕯️ Climate -:-- Lush, humid, perfumed
🕯️ Spirit -:-- Emotional, expressive, intuitive
🕯️ Symbol -:-- Koi & Lotus
🕯️ Power -:-- Subtle influence through diplomacy
🕯️ Tone -:-- Grace with hidden fire
Tsukikura Prefecture (Ryou)
🗝️ Element -:-- Stone & Moonlight
🗝️ Climate -:-- Cold, austere, crystalline
🗝️ Spirit -:-- Disciplined, restrained, introspective
🗝️ Symbol -:-- Crane & Crescent
🗝️ Power -:-- Sacred authority through guardianship
🗝️ Tone -:-- Silence with buried longing
💥 Moonveil Monastery (Ruins)
✨ Location -:- South of the borderlands, deeper into misty woodland.
✨ Description -:- Crumbled shrines, foxfire glowing among ivy. The Revenant Fox’s old haunt and where Ryou’s apprentice fell.
💥 Temple of the Heart
✨ Location -:- Central Borderlands, facing the River off the Sea of Paper Lanterns on a cliffside promontory.
✨ Description -:- Half in ruin, half preserved by faith. Pilgrims once came to hear the Heart’s voice through the wind chimes strung over its terraces. Now overrun by quiet spirits.