Ulone Lore
The following doc will go into details of the continent of Ulone and its history, as recorded by Kaion the Chronicler.
In order, the sections are;
Before Separation (BS)
During Ulone (DU)
After Separation (AS)
Before Separation
// Lord Delivon, head of Clan Delivon beginning inscription
// Samni’s main chambers, 198 AS, third of day of the second Fall
How was Ulone formed? Where did the gods come from? Who is Ulone? What’s Levin? All wonderful questions. Come, listen to a story passed from my mother’s mother and was even told before that.
We don’t know much about what Ulone was before it was… well, Ulone. But we do know that it was a single continent and that Levin ruled over all of it. You and I were hardly twinkles in Levin’s great leaves when it started. It was said that the first races were that of Changelings, Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Orcs, and Yuan-Ti. For many years it was good. We had people harvesting the fields, making our mark, trading. I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories of where our heritage lies. But the damn Changelings, Gnomes, Elves and Orcs. It simply wasn’t good enough for them was it? They just had to ruin it all. Glad they’re gone.
As I’m sure you know, those four began to root evil in our fulfilling lives. Wanting more and more. So that’s when Levin had to take the evil from their twisted existences. But even Levin couldn’t deal with those freak shows. So Levin had to create Tieflings to offset that. Funnily enough the Tieflings were worse than the others and after years of suffering their existence, they waged war on us. The other four abominations following them. During that time Levin did their best to help us, creating new races to aid our defense. I believe this lasted… four hundred years? Don’t remember, give or take a decade or so. Obviously it wasn’t all fighting over the years, that’s just what the spoken word has said. Thankfully we had an ally on our side appear, Zahl, maestro of life and mistress of death. That had finally pushed the war in our favor, especially against the green skins.
// Lord Delivon, ending inscription
// Blessed be the great roots
During Ulone
// Lord Delivon, head of Clan Delivon, beginning inscription
//Samni’s main chambers, 199 AS, twentieth day of third Winter
Fifty years after Zahl’s appearance, Ulone was born. We know it was the first of Summer, the day has been debated for centuries so I won’t dare give my opinion. I’m sure the masses would tear me a new one.
On the same day he was born, a new god appeared. Wiboe, maiden of war and father of peace. Yet again another god on our side, yet the bastards didn’t relent. As Ulone grew up he was clearly shown to be a… unique man. He could lift boulders with a finger, wrestle a dragon, and even move mountains if he wanted. He was nothing less than a one man army and the war had never been easier. Then he just… disappeared one day. For about twenty years. The day he came back, two gods emerged with him. Kam-Zum, Seamstress of Earth and lord of wind. Then Mondli, the mistress of the sun and master of the moon. If you want my theory on what happened, I think he was fighting Yokai in their realm. No doubt the heretics were allied with him. I think that’s why he kept fighting for another year, maybe had some hope for them. Then I guess even the great Ulone couldn’t stand their disgraces any longer. So he separated a large portion of the land with his own hands and moved it away from the continent. Specifically the section with Levin on it as I’m sure you could deduce by Levin being here. Soon after he placed a barrier upon the land where none could get in. Now we’ve been safe for nearly three hundred years. We did have a few hundred heretics see the light of Levin before they left thankfully. But they’re gone now.
// Lord Delivon, ending transcription
// Blessed be the great branches
After Separation
// Lord Delivon, head of Clan Delivon, beginning transcription
// Samni’s main chambers, 201 AS, third day of the second Spring
After the continents separation, the birth of the Itanno, the disappearance of the Elves, the death of Ulone, and the disappearance of the Itanno, everything fell in line. I guess you could call it the first year of our age, what we mark as 1 AS. Ulone had three children. Samni, Yatari, and Ikcho. As Ulone got older he could no longer manage an entire continent, so his children took over, one for each region.Samni, the Quick Witted Son, he was always concerned with how the money flowed. Yatari, the Faithful Daughter, always launching into religious fervor. And Ikcho, the Daughter Who Could Craft the World Itself. So each region was named after the leaders and we followed their will. Of course Ulone made the samurai which were the absolute authority above all else… other than Levin of course. The disappearance of every Elf was quite a shock, but not an unwelcome one. They were bringers of chaos, nothing more. The real shock was the death of Ulone. We hadn’t even considered he could die based on how great he was… but alas. That was a little under two hundred years ago. About a hundred years later, the Itanno disappeared. We’ve had man hunts for them for the past hundred years and we’ve found absolutely nothing. So we’ve done our best to maintain what they left us. Thankfully the Sea Ronin have been helping. Ikcho has been stronger than ever, Yatari is forever burning with religious fervor, and trade has never been more decadent here. But… with the rising dragons and some dragon cult, the increased, supposedly, yokai attacks, and potential sightings of Oni… I’m becoming worried. Shouldn’t you do something about that?
// Lord Delivon, head of Clan Delivon requesting intervention
// Blessed be the mother leaves
Samni is located in the middle of the continent. Trade is the main factor of the economy here and is often considered the richest region. It’s not uncommon to see common folk with silk clothing and having the pocket change to hire Sea Ronin. They hold almost every festival, big or small.
Ikcho is often hailed as the land of creativity and is easily a hundred years ahead of every other region due to the creations they keep for themselves. They are responsible for almost every non rudimentary item or structure you see.
Yatari is known as the region whose worship can be felt from miles away. They are undying to their gods and will use their religious fervor to harness magic. This is where most if not all shrine maidens come from. Some may call them fanatics to the missing Yatari or the gods themselves, but to claim they are ineffective in their ways is unfounded as you can see a shrine maiden in almost every town even outside Yatari.
The largest mountain range in Ulone. It separates the land of leaves from the rest of the region. It’s mostly uninhabited other than non Heili dragons (Your standard European dragon), rumors of what should be long extinct Oni, and cult of the Helix dragons at the base.
Named after the leaves that fall on the ground from the great Levin. Levin resides in the middle of this region and can even be seen over the whistling mountains. This is where the Samurai train fledglings and grant them their rights as rulers. Only the highest of nobility, and those who would become samurai are allowed to traverse on this golden land.
While not necessarily a region itself, it is found in almost every region. The Taor are ancient ruins said to have existed before the war. No one knows who their inhabitants were, but some theorize they were much more advanced given that the stone that make these ruins have never been broken. Be that from human attempts and natural phenomena. Taor ruins are restricted to everyone other than the leaders of the region. Anyone else found trespassing will be given punishment.
The name leaves no room for subtlety. They are crafters from Ikcho, often traveling to sell a new creation either of their own making, or an independent crafting organizations tool. Most are traders, but some are more than willing to pull out their tools and fight with them.
Despite their name, not every shrine maiden is a woman. Shrine Maidens are worshippers of gods that tend to shrines of their chosen god. They often control the nature and elemental energies around them making them more than a shrine tender but also a guardian.
The Sea Ronin are often warriors who didn’t make the cut for Samurai but are still more than capable monster hunters and bounty hunters. They get their name by their ability to control water and use it as a tool for battle. A sea ronin can be the warrior that saves your life, village, or more. For a price.
The Samurai are the main bringers of law to the land. They are well known by their armor and the mask of a demon they have tamed around their waist that they use in full control. It is seen as rude or even heresy to not address one as ‘Lord’ or ‘Lady’ as they have been granted power by the great Levin themselves. A Samurai’s word is final, and if that fails, its blade is truly the finale.
While not a true faction as they are recognized as a cult and are very small, the Helix dragons worship the Heili dragons and hunt the non divine dragons. Due to the dragons being a plague across the land, they take it upon themselves to kill it and feast on its flesh and bones. Some even claim that the more major parts of the dragon can alter their body giving them strange abilities. But they are all unfounded.
The pantheon consists of 5 gods, 4 of them having dual gendered depictions that represent a different domain. Any domain unlisted is assumed to be under Levin themselves.
Mondli
Female counterpart: Sun
Male counterpart: Moon
Zahl
Female counterpart: Death
Male counterpart: Life
Wiboe
Female counterpart: War
Male counterpart: Peace
Kam-Zum
Female counterpart: Earth
Male counterpart: Wind
The following is the list of races that currently exist in Ulone. Some of them are not races but rather a large generalized group.
The most common species in Ulone, therefore most samurai and higher individuals are human. Overall they have a very neutral standing with people as they never did anything world changing in the war.
The second most common race. However unlike humans they are often revered due to simply being the same race as Ulone. They might even get a pass for not addressing a samurai as ‘lord’ or ‘lady’.
The last of the common races and have a general attracting aura around them. They are quick to make friends, possibly because their scales resemble that of the Heili dragon’s. But make no mistake, they were seen as one of, if not the greatest fighters in the war.
The start of the less common races, half elves are spared persecution due to their ancestors switching sides in the Great War. But they are on a very thin line. It’s not uncommon for them to be refused service. Just penance for their ancestors' actions.
One of the newer races, it is said that Levin took the holy parts of the Dwarves to create a new race fit. These are rather uncommon but often have kind souls and generally fit right in with Dwarves.
Said to be an offshoot of the Yuan-Ti, Dragonborn are incredibly rare and are rumored to be fallen scales from the Heili dragons. No one has confirmed if this is true, but as of right now, it’s treated as fact.
Also known as ‘Noyona’, they are a race of felines, sometimes having only cat eyes and other times looking entirely like a cat. They are the oldest of the more uncommon races as it is said that Ulone created them. There are even some rumors that one was his wife.
While hailing from the sea, they are not all necessarily sea ronin but do come with the innate power to command water and are the one race aside from Yuan-ti that are given the magical exemption. They are the youngest of the new races and it’s not rare to see one as a bodyguard.
This name is given to the mutant races or ones that naturally have magic, excluding Yuan-ti and Triton,
They are also known as the ‘slave race’ or ‘Marked’ as they are property for the superior races. Ink is cast on their face to mark them, removal of this brand carries the possibility of death as poison can leak into veins. Buying a new bearer is commonplace, but the bearers who are able to fight cost quite a good amount.
Attempting to remove their brand is punishable by death for the bearer and anyone involved.
Similar to bearers, the Tekina are born magical but are given special privileges as it is said that the power of Ulone or one of his children flows through them.
“And behold, eight wardens of my power. Fire, Earth, Water, Ice, Light, Darkness, Wind, and Lightning.” -Ulone, champion of Levin
The Tekina are often assumed to be warriors of great renown, some even being able to turn into large creatures known as ‘Aikons’. Some speculate that these Aikon’s are the Heili dragons, but they are only rumors.
Current known Aikons:
Tengu: The breath of wind
Orochi: The Lord of Lightning
Ryu: The Flying flame
Yuki-onna: The Warden of Ice
Namazu: The lost
Tsuchigomo: The Earthshaker
Amanozako: The eversetting
Komyoryu: The blinding