The World of Tarenholm
Welcome to the World of Tarenholm
You stand at the window of the mystic's study, your hands resting on the stone ledge as you look outside at the city before you. In the distance, a large castle keep looms over the soot-dusted streets of Rowandale here in Ashmore. You watch as a coal-dusted wagon rumbles over the cobblestones, making its way towards the warehouses and coal-dusted factories. It is the same sight you would expect to see at any of the four other provinces spread across Tarenholm, from Greenwater and Calderonne to Ironside and Devonshire, though none are quite as expansive as what is seen here at the realm’s capital. These grand cities have become bastions of civilization over the last few years, as the mechanical age has only recently arrived in this land where mysticism once reigned supreme. Tarenholm is now industrializing, and is a place of both steamworks and spells, of science and the arcane. Tarenholm has become a land where both machines and magic coexisted.
For generations, there have been certain inhabitants of the continent of Tarenholm—known as airweavers—who have been gifted with the ability to manipulate the magical mysticka energy that permeates the very air around everyone. These mindweavers have been both revered and feared by the rest of the population throughout Tarenholm's history. For some, they are a source of entertainment, with many visiting mindweavers in their shops along cobblestone streets to get insights into their innermost thoughts or even glimpses of their futures. For most, however, they are not a cause for awe nor concern, and simply a fact of life. The presence of mysticka has been a constant facet of everyone’s life, even for those who are unable to harness it. Mysticka can’t be used to conjure fireballs or control lightning bolts, or even to move objects through telekinesis. These weavers can indeed be powerful, but they make up only a small portion of the population. Only one in three residents of Tarenholm even has the potential for magic, while only half of those have gone on to realize their talents and gone on to become mindweavers.
But now, as the provinces of Tarenholm become more and more technologically advanced with the advent of the steam engine, mindweaving is being thrust into the spotlight as well. However, after an attack on Lord Brookhaven of Ashmore by a small band of rogue mindweavers, the High Council of Tarenholm has declared mindweaving illegal. The High Council's decision forced practicing mindweavers to go into hiding and study in secret, despite most of them having no malevolent intentions with their magic.
The realm of Tarenholm is divided into five provinces, which were once five sovereign kingdoms that came together to keep from exploding into all-out war. These five provinces are governed by the High Council, made up of the leaders from these five provinces and make up the ruling majority.
The Provinces of tarenholm
Ashmore
The largest province and unofficial capitol of all of Tarenholm.
Ashmore is the largest of the provinces by both population and by economic strength, and is widely viewed in many ways as the capitol of all of Tarenholm. While Ashmore is the most financially powerful province, it is not as technologically-advanced as neighboring Greenwater. The leader of Ashmore is Lady Violet Brookhaven, a member of the Four Families and wife of the late Tobias Brookhaven, who was slain by Sebastian Dukes. It was Ashmore's position as the top province that made it a target for the attack orchestrated by Sylas Rhykolt that sparked the war on weavers.
Vaenta: The Magic Of the realm
Vaenta is the magical energy in the air, an element no different than heat or electricity. Those who can channel this flow of this mystical energy and manipulate it are known as vaentaweavers. This vaentaweaving manifests itself in a variety of ways, from moving objects and reading auras to bewitching the mind and seeing the unseen. Weavers may go by a number different titles depending on their particular set of magical skills. The residents of Tarenholm who don't possess the ability to channel vaenta are known as sansfolk.
There are four recognized classes of techniques for channeling vaenta, though not all abilities can be channeled by every weaver. Even among those who can perform the various techniques there is a range of degrees to which they can be channeled. While the specific names would be changed by later mystics, the Opus Mysticka defined these techniques that would hold true for generations into their four classes. These classes of manifestations require different levels of skill to master. While many weavers have a particular school that they are most proficient at, most will study several if not all classes to diversify their abilities.
The term "casting spells" is an outdated reference among weavers as it implies the creation of magic out of nothing, whereas modern weavers understand that vaenta is omnipresent and is merely being channeled through these various techniques.
Vaenturgy
Believed to be the foundation of weaving, vaenturgy is the sensing of the vaenta energy in the air to read the auras and emanations given off by people. Advanced vaenturgists are so attuned to this energy that they can locate others in complete darkness, relying only on the minute changes to the flow of vaenta, like a spider sensing prey caught in a web. Some vaenturgists specialize in the detection and reading of spikes in emanations associated with the channeling of vaenta. Some vaenturgists have been employed by authorities to help with cases involving weavers.
Emanations
Emanations, a shimmering in the air, is often visible around the weaver when vaenta is being channeled. Because emanations are the result of interacting with the flow of vaenta, emanations are actually given off in minute, imperceptible amounts by all people at all times. These slight auras of emanations, however, are so subtle that they can only be seen and read by trained weavers. Auramancy is the ability to read the emanations given off by other people, even if they haven't channeled vaenta. Because all people, weavers and sansfolk alike, still are surrounded by the vaenta energy, everyone has an aura that can be read.
Conveyance
The ability to channel the flow of vaenta to move other objects. These physical channelings are popular among aspiring mancers but are also commonly cited by those opposed to weaving as dangerous. Originally believed to be a form of telekinesis, vaentamancy doesn't allow the weaver to manipulate objects directly but rather the flow of vaenta energy around them. If channeled strongly enough, these flows of vaenta can become concussive forces to knock objects or people around. Weavers adept at conveyance channeling techniques are often referred to as vaentamancers.
Scrapshot
While it's not commonly carried by weavers, save for bandits and coincoats, small bags of sharp metal pieces called scrapshot can be hurled at enemies by the handful and directed through vaentamancy. However, due to the lack of precision it is unlikely that a weaver would resort to using scrapshot on a single target or in a situation where collateral damage would be too risky.
LUMINESCENCE
The ability to manipulate vaenta into the properties of other energy, giving off light or heat. Represented by a circle with a line through it to symbolize the glow of vaenta energy.
MANIFESTATION
The ability to solifidy vaenta energy to create concussive forces and barriers. The size and density of the barrier depends on the skill of the weaver.
The LAnd of tarenholm
The Alma Sea
The continent of Tarenholm is entirely surrounded by the vast Alma Sea. This expansive body of water was crucial for the early inhabitants of the realm, who established some of the first fisheries in what is now Greenwater. Even today, Greenwater’s capitol of High Harbor is home to the largest port of sea trade and travel in the provinces.
The Farlands
The Farlands are wastelands beyond the Calder Mountains and the borders of the provinces. There are no governing bodies and few, if any, villages as the inhabitants are made up primarily of those exiled or fleeing from the provinces. The few that have left civilized life behind to venture out into the Farlands know that doing so meant leaving behind the amenities of modern living that the provinces provide.
The Calder Mountains
A massive mountain range that splits the continent of Tarenholm into the provinces to the southeast and the Farlands to the northwest. The mountains are dangerous and so impassable that the majority of civilization has not ventured beyond them. Only the Lake of the Sentinels in Devonshire offers safe passage into the Farlands. The dangerous mountain terrain coupled with the poor soil quality west of the mountains have made settling there nearly impossible.
The Black Fist Mountains
A range of five mountains separate from the vast Calder Mountains, the Black Fist Mountains were given their name for the five peaks resembling the fingers of a hand and the dark color of the mountains themselves. These mountains were rich in iron ore, and the small mining town that took advantage of its riches went on to become the kingdom of Ironside, paying homage to the mountains that gave it its economic strength in its earliest days.
Lake of the Sentinels
A large lake that can be accessed through a small break in the Calder Mountains. The border between Devonshire and the lake's eastern shore are flanked by two tall mountains called The Sentinels that make going around the lake impossible. The lake allows for the only safe passage from Tarenholm into the Farlands.
The Great Vine River
Winding its way from the Black Fist mountains through Ironside and Ashmore before emptying into the Alma Sea, the Great Vine River was key in helping settlers thrive in the early days of Tarenholm. Rowandale, the capitol of Ashmore and the largest city in the realm, relied on the mighty river and its abundant fish and fresh water.