aerathia

fantasy world-building project

[project-aerathia]

[project-aerathia]

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As her shattered heart spread throughout the lands,

Like scattered seeds upon the wind,

They took root in the lands and blossomed into new beings.

These numen,

The very essence of She herself,

Were to be instantly beloved by all upon the earth,

And as the first of them took shape,

The shadows approached her once again,

A dark smile upon their face.

"How do you like them?", the shadows asked,

Mischief playing among its tone,

But the emptiness that filled half her chest kept her from noticing the darkness in their grin.

"I have fashioned them after you. I hope you do not mind how I have used your heart. It was the only way to create them."

She only smiled, ever trusting and full of love.

"You have used it well, dear friend, for they are lovely beings.

"But... I must rest."

Having given up half of her own heart,

Weariness took hold of her for the first time in her existence.

"Of course," the shadows whispered eagerly.

"Rest well, friend.

"I shall be here when you awaken."

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And as the light fell into a deep slumber, the shadows overtook the lands . . .

[project-aerathia]

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Time passed, and the shadows grew restless.

Withering, aching, jealous things,

They desired things far beyond their reach,

To possess a light far too bright for them.

However, to do so would be to disappear, as a shadow is only cast

Where the light does not shine.

Still, the shadows could not exist without it, and so they both abhorred and adored the light.

An intense desire burned through them, to both possess and destroy this object of obsession.

And that included the one who contained the light itself.

And so the shadows asked,

"You have so much, and yet I have nothing.

"Will you not allow me something to call my own, a privilege you have given even those lesser than I?"

"You are not of my design," She replied. "And so I cannot give you the same as what has been inherited from me.

"However, I shall grant you half of my heart, the thing that gives me this power,

"And you will be able to create whatever it is that you desire."

"Then my first creation shall be a gift to you, my dearest friend."

The shadows smiled,

And her heart,

A piece of the stars,

Crumbled . . . .

. ○ ° . Scattering . ° ○ .

. ○ . ° ° . Into the winds . ○ ° . ° .

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And She grew tired . . .

[project-aerathia]

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She tried several times after that to recreate her world,

To better design and guide these creatures within it,

But it always

Ended

In flames.

So many beings, with so much power, somehow always turned towards destruction.

Even with more intelligence, they simply found ways to make the world burn faster.

And so, She started over with a new canvas.

A new design.

Her first creations of this new world were the dragons and the urai.

Dragons,

Creatures of power and intelligence meant to symbolize the ancient world,

And the Urai,

Beings of life and creativity, whose purpose was to bring peace and balance to this new one.

Together, they laid the foundations of life,

And for a time, they all lived in harmony.

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The shadows grew restless . . .

[project-aerathia]

This world has been reborn many times over . . .

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Descended from the stars,

She first found herself adrift in the ocean.

There, She crafted her first creations,

The very first stroke of her brush on this untouched canvas.

And once the waters were filled, She rose from its depths

And set foot upon the land.

Wherever She tread, life bloomed.

These were creatures of power and instinct,

Unable to comprehend the world around them beyond impulse.

She loved them,

And then the world burned.

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[tinypaint]

for mermay

[apsciencebylyn]

Any artists who like creating creatures and need inspiration from time to time, please feel free to peruse my bugs! I would be delighted.

For the record, encyrtid wasps are perfect creatures, and you may not have heard of them, because they're tiny, and wasps. But LOOK 🖤

Encyrtids are important biocontrol agents, pretty much always tiny (biggest one I've found is a few millimeters long), and the most ridiculous, goofy, gorgeous, harmless things. I will get people to love them.

[eyanin]

Seasonal bows 🌸🌿🍂❄️

[project-aerathia]

MAKILIAER

《 "the twisting air; mischievous wind" 》

the trickster god of mischief, messenger of misfortune, rogue child of the eclipse

[project-aerathia]

ENSIS

《 "the sword of the heavens" 》

the festive god of war, the lord of revelry, the bloody frenzy of battle

[project-aerathia]

CHESED

《 "the zeal of the stars" 》

the playful god of chaos, the mad god of games, the merrymaking of war

[winsaykophum]

How can you not love Subantarctic Giant Herbs?

[roach-works]

concept: elves are supernaturally good at everything ONLY because they live to be bonkers old and if you were hot and sexy for thousands of years you’d be kickass at archery and treeclimbing and horseback riding too. but like there’s 20 year old elves out there that are just straight dumbasses who can’t do shit.

concept: non-elves can’t tell the 20 year old elves apart from the 2000 year old elves

concept: there’s a 20 year old elf in your tavern and he’s counting on this 

[sheepgirlwizard-deactivated2025]

theres an elf who has gotten supernaturally skilled at bluffing and thats it, everyone thinks he can do all this amazing stuff but hes just hoping the charade never cracks

[dollunited]

[project-aerathia]

NEVRA VERA

《 "raven consumes the blossom of truth" 》

the goddess of wisdom, the mistress of magic, the keeper of arcane knowledge

[project-aerathia]

ANTASEPHION

《 "the boundless infinite darkness" 》

the infinite night that embraces the world, the space between the stars, the emptiness within dreams

[project-aerathia]

NENNECA

《 "the bold unceasing rival" 》

the shunned goddess of undeath, patron deity of necromancers, the arrogant false queen