“The world of Remnant has been split up into 4 kingdoms: Vacuo, Vale, Mistral and Atlas. Though there are multiple civilizations across the world, these four civilizations have garnered enough respect and recognition from each other to declare themselves fully fledged kingdoms. Though Menagerie claims to be the 5th kingdom, the other kingdoms have not acknowledged their claims.” - SpellRecords.org/Kingdoms
With the discovery of Dust and the powers it holds, along with the training and creation of Semblances, the world of Remnant almost entirely rocketed forth into the tentatively named ‘Age of Dust.’ An age of seeming modern design, it both carries the mysticism of magic combined with the invention of technology. Scrolls, for example; Powered by an Electric Dust Battery and using Atlas hand-me-down tech, the Scroll is possibly the most important piece of technology in the world. Resembling a flip phone, a Scroll is able to do many things even some computers in Vale couldn’t. Keep track of time, allow for long distance communication, take photos, and, with newer models, even allow for displaying of Aura levels within an individual. While the rest of the world has the older models, Atlas supposedly has models that are not only way more powerful, but use Hard Light Technology to allow for easier carrying.
But, enough about Scrolls. The world of Remnant is much more fascinating than a simple communications device; For example, Atlas, and it’s formerly known name, Mantle. Long, long ago, when Dust was beginning to be first mined and shipped out to the rest of the world, the lower classes of Mantle noticed a key component. That, while they were risking life and limb to go into the dangerous mines and dig up highly unstable dust, the Trading Companies of Dust were only sitting back and getting richer and richer. Discontent begin to build up amongst the people. Talks of a vicious class war were brewing, and the Trading Companies were quick to catch on. They began to hire more and more body guards, and, before long, they began to pay off the local law enforcement in the town, the Knights to the King. Of course, this reached a boiling point when the Krystall Family, owner of Krystall Dust Refinery, had their body guards open fire on a protest outside one of their plants. Riots cropped up across the city, something even the King couldn’t handle; It wasn’t long before the monarchy was dethroned, and the Oligopoly was next. All seemed fire for the trading companies, until a single figure united them all. Hagel Eis Schnee, founder of the Schnee Dust Company proposed a simple, if brilliant idea. If they could not escape to the north, to the south, to the east or west... Then why not escape to the one direction the commoners could not? Up. After a few months of preparation and secrecy, the nation of Atlas was formed. A floating nation, stationed above the slums that are Mantle, held up by Gravity Dust. Formed from the 30 Families that formed the 30 Dust Trading Companies, Hagel Schnee was elected as the Council Head, and thus began the prestigious legacy of the Schnee family. With their money and materials, Atlas soon became a technological haven, almost semi-cut off from the world. All the while, Mantle, it’s former half, toils in the trenches to support the more well off that loom above them.
Next up is Mistral. An ancient civilization, Mistral got its start back when humanity first discovered Aura. It was said that when the people of Mistral began to apply Aura to their tools, the cliffside kingdom of Mistral truly began. Carving into solid stone, Mistralians sought refuge from the highly vicious Myrmecoleon Grimm of the ground, and the Winged Anzu from the sky; But, most terrifiying of them all was the Multi-headed Draconic Grimm simply known as ‘Tiamat.’ Carving into solid stone, the workers of Mistral faced death at any moment, but trekked on, knowing that while they may not be safe, nor their kids, their grand children and their children could be safe from the Grimm Threat. It took over a thousand years, but, eventually, the great ‘Jak-daran’, Mistrali for ‘Stone City,’ was complete. Culturally rich and almost impossible to invade due to all the choke points and the fact that it’s carved within a mountain, the Jak-daran has earned many nicknames around the world. ‘The Impossible City,’ ‘Mountain Fortress,’ ‘No-Entry Kingdom.’ However, due to it’s nature, Mistral is the least known city due to it’s highly secluded nature. Which, as you may expect, infuriates Atlas due to the potential Dust Rich resources they’re practically sitting upon.
Third on the list is Vacuo. Located in the desertous regions of Sanus, Vacuo had it’s beginnings as a Refugee nation for Faunus who escaped persecution. At first, the kingdom was little more than a few tribal camps that migrated time to time based on the movement of water and rain charts. Of course, the united mindsets of equality amongst Faunus and Man sparked an agreement between the 5 Tribes. Soon, the nation of Vacuo was created, a kingdom that preached equality for all, no matter your nationality or race. However, the smell of dust rich lands and a weak nation enticed the eyes of Atlas and Vale, who, in agreeance, declared a Casus Belli for ‘hoarding resources from the world for dangerous weapons,’ and won after a crushing defeat from Vacuo held a hearing with the king of Vacuo. After a long and drawn out talk, Vacuo agreed to open up their lands to Vale and Atlas, who took the opportunity wholeheartedly, establishing Colonies around the weakened nation. A few hundred years later, the kingdoms apologized and withdrew from Sanus, allowing Vacuo to slowly but surely incorporated the Colonies into it’s Kingdom, but the damage had been done. Many cultural items were either destroyed or taken due to [Data Redacted] and the Faunus Population had gone down by [Data Redacted].
And, last but not least is Vale, home to the prestigious Beacon Academy. Beacon Academy has been voted as #3 Worldwide as ‘Best Academy,’ under the two Academies located within Atlas: Olympia Academy, a Boys Only school, and Venus Academia, a Girls Only school. Other than Beacon Academy, Vale is a very ‘homely’ sort of kingdom. Made from simply brick and mortar, it combines Medieval Aesthetics with Futuristic tech such as street lamps and automobiles. Out of all of the Kingdoms, it takes the most influence from Atlas, as well as it’s ideals on Faunus-Human Relations, the demonization of White Fang, and the constant need to improve technologically. While it’s been measured that most people don’t agree with these ideals, the ones that do are those higher on the power ladder. Vale is ruled by a Congregation, each one holding no more power over the other than themselves. Another interesting fact of Vale is that it’s apparently fairly dense with Hunters seeking work, though this could be attributed to the fact that Vale rests on one of the biggest continents in Remnant. Lot of land means a lot of Grimm, and a lot of Grimm means bigger pay out. However, there’s one Grimm that no one dares cross. Zmey Gorynych, the hive mother of central Sanus. An intimidating Three Headed Dragon, Zmey’s greatest ability is not it’s power or it’s ability to regenerate... No. It’s its intelligence.