Blood Upon the Altar | Building Elidone | Countries: Edhel
Edhel
the forsaken lands
Government | Dukedom, Totalitarian?
Capital | Pirivik
Motto | In Unity, We Thrive
Status | Occupied
Symbol & Colors | Lynx, Purple & Blue
Climate | Freezing, long winters & mild summers
Animals | Rabbits, coyotes, foxes, lynx
Characters from Edhel | Aston, Aleksandra, Sariel
Edhel is a small country far north, known for its freezing winters and mild summers, they are typically thought to covered with wintergreen trees with the looming mountains and deep valleys surrounding them. They are, for the most part, separated from the rest of the continent due to how strictly they are run.
The people of Edhel are typically humans, but due to being closer to the mountains, where Sirieon is found, some villages sometimes harbor wanted criminals such as assassins and thieves. It is said you can also find dragons within the mountains as well. Sorcerers and witches are also known to live among the people of Edhel. And on a rare occasion, you may come across a vampire within its capital.
They are also kind and inviting to outsiders, always looking towards the light at the end of the tunnel. They will give all they have, even if they have very little. They are humble but a broken people in general. They try to be as self sufficient as possible and cling to the possibility that Sariel will one day return to help them from the neverending nightmare.
Even within the capital city, poverty is everywhere and there is a great divide between the rich and the poor, but even the rich is losing their power and money.
The regime in their country had not been kind to them, with their Duke only seeking more and more power but was viewed as a coward by his people. As the Church reigned nightmares upon their country for three years, the Duke finally kneeled to their might and was subsequently killed, heartlessly, by an unknown person.
After his death, the regime only got tighter and more human rights were lost. The divide between the rich and the poor grew greater. They were forsaken by the rest of the world, but some were able to find refuge in Aeonia as Erest and Ilviel turned their backs on them. Those who were not able to find refuge within the freelands of Aeonia, found safety within the countryside, learning self sufficiency and finally escaping into the mountains.
Women are not allowed to own property and should they lose their husband, they must remarry within two years or lose their home entirely, forcing them into homelessness.
Despite all of the cruelties, Edhel is also known for its landscape and beauty. Lights color their sky every night in a beautiful show, which they believe is the way the gods communicate to them from beyond. Within Edhel as well are their lavender fields, in which they view as sacred as they believe that Sariel had been born within those fields. To receive a lavender as a gift is the greatest compliment in their eyes. To receive a bundle is considered a confession of love.
It is within those fields, too, that the goddess, Iara, was killed.
As they are a colder country, the animals typically found there are small game animals as well as deer. Both men and women do know how to hunt and utilize it as a mode of survival during their long winters. They have rolling hills, and once was a big farming community, but due to the constant razing from the Church, they had turned to mining in order to bring in some sort of money into the economy.
Plants that grow in the winter are typically berries and a special but rare plant that they call the winterflower, it is known to bloom only during the coldest months of winter and can only be found in the depths of the forests. They believe that if you come across it, you are destined for good luck -- but trying to harvest it will bring you bad luck.
If it blooms when you find it, you may be able to look into its petals to have a vision of your future. Whether or not this is true, nobody quite knows -- but they believe that Sariel once gave the flower to her wife as a gesture of love. It can also be used in medicine.
This is where things get complicated. When a Fae loses a parent or they shed their citizenship, they surrender their surname as well. One would think it’s archaic and horrible but Fae have no need for sentiments of the past, so they shed whatever they can of those reminders. The last name is the biggest one, and often times, they take on a new one once they’ve settled into their new life, or they take on a partner’s last name. Matija — never took on a new one. Sure, Florin offered his but he had politely declined, saying that he likes it better this way. Whether or not he was lying, Matija doesn’t know. It doesn’t feel like it’s his and he’s not sure any ever will.
She was born on the Dragon’s Light Equinox -- a time where the dark sky lights up with a light blue, in the form of an old guardian, a dragon. Those who are born at this time are considered to be lucky and are believed to have an invisible guide to help them.
At the age of eight years old, Aleksandra’s parents died brutually in a fire that took out most of her village. She is found wandering in the winter fields of Edhel, which fell to the brutality of the Church and the Duke having surrendered, by a soldier of the Church, who took her in. There, she is trained as a soldier, the current leader having found her useful for their needs.
At 16, she is fully initiated.
20, and Aston is partnered with her -- and she finds she does not like him. He is too loud, too cheerful. He does not take their duties seriously. He disappears a lot.
And 26, they are stationed in Elidone, the neutral city. Here, she is saved by the strange vampire, Adrienne.
blood upon the altar | character profile | aleskandra, aleks
Aleksandra was brought to the main headquarters, often referred to as The Church--an order of special soldiers to bring in vampires and other such races--as a little girl. She had experienced trauma beforehand, witnessing her parents’ death but holds no memory of such an event.
She is a fiercely loyal young lady, hard headed, and very stubborn. Aleks is also very vocal about things, and is keen to say whatever is on her mind. She pretends that she has her emotions under rein, but everything she feels is very much on her face.
She’s not that good with technology, as she’s not super interested in it. She has a simple phone she uses to make phone calls to her partner or her bosses. Aleks has an interest in space, and knows a lot of astronomy.
Aleks is also quite often accompanied by a stray dog whom she found when he was a puppy, and she aptly named him Sunlight for his golden brown fur and energy.
Age ; 21
Alignment ; Neutral Good
Race ; Unknown | Declared Human
Random Fact ; She likes to sing when she’s by herself or working on a task, it helps her focus.
Some stuff from writing Blood Upon the Altar today!! Wrote maybe 6-7k words??
Sparrow is fun to write, to be honest. They're gonna be great to have in the story. Aston and Matija hate each other. I got past one major event, started the second and revealed some stuff about Aleks.
I did good in 12k words. WIP re-intro up tomorrow when I get home.
Aston would rather not think back to his childhood, it was so much easier to pretend his entire life was with the Church. Perhaps, it’s because that would mean he’d have to deal with the homesickness, the longing, and remembering his mother. It eats at him still -- the guilt that sits in the pit of his belly.
Even now, as a grown adult, he still feels like he allowed his mother to die, watched as sickness ate at her, watched as she grew more and more frail with time. Food was scarce, and she needed it to get better and yet -- and yet --
Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Tell us about the stars in your world building. Are there myths or legends about the constellations? What do they believe is up there? Has anyone ever been up there? Is space travel old hat? Tell us all about it!
So – in Elionde, there are two moons. One of them is seen all day and night, though very faintly some days – they do not have a name for these moons. The Humans and Witches believe that the gods live on the day moon that sits on the opposite side of the sun. Whether or not this is the truth is highly unknown – but the Elves and the Fae believe that life came from that moon and it chooses the world’s fate. If it goes out – “dies” – it means that Elionde itself shall die too.
There is no space travel, unfortunately. Edhelians – Humans – create stories with regards to comets. If there is a comet shower, it means that the goddess, Iara, is playing a game! A shooting star means good luck.
worldbuilding / blood upon the altar / short stories - the history of the goddess, sariel
(cw: violence, blood)
Her fingers grip at the golden handle of her sword, the silver steel drips with blood and it spills over -- staining it orange and her hand. She forged that sword herself so many years ago, with dragon scales and blessed by a witch. Around her are the bodies of those who tried to fight, who tried to take her world away from her. There is nothing now, standing between her and the one she is after.
“I love this world just as much as you do,” They call out, voice echoing through the red stained fields. “I want what’s good for it, too!”
There is a beast that lays underneath her skin, it’s shut her off completely and she marches towards them with intent. It’s as though she does not see the bodies littered before her, the ones who had worshipped her without so much of a second thought. Her eyes glow such a dark, heavy red.
They had been too late -- but of course they were. Even Sariel had told them that they would be. There’s no fighting it, she had predicted it so many years ago as the Tree had been planted. She had requested that the moment the venom in her system overtakes her, they kill her.
Around them is rivers and lakes of blood, burned fields that was once lush of green and a darkening sky that was always so blue. They worked together to make Elionde, their world, their beautiful world to what it was. Neither of them had intended to become gods, but they did and Sariel tried to fight it with each passing day -- suffering so greatly as she did so.
But when the Tree was planted, in its beautiful silver and golden leaves, it connected with her.
They don’t want to kill her -- her, who had a smile that lit up a room, her, who always had stories to share, her, who would rather die than watch people suffer. Sariel, Sariel, who they grew up with in their little village and was called to action because of an old prophecy. But they know that they have to. There is no choice -- between them and her, her and the world, they have to -- they have to --
And for the first time in two thousand years, the light went out.
