Map

ALIMA is one continent on the world of GIL. Others exist, but have yet to make contact with eachother...

AU'ANALU - AU'ANALU | A Republic of various city-states throughout the high desert of the south. As a culture, Au'Analu values the arts very highly, so much so that artistic fame and ability directly translate into political power.

LOR'S BEACON - THE LORIC EMPIRE | A vast and powerful empire that is almost as old as the world itself, having been established by the legendary King Lor in the First Era. Intellectual pursuits are just as important as military ones, and Lor's Beacon is home to the largest library in the world.

THE TEMPLE OF MIST | The home of the Mist Sages, established during the First Era. They built their temple in a place where the veil between the Spirit and Mortal is thin: a rocky island in the middle of the sea.

JIYA - JARTIMIYA | A lost kingdom in the dense forests of the east. Once the seat of a great Empire, Jiya now lies in ruin, picked apart by treasure hunters and scavengers.

SKY PIRATE TERRITORY | Not so much an Empire as a collection of Princedoms united by their obligation to pay tribute to the Sky Pirates and oblige the whims of their queen, Kayara Maak, a Mistweaver bonded with the Spirit of Valor. The only city that is truly of the Sky Pirates is their Hold, a massive seaside cave where Kayara holds court.

KAMAYOK AND CARAL - THE TWIN KINGDOMS | Two wealthy maratime trade kingdoms driven to being close allies by ongoing Sky Pirate raids. The King of Caral, Matya the Magnificent, is the richest man in the world.

MOTH KNIGHT TEMPLE | The home of the Order of Moth Knights, roaming warriors sworn to protect the downtrodden. Their numbers have shrunk as of late, but their vast armory of Spirit-Iron weapons keeps them relevant.

THE HIDDEN WITCH TEMPLE | Witches access Spiritual power by feeding on the life force of other mortals. Odd symbolism and cryptic clues found by Witch Hunters seem to indicate the existence of a centralized Temple, but its location remains a mystery.

Characters

An ever-growing list of important characters in the world of Alima...

Prince Noel Kalani The Prince of Au'Analu. Compassionate, but quiet. Has learned to make himself small to survive in the cutthroat world of Au'Analuan politics.

Kekoa Au'Lei, Painter-Knight Noel's personal bodyguard and close friend. Not nearly as content as Noel is to sit down and shut up.

Fordaire, Mist Sage I'M GOING TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED.

Manu Kelani, Virtuoso of Au'Analu The leader of Au'Analu's largely symbolic monarchy. He harbors grand ambitions and isn't shy about them.

General Timeline

1 Era Zero - The world is created by the Spirits. The Spirits and mortals live in harmony together for five hundred years.

499 E0/1 E1 - The Spirits separate themselves from the mortal plane. Mistweavers begin appearing, as Spirits occaisionally bond with worthy mortals.

25 E1 - King Lor, Spirit of Command, establishes the city of Lor's Beacon. His Empire expands outward from there.

29 1E - Hresa, the Almost-Queen, Spirit of Balance, establishes the Temple of Mist and becomes it's first Patron.

131 1E - Several prominent city-states dominate the deserts of the South. Au'Analu, the most powerful of the three, becomes a major cultural force in the region, and they all enter into an uneasy alliance.

247 1E - The Western Kingdoms are established.

271 1E - The city of Jiya is founded by Ilah, Spirit of Ambition. The Empire it would eventually become the capital of begins to form, as Jiya expands its borders.

499 1E - King Lor and Hresa kill eachother in a legendary battle that scars the earth. The minerals affected by their fight eventually are reformed into Spirit-Iron.

1 2E - Theodora, King Lor's daughter, bonds with the Spirit of Command and takes up her father's throne.

77 2E - The first of several skirmishes in the south break out as the city-states fight over honor and resources. The following 130 years are considered the "warring cities" period in Au'Analuan history. The city of Au'Analu would eventually be victorious, subsuming the other cities and forming a Republic in 207 2E.

225 2E - The Mistweaver known as Damask, Spirit of Empathy, founds the Order of Moth Knights and equips his followers with Spirit-Iron weapons.

241 2E - Jartimiya expands greatly, conquering most of the eastern subcontinent.

401 2E - Empress Theodora begins the Western Wars, a westward expansion of the Loric Empire. A foot solder by the name of Olympia Theron is killed in battle but bonds with the Spirit of Hope, later becoming Loria's General.

499 2E - The Turning of the Era passes with little incident, making the Spiritually-inclined uneasy, fearing the next Turn will be twice as catastrophic. The Third Era begins.

65 3E - Kayara Maak bonds with the Spirit of Valor and later becomes captain of the Sky Pirates.

76 3E - Andromeda, Spirit of Equilibrium, becomes the Patron of the Temple of Mist.

246 3E - Ilah, Queen of Jartimiya, mysteriously disappears during an expidition. Without a clear successor, Jartimiya collapses. Many Jartimiyans relocate to Au'Analu and Loria.

334 3E - Kamayok and Caral sign a treaty to become close allies and defend against Sky Pirate Raids.

390 3E - The power of the Moth Knights wane. Damask enters a deep meditation in the Temple's inner chamber and does not come out, leaving them effectively leaderless.

402 3E - "Pax Loria" - The power of the Loric Empire grows immensely with two Mistweavers at the helm. Squabbles and skirmishes largely cease for fear of Loria getting involved.

499 3E - The beginning of the current story...

Other Trivia

- The first character design I ever created for MIST was Gen. Olympia Theron, a Mistweaver from the northern Loric Empire that you will meet in a later chapter.

- I first created the map of Alima back in 2019! The world has evolved a lot since then, but the basics are still very much present in this iteration of MIST.

- I've put considerable time into building the Au'Analuan language and I'm working on putting together a reference guide for it (hopefully to be made available... at some point!). "Au" literally means something like "of" or "by" but typically refers to place, so more closely translates to "settlement" or "city."

- All Au'Analuans (also called southerners) have long, pointed ears. Common eye colors are green and blue. Common hair colors are dark brown, chesnut, and white.

- Lorics (also called northerners or Lors) have shorter, rounded ears. Common eye colors are blue and brown. Common hair colors are light brown, grey, and blonde.

- Westerners (Typically hailing from one of the Twin Kingdoms or the Sky Pirate Holdings) have very short pointed ears that stick out.

- Jartimiyans (also called easterners, Jiyans, or forest-folk) have long, pointed ears like Au'Analuans. Their skin is typically a deep, rich brown. After the collapse of the Jartimiyan Empire, many easterners migrated to Loria or Au'Analu.