Erisseth is a planet in another part of our universe. It's one of ten planets in it's solar system, with three moons that circle it. It's size in comparison to earth is 16 times as big. 52 realms are spread over the planet, two of which are under water (Atlantis and Formina). The biggest realm is Valstiba Cahala, the realm of light (or, so it used to be). The smallest one Garin Rolle. The realm with most citizens is Mutrichium and the realm with the most living creatures overall is Elrachyn. The realm with the biggest count of cities and villages is Arganishar Raduyil and the one with the least is Elrachyn. The biggest city is Luminoria, in Biandor. The smallest is Ruya, in Arganishar Raduyil.
General information
The people of Erisseth
The people of Erisseth vary in species and are very different from eachother. The most prevalent species as of current day are, to no one's suprise, insects and fish. The most prevalent species that, like humans, build cities and realms, are Elves (since Eostra, the realm of elves, and Mutrichium, the realm of the mutuwan elves, are now the biggest and most populated realms. They aren't often found in other realms, which makes the statistics seem odd since they are not seen very often. This used to be Valstiba Cahala, but most of it's citizens have been slaughtered in a war, which is mentioned in the book) and a species of people that very closely resemble humans (so close that one would not be able to distinguish between a human and one of these people on most levels).
Magic
Magic is very prevalent, though in differing strengths. The rulers of realms are the ones with magic the most powerful, others have varying degrees of power. There are 52 rulers alive at all times. When a ruler dies, the next one is appointed (by magic). This can be by blood, but it can just as well be someone who's not related.
There are portals spread throughout the world of Erisseth, though most are hidden quite well. The rulers wish to keep them hidden, at least to most. As such, they aren't easy to find, and usually are not inviting people to pass through one way or another. Each portal looks different and, too, feels different to pass through. No one knows exactly how many portals there are in Erisseth, leading to people sometimes stumbling across one on accident. The most accurate count, carried out by a council once, long ago, counted 143. Some portals lead to other worlds, even if the magic in that other world is dormant or practically non existent.
Religion
The most common belief system on the planet is All and Nothing. All brought The Gods, which in turn brought the rulers of the realms who can live forever if not killed, and Nothing brought forth Chanoc, who acts as a reaper who takes from All and brings it to Nothing. Then the cycle starts again, and All takes from nothing to create.
The gods of the world are revered in different amounts and are honored in different ways depending on which realm you're in. The pantheon counts 32 deities. Three of them are mentioned in the book: Dagonath (the Abyssal Sovereign), Vythros (the Hunter's Serenade) and Sylvanir (the Guardian of Tranquil Woodlands).
The Language and Currency
The Erissethian language is old and these days mostly used for things as time, distance and names. The old language is used most often by elves in higher ranks of Eostra. It is still taught there in full. Each realm has another system and names for distance, which can sometimes be confusing to inhabitants who travel for the first time.
The currency of Erisseth differs per realm, and sometimes per part of a realm. Most use coins or things alike, but one particular form of currency is very interesting. Some realms have time as currency. What this means is that in exhange for something, you give time off of your own life. This means some have longer lives, and some shorter. This is why elves in Eostra live as long as they do. Because even if they spend a lot, evolution made sure that their lives became longer and longer (since elves in the past have hoarded time, accidentally giving their offspring longer lives). Others, thanks to this, have shorter lives. The hoarding and unfair distribution of time in the past ensured that this form of currency is illegal in most realms, but it is still entirely legal in Eostra and a very few other realms or areas. It is used in trans-universal stores, too, which are stores from Erisseth that, through illegal portals, sell Erissethian goods to other planets and universes.
Lumelixir
Stimulants and sedatives in Erisseth differ quite a lot per realm. The most well known is Lumelixir, which can be used in both drinks -- it makes them resemble an alcoholic drink in the way it affects the body, though a it's a lot stronger. You would only need one glass per evening to have the same experience of drinking twelve beers in one evening. Getting intoxicated by this is called getting 'grased'.
It can also be used in a whispering ember, which is a small, thin pipe in which the lumelixir is mixed with dried herbs and then lit with magic that is inside the pipe (it's very much household magic, nothing like the rulers have). The whispering ember gives you a feeling of calm, and it works together with whichever herb or plant you put in it, so the secondary effect is depending on the herb. A slang term for smoking this pipe is 'chasing whispers'. It is quite widespread in it's use.
Alcohol exists too, and is most used in realms that have a lot of products that produce alcohol easily. It isn't as widespread as on earth since Lumelixir is a lot more potent.
The realms we visit in the book
Araban
The realm of woods
Araban is a realm mainly covered by woods and forests. Its ruler is Tegiz, who comes across as a friendly librarian. Despite this, Araban is often engaged in wars with other realms. The perfect example that appearances can fool you. Nevertheless, he is usually friendly in person. Its castle is called Urugiyn. A huge wooden castle, decorated with floral and silver vines and white pillars.
"The castle was surrounded by an enormous garden of flowers that most people could only dream of, hedges so perfectly straight that you could put a ruler on them and it was not uneven in any place, fountains with water so clear that it looked like pure sunlight and a path so radiant white that it seemed as if all the whitest pearls had turned to powder and had been strewn there."
- From the book "Erisseth"
Its civilized population is made up of two main species, the Separusas and a human-like species. Separusas are half-human, half Sepoia, a deer-like creature that populates much of the southern area of Araban. The human-like species is trade oriented, with small communities of trader-hunters. Each of these communities wage war on each other every now and again when tensions rise.
Araban's plant species have an incredible range of types, colors, uses, looks and scents. The trees of the forests are around 4,5 to 6 times as tall and broad as the ones on earth, creating a thick, dense foliage.
Valstiba Cahala
The realm of Light
One of the first realms that was civilized, the biggest realm in Erisseth. It's ruler is Luzara, who is the personification of a star. She fell down when the Gods of Erisseth started to create the rulers, when one of the Gods saw her beauty and potential for ruling. She landed in Valstiba Cahala and settled one of the first civilizations there. It grew to be the realm with the most population of the years, being the biggest realm on the planet. That was until Zaluntar attacked, after which most of the population was either dead or fled to earth.
Valstiba felt like a maze of street after street of empty houses and empty memories. Here and there lay a skeleton, clean from the rains and sometimes scattered by the carnivorous creatures that had roamed the streets years ago. The city had the feeling of a zombie Apocalypse.
- From the book "Erisseth"
Its people have light features, though after their return from earth, many had black hair too through mingling with humans. The most common hair color is white/blond. 19% of the original population had a gene that will make their fingertips light up on command, though most of the people that had that gene are now extinct thanks to the war. The estimated amount of people still able to do this is a mere 1%.
Its castle used to be the visualization of hope and beauty. It was a castle made entirely out of glass, and reflected each sunset and sunrise over the realm. It was a place of community, business, ruling and happiness. After the attack, only a ruin was left of what once was.
The forest that laid beside the capital city (in which the castle stood, too) was burned down to stop Zaluntar's army from capturing a group of people who were too late to go through the portal to flee to earth. This was done by an allied ruler from the realm that laid next to it.
After the attack, when rebels slowly started coming back to Valstiba Cahala, the underground rebel base called Yeralti Cahala (Underground Light in old Erissethian) was created. This base came to span miles upon miles, forming the biggest underground civilization in Erisseth. The entrances to the base are all reached with elevators, something the people of Yeralti picked up while they were on earth (many had regular jobs on earth). It contains housing, a training center for its fighters, the political quarters and stores, entertainment and more of such places. It is entirely self-sufficient by growing crops and such on its underground farm that do not require sunlight.
They do not use payment in coins or currency, they are a community based civilization that provides everyone with what they need. Everyone acts accordingly, providing whatever they can to upkeep the reserves and services.
Many creatures of Zaluntar's army still roam the realm, having now taken over above the ground entirely. They get killed by the rebels, and vice versa, whenever they run into each other. The creatures still outnumber the rebels by a great number, so it will most likely take time before the Cahalans can take back their realm.
Andavoria
The realm of travels
The realm most known for copying and building landmarks and sights from other realms -- and other worlds. This realm is most famous for its space-defying pants which can take the wearer from one place to another just by the combined use of a special clock. Most of the houses in Andavoria therefore have such a clock, so that friends who want to see each other can visit just by putting these pants on.
“Are those houses flat?” Ocell asked, suddenly.
“What?” Reyes asked, looking at what Ocell was looking at.
“They are flat, there’s nothing behind the front wall,” Ocell said.
“Building houses here is expensive because of the position so close to the castle, so they built the front here, and the inside of it somewhere else. Those doors are portals that lead to them,” Anzeru explained.
- From the book "Erisseth"
Its castle is called "the Mighty Map", which looks like a giant stone map is folded out over a rather normal castle. It is surrounded by a giant rose hedge through which you couldn't cut with the best sword or hedge cutters. The way to enter is a door that is a portal leading to and identical door on the other side of the hedge. Simply breaking the door down would result in nothing since it is (naturally) a sort of cursed door. You will only find more doors behind it, with no end to them. Essentially trapping you if you go forward, since the doors behind you will re-materialize. It has not been entered by anyone from the general public in tens of years.
Its citizens are shapeshifters that are seen differently by everyone they encounter. That is to say, by everyone who is another species than they themselves are. This allows them to blend in with the people of the place they travel to since they will look like they are the same species as the person looking at them. If an Andavorian is with two people both of different species, they will look different to each of them, often creating confusion. This is why Reyes sees them as human, while Anzeru sees them as Separusa.
There are many creatures and species in Andavoria that share the same effect, even though they do not travel the way the civilized species does.
Atlantis
The realm of Knowledge
One of the two realms that are found underneath the surface of the sea. Mostly populated by mermaids and -men, sirens, an evolved fish species that does not speak Erissethian nor common language, instead it communicates by echo and producing a vibration with their "vocal chords" that is almost visible in the water. They occupy many positions in the bigger cities since their intelligence is quite a bit higher than ours. A small part of it is above water, an island called Alea’an. There is no settlements to be found on its surface, but it does house a portal.
Its Castle is called Chaesix and its ruler Laesa. Unlike most rulers, she is a direct descendant from the last ruler of Atlantis. The capital city is called Atlantis, too. There are a few more settlements spread throughout the realm, but Atlantis is absolutely the biggest one.
When visitors come down into the water, a bubble of air forms around their heads so they can breathe under water. Additionally, a tiny layer of algae form around their body (though it isn't visible and is not detectable to touch) that keeps the body from imploding through the pressure of the water in Atlantis. The reverse happens for people from Atlantis who leave the realm, a layer of kind of air particles forms around their body to help against the lower pressure of air, and a bubble of water forms around their heads.
To her surprise, she saw that Anzeru was right. She exhaled some air, which gathered around her head. The small layer of air grew into a somewhat larger bubble until Anzeru and Reyes both had some kind of astronaut helmet around their heads, filled with air.
- From the book "Erisseth"
The library of Atlantis is the biggest one in Erisseth. The amount of books and scrolls is so vast that counting it would take months, even with many people counting. It is above the seafloor for a part, but goes on into the ground for many, many feet. The building itself is grandiose, with white pillars and plenty of carved decoration. No cost was spared on its creation. It is, funnily enough, in the center of the city, while the castle is somewhat on the border of the city.
Biandor
The realm of Hapiness
Biandor is known throughout Erisseth as the "Happiest Realm", with a culture that places a high value on positive emotions and avoiding negativity. The people of Biandor are known for their bright, colorful clothing and decorations, as well as their love of music and dance.
The capital city of Biandor is called Luminoria, and it is famous for its beautiful gardens and parks filled with colorful flowers and exotic plants. It is the biggest city in Erisseth, in both buildings and citizens that inhabit the city. The castle with the name Ridanshira is located in Luminoria. There are many high speed lines in Luminoria that reach the entirety of Biandor, even up to the borders of Durania. When Semusha organizes one of her famous festivals, the entire city is decorated, and in some occasions the cities in the entire realm as well. It is a very well decorated city in general, with many parks, grand hotels and tourist attractions.
Semusha, the ruler of Biandor, is often described as a radiant and charming woman with a never fading smile on her face. She is loved by her subjects for her kindness and generosity, and is known for throwing lavish parties and festivals in celebration of happiness and joy. However, behind closed doors, Semusha is rumored to be deeply unhappy and struggling with her own negative emotions. She fears that if she ever shows her true feelings, her entire realm will crumble and fall into despair.
Semusha has instituted strict laws against any expression of negative emotions within Biandor. Those who are caught displaying anger, sadness, or any other negative emotions are sent to be "re-educated" in the art of happiness. This is quite a cruel process which not many people know about.
“It’s backwards. Anyone caught being unhappy gets sent to her little camp for ‘re-education’ in the ‘art of happiness’. She ain’t even happy herself, weak little thing.” He leaned in a bit closer. “You seen the alarms?”
“Alarms?”
“Them little yellow flashing lights. If you set them off too much, they’ll pick you up and take you away. Bastards.”
- From the book "Erisseth"
Its people are mostly human-like in the sense that they have two legs and two arms along with a head with two eyes, a nose and a mouth.
A part of the population has buttons for eyes. This phenomenon started out as a fashion statement, but after some generations, children started being born with no eyeballs in their eye sockets to make room for the buttons. They reported being able to see once the buttons were placed, which led to many investigations and trials. The reason it adapted the way it did was because the brains started being linked to the material out of which the buttons were made (generally hard tar from the Lurin'Ol mountain which apparently had some magic inside of it).
Another part of the population that lives more towards the north-east of the realm have skins in different bright colors. This was because the drinkable water in that area had a pigment in it that over time started reacting with people's DNA. Since everyone has different DNA, people started turning different colors from one another. This led to some racism at first, but it has mostly died out at the time in which the story takes place.
Durania
The realm of Darkness
The realm holds true to its status, it is truly the realm of darkness. Because of an irreversible curse that was cast some hundreds of years ago, the realm's sky is dark, even when the sun is out. During daytime, the sun looks like a spotless version of the moons, since it doesn't have craters and is farther away. Its main export is a fire-making material created from densely pressed mud from its swamps and marshes. The smell is drained entirely, so it just leaves a very dry block of dense mud that lights for days if you would let it burn out completely. A less known export (at least, to most of Erisseth) is slaves, that are brought out of the dungeon and sold to the highest bidder.
There were people out on the streets, but they looked nothing like their neighbors in Biandor. Nothing at all. Their eyes were kind of bulgy and most of them were slightly hunched. They weren’t nearly as chatty or happy as biandor’s citizens. Nor as brightly colored. If anything, these people probably looked the least like them out of everyone from erisseth. Their pupils were big and their clothing sober. Not one greeted them. After a while of walking, Reyes noticed a strange lack of old people. One additional thing she noticed was an abundance of graveyards. Those two things weren’t bad if separated, but put two and two together and it was a lot more eerie.
- From the book "Erisseth"
Because of the ever-lasting darkness, the people of Durania have eyes that adapted to it. They grew more bulgy with bigger pupils to let in more light. When they leave Durania (which almost none do), they wear protective eyewear since exposure to normal light would cause them to go blind. Permanently, if it's longer than two hours. They are slightly hunch-backed with very pale skins, even those who used to have more pigmented skins.
People generally don't grow very old in Durania. This is partially because of the living conditions, partially because of its ruler: Camur Tsuntsunar. In theory it's entirely because of Tsuntsunar, because he is the one who creates the living conditions. Tsuntsunar isn't a just ruler. He often takes random people away from their homes to torture inside of his dungeons, which span longer and wider than any dungeon ought to. It is almost entirely dark inside of them. These dungeons do not purely hold Duranians, but people from other realms and species, too.
Camur Tsuntsunar has a very particular magic which is experienced by Reyes and her friends in the story. He is able to conjure intricate illusions within the mind of the victim, sometimes trapping them inside one for an entire lifetime, causing the victim to be very disoriented when they return. The return to reality usually is not noticed at first because the end of the illusion will make it look similar to the place you are actually physically in.
The landscape of Durania is diverse. Swamps and marshes are very prevalent in the higher regions, while mountain ranges, ravines and big lakes and rivers are very prevalent in the lower regions. Houses are made from big bricks from the swamp-mud too, though with a coating so they don't go up in a blaze when fire touches it. It is very isolating and strong, which is why it's the perfect durable material to use in building.
Eostra
The realm of the high elves
Predominantly inhibited by high elves. The land is quite wooded, but not as densely as Araban. The trees are smaller and the woods are brighter because of it. There is no one, main settlement as the elves have spread out within the forests and along the rivers. In essence, Eostra does not have a capital. But for the books, it's Eldoriaen, which is the region in which the castle is located. The main export is magic in many forms and items of magic, because high elves have more of it than other species (besides mutuwan elves).
The castle is not a regular castle, instead it's a collection of chambers and beautiful bridges enclosed by the connection of these. It does have some tower-like buildings. There is some waterfalls within its "walls", with bridges passing them.
The ruler of the realm is Ileatenal, who is neither male nor female. They can speak fluent old Erissethian, but are fluent in common language as well, along with most regional old languages.
Magic is very broadly practiced in Eostra, with many temples and places of practice spread throughout the realm. "Anrath ov Arguth" is a very well known phrase in Old Erissethian, which means seeing with the soul. Eostrans practically live by this sentence.
Eostra uses time as currency. What this means is that in exhange for something, you give time off of your own life. This means some have longer lives, and some shorter. This is why elves in Eostra live as long as they do. Because even if they spend a lot, evolution made sure that their lives became longer and longer (since elves in the past have hoarded time, accidentally giving their offspring longer lives). Others, thanks to this, have shorter lives. The hoarding and unfair distribution of time in the past ensured that this form of currency is illegal in most realms, but it is still entirely legal in Eostra and a very few other realms or areas.
“Welcome, Reyes, to the Karryus Forest,” Ileatenal said. Reyes followed the elf's lead, she was sure that she wouldn’t be able to find her way back if she lost them. Not without magic, at least. The trunks of the ancient trees shimmered with iridescence. It wasn't long before memories, both hers and Ileatenal's, began to materialize and float gently through the air. She didn’t recognize them as such, at first. But it was very clear that they were memories when she came closer to them, being able to see what was inside them.
- From the book "Erisseth"
Mutrichium
The realm of Maze
But, more commonly known to the people of Erisseth, the realm of Evil. This is Zaluntar's realm, and the realm of the Mutuwan elves. They were, once upon a time, high elves. But when they were swayed by Zaluntar, the ruler of the realm of Maze, they never looked back. Mutrichium is the realm with the most citizens, who are not only Mutuwan elves, but also the creatures described in the story, the ones from Zaluntar's army. Not all fought in the army, but many did. The population was slightly cut down at the defeat from the battle in Eostra (after he had successfully take over Valstiba Cahala) but it has since grown back to be even bigger.
There are multiple regions to Mutrichium. There is a part that really does spell out evil quite literally, with rivers of lava and such, but there are also regions, like the skyscraper region, that look quite different. This particular region is where the name "maze" comes from, along with two other regions. All rather big. The realm didn't start out with the nickname "realm of Evil", this was only after Zaluntar became its ruler.
The buildings were like skyscrapers in the sense that they stood very, very tall. It was, almost, like a maze of buildings. They couldn’t overlook it, they were right inside of it. If she didn’t have the insurance of magic, she would be even more afraid than she was now, when she did know she could do magic.
- From the book "Erisseth"
Mutrichium is one of the other realms where there is dealt in time. Not everywhere, but most places use the currency of time. The more official currency is coins. It used to be outlawed before Zaluntar came to power, but when he started pulling high elves to his cause, he saw that the legality of time as currency made it easier for him to get them to his side since they were used to that.
Mutrichium's castle is called Aelrond, and is a very large castle. The area around it houses many strange creatures, many of which are not even documented in Erisseth's official species guide through the rate of inbreeding and crossbreeding (which is very frowned upon in general, but because of the disturbing nature of the creatures even more so. No one in their right mind wants to keep track of them).
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Erisseth's world, as laid out in the article, really showcases the author's knack for detailed world-building. The diversity of realms like Eostra and Mutrichium, each with its unique quirks, genuinely fascinated me. The use of time as a currency is such an imaginative concept. While some themes in the book weren't to my taste since I'm strong in my faith, the universe's complexity and creativity definitely kept me engaged. It's refreshing to see an author dive so deeply into creating a multifaceted world.