WORLDBUILDING Tora is a cold country, with fiercely snowy mountain ranges stretching across the northwestern region, and thick forests across most of the remaining land. The west coast is covered in jagged rocks, but the eastern shoreline has soft sand and an abundance of pebbles. The south has rivers and farmlands, which typically produce enough food for the cold, infertile months of winter. TECHNOLOGY Tora is generally medieval technology-wise, with blades and bows serving as primary weapons. However, thanks to electrokinesis, such advancements have been for lighting, printing, plumbing, and an underground mailing system (it involves tubes stretching all across the country and is powered by electricity). Torans typically travel by underground carriages (kind of like a subway, except more medieval), except on the mountains, where they travel by electric treetop carriages (like gondolas, but faster). GOVERNMENT The government is a monarchy, but the next monarch is chosen out of the monarch’s children by the monarch, usually by a contest of some sort. The monarch is unable to change, add, or remove laws without their spouse’s consent, and the monarch must marry by 21 (and they cannot make any legal changes until after marriage). If their spouse dies, they have 10 weeks to remarry. The royal family typically has a rather large number of children (6-12)–at least in comparison to the averages of nobles (with 1-2 kids) and commoners (with 3-5 kids).
MAGIC Umbrakinesis is the manipulation of darkness and shadows, sometimes unintentionally; umbrakinetics can also send messages through the shadows. Healing magic consists of sensing injury and illness and being to: close wounds, transfer pain (usually to themselves), and purge illness. Empathy is the ability to sense and occasionally manipulate the feelings and emotions of others. Electrokinesis is the manipulation of electricity; sometimes electrokinetics can be rather zappy and may accidentally electrocute people. Shapeshifting is a rare ability where the shifter can transform into any person they’ve met before; especially powerful shifters can shift into any person they’ve seen. They almost always have photographic memories, and a lot of the time they shift without meaning to. Necromancy is a power available to everyone, regardless of usual magic. It’s outlawed around the world and is very dangerous. However, despite public belief, the use of necromancy is not addictive. Necromancy is when someone steals years of life from the end of another person’s lifespan (basically making them live shorter). It’s done by creating a shrine to the god of death, Evgenis, and offering one’s blood and a prayer. If answered, Evgenis will shape the blood into a ring, which the necromancer can use to steal life via touch for either themself or another person. Regardless of who it is used for, necromancy leaves a physical mark. The size of it depends on the amount of time taken, and it usually appears as inky-black stains/markings, usually located on the hands, creeping up the arms (or just the arms); the chest/collarbone area; or the shoulder area. The markings are permanent and most likely will cause one’s arrest. Sometimes people lose their ability to access regular magic after using necromancy.
