The World of "The Black Key": Idum

Folktales

King Calabin and Isgal'Sul. The story of the King of Melora and how he slew Kovna, the Queen of Jaci who had made a deal with Velnora to become a dragon. Isgal'Sul is the name of the magic sword that Saint Brawnson (who was in Edor) made for Calabin, a vorpal blade made to cut through dragon scales.

The Olasian Odyssey. Olas heard tales of the ancient kingdoms from which their people came from before. He wanted to set sail across the mosaic sea, but he feared the great beasts that lived in it. So he approached the old Nymene King of Icani. But the King of the Icani was having trouble with some things and the route he sent Olas on was rife with trouble. This solved the Icani’s troubles but at each island/trial Olas found some great treasure. At the end, Olas reaches the other continent (now called the Olasian continents) with great power and wealth. The icani king hears of the treasure and claims Olas a thief that the treasure was rightfully his. He wages war with Olas and Olas slays the Icani king.

The Story of Creation. This story is the preface for all the gods’ and goddesses’ holy scripture. It tells of how Intellect, The Father, gathered together all of the sparks of intelligence and defeated and bound the primordial titans. Tells of him creating the divine bodies of the Nine Gods, and his sacrifice in using his body as the cage for the titans. The Nine Gods then create the universe, souls, and life.

RACES

Sapients, Created by Idum:

These are the most populous races, the fully intelligent.

Human - Normal humans. Uses monetary currency of Plates and Platelets.

Rotone - Stony people, with four arms The largest of the races. Very long lived. Not as populous as the other races. Uses the monetary system of Cryst, using cheap etched quarts, and other such crystals.

Seidens - Plant people with heads full of leaves. By far the longest lived. They use the monetary system of Leaves, triangular metal coins.

Fennics - Fox people, with multiple tails Similar in population and lifespan and height as 

Humans. Uses paper bills called Notes.

Yefori - Bird people. The smallest of the races, short lived and often live secluded. 

Nymenes - merfolk. Similar to Humans in population, lifespan and height. Live in the oceans though they can also breath air. Calls their money Shells. Their battle tactics generally involve spears, or curved swords (to focus on the draw cuts/ push cuts). Against folks on the surface, grappling hooks and sinking the ship would be their focus.

Mystics, created by Minis:

These are fully intelligent, but are rare and few in numbers. They are occasionally sent as a messenger of one of the Gods, Usually Idum or Minis. Other than the general fairy creatures, there are the:

Horned Lords - Giants with Elk heads and large antlers. Nearly immortal.  They're the caretakers of all mystical life and nature. Usually only found in the deepest of forests, but on rare occasion are forced to come out to civilization to enact nature's wrath.

Faced Owls - Large owls with a humanoid face. (Like that of a Yefori) Seen as providers of wisdom. Some folktales involve seeking out a Faced Owl to recieve answers. One speaks of an ancient kingdom that had a nest of Faced Owls in the royal palace as advisors.

Elemental Deer - Their antlers embody the different aspects of the elements. Their fur coats are always resistant to the element that it’s attuned to.

Fire - Their antlers are black, flammable. Which goes through a cycle of growth, where they grow and grow, until they catch fire, where they burn for days eventually to crumble off the deer as broken pieces of charcoal-like embers. Likely causes forest fires which cleanses the forest. Eventually the antlers will regrow upon the deer’s head. Their fur coat is pitch black on the back and neck and fades to ashen grey towards the legs. Utilizes fire magic. While the doe do not have the antlers, they are of the same coloration and still use fire magic.

Ice - Their antlers are frozen, colder than ice. This causes condensation to form on them and depending on where they’re found, can cause them to either be constantly dripping water, or to form a thin layer of ice on the antlers. Their natural fur coats are white, but if their antlers drip water, eventually their coats will be covered in a green moss, like a sloth, so green necks, fading to white. Utilizes Ice and water magic.

Metal - Their antlers, and other bones, are of a metal stronger than steel. Their fur coats range from metallic grays and silvers, to browns and tans. Often a mixed coloration of both. Uses earth and life magic.

Electric - While their antlers and bones are metallic in nature, they’re not strong to the same degree as the metal/earth deer are. Often between the horned points in their antlers are sparks of electricity. This often causes forest fires as well. Their fur coats are of the same coloration as the Metal/Earthen deer, though perhaps less browns mixed in. On first appearance they’re quite hard to tell the difference between the two, until you see the sparks of lightning. Utilizes electric magic.

Monsters, Created by Velnora:

These are the monstrous races created by Velnora, the Goddess of Monsters. She made these in an attempt to do the same as Idum, the Goddess of Life who created the Sapient races. Though they do possess some intelligence, and are able to speak and even form societies, they are often driven by their baser emotions.  Their societies are often a "might makes right" tribal kind and the leader is the strongest warrior.

Through a pact with Velnora one can become twisted as these are and become one of these races with your intellect intact. An example of this would be Roan, from Lilan's backstory. He made a pact with Velnora and became one of the Ogram. Of course, this is not a full list of monsters, just the ones that possess semi intelligence.

Goblins - They dwell in the forests, mountains, and caves all over the world.

Orcs - These are very numerous. Their tribes reign over the great Guthrie Plains and raid frequently against Jharna and the Grahm empire. They’re the most “civilized” of the monsters, followed closely by the Ecantti. They can be considered in the early bronze age. The only iron and steel weapons and armor they have were taken from raids.

Ecantti - Snake people. They dwell in the dense jungles and swampy areas. They’ve also taken up residence in a lot of the ruins found in the Badlands. Note: in combat they’ll be able to use constriction to crush and suffocate. So grappling! Against more than one, they can lunge like a viper strike. A good precise spear or some such would be useful. To get in close with the grappling, a shield would be great. Their tails could also be tipped with blades/spikes to whip you. 

Giants - They dwell in the high mountains. They stand about 12-15 feet tall.

Harpy - Bat/bird people that dwell in high cliffs and mountains. Mostly found in the rocky highlands, the jagged mountains and the Reenat Isles.

Ogram - Wolf people. Found in the forests. Mainly in forests of the Devini Empire, and in the Northern Wilds.

GODS / MYTHOS

The Titan:

Intellect - The Father of All Order. In the primordial Sea of Chaos, it was Intellect that found the sparks of intelligence. These "sparks of intelligence" aren't even full consciousness yet, but He created a space of Order separate from the Sea of Chaos and its other denizens. In this space of order, He was able to take the nine brightest sparks out of all of them and made the Nine Gods. Before He could create more, the other denizens of the Sea of Chaos found this space of Order and were offended. In order to protect the Gods and the lesser sparks of intelligence, Intellect used His body to permanently separate this Space of Order from the Sea of Chaos. But the Denizens are watching.

Gods:

These are the Nine Gods that Intellect created. They were created into perfect divine bodies, which is both spirit and matter.

Sulios - The God of Fire. Known as the Father, Lawmaker or Lawgiver.  The main patron God of the Seidens. It was Sulios that created the spiritual bodies for all of the lesser sparks of intelligence, allowing them to grow to become fully conscious over time. 

Idum - The Goddess of Life and Nature. Known as the Lifegiver or the Mother. The main patron Goddess of the Fennics. 

Grahm - The God of Earth and Stone. The main patron God of the Rotone.

Caelum - The God of Air. The main patron God of the Yefori.

Silene - The Goddess of the Sea. The main patron Goddess of the Nymenes.

Nichon - The God of Time.

Anos - The God of Death.

Velnora - Goddess of Monsters.

Minis - The Goddess of Magic.

Five of the Nine Gods, (Sulios, Idum, Grahm, Caelum, and Silene) together created a mortal realm where they could give a proper life to the lesser sparks of intelligence, now spirits. Idum created six sapient races, one race for each diety that participated,  and one nuetral race (the Humans). Anos and Velnora were especially angry at this creation. Anos cursed everything to one day die. Velnora was envious at Idum and sought to create races of her own, which became monsters. Minis, instead of being jealous, blessed all souls with the gift of Magic and the Aura that fuels it. Nichon is the most mysterious of all of the Gods, choosing to seclude himself from the other Gods. No one really knows why.

Saints:

The Saints are mortals that have achieved immortality and divine bodies. They often remain on the mortal realm for a generation or two before ascending up to reside with the Nine Gods. These are not the only Saints, but just the ones that remain known in the modern day.

The First Borns, they have domain over their respective races, and are the "Adam and Eve" of each of the respective races.

Herseus, the Saint of Connections and rebirth. Serves under the God Caelum, he's a human. He's known in ancient records and scripture when the races were still localized in their own lands. He made the effort to bring peace between the races and unite them against the monsters that were ravaging the lands. He led the fight against them, only to die in the final fight. He came back to life a week later, no one knowing how he did it. from then on, he couldn't die, no matter what, always coming back to life. He became a Saint when he ascended 60 years later.

Olas, the Saint of Travel and Trust. Serves under the Goddess Silene. He's a human. His myth is styled somewhat after both Christopher Columbus and Odysseus. He set sail across the Mosaic Sea to find new lands. This tale becomes known as "The Olasian Odyssey". He creates his own kingdom, and his descendants are still the royal family.

Deveni, the Saintess of Harvest and plenty. Serves under the Goddess Idum. She's a Fennic.

Granul, the Saint of Strength and war. Serves under the God Grahm. He's a Rotone.

Brawnson, the Saint of Smithing and Craft. Serves under the God Sulius. He's a Rotone. Based on Daedalus from greek mythology. He's an insanely smart inventor ahead of his time, and gained immortality by replacing his body with metal and magic. It took many more years after that to find a way to make his machine body "divine" so he can ascend. During that time, he was known to create many blades and artifacts for various other heroic figures. One of which was King Calabin who slew the dragon queen, Kovna.

Romaine, the Saint of Arts. Serves under the Goddess Idum. She's a Fennic.

Helquis, the Saint of Deceit and Theft. Serves under the God Anos. She's a Yefori. Not all "Saints" ascend through good and just means. Helquis made a deal with the God Anos to never die. Unfortunately for her, she never made a deal with Nichon and her body still grew old and decayed until she was nothing but a skeleton. She became the first to receive this curse. She managed to subvert her end of the deal, and became a Lich, binding her soul to a phylactery. Over time, she managed to gain a "divine" body.

Cosima, the Saint of Family and Fertility. Serves under the Goddess Idum. She's a Seiden. Started out as a courtesan. Said to be so beautiful, she even the Gods courted her. She eventually maneuvered her way to become a Queen. She had a large family of around 50 children.

Unthris, the Saint of Murder and Blood. Serves under the God of Anos. He was a Human before he slaughtered thousands of people in a blood sacrifice. He became the first vampire.

Amram, the Saint of Knowledge and Memory. Serves under the God Nichon. He's a Seiden. He made a deal the God Nichon to be untouched by time. He is very likely the only person that was able to make a deal with him. He spends all of his days in a great library. He is said to know everything. His library, including all the librarians, was taken up with him into the realm of the Gods when the surrounding kings threatened to burn it down for "heresy."