An immaterial plane of existence; a civilization unmoored upon The Eternal Drift with cities built upon, and within, the corpses of dead gods, beasts and eternals whose spirits met their true end. The Blackshore (trans. of Rx'Vilisjoar in its oldest living tongue) is the dark edge of time and space. Measured, in more common terms, as dark matter, the space between the stars and the realm of nightmares, those who actually inhabit the Blackshore itself are oft-revenant creatures whose spirits are now duty- and honor-bound to guard against the edges of realities where darkness reigns supreme. Rather than being utterly wicked themselves, Blackshore residents are a-typically powerful beings with enough strength, grit and know-how to wage war against the forces of darkness that would threaten the balance that holds planes together and keeps all of reality in constant orbit. They are balance keepers, no more evil or good than the rain in a storm or the rocks of a mountain.

While its reflective opposite along The Eternal Drift is more like an afterlife for the gods, a bliss, the Blackshore functions as a graveyard for deities. Their bodies are harvested into small form planets, city-scapes, and are used to ride the constant drift of reality that allows the inhabitatns to build cities, fortresses, and prisons that are never left in one place and, therefore, impossible to track down from the outside. Only those who were born within The Blackshore have an easy time navigating it, though any powerful magic user or psychic can project forms of themselves into it. And that is where that ends, for the most part; many cannot exist within The Blackshore for long without madness taking them over and some fiend of its darkness feasting on their soul. Instead, it is best for them to project — astrally, mystically, spiritually — and leave a thread of connection to their physical realm. It is still dangerous, of course, and a severed thread leaves their body husked and ripe for the takeover, but it is better than trying to survive wandering its flux alone.

While time does pass within The Blackshore, its effects are vastly different — in part thanks to the fact that it compromises multiple universes in an n-point circle; that is: the universes rotate in orbits around the three central suns which orbit one another in an infinity motion that creates whirlpool like gravitational waves to keep the "planets" of The Blackshore afloat evenly. Thanks to this, time moves, but it changes matter at an astronomically slower pace — and since its inhabitants are almost all free of the limitations of age already, it becomes harder to track. Still, the roughest equation is simplified as: one hour of time spent in The Blackshore is equatable to seven full years passing by on Terraph. Add to the fact that once a being leaves The Blackshore, they tend to have foggy memories, at best, and keeping exact measures of time-and-space while traveling to-and-from is nearly impossible.

1 Hour = 7 Years in The Blackshore
1 Year = 8,760 Hours on Earth, so: 8,760 x 7 = 61,320
So, 1 Earth Year = 61,320 Years passing in The Blackshore

It should also be noted that, because of these rotations, every 200,000 great years (250,000 years) a total eclipse is created where all three suns and the planets themselves align completely for roughly one flash of a moment moment; making the rare total eclipse, or Black Sun, a near total impossibility to estimate well. It is why Galaviz is one of a kind among his peoples.

If I need to make up more stuff later as we create Seylah or whatever, I can. Basically: this is a spiritual realm where things are always drifting and changing, and the people are meant to be like guardians and blockades against the realms of 'negative' energy: Hellscapes, Prison Realms, Dark Realms where things are more difficult.

Ay'en was the first yawning in the endless darkness. Whether or not the Vashti existed before any other life is ever an uncertainty. The only truth known is that, before the Vashti, there was no tangible essence of lordship. No rule. No order. Ay'En Nafrae, as it would come to be known, was the first: the one to guardrail against time, and space, and death itself. Over the ages, this simple truth would compound and expand, until Ay'en was known as the source of these concepts themselves. No gods of time, or space, or death exist without Ay'en's power; he will strike down the last entity of Death when the universe ends, and collapse into himself for everything to truly, and finally, be over. Some believe the darkness expands from within him because of this — but he is, like any other Vashti, only an aspect of the Darkness, and Evil, itself.

As mortal Ouvsia, Mystja function as little more than cosmic druids. They have immense wellsprings of power to draw from and always live among the Free Territories to maintain that power, but aside from spellcasting and basic shapeshifting capabilities, they are not regarded as upper echelon beings. They do, however, have differed physiologies from normal humans, including, but not limited to: an ability to shift sexes, an an enhanced physical conditioning, enhanced mental capacity and extra organs including an extra heart and a minor extension to the brain. These function, mostly, as the basics to the evolution that comes when becoming a true and full Ouvsia.

While Mystja may not ever evolve in power enough to grow beyond access to a single tail, they can grow to have one tail and, in some rare cases of true and mighty power, they can even grow their "whiskers" while living a mortal life — allowing them to unlock certain core memories and access to The Blackshore, which allows them to function as sort of in-betweeners, teaching other Mystja the truth of their heritage. Typically, only a true matriarch of a Mystja clan will ever have access to her whiskers, however, the way Galaviz's own grandmother does.

Ouvsia are said to be the daughters of the nightsinger, a goddess of the moon who visits each wounded and betrayed mortal spirit in death and gives them the option of what comes next for them: release, relief, or revenge. This goddess, whose name is Lûnesa, strips away the norms of cultures from which her Ouvsia come: instead, they are taught anew. Each Ouvsia, then, is a female, in spite of their reproductive organs, their physical identity, or their preferences within other contexts. A true, and whole, Ouvsia, always identifies as female and daughter to honor the gift that has been brought to them and the power of their own might.

Every member of the species is enhanced with some shared traits: fangs, claws, good looks and prehensility. They also all come with their own ability to not only mate with any species or gender, but to find true soulmates through their efforts. Rather than a gem, as kitsune do, the Ouvsia can give a piece of themselves unto their partner of choice — a fragement of their eternity: their own heart-brain. With this, they may both be bonded to one another forever. This allows the partner an innate control over the Ouvsia and persists as one of the few weaknesses to their people; only a zer'thi varali (beloved skies, revered skies) may fully destroy another Ouvsia, body and spectral whole, to restart their cycle together and get a chance to raise up as full blooded Ouvsia through both phases of existence together.

In reproduction, an Ouvsia provides two copies of her own genes to her offspring, one of which is passed on unaltered. The second set of genes is altered in a unique process called Isqa'las (/iṣk'ah'laːz/ dovetail), also known as the sunshower or the wavelength. During Isqa'las, the eyes of the Ouvsia initiating the meld dilate as she consciously attunes her nervous system to her partner's, sending and receiving electrical impulses directly through the skin. Effectively, the Ouvsia and their partner briefly become one unified nervous system, sharing memories, thoughts, and feelings. The offspring of this process is always full-blooded Ouvsia, regardless of the species or sex of the "father". Commonly, Isqa'las is met with the phrase "embrace eternity" resonating through the joined spirit — said to be the voice of the nightsinger herself blessing their union.

Unlike other fox-demons, the Ouvsia are gifted with unique internal organs that exist whether in a physical form or spiritual — these natures persist, making them wholy true no matter the dimension or reality. First to manifest these signs is their "whiskers"; they also have unique blood, making them addictive, uplifted, bioluminescent and life-giving thanks to the way they feed to sustain. They also have an extra stomach, an extra heart-brain, a prehensile nature, climate adaptation and keratine bones.

In order for an Ouvsia to sustain a flesh-and-blood form after becoming full-blooded, they require a few basic things: 25 lbs worth of food a day to sustain the core magic; 15% of the energy in a human body a day to keep it looking normal; oathkeeping so they may never lie about a life-saving truth or break a promise; and, of course, they can indulge and feast on carnal pleasure from food, to sex, to ecstasy and group frenzies. Many Ouvsia are great performers, musicians, and party-planners, as well as those who run and host brothels, clubs and raves because of the easiest way of feeding.

Rikt'vidre (Starscourge) are 6 lingering beasts from the primordial dark. Malformed stars born inside of the endless void, they are the destroyers of eternal skies, fallen stars of ill omen. In their wake, the Fellstars linger, meteorites who grow legs and horns and become destroyers of the land. The reasons for their culling were myriad: the supposed destruction of the first sparks of light, the collapsing of one too many galaxies, the killing of god-children. Whatever the truth, only 6 of them remain, and though they are nearly indestructible, they were also left incapable of reproduction by any means that might create their blightful numbers again. For eras of light and dark alike they have tried, tried with great might, to return to a former glory, and their time almost came with the birth of Galaviz.

Of varying sizes, the Rikt'vidre are immaculate shapeshifting forms whose natural state exists as eldritch abominations: galactic skyscapes turned into woven forms, orbs of cosmic glory wrapped around the bones of fallen beasts and forming into hybrid cosmic horrors. They are, for the most part, depicted as a chimeric dragon-insect-avian beast of cosmic nightmares which is... not exactly untrue; they predate several beasts of avian nature, various demonic insects and the dragons of many pantheons themselves. Some even worship individual lost Rikt'vidre as their ancestors, of a belief that they are truly desecendant of their former might. Whether or not this is true is beyond recognition: the power is in the belief, all the same, and that is the source of their persistent presence.

One of the keys to Rikt'vidre being able to try and amass new numbers is in their ability to infiltrate pantheons and realms. By shifting their form, they are welcomed. Then, they are capable, from the depth of their multitude of universal energies flooding their forms, capable of drawing out the kind of power, weapons, and artifacts that make them be seen as true deities wherever they wander. They create charges, wards and scions, avatars and more, to try and use the power of faith to create a way around the damnation that has left them incapable of procreation. They are masterful manipulators of the energies of creation, destruction and fabrication, and in one on one battles, even outside of their true forms, they are the kind of warriors that create the myths of end-of-time-horrors.

By living as the last true dragon, so he called himself, Vid'scien fabricated an entire species. False truths, lies of legend, a culture put together on the fly, everything that was told about them was accepted as truth, even to the point of seducing and swaying a few all-powerful dominant species who could procreate, seemingly, with anything. Of these couplings, the goal was made clear: to rebirth the old gods of the dragon-kind and allow the species to be birthed anew. The real plan, however, was far more insidious: Vid'scien planned to take his children and use their parts in an effort to create a new, true, cataclysm that could collapse reality before triggering its own reset. In that, he hoped, the curse upon his people would be undone and they could rise again.

Ancient History

Like the Taino, the Dougla, the Chindiam or the Tegli, the Lokone are an indigenous people who, over time, have absorbed and assimilated various declinations of cultures. They believe in the individual worship of personal Zemi'ne (trans. ancestral anima) which creates the multicultural embrace of various bloodlines within a family — but no matter the distinct familial culture and heritage, they are Lokone first and foremost: the Black people of Xa'yathrú.

Believers in Kalína, who is their personal avatar and manifestation of Ayéki herself, the Lokone people have welcomed the expansive nature of their ethnicity and genetic development over the ages by evolving and incorporating openness. That is — they now have a powerful pantheon of 967 Opi'a (trans.: Greater Spirits) who rule the day to day as she weaves the universe and every breath of life together. They believe if they can root out corruption and bring together the peoples of the planet as one whole again, she will return. So, they work on embracing differences where they can, but are intolerant of those who aim to disrupt people’s lives.

While there are a great number of Opi'a, there is a greater number of Zemi'ne, by far, as each family has several ancestors they evoke for guidance, power and cultivation. It is only the Opi'a, however, who convene within the Naca'n (trans.: Anima Center), the hovering islands of magic where they collect as gods would. There are only ever 14 Opi'a sent to the Naca'n at once, however, as they have all agreed it would make no sense for Opi'a of war, for instance, to meet to decide upon harvest decisions. The only time Opi'a meet all together is when there is an attempt at conquering the islands being made, as has been learned is necessary through history so far. There is not enough ego for “god kings” or types like that even when power is mighty enough to Fit that. These contradictions between power and identity also helped them constantly survive colonization and rebel — as they were able to help Other gods be reborn into an Opi’a state that made it even harder to simply destroy them, as the worship so directly and intimately making them part of a family line makes it so they are endlessly reborn, rather than husked.

Colonization — History

In its history, Xa'yathrú, like many nations, was occupied by other nations in attempts at total colonization. It was invaded with these long attempts through four separate occasions leading to its diverse, rich culture currently, and the nature of its unique, mystical langauge which is mutually intelligible to a near perfect degree with several other languages off the planet. Below are the four distinct periods of war and varying levels of occupation that shaped and redefined the Lokone people and the history of the Xa'yathrú Islands.

Francian Wars (100 BC—405 AD) Before the first invasion from Francia, the Empire of Antillia, as it was then known, was the single largest archipelago nation in the world, occupying some 6,000 islands, cays and islets, and featuring what has been diluted into six tribes of what Francia would declare were distinct indigenous peoples identified as — Warrau (who worked with original colonizers and now make up The Bahamas and Jamaica in Logos), Lokone (I, Of Many), the Arawuke (‘Peaceful’, the Lokone tribe who the Warrau sold out to slavery), Szinca (Mother Green), Xinqe (Mother Wind), and the Tewaya (Mother River) people. Whether or not there were ever true political, ethnic, racial or genetic differences in these people has been lost to history, but as the Lokone ancestors tell it — they were all one people, living in their own distinct ways, as the Lokone do now.

The Francian Wars were by far the most devastating of the invasions, stripping the tribes away and selling women and children into slavery worldwide, a trade that kept going for centuries after the Francian soldiers were finally booted out from what remained of the islands. The population was left decimated from the wars and found triumph only in the defectors from Francia who brought with them their own gods who were seeking freedom from the newly formed empires. The end of the Francian Wars was, then, the start of Xa'yathrú as it is now — a nation of embracing and welcoming cultures and systems, growing from within, instead of dying on the vine.

Ériuan Wars (900—1060) The Éruian Wars were an attempt from another Free Territory to expand and try to bolsten its own power, ended when its own Nation-State was left in ruins by the invasion of a Logostrian Stronghold of the time. In the end, many of the Éruian soldiers were able to bring their families back as refugees, having aided some of the revolutionary Lokone through the wars already, and so the Gaelic members of the Lokone Pantheon were born — and the Gaelic side of the language began to become woven through its magical sound.

It was in the embrace of Gaelic culture into Lokone habits that the islands began to experience a new season: a kind of winter. Winter, however, lasts for roughly a year each time it hits and then does not come again for almost 4 years. This routine has created ways for the Lokone to develop unique forms of harvest and crop growing, and the patterns with which they keep the islands healthy and thriving in spite of these odd, long winters, has been beneficial in the wars that came later.

Ispanian Wars (1493—1689) As was the case with a great many Island Nations, Christopher Columbus initiated a long standing attempt at colonizing and enslaving the Lokone people. While the attempts were vast, and the number of deaths suffered on the island were massive, the tides changed when many of the slaves brought in as soldiers and brute force began to find liberation among the Lokone and their gods were reborn unto the islands. With new forces from former Orisha, Xa'yathrú was able to topple the Ispanian armies and reclaim many of the islands for themselves.

After the end of the Ispanian Wars, Xa'yathrú was found to have their inherent magic growing, creating a new segment of their spiritual essences that allowed them to actively use more "hot" and "cold" styles — as in, what others would consider life giving and life taking styles of magic. These new 'dark' paths were welcomed and embraced as just as true, and sincere, as the paths that follow the sun itself.

Koryoean Wars (1790—1815) The shortest occupation came in the form of the Koryoean Wars, when the penninsula was attempting to occupy prime trade locations and inherit the polytheistic practices of the Lokone people. The first Mystja were found through this period and it was with them that the wars were over so fast. When the Mystja realized the potential of power within the islands and its kazyte reserves. The attempt was forgiven and, over time, the Koryo state and Xa'yathrú became excellent trade partners in spite of their imperial status within the incorporate states of the world.

Political & International Status

Currently compromised of some 2,156 islands, the archipelago of Xa'yathrú is notable for its circular architecture with lots of solar-capture surfaces that allow for a lot of cloaking and illusion casting through technology rather than magic. Sensors are woven through the trees that disable tracking and surveillance, making it difficult to get communications through, although Galaviz was able to develop a method for it to work that the nation utilizes and provides to a few other select territories through the world. Xa'yathrú weaves its own architecture throughout nature itself, allowing for an abundance of kazyte affect on the body, the mind and the spirit, creating more powerful natures in all the Lokone and its creatures. It also provides them with the ability to create underwater, which is unique until Lokone, whose most important military bases are within the oceans that surround them and allows for protection from invasion. The Naca'n is a collection of floating islands that hover over the central island of the nation, where both would-be gods and learning Lokone live to enhance their own power and knowledge of the planet.

Lead by a mortal reflection of its own Naca'n council, there is a semi-rotational 14 matriarchial leaders who govern over the islands at any given time, with four (known as the Siboney) serving as lifetime appointees while the other ten are elected every two years. This allows for the Tribal Council to make sure there is both tradition and new blood in every guiding decision, and that its eldest traditions are never those that are the sole provider of knowledge or power. Internationally, it is ranked as one of the more powerful Free Territories in the world, having grown ever more dominant with the expansive growth of the Vestige Group and its numerous accolades and creations. It happily serves as a trade center for technology, agriculture and maritime services with most nations of the world.

As privately owned organization, Vestige Group, which is the umbrella of Galaviz's various properties and enterprises, is a mystery. There are estimates that the organization earns as little as a few hundred million a year to as high as a trillion — no one is really certain. What is known is that they are a very compotent organization and effective at managing his businesses, functioning more as an Angel Investor and philanthropic grant than a parent company.

Mostly, Vestige Group seems to be behind the launching of various smaller enterprises throughout the world, ranging from agriculture to heating and cooling, synathetic materials and telecommunications. They also heavily support small businesses and independent organizations, acting as a partner to a great many endeavours where the original owners seem to maintain near total control and earnings from the partnership.

Some materials that are known to be owned, outright, and originated from Galaviz, in spite of private financial knowledge, are: SOLIGEN (which is the fourth largest export of the nation-state (behind cho-cho fruits, cherimoya or custard apples and sují dulce otherwise known as dompete peppers, the spiciest natural pepper in the world), GVR (GV42N2C2O6), eQx, ANISTER, ANTIMATERIA, ERGONIUM, TARKON and METEGIUM.

Shai, whose name has changed over the centuries, to continue writing the truth and stories to record, is not a true weaver of fate. She never was. She was, however, a diligent and powerful Aesper who was so capable of drawing power from truth that history, that fact itself, became her destiny. And, through knowing that truth, she was able to pierce the veils and become a goddess, tried and true, who was reborn unto herself again and again over time. An unkillable truth, a fact that continues to remain, she formed the Order of Twilight so that no gaps in history could happen; as the world tried harder and harder to erase the past, she fought to try and hold onto it, and her Order would do the same.

So, the Guild, as it has been for a little over a century now, is descendant of an old order of believers of Shai who now operate as adventurers who protect the good, who fight wickedness and who hold truth above all others. They are, at times, hard to love, hard to know and harder, still, to speak to, but Shades themselves are ever honest with those around themselves and hold true to a core set of virtues that are hard to explain to others. Though they, officially, have small numbers, they are lead by a goddess herself and so have amassed great power across the world. Their headquarters double as archives, as historic landmarks with great libaries full of text, spells, knowledge and prophecies, and they earn wonderous amounts of money from their connections to other guilds who use their archives for research and knowledge.

The use of the Kissir in their design (which, at times, more resembles a harp dependant on the artisan), is because of the ancient belief that a Kissir was made from the sinew and bones of a deceased person, in order to ferry their soul through music. By owning a Kissir, then, a person was thought to be kept safe, protected. For assisting the dead, they were given protection through life, saved from all mortal harm by immortal hands from beyond the grave. This is the true creed and essence of the Order of Twilight: to exist in purpose so absolute that it persists beyond death, beyond all limits and borders of existence. A true Shade should be able to bring peace and justice even if they were to wander through the very depths of the 27 Hells.