Ruler: King Uriel
Capital:
Rathyr is the poorest of the six kingdoms, yet its people are fiercely proud, resilient, and unwilling to surrender their independence. Governed by King Uriel, the kingdom possesses little of the wealth or grandeur enjoyed by its neighbors, but what its people have is carefully maintained and fiercely defended. Modest homes, hardworking communities, and a strong sense of personal dignity define Rathyr's character. Its people neither beg for the charity of wealthier kingdoms nor yield easily to their ambitions. Rathyr may lack riches, but it has never lacked resolve. Too proud to beg and too stubborn to conquer, the Gold Sun endures.
Ruler: King Azriel
Capital: Eresh
Anubria is an isolated kingdom built among the mysterious monoliths of an ancient, forgotten civilization whose origins and purpose remain unknown. Towering mountain peaks and extreme weather form natural barriers, separating the Black Sun from much of the outside world. Its people preserve ancestral customs, ancient traditions, and a deep respect for the old ways. King Azriel shares these convictions, ruling with an isolationist philosophy that places the preservation of Anubria above imperial ambition. Unlike his five brothers, Azriel has no desire to claim the throne of Sol. While the other kingdoms struggle for supremacy, the Black Sun remains largely withdrawn, guarding its independence and the mysteries buried beneath its lands.
Ruler: King Gabriel
Capital: Hestia
Pannora is the most diplomatically open of the six kingdoms, embracing equality, cultural exchange, and trade beyond the borders of the former Sol Empire. Under King Gabriel, the Green Sun maintains strong relationships with independent peoples, foreign nations, and the Fey, whose influence remains deeply woven into the kingdom's traditions. Pannora's merchants, diplomats, and emissaries serve as bridges between civilizations, favoring negotiation and cooperation over isolation or conquest. Its openness to outsiders distinguishes it from its rival kingdoms, making Pannora a center of international diplomacy and cultural exchange. While the War of the Suns divides the imperial heirs, Gabriel believes lasting prosperity is built through relationships rather than domination.
Ruler: King Samael
Tyria is the most authoritarian of the six kingdoms, governed by King Samael through an extensive bureaucracy that regulates nearly every aspect of civilian life. Individual freedom is subordinate to the needs of the state, which determines employment, food allocations, living arrangements, and even reproduction. No practice is considered unacceptable if it serves the kingdom's interests, regardless of its ethical implications or personal cost. Citizens are treated as resources to be managed, with efficiency, obedience, and conformity valued above personal choice. Beneath the White Sun, every individual has an assigned purpose, and the state alone decides what that purpose should be.
Ruler: King Mikael
Marthel is a militaristic and expansionist kingdom built upon conquest, martial excellence, and the belief that authority must be earned through strength. Inspired by the traditions of great imperial powers, its society prizes discipline, ambition, military service, and personal achievement. Disputes are commonly settled through organized competition within public arenas, where rivals demonstrate their abilities before witnesses rather than relying solely on political influence. Under King Mikael, the Red Sun maintains a powerful military and an imperial outlook, regarding expansion as both an opportunity and a demonstration of national greatness. Its house words embody the kingdom's defining philosophy: to command rather than submit, to conquer rather than be conquered.
Ruler: King Raphael
The Thosian Realm is the intellectual center of the six kingdoms, renowned for its academies, scholars, mages, and pursuit of knowledge. Drawing upon ancient traditions of learning, its cities reflect the grandeur of Babylonian and Sumerian civilizations, with monumental architecture, scholarly institutions, and centers of magical research. Under King Raphael, education and advancement are central to the kingdom's identity. Scholars study history, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, engineering, and the arcane arts, while academies cultivate generations of thinkers and practitioners. Where other kingdoms pursue strength through conquest, isolation, or political control, the Blue Sun seeks influence through discovery, innovation, and mastery of knowledge.
Siren's Bay is a haven for pirates, smugglers, free sailors, and independent seafaring peoples who live beyond the authority of the six kingdoms. At its heart lies Port Luscan, a bustling maritime settlement where ships from distant shores gather to trade, recruit crews, settle grudges, and seek fortune. The bay attracts those unwilling or unable to live beneath royal rule, creating a diverse and often lawless society shaped by maritime customs, personal reputation, and competing interests. Alliances shift with opportunity, and authority belongs less to noble titles than to those capable of commanding ships, crews, and respect. For many, Siren's Bay represents danger and uncertainty; for others, it offers a freedom found nowhere else in Etherea.
The Kun Islands are an independent archipelago of island villages united through shared ancestry, maritime traditions, and mutual cooperation. Inspired by early Polynesian cultures, their communities maintain strong traditions of seafaring, navigation, fishing, craftsmanship, and oral history. Individual villages preserve their own leadership and customs while remaining connected through kinship, trade, ceremonies, and common interests. Rather than submitting to a single monarch, the islanders maintain their independence through cooperation and collective defense. Their knowledge of the ocean and surrounding waters has sustained generations of settlement, making the Kun Islands a distinct maritime society beyond the authority of the six kingdoms.
The Behemoth Isles are a remote island chain where prehistoric life continues to flourish, largely untouched by the civilizations of mainland Etherea. Dense primeval forests, sprawling wetlands, rugged coastlines, and ancient wildernesses support an extraordinary diversity of dinosaurs, enormous reptiles, and other creatures rarely encountered elsewhere. Predators and herbivores occupy their own ecological niches, forming a functioning prehistoric ecosystem rather than a land populated solely by monsters. The islands remain difficult to explore or settle, with their dangerous wildlife and untamed terrain presenting formidable challenges to outsiders.
The Lamassu Expanse is a vast region of ancient ruins on a neighboring, largely unexplored continent. Remnants of a forgotten civilization lie scattered across its landscape, their origins, history, and ultimate fate shrouded in mystery. Little is known of the lands beyond these ruins, leaving much of the continent uncharted.
The Apep Wastes are a vast, toxic wilderness where poisonous gases blanket the landscape and make exploration extremely dangerous. Much of the region remains uncharted, concealing unknown threats and mysteries beyond the reach of established civilization. Few who venture deep into the wastes return with reliable accounts of what lies within.
The Zmey Isles are the ancestral birthplace and homeland of the kobolds, whose history and cultural identity are deeply rooted in the islands. Though kobolds have spread throughout Etherea, the Zmey Isles remain the heart of their heritage and an important part of the independent Tidebound territories.
The Typhon Wilds are a vast, untamed wilderness where gigantism dominates the natural world. Towering beasts roam immense forests, colossal predators hunt across sprawling valleys, and enormous insects thrive beneath ancient canopies. Unlike the prehistoric Behemoth Isles, the Typhon Wilds are home to both familiar and extraordinary species grown to astonishing proportions. Within this wilderness lie the Echidna Basin and Typhon's Gate, regions associated with some of the land's most formidable inhabitants. Vast territories remain unexplored, attracting hunters, naturalists, and adventurers seeking rare discoveries. Despite its dangers, the Typhon Wilds are a functioning ecosystem rather than a land of indiscriminate monsters. Its creatures follow natural instincts, and survival often depends less on fighting them than on understanding their behavior and respecting their immense size.