Veloria, Stella Maris, and the Potentate

@Veloria is a coastal kingdom on @The Middle Sea of salt, silk, holiness, and naval strength, ruled by the Priest-King @Anselm XI, Potentate of Veloria, who claims divine communion with Stella Maris, goddess of the sea. Its cities are built on canals and cliffside terraces, and its fleets dominate trade across the southern waters. Veloria wields soft power with elegance—its diplomats are well trained in the art of persuasion, its temples centers of both worship and espionage. Recently, Anselm has spoken of visions: the sea goddess seeks union with the sky, a prophecy that could reshape the continent’s spiritual order. Veloria is a realm of mysticism, maritime politics, and seductive charm.

Veloria began as two powers: the Mariner Princes, who ruled the coastal trade routes, and the @Chamber of Stella Maris, who guided the spiritual tides. Centuries ago, during the Storm Reconciliation, a great tempest destroyed half the fleet and flooded the lower sanctums. The surviving leaders claimed it was a divine sign—Stella Maris demanded unity. Thus began the Convergence, merging crown and crosier into one sacred office.

Potentate

The Potentate of Veloria is not merely a ruler, but a living conduit of divine will—a sovereign chosen by Stella Maris herself through visions, omens, and the sacred prayers. The role fuses spiritual authority with temporal power, and each Potentate’s reign is shaped by the tides of revelation, silence, and reckoning. Upon ascension, the Potentate undergoes the rite of immersion, a ceremonial immersion in sacred waters to to receive divine communion. Their vestments, @Potentate Robes of Stella Maris, are woven from fine fabrics, and the crown is called the @Yoke of Service.

@Anselm XI, Potentate of Veloria, the current Potentate, is a contemplative mystic whose recent visions speak of Stella Maris seeking union with the sky. His reign has seen a resurgence of celestial rites and the commissioning small envoys of legates to the ancient @Shrine of the Sky Ring in the @Verdant Pact region of Skybride. But Veloria’s history is shaped by many Potentates, each leaving a distinct imprint on the realm.

Potentate Calmaris the Stern ruled during the Era of Trouble, when famine in other continents made sea travel risky and foreign invasion ever looming. He enforced strict fasting and led a perilous pilgrimage to the Abyssal Trench, returning with the Soul Compass, a relic said to point toward divine truth. His reign was austere, marked by silence and sacrifice.

Potentate Gregory the Veiled remains one of Veloria’s most enigmatic figures. He never spoke publicly, communicating only through Sister Orla, his chosen interpreter. His reign was shrouded in secrecy, and many believe he communed directly with the deep goddess beneath the waves. Some sects claim he vanished into the sea at the end of his reign, leaving no body—only a trail of salt and prophecy.

City of @Stella Maris , Capital of Veloria

@Stella Maris, @Veloria 's capitol city with the namesake of its goddess, is a sanctum of salt and sovereignty, where the divine and the political converge beneath domes of pearl and glass. As Veloria’s capital, it houses the @Chamber of Stella Maris, the grand temple and seat of state where the potentate presides over both ritual and rule. The chamber itself is a marvel of architecture, its vaulted ceilings etched with constellations and its altars perpetually damp with seawater drawn from sacred aquifers.

The city sprawls across a network of canals, its ornate structures rising like coral spires from the tide. Gondolas glide silently beneath bridges carved with maritime scripture, ferrying citizens between districts named for stars, saints, and sea winds. The air is thick with salt and incense, and the rhythm of the city is set by the tide itself and bells toll by lunar phase.

The @Harbor District of Stella Maris is a colossus of trade and movement, where merchant ships from across Skybride dock beneath the watchful gaze of Veloria’s navy. Beneath the domed skyline, the navy lingers like a sleeping leviathan—its ships sleek, silent, and ever-ready. Their presence is both reassurance and warning: Stella Maris may be beautiful, but it is never unguarded.

To walk its streets is to feel the pulse of a civilization built on reverence and resilience. Here, prophecy is policy, and every ripple in the water might carry the whisper of change.

The @Chamber of Stella Maris

The @Chamber of Stella Maris was not built in a single generation, but over centuries of devotion and divine inspiration. Its foundation began as a humble shrine carved into a seaside grotto, where early seers claimed to hear the voice of the sea goddess in the crashing waves. As @Veloria’s faith deepened, the shrine expanded into a sprawling temple complex, rising from coral reefs and tide-worn stone.

Master builders and sea-masons worked in rhythm with the tides, using Alendrian marble, silver, bioluminescent coral and salt-hardened driftwood to shape sanctums that shimmered with divine light. The Audience Chamber's central pool, known as the Eyes of the Deep, were forged from translucent coral, and iridescent shell, and filled with sanctified sea water.

Pilgrims arrive by gondola, passing under archways inscribed with prayers, and leave offerings of salt, shells, or pearls at the altar.

Layout

[Celestial Archive]

│

[Sanctum of the Veil]───[Chamber of Petitioners]

│

[Hall of Shells]───[Audience Chamber]───[Hall of the Leviathan]

│

[Reflection Cloisters]

│

[Priest-King’s Study]

🧭 Room Descriptions

Audience Chamber (Central Hall)

  • High vaulted ceilings with archways that echo cathedral ribs.

  • A pool of pristine water spans the chamber, with a smooth stone walkway cutting through it. Marked at the end by an elevated and elaborate nave where the priest-king sits.

  • Gold and silver inlays depict constellations descending into oceanic depths.

  • Light filters through stained glass panels shaped like waves and stars.

  • Used for formal audiences with Anselm XI and high ritual gatherings.

Sanctum of the Veil

  • A private chamber for spiritual preparation and veiling rites

  • Contains relics, incense fonts, and a mirrored altar.

  • Only accessible to ordained members of the Chamber.

Chamber of Petitioners

  • Where nobles, priests, and foreign envoys wait before audience.

  • Benches of polished driftwood, walls lined with maritime frescoes.

  • Guards posted at all exits.

Hall of Shells

  • A corridor lined with prayer shells and votive offerings.

  • Whispering acoustics allow for quiet reflection.

  • Often used for private counsel between Sealords and clergy.

Hall of the Leviathan

  • A tactical chamber with naval charts, ship models, and strategic maps.

  • Used by the Lord of the Admiralty and Anselm XI for fleet planning.

  • Contains a large table shaped like a sea creature’s spine.

Reflection Cloisters

  • A quiet garden-like space with shallow pools and stone benches.

  • Open to the sky, often used for meditation and theological debate.

  • Trees and vines grow along the edges, symbolizing divine growth.

Celestial Archive

  • Repository of naval doctrine, spiritual texts, and historical records.

  • Access restricted to scholars and high clergy.

  • Illuminated by lanterns shaped like stars.

Potentate's Study

  • @Anselm XI, Potentate of Veloria’s private chamber for writing, prayer, and contemplation.

  • Contains a desk of pearl-inlaid wood, a viewing window over the harbor.

  • Guarded at all times, but rarely entered by others.

Distant ally in the Middle Sea: The City State of @Horn’s Light

Nestled on the southern horn beyond the Hesan mountains, the city-state of @Virelli, Horn’s Light is a city-state—isolated by towering mountains, yet open to the sea. Though not formally part of @Veloria, @Horn's Light has long had a cultural alliance with Veloria.

@Horn’s Light's architecture blends coral stone and sea-glass mosaics, with winding canals and cliffside terraces that overlook the deep. Its temple to Stella Maris is modest but radiant, often built into the rock itself, with altars that face the tide. Its festivals honor both the goddess and the horn’s ancestral spirits. The city is governed by a Council of Tides, a rotating body of merchants who answer to no crown but maintain positive relationship with @Anselm XI, Potentate of Veloria.

Recent Concerns

With the @Hesan Empire recently taking @Alendria , an ancient country between Veloria and Horn's Light There is talk in the @Chamber of Stella Maris about the implications for Horn's Light's sovereignty. Veloria has historically seen Hesan's navy as small and weak, yet Hesan occupied Alendria is now a choke point if Veloria is ever called to protect Horn's Light. Likewise, whispers of strange arcane ships resembling wizard towers coming out of the Hesan river yards have traveled through the sea.