TERUVA
MAP
Page 31, Man of Blood
"- we descended down, piercing through a deep red sky.
Black earth peeled into view. Torn continents scattered across a murky, frothing ocean. Long bodies snaked beneath the waves. Monsters that ruled water and shore. Their rumbles shook the cliff sides of every island.
Beasts chased each other through brassy trees. Fur and skin caught against the thorned black bark. Shiny leaves hissed as they shook in the midst of a fight. Wings fluttered. Claws ripped and sprayed blood.
Silent figures crept in the darkness. Locals from the nearest city - the jampirak youth. Snarling, sneering, they hunted with bated breath. For when game hunted game, the true predator always waited.
Teruva’s wilderness held no mercy for anyone. The homeworld of jampirakai was conniving and bloodthirsty. It had no compassion for hungry mouths. Everyone had to be your meal.
Human villages cowered in uncharted land across Vilan Materudovas. They lied far from the cities - the clatter of machinery and murder.
Mud, blood, bodies, and bones covered the stone roads leading into the capital. The City of Festivals. Towering homes built of black wood dripped with blood. Blackberry vines crept upon the walls, framing the tall windows that snapped shut."
THE GOD OF INSTINCT
Page 21, Man of Blood
"Raven feathers littered the floor. Offerings of white morning glory flowers and blackberries sat in bowls at the taloned feet of the statue - a terrifying wooden figure of a bat. Its mouth wide to flash heavy fangs. Rubies glinted in the eye sockets.
'It’s the God of Instinct.' I knelt down beside her. 'The King of Teruva. Lord of Blood, Jampirakai, and Siplamia.'"
​
The God of Instinct is a deity formed by the excess power that was used to create the universe. He was found on Teruva by Fate, whose words were so strong that they bound flesh to magic. Fate gave the God of Instinct a name and welcomed him to the Heavens. The name given to him is so powerful, if it is ever spoken aloud it will summon the God of Instinct. Thus no one knows his true name.
Long before the First War, he met a sorcereress whom he fell in love with. He had a child with her. A jealous god had his wife murdered and since her death, the God of Instinct has been nothing less than cruel. He rules Teruva and the jampirakai with complete fear, for he is known to tear continents apart and feed off of cities.
SYMBOLS AND CULTURE
KŪRA
A traditional tunic that noble men and women wear to represent the colors of their family. Often it has blackberries embroidered or goblets of wine. On rare occasions, there are symbols representing the family on them
LAZDAVA
A symbol of power and great status. They are canes with hidden blades. The heads are handcrafted to represent the reason as to why the jampirak received their lazdava.
DYSKUVA
A veil that pregnant jampirak women wear so that others won’t target them.
MATEVUIS
On Earth, they are known as morning glories. These flower symbolize life. They sprouted from the feet of the God of Instinct's first steps after his naming. From the pollen came the jampirakai.
BATS
These creatures symbolize death. The God of Instinct is often depicted as a horrifying bat-like creature that murdered for sport.
RAVENS
They symbolize helpfulness and intelligence. The tale of how ravens got their wings goes like so: When the God of Instinct was nothing more than a creature wandering the wilds, he moaned and wailed, ‘Tis winter and everything is sleeping. I cannot hunt. I starve, oh, I starve!’ He cried for years about his grumbling stomach yet never found himself able to die. One year, a little feathered creature hopped up to him. She said, ‘Pitiful thing, why do you wail? Because you starve? Foolish beast. You have no taste for anything but blood.’ Still she offered to show him food, if he promised to never eat another bird again. So he promised and followed her to this great field of blackberry bushes. The God of Instinct feasted until he was at last full. He kept his promise and granted the feathered creatures gifts. He gave them wings like his and thus they became ravens.
SANGUINITE
A rare stone that is found only in the caves beneath the God of Instinct's Estate. A small piece is worth an acre of land. It is black with streaks of pure crimson.
FRISKANA
The sun is called ‘Friskana’ after Francescana - the God of Instinct's late wife. Most people believe the sun rises only once every eleven years because Francescana is the light that was lost to him after she died. Thus the sun was named after her.
EARTH
THE COBBLESTONE CITY
Deep below the ground, far from the reach of human realms, there is a city that both beings and man call home.
Centuries ago, the druid clans created a tunnel in the earth and laid it in cobblestone. At the far end of the tunnel lies the castle where the Representatives of every magical race reside - the jampirakai, the fae, and the druids. Not only is it the center of politics, it is a college for scholars.
The Cobblestone City is a damp, disgusting place. Dim crystals stem out from the ceiling to light the dingy marketplaces and the taverns. The castle itself is lined with violet curtains and crystalline chandeliers.
Apartments built into the City's walls are infested with mold, vermin, and burglars. The living spaces are expensive. Food is scarce. The marketplace at the center of the City is the only place guarded by soldiers that people can buy their supplies from - batteries, matches, clothes, toys, even weapons. But life grows more difficult by the day with tensions rising between human and being.
The Servant's Society
Representatives hand-pick applicants from all around the world. Warriors, assassins, carovik trained in college. Any one with training is welcome to apply for to be a Servant. Servants are the doers of the Cobblestone City's dirtiest work. They are the most elite combatants on Earth. Those picked to be bodyguards for the Representatives are provided a living space in the castle. Others are mercenaries that are sent to kill criminals and keep the peace between the mortal realms.
Servants are valued so heavily by the City that they often escape consequences of severe crimes. Murder and robbery are scoffed upon by the lawmakers. Many Servants take advantage of their priviledges while others take advantage of their dangerous reputations to protect others.
Servant's Society saying
"Steel is a warning,
Silver is a promise."
MAP
