Snowshank

Snowshank
 
trembling evergreen boughs under an empty, sun white sky.
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Canon Divergence
 
The events in Snowshank take place around 5200 AS, two centuries after Snowfall destroyed the gift of order and the unification of the two continents. Boats, a recently rediscovered invention, have become commonplace. Although technology has progressed, Snowshank is fairly isolated from the discoveries of the mainland.
Animus magic, having vanished mysterious for decades, slowly returned, although it manifested differently. A power once gifted to a sparse few, it has grown wild, as if it had crept back slowly. It gathered in the soil and the wind and the rain, harnessed the strength of the moons, seeping out uncontained after its banishment from dragonkind. Anyone knowledgeable and lucky enough could learn its secrets.
Its only limitation, before, was on the boundaries of time and the dead. Death is all it is now. It whispers the melodies of those no longer living, collects their imprint upon the world in the shadowy corners where secrets are buried deep. It is not well understood, nor does it need to be.
It is but a blight to be eradicated under Snowshank's brilliant light.
Geography
 
Environment
The kingdom and the island it sits upon are referred to as one. It does not consider itself part of Pyrrhia, despite being tucked close against her neck, located in the bay between the Ice and Sky Kingdoms, a day of sailing north of Possibility. A flight would take around the same time, if the chill and rough weather didn't threaten anyone that dared to try.
The island was formed from volcano that fell silent long ago, though those violent and blazing eruptions have left an empty and quiet land. The only sign of what Snowshank once was is left behind in its beaches: long stretches of shimmering black sand.
Despite little precipitation, permafrost has built up over the mountainous terrain. Snow collects on the frozen land for ten months at a time, as the sun slips below the horizon into a perpetual night. In the south, evergreen trees form sturdy taiga forests. Swaths of emptiness peak out from under the leaves, land cleared for agriculture and settlements.
The summer brings two months of lush vegetation and brilliant wildflowers, liquid water pooling into streams and bogs. The life that was always present flourishes plain in sight, briefly, before the winter returns and steals those moments away in a brilliant flash of autumn's fiery orange.
Landmarks
Villages scatter the tundra, clusters settled with particular frequency in the shadows of the mountains. Farmland stretches under the leaves of the taigas to the south. Cobbled roads, hidden and replaced by paths of packed ice for much of the year, snake over the land, demarcating Snowshank's veins. 
The centerpiece of Snowshank is cradled in its northernmost mountains, a fort of a castle. It is not a delicate construction, thick walls of stone brick and heavy towers weighing down the corners. A wall, useless but nevertheless imposing, encircles a proper castle. The stone is pale, almost yellow, and between the fluttering tapestries and the victorious flags, the motif of the sun is clear. The palace remains uninviting; few are allowed to witness the interior decor. A wide road, carefully constructed over years of toil, leads down the hills, often half hidden by snow.
Snowshank's perimeter, stone cliffs violently swallowed by ocean waves, is littered with tall watchtowers. These, too, are pale stone and yellow fabrics. A regular rotation of guards cycle though, keeping careful watch over the seas. The population of the island is carefully corralled; a scant few are permitted to leave and enter.
The mountains are strung through with tunnels, countless mines leaving gaping maws in their bases. The resources vary—silver, emeralds, coal—but the means of excavation remain the same. Villages cluster around these openings, haphazard constructions oft more abandoned than not. They're not meant to last long.
The farms among the taiga forests in the south have built up over generations. Enormous fields of vegetables and crops that the acidic soil can sustain break up the canopies of needle leaves. The perimeters are carefully controlled, edges always clearly defined. Each belong to a specific house of nobility, the branding they leave upon their land visible at a glance.
Society
 
Culture
*Wearing a lot of fur is the norm. It's cold up there!! The more bundled up you are the less you're respected
**Idk IceWings can resist cold and most nobility IceWings. There's something there.
**Peer pressure hypothermia #1 cause of death /j
*Eggs are always kept out of the light of the moons
*Moonlight is considered evil and bad. The night is also considered evil and bad. So is the ocean.
**These guys are still NightWing racism unfortunately.
**There's like an unofficial curfew of sorts - if you're still out and about at night you are Suspicious
*Sunlight is glorified. The queen is quite literally the daughter of the sun.
**Divine right to rule yay
*Stereotypes are kind of a thing here
*Polar bears are sacred and not to be touched
*Last names a Snowshank only thing?
**Very much a pretentious we're fancier than the other guys thing
**Two words separated by a dash, each parent passes down one part of their name
***my god i've reinvented ship names
Government
*Island is very much a monarchy (works just like the current wof queens), has its own military, is an independent state that guards its borders very carefully. Why can't you just fly away? Don't ask that question.
*Power is generally passed down peacefully, although there has been violent challenges. It's considered a more archaic thing now, since the royals are not really raised to fight anymore
*Nobility mostly IceWing, with royalty being pure Ice. A lot of SkyWing in those bloodlines too
*Have their own military. More glamorous job than working in the mines anyway
*Very strict about who enters and leaves? The water barrier helps a bit with that
Trade
*Need to get their veggies from elsewhere
**They grow some native berries and some other root vegetables that can handle acidic taiga soil, but the selection is limited
**Fruit? literal delicacy
*Normally hunts like... mountain goats, some moose perhaps
**Most food is imported from Possibility or other towns around the river, feeding the population off wildlife is simply not sustainable
*Probably have silver, gold, etc. in the mountains or whatever and that's their main export
**They refuse to trade with the IceWings. Generally good relations with Possibility and the SkyWings
**Occasionally do business with the SandWings and other kingdoms further away on the continents
History
 
:Despite existing for just shy of two hundred years, Snowshank's history has already been blurred, myths and reality already irreversibly intertwined. A careful examination of Snowshank's claimed canon reveals exaggerations, contradictions, propaganda, and outright lies. 
Founding
:The reason for Snowshank's founding is perhaps the clearest part of its past, fueled by Queen Snowfall's rise to the throne. Still a dragonet at the time, the grand societal changes she pushed quickly proved to be unpopular among several noble families.
*Sometime in the future from the canon timeline, technologies have progressed (slightly) and tribes are generally friendly
*IceWings unhappy with Snowfall's grand societal changes moved to this previously undiscovered island
**"Legend" says it burst from the sea as she broke down the wall of names, to give IceWings a new safe haven
**Old NightWing maps had it marked so it definitely existed, it's just that no one had a reason to look for it
*The first few settlements there don't do anything officially, they're just seceding from queen they don't like
*Named Snowshank after everything was kind of settled. Where did the name come from? Who knows. There are a lot of theories
**Dragonets love saying it's about (Snow)fall backstabbing (shanking) the nobles. Royalty absolutely hates this story.
Lumen's Rise
*The first royal, Lumen, who gave them light orbs known as "Lumen's Gift". They're generally shortened to "Lumens' now.
**Several times IceWings from the mainland has pointed out that these are just "moonglobes" whatever those are. A diplomatic gift from Snowfall
**Don't worry about those guys they're liars
Moonchasm
*First brightest night after its founding, which just so happened to be one of those nights with a crazy lunar eclipse
*Animus magic was trickling back into the population at this point, but different
**For some reason things get... weird in Snowshank. Magic permeates the land and anyone who has the skill and the knowledge can wield it
**Due to the 3 blood moons, someone figured it out a lot sooner than they otherwise would
*Dubbed a black magic, it was banned forever. Taboo. Don't do it or we're executing you. (Some SkyWing traditions last.) No one really knows what happened but it's very free scary campfire story material
*Anyway a lot of superstition surrounding the moons to this day
Current Day
*uh oh queen dead
*Embroiled in literally the most conflict ever since Moonchasm
*Military guy's in charge but he does not deserve the crown let's be honest guys
*Anyway succession crisis ! We get #silly
Category:Content (Mezepheles)
Category:Places
Category:Work in Progress