Gemworld

### Residents

Balek of House Topaz, Princess Turquoise, Princess Garnet, Princess Moonstone, Princess Diamond, Princess Aquamarine, Yrdur, Ypsilos, Citrina,

### Former Residents

Amaya of House Amethyst, Emilia of House Emerald, Charra of House Ruby, Alis of House Sardonyx, Lexa of House Opal

## History

### In the Beginning

On the creative cosmological construct known as "Earth-27," there is a dimensional locality built into the construct's Oculus Apex known as Gemworld. Gemworld is a place ruled by magic and supposedly it is the birthplace of most of the original Lords of Order and their nemeses, the Lords of Chaos. A war raged across this land when the two factions became intrinsically opposed, with the Lords of Order supporting their founder Kismet and the Lords of Chaos supporting the scorned being calling himself Dominus. Their conflict continued to escalate until it spanned the entire construct, leaving their home of Gemworld essentially abandoned.

### New Life

After its original inhabitants abandoned it, Gemworld was settled by refugees of Atlantis, led by the sorceress Citrina. As most of the refugees had some level of magical ability, sorcery and other forms of magic became a staple of Gemworld's way of life.

After settling their new world, Citrina forged a plan to cement peace and forge a united Gemworld. To this end, Citrina held a summit with the leaders of twelve houses, thousands of years ago. The sorceress took twelve gems, each with immense and equal magical power, and presented them to the twelve houses' leaders. Each leader was allowed to choose one gem to identify with their house. When the choices were settled, Citrina used a ritual to transform the gems into incorporeal soul shards which were then grafted to the souls of the twelve leaders.

### Twelve Houses

These soul shards were intended to remove the politics from the kingmaking. These soul shards had the ability to transfer from one host to another in the same family, choosing the most worthy candidate of appropriate age in the bloodline - but these shards would only ever select females to receive their power. Those who carried these soul shards became known as the “Princesses of Gemworld." In addition to the twelve princess shards, there were two male shards: The prince shards. Usually, the noble bearing the prince shard the longest would be designated the King of Gemworld and would reign as such until his death, upon which the other bearing the prince shard would become their heir and thus become the new king. Whereas the King would command the citizens of Gemworld and oversee political matters and executive decisions (in the same way the Realm Lords would rule over their individual Realms), the Queen of Gems (the Gem Princess chosen by the King to be his wife and queen) would oversee the eleven remaining Gem Princesses whose magical gifts often allowed them to remain among the highest ranks of Gemworld society as sorceresses, generals, champions, poets, artists, priestesses, or famous adventurers.

### Twelve Realms

Each of the Twelve Houses oversees one of the Twelve Realms of Gemworld. At the center of Gemworld's continental mass is the large capital city of the entire kingdom. At the center of the royal city is the royal palace, the Crown Jewel. The castle is the seat of power of the King of Gemworld and his Queen. The castle is surrounded by twelve embassy houses which house representatives of each House.

The Royal City of Jewel does not belong to any realm, it is directly controlled by the Crown and exists on a large island surrounded by two rivers and the large Sapphire Sea. Spanning outward from the city are the Twelve Realms, each one distinguished by a different, predominant biome which is reflected in its people's traditions, attire, and architecture.

#### Northern Realms

* **Ruby Canyon:** This realm, overseen by House Ruby. It is currently also without a princess after House Emerald led an attack on it many years ago which set off a long war that the realm has only now begun to recover from. It also controls Ruby Bay which is a major trading hub for the western ports of the kingdom. Its castle, the Ruby Ruins, is an old red palace built by the Lords of Chaos thousands of years ago which has been salvaged as the seat of power of House Ruby.
* **Sardonyx Sands:** This realm, overseen by House Sardonyx, is a large desert bordering Ruby Canyon and Garnet Valley, with which it holds a tight alliance. The people of this realm are mostly nomadic and quite resourceful. Its ruling house has a large, fortified camp built around a large oasis. Similar to Houses Ruby and Emerald, Sardonyx lacks a Princess of its own due to the same war which ravaged the other northern realms.
* **Garnet Valley:** Surrounded by the Garnet Peaks without only one easily accessible point of entry, the people of Garnet Valley have become industrious and militaristic people, known for creating the finest soldiers and weapons in the kingdom. Many of its people are miners and its seat of power is actually built inside a mountain at the center of its valley - Mt. Garnet.
* **Opal Expanse:** A large realm covered in vast stretches of tundra, taiga, and permafrost. It is the most northern of the realms and arguably the largest. Much of its more remote parts have yet to be explored.

#### Central Realms

* **Emerald Forest:** This realm, overseen by House Emerald, is a powerful and wealthy house as it produces much of the world's lumber and is located relatively close to the Royal City. It is currently ruled by Lord Yrdur Emerald, twin brother of the missing Gem Princess, Princess Emerald.
* **Amethyst Hills:** This realm, overseen by House Amethyst, is located near the Royal City of Jewel. Its closest ally has always traditionally been House Emerald, but the recent war has strained their relationship as House Amethyst is also without its Princess due to the effects of the war. The Amethyst Hills are made up of rolling hills, most covered in fragrant, colorful flowers of all colors and known for its grass of a light violet color. Near its many towns and settlements, vineyards and wineries are often found as the Amethyst Hills are mostly known as the vintners of the kingdom and Amethystine Wine is drunk at all major social gatherings of the wealthy and powerful.
* **Topaz Fields:** This realm consists of a large, flat, and grassy biome, well suited for farming crops. Its ruling house is powerful and wealthy by providing most of the kingdom's wheat, vegetables, and fruit.
* **Sapphire Islands:** Located in the Sapphire Sea, this archipelago of islands is a paradise of beauty, with each island equally as beautiful and breathtaking as the last. Though it lacks the population of many other realms, this realm earns its wealth by providing the kingdom's houses and wealthy merchants with luxury resources which the other realms lack.

#### Southern Realms

* **Moonstone Wastes:** The House of Moonstone controls the "wastes", a large region covered in ancient ruins of the Lords of Order old capital city. The region is also covered in craters from magical warfare. Though the land is still infected by some magical pox that prevents much of it from being reused for agriculture, it's a treasure trove for scrappers, salvagers, and the like to rummage through to find lost wonders. Where there are any signs of life, its usually a putrid swamp, decaying bog, or small oases built around a geyser or hot springs.
* **Turquoise Jungle:** Seat of power for House Turquoise, this thick jungle realm is filled with all manner of great resources. Its trees provide wood for the southern realms and are used best in shipbuilding. Its people are mostly tribal, living one with the land, and only taking what they must. They are also exceptional warriors.
* **Aquamarine Coast:** A long, narrow realm, located adjacent to the Turquoise Jungle and the Eastern Ocean, the Aquamarine Coast is made of rocky cliffs, beaches, and grasslands. It controls a major trading hub in its largest port city which controls much of the trade of the East. They are known for making the best sailors, water mages, and ships in all of the kingdom.
* **Diamond Plains:** The Diamond Plains is the home of the Temple of Gems, where all Gem Princesses are expected to make a pilgrimage at some point in their lives. Surrounding the Temple is a city that supports the temple, which in turn is surrounded by farms that exist only to support the one city's occupants. Stretching beyond that are pristine fields of pale blue grass, shallow hills and valleys, and natural beauty. Small woods grow here, fed by gentle streams descending from its surrounding mountains which separate this beautiful realm from the Moonstone Wastes and the Western Ocean and Sapphire Sea. As these mountains surround this realm on all sides, the only way to reach this realm is through a pass on its northern side which requires passage through the Moonstone Wastes to reach.

### Church of the Black Diamond

Lladiz came to the Gemworld and built a palace for themself in the Moonstone Wastes using the power of their new magical gem. Using this same gem, Lladiz chose Kaala, a young noble from House Diamond, to bestow with unstable power and appointed them as their prophet under a new Enochian title of Galid. The Galid began a spiritual movement among the Gemworlders. This religion set Lladiz as its god and was called the "Light of the Eclipse" or the "Church of the Black Diamond".

In a short time, the religion gained enough traction that it had a significant following on the western half of the continent. During an eclipse, the followers of this church gathered together for a massive festival where the Galid claimed it was time to overthrow the nobles and sacrifice noble blood to Lladiz's name. The violence that followed created the War of the Eclipse in which the other Houses banded together against the Galid and the followers of Lladiz. After years of violence and countless loss of life, the princess of House Amethyst slew the Galid in combat, putting an end to his claims of immortality.

Though the war would continue for months, it died out with a whimper as the zealots slowly returned to their normal lives without a leader to organize them. When the Royal Army besieged Lladiz's palace, it found the palace empty, with Lladiz having already fled.

### Current Events

Gemworld was in turmoil following the deaths of both its current and future kings, leaving the throne vacant for a time as Gemworld scholars deduced which of the male heirs should ascend to the throne as monarch and which would be required to serve as heir—one from House Opal and the other from House Turquoise.

Before he had become a Prince of Gemworld, Vyrian of House Turquoise was meant to marry a noble gem of House Diamond, however with his ascension to a prince he was absolved of that duty and expected to marry one of the kingdom's many magical princesses instead. Though House Diamond did have a princess, she was much older than Vyrian and had no interest in being Vyrian's wife or queen, despite her house's urging that she do so.

Meanwhile, Houses Opal and Amethyst had an arrangement for centuries ago that the next time Opal produced a male heir that House Amethyst would give their princess to House Opal to marry, ensuring that both Houses would ascend to the thrones of Gemworld as King and Queen of Gemworld. However, Princess Graciel was none too keen on this Prince Opal, finding him menacing and fearing what would happen if he were allowed to become king, a concern shared by man of the nobles of Gemworld.

A solution to these concerns came when Vyrian and Graciel met. The two had an attraction to one another and both felt the other would make for a good partner and just ruler. Going against the orders of their houses, the two married for love, causing political tensions with Houses Diamond and Opal as a result. Though House Diamond made politics difficult for King Vyrian and Queen Graciel, the Bachelor Prince of House Opal became openly hostile from the slight against his pride.

When Vyrian and Graciel's daughter was still quite young, Prince Opal declared Vyrian a false king and had himself crowned. As the House Lords outside of House Opal refused to recognize his claim, Prince Opal became known as the Dark King Opal or "Dark Opal." As Vyrian began to prepare for war to force Dark Opal to submit to the authority of the true crown, King Vyrian was suddenly killed in his own castle, forcing Queen Graciel to take her young daughter and flee.

Balek of House Topaz was born to Lady Ithbel of House Topaz and her second husband, Lord Coyne of Aquamarine. When Balek was young, he inherited the shard of royalty from the death of King Vyrian of House Turquoise. Expected to become a king when he reached the proper age, Balek was a threat to Dark Opal and as a result, Balek's identity was kept a state secret for most of his youth.

In order to make him a proper king, Lady Ithbel sent her son all over Gemworld to study and enrich himself. However, it was a different story after his mother was called back home to govern her house and a teenage Balek was left to continue his studies on his own. Balek lacked focus and instead he mostly spent the remainder of his youth vacationing in various locales and flirting with beautiful young girls that would take a shine to his wealth and claims of becoming the next king.

When word got out that there was a new heir to the throne that could contest Dark Opal, young Prince Topaz suddenly found himself the target of assassins and foul magical creatures. Fearing for his life, Topaz made his way to Jewel intent on raising an army to put an end to Dark Opal's machinations. There was a catch, however. Before Topaz could command the royal army, he needed to become king and to become king, he needed a queen by Gemworld custom.

Prince Topaz summoned all the princesses to court. Those that responded had no interest in marrying Topaz. Not that they would not make good queens, but Topaz was the deal-breaker—having heard rumors of his womanizing and gadabouting with the common gems. With his options exhausted at home and becoming increasingly paranoid of Dark Opal's attacks, Topaz summoned the royal mages and asked them to summon him other Princess Gems. Whether it was an accident or intentional, the mages instead sent Prince Topaz across the folds of reality, casting him to Earth—in the middle of Gateway University's campus.

## Trivia and Notes

### Trivia

* The war between the Lords was caused by Khaos. Tuoni was obsessed with Ahti, but she didn't love him. Khaos encouraged him to invade the Apex and kidnap Ahti.
* Priestess Citrina and her followers made a deal with the Lords of Chaos to allow her to open a small rift that led here from a doomed Atlantis.
* A "Princess Gem" is a female Gemworlder descended from the nobility who was born with heightened magical gifts. A noble girl who inherits the magical powers of her family takes the title "Princess of Gemworld", and then is distinguished by their House name. On Gemworld, it is a very intimate gesture to refer to a princess by her given name. A Gemworlder of a noble house who has the potential to inherit a Soul Shard is known as a Noble or Radiant Gem. They often have much higher magical potential than the common people of Gemworld. With this magical potential they often hold the most powerful positions in most facets of Gemworld life: military, trade, industry, politics, academia, etc.
* A commoner is simply called a Gemworlder, or Rough Gem. They have a slightly more magical aptitude than a normal human, but that's about it.
* The language of Gemworld is called Jeweltongue.
* The word "Fractal" is a swear word.
* Gemworlders can marry at a young age, around fifteen.

### Notes

* In the comics, Gemworld is shaped like a skull.
* Kaala was Eclipso in the *New 52*, but he was a member of the House Onyx. Galid is Spirit of God's Wrath.

## Links and References

* Appearances of Gemworld
* Location Gallery: Gemworld
* Characters from Subsidiary Reality A

1. ↑ Earth-27 101: Gemworld
2. ↑ NFX: Lladiz
3. ↑ Network Files: Prince Topaz
4. ↑ Network Files: Khaos
5. ↑ Earth-27 101: The History of Atlantis
6. ↑ Network Files: Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe 1
7. ↑ VOX Box: Glory to Gemworld 1
8. ↑ VOX Box: Glory to Gemworld 4