Astellia

**Astellia** is a continent that floats in the clouds far above Albion's surface. Prior to six thousand years ago, it was part of Albion itself, located hundreds of miles to the east of Latveria.

In addition to the royal capital, there are a number of cities, the majority of which are located on the continent's edge.

## History

Circa 50,000 years ago, a small tribe of humans on a continent far to the east were the first modern humans on Albion to achieve sentience. With their newfound ability to reason, they reached out to twin gods, the Sky Mother Merodii and the Earth Father Makari, in an event known as First Contact. The twin gods blessed this tribe of humans with three gifts—a city of hyper-advanced technology, the knowledge and means to expand it, and twin children named Silva and Calystegia, avatars of the gods, who would become the first king and queen of what would later become known as the Kingdom of Astellia.

As Astellia grew and prospered over tens of thousands of years, handfuls of settlers ventured out to sea in search of new frontiers. These settlers landed on many continents, intermingling and interbreeding with the local tribes and passing down their traditions and knowledge.

Over time, small numbers of would-be treasure hunters found their way to Astellia, causing minor altercations with the Astellians. This led to the establishment of the Astellian Self-Defense Force, or ASDF, a small military force around 200 strong.

Approximately six thousand years ago, the king at the time, regarded by many as weak and fearful, grew paranoid of the peoples of the outside world, who were growing gradually more advanced in technology and ability to find Astellia on their own. Fearing what might happen if they were allowed to continue, the king instead decided to turn inward and flee, in an event known as the Departure. Using the divine magic of Merodii and Makari that powered the kingdom, he ripped the landmass of Astellia from the surface and lifted it into the sky, surrounding it with a barrier of clouds that rendered it invisible to the eye and undetectable by magic from the outside.

Over the next six millennia, Astellia continued to grow, raising its people on a newfound isolationist philosophy as its citizens sought to learn from what was widely regarded as a catastrophic mistake by the king who carried out the Departure.

## Government

The Kingdom of Astellia is ruled by a royal family descended from Calystegia and Silva. As is tradition, the king takes on the royal name "Aster" while the queen takes on the royal name "Camellia." All royals have the surname "Astellia," with males being "\_\_\_\_\_ ul Astellia" and females being "\_\_\_\_\_ li Astellia."

The system of government itself is a constitutional monarchy, with the constitution put into place by a parliament that was formed in the wake of the Departure, to prevent similar events from happening again by means of a king or queen doing something stupid without considering the consequences. Most of the laws are drafted by the parliament, but it is the king (or queen, depending on who married whom) who has the final say in most legal matters.

The reigning king is King Aster ul Astellia, given name Coriander, the son of the previous king and queen. His wife is Queen Camellia li Astellia (given name Yukikaze Hashiya). They have three children: crown princess Amaranth li Astellia, her younger twin sister Yin, and the youngest child, prince Hana ul Astellia.