Adastin

Adastin’s environment consists of sandy thickets surrounded by small fresh and saltwater pools. Being one of the more damp countries occasionally the thickets will become more swamp like, but this is only near areas with large amounts of water. The weather is very hot and humid, at least more humid than most areas of Mirror Domain.

Seeing as it borders the Shallow Sea Adastin has several small islands surrounding its borders. Many of these islands can easily be walked to. As the name would imply, the Shallow Sea isn’t the deepest body of water. Most, if not all, of these islands are mundane in terms of resources, but many people find them fascinating as islands in general aren’t commonplace.

Water and salt are some of the most abundant resources within Adastin. Unlike other ocean bordering countries, Adastin doesn’t put too much effort into catching fish. The waters are too salty and shallow to support vast amounts of aquatic life. At least, the parts of the water within its borders are. As well as water, Adastin also has quite a lot of raw metals such as gold, silver, and copper because of it’s proximity to the Sanquet Mountains.

The weather in Adastin is generally calm, but when it rains it pours. The sandy soil easily gets washed away in the rain, causing mudslides and minor flooding. Most of the infrastructure here has been built to accommodate this.

Fauna in Adastin is mostly that of small burrowing mammals and birds. Rabbits, voles, shrew, mice, and mongoose are a common sight. Burrowing owls are also common here, although their population is beginning to dwindle due to the growing population of pure beings. Animals from the mountain range can also be seen here. Deer, goats, and gazel can be seen on occasion. On top of that, Phoenix and Peryton have been rumored to be spotted here, albeit only near the borders.

Most livestock animals here are goats, sheep, or alpaca. These animals are more often than not accompanied by a herd or guard dog of some variety. The people here use milk products and wools as a secondary income, although it’s by no means Adastin’s primary export. Animal products are most commonly used for food within the region. Meat and dairy is a staple food in people’s diets in Adastin, as well as the occasional demon product.

Like Vertgate, Adastin has a plethora of old ruins from the times of old. Seeing as it was one of the first established countries in Mirror Domain a lot of its history can be seen just from infrastructure alone. That being said, a lot of the older ruins have been lost entirely due to the mudslides. The few that still stand are generally related to Lord Lykan. Towers, Barracks, old abandoned military bases.

Most of the ruins in Adastin are left to crumble. Adastin has a very prominent “out with the old and in with the new” mentality. The past should remain in the past, and only the future is important. This has caused much of the country's more questionable history to be swept under the rug. Namely the assassination of it’s old ruler, King Preston Ajax, which led to new ruler Talon Yet to take over around the year 684ADI. The Yet lineage is still in power today, with the current King being Talon’s grandson, Malar Yet.

The Winter Festival is famous in Adastin as one of the biggest celebrations of the year. It occurs every year at the beginning of November. The Winter Festival celebrates the harvest season coming to a close. During this time people will make hundreds of candles and floating lanterns in order to guide the harvest spirits back home so they can rest until the next harvest season.

Spirits are commonplace in the folklore of Adastin, and for very good reason. Apparitions, Mirror Domain’s version of ghosts, were discovered here by a well known nobleman Pandora Estelar. Pretty much all known information about apparitions comes from Adastin because of this. Apparitions are by no means more common here than anywhere else, but because their existence has been brought to light people believe that to be the case.

Pandora and his friends have become local legends around Adastin, as the study of Apparitions and the realm they inhabit, the Inbetween, often drives people to madness. Pretty much everyone knows about Pandora and the insanity that plagued him. But, as is the way of Adastin, people generally try to forget all the tragedies the family brought on to the kingdom.

Education is huge in Adastin. Most children start school as early as six years old, and many continue their studies well into their twenties. The study of magic is emphasized over everything else, though, as the high concentration of Red Magic can be dangerous if people are left uninformed. It’s the standard to teach about the safe use of magic in schools, and this standard has caused a lot of the population to gain an interest in magic from very early on.

The majority of Adastin’s population follows either the god Tilvet or the god Life Bringer, as Feline Kodin and Elves make up the majority of the pure population. These religious beliefs are pretty deeply ingrained into Adastin’s society, as the high population of mages causes more people to believe in the gods. Magic comes from the gods, after all, so naturally the general population would be devout.

Adastin is one of Vertgate’s closest allies. In the past, back when Lord Lykan was still in power, the countries used to be one in the same. The only reason the two split off was because of the sheer size of it all. With a single country so spread out it was hard for Vertgate’s King, Lockett, to keep it all under control, so he appointed a few trusted accomplices to rule over the exterior borders. Eventually the country split, causing Adastin and Bane to be established.