Before Utopia

*This piece of literature, written by an unknown author, is the only piece of history that expands upon the Sephra realm. Rumor has it that the author is the first man to ever traverse into the realm of Sephra through unknown means, and came back to tell their tale, expanding on the history of the realm.*

*No one is sure of the author’s existence, let alone whereabouts.*

With the expressive downfall of the pantheon and the rise of enigmatic void creatures now roaming freely in the realms of Azura, new magic befalls the people of this tormented realm, one that allows the easy fabrication of items and even creatures pre-existing in other realms called Summoning.

Summoning is only a mere fraction of our understanding of these so-called other realms, no summoner can theoretically fabricate a portal to traverse through these realms. Which in turn makes summoning very intricate magic in that it goes far deeper than the intrinsic idea of Mancy. Each realm has its own damning timeline, which we only know very little of- however, one realm that has become the most documented as of this current day is Sephra. This realm is frequently known by historians and even summoners as the ‘realm of fantasia’, a realm so enriched with life and peace that even the most damned souls will find peace by simply smelling the supposed fresh air, or touching the fur of their many beautiful faunas that roam the vast forests of Sephra. However, beneath the surface of all that is pure lies a far more dark side to this so-called ‘Utopia’.

In a generic Utopia, all life and its conditions would be met to an absolute standard only one can call perfection. Where wars and famine never plague the lands, and life flourishes regardless of struggles. However it begs to differ- how does one maintain this so-called Utopia? Could you truly meet everything at peak condition? No, there are limits to how a Utopia can even operate, some darkness must be tainted in order to ensure that the light remains. Before we get into its antithesis, it’s better that we expand upon the Sephran religion, called “Sephranism”. In already pre-existing Azurian history books, we know that the people of Sephra worship the idea of magic and what it brings to the people. To the point where magic is pictured to its own entity, a divine figure of holy light that entrances all the lands. Without the existence of their magical properties, Sephra would not be able to maintain their flourishing lands, as well as fight their rivaling twin, Vadakel. This is where we look deeper into the people of Sephra, how it is impossible to achieve a true Utopia without a hint of violence to maintain peace. In the grand scheme of things, their ideals to maintain purity is one of thoughtful exercise, a morally good compass that brings no downsides to the people of Sephra, however that being said, to maintain purity one must exercise action that would be considered extremist or even immoral. According to the people living within the realm, there have only been two reported wars ever before the true establishment of their utopian society, both of which involved the war against Vadakel. The people of Sephra are even now considered to be radical idealists (or extremists) who intend to do whatever it takes in order to keep the realm at its true perfection. The evil that lurks within their own land of the heavens is to be exterminated without a second thought, all in the name of ‘magic’, their ideal of worship as if it were its own god-like entity.

The main influence that has to lead to these extremist ideas is none other than Sephranism alone, a fate similar to the pantheon of Azura, to blindly follow ideals of an entity barely understood and to take action in the name of that being in which only exists as a mere idea. There is no drawn depiction of ‘magic’ as an actual physical entity, but the people of Sephra all agree that magic themselves would be a woman blessed in divine light. Their magic, on the other hand, is far more potent than that of Azurian mancy. The only known name I was able to decipher from their texts is “Etheri” (Ee-Thee-Ree) I was unable to attune to their own magic of course- as you need to be of pure Sephran blood to be able to attune to Etheri. To explain as to why this magic outmatches Mancy would mean hours of text, however- it is best to quickly summarize only a fraction of what I have learned. Etheri attunement- due to its heavy toll on the human psyche, takes about a month of attunement. It is considered taxing to the human psyche as Etheri magic allows you to manipulate the flow of your own magic to change the course of how nature itself works, meaning within a mere second a beginner Etheri magician could turn plague into the tall grass in 10 seconds flat. Etheri magic is used for the purification of the lands, which also means Etheri magic is used to combat the beasts of Vadakel who occasionally skirmish the smallest fractions of land. That is as much as I can explain of Etheri without losing my own mind, it would take years of research to tap into the true essence of Etheri… I haven’t the slightest clue if Etheri magic even uses vitor as a source. I have many theories as to why it may or may not be the case, but no time to explain it.

Sephra would be considered a true utopia if it’s not for its antithesis, Vadakel- the twin planet of plague and true decay. However- thanks to the use of Etheri magic as well as some fauna, the Vadakel scourge can be kept out of their lands if not for said magic, as well as their heavy ideals on eliminating plague. In this Utopian society. However let it be said, you cannot have a Utopia without a hint of Dystopia.