Ikinobiru Province

**"End my suffering."**

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 **Demonym** | Unknown

**Ikinobiru Province** (イキノビル県 *Ikinobiru ken*) is a region north of Pergrande in an unknown country bordering Ishgar. It was formerly the home to the Ikinobiru Clan who expanded its borders before falling in X340, leaving the province abandoned for six centuries. As of late, the region has become a popular treasure hunting spot for those seeking its treasures, but countries surrounding it wish to protect it as a sanctuary for the native animals.

## Description

Located just north of the Pergrande Kingdom on the border of Ishgar and the Eastern Continent, the Ikinobiru Province is rather more so a neutral region than an actual country. This is mainly due to the history that helped expanded the province into what it is today, as the countries around the province have agreed to leave it as an independent sanctuary that they cooperate in protecting. The Ikinobiru Province is substantially large to be seen as a state, as it's size can be compared to that of the countries, Midi and Fiore from the Ishgar continent. The region is notably known for being the home of the Ikinobiru Clan, who had expanded its borders by building new towns and claiming nearby clans under its banner. The Ikinobiru Province has seen its fair share of war because of this and still bares scars that serve as a reminder to how cruel war was back then. Ruined cities still litter the landscape hidden underneath the vegetation that has grown over, as well as the skeletal corpses hidden among the shrubs, left there after battles fought in the land. The west side of the province still retains a healthy forest that hasn't been badly damaged by the conflict of that time. These forests have become home to several species that developed over time within its woods, offering many unique plants and other materials that the wildlife live off of. Because of this, the Ikinobiru Province offers special native species that had adapted to what the forest provides, and so can't be found anywhere else besides nearby areas just outside the region. All life here is protected by an agreement set by the neighbouring countries in order to help preserve the life here.

The province is now popularised as a hunting grounds for Treasure Hunters and illegal poachers, as there are plenty of riches still left in the ruined cities and forgotten tombs of the Ikinobiru Clan. Despite the governments' best efforts in protecting the grounds, many still intrude on the peaceful land, hunting and exploring for their own gain. Only after a hundred years did organisations and guilds begin searching the old region for artefacts and treasures, with just a few years after that did hunters realise how valuable some animals and their materials came to be. Old tomes and spell-books still remain in the city walls as a source of knowledge of the old world, as well as providing useful information on the magics that one may be able to learn from. The Ikinobiru Province is just as valuable to one who seeks riches to another who seeks wisdom. Some have illegally made camp in the forests to avoid government forces from detecting them, making the forests quite dangerous to trek through if one is not careful. The old cities such as Taeru and Aka remain as some of the only intact remnants of the old clan, still bearing their banners and mon all over the buildings. Animals, both passive and aggressive, have also begun to dwell within the ruins, simply becoming an inconvenience for Treasure Hunters and other explorers looking around the settlements.

## Treasure Hunting Locations

### Subete Shitte-Iru Library

The **Subete Shitte-Iru Library** is an ancient library that is nearly as old as the Ikinobiru Clan themselves. Created with the intention of holding all the knowledge and writings of the Ikinobiru clan, the Subete Shitte-Iru Library's size has quickly grown over time in order to keep up with the every expanding knowledge of the clan. As a way to collect knowledge all over the vast land that was ruled by the clan, clan mages had created a mechanism that would allow the library to float, held up by a powerful magic artefact discovered in the northern regions of the province. This artefact is one with the tower, and for it to deactivate would send the tower plummeting down to the earth, causing both the destruction of centuries worth of findings and writings, as well as a devastating damage to the area it crashed into. Built as a tremendous tower reaching magnificent heights, the Subete Shitte-Iru Library is said to be solar powered, absorbing enough energy for it to stay afloat during the day whilst having enough to float throughout the night. Despite it being left to drift around the land, the Subete Shitte-Iru Library wanders around within the province's borders, never having been seen outside in other regions. Originally, the Subete Shitte-Iru Library was mostly chained up outside the capital city of Taeru over the waters.

Getting into the library is a challenge itself as it is too far off the ground for any normal mage to reach it. Conventional methods of flight are required to reach the tower, however, there isn't any landing spots for easy landing, meaning that the use of air flight vehicles will have to drop off their explorers and follow the floating library where ever it goes. Treasure hunters who have already visited the tower before had broken down its front doors, allowing for future hunters to simply enter by jumping in, though at the same time allowed flying creatures to also enter as there is now a plethora of flight capable species making the Subete Shitte-Iru Library their new home. From simple birds to small wyverns, the Subete Shitte-Iru Library is a nesting ground for these animals that can swoop down onto visiting explorers. The first levels of the library are conventional enough as aisles of bookcases cover the grounds from one side to the other, stacked with books that seem to have been left untouched by the intruding species. Books that can be found here contain knowledge of the old world as well as information on many species and races that have existed since then. The older books date back to the X200's, with names belonging to prominent writers appearing frequently within its shelves. Some of these books aren't as valuable as some treasure hunters may guess, prompting for further exploration upwards into the tower. The only real challenge here would be the aggressive birds that tend to swoop over heads, sometimes hitting their targets and causing minor head injuries.

The further up one goes, the more valuable the books are, whether it be in knowledge or price, as some of the books kept in higher levels are usually the best guarded. Visitors to the tower used to be able to access the upper floors with a series of staircases, however, the ages of time have worn down some of the materials of the building, causing some parts to collapse and give way. Some of these parts being the stairs which now have large gaps that people aren't able to naturally jump, leaving treasure hunters to find other ways of moving up the library. Magic powered golems patrol the upper levels, baring different elemental magics to use against intruders, which they are able to identify by the lack of the Ikinobiru's mon. Most treasure hunters are usually not prepared for such encounters, with many having fallen to the golems' power and overwhelming number when forgetting to carry something as simple as an insignia. Many unfortunate victims lie dead on the grounds with looks of fear as their passing expressions, some still holding the books that they had planned to loot. These golems are incapable of being incapacitated with dispelling magics, and must be destroyed through other means. Magical turrets also lie within the library's walls and fire magical bullets that inject a special poison once hitting a target. They too identify their targets with the lack of the Ikinobiru's mon, and will not stop attacking until shut down by an authorised person or destroyed. These security measures were advanced for their time, but do lack some features that most machines nowadays need to function properly.

The highest levels of the tower bare many magical tomes and all the Ikinobiru's knowledge of magic that scholars have collected over centuries. Getting into it, however, is difficult due to the intense security measures that the Ikinobiru mages have implemented into these floors. The higher levels, also known as **Araboth**, is locked by a large vault door that bears the face of the first Ikinobiru lord. The gates colour is black with gold accents, with two lacrimas implemented onto both doors and a small gold basin at the face's mouth. The gate requires two people to unlock, or an Ikinobiru family member with blood to donate, providing two methods of entry for those seeking the treasures of the Araboth. After years of raiding, however, no treasure hunter has been able to access the higher section successfully, as those who had attempted to unlock the gate with the former option were killed by the gate's security measures. The inside is described to hold several shelves filled with invaluable tomes and books, some even said to hold and teach powerful magics. The mechanism that allows the Subete Shitte-Iru Library to float is said to be placed in the centre of the highest room due to its vulnerability. The gate is the final security measure for the room and due to the delicate state of the artefact, there are no offensive security located within the Araboth itself. In the Araboth, one can expect to find the autobiography of every Ikinobiru lord all the way to Oyaji Ikinobiru, and a magical family tree portrait detailing all the members of the Ikinobiru bloodline; detailing all members deceased, unknown and alive to the current day.

### The Warriors Garden

In the forests north-east of Aka lies **The Warriors Garden**, a sanctuary filled with statues that the Ikinobiru clan had formally recognised as heroes. Theses statues stand by the stone pathways that trail all over the place, carefully watching over those that visit the grounds. At the same time, the Warriors Garden also serves as a burial grounds for the same heroes that were carved into statues, with a whole tomb underneath the garden that's bigger than the Warriors Garden itself.

## Locations

Aka, the city of heroes.Taeru, the capital of the Ikinobiru Province.Subete Shitte-Iru Library, the vault of knowledge.