Setora

**Capital** | Windpeak City (Northern Setora)
Goulston (Goulston League)
 **Government** | Unknown (Northern Setora)
Centralized Plutocracy (Western Setora)
Democratic Republic (Eastern Setora)
 **Head/s of State/s** | President (Western and Eastern Kyrsides)
'Director' (Northern Setora)
 **Branch/es** | Unknown

**Setora** is a continent in the world of Carokiiv in the Tides of Fate universe. A land ripe with technology due to being the homeland of the Dwarves, but also the land with the least aptitude on magic due to their limited control on it. It is the northernmost continent on the planet, and is among the coldest lands due to it's close proximity to the planet's north pole.

## Culture

### General

As mentioned, Setora is the land of the Dwarves, and makes up the majority of it's people. As far as in the earliest days of it's history, Setora is divided by two dominant factions: The Goulston League and the Crescent Wings, the former faction being the majority of all conservatives, and the latter being the liberals, considered as their counterparts. It is widely considered that the flow of ideas in the north really came only from these two parties; the ideas of 'mere outsiders' were usually shunned or even vilified, especially in the cases of many within the Goulston League. Although open for trade, only northern Kyrsides ever does trading with them to a limited degree. The neighboring continents of Betoriv and Flinrock do not trade with Setora due to very poor relations to the northern continent, and vice versa. Although Setora's land is self-sufficient like the other continents, the distribution and usage of it's natural resoruces were always contested since the founding of the first Setoran governments.

The people of Setora have the most reverence and emphasis to technological pursuits, and forms a large pillar of their society, due to their poor performance on the field of magic. As of the Modern Age, there are no known Humans, Dryads, and Asterians being part of the Setoran citizenry. It is also stated that Setora is among the worst places to live in due to the massive gap between the rich and the poor. As the saying goes; The rich are too rich, and the poor are too poor, and the ones in the middle suffer the most from both sides.

Like Kyrsides, political machinations are not uncommon in Setora, albeit many of their machinations are done through the 'war of words', such as debates, forums, and so on. The worst of these machinations are spoken of as secrets that the Setoran governments refuse to disclose. The social elite (Leagues and Wings) of Setora are the only ones known to truly benefit in the north; others were to fend for themselves. Even the lesser ones of both social elites are known to leech off of society in one form or another, such as through bureaucracy and corruption. As such, they are generally disliked by both Betoriv and Flinrock, and are still looked down upon by Kyrsides for their lack of "backbone" due to how they are unable to "make their words into fact by taking action" and "act all big, yet are small in the end."

### Education

The educational standard in Setora varies due to how the continent is split between east and west, between the liberals and conservatives respectively. Some were high, and some were low. Some even claim that the education taught to both existing and former students were heavily biased and even sanctioned and monitored by the governments themselves to the point they only allow what they want their people to learn and even force them to learn said knowledge, and on how some institutes have unfair tuitions. Many of these topics remain hotly debated by scholars and critics alike.

Generally, Setoran education has four systems of grade: Elementary (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6), Middle School/Junior High (Grades 7 to 9), High School (Grades 10 to 12), and finally College (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior) respectively. Concerning high pursuits (such as in the field of technology and politics), there are still post graduate courses from university for people to gain the equivalent to a "Master Degree" or a "Doctorate", which are one of the only known ways to attain a high position in Setoran society in an 'honest way.'

Despite being a nation mostly reliant on technology, magic is still studied and used, with both approval and disapproval that varied in many Setoran circles. Setoran Magitek is an example of the most notable technological and magical marvel of the Dwarves made from their knowledge of both fields. Both the Goulston League and Crescent Wings strive to improve their Magiteks as well, with the independent state of Windpeak being the forefront (and possibly the origin according to some sources) ot Magitek research and development.

### Economy

Like Betoriv and Kyrsides, Setora is a capitalist economy, and thus they work based on open trade, cash flows and production of goods. Although not as large as the other three continents, Setora is known to have potential to be self-sufficient, but this was put in question when natural resources began to run low, and how the Dwarves began to rely more and more on their technological advancement and limited resources (such as fuels from fossils and Vorwhal Oil) as time passed, especially in the Modern Age, where industrial factories and machines are common due to secondary industries being a vital part of Setora. This is only made worse on how the natural resources were constantly fought over by both eastern and western Setora.

Setora has strong manufacturing sector due to the presence of industry in their cities, with the Port City of Vorwhal Steading being known as one of the key settlements to producing an alternative fuel source known as Vorwhal Oil, which was known to be more efficient and powerful, to replace fossil fuels. Eastern Setora also tries to establish trade links with Betoriv and Flinrock, and improve their trade relations with Kyrsides, but with little progress concerning Kyrsides, and virtually no success with Betoriv and Flinrock.

In the field of technological advancement, Setora is arguably the most techonologically advanced yet flawed, unable to beat Betoriv's place on the forefront of both technological and magical advancement. This created an industrial rivalry between the two nations as a result.

## Geography

Like the rest of Carokiiv, Setora contains various landscapes despite being closer to the north pole of the planet, which proved to be a benefit in itself, as there are known flora and fauna that grow better in the cold weather and are found only in the northern continent.

The northern half of Setora is known to be among the coldest, and cold pine forests are a common sight the more one travels closer to the northern end of Setora. The cities of Windpeak City, Vorwhal Steading, and Wraith's Cry are the three settlements that reside in the northern half, and the denizens of all three cities are known to be one of the most skilled engineers in the land as well as hardened survivalists due to the cold climate they must endure, especially in the season of winter.

The southern half of Setora represents the more warmer zones of the Dwarves' homeland. Many of them ended up moving here to avoid the cold, and due to it's lands being more ideal for agricultural pursuits as well as potential sites for fossil fuel extraction. Due to the environmental damages done by the industrialization of many lands, Setoran engineers continue to develop and invest on artificial ecosystems and new methods (fertilizers, the so-called "growth boosters", etc.) to further boost their agricultural potential and repair/reverse the damages done. Southern Setora is also the region where the only high mountains of the continent can be located. The notable settlements of the southern region are the City-Fortresses of Crescent Tower and Goulston respectively.

The southernmost point of Setora, which was said to have once the grounds of a highly-advanced settlement, has been known to be obscured in legends and secrecy, even to the Dwarves of the continent. It is infamously well-known as a dangerous location due to the poisonous/toxic gases that seep from certain areas from the ground in both the swamps and the volcanic areas of the region, but it is said that the natural resources found in this region are invaluable and have unique properties.

## Military

As a nation mostly reliant on technology due to one reason or another, such as their limited control and varying outlook over magic by many individuals, Setora is known to have one of the most leading militaries with close ties to technology, if not *the* closest. Despite their limited control over magic, which is supported and supplemented with technology, they were still not to be underestimated regardless.

The Armed Forces of Setora consists of three branches; The army, the navy, and the air force. It is said that both the Goulston League and the Crescent Wings have their own respective armed forces, and is competing against both each other and the rising PMC organizations, which began to grow in fame (and infamy) due to the PMCs answering the call of the "common man."

The Setoran Navy, despite being one of the most advanced, is arguably the smallest branch of the armed forces due to recent histories of the Setoran Navy serving their nation poorly due to various reasons, such as deadly Vorwhal attacks and their ineffectiveness in invading the other continents in the past.

The Setoran Army is known to stand in the middle ground of the armed forces, and serve as a key component to Setora's national interests and defense against all enemies, foreign or domestic. They serve as the land forces of Setora's military and sometimes assist the Setoran Police in the most extreme cases, and are never far from being seen as part of the Setoran numbers in the front lines.

The Setoran Fleet, which serves as the air force of the Dwarves, is arguably the largest and most powerful branch of the Setoran Armed Forces, and lives up to it's name due to having the most successes in their known operations despite their flaws. However, their reputation varies in many circles. As they are the largest and most powerful branch of the Dwarves' military, they are considered the spearhead of any expedition/invasion that Setora commences.

For the Goulston League's armed forces, they bear the name of the *Goulston Directorate*, with the Crescent Wings naming theirs the *Crescent Protectorate*, and Windpeak's currently named as the *National Vanguard*.

## Notable Locations

### Settlements

#### Crescent Tower

Despite it's name, the Crescent Tower is actually a grand-castle-like city-state originally built from a sole standing tower, up to it's current state to the extent of the Dwarves' capabilities. Aside from housing it's impressive military, it is also well-maintained by it's people, but the constant threat of infighting and political schemes plague it's internal affairs and general security.

#### Goulston

Considered as the capital of the League of the same name, Goulston is the counterpart of the Crescent Tower. Like it's 'twin' in the east, it houses it's powerful military and it's people, but is known to also be plagued with infighting and political schemes of varying shapes and forms, and power struggles are common to it's people, both in and out of it's walls.

#### Windpeak City

The very large city-fortress of Windpeak is known to be the only settlement in Setora which still devotes to the concept of magic, while also maintaining and valuing the usefulness of technology. It is also considered the most advanced concerning Magitek. Both the Goulston League and the Crescent Wings tried to win Windpeak's allegiance as far as the Modern Age, but the independent city-state firmly kept it's neutrality while also preparing it's defenses against both factions, including behind closed doors.

#### Wraith's Cry

The port city of Wraith's Cry used to be a settlement once owned by the Goulston League, but lost it at some point when the people of the former settlement rebelled against the latter faction in a bloody civil conflict for independence. After a hard-won victory, Wraith's Cry was devastated, and seeking allies for it's own safety and preservation, pledged it's allegiance to Windpeak, effectively forming (and later officially) the independent state of northern Setora.

#### Vorwhal Steading

The port city of Vorwhal Steading earned it's name due to how it engages heavily in the Vorwhal Hunting business, and is among the leading producers, sellers, and traders of Vorwhal Oil, which was extremely superior to fossil fuels. It has received numerous offers to be integrated into the Crescent Wings, but like Wraith's Cry, it maintained it's independence and neutrality from both the Crescents and the Goulstonians, but are open to trading under acceptable conditions.

### Major

#### Prospector's Reach

A mysterious mark on Setora, it is obscured by many legends that speak of it's origin/s. Due to dangerous environmental hazards, both from flora and fauna, as well as geological and magical activities, it is considered a no-man's land where only fools or those with a death wish would dare to trek for what is said to be promised riches awaiting those who "manage to survive and reach the end of the rainbow."