An Explanation of Sorts
So it occurred to me that while I'm trying to make Kira and Kieri's stories as simple and easy to read as possible, there's still a lot of things I don't explain that are probably really confusing. So in the spirit of not confusing anyone who happens to read these, these are the simple explanations of the world and its ways.
(Warning: infodump of dooooooooom. A cut with a * by it indicates information immediately relevant to the story.)
The World Itself - Sciona
Sciona is the mortal realm of the setting, and where most of the action takes place. It is a relatively small world, with one major human country and many small settlements in unclaimed territory for the five other magical races - Miasumi, Nishina, Somenre, Miyana, and Alindri. Most of the action takes place in the human country of Desora, which is mostly hilly grassland. The capital city is also named Desora, and is a newer city built with the best human-magic hybrid technology has to offer.
The city of Desora was built on a small manmade mountain beside a river in the northern part of the country. The main city rises in three levels above the plains; each level makes a perfect circle around the mountain. The lowest and largest level is the shopping and school district, where most people of the city can be seen each day. The second is home to the higher class of the city; government officials and their families, along with rich merchants and the like live there. The third level is home to the building called The Palace, which retains the name thanks to the figurehead king who still reigns there.
Though most people know the city has an extensive sewer system designed to keep the city from flooding during the rainy season, they do not know of the government offices that lie belowground as well. The administration of the country has their offices here, alongside the living quarters of the Specials and the government's espionage unit.
The migration of people to the city made the need for more housing urgent, and so the lower city started to spread out in a circle around it. Though there was some concern about the safety of the people there - the magic barrier that can be raised around Desora only extends to the lowest level of the main city - the lack of any aggressors after a century or so of uneasy peace won over, and now the lower city sprawls over the plains.
The country and outer territories are surrounded to the north by mountains, the west by sea, and the great forests to the south and east. While it would be possible for humans to further explore their world and perhaps discover other countries or people, they have recently been too caught up in their internal struggles to do much abroad. It is said the Miasumi to the east and west have explored beyond these borders, they have never reported any of their findings to their human allies.
The realms of both demons and angels lie parallel to Sciona. The demon realm was sealed away hundreds of years ago. The magical seal lies in the southern city of Demonse, and though life goes on fairly normally for the inhabitants of the city, the effects of the nearby demonic energy can be seen in the high crime rate there. On the other hand, the northern city of Sephirim, named for the six-winged angel advisors of the goddesses, serves as a holy ground for believers, as a portal from the angel's home exists there. Though there has been some talk in Desora of claiming the territory where Sephirim lies and making the city the new capital, nothing has ever come of it.
The Conquerers - Humans
In a world where magic, goddesses, and demons exist, humanity would appear to be at a disadvantage. They lack the innate strength of the Nishina, and have nothing to counter the magic of the Somenre or Miyana, but make up for it in numbers, tenacity, and inventive genius. For over a hundred years from the present time, they have held most Somenre and Miyana in captivity and reduced the Nishina to a small population living in a hidden forest city. They were able to take advantage of a conflict between the Somenre and Miyana, and with the aid of either traitorous or captured mages, were able to bind the magic of the people.
Their magic is been applied to nearly every aspect of human life; the loss of it would be a major setback to human society. Thanks to the magic of their slaves, magical technology is improving by leaps and bounds. Lights can be powered by generators that require charging once a month and most houses in the capital city have rudimentary heating systems. Magical healers provide free health care for the city. The general population are not allowed to own firearms, but weapons technology within the government has produced several prototype guns that can fire magic-crippling ammunition.
Despite all their advances, humans have not yet been able to gain magic of their own. This is not through a lack of trying, however, and there have been some limited results from their attempts. One government agency, the Specials, receive transfusions of magical blood. This raises their strength, speed, and gives them some resistance to magical attack - for instance, a Special unit would be untouched by a fire spell for a short period of time. This technology is only available to certain members of the government, as it is still an experimental process, and so the Specials seem to be as unnatural to the general population as the magical people they draw their abilities from.
Magical Slaves - The Somenre and Miyana
Several centuries prior to the present time, the magical people of Sciona ruled the world. Almost like they are currently, they kept the human population subservient to them. At some point, however, feuds between families broke out into a war. While they were fighting amongst themselves, the humans rose up, taking advantage of the weakened mages and overthrowing them. They proceeded to enslave both races and establish their kingdom in the mainland of Sciona.
Since then, Somenre and Miyana have become the slaves of the human race. The magical runes tattooed on them at birth bind their magic to a specific human or a family. This ownership can be passed to another by way of magical contracts, or, in very rare cases, released. If the binding was done badly or a contract changed hands incorrectly, the subject may be able to use some magic independently of their master's wishes, possibly even enough to escape.
Somenre use their magic to summon elementals to aid them. Unlike the Miyana, they can choose what element they wish to summon, but can only have up to three active at a time. These elementals can take the form of a pet, though this is rare, or manifests as a piece of jewelry or some other accessory that they can command. As slaves, they are often the power sources of homes or any other systems that require magical power throughout Desora. In battle, their elementals may become armor or a weapon that allows them to fight physically as well as with their magic. Very few have taken this path in recent years, however, and those who do are often trained in physical combat by human fighters.
Miyana cast magic in more traditional ways. Each Miyana is born with an affinity for a specific element (fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, shadow, or light). Although these affinities tend to run in families, it is not unheard of for a child to have an element completely different than that of his or her parents. Some elements are more suited to a task than others - for instance, fire and lightning wielders often find themselves in the militia, while water and wind users tend to be healers - but with the proper amount of work and imagination, it is possible to do nearly anything with one's element. With this freedom, Miyana find themselves working with people more than the Somenre.
Endangered Outcasts - The Nishina
The Nishina are rare in Sciona. In the war that ended with the enslavement of the Somenre and Miyana, they attempted to act as peacekeepers, and took the heaviest casualties when both sides turned on them. Afterwards, humans found that their unique brand of magic resisted the binding, and so a culling of the Nishina took place. Eventually, they were driven back to their ancestral home, the southeastern forests of the world, where they were finally left alone. Legend turned the reluctant but skilled fighters into beings resembling the sealed demons, and to the present day, they are hunted fiercely if they are seen outside their forest.
Nishina remained closer to nature as the other races of Sciona built their cities and cultivated magic, and their unique skills are a reflection of that. Each Nishina takes the characteristics of a certain animal, and can change into that animal at will. Although they can use elemental magic, it plays a secondary role to their physical prowess. Nishina are born fighters, and continue in their traditional ways of training new generations to fight despite having been left alone for centuries.
Though they were once the most accepting race on the plane, the slaughter of their people and the fear they face from other people has naturally kept them from forging any new relationships with the people of the world. However, they have traditionally sheltered Alindri outcasts from Demonse who are abandoned in their forests.
High Mages - The Miasumi
Throughout time, the goddesses Aleandre and Selene Hayami Miasumi have reigned over the world. The goddesses themselves are said to have been born on Sciona, to a lowly Miasumi family, only to be granted celestial powers and given their titles. The existence of the Hayami family, the undisputed rulers of Miasumi society, supports this, and so each Miasumi considers him or herself to be related to the gods.
Their strong magical powers and the aforementioned link to the goddesses have made the Miasumi aloof, above the conflicts of the other races of the world. They stayed neutral during the war between the Somenre and Miyana, and only moved to action when the human army attempted to enslave them as well. Their show of power effectively stopped the humans, and since then, a prickly peace has existed between the two races.
Though the Miasumi nations united on that one occasion, it is rare for them to come together in the present day for anything. The Hayami rulers are the only ones to have contact with all of the nations and the government of Desora; the rest either keep completely to themselves or have only one or two allies at the most.
They have always been and remain great spellcasters, though each nation utilizes their skill in different ways. The Nasune, hailing from the eastern forests, are healers and have studied ways to ascend to godhood for as long as anyone can remember. The island-dwelling Miere have used their magic to develop themselves to the point where they can live both underwater and on the surface. And in the southern mountains, the Saith eschew traditional spells for methods to strengthen themselves for battles.
Despite their differences and inability to see eye to eye, all of the Miasumi are united in their faith in the goddesses.
Demon Children - The Alindri
Few know that the queen of the demons is a third Hayami sister, Tamiel Hayami Miasumi. A half-Miasumi who was ignored by her sisters in the time when they were mortal, she also received some celestial magic when the two rose to their own realm. Instead of joining them, however, she enslaved the demons that were loose in Sciona at that time, and created her own realm to rule over them. After a time, when humans and the other magical races had come along, she allowed her people to return to the mortal realm for a time before they were sealed away. During their rampage around the realm, some sired children, passing on their demonic powers to their mortal children.
An Alindri can be born one of two ways. The first, having a demonic parent, is rare in the present time with the seal still on the demon realm. The second is slightly more common - possession by a demon soul. While they still roamed the earth, mortals were able to capture demons by way of spells or by killing them and trapping the soul. Eventually, these containers weakened, and the spirits sought out new bodies to inhabit, giving the mortal new power as their souls fused.
The celestial magic that the goddesses, angels, and demons use is called anima, and is significantly more powerful than ordinary magic. Alindri are capable of using anima as well, but with several setbacks. Due to their demonic parentage or possessor, their element is shadow. Shadow is harmed by light, and so Alindri must be wary of light magic and the sun itself. In most cases, they are able to work through their aversion to light with dark glasses, clothes that cover their entire body, or moving on days when the sun is not out, but it varies from person to person.
The other problem with Alindri using anima is the addiction that comes with it. The demon realm generates anima that its inhabitants live off of, effectively making them immortal. Sciona, however, does not. The lack of anima shortens an Alindri's lifespan considerably; it serves as their life force and without a constant source, they cannot survive. The addiction is everpresent and will eventually drive the sufferer insane before their death. However, it is possible for an Alindri to feed on the life force of another mortal. This process can be incredibly painful if the Alindri is not close to the person emotionally or does not care about the mortal, but can also offer bliss to the victim if the Alindri cares to make it do so.
There is currently no known way to exorcise a demon soul from a mortal body, as all techniques attempted are likely to kill the mortal in the process.
Demons are natural fighters, and they pass this trait on to the Alindri. Using a combination of their anima and their unnatural physical strength and resilience, an Alindri will often throw themselves into the middle of a crowd of enemies, only to emerge unscathed.
(Warning: infodump of dooooooooom. A cut with a * by it indicates information immediately relevant to the story.)
The World Itself - Sciona
Sciona is the mortal realm of the setting, and where most of the action takes place. It is a relatively small world, with one major human country and many small settlements in unclaimed territory for the five other magical races - Miasumi, Nishina, Somenre, Miyana, and Alindri. Most of the action takes place in the human country of Desora, which is mostly hilly grassland. The capital city is also named Desora, and is a newer city built with the best human-magic hybrid technology has to offer.
The city of Desora was built on a small manmade mountain beside a river in the northern part of the country. The main city rises in three levels above the plains; each level makes a perfect circle around the mountain. The lowest and largest level is the shopping and school district, where most people of the city can be seen each day. The second is home to the higher class of the city; government officials and their families, along with rich merchants and the like live there. The third level is home to the building called The Palace, which retains the name thanks to the figurehead king who still reigns there.
Though most people know the city has an extensive sewer system designed to keep the city from flooding during the rainy season, they do not know of the government offices that lie belowground as well. The administration of the country has their offices here, alongside the living quarters of the Specials and the government's espionage unit.
The migration of people to the city made the need for more housing urgent, and so the lower city started to spread out in a circle around it. Though there was some concern about the safety of the people there - the magic barrier that can be raised around Desora only extends to the lowest level of the main city - the lack of any aggressors after a century or so of uneasy peace won over, and now the lower city sprawls over the plains.
The country and outer territories are surrounded to the north by mountains, the west by sea, and the great forests to the south and east. While it would be possible for humans to further explore their world and perhaps discover other countries or people, they have recently been too caught up in their internal struggles to do much abroad. It is said the Miasumi to the east and west have explored beyond these borders, they have never reported any of their findings to their human allies.
The realms of both demons and angels lie parallel to Sciona. The demon realm was sealed away hundreds of years ago. The magical seal lies in the southern city of Demonse, and though life goes on fairly normally for the inhabitants of the city, the effects of the nearby demonic energy can be seen in the high crime rate there. On the other hand, the northern city of Sephirim, named for the six-winged angel advisors of the goddesses, serves as a holy ground for believers, as a portal from the angel's home exists there. Though there has been some talk in Desora of claiming the territory where Sephirim lies and making the city the new capital, nothing has ever come of it.
The Conquerers - Humans
In a world where magic, goddesses, and demons exist, humanity would appear to be at a disadvantage. They lack the innate strength of the Nishina, and have nothing to counter the magic of the Somenre or Miyana, but make up for it in numbers, tenacity, and inventive genius. For over a hundred years from the present time, they have held most Somenre and Miyana in captivity and reduced the Nishina to a small population living in a hidden forest city. They were able to take advantage of a conflict between the Somenre and Miyana, and with the aid of either traitorous or captured mages, were able to bind the magic of the people.
Their magic is been applied to nearly every aspect of human life; the loss of it would be a major setback to human society. Thanks to the magic of their slaves, magical technology is improving by leaps and bounds. Lights can be powered by generators that require charging once a month and most houses in the capital city have rudimentary heating systems. Magical healers provide free health care for the city. The general population are not allowed to own firearms, but weapons technology within the government has produced several prototype guns that can fire magic-crippling ammunition.
Despite all their advances, humans have not yet been able to gain magic of their own. This is not through a lack of trying, however, and there have been some limited results from their attempts. One government agency, the Specials, receive transfusions of magical blood. This raises their strength, speed, and gives them some resistance to magical attack - for instance, a Special unit would be untouched by a fire spell for a short period of time. This technology is only available to certain members of the government, as it is still an experimental process, and so the Specials seem to be as unnatural to the general population as the magical people they draw their abilities from.
Magical Slaves - The Somenre and Miyana
Several centuries prior to the present time, the magical people of Sciona ruled the world. Almost like they are currently, they kept the human population subservient to them. At some point, however, feuds between families broke out into a war. While they were fighting amongst themselves, the humans rose up, taking advantage of the weakened mages and overthrowing them. They proceeded to enslave both races and establish their kingdom in the mainland of Sciona.
Since then, Somenre and Miyana have become the slaves of the human race. The magical runes tattooed on them at birth bind their magic to a specific human or a family. This ownership can be passed to another by way of magical contracts, or, in very rare cases, released. If the binding was done badly or a contract changed hands incorrectly, the subject may be able to use some magic independently of their master's wishes, possibly even enough to escape.
Somenre use their magic to summon elementals to aid them. Unlike the Miyana, they can choose what element they wish to summon, but can only have up to three active at a time. These elementals can take the form of a pet, though this is rare, or manifests as a piece of jewelry or some other accessory that they can command. As slaves, they are often the power sources of homes or any other systems that require magical power throughout Desora. In battle, their elementals may become armor or a weapon that allows them to fight physically as well as with their magic. Very few have taken this path in recent years, however, and those who do are often trained in physical combat by human fighters.
Miyana cast magic in more traditional ways. Each Miyana is born with an affinity for a specific element (fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, shadow, or light). Although these affinities tend to run in families, it is not unheard of for a child to have an element completely different than that of his or her parents. Some elements are more suited to a task than others - for instance, fire and lightning wielders often find themselves in the militia, while water and wind users tend to be healers - but with the proper amount of work and imagination, it is possible to do nearly anything with one's element. With this freedom, Miyana find themselves working with people more than the Somenre.
Endangered Outcasts - The Nishina
The Nishina are rare in Sciona. In the war that ended with the enslavement of the Somenre and Miyana, they attempted to act as peacekeepers, and took the heaviest casualties when both sides turned on them. Afterwards, humans found that their unique brand of magic resisted the binding, and so a culling of the Nishina took place. Eventually, they were driven back to their ancestral home, the southeastern forests of the world, where they were finally left alone. Legend turned the reluctant but skilled fighters into beings resembling the sealed demons, and to the present day, they are hunted fiercely if they are seen outside their forest.
Nishina remained closer to nature as the other races of Sciona built their cities and cultivated magic, and their unique skills are a reflection of that. Each Nishina takes the characteristics of a certain animal, and can change into that animal at will. Although they can use elemental magic, it plays a secondary role to their physical prowess. Nishina are born fighters, and continue in their traditional ways of training new generations to fight despite having been left alone for centuries.
Though they were once the most accepting race on the plane, the slaughter of their people and the fear they face from other people has naturally kept them from forging any new relationships with the people of the world. However, they have traditionally sheltered Alindri outcasts from Demonse who are abandoned in their forests.
High Mages - The Miasumi
Throughout time, the goddesses Aleandre and Selene Hayami Miasumi have reigned over the world. The goddesses themselves are said to have been born on Sciona, to a lowly Miasumi family, only to be granted celestial powers and given their titles. The existence of the Hayami family, the undisputed rulers of Miasumi society, supports this, and so each Miasumi considers him or herself to be related to the gods.
Their strong magical powers and the aforementioned link to the goddesses have made the Miasumi aloof, above the conflicts of the other races of the world. They stayed neutral during the war between the Somenre and Miyana, and only moved to action when the human army attempted to enslave them as well. Their show of power effectively stopped the humans, and since then, a prickly peace has existed between the two races.
Though the Miasumi nations united on that one occasion, it is rare for them to come together in the present day for anything. The Hayami rulers are the only ones to have contact with all of the nations and the government of Desora; the rest either keep completely to themselves or have only one or two allies at the most.
They have always been and remain great spellcasters, though each nation utilizes their skill in different ways. The Nasune, hailing from the eastern forests, are healers and have studied ways to ascend to godhood for as long as anyone can remember. The island-dwelling Miere have used their magic to develop themselves to the point where they can live both underwater and on the surface. And in the southern mountains, the Saith eschew traditional spells for methods to strengthen themselves for battles.
Despite their differences and inability to see eye to eye, all of the Miasumi are united in their faith in the goddesses.
Demon Children - The Alindri
Few know that the queen of the demons is a third Hayami sister, Tamiel Hayami Miasumi. A half-Miasumi who was ignored by her sisters in the time when they were mortal, she also received some celestial magic when the two rose to their own realm. Instead of joining them, however, she enslaved the demons that were loose in Sciona at that time, and created her own realm to rule over them. After a time, when humans and the other magical races had come along, she allowed her people to return to the mortal realm for a time before they were sealed away. During their rampage around the realm, some sired children, passing on their demonic powers to their mortal children.
An Alindri can be born one of two ways. The first, having a demonic parent, is rare in the present time with the seal still on the demon realm. The second is slightly more common - possession by a demon soul. While they still roamed the earth, mortals were able to capture demons by way of spells or by killing them and trapping the soul. Eventually, these containers weakened, and the spirits sought out new bodies to inhabit, giving the mortal new power as their souls fused.
The celestial magic that the goddesses, angels, and demons use is called anima, and is significantly more powerful than ordinary magic. Alindri are capable of using anima as well, but with several setbacks. Due to their demonic parentage or possessor, their element is shadow. Shadow is harmed by light, and so Alindri must be wary of light magic and the sun itself. In most cases, they are able to work through their aversion to light with dark glasses, clothes that cover their entire body, or moving on days when the sun is not out, but it varies from person to person.
The other problem with Alindri using anima is the addiction that comes with it. The demon realm generates anima that its inhabitants live off of, effectively making them immortal. Sciona, however, does not. The lack of anima shortens an Alindri's lifespan considerably; it serves as their life force and without a constant source, they cannot survive. The addiction is everpresent and will eventually drive the sufferer insane before their death. However, it is possible for an Alindri to feed on the life force of another mortal. This process can be incredibly painful if the Alindri is not close to the person emotionally or does not care about the mortal, but can also offer bliss to the victim if the Alindri cares to make it do so.
There is currently no known way to exorcise a demon soul from a mortal body, as all techniques attempted are likely to kill the mortal in the process.
Demons are natural fighters, and they pass this trait on to the Alindri. Using a combination of their anima and their unnatural physical strength and resilience, an Alindri will often throw themselves into the middle of a crowd of enemies, only to emerge unscathed.