| World of Novus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map by Katie/Elkayell, Novus' original creator! The world of Novus is vast and covers a wide variety of geographical features. We've given an overview of each region below, but feel free to use your imagination during your character's adventures! Delumine; Realm of the Dawn Court Northwestern segment of Novus. Full of lush prairies with an abundance of flowers, thick forests of lush green trees and bushes, and a river that slices through the middle with rapids ranging from roaringly dangerous to soothingly slow. The Dawn Court can be found in the southern part of Delumine, between the meadows and the river. Solterra; Realm of the Day Court Northeastern segment of Novus. Overwhelmingly arid with a vast desert and canyons as far as you can see, and a small oasis that offers a welcome reprieve to the inhabitants. The Day Court can be found in the northeasterly part of Solterra, in the middle of the desert but with an astounding view of the ocean surrounding Novus. Terrastella; Realm of the Dusk Court Southwestern segment of Novus. Boasts of an expansive field that seems to touch the sky, a large swamp with dewy marshes and waterlogged trees, and dangerous but beautiful cliffs. The Dusk Court can be found in the central part of Terrastella, surrounded by the fields but also very near to the southern cliffs. Denocte; Realm of the Night Court Southeastern segment of Novus. Protected by a nearly unpassable and utterly breathtaking mountain range, with grassy prairies and a large lake if you can make it past the mountains. The Night Court can be found in the southern part of Denocte, in the middle of the prairie with a beautiful view of the lake. Ruris; Neutral and Scattered Lands These lands separate all of the Realms except Solterra and Denocte (the Night Court's mountain range does that for them). They offer neutral lands for worship, battle, stealth, and simply roaming around. Ruris is made up of a long and thin plain, a carpeted field, a cluster of peaks in the very center of Novus, an intricate cave system that runs underneath them and offers passageway between all Realms, and the sea that surrounds the entirely of the world. You enter a small clearing in the middle of a forest, ringed by large oak trees whose bark is gnarled as though they’ve been standing there for thousands of years. The strands of grass beneath your hooves are kept meticulously trimmed, most likely by the Dawn Court citizen lying beneath the canopy of a drooping oak. His sunken eyes follow you, his expressionless face revealing nothing as you approach. This meeting has been expected for a long time, but you have only just finished your journey to the lands of Novus. You came to start a new life, and you thought understanding the lands would be a great place to begin. Stopping a respectable distance away, you get straight to the point and ask the elderly stallion how Novus came to be. Closing his eyes, the scholar chuckles and admits that not even he can tell you about how the luscious lands were created. He can, however, tell you all about the history of Novus’ realms and citizens. Upon your nod of consent, the sage man begins to weave a tale that you will reflect on throughout your life in Novus.  Many, many years ago, Novus was a new and alluring land unknown to all but one. His name was Tempus, and he would come to be known as the founder of our world. Tempus was a powerful being with the ability to manipulate time itself; with this talent, he was almost omnipresent, seemingly everywhere and even beyond. Upon observing the vast beauty and the whisper of promise beneath the skin of its lesser creatures, Tempus decreed that he would bring life to Novus, in all of its wonderful and terrible forms.
It wasn’t long before three foals were by his side, all the product of another world’s goddess and each blessed by their father with control over one aspect of time. Oriens made the sun rise in the east with one simple blink of his eyes; Solis kept the sun bright and shining with one stamp of his hoof; and Vespera laid the sun to rest in the west with one sigh from her lips. Their duties of continuing the passage of time were as entrenched in their beings as breathing, and their bond with each other and their father was only further solidified by their shared gifts and responsibilities.
Despite Caligo’s ominous task, the four deities transitioned into impressive, honorable adults smoothly and without any dissention beyond the quarrels that any siblings would experience. In addition to their physical maturity, they also grew into their own identities. Oriens held a thirst for knowledge and truth that was insatiable; he was the mediator, the devil’s advocate, and the most respected of the four. Solis, who had always considered himself the apple of his father’s eye, became the egotistical brother with the soul of a warrior that none of them could stand – until, of course, he made them laugh. Vespera was eternally quiet, embracing her siblings and the lands with a tender love and attention that would make anyone blossom.
Caligo's anguish was immediate and powerful, an unrelenting wave of darkness that washed over the entirety of Novus and shrouded it in perpetual night. Oriens attempted to elevate the sun; Solis fought to make the sun shine brighter; and Vespera did her best to care for her brothers while they struggled to bring back the light of day. Despite the deities’ best efforts, though, they could not suppress their tormented sister. Even Tempus would not approach Caligo, for the balance of time could never be restored if you simply froze one part of it.
Tempus was devastated that his children’s unbreakable bond was severed, but relieved that the balance of time was restored once more. Despite his progeny’s abrupt separation, he still did not intercede, for he knew that anything could heal – and everything could change – if it is only given time. The aging intellectual’s raspy voice draws to a close, bringing you back to the grotto you had forgotten you were in. Glancing at the stallion, you realize the story has drained his energy; his breaths come out in the deep and even rhythm of slumber. Quietly, you exit the area. How much the story of the gods affects your future decisions and activities will remain entirely up to you. Please see the Court Ideals supplement for further information on each of the Courts. With the God of Time being the father of our world, time is one of the only things that remains consistent on Novus. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you delve into our community.
There are many types of plantlife and wildlife that can be found within Novus! The biomes that are represented across the contient are vast, so the list of Flora & Fauna is merely a small snippet of those things that call Novus home. For any questions, please contact Inkbone! Biomes found within Delumine Illuster Meadow: Short-grass Prairie - - - Rapax River: Freshwater Swift River Viride Forest: Temperate Deciduous Forest Biomes found within Solterra Mors Desert: Arid Desert - - - Elatus Canyon: Xeric shrubland/Sagebrush Steppe/Desert Grassland Vitae Oasis: Humid Oasis with an underground spring and active waterfall Biomes found within Terrastella Susurro Fields: Wet meadow- - - Tinea Swamp: Deep Freshwater Forested Swamp Praistigia Cliffs: Wet Meadows that run off into steep cliffs Biomes found within Denocte Sideralis Prairie: Tall-grass Prairie - - - Vitreus Lake: Deep Freshwater Lake Arma Mountains: Coniferous Boreal Forest (at midline), Alpine Mountains (at topline) |
As with any legend, there must always be a source of strife and tension. While Tempus loved his children dearly, he knew the importance of balancing time, and so he left in search of something more, something other. The god returned with Caligo, the daughter who would be blessed – or cursed - with the control of night. The hatred of her siblings was instantly palpable. In their eyes, she was impure, tainted by the blood of a mortal mother. Furthermore, their powers had become twisted into their very beings; they were not just the masters of their gifts, but their gifts had become a part of their very essence. How could their new sister possibly reside over controlling darkness without allowing that very darkness to consume her?
Caligo, however, grew differently. While her siblings had never been truly cruel to her, the subtle spurns and fleeting glances had chafed at her spirit until it was raw; she became a volatile, misunderstood mare concealing a bottomless ocean of anger within her. With one last hope, she approached Oriens for his counsel and opinion, as he had always been the most accepting of her siblings. When the typically wise god attributed her struggles to simply forfeiting to the malevolence of her powers, the demi-goddess broke.
That everlasting night continued for one hundred years. It was only when Oriens could not rise from the ground and Solis’s coat was dull and patchy that Vespera approached her sister. Caligo had retreated to the southeastern lands of Novus in solitude, and it was only Vespera’s plea and the possibility of murdering her brothers that shattered through Caligo’s despair. She agreed to allow daylight to continue, but only if she would never see her siblings again.
Heartbroken at the loss of her sibling, even a sibling that she had never truly understood, Vespera returned to her brothers and nurtured them back to health. Unfortunately, one hundred years of damage had been dealt to the close-knit family of divinities. Oriens was disappointed in his brother, for Solis had always been the one who was most vocal with his disapproval of their dark sister; Vespera couldn’t bear to be near Oriens, for Oriens had responded in what she deemed to be the worst way possible when Caligo had approached him for support; and Solis was angry, so unfathomably angry, that Caligo had ruined everything as they knew it to be. It was he who made the decision to leave his remaining siblings, his resentment too strong to simply allow life to continue the way Oriens and Vespera wanted it to. The siblings separated, agreeing to continue their duties and meet whenever necessary, but allowing each other to forge their own way into the future. This led to the creation of the Courts; Dawn in the northwest, Day in the northeast, Dusk in the southwest, and Night in the southeast.
