Keyguyperson — Roleplayer Guild

"And thus the world was bathed in flame for seven days and seven nights, and the cycle began anew."
-Excerpt from The Book of Garmr, one of the Sirvai holy texts

When you put enough people in one place with some food, they will eventually pile stones into pyramids as monuments for their gods. The next thing they will do is fashion spears to kill other people because they don't pray to the same god in the same way. Sometimes they make things that are better than spears to do the same job. That just about covers any history course you could take at any of Cileze's great universities, as well as the not so great ones.

Even though we have always been fond of murdering each other over them, the religions of our world all share at least one similarity. The Myth of the Seven Days of Flame. The exact details change depending on the version, but the basics are always the same. Within the myth, the races of Cileze are said to have been locked in a war between good and evil which they fought high in the sky with chariots and weapons the likes of which have never been seen since. As the final act of the war, one of the sides used an unholy fire spell that tore apart the very fabric of anything that stood in its way. The other side responded in kind, and the exchange escalated until the entire world was bathed in fire. For seven days and seven nights the horror lasted, and when it had ended all the wonders of the age had been destroyed.

That is the world in which we live now. A world that has already died. For all our existence, we have lived in the shadows of the ancients and their wonders. Their great steel towers stick up out of the desert sands as a reminder of what we have lost, and they have inspired countless poets to write about what could have been had the war not taken place. Even so, from the earliest brawls over hunting grounds to modern clashes between empires to determine what course an entire race shall take we have forged our own cultures and history.

Technology, too, has marched on. For most of our history the only weapons we had were our swords and magic, but now we have machines our ancestors couldn't have dreamed of. Once again, we fly through the skies in tiny planes and great warships. Our armies fight not with swords and shields, but with machine guns and tanks. As technology marches on, our world begins to look more and more like that of the ancients, leading many to wonder if we are doomed to repeat the Seven Days of Flame. New ideologies have sprung up to replace the outdated empires of old, and for the first time in ages, something more than religion and resources spark our wars.

Yes, now the ideologies fight among themselves to gain control of the world. Theocrats, fascists, communists, capitalists, anarchists and countless more are locked in a contest to determine what will lead the races of our planet forwards into the future. This is the Long War.

As you know by now, this is a fantasy/dieselpunk roleplay set in a world very much reminiscent of our own 20th century. The focus here is on the "Long War", a term coined by Philip Bobbitt in his book The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace and the Course of History to describe the ideological conflicts of the 20th century. As such, a heavy focus will be put on the different ideologies of the world's nations and how they clash. Of course, you aren't confined to the major ideologies of our own world at the time, or even ones that have existed. 

It should be noted that theocracies are very much still a possibility, since magic exists and so do the gods connected to it. There are no preset religions, only a selection of racial gods. How your people worship them (and even the view they have of them) is up to you. The races aren't locked into worshiping their patron god either, and your nation doesn't need to have a state religion. The descriptions of the gods and the races they are connected to should simply be considered the traditional way of things, and not at all a rule.

Races:

Humans/Humanity - Your bogstandard humans. Their traditional patron deity is the god Ningen.

Sirvai- A race of blue-skinned, humanoid beings rather similar to appearance to the Iscandarians. They too have pointed ears, though they are significantly larger than those of the Iscandarians and tend to point away from the head horizontally, instead of pointing upwards like the ears of the Iscandarians and other humanoids. Such is the difference in size and direction, in fact, that some Sirvai have ears that droop slightly at the ends. Like the Iscandarians, they also have wings, though they are generally much larger and as such the Sirvai do not use magic in flight. Their traditional patron deity is the goddess Sirona, for whom they have named themselves. Their name literally means “Of Sirona”, utilizing the ancient rendition of her name as “Sir”. They are generally rather kind in their dealings with other races, but that is far from their main characteristic. Most commonly, one will hear them called “Plucky”. A history of being the underdogs thanks to their generally weak magic has led them to be rather courageous (too much so for their own good, some may say), and their determination is unmatched. 

Iscandarians - One of the Elven Races, called the Children of Faust. Faust (their traditional patron deity) created them in her image shortly after ascending to godhood. They are often thought as of Angelic, as they have large white wings powered by their mana that they use to fly. Interestly enough their veins also glow different colors and dim and brighten as their mana pool fills or depletes. They live in the clouds of Cileze as their magic also lets them walk upon clouds and manipulate them into structures. They rarely choose to interact with any other races beyond a few of the Elven ones, as they consider the other races beneath them.

Drujit - A race of small stature people that hail from the Southern Continent, their ears are pointed much like those of the elven races. They have a deep connection with their traditional patron deity Atira, the goddess of the land, and are thus generally proficient in earth magic. This makes them renowned laborers and architects, as they can easily move large chunks of stone into place. Their lands are covered with great aqueducts, gigantic cities, and majestic fortresses. Alongside such large-scale abilities are smaller scale ones, such as their unique ability to shape molten metal using their magic. This makes them sought-after blacksmiths, as they do not need a mold or a hammer to forge an object. They once controlled an expansive empire, and their former lands are interconnected by a series of cobblestone roads still in use today. 

Morden: A vicious race of tall humanoids with a unknown origin, while not very good magic, with only rare village shamans, or very bright, they are among the strongest of Cileze race’s. They’re tall, with their shortest reaching the height of elven races and their tallest towering over everyone. Their skin is either grey or a dark green, and they are also fast. Due to their intelligence they have not organized into great empires or nations, thus most of the threat they pose is from raiding villages that border their lands. Their traditional patron deity is Khan, the God of War and Strength.

Deities:

Sirona: The patron goddess of the Sirvai people, Sirona is the Goddess of Hope and Rebirth. She stole her power from one of the original Elder Gods, and chose her title rather than being born into it. Her magic isn’t linked to any of the elements, and generally has little impact on the physical. Most of her spells are connected with the spirit, and one of the most famous can be used to flush fear out of one’s heart. She also provides her followers with a healing spell, though unlike most healing magic, it cannot be cast on another person. As a person, she is fiercely devoted to anyone who chooses to follow her. She is so famous for this devotion that Sirvai lullabies tell of times she manifested herself in the physical world to protect children in danger.

Atira: The goddess of the land, Atira is known to “Provide for those whom provide for her”, and has some of the most versatile magic. This led the Drujit, who were in search of the power to create an empire at the time, to make a deal with her. In keeping with tradition, her followers are among the most devoted in the world, and one’s observance of her rituals is directly tied to the power she provides them with. Her magic, though versatile, cannot affect living things, as it is tied to the earth itself. However, it is extremely useful in construction, mining, and smithery. Centuries of absolute devotion from the Drujit have made her into somewhat of a diva, and though her followers do not do the same, she is known to look down upon the other gods and goddesses.

Faust - Faust, or Iscandar in the language of the Iscandarians, is the Patron Goddess of the Iscandarians(and sometimes said to be the Patron God of all Elven Races, but this belief is not practiced by the Iscandarians themselves) and the Goddess of Harmony. Much like Sirona Faust stole her powers from a Elder God, and chose her own title. It is the belief of her followers that she was originally a elf, and stole her powers as to end the suffering that the Elder Gods has been causing to mortals. It was then that Faust cast down the Elder Gods, forcing them to slumber within the Earth as they now slowly die, thus bringing harmony to the land. It was also said that is Faust who prevents the Gods and Goddesses from interacting directly with the world of mortals, so as to prevent what had happened under the Elder Gods again. Her followers specialize in healing magic as well as more holy magic, destroying the undead and the more unnatural things of the world, although her followers still specialize in a wide variety of fields.

Khan - Patron God of the Morden as well as the God of War and Strength, he is often depicted as a violent and brutal god. He awards great achievement in the heat of battle, as well as reward those who prioritize strength over all. He does not award much magic to his followers, but what he does usually boosts and improve’s one skill to fight.

Ningen - Ningen is referred to as the Protector of Humanity by humans themselves, and the God of Humans to other species. During the times when the Elder Gods still ruled and their more children gods bowed to them, Ningen stood up against the Elder Gods and defended humanity, but was imprisoned for it. When Faust cast down the Elder Gods he arose and stood for Humanity. He is revered and respected by Humanity. He grants the humans ward and shielding magic as his way of defending them since he can no longer directly intervene in the world.

As for how all the magic stuff functions, it's really pretty simple. Whatever deity one worships will grant them different powers (such as Sirona granting one of her followers that famous self-healing spell of hers). The power to cast said spells also comes from the deities, and is called "mana" because Duck and I ran out of creativity with names somewhere around magic. The "mana pool" as every fantasy RPG ever calls it can be increased by simply using magic frequently, just like working out increases muscle mass. However, gods will often reward highly devoted followers with a larger pool as well, though it is generally considered easier and less stressful to just exercise one's magical ability. Atheists and agnostics exist too, by the way. Since they do not worship any gods, their mana is derived from the power of souls that have passed on. However, they also do not have access to the specialized spells of the gods, and are thus generally considered as "Jack of all trades, master of none" magi. However, through extensive exercise, they can manage to focus on one specific type of magic.

The religions of the world vary heavily, and the same god is often worshiped by multiple different religions with drastically different accounts of events and moral rules. The one thing they all have in common, however, is the belief in the Seven Days of Flame, the apocalyptic event that brought the end of the ancient civilizations. That specific event is part of another shared belief in the existence of a Cycle of Life, in which every time civilization reaches a certain point, the world is bathed in flame to allow a new cycle to begin.

As a final note, the backstories of the gods took place before the cycles began. They're mostly irrelevant flavor text, honestly, as the stores have been distorted plenty as stories tend to be. Make no mistake, though, the gods DO exist.

-Blood of the Mountain: This is a liquid that has negative mass, making it fall upwards. It is used in airships in place of lighter-than-air gases. Its name comes from its color and the circumstances of its discovery. A coal mining accident caused an explosion, which set off an ancient weapon underneath a mountain which was split open by the force of it. A red liquid began to flow out of it up into the sky, and was dubbed "blood of the mountain".

-Airships: Airships aren't at all like the ones we had in our world. Instead of using large balloons to hold gas to keep themselves in the air, they use the blood of the mountain. Since it is extremely dense, very little is needed and as such airships are often constructed like oceangoing vessels (think WWII warships, but in the air). Air combat often revolves around puncturing the compartments on airships which hold the blood of the mountain, which makes them quickly lose lift capability. Naval terminology is used by airships, so this is referred to as "sinking" a vessel.

-Technology in General: Think outbreak of WWII. Tanks aren't boxes of metal trundling across no man's land anymore, but there aren't Tiger IIs running around yet. Keep this in mind, and remember that things can change over time.

A few final notes:

A major war (analogous to WWI) took place in the recent past, and many nations likely have colonies. What happened in that war pertaining to your nation and were those powers were is up to the players.

This map should be looked at with the assumption that the central large landmass (Vespuccia) is analogous to America, with the leftmost one (Erebu) is both Europe and Africa, with the rightmost one (Asu) being similar to Asia.

Name of Nation:
Flag:
Dominant Species:
Important Minority Species:
Territory (Marked out on the map, please):
Description of Government (How is your government set up):
Description of Economy (Major imports/exports? Do you happen to be one of those hipster nations that's communist?):
Description of Culture (Religion, art, prevailing opinions, etc.):
Description of Military (How is it organized? What sort of vehicles and technology does it use? Weapons?):
History:
Other:

You can modify the app how you like, but please at least cover everything asked for here.

Duck. You know the Duck I'm taking about. [@duck55223} This guy. He came up with most of the magical mechanics, not to mention half the species and gods.

Waffle0708 over on DeviantArt. He's a Japanese artist who draws some mind-blowingly good dieselpunk (mixed with some equally good biopunk, I must add) stuff. That's without even mentioning his genius worldbuilding, seriously, check they guy out!
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