Draconia

The “Third Planet” was discovered 700 years ago when the Tritonians, their Empire in decline, saw fit to find a new Planet to subjugate.  Their fortune could not have been worse.

Originally, the Tritonian word draco meant “lizard.”  The definition had to be revised when the Tritonians first laid eyes on the enormous reptilian inhabitants of Draconia.  The warmest of the Four Planets, Draconia has no mammals: reptiles and birds dominate its balmy landscape, along with the Dragons and Ryu.

The Ryu are the bipedal cousins of the Dragons: often called “Draconians,” their civilization is split between worship of their ancestors (and the Dragons by extension) and worship of the Kami, or “fortunes.”  Their priests (shugenja) derive a form of divine magic from these Kami, and denounce the old Dragons as a crippled, dying race whose time has passed.

The Dragons, meanwhile, remain in dwindling numbers.  Many have been slain by the Ryu samurai over the centuries, but those that remain are revered like gods by Ryu peasants.  Powerful and mysterious, they live on the isolated continent of Lungao, where they are often visited by young Ryu who wish to be trained as monks in their esoteric ways.

The Empire of Ryudenu, meanwhile, continues to perpetuate its ritual worship of the Kami, and sees no reason to expand its borders to the colder worlds of the “mammals” that have so recently made a tourist attraction of their planet.  Beyond mere commerce with Endora and Tritonia, the Ryu keep their borders sealed, and fiercely guard the one and only arcus the Tritonians have built, regulating any traffic that comes through it.

Tritonia

Home of the Tritonian “Elves,” Tritonia is the coldest of the Four Planets, regarded as the birthplace of civilization.  Its large continents (Impera, Levisa, and Nova) are mountainous, mostly deforested, and covered with the marble ruins of the ancient Tritonian Empire, now a ghost of its former self.

Like Uranian Elves, the Tritonians have pointed ears, long lifspans, and are often nicknamed “Grey Elves” on account of their pale, slightly dusky complexion.  It is clear from all accounts that their race has long been in decline; most of their cities are now populated by Uranian Humans originally imported as servants to the Tritonian aristocracy, and now outnumber their masters by as many as a hundred to one.

However, despite its current state, Tritonia is called “the First Planet” because its Empire was the first to develop magic in the form of alchemy.  It was through alchemy that the Tritonians built arci, making travel between their major cities instantaneous.  This innovation increased the mobility of the Empire’s armies, allowing it to conquer most of Impera and Nova.  Eventually, one of these arci led not to another place on Tritonia, but to another Planet altogether—-Urania.

This discovery happened during the height of Tritonia’s Empire, 2,000 years ago, when its disparate tribes were mostly united under one crown.  In short order, the technologically superior Tritonians asserted their power over the Uranian Human nations, claiming each as a province.  Indeed, for 200 years the influx of lumber—-a valuable commodity in Tritonia’s steppes and treeless mountains—-and Human slaves helped the Tritonians almost realize their dream of a government uniting both their world and Urania.  But that aspiration proved short-lived.

Led by Branduin, aided by the Gnomish discovery of modern magic, the Human nations revolted; only Endora, first to be subjugated by the Tritonians, fought on the Grey Elves’ behalf.  But when Branduin invaded Endora’s capital of Endrasa, the Uranian Human armies funneled through the first arcus the Tritonians had built–an arcus which, tragically, led right into the heart of Morisus, the Tritonian capital.

Fearing the loss of the remainder of their race, the Tritonians surrendered, granting autonomy back to the Uranian Humans.  The Tritonians have been unable to recover from this war ever since.  Depopulated, depleted of resources, debilitated by plagues, the old Tritonian Empire has slowly crumbled over the course of 18 centuries, its power preserved only by the continued allegiance of Endora.

But Tritonia’s legacy lives on: the influence of its language and architecture can be seen all over Urania, and its arci still stand, connecting Urania’s cities to other worlds and to each other.  Partnering with its old ally Endora, Tritonia commissioned research for arci to new planets, leading to the discovery of Draconia and Eliptia.  It also still houses the Academy of Morisus, which still remains the oldest university devoted solely to the study of magic.

Turen

A Merifianan heretic known for to have discovered the forbidden power of transfiguration. The Merifianan priest Seplican caught Turen attempting to use his newfound powers, immediately reporting the heresy to the Pontificate. Turen was then exiled, along with his followers, by King Samar, and along with his wife Nemnes is regarded as the founder of the Nemnebliari race.  The Nemnebliari city of Turentelin, located near the center of Forimlesse, is named for him.

Turen led his cult south to the Suren plains to escape Samar’s forces, and was only able to do so by having all of his followers transfigure themselves into wolves.  The Schismatic War, in which Samar’s armies attempted to squelch the heretics, took place shortly thereafter.  Curiously, Turen was capable of maintaining his priestly powers even after he had renounced his faith; however, even these powers were not enough to save him.  He was slain by the Merifianan paladin Tacis; Turen’s wife Nemnes would thereafter take the throne.

In Nebulesse, Nemnebliar’s capital city, Nemnes commissioned a cathedral in honor of her husband; its main stained glass window portrays his death at Tacis’ hands.  The Nemnebliari consider him a martyr to their faith.

Velvenstinimblinny

The most famous Gnomish fool of all time, Velvenstinimblinny toured all of the highest courts of Urania, bringing entertainment to countless nobles all of his life.  He later founded the famous Academy of Foolery in Hemianoria, and has enjoyed distinction ever since.  It is said that he is not only the inventor of the limerick, but also was the originator of the wine-bottle-inside-of-the-spinning-speckled-egg trick, on which entire treatises have been written by the professors at his Academy.  Despite malicious rumors to the contrary, he knew no magic whatsoever, and all of his tricks were “genuine” performances of prestidigitation, acrobatics, and plain old-fashioned silliness.

Yo-Yos

Although ancient Dwarven legend relates that the hero Rothden slew a den of Trolls using a rock tied to a string, there is still debate among many distinguished scholars as to whether the yo-yo is Dwarven or Gnomish in origin.

Those siding with the Gnomish Origin Theory of the Yo-Yo agree that the invention does feature many aspects specifically of Gnomish design: the roundness of the spools coupled with the distribution of weight so as to facilitate centrifugal force certain lend the yo-yo to Gnomish engineering.  However, several notable Dwarven children’s stories feature heroes performing various exploits involving round stones tied to strings.

It is perhaps in the spirit of this debate that the Worldwide Yo-Yo Championship has been historically won either by Gnomes or Dwarves, and has acquired an enthusiastic following from one end of Urania to the other, its results often hotly contested.  It was about nineteen years ago, in fact, when, at the age of nine, one young master Bruno Cavaldy became the first Human ever to win the Worldwide Yo-Yo Championship, a talent at which he still practices to this day.