The Rules

1) No godmodding.

2) No taking control of others' characters or assigned canon characters without their permission and a commitment to keeping them in character.

3) No Sues.

4) Read every post carefully so as not to miss details. If you're still unsure, ask someone.

5) Have fun.

The Story

There once was a civilization on the planet Earth known as Atlantis. It was a society which ascended to the heights of Gods themselves. Creating wondrous technologies and gaining the ability to turn thought into energy, they gave themselves wings to equal themselves to the so-called divines. However, their technology fell apart. The idyllic, wondrous society they created collapsed. In their last act, they made a new world in a parallel dimension known as Gaea. It could witness the Earth as a second, mystical moon in the sky, one which would bring about many local superstitions...

The survivors of Atlantis would lead this new world that they had created, with their wondrous knowledge and technologies. They uplifted and ruled over the humans of Gaea for a long time, further establishing many ancient technologies and materials, including the usage of the all-important material known as Septium. This material held the power of seven elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Time, Space, and Mirage. Each element was also commanded by its patron "Sept-Terrion", one of seven artifacts that offered complete control over its particular associated element. They even created all sorts of new races: The Beastmen, which eventually offshot into the nearly human-like Faunus, the Fairies, and many more, some which have descended into legend.

But then, history would repeat. The Atlantians' own hubris would lead to their destruction anew, and this time there was no atonement. Their civilization was wiped clean, and only the descendants of their race, the winged Draconians, remained, along with all of their ancient artifacts.

Over a millennium went as humanity rediscovered their roots. New nations rose from the ashes of the Ancients. Some would even trace the blood of their progenitors back to the Atlantians themselves. The Kingdom of Liberl was one such nation that rose out of this great cataclysm, as did the Erebonian Empire. To the East, several nations rose and grew as well. It was a tumultuous time, particularly as the Empire continued to grow and grow. An unknown disaster would give birth to the Creatures of Grimm, new monsters thought to be something far beyond mere Fayla, whose presence would only grow and threaten humanity, leading to the creation of the "Huntsmen" who fight them.

Amidst all this, just before the turn of the first millennium of the Septian Calendar, the Empire reached its breaking point. The Emperor's many children would start a bloody civil war over its successors. Each fought violently over who would claim the throne throughout this "Lion's War", as it would come to be known, before eventually the current ruling family of the Empire, the Arnor Family, would find rulership with the help of the now-legendary warrior Lianne Sandlot, the Divine Spear. So came the terms of peace: The Arnor Family would rule the center of Erebonia, while its sibling families, who would come to father the Four Families of the Empire, its greatest noble houses, would each claim the North, South, East, and West of Erebonia for themselves.

But that was not the end of the Lion's War. There was another who found himself dissatisfied with the state of affairs. This survivor of the Lion's War, still believing he had right to the Imperial Throne, would leave and commence the start of his own nation in the vastly unsettled Northern Zemuria. He cast off his old name and called himself Pharastia, commencing the building of a new nation, named after himself, which many would soon know solely as the Kingdom. Pharastia held sole knowledge of the truths of the Lion's War, and passed it on to his descendants and attendants, so that one day they would claim the entire Continent for themselves, and especially crush Erebonia.

Years passed, with the growing Zaibach Empire to the South of Erebonia going mainly unnoticed due to its isolationism. Despite its name, it found itself quite the aloof ally with Erebonia... And both would find themselves in conflict anew, alongside the rest of the Continent, including the newly-formed Calvard Republic, which eschewed all notions of nobility and monarchy for an equal standard of opportunity and living for all. While they initially came into conflict with the Empire due to their ideals and mutual goals for expansion throughout the Continent, the Kingdom of Pharastia, which was seemingly harmless initially, made its move.

It rose with the knowledge it had gathered--that during the time of the Lion's War, there were mighty machines that they called the ATACs, All Terrain Armored Combatants, used by the warring families of Erebonia to attempt to claim its rulership. The Continent had previously seen nothing like this save for the Guymelef. There was no chance. The power of Septium ran through these ATACs that the Kingdom had hoarded for itself, and it sundered the land, darkened the sky, and set entire cities ablaze. There was nothing that could stand in the way of the Kingdom's warpath, and soon all the nations of the Continent could do was surrender. The Kingdom did everything in its power to assert its rule, from taking the Beastfolk and herding them all into a place known as the "Menagerie", to suppressing all arts not from Pharastia. Nations such as Liberl and Erebonia took their ruling families into hiding, waiting for the chance to strike. The only place spared from this great chaos was Cephiro, as the Kingdom could not break through its Forest of Silence which nullified even the power of their ATACs.

The Kingdom had already lost favor with their attempt to herd the Beastfolk, resulting in the Beast Rights Revolution, and damaged their ability to hold things together. Some of their provinces would gain independence during this tumultuous time, but the Kingdom still sought out ways to preserve peace. It ceased its oppression of the Faunus, and instead began to give out the ATACs to the territories it had conquered, to gain some measure of respect and harmony.

It was not to be. This was what nations like Liberl and Erebonia were waiting for. With the power of the ATAC in their hands now, they struck back against a now-powerless Kingdom, reclaiming much of their land and still having much favor from the citizens living within them. Their sovereigns resurfaced from their emergency exile, commanding their armies and making the Kingdom lose territory bit by bit. It would soon be that the Empire and Republic regained their status as the dominant superpowers of the land. However, there were still many splintered territories as a result of this upheaval. Several nations surround the Kingdom, with their own societies and rulerships, but absolutely none of them are aligned with the Kingdom, or really anyone else--for the most part. The newfound Nordilain territory has found itself a major ally in the Empire, from whom it descended before the Kingdom gained rule, while the Avalon Principality still holds some measure of loyalty for the Kingdom.

A former Imperial territory known as Krisna now enjoys its own sovereignty atop a land full of extremely high quality and amounts of Septium, much like the former Imperial territory of Crossbell. Both have something in common however: The Empire wants them, and the Empire's enemy--the Kingdom for Krisna, and the Republic for Crossbell--lies to the East, also wishing to claim it in any way possible.

The Kingdom is reduced to a bitter, violent shadow of its former self, constantly wishing to claim the Continent once more, when it is merely just another territory that can only fight on due to its position between several other independent nations, and not because of its ability to directly engage the Empire. But still they fight, driven by their ancestral hatred of the Empire more than anything...

The next major upheaval after the fall of the Kingdom would be only a decade after--the Orbal Revolution. The Orbal Revolution was what would soon allow the rapid progression of technologies that exist in the present Zemuria. A man by the name of Professor Epstein, whose name would become truly synonymous with the Orbment alongside his student Albert Russel, studied the technologies used in ATACs and Guymelefs, and commenced applying them on a wider scale. In a mere half century, through studying the technology of the Ancients in greater detail, the Orbment has become a natural part of everyday life. Running on the Septium and the power it provides, the Orbment and its Septium(processed into Quartz), has been made into many things. Phones in major offices and locations. Engines to power vehicles. Replications of the Excavated ATACs' engines to mass produce the ATAC and related systems. Radios. Photo storage on Quartz. Firearms. Even image and signal transference in a rudimentary form is possible through the power of the Orbment and the Quartz that is a part of its circuits. There would even come a day where the Empire would create autonomous battle units to further bolster its army, already the mightiest on the Continent.

The power of Septium itself, previously used as little more than arcane power in the olden days, suddenly came to the forefront. Records were referenced regarding the harnessing of Septium's hypercompressed form known as Dust, which interacted with one's inner Aura to create a variety of effects according to the user's will, while the Orbment provided a stable, sustainable pre-programmed usage of the "Arts" one could manifest with Septium. Through this extrapolation, entire constructs of Quartz would wind up being made. These were known as the Golems, and nearly their entire frame, save for minor Orbal circuitry to properly control the entire apparatus, worked on the interaction between man and Septium through Aura, allowing for an unprecedented degree of control over one's mechanical unit that a mere ATAC or Guymelef simply could not easily replicate.

That is not to say that the Kingdom did not realize the power of Aura either. One particular Duke in the Kingdom, by the name of Drake Luft, sought to use the power of Aura in a different manner. If all things with a soul could hold Aura, then surely with the right amount of technology harnessed through living matter, Aura could be amplified. This was how the initial concept for the Aura Battler was born, though it would not come to full fruition until he called upon the power of the Faeries to bring down a man from the Mystic Moon--Earth--known as Shot Weapon, who shared his knowledge of the technology from his world, and merged them with the Orbment to create a fearsome new weapon that Drake would use to make a Kingdom of his own: The Aura Battler.

As time has gone by, however, the flames of war have begun to ignite again in many ways. The Kingdom and Empire continually skirmished, with the Kingdom never being able to make headway into the Empire, and the Empire having to to take too many steps around international relations to directly engage and destroy the Kingdom in a time where all was otherwise peaceful. But the first great conflict for many a time would come ten years ago, in a conflict that would become known as the 100 Days War. With very little warning--the declaration of war reached Liberl the moment the first shot was fired--the Empire commenced a blitzkrieg invasion of Liberl. It stormed through its regions, reaching the gates of Grancel Castle in the capital in no time. But the castle held, and during that time, Liberl was able to unveil its trump card: A new model of airship, which the Empire's Orbal Tanks, the pride of its ground army, could hardly touch. The airships broke their supply lines, and forced the Empire into a full retreat. With a sudden, quick apology, the Hundred Days War was over.

A mere five years later, the next bout of chaos would occur in the Kingdom. A man by the name of Gaz started a civil war, using the powers of Septium and related technologies, primarily in the form of Dust to power the "Gandr" weaponry, and even employing a large amount of magically powerful "Dragoons" and mercenaries, he struck out against the entire Continent. It was a fast and bloody war which gained international attention due to the sheer threat the "Taboo Emperor" Gaz was posing. The various nations surrounding the Kingdom, as well as Liberl, sent a band known as the "Nine Heroes" to stop him. These Nine Heroes included the S-Ranked Bracer Cassius Bright, who was formerly a hero of Liberl during the Hundred Days War when he served the Liberl Royal Army. Cassius was went when Emperor Gaz commenced indiscriminately attacking the Bracer Branches of the Kingdom. Being an international policing organization, such an attack on the Guild was seen as a threat to security on an immense scale, and only someone on Cassius' level could be trusted with eliminating such a powerful man.

With Gaz' death came the spoils of war. The Emperor's body was divided into nine pieces, each taken by one of the Heroes who defeated him, and peace was, for the most part, restored.

War against the Empire, however, continues--at least from the Kingdom's side. Shortly after the Gaz War, the Kingdom was desperate for some way to get its footing back. While it was recovering, with few Bracers around to keep it in line from any shadier activities, particularly those concerning Drake Luft, who had been for years using the Faeries to summon prospective soldiers from the Mystic Moon, which bore higher base Aura Power than Gaea, it struck a secret deal with the ruling council of Krisna, behind the back of its own king Hodr. It would send troops through Krisna to attack the Empire.

When the attack occurred, it was on the particularly rowdy and warlike Athens State of Erebonia, ruled by the "Secretary of War" Loquis. Their desire for vengeance was bloody, and Erebonia commenced a declaration of war on Krisna. However, what should have been a swift surrender against what was clearly an overwhelming army... Wasn't. Krisna gave no sign of surrender, and the Empire would take steps to make a proper invasion possible.

But our story starts in the Kingdom of Liberl, with a simple pair of Bracer siblings, Estelle and Joshua Bright, and their big sister figure Scherazard Harvey, on a simple quest to become Senior Bracers and find out why their father went missing on the airship Linde...

Featured Series

Gaea Side

Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland

Aura Battler Dunbine

Break Blade

Chaika the Coffin Princess

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale

RWBY

Vanguard Bandits

Vision of Escaflowne

Ys

Earth Side

Arcana Heart 3 LOVE MAX!!

Chivalry of a Failed Knight

Giant Robo: The Animation: The Day the Earth Stood Still

Infinite Stratos

Iron Man: Armored Adventures

Mega Man Megamix/Mega Man Gigamix

Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

Street Fighter V

Some Key Terms

Septium--The lifeblood of Gaea. It's the material that powers the Orbments which make up all of its machinery. Septium comes in many forums. In large chunks it can be used as precious jewelry. It can be refined into Quartz that powers the circuits of an Orbment, or refined together into the Quartz frame and ligaments that make up Golems. In pebble sizes, it's referred to as Sepith, and it can be ground up into fine particles to create Dust. There are seven types of Septium, corresponding to an elemental power: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Space, Time, and Mirage.

Before the age of the Orbment, Septium was used directly to invoke the elemental powers flowing through it. By infusing one's own Aura, one could command one of these elements while holding their respective Septium sample, and this function persists today, though the Tactical Orbment offers a highly refined option for those able to get one. The other primary invocation of Dust is the Gandr, a gun-shaped wand that acts as a focus to create highly specific effects, offering the creativity of raw Dust and and the consistency of a Tactical Orbment.

In some ways, all Orbal machinery's Septium reacts to the Aura of the user, and as such none can be operated, or at least activated, by an Unsorcerer. Unsorcerers have an unknown defect in their Aura which causes Septium to not react to it. They are sadly shunned by most of society for their lack of ability to properly function in it.

Aura--Septium is the lifeblood of Gaea, and Aura of its people. Aura is something present in all living creatures. Some have more than others. It can be unlocked by one's own efforts or through someone else who knows the art of using theirs. It acts as passive protection against most injuries, and can be channeled with the right techniques into offense. One's own personality is expressed as specific abilities in their Aura as a Semblance. There are many different types of Semblances, and much like Aura itself, these can be mixed with Septium to add new effects onto already useful powers.

Combat machinery:

Melefs and Guymelefs

The concept of a humanoid combat machine is in fact quite an old concept in the world of Gaea. It is said that the original eight-arge guymelefs were created for the slaying of dragons in the Dark Ages. They were massive steel machines powered by energists, but otherwise primitive. The four-meter melefs were made as guards for towns, and all moved based on carried locomotion from the pilot to the rest of the machine. However, in a pre-industrial age, both melefs and guymelefs were extremely rare, and were often found exclusively in the hands of the rich and powerful.

The Orbal Revolution 50 years ago, however, changed this immensely, and also introduced "Phase 2" guymelefs, derived from the excavated models the Kingdom had used to briefly conquer the continent. Phase 2 guymelefs are distinguished by their fully enclosed cockpits, and true camera feeds and other instruments, while also being controlled by the mind of their pilot. Though this can be exhausting, it further increased the ability of guymelef operators to carry their fighting styles into a battlefield.

Phase 2 guymelefs are also distinguished by their ability to cast orbal arts. Though only capable of mounting a single large-sized elemental quartz, which doubled as its power source, these guymelefs were nonetheless capable of accessing at least mid-levels of their chosen element's orbal arts, while also achieving the same passive combat increases as a modern tactical orbment. Excavated guymelefs were capable of casting even higher levels of these elements, indicating a heretofore unknown potential in Phase 2s.

Phase 2 guymelefs' industry also helped them branch into Golems and Aura Battlers, and for a long time guymelefs were the kings of the battlefield. It was only with Liberl's introduction of orbal airships, succeeding the old Leviships, and Erebonia's further refinement of tank technology, that their supremacy is increasingly contested, as though their combat potential is great, they ask increasingly much of their users in comparison to these machines.

Golem

A somewhat rare subset of guymelef, primarily used by Krisna and Athens, but also sometimes scattered among the more traditional guymelefs in the nations surrounding both areas. It is based primarily on the pre-orbal principle of quartz ligaments, and in particular finds a new use for the sepith masses found in both monsters and septium ore deposits. Sepith masses too full of rock, metals, and other impurities to process are instead processed as-is, into a type of elementally inert quartz, which makes up the armor, inner frame, and interface of these guymelefs.

A Golem is controlled, like the post-Kingdom age guymelefs, through mental input. However, because of direct aura-to-septium input of commands through the fully-quartz body and into the ligaments, the response time is typically much faster, though in many cases also significantly more exhaustive. An elaborate series of lenses, which also react to aura, also provide sensory input to the operator, allowing for crisp and clear reception.

Because of these features, golems have often been used in a highly experimental manner, with additional or non-standard limbs, such as the infamous Hykelion's twin scorpion tails, and have sometimes been observed to emit a destructive aura no doubt amplified by their quartz frame.

Aura Technology

Though often believed to be a technology unrelated to the development of the orbment, the discovery of the power of septium was in fact incredibly crucial to what would become one of the most terrifying weapons of the Kingdom-Imperial War.

Its potential was only fully discovered, however, through the Mystic Moon computer technician named Shot Weapon, who created the interface which allowed the proper operation of aura weapons. Using his technical prowess, Drake Luft created an entire fleet of "Aura Weapons", which used trace amounts of septium throughout their entire inner frame to allow the direct aura from a pilot to power them.

However, the true power of Aura could only be realized through living flesh--this led to the creation of the guymelef known throughout the continent as the Aura Battler. Created from the muscles and carapaces of monsters, the Aura Battler was an incredibly demanding type of guymelef, pilotable only by those who had large amounts of inner Aura power. As it was discovered by Drake Luft that the power of Aura on Earth was several orders of magnitude above Gaea's own, he called down denizens of the Mystic Moon to be his premier pilots, though he had quite a difficult time actually maintaining a hold on these recruits.

The development of Aura technology was further refined into Aura Ships, which used traditional steel construction, but were able to be powered both by a traditional power plant, and the Aura of their crew--the critical weakness, however, being that if crew began to die, the ship's performance itself would visibly suffer in ways normal ships did not.

Fayla--Also commonly referred to simply as "monsters", Fayla are the dangerous beings wandering the roads between towns and nations which require the efforts of soldiers, Bracers, and Huntsmen to keep under control so people can travel safely. They have the general characteristic of being empowered by eating Sepith, allowing them to cast Orbal Arts innately, with no tools whatsoever. Among the strongest Fayla are the Dragoons, relatives of the Dragons, which have achieved near immortality and the ability to shapeshift, as well as proper sapience.

Bracers--An international force of public servants, whose central command is in the neutral Leman State. They perform tasks from rescuing lost cats and substituting at Sunday School to hunting monsters and investigating crises. Ordinarily, they're not to get involved in any capacity in governmental affairs unless it directly threatens the lives of the civilians which they are sworn to protect. Bracers with a high enough rank and record can possibly help mediate international affairs. They have a close relationship with the Huntsmen, but there is some friction as Huntsmen don't officially serve the people and are sometimes prone to becoming Jaegers.

Huntsmen--An Organization with a close relationship to Bracers, they can perform some of the same tasks, but focus primarily on hunting monsters and the Creatures of Grimm especially. Most design their own weapons, which show a remarkable level of creativity. They often can transform between multiple shapes to accommodate close-range and long-range combat, or simply act as both at once. However, Huntsmen can cause international friction as officially they are only beholden to their country of birth, and some are dissatisfied with their lot and go on to become Jaegers. In particular, Erebonian air force general James Ironwood is both a Huntsman and one of the heads of an academy as well as maintaining his military career, giving him unprecedented international influence.

Huntsmen tend to be taught in local Hunter Academies, among the most famous of which is Liberl's own Beacon Academy. They're assigned into teams of four, which are named based on the first or last name of each member, the four-letter word being pronounced as a color-related term, such as STRQ(Stark). However, after graduation, they're off to do whatever they want, and not all teams stay together either. Other well-known Huntsman Academies are Crossbell's Haven Academy, and Thors Military Academy has a Huntsman program separate from its normal curriculum. There are also junior Hunter academies for students who are under the age threshold such as Signal Academy. The age to begin proper training as a Huntsman is 16, much like a Bracer.

Jaegers--Powerful mercenary groups which profit and often live in war. There are mercenary outfits which are not called Jaegers; the term refers exclusively to those mercenaries who have made a name for themselves as being made of especially dangerous individuals with equally dangerous reputations. Huntsmen often start or join these groups when their careers don't give enough excitement for them, fighting in wars for the adrenaline rush and quick money. Until recently, the two most powerful Jaeger groups were the Zephyrs and the Red Constellation. Only the latter continues to operate, following the defeat of the Zephyr leader, the Jaeger King, though the Red Constellation's own leader, the War God, also died in battle against him in a mutual kill.

Beastfolk--A catch-all term for humanoids with animal aspects in Zemuria. They come in mostly two flavors: Beastmen, who are primarily full-on humanoid animals with many parts of their animal aspects present, and Faunus, which occurred through interbreeding of humans and Beastmen. Faunus have only minor, though typically noticeable, animal aspects and an otherwise completely human. All Beastfolk retain characteristics of the animal they are associated with, and run a wide spectrum of animal types as well. Sadly, they are oppressed by humanity, though in some nations this is changing in one way or another.

To attempt to force the change, the White Fang organization was established. Originally a peaceful protest group, changes in leadership turned them into violent terrorists who seek supremacy over humanity instead of equality. The current incarnation of White Fang are seen as extremists who are causing far more harm than good, and are particular enemies of the Kingdom of Pharastia and Erebonian Empire, especially the latter's Schnee Dust Corporation.

Important Nations

Kingdom of Liberl--Nestled between the borders of the Erebonian Empire and Republic of Calvard, the Kingdom of Liberl is a prosperous small nation and one of the centers of technology in the entire Continent of Zemuria with its Zeiss Central Factory. In the Hundred Days War with Erebonia ten years before now, Liberl pioneered the first modern airships, abandoning the need for the Levistones used by older models and running purely on flight fields generated by Orbments. It is now the center of airship development and boasts the most advanced models of airships yet seen in the Continent. The chief scientist, Professor Albert Russell, is considered the father of Orbal Technology, as it was through is efforts that he brought Professor Epstein's research to the rest of the world after studying under him. Liberl is a monarchy that has discarded all other notions of nobility, and is constantly undergoing positive reforms and pushing for peace as much as it can under the guidance of its Queen Alicia. Due to its value system, it holds a healthy alliance with the Republic, and tense relations with the Erebonian Empire after the war.

Erebonian Empire--In the West of the Continent lies one of its two greatest superpowers, the Erebonian Empire. It lies North of the Zaibach Empire, its ally, and West of Liberl, The Kingdom of Fanelia, the Kingdom of Krisna, Crossbell State, and Nordilain Forest, among other nations. It has a history as old as Liberl's, with its current ruler being Emperor Jugend Reise Arnor III. It is the enemy of the Kingdom of Pharastia, and is currently at war with Krisna, with the declaration handled by its vassal state Athens. Ever since the Hundred Days War, Erebonia has been undergoing reforms under the guidance of its prince Olivier Reise Arnor, Princess Sadira Reise Arnor, and their nominal ally Chancellor Giliath Osborne. Osborne especially has been making the greatest push for reform, opening Erebonia's borders to more trade and international relations, as it had previously been quite isolationist aside from its conflicts with the Kingdom.

Traditionally, the nobles have held most of the power in Erebonia as well, but with the reforms being placed, the common man is gaining increased opportunities similarly to some neighboring nations as Liberl. This does not sit well with the nobles, and as such there's constant friction beneath the surface between their traditionalist faction and Osborne's Reformist Faction.

Erebonia is the inventor of the railroad and the combat tank, and runs a trans-continental railroad system.

The Kingdom of Krisna

The Kingdom of Pharastia's brief conquest of Western Zemuria was a time of death and strife... But its fall led to rebirth, with new nations being born, growing, and prospering in the fifty years since the continent's great nations regained their rightful sovereignty.

What was once a mere province on the outskirts of Erebonia became a kingdom in its own right known as Krisna. Though it preserved Erebonian tongues and traditions such as nobility, it discarded their more warlike habits on the international stage.

Despite its rocky and often barren geography, Krisna holds immense and high quality septium reserves, which it uses to craft hefty Golems for its armed forces. Its heads of state are King Hodr, and his former classmate Sigyn Erster, who is also Krisna's chief engineer.

Perhaps the great irony of Krisna is the fact that though its birth is undeniably Imperial, Erebonia is one of its greatest enemies. The Empire's autonomous state of Athens, believing Krisna to be their rightful land, are nearly fanatical in their desire to conquer it. As a result, it has formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Pharastia, and works tirelessly to stay in the good graces of the financial powerhouse which is the Kingdom of Asturia.

The Commonwealth of Athens

It is said that all things have a shadow, and few nations embody this belief more than the Commonwealth of Athens. Though sharing the same Erebonian blood as Krisna, their autonomy as a state exists nigh exclusively in service to the Empire, and their zero-tolerance policy for the Kingdom and all who support it creates a populace who would die before being captured by the enemy for any reason.

In the Kingdom-Imperial War, they served as the front line, and displayed a notable affinity for the engineering of Golems, perhaps being the most prodigious creator of them before the reign of Queen Sigyn and the appearance of Delphine.

Even willing to send children of Sunday School age to war, Athens' attempted conquest of Krisna continues to be a bloody affair, though the majority of their forces are stalled at the border, where most Krisnan military units are staioned in fortresses.

Republic of Calvard--The other superpower of Western Zemuria, located to the East of Liberl and its neighbors, Calvard is a democracy barely two centuries old, created in protest to the other nations. It has cast aside all notions of nobility, and scoffs at them, particularly within Erebonia. The two superpowers have come into conflict periodically over this and lands they wish to claim between them. It also takes in many immigrants and values from the vastly unclaimed portions of land further East, but this causes internal problems with supremacist terrorist groups who wish these Easterners be removed from the country.

Calvard invented the automobile and popularized its use primarily within itself, Crossbell, and the Imperial Capital of Heimdallr.

The Kingdom of Asturia

What was until only a few decades ago a smattering of scattered villages found itself swiftly transformed by the genius of King Grava Aston into a thriving merchant nation, and one of the two pillars of economy in Western Zemuria. The Kingdom of Asturia's young age does little to prevent it from shrewdly exercising its influence while also maintaining a comfortable seat free of strife on the international stage.

Its capital, Palas, is a seaside beauty, with many beautiful architecture and scenic canals as far as the eye can see, making it an ideal vacation spot.

Asturia's military, despite being unremarkable on the continental stage, still holds an element of pride, and nowhere is this more evident than its elite guymelef pilots, the Knights of Caeli, of whom even one could turn the tide of a pitched battle.

The Kingdom of Pharastia

A lesson in both the hubris of man and the dominating power of the Ancients, the Kingdom of Pharastia's origins date back to the War of the Lions. One of many of the warring sons, Prince Ricarde Arnor, called upon the legendary Ispano to construct the Ivory Knight Ursragna.

Despite wielding such immense power, Ricarde was routed, and Dreichels the Lionheart claimed the throne.

Unwilling to accept any but himself ruling Erebonia, Ricarde disappeared eastward, carrying the knowledge of Knights with him to pass on to descendants so they might one day rule as he believed was their right.

They discarded the Arnor name and called themselves Pharastia instead, slowly gathering mighty guymelefs from the ages of the ancients and preparing for their crusade. In SC 1102, Pharastia commenced its invasion of Western Zemuria, with the Excavated Guymelefs proving unstoppable forces on an undeveloped battlefield, with even rumors of floating fortresses acting as support lasting into the present day.

The surrender of rulers across the continent in the face of his might, however, even in Erebonia, evoked mercy in the Pharastia's then-current King Ricarde the III, and when all conflict subsided, he gifted the Excavated guymelefs to the briefly unified continent.

This of course would lead to the fall of arguably the mightiest modern empire to exist on the continent. In a few short years, rebellions against the Kingdom's rule spread across the land, restoring sovereignty to the nations of Zemuria, and reducing the kingdom itself to a small country in the company of small countries. Unwilling to accept this rejection, which was spearheaded by the Erebonian Empire, the Kingdom commenced a fifty year war against their old enemy, which continues to this day even in the absence of any ruling royalty after an Imperial strike team managed to defeat the latest King. For a brief time, former advisor Arthur Gaz crowned himself Emperor following this vacuum, but he too was defeated. Despite this, the Kingdom still remains hostile to the Empire, and Duke Drake Luft is secretly intent on fulfilling its ambitions

Zaibach Empire--One of the first fully industrialized nations in Western Zemuria, predating even the formal Orbment, Zaibach is located south of Erebonia and ruled by Emperor Dornkirk, a man using technology to keep himself alive for centuries. They are the only nation to mass-produce the Guymelef, but have kept themselves isolated and secure while building their power. They made their first full act of war recently, allying with Imperial troops to raze the Kingdom of Fanelia completely to the ground, and are moving to assist with the war in Krisna as well. Not much is known as to why this is suddenly happening, but the rumors speak of their Guymelefs as being invisible...

Kingdom of Fanelia

It is known that the people of the East form a plurality of the Republic of Calvard's population. But it is said that centuries ago, a group of them on a long arduous journey arrived near the westernmost parts of Zemuria, and together with the locals formed a small, but prosperous kingdom.

This kingdom is known as Fanelia. Though considered an unremarkable agrarian nation on the continental stage. Its blend of Eastern and Western traditions is apparent in every facet of its culture.

Its knights, known as samurai, are not only its generals, but its chief political enforcers, guiding and raising their king, whose crown is earned through the slaying of a dragon. Dragons, which are heavily worshipped by the East, have had their concepts merged with the will of Aidios, who they refer to as the Sky Dragon. A guymelef believed by them to be the incarnation of her Will was forged by the Ispano for Fanelia, named Escaflowne. It has sat as their vigilant guardian for a century, acknowledging any king who completes the Dragon slaying trial as its Awakener. Its latest king, Van Fanel, took the Escaflowne into combat against the Zaibach Empire, and is currently seeking help against this act of war, though some might argue the reasons why he wishes to strike back.

Crossbell State--A nation settled between the Empire and Republic, Crossbell has much high quality Septium similar to Krisna. It has been fought over many times by the two superpowers, but has managed to secure itself in the past decades, despite being under constant watch by both of them. Both their governments administrate any major change in policy, and Erebonia has Garrelia Fortress' two large-caliber railway guns ready to raze its capital of Crossbell City to the ground. It is home to the International Bank of Crossbell, through which almost all of the Continent's money is managed. As such, despite living under constant pressure, Crossbell State is a nation as important as any other. If anything were to happen to the Bank or its money, every nation would suffer.

Leman State--A major nation in its own right, Leman State is both home to the Continent's greatest think tank, the Epstein Foundation, and the headquarters of the Bracer Guild. It is a completely neutral nation that allies with no one particular power, and instead tries to maintain good relations with all powers. It has a terrible relationship with the Kingdom due to its warmongering tendencies and the extremely diminished presence of the Bracer Guild in that nation. It has its own dedicated training ground for Bracers at the international Bracer Guild headquarters.

Free Beast State of Menagerie

The backhanded nature of this region's name is rivaled only by the sordidness of its origin. The Kingdom of Pharastia's conquest of Zemuria brought with it extreme anti-Beastfolk sentiment. They attempted to separate them from the humans, herding them all into one place together. This, among others, was in fact one of the sparks which led to the anti-Kingdom revolution.

The Beast Rights Revolution and subsequent removal of Kingdom rule thus created the White Fang organization to fight against anti-Beastfolk oppression, and the permission of the affected to settle Menagerie and create a kingdom of their own. However. It has been noted many times over that, name aside, all this has done is create a bubble of Beastfolk separate from humans in the end, and as a result has accomplished nothing, especially in light of the region being mostly inhospitable desert full of powerful and dangerous monsters.

In awareness of this fact, Liberl's Queen Alicia has fostered extremely favorable relations with Menagerie, which has thus extended them into a quite lucrative and promising alliance with the Republic of Calvard.

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