#🖤.RFLS

[haruchiyos]

A Requiem for Lost Souls

 If this world had taught you anything, it was that tragedy did not discriminate. After fate’s cruel hands stole happiness from you, prophecy foretold that the only avenue to achieving vengeance was by means of absolute power. A journey of bloodshed, corruption, and heartache lies before you; will you emerge stronger and with your morality intact or fall victim to the corruption of your own power?

Welcome to my first series: A Requiem for Lost Souls! This is a dark fantasy au for My Hero Academia that will feature heavy angst, war themes, smut, and multiple love interests. This post will serve as the navigation for the series, as well as hosting a plethora of references for the world building, lore, and cast within this series that readers can utilize whenever need be. No spoilers will be featured here. 

Special thanks to @penallphe and @atsymu for all the love they showed toward my original series of which this project is an off shoot of. I wouldn’t have made the leap to share my world building here on tumblr if it wasn’t for the three of you. Thank you

Chapter 0

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MINORS DNI

— Geography

The Empire of Zardovia 

The Zardovian Empire is composed of five self governing kingdoms that are each dominated by a different type of life form. Every twenty years a tournament is held to determine the next ruler of the empire. Through a series of tests and battles the last triumphant warrior that is left standing becomes the ruling emperor and is given the responsibility of maintaining the peace between the five very different kingdoms within the empire. The nature of this tournament means that power is the sole governing force in the empire, only the strong will rule — their moral compass does not matter. The Forbidden City is home to the Emperor, their advisors, their consorts, their servants, as well as the Royal Army — all other citizens of the empire are prohibited from entering unless granted permission by the Emperor or their advisors.  

The Kingdom of Yestad 

This mountainous region of Zardovia is home to the most plentiful species within the realm: Highland Elves. Having once been the land of giants, copious amounts of gargantuan skeletons can be found propped against cliff faces with monstrous swords still at their sides. Being the homeland of the first Emperor — Zardor the Conqueror — Yestad’s capital is the most beautiful, extravagant, and lively city within the entire empire. Inside the capital city Vaelantis the only living members of the first emperor’s bloodline rule justly to ensure that their people are always kept satisfied and protected. With dragons guarding Vaelantis and Leshen roaming the icy forests at the edges of the kingdom, Yestad is a land rich with life and power.

The Kingdom of Draelon 

Bordering Yestad’s western mountain range is the desolate land of the Draelonian Kingdom — the land of the Necromancers. Despite the majority of its population remaining with the capital city of Yusan, Draelon is a large nation predominantly composed of expansive flatlands dubbed ‘the wastes’. The sandy soil within the plains makes it virtually impossible for any life to be sustained aside from the vigilant snake or scorpion. This void of liveliness also translates to the capital; the citizens of Draelon are the unwelcoming, cold, intellectual type with little to no interest in anything other than studying forbidden magick. Nicknamed ‘the land of the dead’ it is understandable why visitors rarely find themselves within the gothic architecture of Yusan. At its most northern tip lies The Catacombs of Selarith: a sanctuary for the most powerful Necromancers and their students. Governed by the most powerful Necromancer known as the Lich, Draelon has experienced the longest era of peace of all five kingdoms within Zardovia due to the strict nature of its social hierarchy and heavy cultural focus on obeying those who are above you.

The Kingdom of Hiral

Hiral is a chain of islands inhabited by various kinds of Shifters: lycan, serpent, feline, and avian. The island nation is a collection of small villages and towns living almost entirely independent from one another. Most citizens tend to live within towns dominated by their same race of Shifter, however the capital city Triwen is an exception to this trend. With constant conflict between the differing races the governing tribunal of elders would not be able to keep civil war from breaking out without the help of the emperor and the warriors of the crown. However, a positive byproduct of the diverse population within Hiral is that it is the best Kingdom within Zardovia to travel to and experience new walks of life and cultural practices.

The Kingdom of Keston

Keston is the largest region of the Zardovian Empire by land mass and as a result has the most variety to its landscape. From ice covered mountaintops and gigantic glaciers in the north to desolate deserts and volatile volcanoes in the south, Keston’s ranging biomes are a direct reflection of the people that inhabit them. Elemental wielders of eight different types roam the expansive kingdom and live in the region most akin to the element they use. Keston’s capital city is far less extravagant than the capital cities of Yestad or Draelon; this is because its only inhabitants are the eight members of the High Council who govern Keston along with their servants and guards. At its northeastern most tip lies the Mountains of Lonara — the tallest mountain range within the entire empire — and within its most remote peaks is the Temple of the Oracles where the most powerful elemental wielder along with her disciples are imprisoned.

The Water Kingdom 

While not actually being a cohesive nation the stretch of ocean north of Hiral has been dubbed ‘The Water Kingdom’. Within the Drowned City of Illisal lies countless relics of magical power as well as national treasures guarded fiercely by sirens and various kinds of sea monsters. Because of the tempting call to steal these sacred and priceless items, factions of pirates and thieves have built a lawless sanctuary on the abandoned islands of Otabiza. The geographic location of Otabiza combined with Zardovia’s lack of Naval power means that the Kingdom of Anarchy remains active and unchallenged by the crown.  

— Species

The Highland Elves 

 A proud species with a deep connection to nature, the elves worship a goddess of life simply called “The Mother.” At birth the mother pairs an elf with a specific species of animal that the elf will be able to control and communicate with. The specific species one is paired with is entirely based on their connection to the earth and its life force: the stronger the connection the more powerful the species. The Mother gifts the most powerful with dragons, demons, and even Leshen, while the weaker are paired with deer, rabbits, and sheep. The elves are also blessed with exceptional healing powers and the ability to read the auras of those around them. 

The Necromancers 

Mortal practitioners of magick with unparalleled intellect, the Draelonian Necromancers are better kept as allies rather than foe. Outwardly they present themselves as normal human beings, their only identifiable trait are their unnaturally colored eyes which can vary from a bright bloody red to a royal purple. They worship Azrael — the goddess of death — and heed any prophecies told by the Oracle that relate to her. What Necromancers lack in fighting prowess, they more than make up for with their mastery of chaos magick. Lower level Necromancers have the ability to commune with the dead, summon familiars and cast mild spells, however the High Necromancers can raise the dead, control demons — for a price — and cast extremely powerful spells. In the same manner that a Necromancer cannot compare to the power levels of a High Necromancer, even the most powerful High Necromancer’s power pales in comparison to that of the Lich. Teeming with unrivaled magickal power, the Lich can raise — and sustain — armies of the dead and even steal life force from other mortal beings to extend their own lifespan. 

The Shifters 

The islands of Hiral are home to Zardovia’s smallest people, by population, shifters. While considered the weakest collective species in the empire, the shifters excel greatly in physical combat due to their more animalistic natures. There exists a massive variety of shifter races within Hiral, however the most common are wolf, feline (lion, panther, tiger, etc), serpent (snakes), and avian (hawks, falcons, crows, etc). A child will always be the same race as its mother, for example if a child’s father was a feline shifter while its mother was a serpent shifter, the child would also have to be a serpent shifter otherwise the mother’s body would reject the fetus.  A shifter’s power level is generally determined by race, with few exceptions; wolves and felines on average possess the greatest combat skills, however a serpent’s poison and an avian’s flight are not to be taken lightly. All shifter’s possess limited psychic ability in the form of claircognizance, if a shifter says that they have a bad feeling about someone or something, it’s best to heed their advice. 

The Elementals 

The final and most abundant people are the Kestonian Elementals. As implied by their name, these people are masters of elemental magick. At the age of ten a young Elemental will pick an elemental god to become their patron. There are eight gods in total, Aesther (light), Erebus (darkness), Oxylus (earth), Aeolus (air), Hasmal (fire), Veris (water), Astrape (lightning), and Khione (ice). If a child is then accepted by that god they will be blessed with the powers of that god’s same element (ex those that have Hasmal as their patron will wield fire). An Elemental’s power and strength comes directly from their connection to their patron, the more they please their god the more powerful they become, however that strength can be taken away without notice if their god feels so inclined. All wielders will have the ability to summon and control their specific element at will, however only the most powerful wielders of each element have the ability to regenerate.

— Major Characters

reader : Twenty year old Elemental wielder of lightning and younger sister of Shouta Aizawa. Resides with family in the capital of Yusan after her parents fled Keston with Shouta prior to her birth. 

Shouta Aizawa : Twenty-seven year old Elemental wielder of darkness and elder brother of reader. Works as a mercenary within the capital. 

Hitoshi Shinsou : Twenty year old wolf shifter and reader’s childhood best friend. 

Katsuki Bakugou : Twenty-one year old Elemental wielder of fire, his parents are close allies with reader’s parents. 

Tomura Shigaraki : The Lich and ruler of Draelon. It is unknown how old he actually is as he hasn’t aged a day in the past twenty years and has no living relatives to speak on his birth. 

Touya “Dabi” Todoroki : Twenty-four year old Highland Elf and crowned prince of Yestad. It is unknown which animal he is paired with as his father never allows him to be seen by the public eye. 

— Minor Characters 

reader’s parents : Elemental wilders of fire living and working in Yusan as blacksmiths following their escape from Keston. 

Toshinori Yagi : Forty-nine year old Elemental wilder of light and current emperor of Zardovia. 

Enji “Endeavor the Great” Todoroki : Forty-six year old Highland Elf paired with dragons, current King of Yestad. 

Shouto Todoroki : Nineteen year old Highland Elf also paired with dragons, youngest son of the Yestadian King and brother to Touya. 

Taishiro Toyomitsu : Twenty-nine year old Lion shifter and general of the Royal Army. 

Nomu : Reader’s pet chimera of an unknown age.

The Oracle : An immortal Elemental wielder confined to the temple of Lonora where she conveys the wishes and prophecies of the gods while also telling the fortunes of young elementals once they turn twenty years old. 

More to be added ...

— Creatures

Chimeras : A hybrid being created from experimentation that is comprised of the parts of two or more other creatures. 

Leshens : An extremely powerful mythical being that stands over ten feet tall with a mangled humanoid body composed of fossilized wood and the head of a buck. They roam the solitary forests of Yestad and are to be avoided at all costs. 

Demons : An umbrella term for malevolent spirits and entities. 

Wondering Spirits: Undead souls of those who did not worship or believe in a god during their mortal life.

Reapers : Wondering spirits working under Azrael that collect the souls of the dead from their mortal bodies and transport them to the afterlife. 

Wraiths : A malevolent wondering spirit trapped in the mortal realm. They are known to feed off the energy of the living so beware. 

The Undead : Soulless bodies that are reanimated by Necromancers. 

Sprites : Harmless sentient bundles of energy that present as one of the eight elements. It is considered good luck for an Elemental to have a sprite of the same power. 

Familiars : A low-level entity under the control of a Necromancer; they will usually present themselves in the form of an animal (raven, cat, crow, dog, etc).

Sirens : Dangerous creatures that inhabit the deep waters of the Drowned City. Be wary of their coaxing song, it only promises death. 

Leviathan : The underwater guardian of the magickal relics of Zardovia. 

More to be added ...

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[haruchiyos]

For my fantasy series, would y’all be interested in me setting up a quiz that y’all could take to see which species you are from the AU?