#current headcanon is that they both go to a magic festival of some sort wearing these

[anotherapostate]

Inspired by this post from @heathtrash. I couldn't get the idea of these matching cardigans out of my head.

[antigoneawake]

a n t i g o n e   k e n n e d y   g r a v e s

basics:

name: antigone kennedy graves. pronunciation: an·ti·guh·nee keh·nuh·dee grahvs. meaning: antigone- in place of a mother, unbending, against, compared to, like. kennedy- misshapen head or fierce headed. birthday: september 13th. age: nineteen. pronouns: they, she & her. sexuality: pansexual. siblings: archibald graves (triplet), ajax graves (triplet). parents: john graves & elaine graves nee kennedy. other family: darcy kennedy (grandmother). languages: english. current residence: the graves triplet’s london flat. hometown: boston, massachusetts; new york city, new york.

wizard fun:

hogwarts house: ravenclaw. year of graduation: 1979. occupation: intern at the department of mysteries. pet: none. tig does bring home many strays to care for, though. blood status: pureblood. species: witch. patronus: goldfish. it symbolizes prosperity. it brings good luck and good fortune. with its golden scales and colorful patterns, they are associated with much wealth which it will share to those it guides. the gold fish is naturally strong. a big fish for its kind, it swims powerfully to get to where it wants. it also symbolizes a dragon in ancient eastern and oriental traditions, with legend holding that it can transform into a water dragon. its transformative powers make it a sign of power and virility. they exist in naturally serene environments. to view the goldfish and koi is to be reverted into a meditative state. this brings about a feeling of calmness and peace to those that see this animal as a guide. it causes those that see it to be still as well, easing their worries and letting their minds work more freely.  boggart: the memory of her parents bodies in their caskets. the idea of her brothers there with them. amortentia:   candy apple.  one of tig’s favorite treats that reminds her of the best memories of carnivals and festivals with her brothers back at home.  lavender.  lavender has always been tig’s favorite scent. her mother wore it in her perfume and tig also wears it. they used to grow small planters of lavender in their back yard too.  sea salt.  antigone loves the ocean. she always has. it is a life long dream of hers to live her life on the beach next to the ever present waves.  wand type: 9″ willow wood, thunderbird tail feather, springy.  willow is an uncommon wand wood with healing power, and I have noted that the ideal owner for a willow wand often has some (usually unwarranted) insecurity, however well they may try and hide it. while many confident customers insist on trying a willow wand (attracted by their handsome appearance and well-founded reputation for enabling advanced, non-verbal magic) my willow wands have consistently selected those of greatest potential, rather than those who feel they have little to learn. It has always been a proverb in my family that he who has furthest to travel will go fastest with willow.  thunderbird wands were powerful but difficult to master, and were good for transfiguration work. wands with thunderbird tail feather cores, like the birds the feathers are taken from, are able to sense danger and can cast curses on their own. wands with thunderbird tail feather cores have been known to fire curses pre-emptively when supernatural dangers are present. affiliation: neutral.

appearance:

height: 5′4″. hair color: strawberry blonde. eye color: teal. typical hair style: antigone wears her hair long. it has soft curls that almost look beach like in their waves. she often wears her hair up in a simple ponytail with a big bow.  fashion style: tig wears sneakers, straight lined skirts or dresses, peter pan collars, and sweaters. she likes a soft palette of pastel colors. she occasionally wears overalls and high waisted shorts. her skates are always on her person. she loves floral patterns, simple colors, and plaids. [ fashion ] distinguishing features: tig has a look of otherness about her. her eyes are never quite focused on what is in front of her. she has a sprinkling of freckles on her face and a few scars on her arms from being caught in a rose bush as a kid.

personality:

positive traits: contemplative. amiable. open-minded. negative traits: unreliable. naive. nervous. theme song: something wild by lindsey stirling ft andrew mcmahon

headcanons:

tig doesn’t usually have pockets, actually. if she does, it’s because she’s wearing her overalls and if that’s the case, she has rocks and sticks in her pockets. she usually wears a dress or skirts that lack pockets, but she makes up for it by almost always having a pink knapsack with her. it was a gift from her brothers on one of their birthdays. in her bag, she almost always has a deck of tarot cards, a tiger’s eye and turquoise, bandages, dice, mints, bubblegum, an ink pen, a quill and ink pot, colored pencils, ribbons, sheet music, and there is always an assortment of sticks, leaves, and flower petals.

antigone has always been partial to the spring. she likes to watch the world bloom. tig has always had a special and loving connection with nature and it certainly feels the most powerful during the spring. the air is refreshing and breezing, and she will spend hours just laying in the grass on those days. 

she’s a rainy day kind of girl. is there anything better in this life than being caught in a spring shower? antigone graves thinks not. rain is even more beautiful to her because it can make her divinations decidedly more clear. she will stand letting the raindrops in her face for hours and has been caught doing it before. as a younger girl, her grandmother would chide her for coming home soaking wet and catching colds from it.

biography:

TW: death, parental death

The Graves family is one of the most well-known and revered pureblooded families in America and has been so for generations. John and Elaine met through an arranged engagement. However, unlike many who found themselves in a similar position, the couple fell deeply in love. They took up residence in a large colonial house right outside Boston. John focused on climbing the political ladder at MACUSA while Elaine delved into a promising fashion career.

Their pregnancy came as a bit of a shock several years into their marriage. That is, to everyone but John’s mother, a well-known seer who had long said they would have a rare miracle arriving. While they hadn’t planned it, they were both very pleased to begin a family. The surprises continued when they were told that they would be having triplets. Elaine opted to take a step away from the world of fashion so that John might continue his work in Congress. His career was at a crossroads that could not be put on hold. In fact, the choices he made during this time would change the course of his entire family.

The triplets were born just as the Massachusetts leaves had begun to change color and fall. Autumn welcomed them to the world. Antigone was born the middle of the three. A brother on either side and all born just before midnight.

Their childhood was one filled with incredible privilege and opportunities. The triplets were very well educated. Even before they started school at the Salem Institute for Witches, they were well versed in both general education and magical theories. From the beginning, Antigone showed a particular proclivity towards divinations, herbology, and care of magical creatures. Her grandmother was happy to groom her seeing abilities. She always had an innate curiosity. Her wonder for the world often drove her to study anything that she could care for, whether it be flora or fauna. No one could deny that she had a desire to care for things. A trait that was always praised and encouraged by her family.

It was in the triplet’s third year that rumors began to swirl about her father’s political dealings. He had obviously been angling to become President for some time. However, his staunch belief in pureblood supremacy and ties to controversial movements left the public torn in opinion of him. Antigone struggled to believe that her father, one of the most loving and kind men she knew, could ever be how these people described him. They even portrayed her mother as some sort of icy woman. That’s how she knew it all to be untrue. Her father even publicly stepped back from his more controversial views, appeasing most.

What she thought of the rumors would cease to matter as they ended their fourth year of school. An owl came to their headmistress in the dead of night. John and Elaine Graves had both been found dead in their Boston home. An angry citizen who disagreed with his views was the final word, but Antigone certainly didn’t believe it. It didn’t feel right, and all seers knew to trust their instincts above everything. There were too many signs that indicated it was not any wizard. It had to have been a hitwizard, although there was no telling which side ended up hiring them.

While their mother had no siblings or much family to speak of, John had a previously estranged sister in Europe who agreed to take in the now orphaned triplets. It was a large paradigm shift for Antigone and her brothers, who had always been taught that halfbloods and purebloods who did not remain so were dangerous to their way of life. Their father had not said more than a few sentences on his sister for the entirety of their lives. Frankly, Antigone forgot that she had an aunt more often than not. For the woman to show such open kindness and hospitality has her questioning everything that she’d ever been taught growing up.

Moving to a new country and beginning school in an entirely new place still feels like the carpet was pulled out from under her. However, Antigone realized her potential for change here. The last thing she wanted was to end up like her father and mother. Perhaps there was more she could learn from being more open-minded. That being said, she is realizing that there is more to learn and unlearn than she ever realized before and at times, it was all impossible to keep up with.

Hogwarts held its own set of challenges. The curriculum was different, there were people who had known each other for a lifetime that she’d barely remember, Antigone never knew who she could trust and who she couldn’t. What’s more, the world outside was storming. There was a brewing war that they had all been thrust into, and she had no idea where to stand. What she did know was that the images in the leaves told her horrible stories of the future. Stories that terrified her.

Graduation came before she knew it. With her father’s name in politics and her grandmother’s reputation as a seer, Antigone was offered several jobs off the bat. Finally, she decided to take on an internship in the Department of Mysteries as it felt like where she was most needed and useful. Working inside a government that she barely understands in a job that is nearly impossible to explain is a trial in and of itself. Luckily, it does the job to distract her from everything which wants to pull her towards either side of the conflict surrounding her.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Rosegardening Headcanons “The Little Prince and his Princess Bride”

You know how in every shoujo romance manga or anime series, there is usually a point in the plot where some kind of school festival or fair is introduced where our protagonist and her love interest along with their friends are roped into participating in.

In keeping with a Pinehead headcanon that I concocted with Al @albion-93, let's say…since Oscar Pine is considered one of the most popular boys at Atlas Academy due to his status as the crowned 'Little Prince', imagine if...there is a festival hosted by Atlas Academy that goes in correlation with its grandiose end of the year gala.

What if...each year as part of the festival activities, there is some sort of Parade of the Princes where the students from each school year vote one of their male colleagues into being their crowned Prince to represent them. The Prince candidate is then allotted to choose his Princess who will be his companion during the parade. And as the rules imply, a Prince is able to select his Princess candidate from any school year so long as the individual is his choice.

So let's say, Oscar is picked to be the Prince of the First Years and chosen Princess is none other than Ruby Rose. For the sake of comedy, let’s say Oscar only picked Ruby since she is his bestie bud and if he needed a companion then there was no other girl he’d want by his side than Ruby or something to that extent. At first Ruby was very touched that Oscar picked her only to retract her sentiments later when the two Rosebuds learned more about what their roles in the Parade of the Princes entailed. 

This is where things get more fun. Let’s say, in addition to picking their princes, the students of Atlas Academy also get to decide the two major themes the Parade of the Princes will be inspired by. And as it just so happened, the themes for that current year were ‘roses’ and ‘wedding’.

See where I’m going with this? This meant that as, his chosen Princess, Ruby will also play Oscar’s bride during the Parade and will be subjecting to wearing a wedding gown as part of part of her performance; much to her dismay.

Just picture it, Oscar looked dashingly in a white and gold groom's tuxedo fashioned with red roses while Ruby dons a gorgeous silver and white wedding gown; also decorated with red roses to complement her Prince. I absolutely love this idea just to use it as a golden opportunity to have our Rosebuds play bride and groom and pretend to be a couple for an evening.

And what would make this idea even better is if like any bride and groom, the Prince and his Princess must share a kiss as part of their performance for the Parade. 

Imagine… Ruby and Oscar having to kiss each other before a packed audience of their friends, family and the whole Atlesian School. Sure it's part of festivities but it's an embarrassment both children share; particularly Ruby who confesses to Oscar that this would be her first kiss and while she liked Oscar, sharing this moment with him of all people wasn't exactly how the Silver Eyed Warrior picked this moment. 

Speaking of first-time kisses, my Pinehead Headcanon is that Oscar already lost his first kiss when he was younger. It was stolen awkwardly by a neighbour girl who caught him by surprise. In an alternate version of this headcanon, the girl who stole Oscar's first kiss was his childhood best friend---my RWBY OC: Rosaline Fox who kissed him to sort of save him from being snogged by Big Am who had cornered poor young Oscar. Big Am and Young Rose Fox are featured in this script right here.

I love this headcanon because it creates one of those my favourite cliché romance scenarios. Y’know the one where our titular couple are forced to kiss as part of act but it ends up being one of the moments that makes them realize their true feelings for one another.

Picture Ruby and Oscar only needing to pretend to kiss each other for the Parade of the Princes. But of course, they wind up kissing for real and though brief, it's a unpredictably magical moment that sparks something in the both of them. That little light of love.

(Image Credited to @soldieroflandb) 

I also have the clever inkling to tie this Parade of the Princes headcanon of mine into a hunch I have about a staged attack on Atlas Academy during it Gala by Cinder Fall and Neopolitan.

Based on my RWBY Musing #73; imagine if… Cinder and Neo head a Faunus Revolt that disrupts the Atlas Gala festivities; taking most of student bod hostage while its leaders threaten to end their lives if the Atlas Council didn’t fulfil their Faunus Revolt leader’s demands.

Like picture the Parade of the Princes being part of the Atlas Ball entertainment. So let’s say… Ruby's Rose Bride wedding gown is her chosen dress for this so-called Gala Arc with Oscar as her Prince and date to the dance.

So as the Parade of the Princes closes off with the Princes sharing a kiss with their respective Princess Brides, Oscar is, of course, the last to go. However the instant Oscar leans in to kiss Ruby, the power goes out and Ruby finds herself suddenly being dragged away before Oscar could help her.

One of my favourite and most memorable episodes of Sakura Cardcaptor was the School Play Arc. I guess you can call it an arc since the story behind it spanned for more than one episode. During this storyline, Sakura and Syaoran get spend more time alone and thus grow closer during their rehearsal moments for the play. 

It could be cute to have something like that for the Rosebuds. I especially dig the additional concept of the Princes having to recite wedding vows to their Princess Brides as part of their performance. Fortunately for Ruby, only the Prince have to come up with vows while all the Princess has to do is to accept the Princes' words as the proclamation of his undying love for her.

Just imagine Ruby being onstage and it's Oscar's turn to recite his vows to her. Now by my headcanon, the vows are a part of the parade where the Princes are basically allowed to wing it and go all out since the key idea is to put on a show for the audience.

While the other Princes did something ostentatious, Oscar kept his simple yet sweet. All he did was take Ruby's hand gently in his hiss, kissing it as he bent the knee before her. Though a small gesture, that wasn't what earned the acclaim of the crowd with Oscar's performance. It was his words. When Oscar spoke, his words resonated with a passionate sincerity that practically stunned the audience into silence. Never once did he falter in his speech. The young boy just continued to speak from the heart, all the while his hand remained on Ruby's and his eyes never left hers; entrancing her in radiant gaze. His warm smile was ever so sweet to complement his words.

It sounded like Oscar was genuinely confessing his love for Ruby. Whether his words were honest or just an act, they served their purpose. The crowd reacted positively to Oscar's declaration, hanging on his every phrase and to Ruby's astonishment, so did she.

Imagine Oscar's words stunning Ruby so much that she nearly forgot her own part in the Parade. All she focused on in that moment was Oscar. But the words that truly caught Ruby even more off guard was the end where Oscar concluded his vows by lifting Ruby's hooded wedding veil (because of course), revealing her flushed face underneath.

"...I love you Ruby and I am yours forever."

Those were Oscar's final words before he starts leaning in to kiss Ruby. Now mind you, all the Princes were expected to end their vows like this as part of the performance. But despite knowing this detail, imagine Ruby being conflicted in the aftermath because of it.

She knew Oscar only said those things for the Parade but imagine there being a part of Ruby that secretly wished the confession was real since in her heart of hearts, it felt real to Ruby.

Imagine that my fellow Rosegardeners. Wouldn’t something like this make your heart melt? Again I know, it's an unlikely idea. Buuuuut it's still a sweet one to play around with. 

More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[fellmother-archive]

{ Plegian Society: Customs and Heritage }

     A majority of these ideas and concepts come from established lore, developer’s notes, and from the societies which Plegia was based off of. Please keep in mind that this is not a utopian society, as no place is in the series, and therefore there might be some potentially grey areas that these headcanons tread on. For those who just want to read specific parts, I have divided the post up into sections which are discussed in this order:

       Dance

       Music

       Clothing

       Family

       Food

       Religion

       Magic

       Language

          DANCE

   Plegia is a kingdom which places a large emphasis on art, music and dance in its culture, and consists of various ceremonies which take place throughout the year, for various reasons. Religion also plays a key factor in this as well, as a majority of the celebrations which are implemented are ones which originated both within the Grimleal cult, and another umbrella religion which shall be discussed later, serving as temporary moments of freedom, where the members could rejoice and forget about their hardships so that they might be distracted from what is going on in the world around them. Ceremonies celebrating the shift from one season to another, to religious rituals, to the first blossoming of a specific desert flower, to occasions celebrating family, or other values within Plegian society are all things which every citizen knows off by heart, and looks forward to. During these events, specific dances and songs are played which do not serve the sole purpose of entertainment—rather, they are in the kingdom’s native tongue, and tell stories that have been passed down verbally from generation to generation. If there is something that can be celebrated in life, they have a specific dance and ceremony for it. While dancing groups were separated by gender, and certain groups could only perform certain dances, both were regarded with as much respect as the other, as it requires a significant amount of training and devotion in order for one to make a respectable career out of dancing within Plegia.     That being said, the traditional style of dance in Plegia is belly dancing, and it is where such a style originated from, though the use of veils is not.

          MUSIC

    Just like dance is highly respected in Plegia, so is music, and to become a musician requires decades of intense training, regardless of what instrument one chooses to learn. The main instruments used in traditional Plegian music are arghuls, castanets, ney, sistrums, mizmars, and other ones within the percussion family. It is written specifically for dancing, and thus has a large emphasis on rhythm, using a variety of strong, syncopated beats which vary from sounding quite light and warm, to harsh and intimidating depending on what the song represents, or why it is being played. Music is performed on the streets, in festivals, or even during rituals and ceremonies. Aside from this, hymns are the next most common form of music in Plegia, and are almost exclusively used for religious purposes, with every member of the faith being required to memorise them by heart.

As Plegia has quite a verbal culture, songs are also used to tell stories, and are the most common way a parent will teach their child about religion, life lessons, or historical events. Almost no legends or myths are written down—they are exclusively passed down through verbal means; only familial records, spells, hexes and religious scriptures are written down, though Plegia does eventually decide to keep a written record of their kingdom’s history as they begin to trade with foreign continents.

          CLOTHING

    When it comes to the style of clothing in Plegia, however, their view differs greatly from that of Ylisse or Valm, as the naked human form is not considered to be provocative, hence why most, if not all, Plegian classes in-game do not cover much skin, regardless of gender. They do not see anything wrong with how they dress, nor consider someone else to be seeking attention by exposing skin—an idea supported by Tharja’s summer scramble conversation with Cordelia. That being said, copious amounts of jewellery are worn by the people not in an attempt to flaunt their wealth, though some do, but rather because most precious metals and jewels are believed to have certain healing or protective properties associated with them. For example, gold is believed to purify the soul, and lessen the feelings associated with trauma, whereas something like topaz is believed to ward off evil spirits. This extends to phases in life such as pregnancy, where women would be given charms or jewellery which have gemstones such as amazonite and carnelian—things which they believe promote fertility, and ease back pain respectively. Gold is also quite readily available in Plegia, and therefore the kingdom is quite wealthy—or, at least, wealthier than Ylisse and Regna Ferox--, as supported in-game through Basilio’s dialogue.

    Colour also means just as much as metals and jewels, and almost all Plegians dress in certain colours deliberately, as there is a great deal of symbolism behind most of them. For example, red would be worn as it is associated with both regeneration and danger, white would represent purity or sacredness, black represents death and the afterlife, therefore life, yellow for indestructibility, and blue for rebirth, with colours such as purple bearing both the meanings of red and blue.

    The wearing of slightly transparent material is also considered to be a sign of wealth in Plegian society, as it is hard to produce, and quite expensive to buy. Thus, only the rich can afford this sort of material, and one can easily discern the sort of background someone comes from by the transparency of their clothing, and how much of it they wear, though wearing gold is also an indicator of wealth as well.

    An example of how these aspects ties together is how a majority of the soldiers in the Plegian army dress—with red, yellow and black clothing, along with golden accessories or gold-plated armour.

          FAMILY

    Family is a core component of Plegian culture, however the term can be used to refer to more than just one’s blood-relatives. One’s entire village in the kingdom is considered to be family in the sense that they expect everyone to help the others in times of strife without asking for something in return—that the generosity and kindness one would show to blood-relatives extends to those who live in the same village. Due to this, there is also an intricate system in place when it comes to marriage, where every third generation, a person is required to wed someone in one of two partner villages—something which is done not only to strengthen relationships between villages, but to also allow their populations time to influence variation. Hence, certain areas of Plegia have people which possess certain characteristics, such as skin colour, eye colour, hair colour, and blood.

    The nuclear family is something which almost every single person in Plegia takes an immense amount of pride in, regardless of their position in society. Lineage is tracked through both parents of a child, regardless of gender, and extremely detailed records of each bloodline are kept within the family’s respective area. A child will often be trained in the field which a parent of the same gender currently follows at as young as five-years-old, though in the case of a single child, they will often be trained in both areas, so that the skills of the previous generation might not be lost. When the parents grow old, the children are expected to care for them—specifically, mothers, as they are often the main carers, though this is not always the case. Thea idea of Plegian families being important to one’s identity is supported by Tharja, who still writes to her family back in Plegia while she serves Ylisse—something which is mentioned in her and Kellam’s support.

    In regards to raising infants, wet-nursing is very frowned down upon unless the child’s mother has passed away, abandoned them, or falls extremely ill. In fact, this mindset carries over to the higher members of Plegian society, and has worked its way into the Grimleal doctrine, commanding that the mother of the vessel is to raise the child without the aid of a wet-nurse. It is believed that if someone has a child, they are solely responsible for raising it; not handing them over to someone else.

          FOOD

    As said by Henry in a conversation with Gaius, Plegia does not have bountiful harvests, and this is due to the harsh environments within Plegia. That being said, this does not mean that they are starving or malnourished—rather, they rely on different crops for food as opposed to Ylisseans, simply because their climate cannot grow the same sort of vegetation. Sugar is obtained solely through trade, and therefore sweet foods are a rarity in Plegia, with the recipes for desserts being ones adapted from those of other kingdom's. Therefore, a majority of their food is savoury, which has encouraged people to look for means to improve the taste of their food, and create a variety of distinct flavours. The use of herbs and spices is extremely common in order to create dishes that can use the same vegetables, fruits or meats, but taste completely different from one another. There are also specific dishes which are made as offerings to gods such as Grima during rituals, as said by Henry, though these often do not taste that nice to humans at all, as they are made specifically to appeal to dragons.

    Due to the fragility of balance in regards to food sources, Plegians have also developed extremely specific and convoluted rules which dictate what can be hunted or harvested, when and where. These times are indicated by natural cues, such as the blossoming of certain desert flowers, the presence of a certain native animal in a specific area, or the growing of another specific plant, and are enforced so that they have a sustainable food source that will last for as many generations as possible. Killing an animal, or picking a plant during a time when it is forbidden is considered to be a punishable crime.

          RELIGION

    The concept of having a board, polytheistic religion present in the fire emblem universe is something which is confirmed by Kaga himself in the developer’s notes for fe4, which talks about there being lower-tier gods, such as the twelve Crusaders, and then higher ones, which are “eternal ones indicated by the primal religions as world builders”. Due to the fact that the Jugdral games take place in the same world as awakening, this lore would also apply to their continent. In fact, Plegia having an overreaching, polytheistic religion is supported by the fact that Grimleal like Aversa, Tharja use the word ‘gods’, there are citizens within Plegia that do not worship Grima, and the concept of ‘fate’, which devout Grimleal like Validar clings to, is always mentioned and talked about as being a separate idea from Grima. There is also the fact that another Grimleal in-game, Chalard, refers to Grima as the ‘god of annihilation’ rather than being one which encompasses every aspect of life and death, implying that there might be other god-like figures which represent something else.

    With all this in mind, Plegia is a theocracy which was originally founded on a broad, polytheistic religion which may or may not have been an amalgamation of various lands’ religions, as it is clear by awakening’s time, the inhabitants of Plegia are mostly like not descended from its indigenous people, and that a sect unknown during Marth’s era, but apparently existed before the fall of Thabes, has become the main faith of the kingdom, meaning that the religion within the land has changed drastically. This umbrella religion would consist of various gods which represent or are in charge of various aspects of the universe, whether they are dragons like Naga or human-like figures such as Yudu(Gran?), and would have been made to include Grima when the Grimleal made their way into whatever Plegia was at the time, and started gaining influence amongst the people, giving the fell dragon the title of the ‘god of annihilation’. This truly makes the Grimleal reflect their status as a cult or sect, as it is a branch off of the main religion which focuses solely on one of the many gods—an occurrence which has actually happened in the same society Plegia was based off of, where cults dedicated to a specific god or family of gods arose and controlled cities. The main faith of the kingdom reflects the cult which the ruler associates themselves with, and due to the fact that we can assume Validar and his ancestors have been ruling for a while, due to the ‘rightful king’ skill, this explains why and how the Grimleal managed to gain such an enormous amount of power in Plegia, and why it is the main religion, despite the fact that a term like ‘gods’ exists there, and that outer villages are unaffected by the cult’s influence. Likewise, this also means that there are other sects in Plegia which worship the other gods within that umbrella religion, though they would be miniscule in number due to the fact that following those faiths would be heavily frowned down upon if it is not the same as the ruler’s own. One belief which carries itself across every sect of this umbrella religion, even the Grimleal, is that dragons are superior to humans in every way possible.

    In regards to the umbrella religion’s view on Grima specifically, the title given to them is self-explanatory—they are the deity whose revival will bring about the end of the world. That being said, however, it most likely does not stop there, as all Grimleal display a distinct lack of fear when it comes to death, which implies that there must be something in it for them after they pass away. Given the fact that Plegia is heavily based off of Ancient Egypt, we can assume that there must be some sort of life after death which is waiting for them—some sort of eternal utopia they will be reborn in, where the negative things in the world simply do not exist. When one then takes into account the fact that Risen exist, and despite their origins, are assumed by every character in awakening to be linked to Grima, it’s highly likely that the belief behind Grima is that they will bring about the end of the world, yes, but so that a new one can be made, and that its followers will be reborn alongside them. In reality, this is just Grima destroying everything, and creating Risen from the corpses of their followers—sacrificed or otherwise— as they please, but that is not something which is known to any of the people in Plegia. This gives the Grimleal a more believable reason to follow Grima, explains their intense devotion to them, and explains why they will gladly follow them, despite giving them names like ‘god of annihilation’, ‘evil dragon’, ‘fell dragon’, ‘breath of despair’, and so on.

          MAGIC

    Both dark and anima magic is taught in favour of other weapons simply due to the history behind it—of a divine dragon, Gotoh, being the one to teach humans how to wield such a thing, even if it partially goes against his original intentions sharing this knowledge in the first place. As dragons are held in such high regard within Plegia, an ability to wield magic of any kind immediately places someone higher on the social hierarchy than someone with little or no talent in the area, hence why a majority of the land’s army is composed of classes which utilise magic. It is also for this reason that most advancements in Plegia are magic-related, as utilising it for practical purposes is greatly encouraged, and is trusted more than other approaches to things. Most magic-wielding people are taught how to create talismans for a variety of purposes, supported in-game by Tharja on various accounts, whether it is for removing or replacing an aspect of someone’s personality, granting good luck, healing a wound, or other reasons. Curses and hexes fall into this category as well, however that is more geared towards finding other practical applications of dark magic, and while most have negative effects on their target, methods to produce ones with beneficial outcomes have been created. For example, why there are ones which will seriously harm or even kill people, ones to cure minor sicknesses, swap bodies, communicate with the dead, turn the caster invisible, evoke happiness, reflect curses back onto the curser, and alter memories have also been made. There is a catch, however, and it is mentioned by Tharja in her supports with Gregor—a curse cannot stick unless the curser knows the other person’s true name. Due to this, most Plegians will either introduce themselves with a fake name, or will only give their first—the full name of someone is almost never known by anyone other than family members, and someone speaking it another is considered to be the greatest expression of trust. This is why, despite wiping her memories completely, Validar gives Aversa a new name, and kills everyone who knew her—so that even if someone figured out what he did, no-one would ever be able to reverse the curse or reflect it back onto him, as not a single soul would know her true name.

    There are also rituals and traditions one has to adhere to when training someone in magic, as they act like a rite of passage to the person learning them. One such tradition is mentioned in the game by Henry when he attempts to teach Ricken dark magic—where the mentor shares their energy with their protégé by taking their hands in their own, though this applies to all kinds of magic; not just dark. Due to the significance behind this, and the idea behind sharing power with another person, this is also a gesture that has gradually started being applied to many other events in life—such as a couple during the wedding ceremony as they recite their vows, which is a mandatory part of the event, a family or lover bidding a loved one farewell before they leave for war, as a wordless way of saying ‘I love you’, or as a means of wishing someone good luck. This is also where the concept of bonds in Plegian culture originates from, as it is believed that this gesture creates an unbreakable connection between two people. This is why parents and children, teachers and students, or couples who all specialise in wielding magic are often of the exact same power, or only differ slightly.

    As to why dark magic is so closely related to the Grimleal cult, that is simply because it is brings about a sort of energy and power which closely relates to death and despair, which Grima represents, thus it is believed to be the only way, other than worship, to be close to that specific god.

          LANGUAGE

    Due to the size of Plegia, the varied backgrounds of those who formed the realm, and the number of sects born from the umbrella religion, the kingdom has one language, but a multitude of dialects—so much that someone from the south would not be able to understand anything aside from a few words when in the north, and vice-versa. The first-formed language of the kingdom is used in Plegia’s capital, and at the palace, being the trade language of the kingdom, and thus a common tongue for people regardless of their birthplace within the realm to use for communication. Still, a majority of dialects are very smooth and melodious, however are spoken at incredibly fast paces, making it hard for a non-native speaker to understand straight off the bat. While it is a primarily syllable-timed language, the dialects used in the far south, especially on the islands, are slightly more stress-timed, while the ones in the north are slightly more mora-timed, and it is for this reason why someone from one part of the kingdom will find it incredibly hard to understand someone from another, aside from the differences in words and pronunciation.

That being said, only those near the palace, or villages which act as trade ports for their overseas trading partners, know the language which Ylisseans and Valmese people primarily use.