The White Kingdoms

A 15 year long fantasy world project by Shesvii 

Hello my friends and welcome to Shesvii's first worldbuilding blog in this series that will hopefully not be abandoned as all my projects' fate seems to be. Heh what a way to start an article.

What's The White Kingdoms Saga?

It's a crossworlds fantasy story that I've been obsessively developing for nearly 16 years. What does 'crossworld' refer to? Crossworld stories involve characters accidentally being transported or willingly travelling from their own world/universe/timeline into another one that’s full of strange and/or magical phenomena. The crossworld fantasy genre is often referred to as "portal fantasy" because characters often use portals to travel between worlds. However a portal is not always required. 

The White Kingdoms Saga is a crossworld fantasy saga that doesn't rely on portals where characters travel back and forth from the planet Earth to the planet Lvella (where the White Kingdoms can be found).

It's not easy to start writing about projects you've been working on for such a long time without feeling a bit lost. Where to start? I want this to be as little confusing as possible, so I'll begin with a geographical map I painted in 2020 that features each kingdoms' capital cities, the temples and other big urban settlements (borders were loosely represented to accommodate future political changes, conquests and colonisations).

If you want to get a general idea of what the White Kingdoms' different species' aesthetics are, feel free to check out the Pinterest board I curated.

I have also a Discord server for artists of all kinds and worldbuilders where we all freely discuss our stories and share lore snippets.

The kingdoms and species

The aforementioned planet known as Lvella is home to the White Kingdoms, a series of powerful nations whose historical and religious relation to the White God Mania as well as their membership as countries of the alliance granted them the title of White Kingdoms. 'The White Kingdoms' refers to only those kingdoms/nations on Lvella that are part of an alliance formed after a particularly destructive big scale war.

There are many magic species living on Lvella, like on Earth, a kingdom can be home to different species and ethnicities due to a variety of geopolitical reasons, colonisation included. 

Upon the beginning of our series, these are the kingdoms and territories that can be found on Lvella:

^{Curious about what White Kingdoms' species you'd be? Click to find out 👀}

You can appreciate big landmasses that are not overlayed with any colour. This indicates those territories are free during the time the map represents, either inhospitable lands populated by unheard of beasts or territories that are a motive of dispute among several kingdoms.

If you already took a look at the Pinterest board, you may have an approximate idea of what kingdoms and territories there are. But let's take a more in-depth look, shall we?

^{The sea species are missing from the grid because I have no proper art of them right now. Only sketches of Aod, a sharkman and the Medusoa, jellyfish sirens.}

Before starting, I'm going to tackle a few key boxes that will help better comprehend the upcoming kingdom descriptions. 

There are three suns on Lvella's skies. The biggest sun created by the White God Mania, the Sun Guardian Solén, it represents strength and it's a bringer of light and power to all the Light beings (Magicians, Solar unicorns, Ethereals, Amarantis, Sea species). The medium sized sun is one of Mania's judges. The smallest sun was a gift from Mania's sister Zarana, Goddess of Light and Colour. Zarana sought to enhance the light on Lvella and render it more powerful in order for life to thrive; grateful for the divine gift, Mania allowed Zarana to become the deity all Magicians would praise and worship. Since then, the highest rank of magician hierarchy is a council known as the Magicians of the Spectrum. In contrast, there's only one moon that is associated with the White God's Moon Guardian Imás, protector of all Dark beings (Lunar unicorns, Aprvam, Svisv, Dragons, Felines, Pits). The Svisv, however, don't count themselves amongst the creatures of dark and do not partake in the White Religion, this classification was made by the other nations. Pits do not care.

Everything is about balance, a circadian cycle that repeats: sun/light/day harmonising with moon/dark/night. This is roughly the core belief of their religious system (we'll post an article tackling the main religion in the future).

These are the kingdoms, countries and reigns that can be found on Lvella, along with the different species that inhabit each of them: 

• Arpvam Kingdom (Arpvamor), capital Vam'ea: the biggest kingdom that later on becomes an even bigger empire by engulfing and conquering the Lunar Unicorn Kingdom. The Arpvam kingdom receives a good amount of immigration, foreign students and tourist visitors, so species mixing is common there. Still, the most numerous species are the Arpvam, a carnivorous humanoid species that can shift and turn into a grey skinned winged predator who uses sharp claws and teeth to hunt. What's most nutritious for Arpvam is the warm still-beating heart of another humanoid. Given the level of sophistication Arpvams have reached, high society rejects hunting other sapient species. They eat ethically sourced livestock hearts and frown upon Arpvam who kill people to feed, it's considered barbaric and uncivilised. The Arpvam society is advanced, open-minded in general and morally relaxed from our perspective since nudity and bare chests are seen as normal. It's perfectly fine for an Arpvam woman to receive her guests with her breasts uncovered and visible, in fact, asking her to cover them would be considered rude. Religious freedom exists although temples where the White God Mania is worshipped dominate the religious panorama. The Arpvam believe Imás, the White God's Moon Guardian, to be their protector (btw Imás always displays her bare breasts, hence why boob is sacred). The characters Sefarín, Sasga and Leco in their Arpvam form below.

• Solar Unicorn Kingdom (Lahuanis), capital Lahua: the Solar unicorns, also known as sun unicorns, believe the Sun Guardian Solén to be their protector. Their magic is stronger during the day, the brighter the suns are, the more powerful a sun unicorn's ray will be. The Solar royal family is deposed by Lunar royals. The only remaining Solar royal is Sol-Le, the exiled Solar Unicorn princess living on Sakä island in Magician domains. Her father, the emperor Sol-Larion was murdered by the moon unicorn king Lannur, who forcefully took the queen (Sol-Larion's wife) for marriage and became the Solar Unicorn king, unifying the Unicorn Kingdoms as one. Lannur orders the princess to be murdered as he had no interest in the heir of Sol-Larion to live. Luckily Sol-Le escapes and manages to live in safety with priestesses and magicians. The Lunar Lann dynasty rules for centuries before being removed from power by the Arpvam Empress and disgruntled Solar unicorns. Later on they will be considered extinct since only less than 5 individuals will remain alive. RIP sun unicorns, 😔 you're extinct like the dodo. Solar Unicorn shenanigans below.

• Lunar Unicorn Kingdom (Lümasis), capital Siejah: Lunar Unicorns don't favour religion in general, although culturally they believe Imás, the White God's Moon Guardian, to play a significant role. They consider themselves to be the purest form of unicorn. Both unicorn species believe in blood purity and consider species mixing to be unsavoury, but Lunar Unicorns take the gold medal, their xenophobia and superiority complex have no match. An important thing to keep in mind: the Lann dynasty is a Lunar Unicorn royal family except for Lannra, who's absolutely part of the dynasty and legitimate daughter of Lánnaril, but she's born a Solar Unicorn because she's mixed. Lunar Unicorns are trouble, particularly their former king Lanner, son of Lannur and grandfather of Lannra. The Lann family members are cunning and keen on political intrigue which is bad but hey, at least Lunar Unicorn gastronomy features some of the finest desserts across all the white nations. Now that I bring up the topic of food, I find it crucial to mention how both unicorn species are vegetarian. They can't digest meat, however they do eat dairy. Both Solar and Lunar Unicorns have probably the most complex magic energy out of all Lvella, perhaps only outmatched by Ethereals. Enjoy some Lunar Unicorn pics below.

• Feline Kingdom (Hismala), capital Anila: one kingdom with formal regions/states inhabited by feline shifters, sapient cats and Amarantis (forest fae). There are plenty of Amarantis settlements coexisting with the Feline population with no issues as Felines know they should avoid and ignore the Fae. Not all Felines shift, sapient cats for example can't turn into a humanoid creature, they're stuck as cats but can wield magic and talk through telepathic means. Royals can turn into any feline form known to man, for example, the Queen's preferred transformation is the cheetah. The Feline Royal family is known to be involved in lots of drama; while their queen Álvain longs for an heir to be born, their king Hastracan is a deranged and broken bellicose ruler who seeks to go to war against the Arpvam in order to conquer mainland territory to control pivotal coastal military points and commercial routes. Felines' magic energy is not the most sophisticated but it's powerful when properly trained and mastered. However, most Felines prefer their retractable claws and fangs over magic when fighting. Some Feline royals and Goya, the sapient magical cat.

• Dragon Kingdom (Dahrmoz), capital Caboz: I can't really say much because the state in which the dragon nation finds itself is a huge plot trigger. Let's keep it short and mysterious, the once powerful and prosperous Dragon Kingdom finds itself under constant Svisv attack, its inhabitants having trouble staying free. Before declaring war on the Svisv, the Dragon Kingdom was fairly calm and stable. Its rulers, queen Ohremuz and king Cáldain, were impressively good at avoiding unnecessary conflict and maintaining good ties with other nations. Magicians and dragons have a very close relationship, the White Magician Salamur permanently lives in the Dragon Kingdom and serves as the dragon king's royal counselor and ambassador. Dragons come in many shapes and colours, black dragons being the rarest. White dragons exist in the snowy lands of Dahrmoz. Queen Ohremuz was an almost black dark green coloured dragon, which was seen as a reflection of her beauty and royalty. King Cáldain and prince heir Siriar are both olive-sap green dragons.

• Svisv Kingdom (Ejr'asvisv), capital Rale: because of their unique views regarding religion, their particular magic exploitation practices and their remote geographic situation, the Svisv are considered the black sheep by the White Kingdom Alliance (a political organisation of nations that exists to avoid conflict and war, to discuss treaties and commerce etc formed by Arpvam, Solar & Lunar Unicorns, Felines, Magicians and Sea Peoples). The Svisv are ruled by a king who takes the name of Great Ejrio once he gets crowned, so all the kings share that name. Their dynasty is patrilineal and never has a woman ruled nor governed. The Svisv live in a remote area protected by natural geographic barriers that create both a shield and wall that keeps them disconnected from the rest of the White Kingdoms. Their homeland, a rather inhospitable mountain range full of volcanos where temperatures are cold and the soil is scorching hot, is mostly barren and dry. A cold desert where volcanoes erupt often. The Svisv are adapted to that climate and have developed highly advanced technology to insulate their settlements, they're the only nation in the White Kingdoms that takes a scientific approach to magic and likes tech innovation.

• Ethereal Caves (Sylphinæ): Ethereals are not a kingdom nor nation since they lack political organisation, they're a species that used to roam free but eventually chose a place to stay and settle. The Ethereals hide in caves that are far far away from civilization, protected among frozen tundra, colossal mountains and hostile sea shores. Why? They migrated to this very unwelcoming place to escape the White Kingdoms' rulers. Ethereals have prophetic powers: they listen to the voices of the Gods and Guardians and sing prophecies revealing the future of nations. Because of this, many kings and warlords fancied the idea of keeping Ethereals in their castles and courts, forcing them to sing prophecies and reveal the future. It was a barbaric practice that many wealthy royals considered a sign of status and a highly effective way to know how to adjust their practices & strategies for guaranteed success. 

• Divine Magicians' Domains, (Zarnia) capital Tis: the lands where Zarana is worshipped are home to magicians and hundreds of tribes with no defining borders. These tribes seek refuge under the Magicians' Council protective arms. The Council, known as the Spectrum, is a governmental organisation that's not popular among kings and queens due to their righteous ruling style. The Magicians are known to be just, corruption-free, honest rulers who believe in equity and equal opportunities. They're responsible for many public schools and universities where anyone can get an education. In most D&D projects, magicians are a category, however the White Kingdoms' Magicians constitute as a species since the magician nature is genetic; it is inherited from parents to children and runs in bloodlines. It's also a recessive trait, so when a magician and a unicorn have a child, the child will be born unicorn. Magicians are humanoid beings who possess magic bending abilities.

• Sea peoples' Territories (Teshilya): many different sea species conform the Teshilya nation, each species lives in its own oceanic state. They're a unity of sea states. The most important species are the Algalines (ocean fae), the Medusoa (jellyfish sirens), the Akulya (shark shifters), the sapient whales and sapient cephalopods. They have good relationships with the Magicians, the Magicians and Sea Species often present themselves together in political meetings as a sort of "European Union". Despite the majority of sea species being worshippers of the White God Mania and his Sun Guardian Solén, the cult of Zarana is quite extended (particularly among Medusoa), which is a consequence of their close relationship with the Magicians.

• Rebel Northern Lands (Talluanis), capital Khilün: these inhospitable lands located in an eternally frozen polar desert are home to rebels, outcasts, exiled people and anyone who desires to flee the main nations to escape the Empress. Talluanis starts as a small settlement of fugitives tracing a dangerous new route of migration across the Northern lands, their intention being to reach the furthest point up North where legends say there's a green valley. These founding fugitives never reach that mythical valley but they settle in a place that later on becomes Khilün's citadel. Lannra the Crystal Star will join the rebels and provide them with protection and solar energy. After Lannra's arrival to Talluanis, the rebel settlements become powerful and prosperous so they elect her as their leader. The Northern Lands will be named after Tall Lann Ra (Lannra's full name), Talluanis, which means "under Tall's star".

Of course this is not a complete article, it's what I can share in a public blog without spoiling the whole story and boycotting my future publishing attempts. I hope at least it helps you understand my story a bit better, it's for sure helping me organise all the material I've been translating to English since 2019.

Stay tuned for future articles about the cosmogony, the magic system maybe, and some of the main characters (Sasga, Lannra, Garoaga, etc).

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, especially if you also have your own story. Thank you for reading!!

Cover image: Sasga and the White Magician's apprentice Saro.