Thyvor

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"Knowledge. Curiosity. Wisdom."

Thyvor is an Empire East-South-East of Planu Heath. It is situated within and among a unique mountain. It had a shared border on one side with Feidrfjall, a community located mostly underneath the surface of mountain apart of the same mountain range until Feidrfjall joined the Thyvor Empire. Thyvor is known for having a culture that holds high values of learning, knowledge, and reading. The people of Thyvor pride themselves on their architecture and city design, which they craft with great care. It is currently one of the larger nations of the world and has recently reach city status.

Origin and History
Thyvor is a word that means "Pursuit of truths" and is what Library/shrines of Kae were once called. Likewise Thyvorian means "Pursuer of Truths" and is what a mortal who followed the teachings of Kae were called. Kae was the God of Curiosity, Knowledge, and Creativity, and was often associated as the "God of Mortals" because of "his" fondness and extreme interest in them. Kae's presence as a God has slowly dwindled from ancient times because of lack of prayer and belief, although Kae is not completely absent from mortal lives; Kae is the maker of most dreams, good and bad, and continues to weave mortals' dreams to this day.

The City Thyvor as we know it was founded by a group of Scholars who were doing research on Kae. As Legend goes, they stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient Thyvor (A Library-Shrine of Kae) and decided to rebuild it to its former glory. The library (Appropriately named Thyvor) became a popular destination of scholars from all over the land, and brought many curious and wise people. Over time, as people decided to settle near the library, a small community started to form. Because of the high volume of scholars and knowledge-loving people who travelled here, the majority of those who settled were in fact scholars, and this explains why the modern culture of Thyvor values learning and curiosity so much.

The people called their community Thyvor, named after the library that brought them all there. Once Thyvor became large enough to be considered a large town, the people of Thyvor realized they needed a government. This brought about conflict for a short period, where the people of Thyvor first decided to elect a council, the council lasted several years but proved very weak and could not make decisions, the people of Thyvor, undoubtedly unhappy, revolted against the council and displaced the government. The Obvious choice for the people of Thyvor (Thyvorians as they began to call them selves) was to have a single wise ruler. Two men stepped up to claim the leadership, both being well respected heads of rival families in Thyvor. Conflict arose between the two families and a minor civil war broke out. The war lasted nearly 3 weeks and was hated dearly amongst the populace of Thyvor. This short war (known as "The Founding War")was put to an end by the Son of one of the founding fathers of Thyvor, Duke Nelson Jr.,Duke gathered men of Thyvor and formed a small organized force to put down the two warring families. After the war had subsided with Duke as the Victor, the Thyvorians gave him much praise and thusly he became King Nelson the Just, the first King of Thyvor. To this day the Royal line remains unbroken with King Durand Nelson as the current king of Thyvor.

The "Great" Library
The Library at center of Thyvor, often called The "Great" Library, is now formally known as Libalis Palace. In the early days of Thyvor, the library was appropriately titled "Thyvor". As the community grow and took on the same name of the Library, the library began to be called the Great Library, to distinguish the library from the town. After the Founding War, King Nelson the Just had ordered major additions to be constructed onto the library. After a decade of construction, the "Inner Sanctum" had been completed. It nearly doubled the size of the Library and added a place for the government to be seated. The library then took on its new name "Libalis Palace" and served not only as a library, but also the capital building.

Thyvorians
• Thyvorians hold their values of knowledge, Curiosity, and Wisdom very high.

• Thyvorians are Unbiased and are known for their hospitality.

• They generally avoid direct conflict, but are known for being very creative in combat.

• Thyvorian honor is tied directly to their contribution to knowledge.

• Since their honor is derived from their studies, they have nothing against fleeing in combat.

• They are very skilled in controlling the flow of information.

Thyvorian Abilities
Thyvorians are unique in several aspects and are ,as a people, known for their attention to knowledge and research.

Tongue of the Ancients -  Thyvorians retained knowledge of their ancestors language and can use it to their advantage.

Devoted Scribe -  Thyvorians are creatures of curiosity and always keep a book on their person to record discoveries in the field.

Superior Observation -  Thyvorians are skilled in observing the world and are able to examine objects with unsurpassed clarity.

Thyvorian Oracles
Unrestrained Faith -  Thyvorian Oracles are brought up to have complete respect and devotion to all divines, allowing them wider arrays of communication.

Thyvorian Kings
Holy Tradition -  Thyvorian kings are devoted to both their people and the divines, allowing them to pray for blessings on behalf of their kingdom.

Thyvorian Mages
Arcane Research -  Thyvorian Mages value their magic and the mechanics behind it equally. They understand the arcane in it's most simple form and can weave it with ease.

Introduction
Deep inside the halls of Inner Libalis Palace (an ancient ruin recently restored into a large library) many scholars and researchers run around with books in hand and papers scattering.

Everything isn't always this hectic in Thyvor. It's usually a peaceful stroll through the beautiful architecture and scenery. The buildings almost invite you to come and see them, and Libalis stands at the center, asking you to come and read from its vast bank of knowledge.

But this wasn't as peaceful a day. It was a day of great importance and scientific breakthrough. The King himself, Durand Nelson, was even present to see what the scholars were accomplishing.

The King was always able to keep everyone's spirits staying strong, whether pep-talking them at home or rallying them in battle. He was old, around the age of 50. Not so old he can't do battle, but old enough to be sporting quite a few gray hairs. He believes all the gods are equal, and doesn't like to favor any in particular or exclude any.

As the king walked by, scholars tried to work faster to please him, even if it wasn't necessary. The king wasn't incredibly intelligent like a scholar, but he knew when to help.

For instance, once a man came into Libalis, reading everything he could to desipher a strange language encoded onto his iron armor. He couldn't make heads or tails of what his armor could do without desiphering the language on it.

"That's our language." The king smiled, looking over his shoulder. The scholar asked for translation, and the king sat down with him. "A lot of people get these. Relics they don't know what they are because they're in some strange language. Every Thyvorian knows this language, and we can decode it for anyone if they ask. Call it magic." The king laughed and showed the scholar how to read the strange language.

The scholars working on this current project were far more experienced, and usually studied long and hard on supernatural magics. Each of them had either worked with the old mage Armadeus, or the wise oracle Tyger McEldra. Tyger in fact, was helping scholars and called the king over for a word.

Tyger was another Thyvorian; very curious and willing to learn. He was appointed personal assistant to the king, as he was the most wise of the scholars, and had made a pact to being back the ways of the ancient Thyvorians. Though he favored himself to the praise of Wildaven and Zelphair, he has acquired the trust of all the gods, acting as a voice to all of the dieties.

"My king," Tyger smiled. "We're about to do it."

"Run me through this one more time, my friend." The King replied.

"Well," the oracle began. "You're familiar with the magics of life? Armadeus and I used to study the magic contained in souls."

"Go on."

"Well, we started out bringing little things to life? Then the iron guardians we have? Abraham and Jeremiah?"

Abraham and Jeremiah were two experiments done by the Thyvorians to see if they could bring an iron statue to life. They succeeded and created Abraham, a guardian for the inner sanctum, and Jeremiah, a guardian for the market.

"I'm familiar with this." The King replied.

"So now we've wondered; what is the maximum size of a body a soul can give life to?" Tyger asked. "I mean, is there a matter in size? Soul power? What is it? Will a small soul give life to an enormous body?"

"Interesting question." The King replied and scratched his beard. He pondered the answer before Tyger went on.

"To test our theory, we had the biggest creature we could think of created." The Oracle stepped aside and cast his hand to the wall. Standing inside the wall was an enormous man made of metal and iron, much like the guardians of Thyvor brought to life with soul magic. "This is our test subject."

"You really think a soul will bring that enormous thing to life??" The King asked hesitantly.

"It's worth a try." Tyger said.

"What happens to that thing if it doesn't work?" After this question, Tyger took a pause and finally turned to his king.

"Well then, my king," he began smiling. "We'll have a very large and expensive decoration here, won't we?" They laughed for a moment and looked back.

"Does it have a name?" King Nelson asked.

"A name?" Tyger relied. "Well, the men have been calling it Icarus."

"Icarus?" The King looked upon the statue. "Well, here's to the best, Icarus. I hope to meet you when you're sentient." The king raised an imaginary glass to his inanimate friend.

Three scholars approached Tyger and got his attention while the King walked around looking over at everyone's busy work. One of the scholars screamed in the confusion.

"Ah! Where is that book!? I had a fresh new book I was going to take notes in!" The scholar cried angrily. The King walked over.

"Relax, friend." The King replied. He pulled a blank book from behind him. "A good Thyvorian always has a blank book to spare."

"Did that just come out of thin air, or what?" The scholar asked, very much relieved to have a book he could write notes in.

Suddenly a jolt of electricity jumped from nearby. Everyone jumped and more lightning arose in the room. The scholars ran even more frantic now, all exclaiming "It's ready!" "Everyone hurry!"

"Tyger??" The King asked worried.

"The soul is unstable!" Tyger yelled. "It's not ready for this, yet!"

A glowing orb flew around the room, lightning flying from it at random and striking the ground, scattering the scholars and filling the air with crackling and screaming. King Nelson and Tyger were almost struck by a bolt.

"What is it doing!?" King Nelson yelled over the noise.

"It's looking for a host!" Tyger replied.

The orb continued to hover and glide around the room while firing lightning at random. Finally, the orb stopped and quickly flew into the body of Icarus. Everyone silenced themselves quickly.

The room stood silent and the King and Tyger stood back up. When they looked upon the giant statue, the look on their faces reflected the wonder they had for what they just created.