The Veliode Saga

The Velim

“Tall, statuesque and without limbs; their porcelain mask instead of a head, expressionless and slender, barely laid on their torso. This was made of deep blue metal, the color of a starry night reflected on the frozen sea. They didn’t have any physical trait that differentiated males from females; no human had ever seen a vel being born nor even give birth or lay eggs. Their telepathic voices were neutral, and they referred to themselves and other velim as genderless.”

“On their ‘skin’, if such can be called since it was neither soft nor warm nor auburn like mine, were dozens of engravings and decorations, from the simplest to the most detailed and complex. They were symbols of prestige and privilege, of how brilliant was the vel and which auxiliary families worked under them. The more a vel’s body was decorated, the more humans should pay them respect.”

The Concept of Linh

“Opal’s legends say that Earth, Sea and Sky were one; but Sea first abandoned the others, since it wanted to lay quiet. Earth and Sky tried to hold together, but it was impossible: the balance was broken and they too were forced to part. The Sky left the velim as a gift, who yearn for their origin but are bound to Earth. But the Earth still felt lonely, so it tried to reach for the Sky: so the Silver Peaks yearn for the Sky, shooting thunders to get an answer. The Sky, unable to reach back, cries and floods the Streams’ Plateau with its tears.”

Despite being barred from the supernatural world and bound to the natural one, humans can still glimpse manifestations of the former through linh, the mediator between the two. Its properties are as powerful as they are mysterious; few understand it and only the velim can control its flow. However, both Zahari and Tesfaj are set to discover its true origin and powers, no matter the consequences.

Zynthie

A medium veliode city located in the cold oceanic northwest, Zynthie is home to around 1'000 auxiliary families, who serve the velim, and 200 free families. Most of the latter live in the densest area around the harbor, while the peasants work the available land between the eastern Calm Sea and the Endless Ocean westward, or get by fishing and herding. Notably one of the most hostile places to live in: the long, windy winters and the hazardous Cerulean Mire north of the city make it one of the most secluded cities in Vanhamaa. Experienced guides are needed to cross the lethal swamp unharmed.

Around fifty velim live in the White Pillars, tall structures with no doors nor windows that can only be accessed from their opening on the top. They administer the auxiliary families and conduct unfathomable rituals on linh.

Cerulean Mire

“Only when the vegetation got crowded with sky bamboos and teal ponds we realized we had entered the Cerulean Mire. The various hues of blue that the plants drew from the ever-present water were interrupted only by the occasional honeysuckle or aruncus flowers. Both were of a vivid coral orange, which stood out against the surreal indigo background. I was used to those colors, but I couldn’t imagine how eerie and alien they must have looked to a foreign eye.”

Zynthians believe that the Cerulean Mire is alive and whoever attempts to cross it without the velim’s favor will be devoured. Ravenous creatures, such as the bearded cranevultures, hunt anything that survives its deadly waters.

Mirror Archipelago

“In less than a sixet, we sighted the Mirror Archipelago: countless tiny islands sprawled across the Calm Sea. Yurieth warned us: their name was not just for beauty. «An inexperienced navigator would quickly lose themselves,» she explained while steering the boat at the helm. «Hundreds of shores which look all the same, like they’re all reflections of each other. Many just choose to drown.»”

Opal, the United City

“It was the perfect place for me to chase my dreams. It was the only human city, at the center of the continent: no vel to oversee, no endless question times, no excessive requests to abide to. Opal was the city everyone dreamed of.”

“On top of the Plateau was Opal’s mysterious silhouette, its houses of wood and white daub immersed in tropical foliage. Its metallic obelisk, a timid but radiant replica of the White Pillars, was enveloped in branches and reflected a rogue sunray escaped from the clouds’ stronghold. Behind it, the Silver Peaks towered majestic, their summits ceaselessly stormed by thunders.”

Nivjö, the Sunless

Nivjö is the northernmost large settlement in the continent. Locked inside the Eternal Valley, it is surrounded by mountains so tall that the sunlight never reaches the Slums, a low-lying zone where most of the materially deprived herders and farmers live.

Nivjö became infamous among humans for the harsh rule of the velim and the ruthlessness of the free families, who specialize in trade and haggle. They reside in the Maga’ala, an uphill fort in the middle of the city where the sun can be seen directly.

Nui Samse & the Silver Peaks

The tallest of the Silver Peaks around Opal, legends around it say it’s the only place in Vanhamaa where Earth can touch Sky. Thunders constantly ravage its summit, and few dare to venture close to it.

Shrouded by stormclouds and far away from both humans and velim, living secrets are hidden within it.