Nations and Politics
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At the start of the story, there are three main spheres of influence: The Empire of Nydia, the Theocracy of the Lawgiver, and the Truscasia Defensive Alliance.
The Empire of Nydia controls the entire top half of the continent, including the island continent of Vjiskald. Central Nydia is controlled by the Heritors of House Varelion. Cloudsea is controlled by the Heritors of House Blaine. Lin is controlled by the Heritors of House Aden. Vjiskald is a loose collection of tribes led by King Vash, but is not controlled by any Heritor family. Tiamir is mostly unoccupied but the armies of Vjiskald protect against border incursions from Andomei.
The Theocracy of the Lawgiver in the ancient region of Renna is currently occupied by the armies of Empress Sasha of House Varelion.
Truscasia has more technology than other nations, and is led by the Heritors of House Valka. There are many secret factories in this nation where fighter jet components are constructed, under the oversight of Sophia the Engineer. Truscasia leads a defensive alliance with Zairo and Andomei, both nations led by their own Heritor families with matching names.
Finally there is unclaimed land around Spire Erika which is too cold for any nation to claim. Sophia the Engineer has built secret ski resorts and airports in this region that the Heritors sometimes use for recreation.
Spires
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The Elder Saint leads the other witches from her seat of power at Spire Annatiki. She sometimes flies to other Spires as well.
Fiona of the Morning Mist is the only witch that does not have a Spire named after her. This is because she is responsible for controlling the world's airspace, killing witches before they develop their powers, and punishing wayward Heritors. Her duties prevent her from staying in the same place for too long.
Spire Lin is where Lin the Historian trains oculomancers in the methods used to corrupt the world's textbooks. These corruptions are designed in such a way so as to slow down anyone who is attempting to invent an aircraft. The University of White Chasm, where commoners are trained to use auras, is administered from this Spire.
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Spire Renna does not have a resident witch, however this Spire specializes in propaganda. The Scouring of the Stacks was organized by the oculomancers of this Spire.
Spire Sophia is where Sophia the Engineer designs fighter jet components and weapon systems. There are factories in the Spire where new fighter jets are assembled and old fighter jets are maintained.
Spire Nydia is where Nydia the Midwife manages the various Heritor families. There are facilities in this Spire that aid in the fertility, birth, education, and marriage of Heritors. Nearby, on the north coast of the unclaimed land, north of Spire Erika, is the Eight Color Monastery, where Heritors are trained to use their auras. This school is administered by Spire Nydia.
Spire Diana is in the ocean, and specializes in submarine component assembly and maintenance. Diana uses this Spire as her home base, and has aircraft carriers nearby so she can fly up to her Spire.
Finally, the unoccupied Spire in Cloudsea has been renamed Spire Kiera and a new city at the top of the Spire is being constructed for her use. This Spire will specialize in medical technology and the central administration of the world's hospitals.
Note: the Banks are not administered by the Spires, and while the oculomancers have significant oversight of the banks, the banks are also relatively independent, provided that they follow Spire Law.
The Triumvirate
The Triumvirate consists of three major factions: The Heritors, the Banks, and the Oculomancers. These three factions work together to control and develop the world. The Triumvirate Precepts are a set of laws that all members must follow. This includes the three oaths: We and our descendants shall not seek the Ven. We and our descendants shall not enter into the Tombs of the Founders. We and our descendants shall craft no machine in the likeness of a bird.
The Triumvirate was created by the witches, under the command of the Elder Saint. All members of the triumvirate must follow the orders of the witches, and any witch can free any member of the triumvirate from any oath and supersede that oath with their own.
The Heritors often give themselves titles such as King or Emperor, however the witches do not recognize these titles. The Heritors have vast auras and are primarily responsible for having sien available for Annatiki or Kiera to consume in an emergency when killing other witches. They are also responsible for governing the masses, preventing the spread of unwanted ideologies, making and enforcing local laws, and levying taxes.
The Banks are responsible for storing sien and leasing auras out to commoners. They issue currency as well in each nation where they operate. The currency is always pegged to units of sien/month. The Banks are also responsible for preventing deflationary spirals by slowly creating inflation. This requires that Annatiki periodically pull down more sien from the Sister World to give to them.
The Oculomancers are the closest faction to the witches, as they occupy the Spires. Oculomancers can tell when a person is lying, they can see diseases, they can see bloodlines, they can see inside the human body, and they can see into the vendark. They can communicate across long distances with infinite speed using aura flashes. Each Spire specializes in a different task, though many oculomancers leave the Spire to work in Banks, brothels, or hospitals.