by vennex89
In the realm of Atheria, kingdoms have survived and thrived through the use of mysterious Rifts that have appeared throughout the land for a millennia. The largest Rifts were discovered to open and close predictably like geysers, opening a dependable path that kingdoms have come to rely on for trade and defense. Celebrations and festivals have been thrown across the land at the opening and closing of larger rifts which have enabled many cities to grow and flourish beyond what they would have otherwise.
Rifts open to the Mana Plane, a highly magical and warped reality that reduces travel by nearly 2 times if travelers exit a Rift in another part of Atheria. Many paths in the Mana Plane were traversed to improve the safety of travelers as it proved to be a dangerous realm. Powerful creatures, colloquially known as Mana Beasts, live and thrive in the Mana Plane. They are filled with incredible amounts of mana and frequently break free from the Mana Plane into Atheria by opening Rifts, causing great destruction and terror in Atheria. It is not well understood how and why Mana Beasts break free from the Mana Plane.
To protect the realm of Atheria, kingdoms have gathered their greatest bands of adventurers to battle these mana beasts, to take them down and close the Rifts that they have opened to prevent other mana beasts from escaping into the wild. Beast Hunting became a lucrative and highly sought after trade for those fit enough to survive.
As kingdoms learned more about the rifts, breakthroughs in how to create and destroy them emerged. It was discovered that Mana Crystals, which were generally found in the Mana Plane and in the remains of defeated Mana Beasts, could be used to form and destroy Rifts through magic. Once this powerful knowledge was found, kingdoms immediately sought to exploit Mana Crystals as a resource for power, trade, and influence. Kingdoms with the most Mana Crystals could control battlefields and trade routes. Mana Crystals quickly passed gold in value and began being used as an alternate powerful currency.
Then came the Demon King and his forces. Without warning, rifts appeared in greater numbers throughout the land, others expanding beyond their normal size, engulfing cities and lands. Demons and Infernis fighting side-by-side under the Demon King's orders, commanding powerful mana beasts to fulfil his hatred.
Kingdoms of Atheria united and fought back against the Demon King and his forces. After a 25 year war, a band of heroes defeated the Demon King and brought peace back to Atheria.
It's been 100 years since the fall of the Demon King. Much has returned to how it was. Kingdoms divided and sought even more control over their Rifts and the mana crystals they possessed. Infernis were hunted down or driven from the land with a few exceptions by those in authority seeking to grow and maintain power over their Rifts. The need for Beast Hunters continued soon after the fall of the Demon King to protect the kingdoms from harm and reduce the number of open Rifts throughout the land.
Northerrift Union
Easterrift Everburn
Westerrift Citadel
Southerrift Archives
Rift of Desolation
Adventure, heroic thrill, mystery
Frieren
Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Solo Leveling
Minecraft
After the fall of the demon king and the discovery of the use of mana crystals by his minions, kingdoms sought for more power and control by growing around the major rifts and mana crystal mines - hording as much as possible for more power, money, and resources. Access and trade between their rifts cost mana crystal resources or a heavier fine of gold if no mana crystals could be provided. Those born as Highborne, while seeking the good of their kingdom are constantly seeking to be more powerful than neighboring kingdoms.
Those of the Orderborne see the Rifts as blessings from the gods to be reverenced. The good or bad that come from the rifts are seen as acts of the gods and should be embraced by the people. Most believe it is sinful to profit off of the rifts while others view it as greater blessings to those who worship fervently and that any destructions or loss of resources are at fault of the non-believers.
These believe the rifts are not acts of the gods, but simple the unfolding of ancient sciences and the weaving of the natural world. They are at odds with Orderborne and seek to help grow the knowledge and understanding of how the rifts work - some to further exploit their capabilities and others to further improve society and capabilities.
Those of Slyborne lineage are against profiting and controlling the rifts entirely by those in power. They believe that anyone and everyone should have the freedom to use the Rifts for their own needs. Slyborne seek to bring down those in power who are using and abusing mana crystals and rifts to their advantage, often through organized movements. They generally do not seek blood unless their targets are Highborne elites. To evade capture and grow their cause, they have grown their secret networks within cities or nearby forests of the largest rifts to quickly get to wherever needed.
Once the largest Rifts were discovered to be reliably consistent, mining operations were setup in the Mana Plane to harvest mana crystals. Underborne families live and grow together in the mana plane, facing all sorts of adversaries. Due to their regular exposure and familiarity with mana crystals, they are more sensitive to recognizing and detecting mana nearby.
The most common Wanderborne are elves in Atheria. With the rise of humanity and other ancestries, and because of their dramatically extended lifespans in Atheria (up to 1000 years) and lack of reproductive drives, they have become much more sparse.
Other nomadic groups have spread throughout Atheria in search of land free from mana beasts and
Elves in Atheria can live to be 1000 years old. Due to their lack of reproductive drive, they have become sparse, rarely bumping into another elf for hundreds of years. Many wander Atheria seeking to help others where they can, but mostly keep to themselves. They possess greater magical abilities and are very sensitive to mana compared to other ancestries.
Infernis have a natural ability to create rifts with less mana requirements. Because of this, the Demon King during his reign recruited many to create rifts throughout Atheria to unleash his forces. After his fall, Infernis were hunted down and kept under close watch. Others were exploited by the kingdom to help create, control, and maintain the great rifts.
Great Rifts are present in locations where large numbers of Mana Crystals are present in the Mana Plane. These open and close consistently as the mana crystals in the mana plane run out of energy and recharge.
Smaller Rifts can be summoned in the following ways:
By a Mana Beast
Through a Rift Summoning spell which requires a mana crystals and hope from players depending on the size of the rift, and then succeeding a roll based on the difficulty of the location and the size of the rift being summoned.
Once rifts are opened they will remain opened until the one who summoned the Rift is defeated or if a Rift Summoning spell is used to close the rift. (The exception being Great Rifts which remain open or open frequently due to the large number of Mana Crystals in the Mana Plane)
Mana Beasts are extraordinarily powerful creatures
When defeated they drop mana crystals equal to their power
When defeated, their opened Rifts close.
Contracted fighters hired by kingdoms to seek out mana beasts and defeat them in order to close the rifts and prevent other mana beasts from coming through.
Beast Hunters are paid handsomely for their efforts and keep a majority of the mana crystals dropped.
Rifts provide incredible transport opportunities for trade goods across Atheria in a fraction of the time and resources it would take to do so.
Many adventurers are hired to help assist with the safe transportation of these goods through the rifts to their destination.
Mana Crystals are tracked similarly to gold: Handfuls, Bags, Chests
Mana Crystals are worth twice the value of gold if used as currency.