A stitched record of the known and the forgotten:
"All that burns leaves ash. But what remembers the ash?"
— Fragment from the Ash-Mothers' Black Index
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The Realms and the Rift
The Upper Realm is not a continent. It is a floating fracture of once-divine landmasses—broken islands adrift in an endless sky. Suspended above the Hollow, tethered by magic and fate, the isles drift subtly over centuries, drawn by leylines and voidwinds.
Each island is its own biome, ruler, and secret:
Elarion, the Cradle Isle, holds the remnants of the Old Royal Line and the Emberspires—where law is written in flame.
Thornsreach, a jagged overgrown mass, is ruled by whispering druids and beasts too old to die.
Vel'Haera, the glass-isle, reflects time and is only visible in moonlight.
And in the center, bound above the Hollow's mouth: Riftkeep, the blackstone fortress that guards the secret of the gods' unmaking.
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The Houses of Magic
Magic in the Upper Realm is not a gift—it is an inheritance or a wound. It comes in threads, woven from different origins.
1. Flameborne – Children of the Ember Line. Wielders of fire-script and elemental fury. Marked at birth, trained in flame logic, mostly found in Riftkeep and Emberfall.
2. Hollowbound – Touched by the void beneath. Their magic is reflective, warped, and corruptive. Often go mad without sigil-binding.
3. Soul-Weavers – Born few and far between. They shape emotion, memory, and self. Their magic can rewrite identity or mend dreams.
4. Rune-Binders– Scholars and monks who carve living runes into bone, stone, and flesh to trap or invoke old forces.
5. Ashwalkers – Outlaws. Users of dead magic, forged from expired gods, cursed relics, or blood bargains. Almost all executed on sight.
Sylara Thorne does not fit these boxes.
The old seers call her Flame-Woven, Hollow-Stirred, and something worse: Whisper-Born.
A class long thought extinct.
Little did they know..... She was something far different.
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Time line:
Time in the Upper Realm does not tick like a mortal clock. It breathes, waxes, and wanes with celestial tides. In Riftkeep—where light fractures and air coils heavy with ancient breath—the measurement of time is both ritual and reverence.
The smallest unit, a Shiver, equals a heartbeat—what mortals might call a second.
Ten Shivers make a Pulse—long enough for a whispered spell.
One hundred Pulses form a Span, roughly equal to an hour.
Thirty Spans complete a Gleam, a full day.
Six Gleams complete a Drift , a week.
A Cycle equals thirty Gleams/ five drifts, making the concept of days and nights variable in Riftkeep due to moon veils and solar crossings.
Thirteen cycles create a Turn—a full year.
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The Gods: Dead or Sleeping?
Once, the gods walked the Upper Realm. Then they warred, split the sky, and were consumed by the Hollow. Their remnants remain.Dormant.Sleeping.
Vherion, the Ash-Eater – His jawbone is Riftkeep's foundation.
Eileva, Veiled Flame – Her final ember warms royal flameborne bloodlines.
Orusk, Hunger Unbound – Still chained in the Hollow, whispering in every famine.
Myrrh, the Dream-Wolf – Not dead. Missing. Said to guard the edge of time.
It is whispered some gods had children. And that their blood still stirs in the orphaned and unclaimed.
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Creatures and Sentient Forces
Whisperstags – Tall, eyeless beasts that navigate by memory. Feed on regret. Sacred to Myrrh.
Soul-Fangs – Snake-like spirits who nest in broken oaths. Killing them requires silence.
Mirrorborn – Entities made from reflection. They steal identity and wear it like skin.
Nyx-Wolves – Believed myth. White-shadow wolves said to walk between souls and storms. Long extinct. Or hidden.
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The Royals and the Riftguard
The throne has not been warm in two generations. The Royal Line fell during the Emberfall Uprising, and only puppet-governors rule now—answerable not to kings, but to the Riftguard, the silent enforcers of Riftkeep.
The Riftguard wear no names, only mirrored masks. They are bound to the Hollow's will, not the people's. It is said they once hunted gods and failed.
They don't usually interfere or care about what the royals or governors are doing unless it concerns anything related to Gods.
They are especially wary of children with unnamed magic.
Like Sylara.
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The Forbidden Truths
There are whispers among the Ash-Mothers that a child would be born under the Moonvein Eclipse—the night when Myrrh howls through the void and the Hollow breathes backward.
That child would carry a flame not of this world.
A wolf in her soul.
A mirror in her magic.
And bones that remember the gods' true names.
They fear her.
They train her.
They watch her.
And when she turns seven, she will meet herself.
Or unravel everything.
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A/n:-
There are many more hidden classes and origins in magic users and creatures of upper realm that are not known to all which will be revealed later
Also, I will explain all about the world of upper realm slowly so as not to overwhelm you all ;)
Enjoy💕