SANTARESA
Santaresa is a warm and somewhat humid country spanning a large portion of the southern Garden, iconic for its integration of the concepts of love and beauty as pillars of their religion. Much of the landscape in Santaresa is comprised of rolling hills and fertile land, making the scenery lush and perfect for agriculture. While large cities in Santaresa are few, there is no shortage of villages made up almost entirely of farmers and crafters who answer to the country's capital city, Requimosa.
The current state of Santaresa is based heavily in the Old World country of the same name. A majority of the citizens of Old Santaresa lived in a city called Requielle, which was hit hard by the Lunar Reprisal. Almost no one survived. Those who did traveled south, to the islands at the southern edge of the world where they founded Sanctuary, while others attempted to stay and revive Requielle back to its full glory. In it's heyday, the city was a center for arts and music, with a strong religion whose followers idolized its ruling kings and queens as gods among men. They also had a strong military and thirst for conquest, which is one of the major things the current Requimosa took from it's ancestor.
The history of Santaresa is somewhat rough, with a near-constant struggle for power over the region. While for some time, Sanctuary of Rose was the most powerful city in this region, it was taken over by Requimosa not too long after its failure to take control of Ilahiyeri and after the Rose Blight's onset. While Sanctuary has made its attempts for independence multiple times, Requimosa still reigns supreme as the most powerful city in the country, and continues its quest for dominance over the territories that border Santaresa- most of all, the kingdoms of Wisteria.
Requimosa is the center of power of Santaresa, nestled in the hills at the Northern border of the country. They are a theocracy dedicated to the god of love, Nastya, who (as stated prior) value love and beauty above all else. They are a prideful city that is now known for its architecture and influence in the world of art and fashion.
While much of the world has long since moved past the days of post-apocalypse, the effects of the Lunar Reprisal can still be felt somewhat in and around the capital city. Requimosa was founded by the surviving population of the Fifth Cycle city-state Requielle, and much has been done to preserve the culture and history of the so-called "City of Thorns." This has led to some ongoing conflict between the villages that were founded by the survivors of Old Santaresa and the now-revived capital as they attempt to retake what they believe is "rightfully theirs," in a fashion not all that dissimilar to Lumaria. Requielle in the Fifth was a city that often used its military strength to take control of anyone it could to exploit them for economic gain, and the new Requimosa regularly attempts the same.
Requimosa, just like its predecessor, is wholly dedicated to the god Nastya, and they show this belief through their devotion to all things art and beauty. They believe through achieving aesthetic perfection that they can become godlike and prove their worth and obedience in the eyes of Nastya. Of course, "aesthetic perfection" is subjective- beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and whatnot- but the people of Requimosa take great enjoyment in the debate and curation that comes from determining the appearance of perfection. Most take inspiration from the goddess herself, and much of Requimosa adorn themselves in shades of white, sanguine red, and gold. Roses, marble, and feathers are common motifs, as well as the appearance of anatomical hearts and other organs. A minority of extreme worshippers of Nastya in the city will even consider all manners of gore and viscera to be beautiful, working blood and organic tissues into their visual art and clothing.
Love and passion are also key features of Requimosa's culture and religious practices- but these vary depending on what sect of Nastya's followers you belong to. All sects believe in the importance of maintaining your passion to your country, your work, and your hobbies, as well as some relating to the love between persons, but how these manifest vary wildly. Notably in the scope of romantic love, some sects of Requimosan worship believe in the importance of "finding your soulmate" while others believe in showing your love to as many people as your heart sees fit- polyamory is not uncommon.
Lacework and other forms of textile work are highly valued labors in Requimosa, as well as any kind of fashion design, music composition, and visual artistry. Attending university in pursuit of religion and history-related fields is also highly valued, as well as any profession in which the goal is to protect your home country. Knights in Requimosa work for the Cathedral Requielle and maintain a chivalric code, adhering to strict religious, social, and moral standards in everything they do. Lastly, medicine and hospitality service workers are admired. While they are not at the cutting edge of medical or magical healing practices, any profession which centers on taking care of the people around you is seen as extremely honorable.
Requimosa's citizens often get to enjoy a life of luxury, likely afforded to them due to the city's tendency to outsource labor to other countries and to push unwanted jobs onto the more impoverished members of the city. The population of people in poverty is very small, but those who do reside within the city are afforded some small repreves by the city's infrastructure in the form of Requimosa's free healthcare, public housing, and job placement. These jobs are somewhat demanding, and typically involve servicing one of the many gardens and museums, cleaning the city streets, or working as a low-ranking member of the clergy. On the (somewhat small, perhaps) upside, many of these jobs lead to apprenticeship or scholarships to attend university and improve your life in the city. Citizens of Requimosa, generally speaking, spend a good amount of time picnicing, biking, attending theatre, dancing, and gardening. Flowers and the natural landscape are greatly appreciated for their natural beauty.
Requimosa being as prideful as they are, and placing such importance on their religion as they do, they are more than ready to commit acts of violence in pursuit of their ideals. They have often been known to attempt violent acquisitions of territories containing things they desire. Such is their relationship with Wisteria- for a brief period of time, a majority of their kingdoms were under the forceful rule of Requimosa due to their natural landscape's abundance of flowers and rare herbs and spices. There are many evils they would commit in the face of beauty, and they believe the loss of life acts as an excellent sacrifice towards their god.
But as is the fickle nature of passion, the politics and precise beliefs held by the city of Requimosa vary wildly, typically as a result of whatever the current royal of the time believes to be true. Some rulers have historically believed in peace between nations as an expression of love, while others have been callous and cold to the suffering of people in and outside of their city in pursuit of their perfect form.
On subject of Requimosa's royals and politics, the city is a theocracy represented by a monarchy consisting of an heir and their partner. The monarchs of Requimosa are believed to be vested with the power to rule by God, near-holy beings whose interpretation of their founding scriptures is absolute. However, it has become widly understood and accepted in recent times that the royals are people with opinions and beliefs that cannot be trusted as good faith. As such, a new pillar of government was instated just within the past few hundred years- a conduit of Nastya herself, and rivaling the power of the royals is the Living Reliquary, whose primary function is to be the absolute on religious matters and debate. Their interpretation of scripture is the word of god, and overwrites any interpretation done by any other living person, including the royals.
The theocracy of Requimosa, while headed by the royals and the Living Reliquary, also recognizes a wide number of saints, individuals that have been venerated after their death in recognition of feats they have done on behalf of their country. The Living Reliquary is typically imbued with the body parts of these saints, which gives them a closer connection to god. The bodies and "shells" of former Living Reliquaries are kept in the House of Reliquaries- a central chamber inside of the Cathedral Requielle, which also contains the body parts and reliquaries which haven't been used for a Living Reliquary.
THE ROSE BLIGHTLANDS
The Rose Blightlands are a region of the Garden in the southeast, nestled right against the coast. The entirety of this region has been overtaken by a rose-colored blight, coating every leaf and blade of grass the eye can see. The Rose Blight is believed to have been caused by the goddess Ymori, punishing her devout followers for some wrongdoing now lost to time. However, some believe that it is a mutated form of the Vault Contagion, as examinations of the two illnesses have found many similarities.
Even crossing through these lands can be very dangerous. Exposure to the Rose Blight causes an illness in mortals known as the Weeping Malady, that quickly kills its victim and can occasionally trap your soul in your body, making you a mindless undead. And if the sickness doesn't get to you, the already-fallen victims of the Blight or blight-stricken creatures might. However, those strong enough to reach the coast may find safety in this region's only city, Sanctuary of Rose.
Being scarcely populated, and slightly mountainous, the Rose Blightlands are rich in natural resources such as metals and gemstones.
Sanctuary of Rose, or short form Sanctuary, is found at the heart of the Rose Blightlands. A majority of Sanctuary of Rose is found inside the collection of massive white and gold buildings that tower above the crimson, sandy shore. Around its perimeter is a large stone wall built to try to slow the progression of rot into the city- but, for the most part, the city has learned to live with the Rose Blight and even incorporates it into their spellcasting.
Sanctuary of Rose is wholly dedicated to the goddess Ymori, whom they worship both as a goddess of undeath, patron of necromancy and, in a strange way, a goddess of love. The rot, to citizens of the Sanctuary, is seen as the expression of love of a god who cannot possibly understand mortal manners of showing affection. It's for this reason they choose to live with it rather than do away with it, seeing it as a gift that needs to be studied and harnessed rather than stamped out.
Being dedicated to Ymori, Sanctuary of Rose utilizes necromancy in almost every aspect of daily life. They create sentient undead following their belief that the will of Ymori is to give those who die too soon a second chance at life. They create non sentient undead so those who pass can still benefit the community they left behind. These non sentient undead take care of a lot of the menial labor around the city- janitor work, farm/greenhouse work, maintenance of outdoor areas, etc. While becoming a non sentient undead is not seen as disrespectful or unfortunate, to make those living more comfortable, all non sentient undead are required to wear masks to obscure the features of the undead that was created.
Sanctuary of Rose, while being quite isolated, tries to maintain good trade relations with other countries. They have a very plentiful fleet of ships at their disposal which they utilize both in defense and trade, and to move people in and out of the city to avoid traveling through the blightlands. They mainly deal in ocean transport, the production of ships and weapons, information trade, and of course the export of materials that can only be found in the blightlands. They also export a large number of fish. Unfortunately, they aren't a huge fan of tourism and discourage outsiders from visiting the city unless it is to attend their college of necromancy.
As previously stated, a majority of Sanctuary of Rose actually exists indoors. This is a relic of the city's early history of the blight, when people stayed inside as much as possible in fear of the plague. Now, they have developed countless methods of avoiding the plague even in open air (such as their practice of a peculiar sort of "baptism" at a child's birth), and a majority of their residents are considered immune. There are three exceptionally large buildings, each with its own purpose to Sanctuary.
The largest building in Sanctuary is the aformentioned university, a giant and sprawling library where they teach arcane magic and necromancy, and protect texts about these topics that would otherwise be at risk of being lost. This university, known as the Academy of St. Maria Steorria (named after Sanctuary's founder), seeks to preserve the teachings of Ymori herself and continue her legacy. To house students, as well as a good amount of the people of Sanctuary, the bottom levels of the Academy are dedicated mostly to dormitories. The middle layers host a majority of the classrooms and the countless number of tomes, free to be perused by inhabitants of the Academy. The topmost layers contain more sacred and important texts as well as housing for the upper levels of the school. The university building also contains a number of greenhouses where the city grows its food, free from blight. They utilize a lot of magic for this process, hence its home in the Academy. This university is very closely tied to and directly funded by the government of Sanctuary of Rose, and thus, the church.
The second largest building in Sanctuary is the Cathedral of Thorns, the main building of worship for citizens of the city, and the center of the city's government, excepting the home of the royals. If a citizen of Sanctuary doesn't spend a majority of their time in the library, or on the shore/in a boat, there's a good chance they spend their time here. Like the Academy, the Cathedral of Thorns has a good amount of housing for Sanctuary's citizens.
Sanctuary is an extremely emotional place, and they highly value art and music, as well as fashion. The fashion of Sanctuary of Rose rivals even that of Primrose, as well as its music and stageplay. Creative endeavors are seen as an extremely important facet of life to the people of Sanctuary, almost as necessary as food or water. Stage Play, music, and art are incorporated into a majority of religious practices in this city. The worship of Sanctuary of Rose is mostly based around Ymori's love and adoration for the people she developed necromancy for. As such, love and passion in all its forms is also an important part of Sanctuary's culture. Affection is exchanged freely, and it's important to the people of Sanctuary that everyone feels as though they belong. Polyamory is not uncommon. Unfortunately, the other side to their passion is that Sanctuary can be extremely quick to form grudges against cities who they feel have slighted them and their people, put out a call to arms and defend themselves in the face of conflict. In battle, their plague-based warfare, undead armies, and unique battle strategies can be exceedingly difficult to counter. Morale is high amongst the people of Sanctuary as well, and most are willing to die in the name of their city.
The third largest building is the Castle of Thorns, the home of the royal family. The heir is trained and raised in the church and given the title "Confessor" before they're considered a worthy heir to Sanctuary of Rose. The current ruling family are the Canaveris, and the current heir is Confessor Laurencia Canaveri, Princess of Sanctuary of Rose. The royals of Sanctuary are viewed as equal in power to their gods, and a good portion of the city's worship is in fact centered around them. The devoted people of Sanctuary see the royals as extensions of their lady, Ymori, and members of the church follow their word like it is law.
The city itself has few laws that are truly enforced. They have a small city guard who deals with severe crime, but the city operates more through an expectation of what is right that is upheld by the citizens themselves rather than through actual law enforcement. Social consequences are rigid, and since the culture places a lot of emphasis on community, becoming ostracized or otherwise shamed can be absolutely devastating. The royals have a huge hand in dictating what is or is not right for their people, and serve as an example, as well as a spokesperson for the supposed will of their god. Social consequences for breaking the somewhat loosely defined “code of conduct” set by the royals is very severe.
This line of thinking contradicts somewhat with the beliefs of the Academy, leading to some discourse between the scholars who attend university and the devout religious members of Sanctuary. Those in the Academy, while it is run by the church, will occasionally argue that the royal family is just that- a family, made of normal people, whose word must be subject to criticism just like the word of anyone else. Of course, Sanctuary's followers of Ymori would argue that this is a blasphemous statement in and of itself.
The rest of the city is composed of typical buildings you would find in any other city. There are many outlets for the citizen's creative endeavors, like theaters and boutiques, as well as radio stations and other things like that. While they don't enjoy tourism, Sanctuary of Rose does enjoy sharing its art and music with others, and maintains a decent relationship with Primrose on this front.
Housing outside of the Three Buildings is scarce, but does exist, usually in the form of large apartment buildings. The city does boast a few gardens and parks for its citizens, which are in and of themselves, feats of necromancy used to keep the gardens and plants alive, and are resistant to blight.