WORLDBUILDING: The Wonderful World of Arcion

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Hello and welcome to my second fantastic Pokeworld, created for the upcoming serial "Pokemon: Song of the Crystal Goddess". While it does share some characteristics with Yoso, Arcion is a completely different world.

The contents: (you are here)

The Basic Premise
The Basics of Arcion
Cast Profiles
The Pantheon
Magic in Arcion
The Lore of Arcion
Pokemon Profile: Taiva
Magical Glyphs
Magical Songs
Games of Arcion: Goddess' Ladder
A Tour of Safeda
The Base of the Rainbow Wings

More to come as the serial updates.

 

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The premise:

The world is in chaos after Thiana, Goddess of light, is taken hostage by Jouzro, the Demon Overseer. While Jouzro has stated he will only free Thiana if the other gods allow him to rule the world, there is another way to free the goddess--gather the eight elemental medallions and set them in the pedestal that holds the crystal Thiana is trapped inside, then play the Hymn of the Courageous Spirit to unleash the medallion's power and break the crystal.

But when a trio of adventurers discover a very special flute, little do they know that it will send them on the adventure of a lifetime!

 

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The Basics of Arcion

Unlike Yoso, which is the conglameration of all five main regions, Arcion only is a combination of Kanto, Johto, and Shinou. Like Yoso, not every location in Arcion is in the same place as its real Pokeworld counterpart.

The list of counterparts:

Safeda (Pallet Town)--The "base" for our heroes and Ash's hometown, this town is well known for its ornate gardens, Pokemon arenas and theaters.
Marmoria (Pewter City)--Brock's hometown, this is the premiere location in the eastern realm to train in the way of magic. The headquarters of the Alliance of Shirista, the people take pride in the Great Library the mages of the Alliance run.

 

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Cast Profiles

Ash (warrior)--He lives for adventure, and often charges into battle without thinking. Despite his rash tendencies, he has a strong sense of justice, and deeply cares about his two companions. When he's not exploring ancient dungeons and slaying terrifying monsters, he would rather mine gems in a river or play one of his many flutes and whistles. Unbeknowst to him, the flute he receives from the duchess of Safeda will lead him on his wildest adventure yet!

He wields the Sword of the Rainbow Dancer in battle, and often plays on the pride of his collection, the Whistle of Serenity

Dawn (ranger)--The yin to Ash's yang, adventuring across the world is not just about the treasure in Dawn's eyes. If you asked her, the real treasure is making people and Pokemon happy. She can come off as crabby, bossy and demanding when trying to keep Ash in line, but she only does it for his safety. Skilled with a bow and a meticulous planner, she comes to learn that the best times are not planned at all.

Her weapon of choice is the Bow of the Starry Hunter.

Brock (mage)--Quiet, softspoken, and wise, Brock honed his magical skills for years within the walls of the Alliance of Shirista, learning to cast spells through the goddess' words and songs. He also taught the children of his hometown of Marmoria, and as such, knows many stories (and received a special harp from a visiting minstrel who happened to hear him performing). He is a little nervous around those of the opposite gender, and will usually either deliver a euphoric confession of love or dissolve into a blathering mess around females he is not familiar with. Despite this and his slight naivete, his wisdom and spirituality serves the team well on their adventures, and his knowledge of the world's lore will prove key to freeing the trapped goddess Thiana.

He wields the Wand of the Mystic Singer in battle and will occasionally play a spell on the Harp of the Quester

 

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The Pantheon:

Thiana, Goddess of Light--the guardian and creator of the world, currently sealed away in an unknown location. Despite being trapped in crystal by the Demon Overseer Jouzro, Thiana's prescence can still be felt. The god Pokemon Arceus (which the world is named for, Arcion means "The realm of Arceus" in the Mystic Tongue) serves as her envoy, and is only awoken if his master is in danger--by setting the elemental medallions. Once awakened, the people of Arcion say, he will shatter Thiana's prison, allowing her to defeat Jouzro and restore light to the world.

Shirista, Goddess of Magic--One of Thiana's sisters, she rules the heavens in her sister's stead. Once Thiana is freed, her role in running the day to day operations of the heavens will decrease. Mages are her most devout followers, as she is the one that awakens a potential mage's power.

Inverasha, Goddess of Music--The youngest of the Sisters of Light, her playfulness and innocence make her one of the trickster figures in Arcionian lore

Seladia, Goddess of Ice--The guardian of the mountains, she is known to guide stranded travelers to safety. Is often depected riding Articuno

Criana, Goddess of Time--The messenger of the gods, she can see into the past and into the future, and will appear to those destined to fulfill a prophecy, or guide someone on their quest

Wyrnan, God of Fire--He is said to have created Moltres to restore a ruined village that was destroyed by Jouzro. He also created Groudon to protect the fire deep within the earth, and is said to ride aboard Entei.

Jeti, God of Earth--A gentlemanly god that created the world's life, some legends say that his alter ego is the Pokemon Celebi

Adaim, God of Night--He is said to create the dreams mortals have, and will ride across the skies aboard Lugia to deliver these dreams and messages from the other gods

Inarra, God of Lightning--Said to have given Raikou his speed and power--said to ride through the skies aboard Zapdos during storms.

Veril, God of the Wind--A peaceful and laid back god, he is said to observe creation by riding on wind gusts

Kertor, God of Water--Said to have created Kyorgre to keep watch over the sea--Manaphy is his envoy

Melia, Goddess of the Sun--Said to design the sunrise and sunset, she rides across the sky aboard Ho'oh, the rainbow being a sign of hope and the gods' faithfulness

 

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Magic in Arcion

Magic in Arcion is not easy to master--each year, Shirista awakens magical power within the hearts of a select group of people (how many she chooses each year varies, it can be as few as ten to as many as a thousand), who then dedicate themselves to long hours of study and training in a temple of Shirista, learning to control the many forms of magic by word, by gesture, and by song

Casting times can be as simple as a point and shoot affair to a long and drawn out affair for some of the most complex spells--but most of the common spells simply require an incantation and naming the spell (others might require a glyph to be drawn or a song to be performed/sung in addition to this). While you cannot die from using magic, you can exhaust yourself to the point of death if you're not careful.

Some examples of Brock's commonly used spells:

Ruby Eye--Burns one target (point and shoot)

Angel Ring--Creates a small ring of light that lights dark places (requires the Circle glyph to be drawn during the incantation, drawing the glyph in reverse dispels the Ring)

Diamond Shell--Creates a dome made of diamonds that protects him and any allies with him (point and shoot, although the Harp of the Quester can be played to strengthen it)

Rainbow Flash--Blinds an opponent with a bright light of many colors (point and shoot)

Celestial Arrow--Enchants an ally's arrows with light magic (requires a song of power to be performed in order to work)

 

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The Lore of Arcion

Like Yoso, Arcion has a rich amount of history and lore, so there are minstrels wandering around. However, the primary storytellers on Arcion are the mages (who serve as teachers to the children). A mage that is skilled in telling tales may earn the title of Loremaster.

Inverasha stories are paticularly popular, as are tales of adventurers and cunning boys and girls.

But Arcionian lore is more than stories--mages are also in charge of historical accounts and artifacts, which is why many of them travel the world on adventures as Brock does

 

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Pokemon Profile: Taiva

Who she is: A Starly that serves as Dawn's partner

Her role: Taiva's main job is to deliver and receive messages for Dawn and the boys (who are known as the Rainbow Wings of Arcion because of how quickly they come to aid those with problems big and small), but every once in a while she will come along on a mission as a scout. She is very protective of the trio, and will not hesitate to attack someone she is not comfortable with.

 

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Magical Glyphs

Some spells in Arcion require glyphs to be drawn in order to work--usually spells that are transformative or conjuring in nature.

One common example is the spell Angel Ring--as the mage says the incantation (Light of heaven, show these wandering souls the way!), s/he uses his/her finger to draw a circle in the air, which then behaves as a light source. To dispel the ring, the glyph is drawn in reverse.

The glyphs are not terribly complex to draw--many spells will use the same glpyh, so saying the proper incantation is key.

 

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Magical Songs

Another part of the magic of Arcion is magical songs--these are usually meant to strengthen a spell, but there are some spells that have to be sung (or played) in order to work. Any instrument (or the human voice) will work, but not just any old song has a magical effect. In fact, mages will spend years studying the mystic tongue (based on a combination of Italian, Japanese and a dash of Gaelic) as part of their training, so they can sing the language Shirista speaks (the only one of the pantheon that has her own language)

Most mages are content to sing spells with their own voice, but some have instruments. (Brock has the Harp of the Quester, which he received as a gift from a minstrel as thanks for his storytelling)

 

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Games of Arcion: Goddess' Ladder

What it is:

Goddess' Ladder is an Arcionian game of chance akin to Yahtzee or Zilch, with scoring akin to poker. The object of the game is to reach a predetermined score (which is referred to as "the top of the goddess' ladder") before your opponents by rolling a set of dice.

How to play:

Each player rolls one dice to determine turn order, with the highest number rolled going first.

On a turn, each player rolls the six dice. Those dice that do not result in a scoring combination (known as a form) may be rolled again until the player has a form s/he is satisfied with or all the dice come up with different numbers. Once the player is satisfied with the form they received, that form's points are counted towards their score. Some places will use more than six dice or dice of differing sizes to up the ante or to add special rolls and forms, but for the purposes of the guide, we will only discuss the basic game.

Forms and scoring:

The list of basic forms is as follows:

Black hand--no useable forms, turn ends
Pair--two dice showing the same number--worth 200-1200 points depending on the pair's value, multiple pairs are added together
Triple--three dice showing the same number--worth 300-1800 points depending on the number rolled
Quad--four dice showing the same number
Quinta--five dice showing the same number
Rainbow--all six dice showing the same number--a Rainbow Six is the rarest form you can get in the basic game
Straight--all six dice display in ascending order (1-2-3-4-5-6)--worth 2000 points
Reverse Straight--all six dice display in descending order (6-5-4-3-2-1)--worth 2000 points
Full House--a triple and a pair of differing values--worth 3000 points

Some variants that use more/other kinds of dice and other special rules have even more forms availiable.