Optera

Optera is a large kingdom to the west of the main continent. It shares borders with several other kingdoms, most notably Mozi and The Patchwork City. It is a relatively wealthy kingdom, with it's humans and fairies both having many freedoms.

► Overview

Capital Cities

HUMAN CAPITAL

FAIRY CAPITAL

► Magic

Magic in Optera largely consists of some way to initiate changes, and a way for those changes to be completely reversed and erased. This may be a manual mechanism (manually breaking a magical bond), an automatic one (the effects of persuasion wearing off over time), or a natural one (aging and decay reoccurring on an item after the user has finished).

Masks created by fairies and masks all have a competent to them that moves or can be adjusted. These movements are triggered by the user and can just be aesthetic or serve a purpose. For example, a mask folding up for easy storage or having eyelids that open and close. Masks also tend to be made of hides and wood, with functional metal pieces. These hides are dyed with natural dyes or painted. Gems can be used, but are used sparingly and a sign of wealth. Masks change slowly over the course of a lifetime, mostly through repairs and subtle changes in identity.

Apprenticeships begin a year after the individual fairies magic has started to come in, They are staggered like this so that the fairy can begin the process of learning themselves and coming into a stronger sense of identity. (Human apprenticships begin immediately.) The young fairy is carefully watched, however, to make sure there is no danger to themselves or others. Once apprenticeships start, the master will teach the student how to craft a mask and figure out a path for them to take regarding their magic. The master may see potential in them for several things, and in that case the student will decide how they want to proceed in their magical journey. By the end of the apprenticeship, the goal is for the student to have a mask they are proud of, and to have mastered (or nearly mastered) their magic. This process typically takes 3-5 years, although the student will begin routinely wearing their mask closer to the 3 month mark.

► Former God

Beetle God of Community

Most articles relating to this god are hidden within the Hive. They are quite picky about who is allowed inside of these archives, and so there is not much known about this god.

*Optional

► The Hive

The Hive is a set of fairies that are decendents of the original eaters of The Beetle God of Community. They are one of the few homogeneous groups of fairies within the world, that is they all share the exact same set of traits. These traits include mandibles, extra limbs, and fused middle fingers. The Hive has a large system of communication throughout the city composed of chirps, rasps, and squeaks made by their extra limbs, like a cricket might make. They use this system to monitor the happiness of each other and to make decisions as a group.

The Hive itself has no queen or leader, instead defaulting to the main queen of the kingdom. Some of them keep track of the queen to make sure that they are not hurting or being unjust towards The Hive. If no problems are found, they work hard to make the city and everyone within the city as happy and healthy as possible. If the queen does become hostile or is no longer fit to rule, The Hive takes action and forcibly demasks them and in extreme cases, may kill them to make an example.

Despite how it might seem, The Hive is not actually a hivemind. They are simply very connected to each other through a social media of sorts, constantly pushing updates to each other to make sure their needs are met. Other, non-Hive members of the kingdom have no way of deciphering this system and most cannot hear all of it. Luckily, non-Hive members of the city also work to meet everyone's needs and make life the best it can be. With their goals united, all fairies in this kingdom live with only minor fights and scuffles that would arise from having a kingdom of this scale.