Idea shamelessly stolen from GrottyStatue74's thread because I didn't want to interrupt the abundant discourse happening there. I realized I haven't worldbuilded as much as I would like to have. Your questions will aid me. Some preliminary facts: - There are four quarter-kings who rule the main island kingdom of Sorkosh wherein the story takes place. - They had the former king deliberately tried for treason after planting evidence, and then had him executed. - The island has a very strong navy, but their ultimate allegiance is to the greater Helmugra empire where the quarter kings were originally sent from to abolish the Sorkoshi king. - The main religion is Yuvraism. It is practiced by most of the citizens. They believe in fasting on certain days of the week, and it is extremely taboo not to do so. I'm open to any and all questions!
How is the power divided among the kings? do they rule togheter or do they just have 1/4 of the island each? How is the realation between the kings? do they get along or is it a constant power struggle? How big is the island? Do the kings have duke and counts under them? How do the Sorkoshians(?) see the Helmugrians? are they oppresors or just a new ruler? Do the Sorkoshians want freedom from the empire or are the general population satisfied with being part of the Empire? How strong is the empires control over Sorkosh? Are the quarter kings basicly puppets of the emperor or is the emperor mostly a far away figur? Why did the Empire capture Sorkosh to begin with? Is it a rich island? powerfull force in the world? or was it just there? How do the people live on the Island? are they serf? lot's of slave? urbanised? miners, farmers, fishers, craftmen or traders? How is the geografics of the island? is it a tropical island like malta or the carribien? A green one like the irish island or a cold, forblown island like the one in the north sea?
Since Helmugra has begun exporting aether (necessary) for Sorkoshi-invented illusioncraft, Sorkosh has become one of the most prominent kingdoms in the empire. With illusioncraft, they are able to imbue their bodies with nourishment, an advancement developed by Sorkoshi mages after a blight made farming on the island unviable. The cost of importing foods is higher than importing aether, and aether-derived nourishment works better for their bodies than normal food anyhow. Illusioncraft also makes it easier for the Sorkoshi to create synthetic materials which can be exported. These synthetic materials are akin to metals like iron, clothes like cotton, etc. The power is divided equally amongst the quarter-kings, and they each preside over a quarter of the island kingdom. In theory. One of the kings actually has much less power and land and say due to his troubled background. No, he's not too savvy about this. While it's not a constant power struggle (because that would tear apart the Sorkoshi economy), their is animosity among the kings. The island is about the size of Alaska. Yes, there is nobility under the kings. The Sorkoshi view the Helmugrashi with overall indifference because they know how important they are to the empire. They are almost arrogant about it. Now that their king is dead however, they feel betrayed and oppressed. They don't necessarily want freedom from the empire, but they want a leader of their choosing and vengeance for their late king. Helmugra has an iron-tight hold over Sorkosh as they are the only suppliers of the aether that the Sorkoshi mages require for their Illusioncraft. The emperor is a dominant figure in Sorkosh society despite being so far away. He knows how important Sorkosh is to the empire. Sorkosh was captured because a lot of the people had an affinity for magic as opposed to most other kingdoms. Most people on the island are either mages, craftsmen, traders, or part of the navy. There is a small but dedicated school of scholars. Some of the nobility keep slaves, but these slaves are illusion craft homunculi (not that that makes it any better as they are still in essence human beings). It is a mountainous, green island, a bit like New Zealand. But the blight has made the land barren.
