Introduction

Welcome to the world of Dhuala.

This story takes place in the fictional world Dhuala. As you read through the chapters there will be many things about the world you discover for yourself, but for now I'll explain the basics.

Government:

The people of Dhuala are fairly gentle and kind-hearted, and though only a handful of people stray down the path of evil it is safe to say that one rarely feels threatened here.

 Because the people of Dhuala are so kind by nature, the need for government is hardly something felt here. Each country (Uvalt, Ormo, Lucia, Ronta, and the Cress Islands) is split into multiple villages and towns. Each village or town is governed by a Chief whom the people of the area have elected. Working under the Chief are the Secretary in Chief and the Base Captain. The Secretary in Chief manages the village/town's paperwork such as trade records, population records, monetary records, the buying and selling of land to the people, and any other written information on the history of the area. On top of this, the Secretary in Chief is expected to be wise and a voice of reason. The Base Captain is in charge of maintaining the area's defenses. A town or village is protected by one organization: the City's Military. Made up of at least 50 men and women (with a max of 75), natives of the area join the City's Military in order to defend their homes. The City's Military serves as a police force as well. Due to the level of good-natured people in Dhuala, the City's Military is more of a "just-in-case" organization. It is also the duty of the Base Captain to make sure his soldiers are constantly well trained, well armed, and ready for anything.

 These three positions, Chief, Base Captain, and Secretary in Chief come together as one to rule the area. They decide on all actions of the village or town together. If one of the three positions disagrees to a law or any other action that affects the village/town it is voted on by the people. If the people agree, it counts as the missing third agreement and the action is put into motion; however, if the people disagree then it outrules the other two sections of government's agreements and the action is dropped.

 No one person or government controls a whole continent, and this has worked for Dhuala for centuries. The Chief of an area proposes all actions, and while the Base Captain and Secretary in Chief are not allowed to propose an action for discussion, they are allowed to suggest ideas directly to the Chief. Citizens of an area are allowed to do this also. The Chief also handles public affairs, attends continental meetings, and decides on and takes part in area-wide celebratory events (festivals and military rallies).

Races:

Dhuala is not a world of many different races, but there are a few that require specification.

Human: Your basic humanoid being. Just like me and you.

Rittle: Another humanoid race. Inclined to combat, their bodies are lean and muscular (but not so much that it is overpowering) and do not gain fat. All Rittles appear albino in hair and eye color, and with tan to incredibly dark skin colors. Rittles do not often choose to use magic, but like anyone else in Dhuala, some are born with a natural talent in one specific magic.

Tontan: This race appears to be some sort of crossbreed between a bipedal lizard and a turtle. They are short by nature, the tallest known Tontan to be five feet tall exactly. They also hunch over due to a small bone that grows over their shoulder blades which resembles a turtle's shell. Their skin is smooth and scaly like that of a lizard's and comes in a variety of neutral colors ranging from a brownish green to a dark brown-red. The Tontan race speaks a very ancient language, unspeakable by any other race due to the Tontan's split tongue. Though most Tontans learn to speak a more widely known language by the age of ten. Every Tontan is magically inclined, and discovers the variant of their magic somewhere between the ages of 5 and 7. The Tontan prefer extreme temperatures of hot and cold.

Countries:

Lucia: The country that caps the world. This is a very cold country and many of the people that live here are natives who's people have evolved to survive the cold. There is only one mountain range in Lucia, and it is very small. It is said that it is far too cold there for any person to live, but some say there are tribes that have called the mountains of Lucia home for thousands of years. Some even speculate that this mountain range is where the Tontan race originally began.

 Most people of Lucia are human, with small families of Tontan scattered throughout the villages and towns.

Ronta: The only country that shares a continent with another. While Ronta also has a very cold climate, it's beaches have a spring-like tropical climate. Ronta is home to many Tontan and Rittles, with one or two human families scattered about each area (most villages and towns are actually quite large in Dhuala). There is a popular trade route running through Lucia, Ronta, and Uvalt. Most of the Uvalt-exclusive items found in Lucia are first traded through Ronta, and are very expensive. Ronta's ports and bays are highly guarded by each area's City's Military from pirates that are looking to loot Uvalt trade ships for rare goods.

Uvalt: The western volcanic continent. Deserts dot the island and are home to most of the Tontan on Uvalt. In the center of the island is the Corra Valley. A valley surrounded by volcanoes, most of which are currently inactive. Uvalt is populated mostly by humans. Here, magic is scarcely seen, and only a few humans in each area are born inclined to magic. Uvalt is the trade center of Dhuala, and most things are made here. Uvalt is highly prosperous and most of it's people are some kind of merchant or skilled in a trade.

Ormo: An island full of grasslands and forests. There is an equal ratio of humans to Rittles here. Here is where Lucia can trade freely without going through another country, taking advantage of the Lanmar peninsula. However, it is a risk trading with Ormo, for it seems that there is an unusual amount of ill-natured people here. The crime rate in Ormo is 37%, while other countries' crime rates hit their high at 3%. With Ormo at such an unusually high crime rate, any person with any kind of criminal record is not allowed to travel out of Ormo. This law was passed in every village and town by every government. The law had been suggested at a continental meeting, and agreed on by every government official (Chief, Base Captain, and Chief in Secretary) from every area. This strange, widely accepted law is called the "Ormo Law of Travel". Ormo is split down the middle by the Gormio plateau. Ormo is pretty much the same on both sides of the plateau, but it is very difficult to clear it, so people on either side don't bother to cross it. 

Cress Islands: Made up of three small islands between Uvalt and Ormo. There are no people living on the Cress islands, instead it is used as the meeting place for continental meetings and as an emergency meeting place for all of the countries to come together if the need should ever arise.

Variations of Magic:

Ore: controls all metals

Air: controls air

Fire: controls/summons fire

White: controls light/summons spirits

Black: controls darkness/shadows/creates monsters from the darkness within people

Feather: controls nature/communicates with animals/controls water

Lock: curses/summoning/custom spells (MUST understand all other types of magic before one can use Lock magic)

Other Things You Need To Know:

Our scientific laws don't apply in Dhuala. Salt water, in Dhuala, is more dense than regular water, but less dense than air. In other words: Dhuala's ocean is in the sky. The world is surrounded by a floating envelope of water, which holds marine life. The ground is constantly covered by the shifting reflection of water. But Dhuala has two oceans. The ocean in the sky, and the ocean on land. All of the water that does not float in Dhuala is fresh water. This slight change in the way the world works is cause for many unique inventions and terms.

 In Dhuala, though most anyone is capable of using magic (and some are born inclined to magic), magic is banned from civilian use. Only those in the City's Military are legally able to use magic. The punishment for civilian use of magic differs from magic to magic, and from how it was being used.

 The legal age of adulthood in all countries in Dhuala is 20. All of the school systems are the same in every country. You start school at the age of 12, and if you pass all of your classes you graduate at the age of 19. After that you have the option to take Stage II schooling, which you must pay for (but it is cheap), and any further schooling from that point on is focused on what you want your career to be.

 The currency all over Dhuala is the same. It is thick, small aluminum coins called pieces (often referred to as "silver" pieces). It is marked with a special symbol that corresponds to the country it was made in. Pieces also come in thinner, smaller copper versions, which are worth less. Using a point system, pieces can be explained like this; 1 "silver" piece = 5 points, 1 copper piece = 3 points. A good example of how things in Dhuala are valued would then be explained like this; 1 dozen eggs costs 1 silver piece and 1 copper piece, while a glass fire lamp (like an oil lamp but burns dry grass) costs 3 "silver" pieces.

Author's Note

What do you think? I spent about a week forming this world in my mind. I live in a valley myself, so the first few chapters might take place in Corra. Simply because I've grown up in a valley, and I know what most to expect from living in them.