Polis

Overview

The 7 Sages led the people who remained after the Great Destruction, settling them across three continents. As they subsequently formed groups and lived together, city-states emerged, along with their leaders. A branch of the Sage Tower has been established on each continent, and the mayors of Polis follow the Sages who lead their respective continents. These Sages are the closest to ordinary people among the 7 Sages, and unless a special change is made, the Sages initially assigned to these positions continue to serve through successive generations. Procyon of the Huan Continent, Capella of the Pastur Continent, and Pollux of the Midreth Continent have a more political and pragmatic image compared with the other four Sages.

8 Settler Cities (Eight Settler’s City)

The Nevareth frontiers that spread along the coast of the Prasia Sea eventually built the first 8 cities. It is difficult to understand why a population of barely ten thousand people would scatter across 8 cities in an unknown world where no one knew what dangers lurked, but the people could hardly have been unaware of that fact. It is thought that the 7 Sages who guided them must have made such an arrangement. The 8 cities of Esca, Judin, and Medenark on the Huan Continent; Hebrath and Hellenia on the Midreth Continent; and Industria, Liber, and Mordense on the Pastur Continent were the first to emerge, after which small cities began to appear in the surrounding areas. Later, Vedas came to be recognized as a Polis by the NCC.

Polis Political System and Military

Polis is governed by a mayor and a council, while Colony is governed by a governor. It also maintains a regular army of its own. Except in special circumstances, the regular army never leaves Polis or its subordinate Colony. Another group is the Paladins. While the regular army was deliberately created to protect humans and their homes, the Paladins arose from the motivation to enhance individual martial power. Unlike today, when human life in Nevareth has stabilized, people had to protect themselves during the early settlement period. Among them, people began training with swords and studying magic to become stronger, beyond merely defending themselves. They came to be called Paladins. Paladin is said to have been the name of a hero from an ancient civilization. Thus, in ancient times, people who possessed outstanding warrior qualities, followed the hero’s example, valued honor under strong convictions, and trained themselves were called Paladins. Although they did not directly contribute to maintaining and developing society, the strong among them remained very important to people still exposed to the threat of monsters. The third group is the Hunters. Since the relatively small regular army was hard-pressed even to defend Polis, people with business outside Polis, such as those traveling between Polises, readily paid to hire them to protect themselves from monsters. In this way, their numbers naturally increased out of necessity, and among them, people began forming groups in stages to develop their martial power as a means of livelihood and wealth creation. People began calling them Hunters to distinguish them from Paladins.

Esca

Overview

It is an island southwest of the Huan Continent. It is larger than Polis Vedas to the northeast. It receives abundant sunlight and rainfall, resulting in dense forests. Although it is hot, it is not subject to extreme heat, and its abundant seafood and marine resources often attract immigrants from other Polises.

Judin

Overview

It is home to the Outer Tower’s fifth-floor branch and the sixth-floor branch that oversees the Outer Tower, making it indisputably the center of the entire continent. Some of the Academies affiliated with the Sage Tower in Judin claim to have fully understood the ancient history of the Lost Age, including the Honorable AgeThere are institutions that study it. However, the Academy’s information management is extremely strict, and it rigorously ensures that materials related to ancient history never leave the research institute. This policy has drawn strong opposition from ordinary people, including intellectuals, but the mayor of Judin supports the Academy’s position and repeats only, “I am simply following the instructions of Sage Procyon.” Because water is scarce there, disputes over water resources with the nearby Polis Medenark have been frequent since long ago. The Sage Tower’s mediation prevented major bloodshed, but the rift between the two Polises remains deep.

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Medenark

Overview

A Polis located in the northern part of the Huan Continent, it is a hot and dry place like Esca. With abundant sunlight and little rainfall, it has the Hodden Forest, which consists of deciduous broadleaf trees, and the timber produced there is traded throughout the continent as a building material. Since ancient times, its people have sailed to distant seas to explore and fish. This has also influenced the temperament of the Polis's people, to the point that a common perception has developed that a “Medenark person” is “warlike and fearless.” They frequently quarreled with Polis Judin over water sources, and each time, the aggression of the Medenark people tended to make the situation even worse.

Vedas

Overview

A small island at the eastern end of the Huan Continent, it had less interaction with the outside world than the surrounding areas. As a result, it has a unique island-nation lifestyle and culture, as well as beautiful natural scenery. However, its total population is small, and the people of Polis are also unfriendly toward outsiders, so much remains undisclosed.

Although it is a hot region, the climate is suitable for habitation, and moderate rainfall has made life stable. Artistic culture, including music and fine arts, has especially flourished thanks to the leisure this afforded. Most of the epics and literary works based on the Honorable Age, Great Destruction, and other subjects known throughout the continent originated here.

Hebrath

Overview

It is a port city with a relatively mild climate located at the southern end of the Midreth Continent. Its tourism industry is based on cruise ships traveling through the Morcia Strait between the Huan Continent and this continent. Since Warp Gate fees are a burden for Mercenary Corps and various Guilds that need to travel in large groups, ships also serve as a useful means of transportation connecting the continents for them. Abundant goods are transported between the continents by ship, keeping permanent markets and Guilds active.

Hellenia

Overview

As a region that is cold and receives heavy snowfall, it is a Polis inhabited by resilient people. A hunting competition is held every year to help them overcome the cold and cultivate self-discipline, and the winner is given a necklace said to have possessed the power to control blizzards since ancient times.

This is said to be a talisman that the first Sage Pollux made using his own power out of sympathy for the people of Hellenia suffering in the bitter cold. Although there is no evidence preserved in records and its actual effectiveness is unknown, it serves a symbolic role in protecting Hellenia and is passed on to a different person each year.

As the site of a fifth-floor branch of the Outer Tower, it is home to large and small exploration teams preparing to venture into the open sea, and the Sage Tower provides them with research funding.

Industria

Overview

As the largest polis located at the northern tip of Pastur, it contains the Forest of Nostalgia in the east-central region of the continent. Because this forest is subject to extreme climate changes and is so vast that many sacrifices occurred during the early settlement period, it was given a name meaning “longing through tears for the homeland from before the Great Destruction.”

Moreover, enormous trees whose tops cannot be seen are scattered around like landmarks, leading some people to call it the “World Tree Forest.”

Because its vegetation distribution is extremely strange, one side is a coniferous forest, yet a deciduous forest spreads out just a little farther on, while a tropical forest can be found in another area. Ultimately, because the residents could not establish stable dwellings in this forest and expanded into the surrounding areas, the size of the polis grew.

Liber

Overview

It is said that the Sage Capella was the most passionate about scholarly research among the Seven Sages. In accordance with his wishes, the place that gathered all kinds of information arriving from every continent and polis and developed a knowledge industry is the Polis Liber.

It is the polis where Nevarethans most want to live, as it is always overflowing with the latest books from the three continents and scholars who come seeking them. High-level Academy institutions are also actively operated, and at some popular academies, applicants may have to wait several years for a place to become available.

Because it is home to the five-story tower that serves as the Outer Tower’s continental branch, it also operates an independent department related to ancient history. However, its resources are woefully inadequate compared with those held by Judin’s Institute of Ancient History. Judin strictly controls information and absolutely prohibits the public release of materials related to ancient history, making it difficult even for Judin’s people to obtain information. However, there is a rumor that materials related to ancient history, which recently filtered out of Judin and cannot actually be obtained there, are secretly circulating.

Because it is lively yet quiet, people who enjoy adventure sometimes disparage it as boring, but seeing that they too often visit to obtain new information about adventures, the saying that “the city itself is a vast storehouse of knowledge” seems apt.

Mordense

Overview

It is home to the second-largest Merchant Guild on the Nevareth Continent. Because many people are constantly coming and going, it is always lively, and many incidents and accidents also occur. The climate is comfortable for living, and travel is easy because there are no major rivers or mountains between the polis and the colonies. However, strange things have recently begun happening in Mordense as well. A power struggle has begun within the Guild amid rumors that a cartel is lobbying to independently supply military provisions to Huan Continent.