Chamas

A vast continent drifts across the sea, advancing toward catastrophe once every five years. This land, which a dragon who believed in the potential of humankind, the "Skyward Dragon," saved by trading away his own life, has now become a great drifting continent that takes the cycle and rebuilding of all things as the law of its life.

An eastern fortress city where, beneath splendid tiled roofs, merchants and pilgrims, warriors and Taoist sages, humans and other races and the Automata all live intermingled. Yet beneath that prosperity lurks a harrowing truth: that one day, again and without fail, it will enter the archipelago of death.

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The Land the Dragon Carried

Chamas was originally a venerable civilization rooted in the continent of the East. After the New Age, through countless dynasties and wars, the Son imperial house unified the realm, set tradition and order aright, and developed an independent system of magic called Dork, growing into a pivotal power of the East.

A society that prized martial arts and self-cultivation, propriety and bloodline, the imperial house and the noble families. Amid magnificent timber architecture and a brilliant aesthetic represented by crimson and gold, Chamas carried on its own civilization through long ages.

But catastrophe came twice. Once it was the invasion of the purple-flame dragon Polaris, and once it was a dimensional storm of terrible scale.

What saved Chamas from the first catastrophe was the third child of Gergia, a blue dragon who would later be called the "Skyward Dragon." He drove back Polaris and aided in the rebuilding of the ruined Chamas, walking alongside the people of this land for long ages.

And when the second catastrophe struck, the Skyward Dragon finally made his decision. To save Chamas from a dimensional storm that could not be stopped, he burned away his soul and his body to lift the entire continent whole into the air. As a result, Chamas became a drifting continent that belongs to no land, circling upon the sea.

"The sacred dragon gave his own life to save this continent and us all. Let us find what he expects of us, and the reason for it. Until then, we must protect our land and our lives. From death, and from terror!"

— The Dragon-Boat Emperor

Prosperity Born of the Cycle

Chamas is not a nation standing still. This vast continent, circling the great ocean along the currents, has functioned for the past two hundred years and more as an immense transport vessel and trading port that links the world. Merchants, scholars, mercenaries, and pilgrims from every land gathered here, rare goods and cultures, languages and technologies intermingled, and Chamas established itself as the center of the world's commerce.

The continent's outskirts are densely fitted with harbors and warehouses, roads and transport facilities, and the free market draws together all the rare and precious things of the world. Humans, other races, humanoids, and even the Automata live together upon this land, and Chamas has perfected a unique multicultural civilization that embraces the foreign without losing its traditions.

Its outward appearance is that of an ancient empire, but what flows within it is the ceaseless rhythm of movement and exchange.

Yet their true strength is not prosperity itself. It lies in the fact that all of Chamas's prosperity is sustained even in the knowledge that it could be destroyed at any moment, on the premise that it will be built up again.

A Fortress Nation of Martial Arts and Dork

Chamas is at once a splendid civilization and a thoroughly militarized nation.

Because the people of this land know that catastrophe will one day strike again, they ready nearly every domain of life for battle and defense. The Azure Dragon Army that guards the imperial house, the Yongho Dork Corps that researches Dork and trains Taoist sages, the countless temples and training institutions, and the cannons and siege engines installed across the continent are all proof of this.

Their martial arts did not develop against humans alone. The martial skills and weaponry of Chamas have been honed chiefly to stand against colossal beasts and catastrophe. Bow and crossbow, blade and spear, talisman and barrier, cannon and great cannon. Though they bear traditional forms, their purpose is always clear.

To protect, from the "Long Night" that will come again, the heart of the continent and the imperial palace, and the sacred treasure hidden in the deepest place of all, the "Great Dragon Jade."

The power they call not magic but "Dork" is the same.

Dork is not a mere technique but an order in the Chamas manner, one that seeks to touch the flow of the world through self-cultivation and enlightenment. Many dream of becoming Taoist sages and earning the honor of protecting the continent, but not just anyone can awaken to the Way. For this reason the strength of Chamas can be said to be a power built not upon talent alone, but upon long training and the accumulation of the community.

The Death That Returns Every Five Years

But what truly defines Chamas is no emperor, no merchant house, no army. It is the catastrophe that returns without fail every five years, the "Kethalan Archipelago."

After it began to drift, Chamas realized that at the end of its circling course lay a hell beyond all description. A cursed sea where, when night falls, beings impossible even to imagine appear, and where even physical barriers become meaningless. Each time Chamas passed that archipelago, it was driven to the brink of ruin, and each time barely survived.

The beasts destroyed the continent like a curious child's plaything, and each time the people of Chamas had to mend the city, raise the walls, and forge their weapons to prepare once more for the next five years.

Through this process Chamas came to hold a single conviction: that even this endless repetition of destruction and rebuilding, terror and overcoming, loss and recovery, is part of the "cycle" the Skyward Dragon left to them. The people of Chamas curse it yet accept it, fear it yet endure it.

The Dragon's Heart Sleeping Beneath the Palace

At the center of the continent of Chamas, in the deepest depths beneath the imperial palace, sleeps a colossal orb left behind by the Skyward Dragon, the "Great Dragon Jade." It is no mere relic. It is a token of sacrifice that the imperial house and the people revere as a sacred treasure, and part of the reason Chamas has survived until now.

And the beings of Kethalan know this too. To bring down the palace and reach the Great Dragon Jade, they aim ever more relentlessly at the center with each cycle. This is why the wars of Chamas are always designed around the defense of the imperial palace. The barriers and ramparts of the Taoist sages, the magical walls that rise up around the palace, and the army concentrated to defend the imperial house are all the final line of defense to keep the Great Dragon Jade from being taken.

Recently, with the support of Kallipolis, even greater ramparts and batteries have been installed, but the fact that they were placed first solely for the imperial house has left a deep rift among the people. The question of whether the technology that protects Chamas is for all, or for the throne, is slowly beginning to spread.

A Festival Between Laughter and Terror

The people of Chamas do not live by despair alone. In the time when the continent is farthest from the Kethalan Archipelago, they hold a great festival called the "Cycle Festival." Merchants and travelers flock in from every corner of the world, crimson silk and golden ornaments flutter through the streets, and wine and music, lights and cheers carry on through the night.

The world sees this and remembers Chamas as the most splendid land of festivals. But the inhabitants of this land know: that the day when laughter rings the loudest is also the day they are most clearly aware that death is drawing near once more.

They laugh not because they know no fear, but because they know fear and so laugh all the louder. To make the most of today's life, to the very end, upon a city that will one day fall.

The Emperor at the End of the Cycle

In New Age 510, Chamas once again stands before a momentous crossroads. Before long, it must enter the Kethalan Archipelago once more. The beasts of the Kethalan Archipelago grow stronger by the day, and within, the Jongam Cult that serves them and other seditious forces eat away at society. Moreover, despite the mediation of the "Yawol League," the rift between the imperial house and the people has reached a level that can no longer be concealed.

The current emperor, Son Ryun, judged that if things continued as they were, Chamas would one day fall. Realizing that merely enduring the endless cycle was no longer enough, he at last sets out in secret to find the answer himself.

A continent that has survived by repeating destruction and rebuilding. This civilization of the cycle, raised upon the sacrifice of the Skyward Dragon, now asks:

Will the fate of Chamas truly remain within an endless repetition, or does there exist a way to finally sever this long ring of the cycle?