Vaykia

Vaykia is a kingdom found within the fantasy story of, 'The Trinity Throne '. It sits amongst the clouds, located atop Mt Atlas within the continent of Nordham, where the elusive winged men, called Vaykians, live. The kingdom is inaccessible without flight, making it and its inhabitants quite elusive and the subject of many spiritual myths.

Vaykia was originally named Thaelfasia, after its founder and first king, Thael the Ascended (demonym: Thaelfagen). It was renamed after the first post-Reformation elected leader, Allvard of Vajkoar. Modern Vaykia is ruled by a Prime Vaykian, voted in by a council of leaders from the various dioceses of Vaykia, making it a semi-democratic, semi-theocratic leadership.

Currently, Vaykia is suffering from the Thinning; an act of declining population. This has largely been caused by the Law of Imperfection. To combat extinction, Prime Vaykian Foen Haalfax concocts a plot to marry their throne heir to the Nordlandic throne heir, in order to introduce fresh - but still royal and beautiful - new blood into their pool. Upon finding the last Vaykian throne heir was downcast and likely dead, Haalfax plants an impostor to travel to Fjorgallahar instead. This plot is discovered by former Astral soldier, Leif, who is downcast to be kept from revealing the plan to others. Leif survives the fall and begins a journey to Fjorgallahar by foot, in hopes to prevent the false marriage.

Thaelfasia
Establishment

Thousands of years ago, the Great Divergence resulted in some primitive Nordlandics to split from the rest of the population by seemingly-divine intervention. A clan of Nordlandics who worshiped Sygrid protested against the ceremonious hunt of a rare bird, called a trill. They were said to be rewarded for their protection of the holy bird with angelic wings. According to legends, spiritual leader Thael was subsequently instructed by Sygrid to build a kingdom in the sky for them to live amongst the birds as their protectors. The clan climbed Mt Atlas and established the kingdom of Thaelfasia, where Thael became the first bishop-king. The kingdom continued to worship Sygrid and, as it grew, was divided into smaller dioceses, led by other bishops who serviced Thael as councilmen of his court.

The Altar Stone

Thael ruled for almost one-hundred years, as the Thaelfagen were blessed with prolonged life. His throne was handed down to his son, Mjol, and decent to bishop-king was routinely contained within familial inheritance or marriage. The kingdom operated as a strict theocracy, and downcasting was first reserved for those who displeased Sygrid: heretics, non-believers, offenders of sacred rituals etc. Mjol built the Altar Stone, where downcasting became a ritualistic spectacle - and somewhat entertainment - for onlookers.

The First Crossing

Tjor of Mjol, the third bishop-king, was the first Thaelfagen to compete for the Trinity Throne in an event known as the First Crossing. Prior to understanding the risks of crossing the sea to Fjorgallahar during high tide, Tjor was pressured by his sister, Heilda, to attempt to fly to the castle island in harsh weather. Tjor was struck by lightning and perished in the sea. Since Tjor's children were too young to take his place, and the line to the Thaelfagen throne needed to be preserved, the concept of a throne heir was created, and that title was handed Alod of Thael, Tjor's paternal uncle. Alod was blessed with patience, and only attempted the crossing when low tide, and the reappearance of the migratory trill birds, signaled a safe time to cross.

Alod was victorious in the race to reach Fjorgallahar and was crowned the first king of the Trinity Throne. Heilda left Thaelfasia to be his wife, becoming the first queen, and the two had three children together. However, when high tide returned, Fjorgallahar became their prison, and both Alod and Heilda, along with two of their three children, perished from a plague that came during winter. Only Tjorheilda, their middle daughter, was spared. She was rescued by Astrals and returned to Thaelfasia, leaving the Trinity Throne once more abandoned. No Thaelfagen competed for the Trinity Throne thereafter, since Tjorheilda's accounts depicted it as a horrid, cold, and haunted island. Descendants of Tjorheilda are the current heirs to the Trinity Throne, but their identities are not known.

The Law of Imperfection

The events of the First Crossing and the crowning of King Alod, which gave the Lowlanders their fist glimpses of the Thaelfagen in several centuries, sparked a spiritual movement, particularly among Nordlandics, in which Thaelfagen were viewed as angelic beings with divine powers. Much of their mythology originated from the death of Vesta, who was given the term 'Mother Saint' by the Nordlandics. This idolization was witnessed by a Thaelfagen historian and lowland adventurer, Thod, and when news spread back to Thaelfasia, it sparked a change in religious views that began with Thova, Tjormol's sister, and eventually encapsulated the whole royal court. Belief in Sygrid declined as Thaelfagen began viewing themselves as gods.

Thova led several missions down to the Nordlands so that the Lowlanders could be amazed by their appearance. She brought back artwork - paints and idols and statues - that the Nordlandics made of them, and in return, the Thaelfagen became obsessed with changing their clothing and appearance to be more in line with their worshipers' expectations. In order to maintain this heightened vanity, the Law of Imperfection was introduced, and Tjormol swiftly instructed the Astrals to downcast any newborn that appeared with defects or visible imperfections. Downcasting was swiftly re-purposed for the disposing of the ill, disabled, injured, maimed, and deformed. Unfortunately, when it became apparent that Thova herself was infertile, and therefore imperfect, Tjormol was forced to execute his own sister in front of his people. Thova went willing to the Altar Stone, and declared that she will survive the fall to the Lowlands, even without her wings, and would remain among the Nordlandics as a spiritual adviser, so that their worship of the Thaefagen carried on. She was listed as a martyr for her self-sacrifice.

Reformation
Egin of Tjormol, who took the Thaelfagen throne after his father's death, was the last ruler of the Thael dynasty. During his short reign, civil war broke out over disagreements regarding religious practice, and the royal family were largely executed during a violent witch-hunt. Revolt amongst the dioceses and civilians, called the Reformation, was largely fueled by ongoing the Law of Imperfection, which had become so strictly enforced that the Thaelfagen people were beginning to decline in number. The Thinning became akin to a plague, and there were now multiple disagreements as to whether Sygrid was male or female, or existed at all. The Astrals were unleashed onto several dioceses in order to hunt down conspirators and heretics and have them downcast, but this only fueled the rebellion more. Egin was murdered by a rival bishop, and the deaths of his wife, Safira, and any surviving members of his family, such as Odjin and Tjorheilda and their children, swiftly followed.

The dioceses went to war with one another for several years until Allvard of Vajkoar managed to quell the madness and reunite the dioceses as a secular society. Allvard was named the first post-reformist leader, and Thaelsfasia was rebuilt as Vajkia (mordernized to Vaykia; demonym: Vaykian). After Allvard, leaders (now called Prime Vaykians) were elected by the councilmen. The Astrals returned to their posts and royal soldiers, instead of civil enforcers. Worship of Sygrid became more of a tradition than law, regardless of the gender. Vaykia adopted a more democratic style of leadership, but bishops still largely made up the council of lawmakers.

The Law of Imperfection remained enforced by majority vote.