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Ferona (New Feronite: el-Fyronah; local pronunciation /fɪ.rʌ.nɑː/ or /fi.ro.nɑː/), officially the United Republic of Ferona, is a densely-populated planet and larger union of smaller Federal Regional Republics established shortly after the initial dismantling of ARKNET. It is well-known for being one of, if not the most linguistically-diverse planets in the Manaverse. Ferona is a well-developed, technologically-advanced world, complete with robust, failsafe infrastructure supporting the power grid, the communications grid, and the road and rail systems. A significant chunk of Feronites are able to channel Mana in the form of derived abilities, partly due to the origins of the dominant races. Many humans--apart from those living in New Kuthica--are, in fact, clones.

Geography

Ferona is a largely mountainous planet on land, with many of its settlements built partly into the sides of mountains. Many rivers snake through the mountains, and consequently flow past most settlements, large or small. It is through these rivers that quite a few of the smaller cities on Ferona, though many of the larger centres have their water processed at the seaside, then piped underground to them. The mountains provide most all of the planet's mineral and metal needs, and extraction of the highly sought-after adamantium, an extremely resilient and shock-absorbing metal used in manufacturing of everything from earthquake-proof building materials to weapons, has been a booming business for years.

Continents

The United Republic

While not officially known as continents, Ferona has many independent Republics that make up the greater United Republic, the largest by population of which is the Republic of St. Paul, with a total population of just over 180-million inhabitants, and the largest by area being the Republic of the Numidium, a largely frozen region that covers about 25,128,190 square miles and has a total population of just under 60-million. There are also foreign enclaves on Ferona, the best example of which being the Republic of New Kuthica, an enclave-turned-Republic majority populated by citizens of the Rosean Empire.

Republic of St. Paul

Main Article: Republic of St. Paul

The Republic of St. Paul is one of Ferona's many independent Federal Regional Republics, and the largest by overall population, with a population of 182,298,410 as of the Republic's last census. Its capital, as well as the United Republic's capital, is St. Paul City. St. Paul, as well as its namesake city, is the industrial and economic center of Ferona and the home of many of its heroes of legend, such as Azzan "Dark" Dmitryus. It is also where many of its communications firms are headquartered.

The geography of St. Paul is largely low-lying oceanic basins, the largest of which houses the capital and its surrounding metropolitan area, surrounded by rolling hills. In outlying areas around major urban centers, many smaller settlements and farms have sprung up, most of which use so-called "green" technology extensively and minimize waste. In addition, much of St. Paul--even many rural areas--are wired up with a minimum of what Earthlings would call gigabit Internet service, which is connected to the rest of the planet's communications grid.

It is also Ferona's transportation hub, with many rail links to other Republics as well as the starting points of many A-Series routes.

St. Paul's climate is largely that of a temperate coastal region, with ocean-effect rains, and little real snow. Its temperature, as a result, is very warm, with the occasional cold spell, which are largely localised during the months of Nyod and Numid. The further south you travel, however, the closer to tropical the climate becomes, with southern cities such as Tristo being quite hot and humid. Its parallel on the east coast of the mainland is the "panhandle" of the Numidian south, which also breaches the tropical border north of the forbidden entrance to the Tunnels of Scion. Southern St. Paul experiences far more rain overall than central and northern St. Paul as a result, and is referred to as the Flood Zone by some in the north due to the Tristo River's tendency to break its banks after a storm.

St. Paul, specifically the south, is a very large producer of fruits and vegetables, with many of its grape varieties exported to New Kuthica for wine production. Due to its favorable weather, many farmers have set up natural flood irrigation for the crops that require it, such as many local varieties of berries.

Republic of Asuna

Main Article: Republic of Asuna

The Republic of Asuna is a small Republic, and one of the many Federal Regional Republics with the ability to vote in ballots for and decide the policies of the greater United Republic. It is a largely Japanese-speaking republic, and current home of Jack Evans. It is one of the culinary centers of Ferona, and where Jack initially picked up the art of making sushi. Its population is 94,568,820.

Asuna is a largely mountainous Republic, with its capital, Satayama, being located on a mountain plateau.

Republic of Janus

Main Article: Republic of Janus

The Republic of Janus is, by population, the smallest Republic in Ferona, with a total population of 48,980,220. It is sandwiched between the Republic of the Numidium and the Republic of St. Paul, with the Republic of Asuna being directly west of it. Its capital city is Erinno.

The Republic of Janus is where much of Ferona's adamantium is sourced from, what with it essentially being a giant mineral mine. Much of the adamantium extraction business is located in its capital city, but there are some large players located in the smaller cities, with one notable example, ADAM Mining Co., Ltd., being located in the smaller city of Jackson.

Republic of the Numidium

Main Article: Republic of the Numidium

The Republic of the Numidium is a largely frozen Republic that covers about 25,128,190 square miles, making it easily Ferona's largest Republic by total land area, with a population of 57,199,120. Its capital is Jericho.

The Numidium functions largely as Ferona's center of religion and spirituality, as many of the mainland's most respected Osyrhic scholars make their homes here. Its capital, Jericho, is home to the largest temple in the land, the Altar of the Twelve, which is a large basilica, containing a triangular room in the pattern of the Osyrhic Symbol, which is used on Ferona's flag, devoted to the twelve major deities. In addition, many universities are located throughout the Numidium, with several in Jericho, and their types are largely evenly split between religious schools (often called Jerrian schools in reference to God-King Jericho) and purely scientific or liberal arts schools (often called Scionic colleges in reference to Scion, goddess of science and technology).

It is also the center of Ferona's music and entertainment business, with studios in Jericho and its surrounding area releasing dozens, if not hundreds of albums, EPs and movies a year. One of Ferona's most respected musicians, Judas Numidius, the son of the god of water, started his own label here and self-publishes all of his albums. In addition, Jericho plays host to the second largest music festival in the Numidium, with tens of millions of attendees to its month-long festivities yearly, that being the Grand Festival of Osyrhia, which takes place during the month of Lux, in the middle of summer. The largest festival is a title held by a smaller city to the southeast of Jericho, which uses its proximity to the Tunnels of Scion to attract thrillseekers as well as music fans.

The Republic's climate is perhaps the most wildly variable of any of the Regional Republics of Ferona, ranging from an arid tundra in the far north, to sub-tropical and even full tropical in the southern reaches of the panhandle surrounding the smaller republics on Asuna and Janus. Nothing is able to be grown or harvested in the north, so everything is shipped in. Contrast this with the south, which, as in the Flood Zone in its sister Republic of St. Paul, is able to grow many tropical fruits, and even grows peppers, both sweet and chili. It is because of the north's arid climate that it cannot support the predominant electricity generation technology--that being hydroelectric modular generators, so a team of researchers, led by Dark, invented and perfected a way to power everything with sound, which led to the very musical culture visible in many northern communities.

Republic of New Kuthica

Main Article: Republic of New Kuthica

The Republic of New Kuthica is a chain of large, temperate, but climate-variable islands off the coast of St. Paul with a total population of 72,198,290. Its capital and largest city is called Ierexhirea City. It is of a majority Northern Syelsumoii origin, and as such, the dominant local language (other than Common) is Karra, or Classical Croitian. The only way to enter the nation is through their famous bridge and their space ports located in the Restricted Hills region.

Their means of trade are that of the common upper-class faction of the Rosean Empire involving pristine wine and food trade thanks to their lush rolling hills and overall temperate environment artificially maintained by their EcoField. Away from the capitol city of Ierexhirea are several pockets of estates and very rich cities such as Aieronda and Ferofaumo, two cities which hold several high-class citizens of their nation and representatives of Syelsumoia's presence in Ferona as a whole. Other than their very obvious Karran classicism culture, they are a nation that does not provoke any fights or tries to expand their land. However, if Syelsumoia enters a conflict, New Kuthica is a very strong asset to their army and will always jump into conflict. New Kuthica contains 6 out of the millions of superweapons Syelsumoia has scattered around the universe in case of invasion or aggression.

As for New Kuthica's standing in Ferona, it is one of the cleanest and most sterile in the world thanks to the Karran class.

Other Regions

In addition to the mainland of the United Republic, the planet plays host to a number of other regions, some discovered, others not so. A good number of these are associated with myth and legend, such as Lower Osyrhia, while a few simply have not been discovered yet due to distance or other circumstances. Lower Osyrhia is largely shrouded in mystery due to the divine fog that surrounds the island.

Tunnels of Scion

The Tunnels of Scion is a term that refers to a labyrinthine, multi-leveled network of tunnels and caves, largely built of ancient Feronite technology, the connect the westernmost point on the Numidium to the Pyrite Sanctuary and the island of Lower Osyrhia. Contained within the tunnels is a set of not one, but two Osyrhic Gauntlets--massive, treacherous and often deadly ancient obstacle courses created by Scion herself--with the third such Gauntlet, created in collaboration with Jericho and the Houses, near the summit of Mount Jericho. It is through these tunnels that people must trek to reach the largely uncharted territory of the Osyrhic Holy Land on Lower Osyrhia, and few make it past the Sanctuary with their sanity--or worse, their lives--intact.

Pyrite Sanctuary

The Pyrite Sanctuary is the midpoint in the long and grueling journey through the Tunnels of Scion, and serves as a refuge and sanctuary for animals and sapient beings alike. It is one of the few places outside the United Republic with a population, though it is a lot smaller than the mainland's. Here, the sapient races of Ferona live in absolute harmony with the animal kingdom under an artificial sun created by Pyrus Numidius, which is what gives the Sanctuary its name. However, all may not be as it seems here, as a significant chunk of the population seems to simply be unhinged as a result of travelling through the prior Tunnels.

Lower Osyrhia

Lower Osyrhia, otherwise known as the Osyrhic Holy Land, is an island and place of utmost significance in Feronite mythos. It is a largely untouched paradise shrouded in a thick, almost impenetrable fog, which was severed from the mainland as a result of the events of the First Great War of the Gods. In the center of the island is the tallest known mountain on Ferona--Mount Jericho--whichg is home to the third and final Osyrhic Gauntlet, divine obstacle courses prospective adventurers and heroes must traverse if they seek to obtain an Osyrhic Accolade--a divine trophy of sorts--and be written into scripture and history as a hero of virtue. Few however have even made it past the first two Gauntlets in the Tunnels of Scion, and as such, to the island itself, let alone the third Gauntlet on the mountain.

Network 72

While not a region in the traditional sense, Network 72, otherwise known as the Ferona-Greniou Interconnect or N72 and internally as net72.route, is one of Greniou's many Networks throughout the Manaverse that came into being as a result of the creation of Network Zero. It is a joint project between Ferona and Greniou whose main purposes are data sharing and technology collaboration. However, like many Networks, it has the capacity, in the hands of a skilled programmer like Jack Evans, to be used as a sort of virtual world in itself.

In addition, Network 72 functions as a Tier 2 Network in the overall Grenian Network system, and as such can accept minor Tier 3 and well as other Tier 2 networks as "peers" in addition to Network Zero. This provides the ability for data to be routed in between Networks more efficiently than if all data had to travel through Network Zero and then to other Networks.

Major Landmarks

Unity Place

Possibly the most well-known building on Ferona, St. Paul City's Unity Place functions as the headquarters of the United Republic as well as its main URDS data center. Unity Plaza, the grand square outside the building, is paved with brilliant red granite, and has a large garden in each corner with a circular fountain surrounded by benches in the center. The plaza's entrance is t the south, with the data center being in the north, Building A being in the east and Building B in the west. Building A is a tall skyscraper that houses the clerical and administrative offices, and is of a largely angled design with color splashes of white stone along the corners and center of each side, its color referencing House Numidius, while Building B is of a similar design with gold accents, referencing House Penumbrae, and is used for parliamentary functions. The datacenter is nondescript other than neon lights, and references Scion. The plaza itself references House Natura.

New Kuthica Bridge

The New Kuthica Bridge, alternatively called the Ierexhirea Connecting Link, is an elegantly-designed 15-mile-long suspension bridge linking the City of St. Paul on the mainland with the main island in the New Kuthica archipelago, and as a result, Ierexhirea City. It carries major rail links, such as the United Railroad's Ierexhirea Bullet Line, as well as the New Kuthica Expressway, or the A5 as it's known officially. Its design prominently features both Feronite and Syelsumoii mythological figures, as a reference to the collision of two distinct cultures as a result of New Kuthica joining the United Republic.

Osyrhic Altar of the Twelve

The Osyrhic Altar of the Twelve in the city of Jericho is a grand and elegant basilica designed to fit the shape of a triangle, with the leaders of each House depicted in sculpture on each side, and statues of God-King Jericho and Scion in the center. It is built of marble brick, with a pair of ling fountains outside within its entrance plaza. Inside, the floor is colored differently depending on House, with Numidius taking a platinum-colored floor, Penumbrae a gold-colored floor, and Natura a bronze-colored floor. In the center area surrounding the statues of Jericho and Scion, the floor is a rich black marble. It is considered by many to be the primary place of worship for many followers of the Houses.

Feronite Manacle

The Feronite Manacle is one of many organized Saezerite structures spread throughout the Manaverse, and is located in the undercroft of the Altar.

Ecology

Main section coming soon.

Races

The native races of Ferona started out as experiments on an unknown planet, and, as such, are largely anthropomorphic in nature, taking on both animal and human traits. They range from anthropomorphic canines to weasels and everything in between, and have the distinct capability of being able to interbreed and hybridise with each other, as can be observed in such examples as Dark. In addition, the presence of a relatively significant amount of human clones as well as Syelsumoii humans can be noted.

In addition, the lifespan of many of the native Feronite races are in many cases double the length of their human counterparts, which can largely be attributed to one of the goals of the original experiments--that is, to create a longer-lived race with far higher natural potential than that of a human. It is due to this that Lycans can live for an average of 200 years, Felidi for an average of 210, Ithzon for an average of 220 and Thenast for an average of 240. This was implemented mainly as a slower aging process to keep them in top condition for far longer than the average human would be.

Hybridisation

Due to their origins as secret experiments with advanced gene splicing, and subsequent evolutional refinement of the genome, the Feronite anthropomorphic races can interbreed and hybridise with one another. This functions mainly on the remnants of human DNA left in their gene pool after evolution from the original experiments, which would have originally appeared as stitched-together DNA patters that eventually fully merged into one distinct shape, keeping both human and animal DNA thus giving them a sufficiently advanced equivalent of the slippery gene in dogs that allows for a wide variety of appearances. Through this, we can observe examples of cross-breeding that result in children with equal traits from both parents.

Lycans

Main Article: Lycan

The Lycans are a sapient canid race known for standing fully upright. They can be of any color and generally range in height from five to eight feet tall. Lycans are known for their battle skills, as well as for their intelligence and ability to strategize effectively.

Felidi

Main Article: Felidi

The Felidi are a sapient feline race, similar to the Lycans. As with the Lycans, they can be of any color or fur pattern, but generally are shorter than their Lycan neighbors, standing around five to seven and a half feet in height. They are known for their cunning and creativity.

Ithzon

Main Article: Ithzon

The Ithzon are a race of sapient anthropomorphic bats, usually standing shorter than Lycans, as well as living slightly longer. As with the other races native to Ferona, they can come in any combination of colors. The main defining factor that sets an Ithzon apart from a "normal" bat is that they possess arms as well as the trademark leathery bat wings. The Ithzon are also noted for their keen sense of hearing, despite not being blind, unlike normal bats.

Thenast

Main Article: Thenast

The Thenast are a race of sapient anthropomorphic weasels, and much like the other inhabitants of Ferona, they are well-known for disobeying natural coloring rules. As well, they usually come in much shorter and more nimble than their fellow anthropomorphic races, and have been known to escape tight situations easier than Felidi. Like the Felidi, they are very smart and quick-witted, and very often use that to their advantage.

Humans

Although many are clones, Ferona still has a sizable Human population as diverse as its Lycan and Felidi populations. Humans are well known on Ferona for being short, which led to the common joke among Lycans of them being midgets. Despite this, Humans remain by far the most diverse of the major races from a cultural standpoint, ranging from the Japanese-speaking Asunese to the Rosean immigrants of New Kuthica.

Native Species

Coming soon.

Culture

Being relatively open to peaceful immigration from other planets, the culture of Ferona can only be truly described as extremely diverse. It is also unique among the rest of the Manaverse as it is the only planet that functions as a nation made up of other nations. It is a largely scientific and industrial society, and the local religion has a patron deity of scientific pursuits.

Ferona as a whole is also well-known among its peers due to being politically and culturally progressive, as well as very liberal. This is exemplified by the prevailing attitude that many Feronite natives have of those from other worlds, and sometimes even realms, that dictates the they should look upon all visitors in a positive light and not be hostile unless the other party is openly hostile to them. In addition, despite being liberal, Ferona has been known to welcome opposing viewpoints and take their suggestions into consideration, though not to the detriment of the populace. This is why New Kuthica, a majority Syelsumoii region, is now a full-fledged Republic despite being very conservative.

Language

Ferona is multilingual, and many residents speak at least two languages, the most common being Common and Asunese, though Latin and Rosean languages rank high on the list. Commerce and trading is done in many languages as all languages have equal official footing. Of the total population, more than 300-million speak Common as their mother language, followed closely by Asunese at 280-million and Latin at 240-million.

Aalyasr

While not a modern language, Aalyasr, the tongue of the ancients, is a sort of unofficial official language. Many names are taken from Anglicised versions of Yasr words, such as Dark's twin brother, Nedaz Syphos Dmitryus.

Technology

Ferona is a very technologically-advanced planet, having been the only known world to establish universal electrical and communications grids.

Transportation Infrastructure

Ferona's road and rail infrastructure is very robust, with the A-routes being the backbones of both. Each Republic has at least 25 separate rail lines and 10 separate A-series freeways, and an innumerable amount of minor highways, roads and rail lines. Many of Ferona's roads are composed of advanced flexible solar cells, which generate the remaining power that the grid-linked generators do not.

Communications Infrastructure

Ferona is noted as the leading planet technology-wise to have established a ubiquitous network of interconnected personal computers and other devices, commonly called the Internet, with minimum connection speeds of one gigabit throughout the planet. This network is based on cable technology invented by none other than Jack Evans, which allows for near infinite throughput on a single strand of adamantium wire. The Internet on Ferona has given birth to many popular collections of pages, known as "sites," with a few notable examples being Move, a social video sharing platform, and rchan, New Kuthica's premier imageboard. The Feronite Internet also plays host to shrtpst, a social microblogging platform not unlike Twitter.

Defense Technology

Defense technology is also suitably advanced, with the planet being surrounded with remote-operates laser satellites, but with one exception: Ferona has no intelligence agencies. The main reason for this is that it's largely unneeded; the United Republic itself has no need to spy on other planets. Instead, many spies and hackers are in fact independent cells of people not unlike Anonymous--with one notable example being the collective that sprung up on rchan. Jack himself is technically one, however this is more due to him being a leftover from an older society.

United Defense Forces

The United Defense Forces, or UDF, are Ferona's first line of defense against outside threats. Being that Ferona is not usually an aggressor world such as Greniou, they have no need for large numbers and instead focus on efficiently defending the planet with military technology. For example, an IAM, or Interchangeable Arms Module, whose function can be described as any sidearm ranging from a simple pistol all the way up to plasma rifles and beam launchers, and everything in between, can be mounted either in a Command Watch Module, or CWM, such as the one worn by Jack Evans, or even inside the user's arm if implanted properly. An IWM uses a common ammunition pool to supply each weapon type, intelligently converting between traditional bullets and plasma, so as to avoid the need for seperate stockpiled of live ammo, and as such, ticking time bombs in the event of an attack. The IWMs are largely used to complement more traditional standard-issue plasma- or magitech-based primary arms.

In addition, in the UDF's Covert Operations Division, or the COD, members can be outfitted with special modules not necessarily always available to the greater UDF. An example of this would be the TCCM, or Tactical Comms Control Module, which fits into a communicator and acts as an interface and remote admin device for Network 72, and the EM, or Enhancer Module, which enhances power of natural Mana-based abilities, as members of the COD don't tend to carry around standard arms.

Electricity Generation

Much of the planet's electricity needs are provided for by fleets of hundreds of high-efficiency modular generators. Through specially-developed fuel injection and handling modules, these generators can be adapted to use nigh-any fuel source available in the Manaverse, and are the closest one can get to creating a 100% efficient piece of utility equipment. The stock module set--the most common in observed active usage--supports conversion of most all types of pollutants to raw fuel, which is then used to produce extremely clean power at very little cost. Industry sells its waste to public utilities, which then use it as fuel for their fleets of generators to produce 80% of the planet's power.

Theology

Feronite theology is deep and storied, with the Houses themselves often making appearances in the physical world through demigods such as Judas Numidius, or through common legends such as Morros, the Hand of Death. Instead of generalising worship, many Republics follow a single House (or, in the case of Janus, Scion). For example, Asuna follows House Penumbrae while New Kuthica, being majority populated by Syelsumoii expats, follows House Numidius. The notable exceptions come in the form of St. Paul, who follow Jericho, Janus, who follow Scion, and the Numidium, who are split--the north following House Numidius and the south following House Natura. It is believed among scholars that the pantheon makes its home in Osyrhia, an island to the west of the Numidium, but few have been there and managed to come back to offer confirmation.

The First Great War of the Gods

The First Great War, known for later provoking the creation of the Houses of Jericho, or the Twelve, was the first known recorded instance of the history of the Feronite pantheon. It came about as a result of the leaders of what would later become Houses Natura and Numidius--those being Cumulus, Itius, Pyrus and Taeranis--as well as, in a seperate battle, Lucius and Nycas, warring over whose influence would end up being the predominant driving force in the creation of Osyrhia, considered by many devout scholars to be the link between the mortal plane, known in scripture as Lower Osyrhia (which would also be the name the followers of the Houses would give the landmass itself later on), and the Realm of the Divine, or Upper Osyrhia. Taeranis wished for it to be attached to what would later become the main landmass of the United Republic as a peninsula part of what would become the eastern reached of the Numidium, and initially it had been so. Itius, however, became enraged that the world would have no undiscovered land, and so he drew his blade and slashed across the land, separating Lower Osyrhia from the mainland and creating the Sea of Osyrhia, or the Eastern Sea, and covered the new island in a dense fog. This provoked the other gods and sparked the war itself.

At the same time, the two forces of Light and Darkness--as well as their respective gods, Lucius and Nycas--warred amongst themselves over whether, in the newly-created world, religion or progression would be the dominant force in the minds of its inhabitants. Despite what many modern scholars believe, neither of the two chose a specific side, though they both held obvious biases one way or another. Though progress was at the front of both of their minds, Lucius wanted it above all else, while Nycas simply wished for more faithful followers. The latter of the two, however, started to result to dirty tricks in gaining faith, such as fear, which provoked Lucius and sparked their own fight in addition to the battles going on between the elemental gods. Scion, goddess of science, resulted to holing herself up in her workshop and barricading the entrance so that only herself and Jericho, who would later rise to command order, create the Houses and become the God-King himself, would be allowed entry.

The conflict hit its climax when the three factions collided in one final battle, resulting in the near-destruction of the Osyrhic Workshop, where Scion created blueprints and ran them past the other gods, and the near-miss on Scion's life. When the dust settled, it was revealed that Jericho himself had interfered, surrounding Scion in a divine barrier, and flew up above the other six gods. It was at this point that he proclaimed himself king and instituted order, creating House Penumbrae by forcing Lucius and Nycas to cooperate with one another, as well as Houses Natura and Numidius by grouping Cumulus and Taeranis into the former and the two brothers Itius and Pyrus into the latter. He then crafted a compromise among the three new groups, which he later collectively called the Houses of Jericho, after himself and his own role in creating them, which stated that yes, Lower Osyrhia would be separated from the mainland by a strait, however, potential adventurers to the land would be faced with a veritable maze of undersea caves to reach the island, as well as a sort of underground sanctuary for endangered species of animal, lit by a sun provided by Pyrus. The link to the heavens--located near the summit of Mount Jericho on the island itself, would contain contraptions, mechanisms and traps created by Scion in collaboration with the other six gods, and the final leg would terminate in a long stairwell which would open outside the Workshop. This ended the war and started a long era of peace among the newly-formed Houses, Jericho and Scion.

The Twelve

The Twelve, otherwise known as the Houses of Jericho (though the latter term isn't entirely accurate as some are unaffiliated), is the term applied to the group of twelve deities and mythological figures that make up the upper echelons of Feronite theology. Thematically, the three Houses are generally led by deities of opposing elements or concepts. As such, there can be much in the form of animosity not only between the Houses, but also between members of an individual House. Most gods, demigods and mythological beings are affiliated with a House, whether by blood or by choice except two noted exceptions in Scion, the god of science and technological pursuits, who chose to remain neutral, and God-King Jericho himself.

The Houses themselves were formed largely as a direct result of blood relationships (as in the case of House Numidius), but in a case such as House Penumbrae, were brought into existence by Jericho as a means to force opposing forces like Lucius, god of light, and Nycas, god of darkness, to cease their constant warlike behavior. The odd House out, House Natura, was formed independent of the other two by Taeranis, god of nature and earth, and Cumulus, god of the wind and sky, as a means to settle a long-running dispute between the two of them.

Though many figures affiliated with a specific House took its name as a customary initiation measure (as in the case of Judas Numidius), there was, in addition to those who remained unaffiliated and as such took no surname (such as Jericho), one who flouted the esteemed tradition--Dennis Matthews, of House Numidius. Dennis chose to fly in the face of tradition simply out of pride, as he, despite not being a true god by any means, was created by the Houses to serve the purpose of being the Saint of War. Being related by blood to Pyrus Numidius meant, however, that he was also able to tap into pyroimpery, or the manipulation of fire at a base level.

It was through the creation of the Houses that Jericho was able to instill some peace into what had for the longest time been a very destructive and warlike group of deities that had for the longest time--aside from Judas' father Itius Numidius--shown no interest in resolving their disputes and becoming civilised.

Nycas and the Creation of the Vampire

The relative peace between the three Houses was not to last for very long, as during the creation of Judas Numidius, cousin of Dennis Matthews and Divine Messenger, Nycas took advantage of a particularly wordy discussion between Itius, Pyrus and Jericho about Judas' future responsibilities as the Messenger to implant within him the seed of vampirism--a sort of symbiote that attached itself to his very soul, which would remain with him through all his reincarnation cycles, reintroducing the vampirism virus to his system each time the cycle repeated. This, of course, resulted in the creation of a monster--one of the very first vampires--along with and as a part of Judas. This resulted in the first of two confrontations between House Numidius and House Penumbrae in what seemed to have been aeons, as Itius confronted Nycas about his trickery.

Meanwhile, his own son--now a vampire--had already made attempts to feed on many of the other members of the Twelve, which prompted many to believe that Nycas had done this as an affront to the Houses that Jericho had fought to establish. This, however, was untrue, as Nycas was by nature a mischievous god, and he had created such a monster as his idea of a prank. He did not realise it would end up the way it did. As soon as he told Itius this, Itius decided to avoid the prospect of trying to cleanse the taint from his son, knowing that Nycas would have figured out a way to avoid that, and instead focused on teaching him to control his vampirism and eventually to use it to his advantage.

The Second Great War of the Gods

The Exodus of Judas

Government and Politics

The government of Ferona is a parliamentary republic formed by the smaller republic governments, which are themselves parliamentary republics. Voting is handled as a massive public ballot, after which the results are tabulated and the most popular options are considered for future policies. The United Republic has strict rules about government transparency that ensure corruption can be exposed and punished effectively. In addition, the UR and well as the smaller Regional Republics have targets set out for business to ensure corporate transparency and accountability. These rules are enforced by an independent government agency whose existence is protected by the Feronite Constitution, which cannot be modified without oversight from the public as well as the agency itself.

The Regional Republics elect representatives in a similar style to the policy ballots of the overall United Republic, with public ballots being held and tabulated and the most popular candidate being selected as the Prime Minister.

Parliament functions similarly to that of most former British colonies, with each Regional Republic being divided into ridings, or districts, each with a representative, as well as each Regional Republic holding a certain amount of seats, out of a total of 280, in the United Parliament. The latter is listed below in a sortable table:

Calendar

Ferona follows a Gregorian-style calendar system, much like many other Manaverse world, with 10 months, split into equal allotments of 30 days, for a total of 300 days in a year. Months are often named for Osyrhic deities, with a few exceptions.

In addition, dates are written as, for example, 12 Lux, 8463, and spoken with the ordinal suffix as in "the 12th of Lux," generally with the year omitted. This is due the names being awkward to string together with the dates after them, as Terrans do with their calendar months.

Aside from this, Ferona's timekeeping system shares many a similarity with Terra's, being split into twenty-four hours, each split into units of sixty beyond that.

Naming Traditions

In Feronite culture--regardless of language--the full names of children are more often than not taken in the form of one given and two surnames, with no traditional middle names as can often be seen with Terrans. The three names are taken in order of given-mother-father; that is, to say that the child is first given a given, or first name, then adopts the mother's surname as his or her first, then the father's surname as their second surname, such as in the case of Azzan Syphos Dmitryus, where Azzan is the given name, Syphos is the mother's surname, and Dmitryus is the father's surname. There is always a maximum of two surnames, and the surnames taken are in most cases the lattermost surnames from both parents (as with anything, there are, of course, some exceptions, but they are rare by comparison).

The only Republic where these traditions do not hold true, is, obviously, New Kuthica, being majority Syelsumoii.

Music and Entertainment

Ferona is noted as the only known planet to have a well-developed entertainment industry, which is largely centered around the city of Jericho. Many things are produced in Jericho and sold planetwide, with some even being exported to other planets. Examples include orchestral scores produced by Hydroelectric Records, the record label owned and operated by none other than Judas Numidius, which also has a record deal with Dark and his band for the production and release of power metal. However, the music industry functions quite differently compared to that of Earth. Given the prevalence and near-universal availability of ultra high speed Internet service, most music produced domestically is sold exclusively through online retailers in album and individual song forms, and citizens are legally allowed to share purchased music with friends online and in real life. There is no such thing as music piracy, and because of this, there's no need for strict laws regarding it or industry associations to enforce penalties.

Inhabitants

Notable Characters

• Azzan Dmitryus
• Jack Evans
• Judas Numidius
• Dennis Matthews

History

Founding of the Original Republic

The Original Republic (as opposed to the modern United Republic) was a seperately-founded entity to its modern cousin, having initially come into being as a result of migrants from an unknown pre-ARKNET world veering off course from the rest of their kin and making landfall on what would become modern Ferona. It was founded out of necessity for a government that would make decisions on behalf of its people, which not all of its constituents took kindly to, as many decisions were made without public input of any sort. In this iteration, many of the current Regional Republics were merely provinces, and neither Asuna nor New Kuthica were entities in and of themselves. Its founding principles were predicated on an equal environment for all, though Asunese seperatists heavily contested the notion that equality was even a priority, as the then-regional government of Janus ignored all of their concerns. In addition, there were religious conflicts between the major provinces, mainly predicated on holy wars between followers of individual deities such as Taeranis in Janus and Lucius in Asuna, who at the same time were warring in the heavens. This would come to a head in the final battle between the seperatists and government forces in a twelve-year brawl known as the Great Split War, which would eventually lead to the formation of the United Republic later down the line.

Independence Era

The Independence Era was a period after the 12-year Great Split War in which many of the Republics were independent of one another. It was a time of relative turmoil within Republics, as at the time St. Paul was eying Asuna's (which then also included the less-populated Republic of Janus) mineral resources, and at the same time, the region which would have become Janus in the United Republic era was in the middle of a battle with the rest of the region to become indepedent of them. Opponents of the wars, such as Jack and later even Dennis, were staging public protests in the capitals to demand their governments put a stop to the violence and attempted colonisation. Some, like Jude, even wrote songs protesting the conflict.

During this period, the violence was so extreme and the Republics so eager to undermine one another for independence that there was a comparatively brief return to the things that most of the residents' ancestors had moved to Ferona to escape from in the first place--espionage and mysterious assassinations. Jack, knowing what could happen next, was forced into hiding, but continued to stage protests online, taking down military and government websites through hacking and placing anti-war messages on any he successfully took over.

Eventually, the protest movement reached critical mass and the governments were forced to take heed of what the majority at the time wanted. They wanted the end of the the war, they wanted an autonomous Janus region, and they wanted some form of unity. They wanted leading figures to be able to come out into the open without fear of being assassinated. And they got their demands. Over the next few years, sweeping reforms were put into force that united the new independent Republics under a central direct democracy system.

Creation of the United Republic

The United Republic was formed as a direct result of an initiative by the then-independent nations of St. Paul and Janus to unite the planet and achieve a greater ability to trade with other worlds as well as make it easier to move among the nations that would make up the new entity. Under the new system, all member nations would reorganize their governmental structures to reflect that of a parliamentary republican system, as well as opt in to an international pseudo-governmental body which would become the current United Republic of Ferona. There was a notable opposition to the idea at the time, with many former ARKNET operatives and their relatives believing it could have become what they had left behind after ARKNET was dismantled. The frontrunner of this opposition was Jack Evans, who, having been wronged by such a centralized system in the past, didn't want it to happen again.

However, it turned out that the new united government would be taking input directly from its citizens on public policy, and this put the mind of the main opposition at ease quite a bit. Soon after that was announced, there was already a grassroots movement among the former opposition to institute stringent and far-reaching checks against corruption in government, which contributed in large part to how the United Republic currently functions as well as its near-notorious relaxed attitude towards the everyday activities of its citizens.

After extensive immigration and colonization of an island off the shore of the Republic of St. Paul, a new member joined the United Republic--New Kuthica. New Kuthica's people are majority Syelsumoii and other peoples from the Rosean empire, and as such New Kuthica became the largest Croitian-speaking jurisdiction that was never a part of the Empire. Despite this, Feronites were as accepting of outsiders as they usually had been, and welcomed the Roseans to their society with open arms. Since then, there have been no major changes to Feronite society.

Trivia

Planets
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