Realm of Cascadia
Cascadia
Designation: 12th Realm
Capital City: Velryn’s Crest
Demonym: Cascadian
Motto (Common Saying): “The sky chooses.”
Known For: Winged nobility, aerial military regiments, mountaintop operas, ancient lumber guilds
Overview
Cascadia is a mountainous and forest-draped realm where solemn grace meets martial excellence. Its winged people, the Cascadians, are known as much for their reverence of high art and ceremony as for their fearsome skill in the skies.
Founded by those who once ruled from the peaks long before the Empire’s formation, Cascadia still maintains its air of regal detachment. While loyal to the Sapphire Throne, its people speak of ancient oaths and sky-born ancestry with pride. Their floating arenas, echoing opera halls, and elite aerial guard are famed throughout the realms.
Cascadia’s economy flourishes on the back of its rare lumber exports and high-value artisan goods, while its reputation for discipline, beauty, and unyielding cultural identity keeps it both respected and quietly feared.
Major Locations
- Velryn’s Crest
The throne-city and heart of Cascadian culture, built into the icy ridges of the Skyshard Mountains. Its terraced opera houses and high courts sit side-by-side with military barracks and wind temples. - The Emerald Canopy
A sprawling, ancient forest beneath the peaks, home to highly regulated lumber guilds, arboreal cities, and ceremonial glades. - The Aerie Spires
Sacred mountain towers used for ritual duels, sky-knighting initiations, and wind-scrying rites.
Notable Institutions
- The Aerie Blades
The elite aerial regiment of the Winged King. Part parade, part predator—these warriors train from childhood to master airborne combat and synchronized flight formations. - The Harmonium Courts
Cultural courts where disputes are often settled not by combat or coin, but by art: performance, poetry, or sculpture. Success is judged by appointed Maestros. - Guild of the Verdant Lash
An ancient and powerful organization controlling the lumber trade. Their influence extends into Cascadia’s legislature, with ties to generations of noble houses.
Cultural Traits
- Social Order:
Hierarchical, but not static. Nobility and military prestige often overlap. Bloodline grants respect, but only excellence maintains it. - Values:
Self-mastery, artistry, endurance, loyalty. Flight is not just a skill—it is an expectation of one’s soul reaching upward. - Diplomatic Standing:
Cascadians serve the Empire with discipline, if not enthusiasm. Though often perceived as aloof, they are known for their impeccable reliability when called to battle or ceremony.
Geography
Cascadia is a realm of dramatic elevation, dominated by the Skyshard Mountains, which rise like jagged spears from the earth. Cascadian settlements are built vertically as often as horizontally, incorporating cliffsides, mountain perches, and canopies into their architecture. Waterfalls and rivers carve through valleys below, feeding into the ancient Emerald Canopy.
- Topography: Steep mountain ranges, narrow ridgelines, high-altitude valleys, and forest basins.
- Notable Landmarks:
- Velryn’s Crest: Capital city and fortress-palace.
- The Aerie Spires: Natural towers used for religious and military rituals.
- Wingshadow Gorge: A sacred site where the first Winged King was crowned.
Ecosystem
Cascadia’s ecosystem is high-altitude and ancient. Its flora and fauna have adapted to vertical living and thin air. Some species have glider-like wings or powerful legs suited for leaping between ledges or trees. The realm’s ecology is deeply intertwined with Cascadian spiritual beliefs, particularly regarding sky-creatures.
- Biome: Mountainous alpine forest transitioning into dense evergreen lowlands.
- Unique Ecological Traits:
- Natural wind tunnels used in training and performance flights.
- Bioluminescent mosses in cavernous opera halls.
Climate
Cascadia maintains a cool, often mist-laden climate. The upper mountain ranges see snow most of the year, while the forest floors remain damp and temperate.
- Upper Zone: Cold, dry, prone to ice winds and thin-air conditions.
- Lower Zone: Rain-heavy, rich in fog, with strong seasonal transitions.
Fauna & Flora
Flora:
Fauna:
History
Cascadia was founded by a coalition of sky-dwelling clans united by the first Winged King, Velryn I. Cascadians evolved from scattered flighted peoples into a singular, militarized kingdom built on honor, precision, and aesthetic excellence.
Cascadia remained largely neutral during many realm-wide conflicts, preferring to guard its airspace and train elite military units. However, it fully joined the Sapphire Empire in Year 0 AFE, after a diplomatic tour led personally by Then Queen Salena, who praised Cascadia’s contributions to culture and discipline.
Its participation in the Empire is still marked by a certain aloofness—the Cascadians serve, but never forget that they once ruled the skies alone.
Tourism
Though not overly welcoming, Cascadia’s grand artistic culture attracts pilgrims of beauty and discipline from across the realms.
- Opera Halls of Velryn’s Crest: Carved into the mountain, these halls are considered the pinnacle of performative architecture.
- Skyward Games: A seasonal aerial martial and acrobatic competition.
- Emerald Pilgrimage: A week-long trek through the Emerald Canopy, ending at the Aerie Spires.
