Ionia

This Article is in accordance with the version 0.94 of Runarcana RPG

“Surrounded by treacherous seas, Ionia is composed of several allied provinces scattered throughout the gigantic archipelago known as the First Lands. Since the Ionian culture has long been shaped by the search for balance in all things, the boundary between the material and spiritual realms tends to be more flexible here, especially in wild forests and mountains. Although this place’s magic can be unstable, and its creatures magical and dangerous, most Ionians have managed to lead a prosperous life here for centuries. The monasteries full of warriors, the provincial militias, and even the continent itself were enough to keep them protected. But that calmness ended twelve years ago when Noxus attacked the First Lands. The empire’s seemingly endless troops savaged Ionia and were only defeated after many years, and at great cost. Now, Ionia exists in an uneasy peace. Different reactions to the war ended up dividing the region - some groups, like the Shojin or the Kinkou monks, seek to return to peaceful isolation and ancient traditions. On the other hand, more radical factions, like the Navori Brotherhood and the Order of Shadows, demand the militarization of these lands’ magic to create a unified nation capable of revenge against Noxus. Ionia's destiny lies before a delicate balance that few are willing to break, but everyone is capable of feeling some restless energy under their feet.”

The island continent of Ionia is home to the most evident and flourishing forms of magic. In Ionia, magic flows everywhere; it shapes its people, guides its history, and, above all, shapes the land itself.

The biggest strength of Ionia is the equilibrium, something all living beings that exist there in a delicate balance between all parts. There is still much to know and explore inside what seems to be the continent with the oldest inhabitants in all of Runeterra.

Characters

When creating a character from this region, you gain the following traits:

Languages. Ionian

Skill. Choose one between: Acrobatics, Athletics, Arcana, History, Insight, Animal Handling, Intuition, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth.

Activity. Choose two proficiencies from the following options: A simple weapon or a minor craft

Magic

It is the most used word when talking about Ionia, the land called "The First Lands". Magic flows through all parts, in an exuberant and even scary way through the natural phenomena e events that could easily be described as surreal.

All magical works find expression and naturalness in Ionia, the technologies that took so long to arrive, created in other places with magic in far less abundance, find in Ionia an expression that is often aberrant.

Adaptation

One characteristic that is famous for outsiders is that how life adapts in Ionia, people from many places in Ionia see themselves as part of the natural world and have adapted their habits and ways of life to live in harmony with the otherworldly flora and fauna. To outsiders, the relation people have with nature can be seen as weird, but it was thanks to this codependent relationship that the beings that live there have thrived through so many generations.

Ionian architecture is characterized by a sense of natural flow and grace, aspiring to reflect the ethereal beauty of the land. Grand, open spaces ensure that one is never entirely divorced from what organically existed there before.

In this way, trees are not uprooted to provide wood for build homes, but homes are built with these trees to keep them alive and following part of their natural course.

It isn't weird a room with a tree for a pillar, a bench being made by a rock that can have been there for thousands of years.

Noxian Invasion

Since its formation, the residents of Ionia preferred to pursue personal enlightenment instead of waging constant battles with other nations. The militaristic nation of Noxus saw their "weakness" as an opportunity. Noxian spies began to trade aggressively with the Ionians, traveling through provinces to study its weaknesses and identify critical targets.

Not long after, the war hosts set sail for Ionia as part of the long-planned Noxian invasion. The south provinces, who were amongst the richest by the financial concepts, were the first to be invaded, for this reason, being invaded by the noxians in the dead of night.

Because of the weak resistance they faced, the noxians could easily set camp and brought Zaunite mercenaries for the battlefield, mostly mad scientists who saw that as an ideal situation to test their creations in noncombatant civilians. That was what sparked the will to fight back in the Ionians.

Through the self-enlightenment, martial arts flourished in Ionia, they were the primary tool for the Ionians to fight back. At the fight of the great Placidium, the natives pushed the noxians back, pushing them away and expelling them from many of their camps. Although it wasn't a complete win, this brought back some control of some provinces to the Ionians.

The Placidium Of Navori

The Placidium is one of Ionia's most sacred places. Many have journeyed here to study at renowned schools or meditate in its wild, magical gardens. Many of Ionia's most successful diplomats have spent at least some time studying at the Placidium. It was at the Placidium that the people of Ionia finally took up arms against their Noxian enemies. But the cost of that day's victory was immense, and some now question if fighting back was the right decision since the harmonious balance of their homeland might have been lost forever.

The Kinkou

The Kinkou consider themselves as the guardians of the sacred equilibrium of Ionia. Their acolytes walk both through Runeterra and the spiritual world, mediating conflicts between them and, when necessary, having to intervene through force. During the war with Noxus, the Kinkou order was expelled from his former temple by the follower of its own ex-acolyte, Zed.

The survivors were taken by the pupil of the deceased master to the mountains to seek a way to rebuild the order following their fundamental principles, recruiting and training new pupils with the hope of restoring the strength the order once had.

Omikayalan, the Heart of the World

A sacred grove with utmost importance e sacred for the Ionians, a place where the spiritual and material get mixed, and illusions are the harmless thing nature will provide.

In the past existed there the God-Willow, a massive tree, dripping with long gossamer leaves that shimmered with golden-green light. Centuries have passed, and at the place where the God-Willow once stood, a being known as Ivern, the Green Father emerged with a clear mission and purpose: to protect all life and teach the world's people to respect and appreciate everything in it's natural state.

Monasteries of Hirana and Shoujin

There are many monasteries in Ionia, but two renowned monasteries stand out, Hirana and Shoujin, where those who seek to understand their connection with the spiritual plane can be trained. They are home for martial artists who seek balance and inner peace, from there came Lee sin and Udyr, each having a role and responsibility with balance.

Vastaya

The Vastaya are a race that spread themselves mainly through Ionia in many tribes, they are beings of magical nature and can be spotted by having animalistic traces when they are not animals with human traces.

Creatures with magical natures, they have a special connection with all the Ionian Magic, especially those from their homelands and where their tribes reside.

There is an ancient treaty between specific Vastayan tribes and the humans that deal with the sharing of natural magic. In the last decades, after the Noxian invasion, the vastaya grew more unhappy and concerned by the way humans use magic. Extremists groups like the Order of Shadows began to use magic for their own goals. The Vastaya are not happy with that.

Their connection with the magic makes them very sensitive to the unbalance that happens when there exists a misuse of it, with the outsiders seeking to use more and more of the land, the Vastaya have been suffering consequences.