The Chillcrafters of Culdur

Preamble

In the world of Heirbrosse, people are capable of feats that may seem extraordinary to some. For example, most children are taught to conjure seeds and water from the air, so that they may never go hungry. The name for this is Cropforth Artwork.

Skilled individuals can use Farsight to extend their vision. Masterful folk can bend the temperature so that moisture in the air crystallizes; this is known as Thermaya.

The list goes on! Artwork is a gift accessible to anyone who takes a crystal, which is, of course, almost everyone.

In modern Heirbrossi culture, there are four aspects of Artwork, which correspond to the four countries in the world.

First, the red aspect and country of Royth—its people idolize the Torch; the great fire in the sky. Government, leadership, enforcement and strength: this is what it means to be Roythan.

The green aspect and country of Massus is the largest, the most conservative, the most traditional. To be Massese is to live and love the land, to support, feed and defend one's family.

Iskiss, the yellow aspect and country celebrates everything, especially creativity, expression and love. The sky, the stars, adventure and exploration runs deep in Iskonn culture.

Culdurians hail from the ocean, which wraps endlessly around all of Heirbrosse. The blue aspect of Culdur is the sea country, where the current Artwork system is built and maintained. Culdur's people are divided between those who interact with the landgoers and those who live life among the deep. To be Culdurian is to harbour insatiable curiosity, to test the limits of reality's edge, and to nurture, understand, master and protect Artwork.

Tensions, when they crop up, tend to be at the borders of land and sea. The Aquan Vorwash is the Culdurian subsect in charge of securing these areas, and in recent times they've encountered an alarming rise in rogue vessels, seemingly united under a rebellion known as the Zunn Rise.

***

The world of Heirbrosse is at peace, but that was not always so. Yes, the water has been calm for hundreds of generations, but as the feastmasters in Massus would attest, a boil never begins all at once. It starts with tiny bubbles at the bottom of the pot. Only a few at first, then a dozen.

Then one breaks loose, and rises.