Although the oldest nation in Elandra may seem fractured on a map because of its coastal archipelagos, it is a truly united country whose people constantly strive to improve themselves. The people of Kairos are raised on the idea that service to the Gods, each other, and the state are the most important duties a person can have. It is a nation of equality and fair treatment, with elected civil and religious leaders, where your origins do not define your outcome.
They are an ancient, powerful, and influential nation. Their love for divination and prophecy through Oracle Magic have allowed them to foresee and avoid many disasters throughout their history. Their open nature and attitude toward the other realms and nations ensured there were always ancient and much-learned individuals within their lands to draw upon for knowledge and guidance. This, combined with their understanding of Constructs, which granted them access to a workforce many times larger than some other Nations, has been invaluable to the stability of Kairos over the years.
Throughout the Age of Calamity and now entering what some are calling the Age of Hope, Kairos has focused on rebuilding and strengthening the nation and improving its relations with the other nine nations to achieve unity within the mortal realms. Because of this, they tend to be outwardly trusting of those from different countries and strive to form alliances and collaborate with people from other places. Kairosians tend towards self-sacrifice for the betterment of the whole, rarely taking selfish actions or actions that benefit only a few.
The Kairosians’ self-sacrifice and reverence for improving the nation extends into all actions of their life and even beyond. Among the citizenry, there is seen no greater glory than to continue to serve Kairos after death, and so, after your funeral, where tales are shared of your deeds in life and the impact you made on those around you, your body is collected by the state and taken to be petrified and turned to stone, and then shaped with Forge magic into one of the Kolossi, an animated defender and celebrated servant of the realm. Unfortunately in this point in time, this skill, intrinsic to the Kairos cycle of life and death has been stolen by the magical event known as the Fading with all knowledge of how the Kolossi are made currently unknown to its people, something that has been a point of much distress.
Geography
The nation of Kairos is based around a large landmass stretching downhill from the Syradonian border to the Kairosian Sea. However, much of its area comprises coastal archipelagos of eight major islands and hundreds of smaller islets. Each major island features only a single city, home to the Archon of the island states and most of its population. Though smaller settlements can be found scattered across the smaller islands, small communities of farmers and fishers are standard, and their purpose is to provide supplies to the state capitals.
The main landmass is Kairos proper, which contains the capital city, Naxara, and several significant settlements surrounded by rich and fertile farmland fed by many streams carrying nutrient-rich runoff from the Mountain ranges towards the Kairosian Sea. The waters around the islands are rich in fish, which, combined with the mainland’s excellent arable land, allow for national self-sufficiency. The islands also provide pearls, spices, and fruits, which can be traded as luxury items to their neighbours, along with excess food from crop yields.
Approximately half of the mainland is currently unreachable due to the Corrupted Wards put in place during the Age of Calamity; however, only 3 of the eight major island chains are entirely behind those wards, meaning that Kairos has had a “relatively” easy time of restructuring and rebuilding what they can access. The reclaimed land has recovered well from the ravages of the Corrupted due to the steady flowing water cleansing the lands and the Kairosian’s use of Constructs, giving them access to a large workforce to help repair the land available to them faster than some other nations.
Naxara
Upon the sandy coast of Kairos stands Naxara, a shining beacon of the nation’s ambition and resilience. Built upon layers of history, its foundations are set in stone older than the gods, carved and reforged by the hands of countless generations. The broad and level streets are paved with smooth limestone, their surfaces worn to a gentle sheen by the passing of countless feet. The air smells heavily of spices, and the cooking scents from the homes lining the streets can be overwhelming at first, but it is a much-loved feature of the city by those who have grown up with it.
The Gallery stretches through its heart, a grand avenue flanked by the Kolossi of heroes and visionaries of old, their silent gazes ever fixed upon the city’s gates. Some stand proud and whole, untouched by the ravages of war, while others bear the scars of battle as shattered remnants of their former grandeur. Though many were lost in the defense of Naxara, their presence is a solemn reminder that history is not to be preserved in stone alone but in the hearts of those who walk these streets.
At the city’s pinnacle, rising like a crown above its people, stands The Boule, a marvel of marble and bronze. Here, the elected of Kairos gather, their voices shaping the nation’s course. Wide steps, worn smooth by time and tradition, lead to its decorated entrance, where philosophers and warriors alike debate the fate of their homeland. In the shadow of the Boule lies the Agora, a vast, canopied market where merchants and artisans barter, and experts trade in knowledge and skill.
Beyond the market and the halls of governance, the city breathes in quieter spaces. Public baths offer respite to the weary, their waters infused with minerals from the mountain springs and shrines to the Twelve stand scattered across the districts, not imposing monuments but woven seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life. It is common to see altars at street corners and shrines nestled between homes, their flames flickering in eternal reverence. The Kerusso walk among the people, their presence not that of rulers but guides, offering wisdom as freely as water from the city’s many fountains.
And always, at its edges, the sound of the sea. The harbours of Naxara are ever-bustling, great ships bearing the fruits of Kairos and returning laden with much-needed resources and luxuries from distant shores. Stood astride the harbour bay, staring ever out towards sea at approximately one hundred feet tall stands the marble statue in the likeness of Parysophelia, first Anax and founder of Kairos.
At dawn, the city glows gold beneath the rising sun, and at dusk, the statues along the Gallery casting long shadows toward the gates. Naxara is a city of memory and ambition, of tradition and innovation. The Light of Xanthus stands watching over everything, rising from the city’s edge. A marvel of Kairosian engineering, its base is hewn from unshakable granite, its upper reaches a lattice of marble and bronze that gleams in the sunlight. At night, its beacon, an ever-burning flame fed by alchemical oils, casts golden light across the waves, guiding travellers safely home and warning those who might come with ill intent. Legends say that the fire of the lighthouse has never gone out, even in the darkest of storms, a symbol of Kairos’ resilience and the unbroken will of its people.
Kallos Skopia
Kallos Skopia is a border settlement located at the base of the mountain range that is the beginning of Syrdonia. Originally build hundreds of years ago, potentially as the staging point for the great expedition that founded Syrdonia, it is now a fortified market hub extending into the mountains themselves. The main trade route from Kairos to Syrdonia, and then on to Morvalis goes through the heart of Skopia and as such it is more utilitarian than Kairosi settlements tend to be. Lots of the grand architecture found elsewhere in the nation has been set aside in favour of practicality and defensive capabilities due to a lack of space and a need to protect this essential trade center from potential threats throughout the years.
What Skopia lacks in manufactured beauty, however, it makes up for with cultivated grace. The citizens of Skopia long ago decided that while they were comfortable living in an easy to defend and functional city, they could not do with living in a bland one. Gardens coat the rooftops of the buildings and hanging plants decorate their faces with draping flowers as horticulturalists, herbalists and alchemists work together to create carefully curated decorations as well as practical growths of tradable herbs and alchemical ingredients and edible crops to supplement the food stores of the city.
The Eight Core Islands:
Aerphos is an island with a unique structure of cracks in its cliffs that act like wind instruments when the sea breeze blows hard, sounding out a haunting melody across the surrounding islands. Aer-scryers use the island’s songs and coloured powders cast into the currents to predict and forewarn about incoming storms. It is also home to the Aerphos School of Wind Magics, a popular school for training wind-focused casters.
Aetheria has the highest mountain of all the islands, with a perfectly flat plateau at its peak, 920m above sea level. Oracles who draw their divinations from the movement of the stars will make pilgrimages here, for nowhere in all of Kairos is closer to the celestial bodies than the peak of Aetheria. Many in Kairos believe that closeness to the sky is closeness to the gods, so often, people seeking answers to religious questions travel here to seek out the local priests.
Gaianthos is a strange island, if it can even be called its own island. It is a round, flat, nearly bare lump of rock pocketed with deep caves that travel down and away beneath the sea. These long passages connect Gaianthos as a central hub to several other Core islands and the mainland. This is partially why Kairos did not suffer as much as some other nations, as they could move troops and supplies below ground without enemy forces knowing about tunnels. There is now a tiny contingent of Syrdonian mining experts living on this island, instructing the Masons how to use Kolossi best to ensure the structure of the tunnels is appropriately maintained.
Terraphos is a large, almost perfectly circular island with a single, low, vast manufactured plateau. Atop this plateau, the city of Terraphos stands tall as a monument to Kairos’s craftspeople, artisans, and architects. Many of its white stone buildings are soot-scorched and partially blackened from defending against Corrupted attacks, and tradespeople from all over the nation have travelled to help clean and restore the White Gem of Kairos to its former glory.
Hydraphos was once famed for its beautiful hot springs, and people traveled worldwide to experience the luxury of the spas and resorts established here by enterprising Kairosi. Unfortunately, it now lies in the Corrupted Lands.
Mystikos housed Kairos’ largest population of Ichthyocentaurs in it’s bay before the island fell into Corrupted hands and the survivors fled to safer shores. It is a place that is fabled for it’s connection to the Wyrd and is seen as a place of authentic power; many Kairosi seek the return of Mystikos above all other lost land because it is where The Porta is located.
Nyxeria is the smallest of the Core Islands, sitting low in the water and surrounded by towering, crooked-tipped islands it’s almost always in shadow except for at midday. Settled initially purely for the aesthetics of it’s gorgeous orange crossandra and purple hydrangea perennial flowers it is now in the hands of the Corrupted
Pyranthos has a large, central, long-dormant volcano. Ash and heat still radiate from the volcano core, making the island’s soil incredibly fertile and perfect for growing maize and other grains. It’s loss to the Corrupted early on hurt Kairosi’s defence of the archipelagoes due to the supply issues this created amongst the islands.