Tarvole
Welcome to a land of great adventure.
Tarvole is Catanautical's main fantasy setting, and is subject to change at any time. Characters that are based within this setting will be marked accordingly.
Tarvole is also a highly FEMALE AND HERM INTENSIVE setting, meaning around 95% of the population is made up by these two genders. There are exceptions for male characters on a need-to-know basis.
Tarvole has always been a world ravaged by war, ever since the first humanoids were brought by the grace of the Old Gods. The gods were split into two opposing factions with a leading god at the top. The Old Gods spent countless millenia fighting a pointless war of attrition in an empty universe, creating weapons to wage against one another. As the Old Gods decided such a fruitless task was not getting them anywhere, they created the ever-expanding universe. Of course, these Old Gods decided that the war would not be decided by them, but by the creatures they created. The Old Gods had two factions, the Mighty Trio, and the Council of Diaterra. The Mighty Trio was ruled by three gods of equal power, while the Council of Diaterra was a collective of gods headed by the Great One, Diaterra. They decided that the gods would create a single planet suitable for life, plant their species upon it, and leave it to thrive with minor influence. This story follows the Mighty Trio, headed by Lotriane, the goddess of life and death, Vitolas, the goddess of Light and Dark, and Cesaura, the goddess of Power and Magic. They would go on to create a plethora of Greater Goddesses to spearhead their operation. Some including R'halla, the goddess of sex and fertility, Enturada, the goddess of the Land, and Poraskia, the goddess of strength and fortitude. From there, these Greater Goddesses created a throng of lesser goddesses, as well as with the help of the Grand Goddesses, created an enormous pallette of living species, as well as shaping their core world...
Welcome to Tarvole, a world of adventure, wealth, and freedom. But it is also a land of death, destruction, and great evil. Within these lands, the consumption of others is indeed possible, even for those not normally gifted from different dimensions. The world is larger than jupiter, with worlds around it being roughly the same size and larger, with a trifecta of suns shining light upon the world from a far distance. The world is made up of a majority of landmass, with 40% water causing a great rift between two continents, creating a ring of water and making great seas. The majority of these landmasses consist of dense jungles within the cores of these islands, the edges being deserts and forests, with plains and savannahs around. The northern and southern poles are iced over, surrounded themselves by rings of water, making a pair of large islands of ice. The southern and northern caps of the continents are tundra and evergreen forests, snow coating mountain ranges and ice fields alike. Keep in mind the sheer size of the planet, and gaze upon the land as if it were almost never-ending.
The air is laden with magic, a feature that becomes usable in its entirety, with the right training. Magic is divided into three types. Spirit, which is the energy of living beings and nature, coming from all things, living or dead, making it the basis of both necromancy and life magics. Source, which is the energy of the planet, coming from its very being, the rocks and core, a magic type popular with energy and gravity mages, and also for mundane uses such as blacksmithing and location magic. And lastly, Ether, which is the energy of the atmosphere and space itself, used in magics that are not commonly defined in nature, such as fire and spacetime magics.
Living beings within this world are governed by a pantheon of goddesses of all kinds, good and evil, lustful and pure. Ruled over by these goddess, this land is a world of fantasy, nearly all of the races of the spectum coming forth to life, ranging from avians, sea creatures, furs, humans, demons, angels, demis of all types. If one was not used to seeing these things walking together as if nothing was wrong, you might feint from the sheer diversitiy of the living in this world. Each person, when concentrating hard enough, can understand the extent of their own strength, though not to a direct number without using the services within the towns.
Speaking of towns, the two continents are divided in nation, the Eastern Federation bearing a almost imperialistic design of construction, run by a nearly totalarian government. These destructive folk come into constant war with those of the western continent, sending bunches of conscripted to their graves, as the populace have not the freedom to choose their career, especially not with mandatory military service. The entertainment and relaxation venues are little in number, and most of the populace is pushed to slave away as dungeon clearers or other careers they didn't sign up for. The only reason they haven't been destroyed by the western continent is because of their numbers and general strength, as well as the magic items in their posession, such as two of the ten existing High Godblades.
The western continent, unlike its rival, is a place of freedom and adventure. The western continent is ruled by the Forudan Monarchy, the queens ruling with vassals underneath them to govern the territories. The Monarchy has a construction style much akin to that of feudal japan, with more modern amenities due to the eixstance of magic, which can be used to power devices and lights. There is a lot more freedom in the Monarchy's cities, which includes having an adventurer and mercenary guild in nearly every large town and city, along with relaxing accomodations, markets, schoolhouses, bathhouses, and about as many entertainment options as you can imagine. People are free to choose their calling, and are not as restricted by the government other than criminals. The Monarchy's main city of Paruvol is a sprawling urban expanse, situated around the largest know dungeon in the continent, known as Hell's Cradle. It operates much the same as the one seen in Danmachi.
But, alas, where there is living, there is also those who wish to make them cease living, an Evil rooting itself within the landmass of this place. Monsters crawl through dungeons in the lands, the dungeons controlled by a sabetuer. Not just monsters, these are feral monster girls, some intelligent and some cunning, while others cannon fodder. These monsters are created by the magic in the air from dungeons. Monsters and adventurers alike vie to consume each-other in combat, the victor almost always coming away with a filled belly from their endeavour. These dungeons have obviously been around longer than the current inhabitants have lived, as skeletons of humanoids long since passed roam the halls and lay on and inside the cold stone. There is a lot of history pertaining to these humanoids, but the vastly confirmed reason is that the humanoids that came previously committed a grave sin and summoned a force of so much evil that it corrupted the lands. The goddesses used to be normal living beings as well, until they sealed away the evil into a timeslip, the power of defeating extreme evil giving them the one-sided power and immortality that they now have. Even the goddesses pertained as 'evil' only do so out of balance for the world. Every now and then, the Evil's power seeps back into their dimension, creating random dungeons on the surface of the world, of which are lovingly referred to by adventurers as 'pop-up instances'. The gods reward the adventurers alongside the dungeon rewards for clearing these, as it keeps the evil at bay longer. The difficulty of the dungeons vary greatly, and there have been times when high-class heroes have had to band together to destroy great evil.
Though, not all monster-girls formed by these dungeons, including Hell's Cradle, are all Evil. Some gain their reasoning, breaking free of Evil's control to become another inhabitant of the world. It's not uncommon to see these happen, but the gods speculate that Evil's hold sometimes loosens just enough for them to escape their enslavement. So, they are welcomed with open arms. With these dungeons, a delicate balance is formed, an ecosystem filled with adventure... And the consumption of one another.
The monsters and adventurers vie to consume each-other on a regular basis, but there are some safeguards in place. If an adventurer joins underneath a goddess' will, or reaches a high enough rank in the adventurer or mercenary guild, they can be eligible for reformation, for a fee or for devoted service to their goddess. Commoners are not so lucky, but the birth rates of new children are so high that it doesn't affect the country much when some commoners are consumed by bandits or monsters, though there is the occasional abandoned village. Some people take matters into their own hands, sacrificing their reformation for a chance to be a part of the Evil, becoming bandits, looters, murderers, thieves. People who hold no regard for living beings, who seek to douse life with their bodies, for the pleasure of the hunt and the pleasure of a full stomach. There will always be people like these. Likewise, the population is so high and consumption is so common that the consumption of a teammate or a lover in good will is seen as an act of love or devotion, as the goddesses do indulge themselves frequently on devout followers, which spawns the construction of resturaunts, bathhouses... Even the slave market. Most slaves are outlawed except for the use of feral monstergirls for taming. A tamed monstergirl will act much akin to a pet, though it still borders on being a slave due to their humanoid form. Those who want to become 'willing' slaves offer up their services as servants though legitimate channels, while bandits and kidnappers sell people and monsters through the black market, which exists in almost any society.
And so it comes down to the people living in such a world to either make a name for themselves, or be reborn again once they have failed, the goddess' rebirth cycle putting the dead back into the cycle, wiping their memories and letting them start again should they fail to be reformed, while most that give up their humanity to become Evil, or Evil itself, are banished to the torturous depths of the forgotten realms.
So, I ask you, won't you come on an adventure with me~?
A Cata-Alt. Catanautical