Aurnam

Aurnam is a vast subterranean kingdom where humanity has endured for millennia without ever seeing the sun. Carved into an endless labyrinth of caverns, underground seas, fungal forests, and ancient stone cities, the kingdom has transformed the depths into a thriving civilization sustained by engineering, ingenuity, and an unbreakable sense of community. Deprived of the surface's natural resources, the Nurmani have built an economy where food, wood, and living plants are priceless luxuries, while gold and gemstones are as common as gravel. Magic is exceptionally rare and largely forgotten, surviving only through the bloodlines of the Seven Martyrs, mysterious relics, and isolated anomalies hidden within the deepest reaches of the world. Most Nurmani distrust magic rather than worship it, believing discipline and craftsmanship—not miracles—are what allowed Aurnam to survive beneath the stone. Though outwardly prosperous, the kingdom stands on fragile foundations. The disappearance of the Crown Prince has left the ancient Avvarinam dynasty without its heir, forcing the realm's noble houses to govern in the royal family's absence. At the same time, reports of impossible blue fungi have begun appearing once more in the abandoned reaches of the Outer Ring. Officially dismissed as rumor, they mark the quiet return of Sclerothrax—an ancient fungal hive mind thought destroyed during the War of Martyrs. As forgotten tunnels awaken and entire settlements fall silent, Aurnam faces the same enemy that nearly consumed it centuries ago, one that does not conquer kingdoms through armies, but by turning their people into its own. Technology: Late medieval to early Renaissance in craftsmanship, but with astonishing underground engineering (counterweight lifts, ventilation shafts, aqueducts, cavern bridges, fungus cultivation, water-powered machinery). Magic: Extremely low. Almost mythical. Most people will never witness true magic in their lifetime.

Asmoria, the capital city and home of the Palace where the royal family resides. Aurnam, the name of the nation where the story takes place. It is entirely underground, deep, deep down beneath the surface world and cut off entirely. Ossivar, the major wealthy city that hosts the Ossirum tournaments—Aurnam's prized sport. The Rings: Aurnam is divided into three geographical rings, which simply describe how far away a city is from the capital, or the center of Aurnam—Asmoria. The Inner Ring contains vast wealth and immense beauty, fueled by the merchant and wealthy cultures of the capital itself. The Middle Ring is far more middle class, still beautiful in many, many ways. The work there is less artisan, but still primarily focused on specialties, such as various craftsmanships and arts. The Outer Ring is the ring of exploration and the unknown, and is always expanding as new cave systems are charted and explored. These cities are mostly miners and blacksmiths, adapted to survive in the toughest and harshest conditions that the great kingdom of Aurnam has to offer.

Nurmani: The people that live in Aurnam. They tend to have pale skin, extremely pale eyes that have adapted to the darkness, and pale hair. They have adapted to living with no sun. Those born in the Inner ring are wealthy artisans and merchants, often born into some noble house and have access to many forms of education. They are sophisticated and honorable, and value beauty and sport. These cities tend to be intricately decorated and full of amazing trinkets, often serving as the poster children of Aurnam and her capabilities. The middle ring are more middle class, and though very artistic and valuing peace and beauty, tend to pick up more trades.

The royal family is in tatters following the "death" of the crown prince (who isnt actually dead, just ran away, but they dont know that). Power has fallen to the lords and ladies of the land, who do their best but are not the crown. The royal family is the Avvarinam family, having been in power for countless generations and known to be wise, kind rulers. The loyalty they have earned from the people is so astounding, no noble family sought to take their place when the heir went missing. Sclerothrax is returning, which is a deadly and conscious hive-mind virus that threatened to destroy and corrupt the entirety of Aurnam once before. It was thought to have been destroyed during The War of Martyrs, where The Martyrs—seven people with unique magic—sacrificed themselves to destroy the virus. The blue fungal threat is creeping back into Aurnam, starting in the outskirt cities and sneaking closer. Being sentient and intelligent, Sclerothrax is capable of making decisions that increase its odds of success, and fights to its strengths. The virus is a hivemind, meaning there are central locations, dubbed "Mothers" during the War of Martyrs, that control the outreach of the entire thing. It also means that tripping the system alerts everything nearby, like a spiderweb. Killing one simple husk would be noticed by the hivemind.

Magic is restricted to anyone from the Martyr bloodline, and is incredibly rare. Some lesser magics, such as light sources, can be found as well.

None

Trade for the rich involves natural, organic items since growth and farming is a surface world thing. Wealthy merchants trade and sell things such as meat, grains, fruits, etc. Poor folk trade and sell things found in the caves, such as gold, gems, and rocks. Gold and gems bear zero value, as they are found in plenty. Living things from the surface bear the most value.

The law, guards, and military, are very fair and just. Adventurers are not super common, as the only places to explore are the insanely dangerous Outskirts of Aurnam.

Sclerothrax, which is essentially a fungal virus. It is sentient and intelligent, and is a hive mind type threat. It corrupts people and animals, which it uses to either spread itself via death or corrupt others. One of its many symbols is vibrant blue fungi. Sclerothrax is the primary antagonist, a massive intelligent hive mind of fungus that seeps into stone and consumes it. It spreads through decay and spores, so it often infects Nurmani miners so they can move, implode, and serve as waypoints for the spread of fungus. There are many different classifications of Sclerothrax corrupted. The most common is the Husk, or essentially a zombified corpse of a Nurmani that is shambling around with the intent to spread its spores to other living things. More uncommonly is the Wight, a far bigger, older corrupted being (whether an animal or a human), that is soley focused on seeking out human prey to turn. Their bites are potent with Sclerothrax spores, and can self destruct into a cloud of it when outnumbered. The major threats are known as Elders, which are heinous beings comprised of multiple Husks or Wights, congealed together into one massive mutilated corpse. They are insanely dangerous and damn near impossible to kill, and are the only Sclerothrax beings with enough intelligence to communicate. However, they communicate through telepathy, and their voices can either kill someone or drive them mad. Most are completely unable to recover after hearing the voice of the elder. The "Mother" of Sclerothrax is the hive mind, hidden somewhere in Aurnam where nobody knows. The original "Mother" was destroyed in The Maw during The War of Martyrs, but Sclerothrax had intelligently created a smaller, far weaker backup somewhere else.