Prologue
One continent separated into 12 regions, in association with zodiac signs. Aries, Taurus, Pisces, Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Virgo, Libra, Cancer, and Scorpio. They all have their animalistic features depending on which region they're from as well as their signs on their wrist.
Leos have lion tails, ears, and long, wavy hair. They live in the desert with the Scorpio, often fighting over territory with them. Pisces live under the sea. They have scales peppered around their bodies like freckles, webbed hands, and fish-like tails. They have the ability to switch between their water forms to the ones they use for land. Geminis are always born with a twin and if one gets hurt or dies, the other does too. They live in the mountains, near the Aquarius cloud-lands, but not quite that high.
Aries resemble the Ram, with curled horns, small tails, and horizontal pupils. They live in the mountains next to the Geminis, who they're currently fighting for resources found by mining in the caves. Sagittarius are centaurs, bottom half horses, top half human. They are often categorized as sharpshooters, their main weapons being bows. They live in the forests, next to the marshes and Capricorns.
Taurus resemble bulls, with strong builds, horns, long tails with short fur and a tuft of hair at the end, and short tempers. They live in between the plains with the Virgo and the desert with the Scorpio and Leo. Though the Virgo don't get along very well with the Taurus, they don't fight. The Taurus spend their time battling the Scorpio for land in the desert. Capricorns live in the swamp lands next to the forest with the Sagittarius. They look like the Aries, but with Pisces features as well; curled horns, webbed hands, legs, but an axolotl tail. They live in the marshes and swamps, which are next to the forests.
Aquarius live in the clouds, their land sheltered off from the wars being fought below. They have the ability to manipulate the air, often the reason gusts and storms appear out of nowhere. They dislike fighting on the land, so they do anything they can to stop it. However, the actions of the ones on land are out of their control, so all they can do is postpone the inevitable battles with the aforementioned storms and gusts. They're often depicted as Gods and Goddesses, though they don't see themselves that way. That's not to say some of the Aquarius don't accept the role, and decide to use it for their own gain.
Virgos are the ones that can control the earth. They live in the plains, which are perfect for their farming, since they're vegetarian. They hate the fighting as well, since it disrupts the delicate balance in the earth. They don't take action against the conflict, lest they anger their goddess, Avani (Ah-vah-nee), the goddess of life.
Libra, the more level headed of the races, often are said to be the most technologically advanced. They hold intelligence none of the others have yet discovered. All of this knowledge is held in a grand library in the Capitol of their land in the valleys, Tula (Too-la). The scrolls and books inside that temple-like building have been passed on, protected, and added to over millenia, each new generation discovering something more groundbreaking than years past.
Cancers live on the beaches, often handling the trade between the races on land and the ones in the water. They prevent contraband from making its way between the regions. Contraband consisting of drugs, parasites, and invasive, amphibious species that could potentially kill off several, vital species in the swamps. They have red hair, like that of a crab, and freckles all along their body.
Scorpio, the scorpion race that lives in the desert, are the most vicious and brutal race out of them all. They have tanned skin and sandy blonde hair, as well as pure black eyes, save for the sclera. Their spines grow into a coiled tail with a stinger at the tip that produces a venom they named Jvālā (Jwaa-laa). The venom spreads through their system so quickly, the infected don't have time to ask for help before they feel like their entire body was engulfed in flames.
Death takes hours, and throughout the time the infected is alive, the burning sensation lingers. Their veins bulge from their skin and blood vessels in their eyes pop, making their sclera completely blood red. They end up coughing up blood because of their torn vocal chords, which they damaged by screaming through the burning pain. The Scorpio never use their tails unless completely necessary. Even those who have used it end up killing themselves after due to the guilt of inflicting that torture on another creature. Pricking someone with their tails is seen as taboo, so it's not really used often, even during territorial battles
For years, the 12 regions, save for the Aquarius and Virgo, have been at war with each other, but it wasn't always this way. There was a time where all was at peace, everyone coexisting in a perfect harmony, mingling with other races, until one of the races decided that the harmony wasn't nearly enough for them.
The leader of the Capricorns, Anūpa (Ah-noo-pa), wanted complete control over all the regions, and, for a while, her wish was granted. During that time, Queen Anūpa's laws were set in place, though none had the public's best interest in mind. She saw her subjects as slaves. Puppets and pawns designed to do her bidding.
Feeling betrayed and used, the ones that had supported her cause in the beginning had seen the error of their ways, and began to gather their own army to rebel against the tyrannical queen. This was the beginning of The Great War, a war between the rebellion and the kingdom.
After ten long years of seemingly endless battles, the rebellion eventually claimed victory over the monarchy. Celebrations took place, everyone thankful and overjoyed by the end of Anūpa's rule, but things weren't as they seemed. Propaganda from the war had races turning on each other. The peace they had fought to restore, ruined again by the lies fed to the public.
People were led to believe Taurus and Leo's were too brutish to be accepted by the new civilization, so they were the first to be cast away. Taurus men, women, and children fled to the plains while Leo's found home in the harsh desert. Later, a Scorpio accidentally pricked someone with their tail, taking a life. Since then, the Scorpio have been deemed too dangerous to associate with, and were banished to the desert, not knowing that's where the Leos took refuge.
For a while, the Leos and Scorpio lived in peace. That was until resources began to tank and people began to panic. Mass hysteria had plagued the two tribes. Leos being killed by Scorpio, Scorpio being attacked by Leos. No one was safe. The leaders of each tribe has recognized this and had established boundaries between Vṛścika (Vrish-chi-ka), the land of the Scorpio, and Siṃha (Sim-ha), the land of the Leo.
Not long after, the Virgo and Aquarius had disappeared into their own lands because of the rising conflicts between the rest of the tribes. Virgos fled to the plains with the Taurus while Aquarius sought sanctuary in the sky. They both set into their roles as guardians of the Earth and Sky, using their powers to maintain the balance the other tribes had no idea they're destroying.
Gemini and Aries left to live in the mountains to be more in tune with their elements. The Aries made their home, Uṣṇatā (oosh-na-taa), near the volcano at the tip of the mountain and the Gemini settled down in the more wind-prone areas of the mountains which they decided to call Parvata (Par-va-tah). They ignored each other for a while before a Gemini miner had found an abundance magic-conducting crystals called Sphaṭika (Sp-ha-tea-ka). Aries had wanted to negotiate with the Gemini for trading privileges since Sphaṭika is what all the tribes use to harness their elemental power, but the Gemini wanted to hoard it for themselves. Ever since then, Aries and Gemini have been in countless political arguments about the sharing and hoarding of the crystal.
Libra had believed that emotion was equivalent to weakness, so they and the people of Cancer never got along. When the Cancers left for the shoreline region they named Samudratīra (Sum-uh-druh-tee-ruh), the Libra had found home in the valleys between the Aquarius Mountains and Claws of the Gemini mountains, which they named Upatyakā (oo-pah-tya-kaa). While the Cancer tribe had embraced their emotional ways, the Libra's adopted the belief that intelligence and logic trumped emotions. They believed that emotion led to the end of logic, so the eight High Scholars, the leaders of the tribe, made it a rule that their subjects' lives would be predetermined. The high scholars are in charge of writing out every newborn's life. Originality had disappeared behind structure and the need for control.
The Pisces had retreated into the ocean not long after the Cancer tribe had made their home on the shores. Under the sea, they made a civilization that would make Atlantis look weak in comparison. They named their kingdom Nara Varuṇa (Nuh-ruh Vuh-roo-nuh). There, they settled and began to build towers and palaces. Some of the towers were so tall they poked out of the water from the floor of the ocean, most people mistaking tips of the towers for islands and passing them by without a glance. They often trade food and resources with the Cancer tribe, but other than that, the Pisces tribe don't contact anyone else.
The Capricorns that were left after Queen Anūpa was defeated were ashamed by their leader's actions, so they hid in the marshes. This left the Sagittarius the forest.
Even after generations of so-called “peace”, the tribes were as out of harmony as they've ever been. Just when all seemed lost, an Aquarius came down to bestow upon the people of the land a prophecy. The prophecy states that 13 people, one from each tribe, will rise against the oppression and lead the races to peace once more. 13 heroes born to put an end to the conflict and aggression. 13 warriors, said to appear on the darkest day. But, really, who knows if they'll be enough to save the tribes?
