World Information & Lore

History of Tremel

Pokémon have wandered Tremel for prior to the dawn of recorded history. Tremel’s written history is very much centered around the infamous Age of Disasters. Prior to the Age of Disasters, written accounts of Tremel were incredibly scarce, with oral history being the main form of record keeping. Historians of Tremel can only theorize why it was only after the Age of Disasters that written history became popular but a common opinion is that it had to go hand in hand with why Pokémon began to congregate into villages, towns, and cities. Whatever truly happened during the Age of Disasters had thoroughly changed how Pokémon lived on Tremel- and beyond.In the centuries prior to and leading up to the Age of Disasters, there were very precious few communities to speak of. Pokémon were nomadic and traveled in tribes or warbands made up of family and friends, moving with prey and seasons in order to survive. When the first calamity struck, Tremel was thrust into chaos: the land was rife with natural and unnatural calamity alike, tearing through the land and families alike with no heed for who or what was harmed in the process.No one is truly sure what caused the first calamity, nor the others than followed; religious ‘mons believe that they were caused by gods, punishing the Pokémon of Tremel for their sins; mages theorize that ambient ley energy swelled and burst, causing a cataclysmic reaction to spark across the land; and it’s not uncommon for the laymons’ to say “it just happened,” and move on with their lives. Though its origins are unknown, its legacy is infamous throughout Tremel.This marked a significant changing point in Tremel, both historically and socially. Pokémon across the south of the continent started forming alliances with one another, tribes that previously fought over the same hunting grounds or water sources pooling their strengths to survive the disasters around them. Together, these larger bands created small settlements and communities where they could weather through the worst of the calamities. Even as the disasters faded, the alliances and kinships forged during this time were not disbanded, leading to the creation of many of the major cities and towns today.In the north, however, individual tribes and bands did not come together as they did the south, choosing instead to flee across the continent in order to avoid disaster as it struck. Though many lost their lives, the spirit and strength of the northern Pokémon allowed them to survive and weather the storm. This led to the stark division of Tremel today: in its current day, the north of Tremel remains unsettled and untamed, while much of its southern regions have changed from their old nomadic and unburdened lifestyle and shifted to rely heavily on communities, with farming villages, market towns, and port cities dotting the landscape.Over the past seven hundred years, four port towns had grown into major cities that now command a great deal of power over Tremel: Fairfort, Kora City, Spearpoint Bay, and Elmheart. The four cities are seen as the centers of their respective regions. Fairfort over the Courier Isles; Kora City over the Blue Plains and Estoran Grasslands; Elmheart over the Spirit Meadows and Sage Lakes; and Spearpoint Bay over the Lexin Desert and Arrogant Mountains. Each city is a center of trade, and houses thousands upon thousands of Pokémon who live and work in and around the cities.Along with these major cities, numerous towns have been founded and grown during the past seven centuries. With them came security, trade, and new homes for ever-wandering Pokémon to settle down in and live slower, safer lives. Though the development of cities and towns happened over hundreds of years, not all of Tremel is open to this way, to what the major cities boast as “civilization.”The old ways of living off the land, traveling in tight-knit groups, protecting one's family, have been almost completely eliminated in the south, but remain the standard of life in the “Wildlands” to the north. Most who live in these lands dislike the south’s disconnection with the natural ways of life, and many in the south find the lifestyle of the “wildlings” to be brutish and dangerous; the way Pokémon should live has been a point of conflict since the Age of Disasters.

The All-Creator and the 1000 Arms

The main religion Pokémon follow within Tremel, in the metropolitan South and the wild North alike, is the All Creator. A god among gods, they were fabled to have created the universe and all elements within through their sheer power- and help from their 1000 Arms.Oral history of the events vary in their order but a general consensus in the stories is that these are the first six arms: Time, Space, Anti, Emotion, Knowledge, and Willpower. The first arms to come into existence and create in the All Creator’s name, they wield an untold amount of power and play a major part in the formation of reality. Casting their respective elements into the new universe, together they built the fabric of space and time, Aura, the souls of the living to be, the laws of natural world, and Ley power.Today, while they are as revered as their master, much still revolves around the All Creator in the end. Every town and city has a temple dedicated to them and teachings revolve around the core ideas of growth, kindness, charity and empathy for those around oneself. Every Temple is headed by a Speaker of the Creator, a head priest in simpler terms, with ones called Servants of the Arms below them.The centers of the faith are the Grand Temple’s, one in each of the four major cities of Tremel. The largest and most influential is the Fairfort Grand Temple, which houses the All Council: a group of elders who determine the future of faith and train the newer generations of Speakers.Grand Temple not only serves as a training location for the faithful, but for the medically inclined as well; each Grand Temple also serves as a hospital and place of higher learning in general. While they cannot compete with the multitude of schools located in Kora City, they provide an ample opportunity for advanced education to all Pokémon. Disciple Marks are also a focus of Grand Temple’s, as the rigorous testing to determine a Pokémon’s abilities in holding these symbols is done at the end of each season.Another aspect of the All Creator faith unique to Tremel is that day to day schooling is provided at all Temples for children and the faithful. All Temples, by decree long ago, must have an accessible library along with teaching basic reading and writing to those of all ages. Today this has been reinterpreted as providing a basic overall education to the young to help them in their future.Finally, every Temple provides a basic service to all Pokémon who can afford it: the ability to channel evolution. The items for evolution are rare and the rituals to perform evolutions that need more than just items or inner strength are complicated to do without training.Each Temple employs an Evolution Master who guards a room with the aforementioned sacred items and the knowledge of the complex rituals needed for a Pokémon to move on to a higher state of power. Pokémon can evolve without their help of course, but it is rare to be able to do so and without harm as well.

Magic in the World of Tremel

Magical energy, or “ley energy”, is derived from the earth. It is a mystical force unlike aura—or “life force”—found innately within all Pokémon, and the source of Pokémon’s moves and abilities.Contrary to life force, ley energy allows for the use of magic, which is a broader and far more flexible power with few counters aside from other forms of magic. For example, an attack-boosting spell cannot be disabled by opposing abilities that might mitigate stat changes. Most major magicks and spells are more powerful than moves and abilities, but clever usage of a move could still counter magic—get creative!

Ley Lines

As ley energy is not naturally found within Pokémon, a Pokémon that wishes to use it must tap into a wellspring of ley energy known as a ley line.Ley lines are an invisible magical force found throughout the world flowing like threads in a web. They are used as sources of ley energy and can be channeled by those trained to do so, so long as they are able to find them. Ley lines can be seen only using special Divination magic, and they appear thicker and more dense depending on how much energy is contained within them. Some locations in the world are naturally stronger in ley energy than others.Ley lines can also be found in places of magic such as the Elmheart Research Institute and some temples, which have been deliberately built upon dense ley lines.See Disciplines of Magic and Spells for examples of the uses of magic and ley energy.

Becoming a Mage

In order for a Pokémon to become a mage, they must acquire an Elmheart Certificate. These can be bought at the Fire Sale for 13,000 A, received as rewards for events, or traded between group members. Upon receiving an Elmheart Certificate, you must pick one of the Disciplines of Magic to specialize in, which should be listed on your application along with the link to your purchase/earning of the item.Spells of the mage’s chosen Discipline cost less Spell Points to use. See Limitations on Magic for more information on Spell Points.How you choose to depict your character’s journey to becoming a mage is up to you. Though it is extremely common in Tremel for mages to have studied at the Elmheart Research Institute, this is not a hard rule at all.