The key turns in the door with a scrape and a clunk, the massive metal doors creak open, jammed together with foliage.

The party enters the cavernous front hall, seemingly pristine compared to the courtyard that had grown into a dense tangle of thorns and trees. If it wasn't for the patches of ivy and cracks in the roof, you could think the castle had only been empty a few days at most.

Maya's scouting flames fly out across the room, bathing it in a pinkish-orange glow. It's clear that no one has been here in decades, powerful magical energy still permeates the castle grounds, scaring off those who would otherwise have looted halls long ago. As the site of the attack, the audience hall is a hotspot for energy, it makes your skin crawl as it washes over you.

Maya - As you enter the audience hall, your mind is filled with nostalgia, though not without a dash of sadness, a sprinkling of fear and an anxiety that had drifted from your memories long ago. Your tiny throne sat next to those of your parents, your father's, standing cracked and unsteady. The kitchen where you secretly snuck away at night to learn from the royal chef, now dark and quiet. The tower built to contain your powers, a restful place but unpleasant memories still permeates its walls.

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This is a revival of a project I haven't worked on in a decade or so, abandoned and mostly wiped out when I went through a phase of disliking my own work. This was all done long before I was aware of worldbuilding, so there's a lot of gaps. The lockdown currently in place has given me plenty of time for my mind to wander. Memories of this old project resurfaced and I've plenty of time to work on random projects. I don't know if I'll continue to work on this in the future but there's no harm in getting started. Unfortunately, I can't find a lot of my old work so I'm going off memories and a few bits of art other people did. Without further ado, let's get worldbuilding!

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This unnamed setting (maybe I just forgot) is set on a cube-shaped world each side distinct from one another.

Estervia, where the pictured scene takes place, was once a bustling kingdom that was lead by a royal family whose influence had them holding control over their neighbouring lands. While its environment was fairly bland, consisting mostly of plains and woodlands, it's fertile soil and abundance of building materials allowed it to quickly develop into the powerhouse it was at its peak. As you can probably guess, this era of prosperity came to an end when an attack using a reality shredding weapon that had never been seen before and hasn't been seen since. The attack resulted in Estervia being sealed away, local time going haywire and nature reclaiming much of the land. 40 years later, the seal has since broken and time is functioning as it should, it's unclear how many years have passed in Estervia but enough has passed that the few inhabitants hadn't had contact from the rest of the world in at least 4 generations.

Survivors of the attack were fairly limited, anyone within the castle land vanished without a trace, bar a few who escaped in the nick of time, most notably: Queen Obsidia, a Pyoran noble who married into the royal family, and the young Princess Maya (The 7ft pink-haired lass seen in the picture) and her then-infant sister, Ignia. That small group headed directly for the Pyoran border, they were caught in the edge of the attack just before they could reach their destination. Unlike the rest of their land, they seemingly ceased to exist for 40 years until the seal broke. They washed up on the shores of Pyora, having not aged a day, all alive and well, if a little waterlogged.

Pyora is a highly volcanic land famous for its hot springs, black sand beaches and active (though fairly small) volcanoes, located on a face of the world adjacent to Estervia. Once under the rule of Estervia, they nearly immediately took back control when they noticed the sudden lack of influence from Estervia. While their situation under Estervian rule was favourable, having direct control over themselves was much more favourable. When Obsidia and her small group of survivors arrived, they were recognised fairly quickly, but it was made clear that neither their royalty or nobility held any meaning in the modern age, though they were welcomed to live in the town they washed up near.

The other 4 lands were never fully developed at the time, only the baking hot crystalline land on the opposing face to Pyora getting any loose development.

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For those wondering, the scene above is Maya's return to her old home as an adult in search of something that was left behind during the escape that would be able to restrict her powers. The people of Pyora have a natural affinity towards fire magic, Maya inherited these powers from her mother. Unfortunately, her powers will occasionally go out of control under the influence of stress or fear, this has led to a few unfortunate incidents that were out of her control. The pair travelling with her are Estervians who offered to help her after finding her struggling to survive in the dangerous and dense forests that now cover the region.

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While this setting doesn't have its own World Anvil page, my main project has a wiki here for anyone wanting to see more of my writing work.

https://www.worldanvil.com/w/the-cutting-room-floor-raptorbricks

For more of my art and other work, check out my Twitter below.

https://twitter.com/RaptorBricksArt