Notes
Lands
Olympia (O-Lim-Pee-Ah): The first nation of the world of Olympus. Olympia, and the twelve subsequent other nations, was founded by Kronos. It's home to the largest palace in all of Olympus, and is where High King Zeus and his family resides. Their main commerce is generally taking in the wealth of the other nations as Olympia is a veritable Mecca for all talents.
Atlantis (At-Lan-Tis): One of the earliest founded kingdoms behind Olympia, it is a sea nation. Poseidon has been ruling over Atlantis for nearly half a century. In that time he has continued his grandfather's work of changing the general populace's opinion about his nation and he has come into great respect in High King Zeus' eyes. He is also valiantly attempting to fix interpersonal relations between Atlantis and Tartarus after his great ancestor tried and failed to invade and annex the entire kingdom. Their main commerce is: seafood, jewelry only found in the ocean, and horses.
Caduecia (Ka-Do-See-Ah): Ruled by King Hermes Caduecia is the smallest of the kingdoms though perhaps the most highly populated. It's been reported that King Hermes has over one hundred children. Its main commerce is medicine.
Thesmos (Thes-Moe-S): The center of produce and harvest Thesmos is ruled by Queen Demeter, who has been on the throne for two generations. Her daughter, Persephone, the rightful heir to her throne, was married to King Hades and as such she must reside in Pluto.
Heraion (Hare-E-On): Queen Hera once resided in this gilded kingdom, but married the High King not too shortly after she, herself, was seated on her own throne. In her stead a council of her most trusted advisors rule. Heraion has an order of priestesses known as the Cybele who are the best midwives in all of Olympus.
Kouros (Koo-Row-Ous): Art, music, and dance all thrive in Kouros. It is the apex of creativity and has at least one festival a week. Ruled by the youthful King Apollo, who is the son of High King Zeus, Kouros is seated just after Athens and just before Olympia. People from even the other side of the world come to see the City That Glows, because when the sun shines on Kouros it glows like a diamond in the light.
Athens (ah-Then-s): Ruled by Queen Athena Athens is a hubbub of knowledge. There are more libraries and observatories than homes, but the quick-minded people of Athens are not many. It is the smallest of the kingdoms, but one of the most influential.
Cypress (Sigh-Press): Queen Artemis is the daughter of High King Zeus as well as the semi-identical twin of Apollo. The only real difference between them, aside from the obvious gender, is that his hair is a brilliant shade of blond and hers is black, streaked through with silver and platinum. She is not an idle ruler, she hunts with a troupe of young women that she has trained called The Huntresses, who are of renowned skill throughout all of Olympia. Cypress is known for its ability to train and strengthen any young woman who does not want to be held down by or dependent upon a man.
Pluto (Ploo-Toh): A literal dark kingdom Pluto is normally shrouded in storm clouds and rain or snow by the will of King Hades. Pluto is perhaps the second or third most beautiful kingdom in the entire realm, behind Olympia, and then Kouros and possibly the biggest kingdom next to Oympia. It is built from black diamond and obsidian and onyx. Pluto's main commerce is jewelry as well as an order of priests known as the Dis Pater who specialize in funeral rites and death magic.
Eleutherios (E-Lou-The-Ree-Ous): The green kingdom of Eleutherios is ruled by King Dionysus. Wine and fighting run aplenty in this land, as vineyards stretch most of this large nation. Their main export is wine, each and every bottle perfectly fermented and aged.
Cytherea (Sigh-Ther-E-Ah): The nation for lovers, the ethereal and beautiful Cytherea is ruled by the equally beautiful Queen Aphrodite. The Cythereans have been called vain, but in reality they're simply connoisseurs of splendor. They can see the potential in even the most unattractive things. Their main commerce is beauty products.
Sparta (Spar-Ta): King Ares is a royal by blood, but he claims that anyone who can best him in hand-to-hand combat can have his throne. Sparta is a conglomerate of military tactics and combat training. Whereas Cypress is focused on the individual Sparta seems to be focused on the group when it comes to combat.
Lemnos (Lem-Nos): Possibly the most important, or second most important, kingdom of Olympus is Lemnos. In their hands are the technologies that make Olympus as successful as it has become. Ruled by the genius King Hephaestus Lemnos has assured all the kingdoms will progress to great heights, with its assistance.
Characters and Histories
The Ancients
Chaos: Mother of Nightmares, Mistress of Blood, Demon Spawner, Chaos had many names but still the only one most accurate was the one given to her at birth. Chaos' conception is up for debate, but it is said she was born out of the most intense fires of hell, from the moment sentience and thought were conceived so too was she, in flesh and bone. Her rule over pre-Olympus was one bound in blood, intestines, and torture.
Erebus: Husband of Chaos, he was formed from the foul adder of sin and temptation. His and his wife's reign stretched throughout the entirety of the world. Their mere presence was said to crush lesser men to dust.
Kronos: Overturned and defeated Chaos and the Erebus to bring forth the Age of Light. His full name was Kronos the Terrible and he was the first ruler of the world after the Chaos War and the Dark Ages. He united all of the thirteen nations by taking a bride from each and siring children giving them each a land to rule while retaining supreme power as High King, thusly creating Olympus. After thousands and thousands of years his people began to rebuild their world. Though he was the savor of Olympus, little is known of his actual rule. Historical notes denote a semi-tyrannical, but somewhat free world under him. Only those of the purest royal blood can trace their entire heritage back to Kronos.
Hemera: First wife of Kronos, she was seen more as a spoil of war than anything closely resembling a woman to be loved. Regardless of her parents' evil and of her husband's boorishness she was quite intelligent and bookish, though hot-tempered. She was said to show ill-will towards Kronos' other wives, seeing them as beneath her and her progeny. It is also said that she had a slew of lovers, but only after baring her first and only son, Tartarus.
Proteus: One of Kronos' thirteen main children, he was the first king of Atlantis. His rule established all the major sea routes that ran the entire length of the world. He had a strong affinity with the water, which is why Kronos placed him at the seat of power in Atlantis.
Tartarus: One of Kronos'thirteen main children, he was the first king of Pluto named after himself. His mother was Hemera, the daughter of Erebus, and so he has roots with both his father, savor of the realm, and his grandfather, who was seen as a far eviler tyrant. He was given Pluto for his strong affinity with earth and his keen mind for riches.
Aether: The first of Kronos' main thirteen children…
Pontus: Son of Proteus, and the second official king of Atlantis. After his father's death many on the royal council thought to claim the throne, but true to his heritage Pontus rose and cut down any enemy claiming royalty and proved that Atlantis was his birthright, and his alone. Regardless of this fact he was a clumsy ruler, who was seen as overly ambitious and greedy. He is the least renowned, and more notorious, of Atlantean monarchs.
Nyx: Daughter of Tartarus, first Queen of Tartarus…
Ouranos: Son of Aether, the second High King of Olympus and second King of Olympia.
The Thousand Years War: A clan of giants waged terrible war against all of Atlantis, demanding they give back the land that Proteus stole from them. It was a bloody war that lasted for nine hundred and seventy-six years. King Poseidon was the final victor, he drew the largest garrison of giant soldiers into a narrow pass that dropped off into a ravine, and had his soldiers simply pushed them back until not a giant was standing. The other opposing giants, seeing most of their officers and ranking officials dead, dropped their swords and fled back into the mountains on the very southern most border of Atlantis, some headed west to who knows where.