It's been 600 years since the Great Bloom of Gold Leaf came and went in Gera. Since then the colonies of the old world have grown into vast Kingdoms reaping the benefits of the rich resources available in this ancient land while simultaneously fighting for control over every inch of territory.
The colonies first emerged when the mystical Gold Leaf Flower was discovered by the first explorers. This plant is unlike any other for it holds the power to extend one's natural life nearly 150 years while making the user less susceptible to illness and plague. A priceless commodity obtainable by only the richest and most powerful of the world who are willing to pay almost anything to run their empires and fill their coffers that much longer.
But that was long ago.
The Lifewood trees that once bore this sweetest of fruits have nearly died off, over-harvested, destroyed by war or wracked with foreign disease during the initial settling of Gera. These unfortunate events ultimately ended the Great Bloom after only a decade. The remaining colonies, now mostly independent kingdoms themselves, continue even today to quarrel over what little Gold Leaf is left on the continent while growing distant, in both customs and politics, from their original homelands.
They survive on the exports of raw material goods, trading with their home ports far away, rarely trusting the other Kingdoms of Gera with any diplomatic niceties. The few Lifewoods left in the land are under lock and key, hidden within secret groves protected by towering stone Keeps. Their leaves are no longer sold on the world market but instead are reserved only for senior members of the royal families.
Meanwhile, the natives of Gera, the ancient ones who have lived upon her shores for nearly two millennia have been affected the most by the dark era that followed the Great Bloom. They are nearing total extinction themselves. Pushed inward by the colonies they have few places of refuge left to go. They pray to their sacred Lifewood trees for redemption and soon they may receive more than they bargained for.
In recent months, rumors have begun spreading among Colonist and Native alike. Whispers of a Second Great Bloom. As the Kingdoms prepare for total war, the fate of all of Gera's people hangs in the balance.
What would you sacrifice for a chance at an unnaturally long life? For the people of Gera it might just be everything.
As I’m using this world for a novel I don’t want to give too much more information out about it yet but I’m happy to answer any questions*
Finally I wanted to give a shout out to the Cartographer’s Guild for their amazing Photoshop tutorial on world building that I used to create Gera.