Kingdom of Hope

A breathtaking aerial city that sprawled across dozens of islands, all of them connected to each other by arching bridges and overflowing aqueducts built out of pristine white stone, with vibrant flags fluttering in the wind and sparkling waterfalls flowing into the abyss below.^[1]

The lands were not completely devastated yet and there were plenty of humans living on the levitating islands. There are humans traveling either across the heavenly chains or through the Sky Below by flying ships that sail through the boundless darkness. The ships looked simultaneously similar and different to the one the Fire Keepers had repaired and guided to the Ebony Tower. They were much smaller and slower and didn't have a magnificent tree growing around their masts. They looked much more ancient in comparison.^[3]

Crushing did not exist in this era. The islands rose and fell as usual but no matter high they climb, no deadly force assaulted them.^[3]

Many Nightmare Creatures were somewhat different, due to Crushing not yet existing, they have not undergone thousands of years of adaptation to learn how to survive its burden. Neither their bodies nor their behavior changed to accommodate the deadly force that would terrorize the entire region in the future.^[3]

To the west, toward the very edge of this region. The island had one of the Great Chains anchored to the lands beyond, and a mighty fortress stood at the precipice.^[1]

Main article: Red Colosseum

The island next to the mighty fortress resembled a vast stone bowl, with rows of seats cut into its weathered white slopes and a circular arena laying at its bottom, painted a dull red.^[1]

It is located on an island with a strange river that flowed endlessly through it and forms a circle around an ancient statue of War God.^[1][4] The statue itself was incredibly ancient, as it was old enough to have been created before the Kingdom of Hope was shattered and turned into the chain of floating islands by Sun God.^[5]

Main article: Ivory City

Directly to the east of the Red Colosseum, a long distance away, lay this city. It is also where the prison of Hope is.^[6] It was a large beautiful city of aerial bridges and white aqueducts and was populated by the followers of Sun God, and protected by two of the remaining five lords.^[2]

Main article: Temple of the Chalice

Main article: Sanctuary of Noctis

This island is in the eastern reaches, not too far from the Sanctuary of Noctis, covered by a vast and beautiful field of white flowers. Several clusters of beautiful white flowers grew here and there among the emerald grass. The closer one was to the fortress, the more of these flowers there were. Even in the middle of the night, their buds were open, filling the air with a faint, but pleasant smell.^[7]

There is a stronghold not too far away, the ancient fortress was bathed in the pale moonlight, looking somber and foreboding, like a cursed tomb. Its tall walls built of grey stone rose high into the night sky, and the massive gates were closed shut. Inside the empty courtyard, the signs of abandonment were pronounced as there were dust and dirt everywhere, with weeds growing through the ancient cobblestones. The fortress was desolate and hollow, devoid of anyone to inhabit and take care of it.^[7]

Here and there, human skeletons lay, still dressed in archaic garments and armor. There was no sign of struggle around them, no tears on their clothes, and no apparent wounds on their bodies. It just seemed as though the former garrison of the stronghold had lowered themselves to the ground and died for no reason whatsoever.^[7]

The island was rather large and covered by soft grass. The ancient stone columns stood tall forming three concentric circles. From above, they seemed like a sundial or moondial.^[8]

The language they spoke was not exactly the same as the ones learned in the Academy and later in the Dream Realm, but similar enough to make out some of the words.^[9]

Around a thousand years after the destruction of the real kingdom by the Sun God, only the name remained. People inhabiting these lands did not even know who the Demon of Desire was, only that she had been punished by the gods and imprisoned in the Ivory Tower and that their duty was to guard her prison.^[2]

In this duty, the people of the kingdom were led by seven lords. Two had already perished. The Ivory Tower itself had not been separated from the rest of the isles yet, and remained at the center of the region, surrounded by a large city — Ivory City.^[2]

The west of the region belonged to the second most populous faction of the Kingdom of Hope, the followers of War. The statues of War God were seen here and there in the arena. These statues of the God of War all depicted him as a mighty warrior in heavy armor, wielding a bloodied spear and a cracked shield.^[2]

The Warriors were also led by one of the lords — a beautiful priestess of War whose name was Solvane. The followers of War God and Sun God seemed to be in conflict with each other, and so were the lords leading them.^[2]

The remaining two lords were neutral and of no consequence, since their factions were much smaller and wielded no real power. One resided far to the north, and the other somewhere in the east.^[2]

• The five remaining lords were the eternal shackles mentioned in the description of Undying Chain.^[2]
• All of the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hope were driven mad by its former ruler, Hope.^[10]
• The war between the Ivory City and the Red Colosseum has been going on for centuries.^[11]
• In the future, after a tiny island crumbled into the Sky Below, the Shipwreck Island had been connected to the Twisted Rock, and then to nothing, directly bordering the Rift.^[12]
• The Rift did not even exist in this timeline.^[12]

Main article: Nightmare Creatures

The word meant something that was tainted, infected, changed, and perverted, a being cursed with some form of corruption.^[9]

Main article: Hope's Shackles