OOC: World Building

[ch00beh]

Well the western rainforest has the Grinlek swarms, which cause quite a bit of danger since they eat the fuck out of everything they can get their mouths on, unless the thing specifically evolved to make them go away, such as Telaen, or unless its winter. Presumably there are also boars and big cats and stuff, too. Not to mention the occasional heldyn built out of fierce animal parts, though the lesser heldyn would probably have gotten eaten by the swarms.

The Eastern one has yet to have a dangerous super species, so yeah. I like it.

Aug 11, 2010 14:30:14 GMT -5 Beelzebibble said:

Aug 11, 2010 14:16:22 GMT -5 ch00beh said:

Iasnob

At least you have the courage to admit it.

One of us has to.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

Well then, there we go. Something big and nasty for it, huzzah!

What other areas of Aleta still need a lot of touching up on?

[ch00beh]

Well now we need to flesh out Lee's idea cuz he's just leaving us hanging. And the Reaching Islands (the Archipelago) is now medium-sized-ocean-creature shapeshifters?

As far as the shapeshifters go, I'm thinking that any individual can only do one transformation. Maybe it's hereditary, or maybe it's learned, but maybe it also creates class barriers. Shark shapeshifters are usually warriors, dolphins are __________, and octopus/squids are workers and craftsmen. Dunno why they'd need warriors unless each island fights each other. Also, living is done half on the island and half underneath the water in bubble thingies. I dunno. I'll describe it better if someone wants to jump off this diving platform I just built.

With Lee's kids, I see them as being highly territorial with a thick wall made of intertwined trees around their borders. Opening the trees can only be done by another Petalaean (working name unless people like it) or someone who knows the spell, and the branches just part wherever. These cats use magic specifically tuned for growing life.

For anyone that i've PMed/IMed about the Symbol of God storyline, this whole "shaping life" may play a role in the plot.

Anyway, ambulatory plants. Thinking they could be the Petalaens means of transportation, both for people and objects. Instead of the wheel, they just figured out how to get these plants to move in the direction they want.

I dunno what else I can do with making them abhorrent, though. I guess the grafting plants into them works (oh hello ysengrim) and making plants that kill themselves to produce huge yields. Maybe they make the evil-spore-plants do something, too, so they like playing with fire.

[ch00beh]

Does this look about accurate? If you can't read a name, look at the wiki. I'm too lazy to try and turn places into links. If anyone has a better name for something, feel free to tell me.

PS. Blood, can I ask if you'd consider not making the Pal-Ovorans nomads? What with the Telaenians and the Imikasoecuaosejini, I think we got our nomads covered. Also it's very hard to justify a place having borders if its people don't stay put.

[Ninety]

Where did you find a font that has ð as a character. Or did you just type a d and then add a swoosh cuz that is cheating.

[ch00beh]

Actually I typed an o and then did a swoosh.

Hella cheating.

Go post in the fucking RP.

[Ninety]

When this project's done. It's coming along well enough.

[ch00beh]

get off the exodus and post in your goddamn project.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

Ovora was actually in the Eliralu Ocean, not the Kynen Ocean. See that very small miserable speck there? That's the Talitian tower. The rest of the island is submerged, which is why it doesn't show up on the map. When the Ovorans fled the island they hit the rain forest and went west into the desert and north into the mountains which is too hard to settle in. As for the Pal-Ovorans, sure they can all settle down, but they're still pretty small population-wise.

[ch00beh]

Oh! Ok that makes sense too.

I guess we have another open island, folks!

And I guess there needs to be some kind of justification for why Pal-Ovora is so big. Like half the size of the US big. My scale right now is the width of the continental US is the width of the base of Mt. Alasijia.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

Originally the fact that many of them were clannish nomads was why it was so much larger than it needed to be. The original reason why they moved there was because the land was very similar to the Ovora that had been told throughout the generations, causing them to believe that one of their gods had created the land for them, this would justify them settling over such a large area as well as why they would fight to keep it when it would clearly be a losing battle.

(Talitia was settled in a similar fashion. Talitia is the name of a mountain and a god that was said to live there, the nobles claimed that Talitia told them to settle there and they'd be protected, even though the priests denied ever receiving any such message. The Ovorans didn't receive such a message from any gods when they went to Paldeta, they just belief it was made for them, though I haven't decided who they think did it. Also I these gods aren't necessarily real, Ovorans just believe in them)

EDIT: Also on the wiki I'm going to change it from "Talitians" to Ovorans. I'll sum up their mutual history there then create a page for the Talitians and another for the modern Ovorans
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(This idea is for the island that you mistook for Ovora)

Collida is a matriarchal country that resides in a small island chain in the Kynen Ocean. The islands are named after whoever their current female ruler is. males are believed to be inferior, due to their inability to directly reproduce, and are kept as slaves, manual laborers and foot soldiers. Women act as officers, politicians, ambassadors, land owners, physicians and teachers.

Men, at an early age, are taught to be subservient to the women and they are often sold into slavery or to businesses as wage workers once they are no longer dependent on their mothers for life. Because male Collidans, as with male humans, can breed with any number of partners they are allowed to be handled roughly. The "best" men are sent to an island and used purely for breeding stock.

Female Collidans stay with the family from birth onward. Many times they carry the same name as their mothers and grandmothers but have slight changes in the way their names are spoken so that they can easily be identified. Once a female Collidan reaches physical maturity she may not be touched by a male unless he has permission (jobs such as bodyguards and breeding are implied to have touching involved when necessary, but harsh penalties are still brought down on these men.) The touching or harsh handling of a pregnant Collidan is met with immediate death and burning, unless it is done by another woman, which results in fines and possible jail time (unless the woman herself is pregnant).

The island of Ghemelda is the only exception to these rules. This island is where all the trade with other nations is done and is largely populated by male Collidans, as well as members of whatever country/race happen to trade their.

Collida frequently sends out ambassadors to other nations, where they attempt to bring women into power in those nations, as well as promote pro-female and anti-male legislation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Still another idea I had that I've been toying with bringing up for awhile now)

Kvidera (Temporary name, unless I decide to keep it like this)

Kvidera was once a large continent on the northern end of Aleta. Most of the continent stretched out into space and was sparsely populated, except for the edge that reached into the Reaching Ocean. To help bring life into the farther sections of the continent several Alasijian Shepards were brought onto the continent. In one of the farthest corners of Kvidera the Shepards found a large amount of magite. At that site they created another aqua sphere, though it was one that was much much weaker and more temperamental than the one on Sky's Reach.

For a time the people of Kvidera prospered. Slowly an ocean spread out and joined with the Reaching Ocean, though it was no where near it's size or it's depth.

One day a meteor shower came close to Aleta, striking the continent of Kvidera many times and eventually caused it to shatter, forming the islands now known as the Reaching Islands. The largest chunk of Kvidera, which still held the new aquasphere, was pushed away from Aleta and soon became it's "moon", where it would occasionally cause a small eclipse during the summer.

Kvidera does not enjoy a warm summer time though. Due to it's distance from Aleta, it doesn't have as much atmosphere around it. As such, the island is almost entirely frozen. in the early days after the separation from Aleta the people created large wards which captured the heat from the suns and warmed the land slightly. In the summer, around these wards, small crops are grown. Farther out hardy trees grow and attempt to survive the harsh cruel winters. During the winter food is "hunted" from the animals that hibernate during this time, but the numbers of these animals are dwindling and many fear that there will soon be mass starvation.

The aquasphere that used to bring much needed water to Kvidera has frozen over and instead brings a near constant snowfall to the land.

Next to the wards the people live in anything that can be assembled to form shelter, stone, wood, even snow and ice. The few hunting camps that dot Kvidera are made entirely of snow and ice. Many people wear fur and some animals are kept near the wards just so that they can have a good supply of fur, but these animals are small because there is not much food that can be given to them, as such little meat is obtained from them when they are slaughtered.

Not everything has turned for the worse for the Kviderans though. Many of them have adapted to the cooler temperatures and can now withstand the areas right outside of the wards protection, though not forever.

[Tout-Perd]

Aug 11, 2010 15:01:13 GMT -5 ch00beh said:

Maybe it's hereditary, or maybe it's learned, but maybe it also creates class barriers. Shark shapeshifters are usually warriors, dolphins are __________, and octopus/squids are workers and craftsmen.

Gay. The dolphins are gay.

[ch00beh]

Dope, blood. I'm thinking then that the shapeshifters could be in the southern most parts of the archipelago, and then the rest of that stuff is all frozen. Give them an overall reliance on the shapeshifters for fish and the like since aquatic life rarely ventures into the constant waterfalls-into-space of the Reaching Sea.

PS. Dolphins are so happy. Maybe they are merchants, too. And whatever else is not a laborer/craftsman/warrior. Noble? Wak.

[Tout-Perd]

On a more serious note, for the Petalaens or whatchamacallits, how about their warfare? I'm thinking they don't even really fight, but instead deploy fungal spores that hijack the growth of other nation's crops, producing poisonous fungi that only they (Petalaens) can eat. Because of this, no mainstream body will screw with them, though the brigands and hunters will still start trouble with them.

The Petalaens, despite this efficient and almost unstoppable weapon of war, have not pursued any conquest. They see their nation's form as being a perfect aesthetic ideal, and bothering to expand their borders would mean destroying the artfully constructed borders of their nation.

Also, another idea to go with these folks having the giant hedge: Using the same techniques as they do for grafting plants, they build criminals directly into the walls of their nation, facing outwards. They can use the criminals as sentries, and the obviously unpleasant experience is visible to all outsiders, a sign of what happens when the nation is slighted. If the criminal survives their sentence, they cut them down and pardon them totally for their crimes. If not, they're fertilizer.

I'll look into a good name for them.

The key thing to consider is that they AREN'T Blaises. Blaise is utterly pragmatic. These people are derranged artists, using plants to fit a certain warped aesthetic on how the world should look.

[ch00beh]

Lee, why aren't you world building more. This is exactly what I wanted for the small country that would give a reason to Tal-Hydor pre-civil-war to try and stay as a united whole with constant border patrol.

Pal-Ovora can then be repurposed as an official "demilitarized zone", though everyone lets the Ovorans chill there.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

The Ovorans are just cool like that.

[ch00beh]

Just rename it the Hydor-Petal DMZ.

Anyway, where exactly is Kvidera? You mentioned in that PM that it's floating and not the archipelago? Idk my bearings anymore.

EDIT: You know, what? Maybe Hydor did attack Petalae back in the day, and the DMZ is just a barren wasteland of fungus and overgrown castles.

I need a better name than Petalae.

Vileplume!

[ch00beh]

Bam.

Shields have now been wiki'd and they even have a crest. If anyone reads it, does it all look good?

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

I have to say I'm curious how the Shields interact with the Ovorans. Since they're clannish and already aren't fond of anyone new (including other Ovorans once you're out of Pal-Ovoros) I can see them being met with a lot of resistance, this would be before they even knew their reputation.

I'm also curious about Talitia. Since it's effectively a city-state and the Shields (since they're foreigners) wouldn't be allowed past the first Tier or two of the tower, would they even bother trying to set up a chapter in Talitia?

(Collida wouldn't be too much of a problem, all the Shields would just have to be women.)

[ch00beh]

History of attacks are also taken into account. Talitia is a very small island, so the likeliness that the heldyn have landed there is pretty small, and so the Shields probably wouldn't bother. Maybe they would keep one squad there, regularly rotated out.

As far as Paldeta, or whatever it's going to be called in the future, if we keep the place as a DMZ, maybe the Shields honor that agreement and stay out. If it was a land that was salted by the Petalaens or whatever their future name is, then they would consider it a lost cause. Otherwise, they would probably not bat an eyelash at people refusing their help and go "Oh well, their loss."

[Tout-Perd]

Quick Query: I can't find anything on the Ovorans here, and I don't want to waste time browsing on dial up. Can somebody gimme a two or three sentence summary of what their deal is? Any interesting quirks/traits as a group? Etc, etc.

[ch00beh]

They are Blood's guys on the small little island on the eastern sea (Eliralu). Basically they are a classist society on a sinking island. People who didn't leave retreated to the mountain, and the nobles made the slaves build a wall around it. Currently they have a giant tower in the middle of the ocean that is many-tiered and I think continues to be built as the island sinks more. Nobles up top, slaves on bottom, that deal.

They're not isolationist, though, and they do trade and stuff with the outside world. From what I gather, outsiders aren't allowed very far into the tower, though.

[Tout-Perd]

Also, idea for a plot: A man commits a crime in the Plant people territory. For some reason, the Shields consider him especially worth pursuing (perhaps he's a relation to an especially potent member of their group? or maybe he just really screwed something important of theirs up?)

The Shields send in a rep or two to talk with the head disciplinarian of the city, and a series of pissing contests and negotiations erupt around this one fellow. While this is going on, a group of people that the criminal got in touch with decide to try to save him, in exchange for a store of treasure that he's set aside...

[ch00beh]

I like the ellipsis you inserted there.

But I like the plot. Man so many possible plots! I don't know which ones to run at which time and which ones to turn into not-RPs. I am bad at organizing.

Also Lee, if you haven't seen it already, look above your post. we posted at the same time.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

Aug 13, 2010 0:58:32 GMT -5 ch00beh said:

They are Blood's guys on the small little island on the eastern sea (Eliralu). Basically they are a classist society on a sinking island. People who didn't leave retreated to the mountain, and the nobles made the slaves build a wall around it. Currently they have a giant tower in the middle of the ocean that is many-tiered and I think continues to be built as the island sinks more. Nobles up top, slaves on bottom, that deal.

They're not isolationist, though, and they do trade and stuff with the outside world. From what I gather, outsiders aren't allowed very far into the tower, though.

This is all correct, but it deals with the Talitians specifically. The tower is still under construction and I can't say whether or not it will ever be finished.

The Ovorans that left the island (Ovora) still refer to themselves as Ovorans. They're largely nomadic, though some of them have settled down. The nomads stay in the area by the settlements.

[{WW}BetaBloodWolf7]

The wiki page for Ovora. There are some more things I'd like to add to it, but I don't want to include too much about the ancient Ovorans or the Talitians.