The World Around Us

[Mr.Celestial]

DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD UNLESS FIRST POSTED IN THE GENERAL DISCUSSION THREAD AND APPROVED BY A GM.

[Mr.Celestial]

The Island of Denauc and the Denaucmen

Geography of the Island of Denauc

The Island of Denauc, or Denauc’thie in the language of Denauc, is an island of pure uniqueness, and many aspects, if not all, of the island are known only to it.

The Island of Denauc is a very large island, looming at a little over 800,000 mi² (about 1287475 km²), and the size of the Island has been the heated topic of many heated debates between the world’s most renowned intellectuals, most from Denauc herself, about whether the Island of Denauc is not actually a very large island but a rather small continent. The most popular opinion, however, is still that she remains an island.
Most of the Island is coated in a dense temperate rainforest, the only temperate rainforest known to the world to date; it rains more days in the year than not, a cool thin rain thankfully. The warmest part of the giant island gets to a maximum of sixty or so degrees Fahrenheit and a minimum of 40 or so degrees Fahrenheit. The thick forest is a dark green, everything painted with a lush moss and the floor of the island hidden under the brush. The main tree, one unique to the island it dominates, is the denauc, a massive tree that has an average height of a towering 350 feet, and these trees are characterized by their red-brown bark and dark green leaves. Another wildlife found only on the island is the gauntuc, a gigantic species of bear with a white-grey fur, and even though this bear sits at nearly twice the size of a normal species of bear, they are largely docile, unconcerned with denaucman affairs, making them typically unfeared.

The two cities on the island are the library-city known as the Library, the capital and cultural center, and the city of Sedinulauth, a decently sized city where almost all factories on the island can be found. The rest of the population lives in towns or ‘villages’ in the vast forests of the island; half the comparatively small population being found in the villages and the other half split between the two cities.

The Denaucmen

On the Island of Denauc, Denauc’thie, live a race of humans known as the Denaucmen, both males and females called Denaucmen.

The life expectancy of a Denaucman is nearly a thousand years, averagely around 800 or so years, and the saying goes they are not a race of man but of tree due to their longevity. The average Denaucman is slightly taller and a bit smarter than the average human, but besides that and their age, nothing really physically separates them from humanity all that much. However, Denaucmen are one of the few races known to possess druidic abilities, a type of “magic” that ties close in with the basic control of some considered ‘elements’ such as water, fire, or wind and the special powers of transfiguration using what druids call ‘songs’, so essentially, by singing or whistling a specific tune druids harness a powerful magic. The Denaucmen, by the people that know of them, are in some circles called the “curious talking trees”, and this is because of their powerful lust for knowledge. Almost all Denaucmen learn for the sake of knowing, and they delve into the greatest dangers without hesitations just to learn what lay behind it. This overbearing, powerful curiosity that defines their people has led them to great technology, sciences, philosophies, and even to have the heart of their civilization be an entire sprawling metropolis known as the Library dedicated to learning alone.

Culture and Technology

The entire island is one nation, but that possibly might change fast.

The government is ruled by a system of councils, the highest form of government once based out of the Library recently moved to Sedinulauth. Every ‘village’, villages ranging from the size of an actual village to a large town, is lead or managed by a council of twelve council members and one Elder, and these council members are picked by the council itself, a proposed new member having to have an unanimous vote in with the Elder only being able to veto, meaning he is uninvolved in the proposing and voting. The High Council is similar in the sense that there is twelve High Councilors and one Archon; the process for picking a high councilor is the same as picking a councilor save that High Councilors can only be drawn from a councilor or Elder of a village and not the general population. How a new Elder or Archon comes into place is the eldest councilor or High Councilor takes his or her place when he or she dies, and this is why this form of government is known as Seniroity Arconism. These councils have total say over the laws and systems of government. (How this was brought about will be explained in the History of the Island of Denauc, a different post.)
The politcs of Denauc’thie has always been hugely isolationist, and the only relationships the nation of Denauc share with other nations is trade, no alliances or enemies or even aquaintance governments to be found. The Island has been called the “forgotten superpower” due to its lack of relations with anyone, and the average person of the rest of the world would either not know of the island’s existence or, if they did, definitely could not show you where on a map. This is not to say the Denaucmen were never explorers, the opposite being true in fact, for the Denaucmen were, although not the ones to invent airships, the best airship builders known, their main export to where almost half the airships in the world are built on Denauc’thie, to where Denaucmen explorers were the first to have airships good enough to cross the Great Expanse, a colossal area of nothing but sky, and come into contact with the Eastern continents and islands. Now, the most Denaucmen found outside Denauc’thie can be counted on two hands.
The Denaucmen, obsessed in curiosity, once put advancement before the lives of the people; all individual rights put aside for the sake of knowledge. However, in the generation before the newest, there outbroke a philosophical movement called the Lull in the then young population, and it was a wave of pragmatism and conservatism. The population of Denaucmen became less concerned with advancement for the sake of advancement and more with a steady economy and profit, slowly turning the fervor of curiosity to the drive for economic growth, mercantilism to capitalism. This saw working conditions in factories worsen while the number of factories skyrocket, almost all in Sedinulauth, and the first robber-baron emerge with the islands railroads falling into a monopoly. The newest generation, any Denaucman born in the last 300 years, has had a philosophical revolution of sort spur from it in a philosophical movement known as the Breath, an even larger shift in thought that many scholars deem as a reaction to the older generation and the Lull, and from this movement came existential thought, nihilism, a deep disenchantment with the current government and economy, and a reignition of the Denaucman curiosity, seemingly lost for a generation yet now back stronger than before. From this movement came the creation of thoughts such as anarchism, communism, and egoism. This movement, and its political products, is supported by nearly ever, relatively, young Denaucman. Now, a tension has built up between the vastly different generations, the rebirth of passion raging against the impassioned, every demonstration for freedoms growing in extremity, but it's a slow and calm build up in reality, considering the drawn out ages of the participants. However, none but a handful of experts on neighboring islands know anything about this unrest, and even if it was known it would not make headline news. However, a more radical, passionate Island of Denauc would worry some if they were aware of its possibility.
The technology of the island is so monolithically ahead of any other nation that it is said by the few that have visited the island that it is an island that “drifted from the future”. While the rest of the world uses flintlock weaponry, horse-drawn carriages, and magic, the Denaucman are using bolt-action rifles, steam engine carriages and trains, and sciences such as chemistry and physics (basically the rest of the world is using pirate age technology while the Denaucmen use Victorian Era technology). But, the Denaucmen do not share this technology with the rest of the world, never trading or selling it, and they could almost be called stingy when it came to their knowledge. The Library is also home to the automatrons, mechanical concoctions made for specific or complex tasks anywhere from carriage driver to butler, and the higher class of the cities enjoy these luxuries, only ones in the world to do so. However, considering Denauc is not very known and neither is their advancements, they are not usually taken into consideration when people discuss anything from ‘who is the most technologically advanced’ or ‘who is the strongest nation’, so the Denaucmen being so far ahead of everyone else is not even a factor in anything really.

To summarize, it has been said that the Island of Denauc and her people is “a beautiful giant that the world has seemed to have lost under the rug.”

[Madame]

The Isles of Astria and the Astrians

Geography of the Isles

Astria is not one specific Island, but rather a collection of seven medium to large Islands that share the same monarchical government ideal and trade amongst each other.

The Isles are called Vernon, Jazzedine, Bellora, Numaire, Organa, Frankia, and Castille. They are all relatively the same sort of climate. They experience all four seasons but do not generally get hotter than 87 degrees fahrenheit in the summer. Winters vary depending on which island you visit, with the northernmost experiencing a few feet of snow each winter. Geography in each island ranges from temperate deciduous forests to great grassy planes and mountain ranges. The beasts that roam in Astria are nothing out of the ordinary from what you would find in a deciduous forest or mountain range. There did used to be beasts of magic; unicorns, griffons, and even great dragons. Those however have not been seen in quite some time, and maybe they were never seen at all and only amount to an old farmer's tall tales.

Buildings are in the structure of the late to mid 1700's, France. Which can be a tad gaudy depending on which race you speak to, but it wouldn't be called extravagance if you only went half way. Astrian's do not go half way. More is always better.

These buildings tend to be built in cities centered around a noble's castle or manor; or near it depending on how highly ranked the noble. Those closer to the royal lineage tend to live more isolated lives until social season comes around each year. Farming communities and villages branch out from these cities, and there is usually no more than a few cities per island. Some islands like Numaire are comprised of very few cities and mostly farming communities, while Jazzedine and Organa are almost entirely covered in large cities and heavily rely on import and export.

The Eight Goddesses
The religion of Astria is comprised of the worship of eight goddesses, all of whom excepting one created a particular island which must pay homage to and honour her. It is not uncommon to honour or build temples for any of the goddesses, but each island must maintain loyalty to their home's creator and "mother". Almost like a queen but more important.

Aphrodite: The goddess of the arts and mother to Vernon. She is attributed with art, culture, dancing, music, poetry and storytelling.

Hephaesta: The goddess of technology and learning, she is in celebration of science and civilization. Jazzedine is her home.

Circe: The goddess of magic and mother to Bellora. With her magic she breathed life into all that is living, and her breath can still be felt today in the form of "wind".

Hestia: This goddess is all that is nature and mother of Numaire, the biggest isle of Astria. It is said that she helped her sister goddesses to create their own islands. Without her there is nothing. Her people are comprised of farmers, and so Numaire has not been an independent nation for quite some time, always the territory of some other powerful island.

Themis: The goddess of philosophy, law and the balance between order and chaos. Twin of Thetis. Instead of temples great libraries are raised in her honour. She is mother of Organa.

Thetis: A trickster goddess of mischief, and twin of Themis. Praying to her abides mischief rather than celebrates it, and brings you good luck. Luck is an integral concept in Astrian culture, and in particular for this goddess's island, Frankia.

Urania: The goddess of the sun and stars, mother of Castille. Astrian's have the funny notion that they created wayfinding. This was taught to them by Urania, who drew the world's map in the stars for their benefit.

Mercidea: The goddess of war, she does not create and so has no island. All must pray to her is they wish to survive or be victorious in times of war.

It is both arrogant and bad luck to name a daughter after one of the great goddesses. The only exception to this rule is royalty, rarely, and nobility, rarer still. Doing so brings upon the child the societal baggage of great expectation and possible anger from their namesake goddess. There are acceptable male versions of the names that male children can be given. It is said that naming your daughter after a goddess will bring one of two things, greatness or ruin.

The Astrian's

If you asked an Astrian, they will answer that of course Astrians are the most civilized and advanced race. Ask them of their Isle compared to the others, they will answer the same thing. So, in essence, Astrian's are better than everyone else, but their particular island and its people are the cream of the crop.

The life expectancy of an Astrian heavily depends on lineage, or to be frank, how inbred you are. Some nobility have reportedly lived as long as 600 years. The average common man will live only live to be around 100, with some stretching to maybe 50 or so more years. It is to be noted that there are sometimes bastard children of unfaithful nobility running around and having children of their own. So people can tell if your father or grandmother have some nobility in them when they manage to outlive you. Pure noble lines tend to mix with other pure noble lines and produce children that carry that longevity on to their own children.

Nobles tend to be tall, and have very pale skin, but other than that no distinction can be made from other human races in the physical regard. There have reportedly been cases of certain families with a long history and military background with members that are rather difficult to kill. They poses skin difficult to penetrate, and tend to heal at an alarming rate when injured. They are also very much stronger and faster than other humans. All members of these family lines tend to have a rather pale cold complexion, almost like someone of the undead variety. Disposition, other than a general sense of pride, varies from Astrian to Astrian, and no special thing can be noted as a general personality trait for them, besides the pompous attitude of course.

Import and export in general are common things among the outer Islands, while those in the center get second hand trade mostly. Immigration is not common but Astrians are not know for xenophobia towards foreigners, and consider it flattery for someone to want to settle and make a home with their beautiful islands.

Culture and Technology

Technologically the Astrian Kingdoms are in the 1700's.

Although they are each a separate Kingdom, they hold a pact that no other race shall dominate them, and will rush to the aid of another Astrian should they need it. Even one they are presently at war with.

However, that isn't to be mistaken for generosity, it is a matter of pride. Only an Astrian nation may conquer another Astrian nation. Each struggles to climb to the top of the other in heated competition. It is never very long that the battle field dust settles. Once there was a reported fifty years in which no Astrian nation was at war with any other, however that ended when someone insulted a bridesmaid's dress at a royal wedding. That war lasted a good 374 years.

Astrian court life is full of intrigue and beguilement, deception and parries, no matter which court you visit. It is the nobles who incite the competition, and are responsible for the constant warring. Everyone wants to be richer and higher ranked and the next King or Queen. That may change since the common man is becoming more and more educated, but it has yet to be seen.

In common culture the traditional male and female roles stand, but it isn't looked down on or out of the ordinary for a woman to take the traditional roles of a man should the need arise, or should they be a royal heir that needs to uphold a certain dominance. Women do participate in war, but it is not common since they are thought of as future child baring individuals. It is becoming more and more common as time goes on. The common women are finding that even though they do not wield swords, they may still die by them, and they refuse to do so without a fight.

[HalcyonCamp]

The Archipelago of Arcadia

Geography of the Islands

Arcadia, despite being referred to as such by her [Natives address her with female pronouns] inhabitants, is not a single island. She is made up by a large cluster of 50 small islands. Some are only as large as five Seraph standing with wings tip to tip. Though the land was originally left as it was found, the islands have since been artificially interconnected with bridges magically made from the strong vines that grow on most of the islands. The bridges are kept in great condition by council despite seeing little use, as they were added to accommodate the various flightless races that have stumbled their way to Arcadia over the years.

She floats in the aether tens of thousands of miles away from any other hunk of land in a place that could always be considered spring. There are "the cold months" sometimes called Autumn, but the difference in temperature is a matter of a handful of degrees most days. None of the inhabitants that were born on the island have ever experienced snow, though they do get quite a lot of chilling rain. Arcadia's biomes exist on a gradient from deep, thick forests in the north to the multitude of pools and rivers of the south. These waters are warm and great for swimming. However, it's important to be careful as many of them have waterfalls that sweep off the edge into the unknown.

The natural fauna of Arcadia are beasts that haven't been recorded in any other place. The top of the food chain is the Cozener, they could most closely be described as sharks with arms and legs. Most of the other species have coexisted peacefully with the Seraph. A few have even allowed themselves to be domesticated.

The structures that populate Arcadia might be considered odd to offlanders. In an attempt to disrupt the natural order of their new home as much as possible, the Seraph used their knowledge of flora behavior and very little magic to grow their homes. Most of the buildings are grown so that the home is open to the air. The rain is blocked by the many leaves that function as the roof of a domicile, but the otherwise calm winds are free to be enjoyed. Glass windows aren't used in construction and are very rarely found in Arcadia. To others not familiar with Arcadian architecture, it would seem they have just live in the trees. Those that live in the southern part of Arcadia live in the caves naturally created by water over millennia with vines grown to give privacy where stone does not.

The farming community is found in the heart of Arcadia as her trees aren't as thick, but her face hasn't yet become pockmarked by pools. She grows exclusively native species of crop and is the main food source of her people. The farms are actually on a multitude of islands, many of them taking up the entire island, but due to the Seraph culture are referred to as a singular entity.

The Seraph

Seraph used to live amongst the other races both under their own rule and as servants to other races. It wasn't uncommon for a Seraph to trade servitude for their life when confronted by a stronger enemy. When they retreated from society, they numbered in the thousands and faced extinction due to swift deaths and long incubation periods. Now they are in tens of thousands.

Despite their previous reputation as a servant class race, the Seraph don't consider themselves better or worse than any other race. They aren't sure about their standing with other races anymore either as, since their disappearance thousands of years ago, most races believe them to be extinct according to the wayward travelers that have come by.

The life expectancy of an Arcadian Seraph [now the only type of Seraph] has yet to be determined. While previously thought to be 50 years, due to the Seraph's predilection for falling in combat, it is actually much longer than that. Despite the Millennia passed, most of the founding members of Arcadia are still alive and in full control of their wits. Those that perished were ended in the pursuit of finding which plants were edible or fell victim to the Cozener.

Seraph typically fall between 5'2 and 5'6, though there have been exceptions. Skin tone range matches that of a human, but have the added option of many shades of grey. Their hair is usually kept long by all not in an occupation where it would be a hazard and could be of any color. Historically, most Seraph are born with golden locks or a pale pink hue. All Seraph could be considered svelte as they don't eat much and maintain a nearly vegetarian diet.

Family lineage is proven by Way of the Wing. Every Seraph child's wings are an amalgamation of the colors and markings of the parents. Wing color, much like hair, ranges from the purest white to the darkest black and are often multicolored.

Culture and Technology

Arcadia appears on no map besides those of herself.

Arcadia is ruled not by a single being, but by a Council of Elders. The Council if a bit of a misnomer as many of the positions are filled by younger members of the society, due to the uncertain nature of their life expectancy. Therefore, it is uncommon for the oldest member of the family to serve as an Elder. Most positions are passed by lineage, but it's written in the laws that should the other Elders believe a family to be unfit to serve, they will be replaced.

None of the many Islands that make up Arcadia have names, and to refer to any of them as anything other than a part of herself is considered a grievous insult to the land herself and the Seraph. Each island must be referred to in the way one might refer to their nose or foot, a part of the whole. In a similar fashion, every Seraph is Arcadian. Despite the land being split between villages, the communities respond to no name but Arcadia.

The people of Arcadia consider themselves to be one. Each Seraph is a brother and their economy works as such. They run on a pseudo-socialist trade based economy system. Everything is considered to belong to everyone, but the villages create different goods based on their environment and they meet up 4 times a year to trade. As they do not trade or communicate in anyway with the outside world, all products are made on the island from her natural resources.

Due to the nature of their abrupt departure from the rest of Terreth, their technology is fairly different from the rest of the world. At the time of the foundation of Arcadia, their technology splintered off from that of the people that they lived amongst. They would be equivalent to above average when it comes to technological advancement, but it would be hardly likely that anyone could pick up a piece of Arcadian Tech and be able to use it properly and vice versa.

The Seraph don't follow traditional gender roles as no one seraph is considered different in anyway besides their occupation and temperament. Each job is considered to be a noble pursuit that is necessary for the advancement of Arcadia, though there is a certain amount of pride in following in your family's footsteps.

That said, it's easy to accept people that are just like you. The distance between Arcadia and any habitable space is expansive and tends to limit visitors to those that have lost their way and seek only to return home. When someone floats ashore, no matter the race, they are treated with respect and cautious optimism. A race's level of caution vs optimism reflects if the race is remembered to be kind vs malicious towards the Seraph in the past. Still, the most malicious are not made to pay for crimes they did not commit and are fed and sent on their way. There has been no precedence for anyone wanting to actually stay in Arcadia, so it is uncertain how the Seraph would react.