The Diaemus Project

[Young Bard]

So kinda awkward but I only just realized this thread exists despite the insanely large number of posts and details from some of my favourite Sharders.   

Anyway, awesome work you guys!

 

I'm one of your favourite Sharders? Why, thankyou! 

 

Anyway, if you want to join, go to this page, and select a piece of land to work with. That's... basically it. Enjoy!

Edited October 3, 2015 by TheYoungBard

[Curious Anamaximder]

I'm back! Should be getting bios up soon for more creatures.

[Zed]

The eskimo nomad dwarf race thing I have been developing is called the Kall Dvärg (which translates into Cold Dwarf in Swedish (thanks Google Translate)). They are basically a human-like race whose max height is about 4 feet tall, and the tallest could be 4 ½ feet. They are a hardy race, who can survive off of a bit more than humans can, so like little shrubs and bits of grass (although those are scarce in the regions).

 

They live in Kvef (once again, google translate taught me that the noun cold is kvef in icelandic this time), a snowy ice-mountain region, as I have specified in an earlier post. They mostly live in ice caves or almost burrow down into the deep snow to create their own caves.

 

In order to survive, they use a kind of elemental fire magic, where the power of the magic is negatively proportional to their current core body heat. If they are freezing to death, they will be able to create a huge inferno, but if they are toasty warm, they can make a basic campfire. It basically controls how much power they have, because if they summon a huge fire when dying of cold, the fire will warm them up and they will lose power.

 

Every year or so, they move to a different place, because they have essentially melted everything in that vicinity, so they move to let the snow gather again. They have a ruling council of 7 elders, and basically they vote, and their word is law. The elders are decided by more or less those who have survived in the cold the longest, as they have an adulthood ritual. You get thrown out of society when you turn 15 years of age, and you can return whenever you want, but your rank and status in the society depends on how long you can stay out. Some Kall Dvärgs just stay exiled and live a life away from everyone else.

 

Please ask any questions, and I am always open to constructive criticism.

[Kobold King]

The eskimo nomad dwarf race thing I have been developing is called the Kall Dvärg (which translates into Cold Dwarf in Swedish (thanks Google Translate)). They are basically a human-like race whose max height is about 4 feet tall, and the tallest could be 4 ½ feet. They are a hardy race, who can survive off of a bit more than humans can, so like little shrubs and bits of grass (although those are scarce in the regions).

 

They live in Kvef (once again, google translate taught me that the noun cold is kvef in icelandic this time), a snowy ice-mountain region, as I have specified in an earlier post. They mostly live in ice caves or almost burrow down into the deep snow to create their own caves.

 

In order to survive, they use a kind of elemental fire magic, where the power of the magic is negatively proportional to their current core body heat. If they are freezing to death, they will be able to create a huge inferno, but if they are toasty warm, they can make a basic campfire. It basically controls how much power they have, because if they summon a huge fire when dying of cold, the fire will warm them up and they will lose power.

 

Every year or so, they move to a different place, because they have essentially melted everything in that vicinity, so they move to let the snow gather again. They have a ruling council of 7 elders, and basically they vote, and their word is law. The elders are decided by more or less those who have survived in the cold the longest, as they have an adulthood ritual. You get thrown out of society when you turn 15 years of age, and you can return whenever you want, but your rank and status in the society depends on how long you can stay out. Some Kall Dvärgs just stay exiled and live a life away from everyone else.

 

Please ask any questions, and I am always open to constructive criticism.

 

Most intriguing! A couple of questions:

 

• Do you mean that the entire species is united under seven elders, or that individual tribes are led by seven-man councils? I reckon that a species-wide government would be hard to maintain for a nomadic tribal society.
• Where on the world-map did you intend for these guys to live? I currently inhabit the only polar mountain range I am aware of. While your kind would be welcome to live somewhere on the mountains in small numbers, I'm afraid the inhabitants I designed wouldn't be too keen on sharing the slopes of the mountains with anyone who makes a habit of melting the ice they come across.

 

Now for new Diaemite animals!

 

 

Woodstalker (Arbokopisaurus) ((Requested by Mailliw73))

 

Like a dinosaurian grizzly bear--or better yet, a freakish cross between a theropod dinosaur and a dirk-toothed wolverine--the woodstalker prowls the southern taiga of Diaemus, preying on a wide variety of mammals and dinosaurs. It is a temperate relative of the snowsaber, with which it shares multiple features; chief among these are the animal's powerful forelimbs and specialized front fangs.

 

The woodstalker takes the quadrupedal gait further than the snowsaber. While the snowsaber runs on all fours only when covering great distances, the woodstalker is as much a quadruped as any mammalian carnivore. The forelimbs are just as strong as the hind legs, and the woodstalker rarely rears itself upright. The only times you'll find an upright woodstalker are when the animal's making a threat display, or when it's snapping branches off trees to mark its colossal territory.

 

Preying on a more varied diet than its polar relative, the woodstalker has front fangs that are less developed and more multi-purpose. They are not quite as efficient at slicing the jugular veins of large prey animals, but in exchange are shorter, sturdier, and allow the woodstalker to pursue a wider range of prey. This makes the twenty-foot long carnivores far more dangerous than the larger snowsabers, as they're more than willing to chase down and devour a stray human or Dromean...

 

Fortunately for their prey, woodstalkers are solitary creatures, and cannot usually be found coexisting within a territory. Their fur is a deep brown, almost black, and the animal makes little to no use of magic save for stripes of orange lumuoles which strengthen the limbs when climbing trees. It is not uncommon to find the carcass of a medium-sized animal stuffed at the top of a tree, the only clue to its demise being the savagely torn holes in its throat from a woodstalker's fangs.

 

 

Song Krake (Asproceras)

 

Meanwhile, the Twilight Ocean resounds with the haunting, mournful songs of large white animals pushing through the arctic water. An Earthling boater might catch a glimpse of the pale white shapes moving under the surface of the waves, and conclude that they were beluga whales or some hitherto unknown white seal. Those guesses could not be further from the truth, for a glimpse at a pod krake under the water reveals an ivory-white shell curled above a mass of squirming tentacles and two huge, squid-like eyes.

 

In the Twilight Ocean, ammonites are highly prevalent. These mollusks are much like squid save for the spiral shells they shield their bodies with, and which can be used for the storage of buoyant gases to aid the ammonite in floating or diving at will.

 

(Example ammonite:

 

 

The song krake is a particularly large ammonite, just over the size of a small car. They swim in pods of twelve to twenty animals, which keep in touch with constant mournful tones blared at each other through the water. It is for these songs that the animals are named, and it is for them that they are known amongst the tribes and people of the southern coasts. (Probably. I really have no idea what those backwater savages water drulgas value in an animal.)

 

Like most marine animals of the Twilight Ocean, song krakes make use of blue lumuoles sprinkled throughout their bodies to keep their blood from freezing in deep, icy waters. The highest concentrations are located at the tips of the tentacles, which are swirled and dangled in the water enticingly to attract arctic fish which require lumuole consumption for their survival. Some fish get away with nibble away bits of the tentacles, which the song krake can grow back given enough time; the majority, however, are snatched up and shoved into the white-shelled beast's gaping maw.

[Sir Jerric]

 

• Where on the world-map did you intend for these guys to live? I currently inhabit the only polar mountain range I am aware of. While your kind would be welcome to live somewhere on the mountains in small numbers, I'm afraid the inhabitants I designed wouldn't be too keen on sharing the slopes of the mountains with anyone who makes a habit of melting the ice they come across.

 

Small correction here: While the highlands represent a large region of significant altitude change, I pointed out previously that smaller scale mountain ranges can be practically anywhere. The H regions are the only ones significant enough to create unusual temperature differentials and to cast broad rainshadows. A highland region can be fairly flat for broad swathes, so long as the altitude is significant.

 

As long as Zed places them in a polar region and keeps the average elevation under 2500 feet (750 meters), there is no conflict with the current cartography. And do note the word "average". A highland region occasionally dips below 1800 feet. The rest of the map occasionally gets above 2500 feet.

 

There is plenty of flexibility to customize the landscaping in any region of the map. All I've provided are the weather trends that should be referenced for plausibility's sake.

[DanTheSeamonster]

I need help. I have plenty of ideas for animals, but I have no idea what kind of plants I want to populate my steppes. Any bright ideas??

[Zed]

Most intriguing! A couple of questions:

 

• Do you mean that the entire species is united under seven elders, or that individual tribes are led by seven-man councils? I reckon that a species-wide government would be hard to maintain for a nomadic tribal society.
• Where on the world-map did you intend for these guys to live? I currently inhabit the only polar mountain range I am aware of. While your kind would be welcome to live somewhere on the mountains in small numbers, I'm afraid the inhabitants I designed wouldn't be too keen on sharing the slopes of the mountains with anyone who makes a habit of melting the ice they come across.

 

    I didn't really think of that, but now that you bring it up, I think that there will be a 7-man ruling council for 9 nomadic tribes, and there is an elder on each of the councils whose only extra power is to group with the 8 other high council members for decisions regarding the whole race. I will think up names for the tribes later.

 

I do believe I tried to claim a spot, and I saw it in an updated map, but I don't know how to add a spoiler, as I am a bit new to this, so could someone please explain?

Edited October 4, 2015 by Zed

[Young Bard]

@Zed: You have claimed your spot. To view it, see here. You are actually very close to Kobold, sitting right on the Arctic Line, with some mountains in your territory. You should be fine.

[Chaos]

What that means is that we need to create new pages for various things in the Creator's Corner as we need it, clutter up the Creator's Corner, and then we get a subforum.

Okay, I would just like to say that while a subforum could theoretically be a thing that could happen, trying to do that by saying "Hey guys we need to clutter the board!" is not really a way that you're going to engender sympathy. Like really? Come on. Don't be like that.

It could happen eventually, but come on. Maybe I am merely annoyed from the way you said that, but I think my annoyance is justified. Read that sentence again.

[Mailliw73]

Kobold, how large are Woodstalkers?

[Mckeedee123]

Okay, I would just like to say that while a subforum could theoretically be a thing that could happen, trying to do that by saying "Hey guys we need to clutter the board!" is not really a way that you're going to engender sympathy. Like really? Come on. Don't be like that.

It could happen eventually, but come on. Maybe I am merely annoyed from the way you said that, but I think my annoyance is justified. Read that sentence again.

I don't suppose we actually even need a subforum, or even multiple pages. :/ If Kobold is willing, we could probably just use the OP as our library.

[Mailliw73]

I don't suppose we actually even need a subforum, or even multiple pages. :/ If Kobold is willing, we could probably just use the OP as our library.

I definitely don't think we need a subforum, unless maybe we start RPing in this world. But I do think the three pages we have now are sufficient.

[Young Bard]

Okay, I would just like to say that while a subforum could theoretically be a thing that could happen, trying to do that by saying "Hey guys we need to clutter the board!" is not really a way that you're going to engender sympathy. Like really? Come on. Don't be like that.

It could happen eventually, but come on. Maybe I am merely annoyed from the way you said that, but I think my annoyance is justified. Read that sentence again.

 

 

Chaos, I'm really sorry if that's how you interpreted it that way. It's not what I meant at all. We had discussed the theory of multiple pages before that, but we didn't create any because we thought it might be smarter to wait for the subforum to open up. So, when Rubix said "it's not necessary at this time", I thought that was because there was only a single page at that time. It wasn't in any way meant to be a blackmail technique, or anything underhanded. It was just supposed to mean "Hey, everyone, let's just create those pages we were going to create now instead of after the subforum is up." I'm sorry if I offended you through my poor choice of words. For the record, I'll rephrase it now.

[Kobold King]

Kobold, how large are Woodstalkers?

 

Fifteen to twenty feet long from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, and five to six feet tall at the shoulder. The body's pretty short and compact, like a wolverine's.

 

The size will depend on the prey available in the taiga, of course. If there are a lot of iguanadonts or other large herbivores, then the current body size will be just fine. If the only prey in sight are things like deer or muskoxen, though, I'll have to tone down the size.

 

 

Twi, if the song krakes meet with your approval, I have ideas for other species of krakes to flesh out your namesake ocean a little more.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Kobold King

[Curious Anamaximder]

Kobold, on the main page can you link the timeline of Diaemus?

[Mailliw73]

That's actually fairly close in size to the Sarmu. Sarmu are just a couple feet shorter in length and maybe a foot shorter in height.

[Kobold King]

Kobold, on the main page can you link the timeline of Diaemus?

 

Can do, if it's been completely accepted by now.

 

 

That's actually fairly close in size to the Sarmu. Sarmu are just a couple feet shorter in length and maybe a foot shorter in height.

 

Yep. Of course, Sarmu fill a much different niche in the ecosystem, so the two carnivores are more than capable of living in the same environment.

 

 

Just so everyone's aware, I posted a potential run-down of lumuole cellular biology here. I'd like for all interested parties to take a look at it--especially you, McKeedee.

[Mailliw73]

Yep. Of course, Sarmu fill a much different niche in the ecosystem, so the two carnivores are more than capable of living in the same environment.

I was actually thinking that the woodstalkers would hunt snifflers and sarmu in the north. Sarmu teeth aren't made for large chunks of meat and would rely on the humans to kill the woodstalkers for them.

[Lindel]

Now that we have the Diaemus Biology thread, I assume we should post updates on flora and fauna there?

[Sir Jerric]

I believe someone had suggested that the biology thread and its ilk be used for repositories of "finished" or "current canon" inofrmation, and that drafts and discussion occur here. At least, that would be the way I'd want to use it, since looking up the info would be easier if each creator made a single post and edited their latest records into it.

 

In other news, there will be a hold up on any new maps, My desktop is developing a hard drive problem, and I am no longer opperating it until I can make a stab at cloning the data to a new unit. Unfortunately, I have not posted the working file of my maps to any cloud storages, so all my mapping is on hold. In the worst case, I would have a huge amount of work rebuilding most of the layers using the maps already shared, but it would be doable. Oh well. We shall have to see in a few days.

[Lindel]

Fair enough. In that case, here's an update on a few things I've got so far. It's still not much, as school has kept me pretty busy. Hopefully things will calm down when the term ends...

The Kashora’an Desert lies on the eastern coast of [whatever we're calling the original continent]. Three of the sentient races inhabit this desert. First, the humans, found in nomadic tribes, small villages, and a couple larger cities such as Balho’dohr. Second, the Rachnyx. Extensive networks of caverns exist below the dunes, a remnant of the massive Hrakilan Empire. The ancient Hrakilen capital of Khyr lies beneath the rocky on the western end of the Kashora’an, and remains a fairly powerful city today. Finally,desert Skitches. Desert Skitches are a race of bipedal lizards which bear some resemblance to marine iguanas. An average adult male stands two to three meters tall. Desert skitches may seem somewhat sluggish on land, but this idea is quickly abandoned when seen in the water. Here, they are in their element, swooping and diving with breathtaking grace and speed. Skitches can hold their breath for hours at a time. Their tails are laterally flattened, and and they propel themselves by waving these back and forth. Their villages are built in partially submerged tunnels near the shore. These open directly into the ocean. Desert Skitches use green lumuoles to control the growth of coral, lining their tunnel entrances with jagged coral spikes to protect their homes from undersea predators.

Bahlo'dohr is a large, independent city state, a flourishing center of trade on the coast of the East Desert. Their biggest export is a silk derived from Rachnyx web, which can be dyed various vibrant colors. The silk is soft, smooth, and breathable. It is light, yet exceptionally durable. All these qualities are valuable assets in a hot climate. The method of creating this silk is a closely guarded secret. Bahlo'dohran merchants trade with Khyr, exchanging foreign goods for thread. Many streets in Bahlo'dohr are shielded from the fierce sun by huge silk coverings, making the entire city look like a massive, colorful tent. Brightly colored silk catwalks hang between buildings, forming an intricate web, and it's quite possible to travel from one end of the city to the other without ever touching the ground. Locals often prefer taking these silkways, as the covered roads below are crowded with shops, markets, and foreign travelers. Those less familiar with the city might find the sagging, swaying motion of the silkways nauseating, but to those who call the city home, it's as comfortable as walking on solid ground.

Khyr: Once the capital of the Hrakilan Empire, Khyr is one of the oldest Rachnyx cities around. This sprawling network of tunnels and caverns is built around an immense cavern which houses the Chronicle. The Chronicle is a vast Speechknot, shaped like a huge hourglass, and it holds an incredible wealth of information. The Rachnyx of Khyr continue to collect and add to the Chronicle, constantly gathering and exchanging information. Khyran Rachnyx are skilled illusionists, using purple lumuoles to weave light and sound like threads in a web. They put this to use with careful precision, using their abilities to move about unseen and unheard, listen in on whispered conversations, and show others only what they wish them to see and hear. In many legends and myths, the hero must travel to the Kashora'an Desert and enter Khyr, braving those dark pits in search of the answer to some pivotal question. If the hero makes it out with his life, he always leaves with knowledge that will prove vital to his quest.

Dunestriders: Dunestriders resemble massive brown beetles, standing over three meters tall and eight meters long. There are cavities in base of their front legs which house colonies of blue lumuoles. These lumuoles grant the creatures the ability to sense the presence of water deep beneath the sand. When Kashora’an nomads are looking for water, they simply watch where the dunestriders dig. Local tribes rely on dunestriders in many ways, not just using them to find water, but also building huts from their shells and living off their tough meat. Domesticated dunestriders aren’t exactly common, but they aren’t unheard of either.

Charbacks: Medium-sized Ceratopsians, Charbacks earn their name from the colonies of red lumuoles imbedded between the plates on their backs, which are used to reflect excess heat back into the air. Enough heat is absorbed to maintain an ideal body temperature, but any excess heat is stored up and later released by their lumuole colonies, creating a powerful heat shield around the Charback. Charbacks have limited control over the intensity of this heat, increasing it when they feel threatened or lowering it when calm. Directly touching a Charback’s scales can cause severe burns, and even coming too close can be dangerous if their heat shield is flared. Domesticated Charbacks must be carefully trained to never flare their heat shields except when commanded to do so. Charbacks are often used as pack animals in caravans or ridden as mounts, though riding one requires a thick leather saddle. Charbacks have an additional use to caravans when the sun sets, providing welcome warmth during the freezing desert nights.

[The Honey Badger]

I believe someone had suggested that the biology thread and its ilk be used for repositories of "finished" or "current canon" inofrmation, and that drafts and discussion occur here. At least, that would be the way I'd want to use it, since looking up the info would be easier if each creator made a single post and edited their latest records into it.

 

That was the impression I was under. I think it would be easiest to create another thread meant for posts that contain all the information for a region. Like in the Recknoers RPG they have an, 'Epics of Oregon' thread where all the contributors have a full list of their characters and information on them, discussion doesn't happen there. It's meant as a reference only. For instance I linked a google docs folder where I'm keeping all of my information on my section. That way I can make changes, and people can see what I've done all in one place and see my new changes. I don't know if the biology thread would be used for discussing, or as for reference, but we definitely need something for both of those purposes.

[Mckeedee123]

I believe someone had suggested that the biology thread and its ilk be used for repositories of "finished" or "current canon" inofrmation, and that drafts and discussion occur here. At least, that would be the way I'd want to use it, since looking up the info would be easier if each creator made a single post and edited their latest records into it.

 

In other news, there will be a hold up on any new maps, My desktop is developing a hard drive problem, and I am no longer opperating it until I can make a stab at cloning the data to a new unit. Unfortunately, I have not posted the working file of my maps to any cloud storages, so all my mapping is on hold. In the worst case, I would have a huge amount of work rebuilding most of the layers using the maps already shared, but it would be doable. Oh well. We shall have to see in a few days.

 

Well, yeah, and if you think about it that way, perhaps the only thread we'd want besides this one would be Diaemus-Library.

 

I've done about half the work on the Empire in the mediterranean climate so far. Here's the cultural half of the material (if anyone actually cares, that is,) since none of our current extraneous threads are for societies.

 

Torbud Empire

 

Religion

 The Torbud culture is basically monotheistic. During the early years of the development of agriculture, there was a full pantheon of gods , but Termid, god of fire, gradually grew in importance until the rest were viewed more like spirits. Torbudites claim Termid's domain extends beyond fire to include practically every aspect of society, and aim to please him. The Garden of Auleset in the capitol has a flame that priests claim has been burning since the beginning of time, and worshippers, even peasant families, always keep a holy candle burning that was "descended" from this flame. Villages tend to be founded near lumuole hotspots, and no known hotspot exists in the Emeezim region that does not have a village built around it.

 

Race and Gender Identity

 Torbudites don't identify primarily by their "human" race. To them, nationality and "species" race are far more important. In other words, you'll find numerous Emzimite or Taiviev ethnic groups throughout the region, but they primarily identify as "Torbudites." As such, the Taiviev races (which are historically less dominant) aren't considered inferior or anything.

 Torbudites do, however, believe that ethnicities outside the empire are predisposed to certain traits. Sessets, for example, are seen as naturally more violent and warlike, though not in an inferior way. The prevailing philosophy is that if Termid made them that way, who are they to judge?

 Most pastoralist groups that Torbudites interact with are peaceful groups of Dromeans, and as such, Dromeans are seen as possessing a sort of "higher wisdom." Most people think of them as straddling the line between humanity and nature, capable of great feats of savagery, but using their great wisdom and knowledge to avoid war.

 Rachnyx are seen as monsters. Philosophers don't deny their sentience, and therefore their capability for moral thought and action, but they do condemn them as beasts hungering to take control of the surface world and use humans as a food source. If a Rachnyx is spotted living within the empire, it is almost inevitable that some noble will attempt to hunt it down and kill it. Rachnyx merchants aren't unheard of, however.

 Termidines, of course, are seen as being predisposed to wisdom and virtue, and so they're considered natural rulers. Other bloodlines are also considered worthy, however.

 

Language

 There are two major language families in the Emeezim Region, Emzimite and Taiviev. Emzimite languages tend to be spoken fluidly and quickly, with lots of z's and t's. Taiviev languages typically have words ending in hard consonants, so the language is clipped and harsh. Around 1,500 BCE, the First Empire declared that the Ritsu dialect (Emzimite) would be the only language of the empire as part of its unification efforts, and several thousand years of enforcement established it pretty effectively as the region's dominant tongue. Even the Taiviev-speaking Sesset conquerors of The Collapse adopted Ritsu soon after migrating to the region.

 

Art

In the Torbud culture, there persists the idea that it's impossible to depict objects through art as they actually are. Thus, its art centers around abstract geometric lines and circles. These beautiful designs are usually painted on walls or floors, or engraved in stelas or weapons.

 

Architecture

 In the Emeezim region, wildfires are common, so nonflammable architecture is pretty important. Ordinary houses are built several feet into the ground out of animal skins stretched over a wooden frame, than plastered with a layer of hardened clay, plaster, or cement (depending on which era you're talking about) a few centimeters thick.

 As social stratification began, the Torbudites imported designs from elsewhere to build urban structures, mansions, and palaces, drawing particularly from _(Somewhere)_.

 As for monumental architecture, Torbudites often build temples around lumuole hotspots. Temples consist of two large, shallow, concentric pits in the ground layered with clay that has been dried using pyromancy. the hotspot, usually about 3 meters wide, occupies a shrine in the center that rises to the level of the higher pit, and is viewed as a spiritual "fire" in and of itself. Engraved and painted stelas line the higher circle of the temple.

 

Music

 Music is mostly percussive with a few stringed and woodwind instruments. Skin drums and metal plates set the beat, and then the twanging and drooping tones of the stringed Sorzitu and Milzitu instruments provide the tune, underscored with flutes.

 

Literature

 Some of the more notable pieces literature:

 The Ballad of Ortzi is considered one of the greatest pieces of Torbudite literature ever created. It concerns the journey of a non-Termidine nobleman (Ortzi) in the early First Empire to the northern isles to find his long-lost son. As he arrives at the island where he supposedly is, his crew mutinies and deserts him on the island. Eventually, Ortzi finds his son in a chance reunion, and the two must work together to return home, contending with various magical elements on the way. At the end of the journey, Ortzi encounters his old crew, gone pirate, and defeats them through his strength and wits. He and his son try to sail back, but a storm destroys the ship, and Ortzi washes up alone on the shore of the Sesset steppes, presuming his son to be dead. He is found by a tribe of Sesset warriors to whom he tells his story, and the men are impressed by his courage and decide to escort him back. As he returns to his manor, he finds his son has been preserved by Termid's will, culminating in a joyous reunion.

 The Travels of Iza Bressi is a compilation of stories and local folklore supposedly recounted by a single traveler who journeyed through the Cenni highlands to the eastern coast of the continent. The whole book is largely fictional and was obviously created by a person who had little experience but lots of access to bad records of the places he mentioned. Nevertheless, his book was accepted as fact throughout most of the First Empire's history, and many believed the accounts of things such as civilizations of massive Rachnyx that bred humans like pigs.

 

Cuisine

 The most basic unit of a Torbudite meal is a flatbread item, which could be the flatbread itself, a sandwich, or a wrap. Various dipping sauces will be provided, ranging from fruity to spicy to starchy. The Ritsu language has words for almost 150 bases and 200 sauces, and most of the upper crust of society is familiar with each and every one of them.

 

Sports

 The principle sport of the region is Udsken. It has 15 players on each team on a diamond-shaped field about 10 meters wide, and the object of the game is for each team to get the ball down past the opponent's end. Only one hand is allowed to touch the ball, and it can't be hugged close to the body. Violence is not allowed.

 Among pyromancers, there's Hetxin. This sport is played along a long, wooden board, and the game is played out like tug of war, but with fire.

 

Agriculture

 The two staple crops of the Emeezim region are the Emrunath plant and the Abab Tree.

 Emrunath is a highly fire-resistant pseudocereal. The plant takes the form of a tall, scraggly bush up until seed formation begins. Its waxy coating and high water content allow it withstand flames of up to 7,000 degrees without sustaining serious damage. Small flowers begin appearing on the plant twice at about the midpoint between the winter solstice and the two equinoxes, and these develop into clusters of grain within about 1/8th of a year. Emrunath kernels are large, spherical, and highly nutritious, possessing a high vitamin A and B content and moderate protein content, about 12%. You can get about a bushel of grain per acre per harvest. It truly is a miracle crop, and is the most widely cultivated food in the Empire.

 Lining most farms in the region is the Abab Tree. The tree's branches only produce one type of usable crop (an oily seed pouch) but the most useful thing it does takes place in the roots. The tree stores its energy in large tubers underground, and these can be cut off and eaten by farmers. Normally, these tubers are located far beneath the surface, and are protected by the tree's tough bark, but cultivated plants are grown on top of mounds several meters tall, which are then excavated as the tree grows, exposing the topmost roots. Farmers then cut careful incisions into the plant, which encourage the growth of tubers in that area. Some of the more massive trees produce tubers the size of papayas, and these are a reliable source of food for farmers even when the emrunath harvest fails.

 Agriculture in the region centers around the use of "cleansing fires," or hetzigi. Because emrunath is so resistant to bush fires, farmers kill weeds by simply setting the fields alight. Fallen branches from the Abab Trees are lined along the fields, and the whole thing is sprinkled with oil from their seed pouches. Once the fire is started, it's carefully monitered for a few hours, and when the heat dissipates, manure is immediately spread along the rows of emrunath, refertilizing the fields and completing the process.

 Apiarism is pretty common among farmers, both because the two staple crops are low-maintenance and because emrunath does best when cross-pollinated by bees.

 Crops other than emrunath are considered luxuries because they're comparitively difficult to grow, but the people do need vitamin C. Thornberries are the most common source. These plants, which normally grow in dense thickets, are cultivated along domed, semicircular frames. The thorns are cut off each year at the end of summer, and the plant goes on to produce 5-8 more harvests worth of berries over the course of the year.

 Most other food crops are foreign imports.

Snifflers are hairy, tapir-like animals that stand about a foot tall. Emeezim snifflers have particularly long trunks, doleful eyes, and faded brown coats. The animals provide a relatively large amount of milk for their size and lay eggs regularly. In the wild, snifflers are grazing herd creatures that retreat into a large, group burrow when threatened, but over several thousand years of domestication, their claws shrank into vestigial structures, they laid eggs more regularly, and they lost their fear of humans. While snifflers can be cultivated in a variety of ways, in the Emeezim Region they are taught to sleep in a multilayered wooden hutch, where farmers have access, through various doors, to their eggs, milk, and manure.

 Horses aren't very common among farmers because few crops are cultivated which require the use of a plow. Shupaks, however, are. Shupaks are large nodosaurs cultivated for their meat and manure. Artificial Selection has increased their overall size, but made them less boney and all but removed the spikes from these animals. The ends of their tails are removed soon after hatching to prevent them from growing dangerous clubs.

 Many farmers keep a small pack of Raptids as pets. These dromeosaurs typically stand about a foot tall, and are let loose at night to hunt down pests.

 Spice gardens are common, as simple meals of the kind farmers eat mostly consist of spiced flatbread.

 

Magic

 Torbudites don't rely heavily on animal magic, so a discussion of magic would mostly include a synopsis of how it manifests in the various bloodlines. These traits manifest mostly randomly.

*Termidine

  -All Termidines possess the ability to "fireshove," or influence the spread of fire. A fireshover could, for example, snuff out a candle by focusing on it, or turn it slowly (and briefly) into a large blaze. Fireshoving is, unfortunately, rather imprecise, but groups of fireshovers can accomplish extraordinary things. All lumuole types can power fireshoving, and it doesn't take much magic to power it.

  -About half of the Termidine bloodline can also "breathe" fire. The fire begins just past the lips, and the heat is transferred forward. This ability is powered by red lumuoles only, but is still pretty efficient, magic-wise.

  -Twenty percent of all Termidines have the ability to render normally inflammable things flammable (fireshaping,) so long as enough of their chemical components are flammable (water, for example, could definitely be rendered flammable.) This ability can be powered by any lumuole type but is extremely expensive in terms of lumuole consumption.

  -Five percent of non-fireshapers possess the ability of "greater fireshoving." Instead of just influencing the spread of fire, they can actively control it. People with this ability are called Hetzura. A Hetzura could, within a second, turn a flame the size of a candle into a massive dome of fire, or keep a disembodied flame floating in the air beside them. The cost of this ability depends on how much fire is being created or destroyed, and the precision with which it's being moved, but it's generally pretty expensive. Red lumuoles are required for controlling the mass of a fire, and yellows, oranges, or purples are required for shaping it.

--37.5% fireshovers only, 37.5% fireshovers and firebreathers only, 10% fireshovers and fireshapers only, 10% fireshovers and firebreathers and fireshapers only, 2.5% Hetzura only, 2.5% firebreathers and Hetzura only.

*Nekatut

  -All Nekatuts are supernaturally beautiful and charismatic. This is powered passively by red lumuoles and requires very little magic. In fact, the decline in magic differs very little from the natural lumuole decay rate in the Emeezim Region, so only a lumuole every few weeks or so is required to maintain this aura. This isn't mind contol, it's just a small boost changing how they're percieved by other people and telling them the right things to say.

  -In addition, about 30% of Nekatuts can also bestow this aura upon others, which is rather expensive, about a lumuole per day.

  -10% of aura-granters can make people fall in love with somebody. This also isn't mind control. It alters the chemical composition of the brain towards that emotional state but doesn't force them to think a certain way.

--70% aura only, 27% can bestow an aura and have an aura only, 3% All abilities.

*Atzelite

  -Atzelites passively absorb static electricity as they walk around (provided that they're stocked with some type of lumuole that is.) After building up their reserve, they can use it to manipulate the electron gradient between themselves or themselves and other objects

*Lobeki

  -About 30% of Lobekis have increased durability and pain resistance (they could, for example, block a sword with their hand, letting it bite into the skin but doing little damage.) This requires some sort of lumuole reserve, but happens passively. Additionally, orange lumuoles allow the user to "flare" this ability, becoming virtually unbreakable and feeling no pain whatsoever, physical or emotional.

  -About 50% have increased strength. This is not passive and requires orange lumuoles to work. Overall strength is improved by about 30%

  -About 20% are terramancers. The scale of earth or rock they move is theoretically limitless, but the amount of magic it takes increases exponentially as the mass increases. 2 Kilograms is about where it stops being worth it.

--30% durability, 50% strength, 20% earthmoving

Edited October 8, 2015 by Mckeedee123

[the winter system]

I have a map for just the Mythean Steppes (Before Rebirth of the Mythean Empire). And they use compasses pointed diagonally, not up, down, left, or right. A, E, Z, and G are the letters used for the four directions. Diagonally. Where should I post it once I'm done? 

[Curious Anamaximder]

I have a map for just the Mythean Steppes (Before Rebirth of the Mythean Empire). And they use compasses pointed diagonally, not up, down, left, or right. A, E, Z, and G are the letters used for the four directions. Diagonally. Where should I post it once I'm done?

Maps and Cartography?

Do we need a culture and society section?