# The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt



## Ban

*Welcome to chapter 1 of the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt. To read the questions asked in this thread, you can download the file linked below. This file contains all 50 questions of chapter 1. *

If you're a worldbuilder like me, there's little you like more than rambling on and on about your worlds at every opportunity you can find. Isn’t it just great to share and compare your ramblings with the ramblings of fellow worldbuilders? The problem is, that sometimes there's no question worth rambling on about.

Now wouldn't it be fun, if there was a thread around to give you a daily prompt for just that purpose? Luck would have it, that this is exactly where the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt thread comes in. Each and every day, I'll ask you a question for you to answer.

Each DWP thread runs for 50 days (and 50 prompts), after which a new ‘chapter’ will be opened to discuss the next 50 prompts, and so on. This is done to keep the discussions somewhat organized. Don’t worry however, you are still free to answer all of the questions from an old thread at any time. If you see one, two or however many prompts that interest you, hop on in and answer them at your leisure.

Have fun!


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## Ban

If you're a worldbuilder like me, there's little you like more than rambling about your world at every opportunity you can find, and comparing your ramblings with the ramblings of fellow worldbuilders. The problem is, that sometimes there's no question worth rambling on, so wouldn't it be fun, if there was a thread around to give you a daily question? Welcome to the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt thread, where I'll ask you a question every single day (or 2/3/4 days depending on interest and time available  )

*Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?

~~~

In the year 2080, the safest country in the world is MENUSCA (Mexico and the New United States of Central America). A central-american federation at the center of 2080's free world. If you make it over, you would only need to look up to see the many skyscraper megahotels that dot the cityscape of all great urban centres. On the streets of Mexico city, Guatemala City and Sueño Maya among others (Sleeping/Dreaming Maya, a name equating MENUSCA's current state in the world with that of the superpower China before it found its potential), you will find streetfoods from all over the world,  though West-African and Latin-American cuisines are most prominent. For the sake of novelty, I'd recommend one of many hip new Mexican/Gulf-of-Guinea fusion foods that have blown up in popularity the last few years. These fusion foods vary greatly, but are known to use traditional Mexican recipes prepared with traditional food pairings from the Gulf of Guinea. Fans of the fusion food claim that replacing meat with fruits and starchy foods, makes for delightful sweet dishes suitable for a light lunch.


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## Orc Knight

Am I allowed to answer this? Cause you end up in Eld a lot already.


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## skip.knox

Most pleasant? I couldn't possibly answer that without offending a score of other places, but it'd probably be some place in Italy. For the food. Maybe I would put forward drinking limoncello in Anacapri. I've tried drinking limoncello in other places, but it just ain't the same.

But ... which century? An, there's a rub.


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## Ban

Orc Knight said:


> Am I allowed to answer this? Cause you end up in Eld a lot already.



You are 100% allowed and encouraged to answer it. It's never a bad thing to hear about food and tropes gone wild 



skip.knox said:


> Most pleasant? I couldn't possibly answer that without offending a score of other places, but it'd probably be some place in Italy. For the food. Maybe I would put forward drinking limoncello in Anacapri. I've tried drinking limoncello in other places, but it just ain't the same.
> 
> But ... which century? An, there's a rub.



I've never heard of Anacapri before, but reading a little bit about it (and ogling the pretty gallery) informed me that the island it's on was pleasant enough to make it the full-time home of a roman emperor. Those are some very high accolades for the pleasantry of the place.


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## Agam Ridelle

Thanks for bringing up this question...I forgot about the food.
I'm thinking...high protein gourmet food for the mind-magic people, street food with lots of fat and meat for the Commons, vegan for the animal-human hybrids, and gourmet animal food. To be developed after the draft is complete or I'd never finish the story.


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## Usurper

Why it depends on what you're looking for. If you want the city life, you'd be best to check into a hotel by the coast in Skelling; the sprawling capital and industrial centre of the mighty Empire of the Isles. By the docks you'll find loads of marketplaces selling wares from all over the empire. From tea and spices to rugs and shining baubles. As for the cuisine, you'd want some Miller's Darling: large piece of sourdough bread filled with caramelized apples and roasted pork, served to a large pint of ale or beer.

If you want something a bit more if a vacation in the sun, you could very well settle for one of the many islands off the northern coast of Thaxos, such as Kiserkos or Magiellas. Dry, sunny weather with white beaches and shimmering, blue water. You could easily enough find a town with a hotel for you to stay, and wherever you go, you should ask for karkinarakki: steamed crab cooked in a wide variety of ways, with each island having their own specialty, often served with other fish as well as bread, and some proper Thaxian wine. A treat in and of itself, as no one makes better wine than the Thaxians.

Oh, and don't mind the giant, musket-wielding sentient crab-things living out on the coral reefs off the coast. They're more or less friendly to Thaxians, and they're the ones who invented karkinarakki, so don't worry about that either. Just don't step on their reefs.


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## Ban

Agam Ridelle said:


> Thanks for bringing up this question...I forgot about the food.
> I'm thinking...high protein gourmet food for the mind-magic people, street food with lots of fat and meat for the Commons, vegan for the animal-human hybrids, and gourmet animal food. To be developed after the draft is complete or I'd never finish the story.



Knowing me, there are bound to be more food questions in store for the future. My writing tends to center itself around café's, bars and diners, and I may be more concerned at times with what my characters are eating, than what they are saying. Let me know if you need some culinary feedback later on.



Usurper said:


> As for the cuisine, you'd want some Miller's Darling: large piece of sourdough bread filled with caramelized apples and roasted pork, served to a large pint of ale or beer.



Now that sounds like an appetizing lunch, though I'd whisk the caramelized apples with some soft cheese so it complements the pork and beer, and to make it more creamy (and because I'm a cheese addict).


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?



Most pleasant place is really a bit hard, as it's Eld, but the one I like the most and the one you've yet to visit is Val Royale. For those not in the know, it's Fantasy New Orleans and big on food. So much so contests are held at all parts of the year. For lodging, you've got a number of places, though the Three Sisters Inn is a comfortable little seaside inn just outside of the city run by three naga sisters. And easier on the budget and they also make their own cuisines there, usually from fresh ocean catches and the early market foods.

Though probably the best place to get a true taste is another oceanside place known as The Net & Ladle out on the piers of the Sea Gate. There is no menu and you are served a variety of whatever the cook made that day with the catches and market food. Usually gumbo's and it's like, with breads that are often stuffed with cheese and other stuff like shrimp and crab. Also serves sweet tea and mint juleps as a usual course.

Now for desserts, there are two big places. The Blue Light Bakery and Sinful Cakes Bakery, two direct competitors across from the street of each other. Blue Light is owned by an enterprising dwarf and focuses on cupcakes, hand held pastries and cakes. Sinful Cakes is run by an UnSeelee (demonic being) actually does donuts and breakfast pastries and the cakes are almost luxury and extremely decedent. So much so it costs a silver talon for a simple cheesecake.

For cafe style dining there is the Blue Shell Cafe, a coffee/tea shop and cafe in the downtown area, close to the nobs quarters. A nice, easy going setting and with a good variety of tea and coffee and fairly good food. Serves light sandwiches, appetizers and baked goods. For a bit of night life, there's The Sanctuary, the drow's underground den of inequity that serves all, makes no judgements for the most part and is home to more drow style meals and other sundry forms of entertainment.

This is just an in general of one of my most looked at cities in the world of Eld.


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## Agam Ridelle

Ban said:


> Knowing me, there are bound to be more food questions in store for the future. My writing tends to center itself around café's, bars and diners, and I may be more concerned at times with what my characters are eating, than what they are saying. Let me know if you need some culinary feedback later on.



Thank you! I’m the world’s worst cook, and eat only because I need to. I think I’ll incorporate that somehow into the story, but I still need to write food in.


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## Ban

Orc Knight said:


> Though probably the best place to get a true taste is another oceanside place known as The Net & Ladle out on the piers of the Sea Gate. There is no menu and you are served a variety of whatever the cook made that day with the catches and market food. Usually gumbo's and it's like, with breads that are often stuffed with cheese and other stuff like shrimp and crab. Also serves sweet tea and mint juleps as a usual course.



If I get to choose my next trip, I'm in line for this place. There's nothing more fun about going out for food, than trying new recipes. And given the inspiration of the setting, I bet they make one hell of a Jambalaya on a lucky day.


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## Usurper

Ban said:


> Knowing me, there are bound to be more food questions in store for the future. My writing tends to center itself around café's, bars and diners, and I may be more concerned at times with what my characters are eating, than what they are saying. Let me know if you need some culinary feedback later on.
> 
> 
> 
> Now that sounds like an appetizing lunch, though I'd whisk the caramelized apples with some soft cheese so it complements the pork and beer, and to make it more creamy (and because I'm a cheese addict).


Well, I'm no chef, and certainly no culinarian. Maybe that would be better. Maybe it'd be the Miller's Mistress, cause it's _thiccer_.


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## Ban

*(Although this is question number 2, everyone is free to continue answering previous questions. For the sake of keeping things just a little bit organized, please mention the question you are responding to, if it is not the question of the day  )

Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?



Given that most cities have a standing city guard (sometimes sitting) at them, most will make an effort to at least get in contact with the locally known criminal elements (and maybe even a still standing thieves guild) and depending on where you got robbed, could have the wallet back in short time. Or at least enough coin to make up for it if it's well and truly gone. Or it might just show up rather quickly if they realize the currency won't work outside of the drow underground currency exchangers. If they even know about them.

If your wallet get's stolen in Paradise City, consider it a greeting and it will find it's way back to you with the money changed out to fit the city and an exploding peach in welcoming. Though it can still be reported to the nearest Beholder guard if you feel like risking it. Just enjoy the sights, sounds and smells and you'll get it back in due time.


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## Ban

Standard police procedure has not changed in the civilized world by 2080 (at least not in regards to pickpocketing), so the process remains the same old process you should all be aware of. Namely, you go in to report, spend too much time on needless forms and then never get your wallet back. In the open warzones of the (not-so) United States, Brazil and Middle Africa, it all depends on the local legislature of the party in charge. Some factions, such as the Prairie States of America, the Lone Star Republic and Deseret maintain a traditonal interpretation of the rule of law, trying to restore a semblance of order to their country (though sticking to international standards in order to lobby major powers plays a role). If you go into the true warzones however, where succesor governments are weak or non-existant, and where viscious warlords make the rounds; it's just as likely that the warlord hangs you instead of the thief.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

Oh, goody. This looks fun.

*Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?

Well, it would be easier to list the not as pleasant places. The Psycheverse in general seems to have some of the best food, and any of the cities are hospitable and fully open to visitors. 

*Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?
I'm not sure how to answer this, since there's no thievery nor wallets in my OmniCosmos. Or city watch, for that matter.


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## Usurper

Ban said:


> *Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?


 If we were to continue with the city of Skelling, that would be the local constabulary. Also known as Connies, Ermans, Rousches, and your friendly neighbourhood police officer. Unfortunately, unless they catch the thief red-handed, there is probably not much they can do. Even if you manage to give them a good enough description to lead to an arrest, it's unlikely they'll just be carrying your wallet around. So that's probably long gone.


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## skip.knox

You had your wallet stolen in the city of Rodez. You have your choice. You could either appeal to the Chapterhouse with their wizards or you could appeal to the Count and his court. The Chapterhouse controls half the city and has jurisdiction there, while the Count controls the other half. There is no constabulary, though the Count has his men-at-arms while the Chapterhouse has its Janitors  who are often given responsibilities of enforcement for minor crimes. 

If you were an Acolyte of the Chapterhouse and your wallet was stolen while you were out purchasing powders at the comtal market, where would you lodge your complaint? Similarly, if you were an honest workman who ventured to the Chapterhouse there to buy a potion, when your wallet was stolen would you turn to the Count or to the Magister? 

And that's an easy one. The city of Brunswick has *seven* jurisdictions!


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

At this point I haven't done much in the way of world building, so I couldn't really answer these just yet. All my characters that I've got nailed down as definitely appearing have been rather fleshed out, but the world is a shabby mess at the moment, so I think I'll just make up the answers for the first settlement that I feel like making: the native city for my two-bodied hive mind race called the Duongels by the humans. City name still pending.

For question 1, I'd say that there would probably not be any fast food places, as the Duongels are very obsessed with balance, so they would neither shop at nor work at a restaurant that doesn't offer a balanced diet. There might be places that just sell desserts, though the successful ones would know to have healthy desserts be an option as well. For proper restaurants, you'd probably want to go to one where there is an even mix of Duongel chefs and human chefs, as there's just something about having one body for your mind to deal with that makes food preparation a bit faster, so the wait for your food won't be as long as a purely Duongel-staffed restaurant, but won't miss much on the quality that the Duongels make. For the perfect dessert, however, you'd want to go to a place with only Duongel chefs, as the ability to look at the recipe and mix the ingredients simultaneously allows for a level of quality that humans just can't quite acheive. Also note that food tends to be a bit cheaper in the city compared to other cities due to the increased food requirements of the Duongels.

For question 2, if it weren't for the fact that the Duongels are the only race in my world that thook like humans but with feathery wings stuck on the back, there would probably be situations where a Duongel might dress one body as a police officer and the other as a thief, and pickpocket unsuspecting single-bodied induviduals, such as humans. This may have happened once or twice when humans first discovered the Duongels, as it was also the first time the Duongels had discovered a race with only a single body, but it quickly became standard that both bodies had to be on duty at the same time if a Duongel were to be a police officer, to prevent exactly this. It is very hard to pickpocket a Duongel, as the advantage of having two bodies is that it's generally possible for you to physically watch your own back. As such, Duongels never really explored the route of street crimes such as pickpocketing. If a human were to pickpocket you in the Duongel's city, however, you can be certain that, given a good enough description of the perpetrator, they will be found pretty quickly. On a typical day, there aren't many humans walking around, so it becomes quite easy for the police to find human thieves.


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## Ban

skip.knox said:


> You had your wallet stolen in the city of Rodez. You have your choice. You could either appeal to the Chapterhouse with their wizards or you could appeal to the Count and his court. The Chapterhouse controls half the city and has jurisdiction there, while the Count controls the other half. There is no constabulary, though the Count has his men-at-arms while the Chapterhouse has its Janitors  who are often given responsibilities of enforcement for minor crimes.
> 
> If you were an Acolyte of the Chapterhouse and your wallet was stolen while you were out purchasing powders at the comtal market, where would you lodge your complaint? Similarly, if you were an honest workman who ventured to the Chapterhouse there to buy a potion, when your wallet was stolen would you turn to the Count or to the Magister?
> 
> And that's an easy one. The city of Brunswick has *seven* jurisdictions!



Dealing with the retrieval of my waller, sounds like more hassle than actually losing it. An interesting situation. I wonder whether these different institutions can work together if the need is great enough. let's say the chapterhouse has trouble catching a local band of pickpockets, would they be willing, and are they able to work with he count to stop them?



ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> At this point I haven't done much in the way of world building, so I couldn't really answer these just yet. All my characters that I've got nailed down as definitely appearing have been rather fleshed out, but the world is a shabby mess at the moment, so I think I'll just make up the answers for the first settlement that I feel like making: the native city for my two-bodied hive mind race called the Duongels by the humans. City name still pending.



For something you came up with on the spot, that was an interesting read. Feel free to continue using this thread for building your world


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## Ban

*Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?



Madness? Absolute madness? Maybe. The sea's of Eld are full of everything from cities to godzilla size monsters and gamera style turtle monsters and a lot of life forms. Merpeoples that are also Sirens, giant sea food, sea serpents and giant squid and octopi. Treasures would be a large variety of whatever thousands of wrecks lay below, from dwarven steel ships and drow subs and parts of entire sunken navies. Sea elves and trolls up towards the topmost layers and the scarier stuff as you get lower and lower.

There's the usual bunches of whales and sharks down there. Kelp forests that can hide the other giant things below, a few gods and goddess hang out there. Giant coral cities where the mer and sea elves and trolls live. Much like most of Eld, it's like Earth a bit, on more drugs and everything is bigger. Thing is, you have to make it to the bottom of the sea first. Though there are underwater shipping lanes and a great many ships can float on the water or sink beneath the waves with little trouble to arrive at wherever they are going.


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## Ban

The most impressive prize to be found on the seabed, for those daring and clever enough to claim it, is the EUS Cadmeus. This airplane carrier was released onto the mediterranean by the European Union (now EUCPL) in 2031 to form the pièce de résistance of the fabled 40 battleship strong Blue Fleet (precursor to the modern European navy). Despite this ship serving in the various wars of North Africa and the Middle East throughout the 30s 40s and 50s, it was only brought down in 2071 off the coast of Peru by a coalition of Peruvian pirates. The circumstances behind the destruction of this airplane carrier by a bunch of pirates has remained a central point of conspiracy theories ever since, with many in Europe believing that the ship was actually brought down by a set of Argentinian Submarine-robots.





Orc Knight said:


> Madness? Absolute madness? Maybe. The sea's of Eld are full of everything from cities to godzilla size monsters and gamera style turtle monsters and a lot of life forms. Merpeoples that are also Sirens, giant sea food, sea serpents and giant squid and octopi. Treasures would be a large variety of whatever thousands of wrecks lay below, from dwarven steel ships and drow subs and parts of entire sunken navies. Sea elves and trolls up towards the topmost layers and the scarier stuff as you get lower and lower.
> 
> There's the usual bunches of whales and sharks down there. Kelp forests that can hide the other giant things below, a few gods and goddess hang out there. Giant coral cities where the mer and sea elves and trolls live. Much like most of Eld, it's like Earth a bit, on more drugs and everything is bigger. Thing is, you have to make it to the bottom of the sea first. Though there are underwater shipping lanes and a great many ships can float on the water or sink beneath the waves with little trouble to arrive at wherever they are going.



Eld's seafloor is a veritable treasure trove, I see. How is the scavenging business down below? Is it a smart idea to go rummaging around in the various wrecks, or is the wildlife just a tad too dangerous?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> Eld's seafloor is a veritable treasure trove, I see. How is the scavenging business down below? Is it a smart idea to go rummaging around in the various wrecks, or is the wildlife just a tad too dangerous?



The local wildlife can usually be handled in some way, shape or form. It's the sapients and sentients you've got to watch out for. If a clan of mers has decided that wreck with all the shiny's in it and gave them a veritable feast when it went under, they will go to war for it. Or lunch. Really the same thing with a lot of them. They have to be handled a bit delicately, usually with a trade of shiny's for the other shiny's.


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## skip.knox

>*Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?

Atlantis. This is the homeland of the elves, who so far excelled in scientific magic, they created their own home--a continent that floats. Something happened--all records are lost--and Atlantis broke up into pieces, most of which sank. The sinking took time, so fragments can be discovered all across the North and South Atlantic. Almost two thousand years of salt water, disruption of ley lines, and deep-sea storms have wrought extensive changes. Is that object an object or just a piece of one? Undersea technology is very new, and so far scientists have been able to do little more than send down cameras and retrieve small bits with a robot arm. 

Discovering Atlantis' past will be like trying to reassemble Humpty Dumpty scattered across half the globe, ground into dust, and without knowing whether Humpty was one egg or a dozen.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Yet another thing for me to come up with on the spot. I think that's gonna be a common trend on here.

I think most races would have an aversion to the ocean, with humans being about the only ones who are brave/stupid enough to cross the ocean, something they've only recently discovered a non-magical solution for, allowing for longer travels and/or better protection for the same cost, so there's little in the way of ship wrecks and shinies down there, but in the bays of the more deadly cities, you'd probably find around one or two dead bodies. Sometimes the more carnivorous sea creatures take a while to realise that there's snack, so at times, you might find upwards of ten. Generally unsafe to enter the water at those times. The Duongels might fly over the ocean sometimes, so there could be the occasional feather or carelessly dropped item, including priceless jewellery, small weapons, and that one cake delivery box that the fish still haven't figured out how to open. Not sure about creatures yet.

Might have a deity or two's palace.


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## Ban

skip.knox said:


> Discovering Atlantis' past will be like trying to reassemble Humpty Dumpty scattered across half the globe, ground into dust, and without knowing whether Humpty was one egg or a dozen.



And given the setting, I'd imagine another Atlantis' worth of forgeries to soon be found on the relic markets. I don't envy the eccentric who tries his hand at puzzling it together.



ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> Yet another thing for me to come up with on the spot. I think that's gonna be a common trend on here.



Probably will remain so yes  I like to keep these questions general enough so (almost) everyone can respond to them, but specific enough that people have to give it some thought. Hopefully that will help folks iron out the nitty gritty details.


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## Ban

*Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)



Long before 2080, the coastal Opportunity States of Federal China, have been given absolute corporate freedom, guided only slightly by the technocratic motherland. While this has led to a daily battlefield of corporate warfare, it has also created some of the best-performing universities in the world. According to the Shanghai Index, the world's most prestigious ranking system of academic institutions, Shanghai itself has the best university when it comes to the amount of nobel prize winners they have churned out, while Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei outperform Shanghai on student satisfaction with their education. All in all, the opportunity states is where you'd want to be...

...if you're a Chinese national or have wealthy parents, otherwise you want to apply in the EUCPL. Following trends of severe national specialization within the EUCPL, France is now the place to be for arts, political studies and social studies, Germany for economics, medicine, communication studies and engineering, Luxembourg for management, Austria for military studies, Poland for physics and mathematics, the Baltic Union for programming and information studies, Hungary for film and entertainment studies and the Netherlands for both chemistry and law. Of course these all require proper funds as well, so I'd likely end up at a two-bit education facility in a country that hasn't specialized in any field. Political studies in independent Brittany, here I come!


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)



There are very few prestigious places of higher learning, much less places of higher learning. Given the world, they're still working on those bits, though the city of Emerald Deep is a good place to go learn and is often sought after. If you can get through the jungle to go find it. You have to really, really want to learn. Otherwise the big place is Zukal's Magical Academy.

Built as the center of learning for the city of Zukal on the southern continent. It is home to general academics, military, magical and a few other higher learning options. And it only loses around twenty to thirty students a year to deaths, which is considered pretty good overall. It is located out of the famous Zukal Tower, which has a giant flower like opening roof that is solar powered through magic. You can learn quite a bit (maybe except cooking, culinary academies still have yet to come about) while there and pending you survive. From creating your own golems (or an army), biological and alchemical sciences, joining the Griffon Knights or any of the other military applicable fields (which includes said golems), airships and aircraft and engineering and a lot of other things. It is pretty much the go-to academy for humans.

So, yeah, you'd want to end up there.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed? That depends on whether you dived into the literal seas in the OmniCosmos, or the metaphysical Sleeping Sea. In the case of the former, you'd find the sunken remains of the NoBeing's rampages across all the universes. In the case of the latter, you'd just find more of the Sleeping Sea, or end up in the Ocean of Origin.

*Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)
Well, apart from Mahopolis in the Psycheverse, the only universe that has things like that is Wyrd, which is, as the name implies, weird, and is home to the Course of the Source, a learning house designed for meditation and receiving cosmic wisdom. Alternately, you could ask to gain access to the Cosmic Records, which the Eternal Ones may or may not open to you.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Hmm, there'd probably be two universities in the Duongel's city(unless I say otherwise, it's a good idea to assume that that city will be the scene for most of my answers here), and each would be about equal in education level. Many students will take two lessons at once, thanks to the multiple bodies the Duongels have, though any sports classes both bodies will be in the same class, as to not excersise one body more than the other. And archery deities have pity on any human in an archery class full of Duongels, as the Duongels will hit bullseye 99.9% of the time(if I were to put the actual number of nines, this post would be more nines than text). Hell, they'll even show off sometimes and hit bullseye on all the targets by shooting mutliple arrows from both bodies. Actually, since the Duongels are so good with projectiles, archery wouldn't even be a subject by university. Primary school, maybe(translation for Americans: middle school). I think at university, the projectile sport they might do would be more like clay pigeon shooting, but the discs are over 100 meters away. Even then, expect them to rarely miss. As a human, it'd be better to go to the one on the right side of the bay, as they have more teachers trained in teaching humans, and a wider range of human-friendly sports. Both universities are about on par with a Russel-group university(not sure what the equivilent is called in America), and are not too hard to get in, especially given that you would probably have some knowledge that their researchers might want. And while it's impossible for a single-bodied race to learn how to speak the Duongel's language, those universities are probably the only places where a human might learn to understand it.


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## WooHooMan

I don't have anything to add to this thread but I wanted to tell Ban that I'm thrilled this thread has some good traction.  I love hearing specifics about other people's settings.


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## Ban

WooHooMan said:


> I don't have anything to add to this thread but I wanted to tell Ban that I'm thrilled this thread has some good traction.  I love hearing specifics about other people's settings.



Aw thank you, I'm also happy to see the thread so busy  and thanks everyone who is participating. I've got a good catalogue of prompts saved up, so we won't run out soon. That's a good thing for myself too, as I'm working on a different world for November. This thread should help keep me attached to the 2080 world.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> I think at university, the projectile sport they might do would be more like clay pigeon shooting, but the discs are over 100 meters away.


Actually, maybe they might even take it a step higher, and combine archery and clay pigeon, so you're using a bow to hit the discs. More excersise that way. And more opportunities for the Duongels to show off. They have to keep the disc launchers hidden to prevent the Duongels from predicting the path of the discs before they've been launched, cause otherwise they'd shoot before the discs are even launched, knowing that they'll be at the point the arrow is by the time the arrow gets there.


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## Ban

*Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)

Well, most of the universes are known, and magic and weirdness are rampant. The Astral Abyss, which is Dream's domain, however, is completely unknown, and all sorts of wild tales and theories have sprung up about it.


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)



In the 2080 world, Australia went through a severe economic collapse in the 2050s as its staunchly conservative government refused to ride the global trend of renewal and green innovation. As Australia's economy was based primarily on raw resources and tourism, impossible competition on the former led to the demise of the latter. Now Australia has stabilized with the help of Federal China, but its role in the world has diminished extensively.

Now how is this important? Well, at the very same time, neighbouring New Zealand had transformed itself into a full-fledged technocracy, in the image of Federal China, the EUCPL and the URS (Collectively known as AUREA together with some minor states), and unlike Australia, New Zealand had fully embraced the rise of nanotechnology, cybernetics, bio-engineering, data-innovation and green industry. However, due to the collapse of its far more profitable neighbor, trade with the Oceania region from Eurasia dried up.

The Technocratic government of New Zealand decided in those years, that it would not accept being relegated to the status of an economic backwater. It has closed off all communication with the outside world and has developed unknown technology capable of preventing radio from entering or leaving the islands, and foreign satellites from capturing footage of New Zealand.

For the last 3 decades, Eurasia and its allies (and the countercore countries on the other side), have created books worth of conspiracy theories. Some of the wildest theories claim that the New Zealanders have uploaded their minds into a technological singularity, while others claim the New Zealanders are living among us, gathering information so they may one day take over the world. More reasonable theories suggest New Zealand is simply a highly advanced hermit kingdom like Tibet and Bhutan.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Of the races known to humans, the Duongels know the most about what's beyond the ocean. And even they don't know much. A Duongel might be able to fly carrying a canoe across the length of the English channel, but they'd be too tired to fight anything that might be there when they land, and they wouldn't get anywhere near as far if they had a passenger to help with the fighting. And then you've got to take into account rations for the 3 bodies present, further restricting their flight. And while a Duongel might be able to get near to the continent on the other side of the ocean if not bringing anything, it's likely that they would not make it all the way. There is a legend about a pair of Duongel mages who used restoration and conjuration magic to be able to last the journey, and they managed to just about see land on the other side of the ocean, but turned back after reaching there for reasons they did not say. Teleportation magic can only work if you've been there before, or you can see it. A true master of teleportation magic might be able to make the calculations needed if they were given latitude and longitude coordinates. Technology has only just made the journey possible for humans, and even with the general recklessness that humans posses, no-one has been brave enough to place the thrill of discovery over the incredible risks that the journey holds. 

Actually, that's just given me an idea for a good plot. The area of my story that I've put the most effort into is fleshing out the characters, so the plot hadn't come around to me yet.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)



It's a lot of the usual sorts of mundane, even amongst the peasantry and unlearned on Eld, if only due to the healthy amount of weird that happens even on a fairly regular basis. Though from the western continent (The known Fey kingdoms where the stories come out of) is that the East will crush the Greenskins in the Dragon's Spine mountain range and bring forth a new Imperial Elven Kingdom. Or humans from the South will come again and try to conquer with their golem armies and the like, though since the Lich Wars, most of it has to deal with undead and Liches popping up.

Most of those have an unfortunate habit of being direly correct.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)


The world has one continent that is pretty well explored (though not by the humans).  Out in the ocean, it's said that there are giant sentient crystal knifes that wreck-up anything that comes too close to the border of the sea and the sky.  Not that anyone would know since time is frozen in that region so even if one could go there, they wouldn't be able to leave.  In fact, time and space get pretty wonky the further out to sea you go.  Closer to the land, there's a species of giant telepathic coral that are known to maliciously take control of people's minds.  This isn't true.  That species died out a long time ago.  The giant psychic manta rays are real though and just as dangerous (if not more so)
Past the sky, it's believed that there is mostly empty black nothingness with some gigantic balls of fire and a few small balls of rock.  This belief is not completely true.  It's also believed there's a 6 sextillion ton ball of flesh with various carnivorous monsters living on its surface floating out in that darkness.  That belief is true and it's also one of the less terrifying things out there.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

An addidtion to my answer for question 5:

It is believed that on the far away continent, there is the palaces of many of the deities that don't have an obvious place for their palace to be. On the continent that the humans of my world reside on, the palaces for the deities of Life, Death, Light, and Shadows. Then there are the water deities, whose palaces are under the ocean somewhere. There is believed to be some kind of grand palace that they all meet at, but it is not known where that might be.
Not much is known about space. Telescopes are pretty new, and no-one has thought to point them up yet, so they don't know about other planets yet. What they do know is that there is the palaces of the deities of Space, the Sun, and the Moon up there.


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## Ban

*Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)


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## Ban

_*Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)_

In 2080, biologists in and from the URS (Union of Russian States) have mastered the art of domesticating animals through careful breeding, as well as controlled genetic manipulation (legal in the URS on animals, but not on humans). A variety of domesticated animals can be bought, from moose to lynx to komodo dragon. Most of these animals are expensive to obtain, but a great a way for the established elite and nouveau riche to display their affluence. Some pets, like the domesticated fox or capybara are priced the same as an average cat or dog, and can be found all over the world. They're great at keeping vermin populations in control, but are mostly bought to liven up the household and cuddle with.

In the warzones you can find genetic abberations bred and modified for martial purposes. This is considered a form of severe animal mistreatment in the rest of the world, and buying or selling these beast can lead to hefty fines, and confiscation of the animal.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)
Pretty much the only pets there are in the OmniCosmos are cats, who come from the universe of Femifelia, but its more of a partnership than anything.
No one needs mounts, as there are much more efficient ways of getting around.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

There is a weird species in my world which is a slime-based creature called a Gem Slime. It consumes stones, gemstones, coal and charcoal, as well as having mild photosynthesis. Any minerals that it consumes which are not necessary for it's functions get turned into gemstones on it's surface, which it can use as defenses. One of the earliest gemstones this creature makes is called an elemental diamond, which can, if charged in the sunlight, be used to cast weak elemental spells, such as the simple fireball. This creature comes in many natural shapes, and there's two main varients: armoured and non-armoured. The armoured varients are rarer than the non-armoured, and are coated in small scales or large plates made of gemstones, mostly obsidian. An armoured varient either lives in an environment with large mineral deposits, or has lived a long, peaceful life, as that's the only way for the gemstone scales to have had time to build up. Armoured varients spend a lot of the day resting if they can't get lots of minerals, as the armour lessens the effectiveness of their photosynthesis. Most have wings, and use air spells to fly, and there are some that do not have legs, which generally fly at all times, as to not accidentally dissolve their way through the planet. When young, they are about the size of a small dog, and most are about horse size at adulthood, though there are legends of ones that resemble various types of dragon, and can grow to about the size of Smaug. Generally, they would be befriended while dog-sized, and raised as pets until they reach a size where they are big enough to ride, at which point they are generally trained to become mounts, much like horses. There are rumors that the Apostle of the deity of Truth and deity of Lies(a miracle in itself, a single person being the Apostle of two deities) has a dragon-shaped Gem Slime. The horse-sized ones might sometimes be found among cavalry, and are much more deadly than a horse, due to their ability to cast small spells and the general immunity slime-based creatures have to being killed by melee weapons. The dragon-shaped ones could be used for so many different ways that it would be best to assume anything a dragon can do, they probably can as well, but maybe not as powerful. The dragon-shaped ones are also able to cast stronger spells, and often have many elemental diamonds, allowing for multiple different elements to be used in one go. Mages are experimenting on what happens when a Gem Slime is fed crystallised mana and other highly magical minerals, but no clear results as of yet.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)



Given Eld starts from the point of a standard fantasy RPG world, there's pretty much everything from horses to the dragon family line (dragons, drakes, wyverns, serpents and wyrms) and griffons, Pegasus and unicorns and wolves and bears (no Russians riding them). There's boar riders and sandworms and eight legged horses that run on the sky. Giant crabs and lobsters and other sea going creatures are used too. They can all be quite interesting. The drow tend to make the more interesting creatures, like Hydra's and cockatrices and manticores and other mixed monstrosities for use as curiosities and for war and fun. The humans have created things like golem horses and other mounts like it.

As for pet's, well there's the usual sorts of dogs and cats and familiars for magic users who want them. Which range from ravens and owls and snakes and others. Then you get into the weird, like Adriel's pet summons that happen to be a bunch of Audrey plants (giant carnivorous plants I've mentioned before) and she's far from the only one that keeps such things. Some keep eagles and hawks and others fairy's. Some have tried keeping dryads and nymphs as pets, but that is pretty much slavery and they tend to fight back, so that particular lesson has been learned.

And obviously, the uses vary from mounts and rides into war and companionship and Eld's usual one, food too.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Completely forgot about the regular stuff. There's cats and dogs, and maybe birds of some sort, but not many aquatic life forms, and horses are there for the people who can't afford a Gem Slime. Those things are pretty hard to find in the wild, and expensive if buying off of someone. As for other things, I'd imagine that there'd be a variety of small creatures that mages might have as familiars, including a species of hand-sized dragons that can at best set fire to your hair or cook food for you. And as mounts, you'd find griffins up the mountains, and while no human or Duongel has been heard of taming a griffin, there are many different theories for how one might go about doing it. There's a story where a manipulation-type fire mage managed to befriend a phoenix, though how they found it no-one knows, and even convinced it the let her fly on it once. No-one, not even a human, has tried to befriend an actual dragon, but my main character(the Apostle I mentioned in the other post) is probably crazy enough to try, and smart enough to survive if things go sour.


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## Ban

Folks, it looks like we've hit the one week mark on this thread. Well done everyone who has been responding!

*Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?



This is actually something I haven't worked on much. There can't be a lunar calendar due to there being far too many moons about and them not being at all rational about when they're coming out. Except maybe the blood moons, they show up whenever war is on, so, they're there most the time. There are still such things as days and months and years as it is the most basic thing I know of using. I just don't name them, keeping them vaguely in seasonal sorts and using the events around them as a sort of half name. It's not helped by the world not having any standardized way of calling them. So, maybe something I have to work with if I want to get incredibly specific.


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## skip.knox

Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?

Respectively: days, weeks, months, years. This being Altearth, donchaknow.

But this does make me wonder if everyone would use this system (I arbitrarily do not keep the Roman _nundinae_). Dwarves use it because dwarves came out of darkness. They might have some other unit of time more on the hour or minute scale, but for the most part they simply adopted the human system. Same for the those great imitators, the orcs.

But the elves lived under the sun for a long time before they came into human contact. And trolls, well, they're trolls. If they adopted anything, it'd be hamfisted and wrong. Excuse me while I wander off and wonder.


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## CupofJoe

In my WiP, the earth is still pretty much earth shaped so there are still difference in day and night length during a year [which is about 365 days long] and there is a moon. But unless things change, the state of the moon or length of day aren't important to what I want to have happen.
There are seasons rather than months or weeks as a unit of big time. 
One group of characters are a bit unhinged [in so many many ways] that _Before_ and _After_ are about all you can _seem_ to get them to understand. 
Another group are Traders that are more interesting at getting to place to get the best prices/before the weather breaks, rather than by a specific date. 
I was thinking about having 8 hour day and 8 hour nights that would wax and wane with the turning of the year [so a summer daylight hour would be longer than a winter daylight hour and vice versa]. But then I went back to twelve hours [but with the same variation] because it was more divisible [1,2,3,4,6,and 12] than 8 [1,2,4 and 8], people would read it easier and it doesn't make a difference to the story I'm telling. 
I don't have things happening at half past two at night but just before dawn or when the sun was highest... I've always like _noon_ as a time.


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?



The world I'm working with has a calendar that's basically the same as ours. I haven't come up with new names for the months or the weekdays, and I've so far managed to avoid having to use them in the stories. I'll have to either come up with names for the days, or avoid ever mentioning them at all.

According to human reckoning it's currently year 3996 AE, where AE is short fort After Erradication, which refers to the fall of the Haman Empire and the disappearance of the god Hima.

The anfylk race has a slightly different timeline. It starts with their creation in 1950 AE, so it's now year 2046 in their reckoning.
Additionally, the anfylk week has 8 days instead of the regular 7, with an extra day for chores between the working week and the weekend:

Truthsday (Monday)
Infday (Tuesday)
Annsday (Wednesday)
Pipesday (Thursday)
Ladysday (Friday)
Choresday
Feastday (Saturday)
Restday (Sunday)


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## skip.knox

"What is a weekend?"  -- Violet Crawley
Probably my favorite line from Downton Abbey. Sums up the difference between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie in four words. Brilliant.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?

Well...

technically time doesn't exist in the OmniCosmos. But I still use the word 'days'. -.- I haven't figured out how to make it better.


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## Blither

Basically every tribe/kingdom/empire has their own timekeeping system since the world is so divided, so I'll focus on one interesting one:

The tribesmen of the volcanic plains of West Tritum have a unique way of keeping a calendar. They have no sun, moon or stars to go off, as their sky is constantly clogged with smoke and ash. As such, the tribesmen's calendar is based entirely off of the seismic and volcanic events of the land. Their "months" and "years" begin and end with the eruptions of certain sacred volcanoes and by the amount of smaller tremors.

However, while the tribesmen fervently keep to this "calendar," and several wars are fought every year over interpretations of it, they are totally mistaken with their beliefs. The eruptions and earthquakes are actually completely random, which means that the tribes years can last anywhere between 100 and 500 days (roughly as long as our days on earth.)


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## Ban

*It's too bad that I couldn't answer my own question for once, but I enjoyed reading yours. You gave me an idea for a megalomaniac warlord or dictator who decides to name the months after him or herself (ala turkmenistan). I'm keeping it in mind for now. 

Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.


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## Devor

Ban said:


> *Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?



I don't know about the most pleasant place. But on the seelie court, they have food that can change the flavor of the sauce in between bites, and alcohols that can intensify just any single emotion.



Ban said:


> *Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?



You'd report the incident to a guardsman who maintains order in their direct vicinity.  That person would then pass the information along to the constables who investigate crime. For a missing wallet they probably wouldn't do anything unless there was a pattern developing, like a clear MO, a high target area, or a detailed description of the culprit, and then they would post guardsmen or act on the leads accordingly.  The problem would have to escalate quite a bit to bring in a magic user.  If, say, the culprit does it again, and a guardsman apprehends him in the act, they would look into whether your wallet could be recovered.



Ban said:


> *Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?



The remnants of a civilization lost beneath the oceans, known as the Netherlands.

I don't know what's at the bottom of the sea.  Asrai live at the bottom of the canals, though.  They are tiny fairy mermaids that transform into starfish when they sleep.



Ban said:


> *Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)



Mindrise Academy runs most of the schools, museums and libraries in the city, and a host of other education programs.  They're independent, but the city will pay them, for example, to run an elementary school.  But you'd end up spending your time at the free lectures they give on all subjects from magic to farming in the park, hoping to convince a professor to vouch for you as a real student.



Ban said:


> *Question 5:* What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world? (Here be dragons!)



Not sure on this one.  I think it's more a question of what misperceptions a human might have about what the fairy realm looks like, for example.  They have this notion that the fairy realm is full of frivolity, dance and mischief, but most of it is far more wild and dangerous than that.  The seelie court doesn't have a large enough population to shape most of the realm into the land of mirth they would want it to be.



Ban said:


> *Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)



These are straight out of myths:

The pukis is a dragon-cat from Latvian folklore, kept by wizards it steals on command.

The wolpertinger is a common fairy mount, a rabbit with antlers and wings.  Even though it has wings, it can only fly if its rider uses a little seelie magic on it.

The barghest is a vicious ghostly attack dog sometimes used to hunt down fairies.

There's also a giant toad that latches onto your shoulder.  If you don't feed it regularly it eats you.



Ban said:


> *Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?



I skip naming the days and months and just use "the third week of spring" or else hide from it as much as possible.  There's enough weird names to go along with. The history in the region is defined by the six great wars that shaped the country, so you'll talk about the period leading into the invasion, for example. The six periods are treated equally even though they're each very different.



Ban said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.



Some of these names are still in development.

*The three tragedies of the seelie court.*

After the fairies opened a gateway into the seelie realm through the barrows of Fálina Cairn, the seelie court sent a cadre of its immortal members into the mortal realm to explore the world.  They were shocked at the horrors they found here, and they forbid their people to ever step foot here again.  But two people chose not to return:  Eágnus, who had fallen in love with a mortal woman, and Letha, who was fascinated by the way the world was constantly changing around her.  Their decision to abandon the court and remain as demigods in the mortal world is the first tragedy.

Hundreds of years later, a member of the court fell in love with Virveia, a lowly cavern nymph, and the two were wed.  Nátherk brought his bride home to show her to his family on the court, but his mother Chábelle saw that she was pregnant. She reached her hand into Virveia's stomach and killed the child still in the womb. In response, Nátherk slew his mother and sent his bride into the mortal realm before he was imprisoned.  This is the second tragedy of the court.

Shortly before the fall of Fálina Cairn, an unknown half-immortal entered the seelie court and used foreign magics to trap the elder Grierna in the shape of a mongoose, which he then escaped with.  Urthián sought and received special permissions to pursue the culprit and rescue his grandmother from the mortal realm.  Neither were ever seen again, the third tragedy of the court.


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## CupofJoe

Ban said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.


One of the groups in my tale have a myth/history that a part of each of them crawled in to this world through a hole from another world. This is where they think the rest of their soul [for lack of a better word] still exists and that they can move their consciousness back and forth. They may be right in this latter belief but this is also why just about everyone else thinks they are crazy. They are literally not-all-there... or here.


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## skip.knox

The elves have something like a Garden of Eden origin myth. They once lived in an idyllic land. Working with the spirits (elves have spirits rather than gods) they built beautiful cities, the land was abundant, and every house was a home to miracles. Alas, the elves were not content with this but strove to go further, to build more, to coax more out of the land, and every house competed with its neighbor. They fell so far out of harmony with the spirits, they broke the land. Fragments scattered here and there, and many were cast into the sea, and the elves became a nation of outcasts wandering the waters, until at last they made landfall in Europa.

The dwarves came from another world. A vast mountain separated their world from Altearth. Some terrible cataclysm happened in their world and they had to flee, tunneling their way through the endless mountain. Their legends say little about that other world, but they have plenty of stories about the Long Dig.

Orcs came out of darkness. Maybe it was a literal darkness but it's hard to say because orc religious language is heavily metaphorical. Anyway, when they emerged into the light, they found their true path. They worship the Sun God, the only true god. This god created the orcs and put them in darkness as a test. By finding their way into the light, they proved they were worthy of him. This test every orc must repeat as an individual, passing through his or her own darkness into the true light.

The origin myth for sprites is similar to that of the elves. Pixies have origin myths, too, but nobody can figure out what they mean or even if they're being serious.


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.



The world of 2080 is based on our world, only set in a near future, but that does not mean that national epics have not changed. History is a tool for state-formation, and so too has it been used by the various break-away states of this world. One of the more pertinent instances is that of Frisia, which has been independent from the Netherlands since 2047. Since then, the cultural sector of Frisia has strongly promoted the nationalization of the Frisian culture and identity, with many of its remaining folk tales becoming standardized knowledge. The story of the medieval rebel Pier Gerlofs Donia or "Big Pier", a half-mythical man, strong as an ox, with a personal vendetta against Holland (province/culture, not synonym for the entire Netherlands), has been accepted as Frisia's national legend, with many modern interpretations made in the previous three decades.
Similar attempts are being made by separatist forces in the unruly provinces of Limburg, Zeeland and Groningen.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.



As a whole, everyone blames the Elders (those big moon things in the sky who went and hid after they figured there work was done. Not good, just done.) for the state of Eld as a whole. It's mostly a series of fighting as the races come clearly into being after going from spirits and some working their way up to gods and the eventual pantheons. Then there's the requisite bit about the fight with the moon that happened as everything got straightened out and the races took on their full identities. Then more came out of the woodwork (some rather literally) and then the Elder's original fights about who created the best race flared up once into the wars Eld knows and loves. There were some other things that happened and so on, including the Elder of Life getting corrupted by a vague something called The Corruption, but it was no biggie and they just planted said Elder into a prison in a so called City of Life. In the middle of the jungle.

So, yeah, everyone blames the Elders.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.

The creation myth is shared by every universe in the OmniCosmos, mainly because it is true.
Before the OmniCosmos was, the symbiont and Eternal One called Dream is. There was an 'Aha!' moment, and their child, Awakening, was born. The other seven Eternal Ones, Unity, Light, Love, Song, Life, Eternity, and Infinity sprang into being. So too, then, was the OmniCosmos, composed of twenty-two universes, created by Dream and the other Eternal Ones. Dream chose a host, and the OmniCosmos was elevated to immensely high dimensional frequencies. All was well, until someone trapped Dream and inflicted horrendous torture on them, just to see if it could be done. Awakening was transformed in their agony, an Eternal One no longer, and they became known as the NoBeing ever afterwards.

It is important to note that the NoBeing is not the source of all darkness or negativity in the OmniCosmos, nor are they a supreme "evil" being. There is no such thing as the latter. They are simply a lost child, twisted by trust betrayed.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.



The Gobrihlat is the cultural epic, most prominent holy book, creation myth and general foundation of Goblin culture.

The story beings with the human King Gob (descendant of the "demon-chief" Kobalus).  His son, Kobek,  stole a pipe from the god of magic, Demiurgus.  Gob starts smoking the pipe and soon, Demiurgus knocks on his door asking for his pipe back.  Gob hid the pipe and denied having it.  Demiurgus said: "if you don't return, I'll make your people three feet shorter" then left.  Gob continued smoking and an hour later, Demiurgus returned saying: "return the pipe or I'll turn your people green".  Gob continued to hide the pipe.  Demiurgus returned an hour later and said: "return my pipe or I'll give your people claws and fangs" but Gob continued to deny having it until Demiurgus left.
Around this time, Gob got hungry.  When he left his chamber to get food, he found that three days had passed and his people had turned into tiny, green monsters.  That's chapter 1.
Gob and Kobek traveled to Demiurgus's castle and returned the pipe.  Demiurgus refused to reverse his curse.  He goes on a long lecture about the nature of justice, authority and retribution.  This lecture is the foundation of Goblin social and moral philosophy.

From there, the book tells of Gob and his family being banished.  The kingdom is split between Gob's younger brothers: Hob, Kob and Grem.  The three kings each have a moral philosophy and they each make a deal with supernatural beings to gain a type of magic.
Hob tells his people, the Hobgoblins, of the importance of dominance and expansion.  The Hobgoblins make deals with demons to gain sorcery and black magic.
Kob tells his people, the Kobolds, of the importance of being resourceful and loyal.  The Kobolds make deals with dragons to gain druidry and nature magic.
Grem tells his people, the Gremlins, of the importance of guile and craftiness.  They make deals with human mystics to gain alchemy.

The other half of the remaining text is a family drama where Gob in isolation, strengthens his relationship with his sons while going on dragon-slaying, princess-saving, demon-killing and king-fighting adventures.  Eventually, his sons gain the favor of the human gods who give their descendants, the Pure Goblins, the power of clerical and holy magic (previously reserved for humans).

The book ends with an epilogue where the ghost of Gob appears to his great grandchildren and grandnephews (the leaders of numerous Goblin tribes) and pleads for all Goblins to unite under faith.

I've been meaning to type-out this summary for a while and I'm glad this thread gave the chance to do so.


----------



## Vaporo

*Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.

Oh, boy. So many ways to answer this.

Before time, there was only Nothing. Or, perhaps there were other things elsewhere, but they are beyond our petty ideas of whether or not they exist. In, truth, it doesn't matter. Nothing did not exist, and was true, perfect Nothing. And Nothing thought, for in such perfect Nothing there are no rules to tell Nothing that it can't think. Nothingness thought only of its own nonexistence, and did Nothing but revel in its own nonbeing.

However, Nothingness suddenly had a curious thought. It was quite familiar with nonexistence, but what was the Nothingness to Nothingness? A Nothingness within a Nothing. A sort of... Not Nothing. Driven by curiosity, Nothing pulled itself back and Existence came to be.

Nothingness immediately hated Existence. It was a great wound on its perfect nonpresence, a wound that had to be eradicated. However, as Nothing pulled itself back to eradicate this new abomination, it suddenly spoke.

"Please, wait! I have much to show you!" So, Nothing held its attack, and Existence expanded to form Reality.


...And then that story continues for a long time, but you get the gist of it.


The Untians have lost much of the history of how they came to inhabit the north, but the fragments that have been preserved give them a general idea.

A thousand years ago, the Unts were fishermen living on the southeastern coast of the continent. A thousand years prior to that, they had been slaves on the outer rim of the hated Amulkine Empire before its collapse. Amulkine literally meant "Governed by Amul," or, "Ruled by Magic," and the word "Unt" literally meant "slave." The Unts had never forgotten these facts, so when a dozen men rode into their towns proclaiming the glory of the Religion of the Amul, few were keen to listen. The riders were driven out, and most thought the matter finished. However, over the next few years, more and more of the travelers who passed through the Unts' towns claimed to be part of this new religion of the Amul.

Little did they know, Amul had swept across the lands to the west and north, converting nearly everyone to their faith by both compassion and violence. Soon, the Unts' land was the only holdout.

The people of the arid valleys to the northwest had always been jealous of how the Unts could simply draw food from the sea whenever they desired, and had raided them frequently for longer than anyone could remember. Now, with their new faith at their backs, the valley-dwellers intensified their attacks a thousandfold.

Soon, the Unts were reduced to just a few villages, their population totaling a few thousand at most. Soon, even they were driven from their towns, and the remaining Unts formed together into a great caravan.

The caravan survived for a few years this way, but still their numbers were slowly being whittled down by the marauders. When the news came that the valley-dwellers were forming a great army to wipe them out entirely, they made a difficult decision. They would do what nobody else had ever done and cross the great desert to the north and hope to find something on the other side.

The trek was a disaster. Within two weeks they had lost half their number, and the army was growing ever closer. They would have died, had they not stumbled upon an oasis filled with strange trees whose branches seemed perpetually heavy with fruit.

The waited there three weeks to be sure that the army was no longer pursuing them and, after still another two weeks of travelling, they stumbled into the green land that they would come to call Untia.


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## Ban

*Those were great answers to read, and I'll make sure to return to questions allowing for a bit of storytelling. But for balance, I'm bringing this next question back to the more "mundane".

Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)



The future of the world of entertainment is in many ways the same as it is now. The common yokels of the future scour the zyphernet, catch a VR-movie, participate in a club or association relevant to their interests, play an instrument, draw, write, read, garden, watch some football, go out and perhaps even go to the gym if they manage to stop being lazy for an hour or so.

More interesting is the life of the punks and the precariat of my world. These folks willingly or unwillingly live a high intensity life that (at least in the popular imagination) is filled with illegal slaughterfights, underground concerts, wholly unreasonable amounts of exotic drug and alcohol abuse, scavenging plastic and tech to sell to a local pawnshop, buying second-rate cybernetic implants and bio-augmentations, joining a mercenary company, joining a gang, joining a mercenary company whilst being part of a gang. The list goes on.

This lifestyle is romanticized by the public, and does not necessarily reflect the average day of those it pertains to. Among the adult and elderly elite of Europe, there is open resentment to the lifestyle, but many young rich folk actively emulate it, only on a more prestigious level. Instead of delving the layered streets of their local city, they take a trip to the warzones to party (surrounded by security) in one of the temporary safezones, most likely set up for the precise purpose of attracting wealthy Europeans to spend their parents' money. And instead of using the most experimental of synthetic garbage for a quick high, they use the best (and safest) trips money can buy.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)



This is entirely dependent on area's of the world, how many drow are actively about said area (or if it's a full drow occupied area or one of their cities), what's on tap and whether or not the local guard takes kindly to roustabouts. Children will always have their fun, be it hoops and sticks, blown up bladders (not necessarily a pig's) and other pretend games that involve copying local or known heroic or villain personalities or a monster.

For the adults there's everything from reading to local fights and hopefully a decently good ale, mead or liquor to help things along. And depending on the place, several other activities both legal and illegal to go to and more adult themed entertainment. And where there are drow, even more recreational activities and for the experimental, their many, many drugs and liquors that they've created through alchemy. As long as they can pay for it, obviously.

As for the elites, they have all the fancy stuff and don't really look down to hard at it, especially when they have duels and straight up knock 'em down (and sometimes kill and eat 'em) fights, particularly with the wood elves. And the drow often get even more involved there, as they have money for the really good stuff they keep on hand. It's not all that different, though the elites try to be.


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## Ban

*Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)
Playing games, for one thing. There's neither common folk nor elite, so all games are open to everyone. The most popular are Infinite Reversal, a card game played with Tarot-like cards, and OmniLudo, which is basically Calvinball [from Calvin and Hobbes].


*Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?
In a sense, all stories are true in the OmniCosmos. It just depends on your perspective.


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?


I can't tell a story that's fictional in my world, but I'll quote a piece of a short story I wrote where two old farts discuss a series of movies they watched when they were young:

_The two men sit quietly for a bit, Pat sipping his beer, Lars starring out the window, clutching the crumpled napkin in his hand and nodding along to the music. The song was a bit of a hit back when he was at the university. He hasn't heard it for years._
_
“Strange life though. Going around all over the place, shooting bad guys.”
“Aye... couldn't live like that myself. Risking my neck for some god or something. Not my thing.”
“Yeah, gotta be hard on them.”
“I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't mind them doing it. If I was young and strong and backed by a major god I would probably do it myself. But I'm not, never was and never will be. Not me.”
“Yeah, we've all dreamt of adventures like that. Every kid wants to be a paladin, or a fire fighter or a doctor or something.”
“Aye, aye, I remember when I was young. There were these movies about Hernando, the World's Greatest Paladin, you watch them too?”
“Yeah yeah yeah! Hernando! I loved those movies. Used to go see them at the matinée all the time. Good times.”
_​_The two old men fall silent again, reminiscing about the past. The pub's quiet. Even the music's stopped. The song ended and the next one hasn't started yet. Pat rubs his scalp, looking uncomfortable._
_
“Those Hernando movies... I picked them up as a box set last year thinking I should watch them with my grandson.”
“Nice. Did he like them?”
“We didn't actually watch any of them.”
“Oh, why's that? Anything happened?”
“Well... I was thinking I'd watch one an evening when Annie was off. Nostalgia you know. The first one, the one with the dragon and the evil elf witch.”
“Yeah, yeah, I remember that one. My favourite. What happened? Crappy disk or something?”
“No, no, I wish it was. Disk worked just fine. It's just... let's say it hadn't aged very well.”
“Oh... I see... And I was thinking I should borrow it from you.”
“Better not. Was great when kids. Not so much these days.”
“Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe just as well I don't watch it.”
“Trust me. We done here? You do the honours?”
“Yep! Done! Moment.”_​


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?



_The Dragon Who Became A God
_
Among the dragons of Eld, this story is of a dragon successfully becoming a god and fulfilling their kinds most common ultimate ambition. One of the few draconic stories of success and one that doesn't end up with the dragon slain. Said dragon varies from being a common drake, the usual winged one or a sea serpent (the poor wyvern's are left out, but they don't seem to notice). Said dragon manages to elude or as it grows more powerful, kill and munch on it's adversaries and their souls which it sacrifices to itself to gain more power. Then it rises to the point to crush cities under claw and scale and call upon vast armies of loyal lizard folk, half dragons and humans roped into worshipping it. Then after leaving a trail of bloodshed and destruction to match the wood elves during a particularly good season of war it finally ascends.

Then kills and eats all the races that ever wronged it's kind (pretty much all of them) and takes over Eld and earns the honors and appreciation of the Elder that created dragons and the other scaly sort of folk.

And much like anything on Eld, it may get laughed off at first, it's eventually told enough times and combined with certain dragons actual useful success' and generally getting through a fairly long life without ending up in a trophy room and on the dinner plate long enough eventually means it stops being so fictional. Though with a lot less bloodshed and destruction. Only one city ever destroyed when it finally came true.


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?



I have a pop culture list to categorize in-world video games, movies and tv-shows, with descriptors for the type of audience it is geared toward, the genre and format it takes, in-world ratings and its popularity.
Out of the in-world fictional pop culture, my favourite is a campy superhero movie series called "Horselordman". Its titular lead, Horselordman, is a galaxy-dwelling superhero with the power to summon Fantasztikus, a spectral horse that can run at the speed of light. He was first written in 2020 as the lead of a Hungarian comic book series, before being picked up for a movie in 2043 by the burgeoning Hungarian film industry. Since the debut of "Horselordman: Meteor to Mars", the young audiences of Europe have been enamoured with Horselordman. 7 sequels have been written, with "Horselordman and the Star-Derby" being the latest instalment, praised by children worldwide, and loathed by their parents for being unbelievably dull movies.


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## Ban

*Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?

You would need a stargate, which I'm sure the Star Children would open for you, or a trip on the Interstellar Train, which has stations in 20 of the 22 universes.


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## CupofJoe

Ban said:


> *Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?


For a fee, I'm sure I could write a letter of introduction to someone I know who trades down the Slave Trail. For another fee, they will be able to write a letter of introduction to someone they know. Just make it a big fee. You don't want to come back as cargo. If the Gods smile, it will take you six months going east to reach the Pillars and more than twice that if you decide to go west. What is in the far west, beyond the Storm Shore? Crazy sailors will tell you tales of huge beasts spouting smoke and islands of floating trees. They say there is even an island of flying monsters!


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## skip.knox

>I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?
Get three ships. Sail west until you hit China. Wherever you land, call that China.


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## ThinkerX

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epi



Short question, long answer.  An excerpt from my fake history - with apologies in advance to Skip)



> What many other Solarians saw as a crowded island home, Titus Reginus perceived as a trap, a place that was stifling his peoples potential.  He also saw a world beyond the isle that was falling into chaos and needed a strong hand to restore order.  So, he commanded what became known as the Great Exodus – legion after legion, town after town was loaded onto great ships and ferried to staging points about the mainland – and the Great Exodus begat a great empire.
> 
> 
> Titus’s mad act caught the even madder Priest King by surprise, and Titus’s general Manlius Maximus routed the armies of Kheff in short order.  From there they marched north and east along the coast to Corber Port, whose common folk welcomed the Solarians as an element of sanity in an insane feud.  Another confederate of Reginus, Alexander Bestia, landed a fleet in Carbone and made it part of the empire.
> 
> 
> While campaigning on the coast north of Sancti, Titus heard of a special, sacred place just below the mountains of the dwarves, a great throne, so large that only giants and gods could comfortably sit upon it.  What he found was a mountain jutting out from a ridge that did very much resemble a throne atop a dais, at a juncture of two mighty rivers two days walk from the sea.  This, he decided, would be the perfect place to establish his seat of power.  He called in artisans, priests, and made pacts with the dwarves, to carve this mountain into a literal palace and turn the town about into the metropolis of Princeps.
> 
> By this time, the legions had been on the march for more than thirty years.  The plums of the conquest – Kheff and Carbone and Niteroi and Corber Port had all gone to the great families, but now the ordinary legionaries demanded a share of the wealth, and so the new made emperor granted them the nearly empty coastland north of Corber Port, and so was born the province of Equitant.
> 
> 
> Titus’s descendants continued to expand the empire; within a century of his landing the Solarians ruled most of the coast around the sea and started conquering the city states along the shore of the great ocean beyond.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)



This varies from country to country - and province to province.  In Solaria, horse racing (and betting on the outcome) is a big thing, though one scarcely covered in my stories.  Likewise, a 'soccer-like' team sport, imported from its neighbors, is starting to take off in Solaria.  Gambling with cards or dice is a big thing, as are large dances that can include most of a towns inhabitants.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?



Several mythical ones, and several more that are 'distorted history.'  Straight out fictional...none that I've developed.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?



Do you want to go in relative safety or the full on adventurers package? Back in the days before the Lich Wars, near every sort of travel one see's in fantasy settings was available. From airships to dragons (griffons at ones own risk), regular ships and land travel and through Sylvan Gates. Travel by dinosaur and atop boars and other such beasties. Even early sort of magical steam wagons on the Southern continent and sandworms in the deserts. And a few other plane jumping options for those in the know, including travel through mirrors.

After the Lich Wars, well, travel, especially air travel has been cut down and most magical means of it short of riding a flying animal is quite limited. The Sylvan Gates have been closed off and the land is even more dangerous as the likes of centaurs roam as bandits and there are few are around to cull the war herds. Otherwise there will be a lot of walking or riding in trailers and carriages and boats.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?



My worlds, with one or two bizarre exceptions, are spheres - proceed far enough in one direction, avoid catastrophe, and you will eventually return to your starting point.  

Char - the world of Solaria and Cimmar has more land than water - it's oceans and seas are almost landlocked.  One could theoretically sail around the world, but portions of that journey would be on rivers and much time would be spent on the 'Unknown Southern Sea.'  It would be easier to simply pick a  spot in the vast southern plains and travel either east or west from there, though there's little in the way of civilization.  The northerly or civilized approach...

Board a westbound ship in Corber Port, Solaria's largest city, spanning the strait between the immense Cauldron and the Mare Imperium, heading for great Marfaki Canal at the Imperial Sea's westernmost extent.  Do remember to call at the Throne City for necessary permits and consult the geographical experts at Solace's great university along the way.  The Marfak canal cuts through ravaged and haunted Drakkar (recently being populated by discharged imperial legionaries)  to the Sea of Shadows, so called because Solaria knew little of its true extent, despite a long term presence.   At Tessa, the port at the canals terminus, take ship south and west past stubbornly independent Arcos (once an Imperial city) and the bleak black cliffs of Nous isle (keep an eye out for pirates).  Past Nous, thread a course through a tangle of tiny, strange isles and then sail for a week across open water to Cendoza, southernmost of the Rhaiduni states.   At this point, seagoing vessels must be abandoned.  Continue west along Cendoza's highways, keeping north of Gawana, a living labyrinth hundreds of miles across.  Eventually, you'll reach the Iron Passes that guard the Rhaiduni lands from the nomads of the southern plains.  Stock up on water and provisions; the journey's next leg involves a rude caravan track across a thousand miles of desert.   This brings you to the southern fringes of decadent Celthania, a lingering vestige of the once mighty Agban empire, brought low by intrigue and compacts with demons.  From here, you can either pass NE through Celthania (be wary of its decadent traps!) to a trade road that proceeds west to Cimmar's eastern boundaries, or take a boat south along the Grass River to Cenotaph City, Necropolis of the Gods, and from there take passage aboard a junk to the Nations of Heaven.  Both courses take the traveler to the eastern shores of the Cauldron.  From there, securing passage with either the Gotlander mariners (a cold realm between Solaria and Cimmar) or on a Chou trade fleet to Corber Port is a relatively simple matter. 

Aquas -  Unlike Char, Aquas is a world of water with but a single conventional continent.  However, it does have another significant landmass - the impossible elongated ribbon of land termed the 'Strand' or the 'Spine' that effectively circumnavigates the globe on a rough NW/SE axis.  In the vast majority of places, a traveler in good health can cross the strands width in determined hike of no more than a day or two.  In other stretches, a archer with a strong enough bow can lob an arrow clear across its breadth.  In a few places - perhaps a dozen total - the strand broadens to well over a hundred miles in width.  These 'knobs' are the foci points of civilization.  Caste bound Baradu's overpopulated cities, rude goblin metropolises, the vast, decaying multi-racial Dimmurian League, dominions of elves and rachasa and screa and more - all claim portions of the Strand.

The Pilgrim Shrines - focuses of immense psionic power - sit at regular intervals along the Strand.  Parties of pilgrims, hoping for healing or comfort or good fortune flock to these strange temples.  Some - a tiny fraction of those who embark on such journeys - walk the Strands full circle and (possibly) become figures of legend.


----------



## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?



All of the world (it is just earth after all) is known. The furthest people have travelled and settled is Mars, which you can only reach if you are part of a research team, or one of the crazy colonists trying to live out there to limited, though predominantly symbolic, success. This trip takes months, and is only done when Mars and Earth are at their closest point, so you'll have to be patient.

If you want to circumnavigate the world, you can take a passenger plane and do it in about 24 hours (including stops). Alternatively, you can take a series of European hyperloops and Russian mag-lev trains, all the way from Marrakech to the furthest edge of Siberia in the span of a mere 12 hours. At that point things get tricky however, due to cold relations between Canada (which owns Alaska) and the URS, and lacking modern infrastructure in most of Canada, which has been to busy containing the warzones to adopt mag-lev and hyperloop technology.


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## Ban

*Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?



Start with the first and easiest. The eating of sapients and sentients, on Earth, generally not very moral. On Eld, for a good portion of it's existence it's been perfectly moral. It'd be almost immoral to leave such a thing to waste and thus, it happened. And even in the most modern day, still happens from time to time, though the ones who do it usually try to only do it to their very worst enemies or those who really deserve to be cooked. This is not helped by the fact that a fair amount of animals talk, as they sometimes have a tendency to in fairy tales. If the food talks, that, by the simplest of logic, means everything is food.

That's probably one of the easier ones of separation.


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## Ban

Ban said:


> *Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?



Great apes have been recognized internationally as sentient and sapient creatures, and the intentional killing of one can lead to life imprisonment. This was deemed necessary, after Gorilla's and other apes trained to sign like the late gorilla Koko, were released back in the wild, and in turn taught their fellow apes the same communicative skills. A species that can make its thoughts known to people through language, even if rudimentary, can not be reasonably dismissed as non-intelligent and non-feeling.

On that note, great ape populations have skyrocketed in the united state of Cameroon-Gabon. In the state, Gorilla's have proven to be a great boon in tracking down traffickers and middle-African war parties, through communicating the enemy's location with professional gorilla sign experts (A task becoming increasingly more difficult, as different gorilla groups develop different sign dialects). Chimpanzees have proven to be difficult to work with, and prefer to use their newfound linguistic skills to sign obscenities at rival tribes and nosy people.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?



Shapers believe that making promises is immoral.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Got caught a bit off-guard, and now I need to catch up 


Ban said:


> *Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?


The increments are all called the same, so you got days, weeks, months and years. The planet is the same size as Earth, and a slightly smaller orbit, so days and weeks are the same length, and years are exactly 364 days, without the little extra bit that leads to leap years, much to the pleasure of the Duongels. The orbit of the moon is much more refined, orbiting at exactly 28 days. This leads to there being 13 months in a year. Humans have the same superstition about the number 13, and Duongels just dislike that the last month of the year is an odd number, so the equivilent of Halloween is during this last month. Coming up for names of the months and days is proving quite annoying, as they haven't discovered astronomy yet, so I can't use planets to name them, and I haven't gotten names for all the deities yet, so I can't use those yet. And deciding what year it is is proving annoying as well.


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## Ban

*Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusementparks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.


The deities of the world used to war a lot. These wars could last as long as a century, and were often filled with the blood of innocent worshippers massacred by the Apostles of rival deities. During the last major war, Inespell, the deity of instability and chaos, became much more powerful than the other deities without any clear source, and started attacking all the deities, even the passive ones who took no part in the wars, and those who thought themselves to be her allies. All the Apostles at the time, including Inespell's own Apostle, tried to defeat Inespell, and were all killed. The deities started to fear for their lives, so they made a pact of peace, and combined their powers to create Hosper Paxet, a person who would be able to be the Apostle of all of them. Hosper went to all the temples, bolstering the worship of the various deities, while also researching much about Inespell and the source of her power. Hosper then managed to track down Inespell and Inespell's new Apostle, and lured the Apostle away, killing him without alerting Inespell. Without an Apostle, Inespell had nothing to anchor her divinity to the world, and was weakened. Due to Inespell's weakened state, Hosper was able to defeat her, and sealed her away in a different dimension. The barrier between the world and the dimension Inespell was sealed in is weakest around the mountain thought to be where Gem Slimes originated from, so there is a cave there where cultists still worship Inespell, and much of the wildlife around there is bizzare and chaotic, with the prime example being the Gem Slime, which was only discovered about a century before my story takes place. The years count from the year Hosper was created, and at the time of my story, it's somewhere around about the 13th century(the century of superstition). There is a holiday to celebrate the anniversary of Hosper's creation(totally not a rip-off of Christmas), and one to celebrate the victory over Inespell.


----------



## Blither

Don't really have an answer to the last to, so:
*
Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?

The post-fall world is a harsh place. The easiest way to literally get from one side to the other would be by hugging the coastlines of Rosk, the northernmost continent, which stretches most of the way around the globe. The Templar order keeps the mutant tribesmen and Vestiges (monsters) from straying too far south, and you probably won't freeze to death if you do it in the summer

There's still a good chance of getting killed or just starving to death if you don't have any survival skills, but it's safer than going anywhere else.


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## Ban

So no dinosaur parks, magic dueling grounds or  no-gravity wonderlands? I'm a little disappointed.



Ban said:


> *Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusementparks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)



Virtual reality arcades can be found in any self-respecting modern city, whereas the old entertainment types mentioned in the question are still as present as always. This is an area of worldbuilding I need to give some more attention to.


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## Ban

*We've reached the end of week 2, well done everyone!

Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? (Bonus: How do I celebrate?)


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## Ewolf20

* What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? *

There's a holiday in Ookraia that roughly translate to "the coming of winter". it's a bit like christmas, only santa claus is treated like the boogie man or krampus. The first portions of the celebration are devoted to the harvest, where everyone lends their hand in planting food for the winter. the leftovers are put under a heavily decorated stick that's used to ward off snow spirits. once the winter comes, the bug people enter their homes or move away for awhile. during that time they might say cheery tunes or folktales about the holiday. once winter ends, a person dressed as the "santa" figure comes by and gives everyone gifts for their hard work.

if you didn't know by now, they're humanoid bugs.

now, if a larvae misbehaved during that holiday, they're said to kicked out and spanked until winters comes. some races go out of their way to let the winter kill them off. Especially my bee people who this excuse to kick out their drones.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

I need to catch up! AAAAHH!
*
Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?
Ooh, I really like this question. For the most part, aside from a few fanatic cults and denser areas of the universe of Shio [dimensionally speaking], everyone in the OmniCosmos abides by the Truth of the Cosmos: 'I am you and you are me, and everyone and all are divine.' Consequently, there are no wars, no fighting, and no legal systems since there's no crime. 

[If you want to know more, Ban, I can elaborate some more.]

*Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusement parks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)
I haven't actually thought about that. I'll have to investigate. 

*Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? (Bonus: How do I celebrate?)
Well...technically every day is a celebration, but in every universe, there's at least one day a year [according to those that have calendar systems and mark years] where the Eternal Ones have a party, and everyone in the OmniCosmos' invited--literally everyone.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusementparks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)



Menageries and some zoo's. The city of Crystal Rose likely has one of the stranger zoo's above ground. Not too many keep things like cockatrices, giant red aurochs or a boar king on display. The closest to an amusement park would be down in Paradise, but as it's drow amusement, it's also part carnival, circus and fueled by a hundreds of different drinks and concoctions, it's one of those that you enter at your own risk.



Ban said:


> *Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? (Bonus: How do I celebrate?)



The Victory Feast, which took over most of the mid-winter festivals after the Lich Wars. And you celebrate by gathering with a bunch of like minded people intent on being thankful for still living (and not undead), having a lot of food and drink and telling great stories of heroics and toasting to those who died during it and to those who prevent such a thing from coming again. Basically it's the big holiday smash with about a week of food, drink and tales.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

I do intend to have amusement parks of some kind, I'm just heavily backlogged and I've got mock exams in a couple of weeks.


Ban said:


> *Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)


In the Duongel's city, there isn't many who could be called "the elite". Poverty isn't a thing, because of how easy it is for a Duongel to get a decent pay and how high-paying most of the jobs that humans can do are, and because many of the richer Duongels are philanthropists. Many of the games the Duongels play are some form of projectile game that would be seen as impossible even by the standards of an Olympic archer, such as having one body stand behind a giant wall while the other stands on top, and using what the body on top of the wall sees to be able to shoot arrows at up to 10 targets simultaneously from the body at the bottom of the wall. The richer the Duongel is, the more expensive the projectile weapon they can get is, so the rich ones can do things like shooting an arrow at the straw dummy hidden among the rocks launched by a catapult 200 meters away. Just like my warning in the university one: NEVER challenge a Duongel to a projectile sport, you'd have to do some blatant cheating to even match their skill. I mean, a human might be able to hold out in a dodgeball match until time runs out, but they'd never be able to hit an opponent, unless they can somehow make the ball change direction midair. As such, dodgeball isn't a sport played by Duongels, as it'd be boring in a Duongel vs Duongel match. You might have a group of Duongels play a game where it's "find the shiny balls hidden around the city, winner is the one who has the most balls", but for a human to join in you'd have to have it be that it's only the balls that a single body finds, and make some way of telling which body found a ball, as to stop cheating. Flying probably also wouldn't be allowed if a human was taking part. The richer Duongels will play with balls that have been enchanted with expensive enchantments, so if you're friends with an elite Duongel, treasure that fact, because you might be able to have a level playing field in some of the non-projectile games.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?


Hmm, the fiction within the fiction. That's gonna be difficult. Almost any stories about the deities are _probably_ true, so can't go with those, and the story of the pair of Duongel mages who flew to the unknown continent on the other side of the ocean is, however badly distorted from the truth it might be, still a true story. The Duongels might have stories about a Duongel with more than two bodies(actually can't even think of how that would work, but that's mostly because I don't have all the details of their normal reproduction sorted), but other than that I'm not sure.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?


To get from one end of the continent to the other, you'd have to make your way past the large mountain range that splits the continent in half. The bit right in the middle is where the cult of Inespell resides, so it's dangerous there, even if you ignore the strange chaos that is absolutely normal there. On one side of the mountain range is where most of the human settlements are, and there's very few non-human settlements, which explains why the humans didn't know about the other races in my world for quite a bit. A Duongel might be able to fly over the mountains, but the air gets so thin near the peaks that it's not safe to do so, and lower down the mountains is the realm of beasts, including dragons. There is only one safe route through the mountains so far, and it is heavily guarded due it being the only reliable trade route between settlements on either side of the mountains. The Duongel's city is about the furthest east you can go on the continent, while the capital of the largest of the human nations is the furthest west you can get. You would want to start at the capital at the west, as the Duongel's city is an infinitely more desireable end location. You would go past 3 or 4 major cities, and up to 20 small towns and villages, before you reached the pass at the mountains, with it being about a three day journey between each major city, and 5 days from the last one to the pass. Due to it being the only safe route through so far, the pass is a neutral zone, so any enemies you may have made on the way there would be forced to leave you alone. From that point on, you'd probably want to hitch a ride with a group of traders headed for the Duongel's city, as they would most likely know which settlements are accepting of humans, and often hire wizards and other forms of defence from monsters. The journey is a bit slower on this side, taking far more stops due to the danger, and because you wouldn't be able to go as direct of a route. You'd probably pass 1 or 2 large human settlements, and there's about 6 large settlements that are friendly to humans on the standard trade route, and about 30 smaller settlements along the way. The palace of Traviage, the deity of travel, is a point that pretty much every trade route on the east side of the mountains stops at, and it is highly recommended that you spend a day there before going on your way, as to not upset Traviage. All in all, if you were going by standard horse and carriage as your transport, and you were lucky enough to not get attacked by any monsters and were able to switch to a group of traders heading to the next stop almost immediately after arriving at a stop, you'd probably take about 14 days(17 if you take the route stopping at all 4 of the major cities) to get from the west capital to the mountain pass, and a further 28 days to get to the Duongel's city. Of course, once there you could volunteer to join the force trying to explore beyond the oceans. And if you were to befriend a powerful air mage, you might be able to fly the journey between the west capital and the mountains in under half the time it would take to go by the standard method. You'd still want to stop at Traviage's palace once you're on the other side though, to boost your chances of a safe journey. The help of a powerful air mage can easily cut your journey down from a 42 day journey to a 21.5 day journey.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?


It is generally considered immoral for a Duongel to participate in any sort of projectile sport ran by humans unless it specifically says that they can participate, as otherwise the Duongel would take all the prizes and that's no fun. It is also immoral to cause a Duongel to have large physical differences between it's two bodies, but most ways to do that take the form of something that is immoral anyway(force-feeding, starvation, causing injury intentionally).

On a different note, it is immoral to try and sell gemstones gotten from a Gem Slime(I guess it kinda counts as forgery), and most appraisers have special magic items developed specifically to be able to identify gemstones made by a Gem Slime. As such, Gem Slimes tend to be owned by mages or the rich, cause the rich would want the gemstones to decorate stuff with, and the mage might need them for magic rituals.


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## Ban

Good catching up all three of you!

*Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?

To answer both at once: cloaks.  No one seems to wear jackets or coats in the OmniCosmos, just cloaks.


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## Ban

TheCrystallineEntity said:


> To answer both at once: cloaks.  No one seems to wear jackets or coats in the OmniCosmos, just cloaks.



Cloaks upon cloaks upon cloaks. I'm liking this style, there aren't enough cloaks left in the real world.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> Good catching up all three of you!
> 
> *Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?



The fashion that never seems to go out of style is the military style cut clothing or straight up military uniforms. Especially on the Fea end of Eld. Birthday suit might also be applicable for a fair portion of the world along with the bare chest. Particularly if one ends up in one of those dreaded character cliches with whom loincloth or pants is standard. Or the dreaded chain mail or fur bikini's, which at least has mostly gone away but for a few hardcore types. Armor also never really goes out of style.

Current fashion at time the story takes place in is still military style, high riding boots and the red, gold and greens of House Sunleaf. At least with those that have the money to get the fashion. It's mostly used to buck the trend of whatever is coming out of Paradise or Val Royale.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> Good catching up all three of you!
> 
> *Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?


It varies throughout Her Law but in the big cosmopolitan cities: platform shoes, vests, shoulder/knee pads and big hair metal hairstyles - throw in some beads and bandanas.  If you want to be really stylish, you might try pulling off a codpiece or mullet.  Vibrant colors are always a plus but you need some neutral colors to balance it out.
Beards are going out of style but mustaches are making a comeback.

Capes never go out of style.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusementparks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)


Of course now that I get to this one, I'm completely stumped on how it'd actually work in my world. Can't have standard rollercoasters, as electricity isn't a thing yet(lightning doesn't count), and water-slides and normal slides wouldn't work for Duongels due to their wings. In fact, since the Duongel's wings are feathered, would they even be able to play at a water park? I don't imagine their wings being the kind that's waterproof like ducks. Well, guess that's a point on the (very small) list of things that humans are better than Duongels for. In that case, there wouldn't be a water park at the Duongel's city, but there might at the largest of human cities, like the western capital(still need to come up with a name for the nation it belongs to).

In the Duongel's city, there is a zoo that has some of the animals found on the west side of the mountain range but not on the east, and even has some of the safe(ish) creatures from around Inespell's Rage(the name that most people have for the area that Inespell's chaos leaks into the world). Generally the creatures unique to the east side of the mountains are a bit too dangerous to contain in zoo's, so any zoo on the west side would probably be about the same as one on Earth.

Bowling in areas that Duongels frequent would probably have barriers in place so that Duongels wouldn't be able to just throw the ball at the pins and get strikes every time, because projectile, and any kind of fairground would have a very clear rule that Duongels can't play the games where it involves throwing a ball at something, because projectile.

As for magic dueling areas, those would be present in just about any settlement large enough to be called a town, let alone cities, and would be ran by mages who are adept at barrier magic. Don't want the whole city to get destroyed because a couple of Duongel mages with rather destructive magics decided to have a duel, do we? 4 bodies flinging around magic like that could easily take the peak off a mountain if they were doing it in the mountain range.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? (Bonus: How do I celebrate?)


The holiday that is totally not a rip-off of Christmas is celebrated in much the same way, but is not actually the biggest celebration of the year. That would be the one celebrating the defeat of Inespell, which people start preparing for a couple of months in advance, and there's still traces of the event leftover a good 3 months afterwards, not to mention the fact that the holiday itself lasts for a whole week. Basically, imagine all widely celebrated occaisions, except halloween, combined together into one huge week-long celebration, and you might be close to imagining what this holiday is like. The way it's celebrated in the Duongel's city is this: you'll get people launching (magic) fireworks every day, with the first day being ended by a (magic) firework display that would put 4th of July celebrations to shame. People give each other presents on the third day, and families will have feasts for lunch on the second and fourth day, and there's a massive communal feast on the fifth day. On the sixth day, there's a treasure hunt, where people have to try and find special stone totems of the deities and some creatures. These totems are enchanted with a special identifier each year, as to prevent people from trying to use fake totems made during the year, and if a single-bodied person manages to find a totem, it counts as two because of how much harder it is for them to find totems compared to Duongels, especially since the Duongels can have one body searching while the other goes to the judging place to get a totem confirmed. On the last day, they have a tournament where one mage from each deity's temple will compete against the mages from the other temples. The people of the city think that by having this tournament, it allows the deities to settle their differences without having a war, as the deities having a war would be disasterous. Once a decade, the various Apostles all make their way to the Duongel's city, with the purpose of being the mage for their deity in the tournament, to show people a taste of what the deities are truly capable of. Pretty much every mage that can create barriers is needed at the duel arena when that happens, as the standard barriers that they have just can't hold up against the sheer power behind the divine magic the Apostles have.

While on the topic of celebrations, I'll just mention that because the years in my world contain exactly 52 weeks, not a day more, for any given date, it'll always be the same day of the week. As such, there's no holidays that move around based on it being the first blah-day of the month, and there's no superstition behind a certain day of the month being a certain day of the week(Friday 13th, I'm looking at you). And on a complete coincidence(or is it? ), the equivilent of halloween lands on the 13th day of the 13th month.


----------



## Ban

*Question 16: * Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 16: * Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)



What sort of travelers you want? Eld has everything from desert nomads to gypsy's to ogre caravans and river trolls that ply the rivers in house boats. There's merchant sea elves who rarely touch land and tinkers and smiths plying trade and the traveling fairs and circus' and island hopping orcs. Then there's the feral tribes of many species, though they are few in the modern age. And one of the odder nomad types, the orchard dwarves. The last and perhaps the most aggravating of all, the goat herder dwarves and the centaur herds.

As for the why's of the travel, for those like sea elves and river trolls, their element moves and so standing still is almost anathema to them. The desert nomads mostly have to keep moving because the deserts of Eld, particularly the Red Sands, which is both the largest and most hostile, due to the desert being a near genius loci itself. One that is rather malevolent at that. The orchard dwarves on the other hand travel, but at a much slower pace, tending their great orchards and the forests they call their own and stay a decade or two and then move on to their next (formerly abandoned) village to tend to the other orchards.

Then there's the merchant sorts, which has been touched upon. Trade, money and new places to visit. The ogre caravans are a bit of an odd one out, as they travel in their family groups and often set up impromptu feasts with what they've taken on their travels while in villages. They get a place to rest and hone their cooking skills and the village get's some pretty good protection. The traveling fairs, circus' and smiths are fairly self explanatory.

The last few are bit more of hard cases, sometimes for having poor luck or being kind of assholes. The island hopping orcs and feral's follow the food and thus move with it as it goes about it's own travels, though both tend to have semi-permenent villages set up along the known migration routes. The gypsy's have had the worst luck, given they are the descendants of humans that originally came to the Fea North as conquerers and tried to set up permanent colonies that were destroyed by the elves for the most part (there's a few surviving port cities and Val Royale which is held by the Sea Elves) and they've been forced to move ever since.

Then there's the centaurs and the goat riding nomads, which are very mobile armies who's general attitude is to take things, destroy things and eat things and that every other race is beneath their notice. Though the goat nomads will ally with whoever will give them war and money. The centaurs do not ally with anyone and are mostly out for themselves and their war herds. This makes them fairly dangerous for Eld, though for years they were kept in check by the likes of wood elves and other armies they stood in the way of and got killed for it.

So, a few paragraphs on Eld's mobile peoples. No one's invented the R.V. yet, but they still get from place to place. Even with how dangerous the world in general is.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 16: *Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)
Most beings in the OmniCosmos don't travel outside of their universes unless it's for a specific purpose, like going on a quest or whatever. The Eternal Ones, of course, can go anywhere they like.


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## Ban

*Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food places are still open?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food places are still open?

Strictly speaking, most beings in the OmniCosmos manifest their food from scratch, but there a re a couple universes that have restaurants and drink dispensaries [the Psycheverse and Wyrd, for instance].


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food places are still open?



Again, all comes down to where you're at in the world. There's usually someplace open throughout the night in most cities, not so much in a quiet village. Or on the trail. I'm assuming you'll be in the city (watch out for gazebo's). You can find food carts catering to the drunken late night crowd, the academics who almost forgot what food was and the off duty soldiers and guards. Other sorts of restaurants stay open as twenty four hour diners of sorts.

Might even find a dive bar in the right city, mainly Dhaka, Paradise and Val Royale. Either way food will be served. Get into the underground scene and you're liable to find even stranger sorts of foods and drinks from the delver and drow communities catering to the cave and cavern classes. This is Eld, if you desire food, you are likely to find it. Unless you're in one of the famine seasons, then you might not want to know what you're eating. It's for the best.


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## Ban

*Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?



The musical arts, stories and paintings are the big ones in general. Though two out of the three can have more then artful consequences for the world and the third is sometimes used in particularly creative ways. More then a few magical paintings in the world with someone, or several someone's, souls stuck in them. The first two are simply the more powerful in a world run on Narrative, for those who know how to use them. There is dance and even cooking is put up as an art in several places. Statues are also a commonly seen art form.

And in a particularly sort of twisted art that many find enjoyable is Garden Art. Artfully and tastefully decorated gardens that hold all sorts of things within the garden itself. To those not welcome to the gardens, it quickly goes from 'Oooh pretty!' to 'Oh gods help me! I'm being chased by a giant carnivorous flower!' sort of thing. The goblins and kobalds also have something along the lines of it too, due to centuries of being considered the easy prey to go after. Trap art, in which various traps and the like used to defend their homes and the various bodies of adventurers and armies that have came after them that end up in them. It makes for a delightfully morbid reminder of what they are capable of and the new people get to see the art. For a little bit of time at least.

And drow arts are mostly surreal.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?

Creativity is what shapes the OmniCosmos, and so singing, dancing, story-telling, and painting/sketching/drawing/writing are invaluable.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?


In places frequented by Duongels, there are clothing stores specifically for Duongels(kinda necessary because of their wings), which *always* have matching sets of clothes in opposite colours. They have a special rack specifically for clothes where the other half of the pair was bought by a human, which is labelled, in the Duongel's language, "A**hole rack", but this rack tends to be empty during winter(especially during a cold year), because humans are rarely stupid enough to buy shirts with two massive holes in them during the coldest part of the year. The stuff on there is usually pretty discounted, both to try and attract humans away from the other racks, and because it is literally like buying only one half of a two-person costume. Sometimes a human might buy the half of a pair that someone had already caused a different instance of that pair to be on the human rack(say there was a pair of a black and a white shirt, and there was a black shirt on the human rack, and for some reason a human bought a full price black shirt instead of the discount one), then the one on the human rack would get paired up with the newly abandoned item of clothing, and put on the normal racks, rather than the abandoned clothing going on the human rack. The human rack is also positioned right in front of the entrance, as to discourage humans from looking at the normal racks.

As for actual current fashion, I'd say that there is a pretty new trend among the Duongels of getting a small band fitted around the very tip of the wings, and having small charms and other things that might be possible to see on earrings dangle off these bands(obviously they'd get matching ones for each body). Another trend is to go to a magical tattoo artist, and get this newly developed magic that can dye their feathers. And that is where you get the only major appearance-based divide in the opinions of Duongels, as some like to have the wings of their bodies match colours, and others like to make the wings for each body be opposite colours. As induvidual feathers can be dyed differently, there can be intricate patterns, though a single feather can only be one colour, with the only exeptions being the long feathers that make up the remiges.

Due to the Duongels obsession with balance, their clothes will always be symmetrical. So if there was a pocket on one side, there would be an identical pocket on the other side.

The one thing that never goes out of fashion for humans is capes. They're also commonly used by Duongels trying to pretend to be humans(not an easy task without illusion magic).


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 16: * Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)


There are large numbers of merchants who seem to be constantly on the move, and those merchants usually have some sort of way to give tributes to Traviage, when they aren't on a route that stops at his palace.

Any practicer of Forbidden Magics often can't stay in settlements long(I mean, they are commiting a crime), so often, if you see a shady looking mage at Traviage's palace, they probably practice Forbidden Magic. They also will wear some kind of pendant or something else to just passively show their worship for Traviage.

Anyone who wants to go on long journeys, especially on the east side of the mountains, will almost always pay some form of tribute to Traviage, with the best tribute being staying a day at Traviage's palace. There is only one known group of nomads who never do any kind of worship for Traviage and live to tell the tale, and that is the Tunneling Travellers, a group of around 30 dwarves who tunnel around underneath the mountains hoping to find the palace of the deity of the underworld, which is the main deity that dwarves worship. Don't worry, they fill in their tunnels behind them.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food places are still open?


Due to the lower number of people they have to keep awake to run, most of the restaurants that staff both humans and Duongels run quite far into the night. And while sometimes there might not be food involved, most bars ran by Duongels are open 24 hours a day. It's rather convenient for them that they have two bodies, as one can be bartender while the other sleeps and does whatever shopping and cooking might be needed. The most inconvenient bit for them is eating, as they have to bring the food over to where the body being bartender is. Often people don't order drinks while the bartender is eating, with Duongels not doing it because they are kind, and single-bodied races because they are normally rather unsettled by the two bodies' absolute unison while eating. Meals made for Duongels will often be picked at a bit until they look completely identical, so that the exact same movements can be made by both bodies to eat.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?


Duongels like paintings and sculptures that look different depending on the angle you look at them, so those are rather common in galleries of places with a large presence of Duongels. In fact, the effect of having a different appearance dependent on viewing angle plays a large part in how the Duongel's language is written.

Sculptures of the deities are also rather common, especially at their palaces.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Thinking way back to question 2, I've thought a bit on how a Duongel watches their own back to prevent themself from being pickpocketed.

All Duongels have one body which they default to using when interacting with someone, much like how humans can be left or right handed(Duongels are always ambidextrous), and that body will be the one that they keep their money and other valuables on. The other body will walk behind the first, partly to keep an eye on it and partly because Duongels can take up a very large space if they walk side by side.


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## TheKillerBs

ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> In places frequented by Duongels, there are clothing stores specifically for Duongels(kinda necessary because of their wings), which *always* have matching sets of clothes in opposite colours. They have a special rack specifically for clothes where the other half of the pair was bought by a human, which is labelled, in the Duongel's language, "A**hole rack", but this rack tends to be empty during winter(especially during a cold year), because humans are rarely stupid enough to buy shirts with two massive holes in them during the coldest part of the year. The stuff on there is usually pretty discounted, both to try and attract humans away from the other racks, and because it is literally like buying only one half of a two-person costume. Sometimes a human might buy the half of a pair that someone had already caused a different instance of that pair to be on the human rack(say there was a pair of a black and a white shirt, and there was a black shirt on the human rack, and for some reason a human bought a full price black shirt instead of the discount one), then the one on the human rack would get paired up with the newly abandoned item of clothing, and put on the normal racks, rather than the abandoned clothing going on the human rack. The human rack is also positioned right in front of the entrance, as to discourage humans from looking at the normal racks.


Why don't they just sell the Duongel clothes as a paired set then?


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

They don't particularly want to exclude humans from being able to buy their clothes, as some humans see the way the back of Duongel shirts look as pretty. It's like how human dresses sometimes have no back.


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## Ban

I really need to catch up on my own prompts...  Anyways, here's number 19.

*Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?


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## TheKillerBs

ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> They don't particularly want to exclude humans from being able to buy their clothes, as some humans see the way the back of Duongel shirts look as pretty. It's like how human dresses sometimes have no back.


How does selling Duongel clothes as paired sets exclude human buyers?


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

I must be misunderstanding what you're saying.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?

The Astral Abyss [Dream's domain] and by default Dream's House is a wonder in of itself, and probably the most mysterious. No one really knows what it's like there, and so books upon books and theories upon theories have been made.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?



The Eight Mountains are specifically meant to be the (conveniently numbered) geographic, historical and cultural hubs of my setting.  They are as followed:
1. Mount Axis, largest mountain in the world.  Twice as tall as Mount Everest and as wide as France.
2. Mount Pale-Landing, where the prehistoric ancestors of the Goblins are said to have landed their 'space craft' (for lack of a better term).  Also near the Grand Altar of Gob-Madarus which is an important holy site (arguably the most important).
3. Mount Rauskin, where the first wizards practiced magic.  The mythical Tu-Shali School of Magic is said to be located here.  Also houses the ruins of the Second Temple of the Gods.
4. Mount Budic, the "Mountain of Enlightened Sages", home of the famous Western Turtle School of Magic.  There's a cliff that people would make wishes at and then jump off.
5. Mount Noic, a series of close mesas and plateaus created by a wizard during a duel.  Cannibal bird people are said to live here.  Where the gods crowned the first Levinusian emperor (if you believe that).
6. Mount Albion, where Albion the Demigod was said to be killed.  Also houses the Olympus Mausoleum, a popular pilgrimage site.
7. Mount Kelpa, which houses the Fountain of Creation, which is super holy and magical.  The wildlife here is also said to be really interesting.  Especially the God-Lions.  Near the ruins of the Third Palace of the Gods.
8. Mount Agron, not an important mountain itself but a lot of early, historic churches are built around here.  A popular pilgrimage site.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?



Natural Wonders:

1. The Evergreen Tundra: Which is both a pilgrimage site and what was left of the Liches many ziggurats from the Lich Wars after Adriel finished with them. Flattening them and turning it into a vast, never fading tundra of green in the far north.
2. The World Tree's: Counting as two, that I know of so far, the Sun Oak world tree in the center of the Fea Forest and capitol of the wood elf realm and the Ironwood World tree growing out of a mountain in the orc lands that used to be one of their fortresses. May be a third in the jungles of the Southern Reaches.
3. The Mouth: Not exactly a place one wants to visit. A series of mountains that form with a constant background storm and cloud system that give it the look of an open and fanged mouth, the exact species they say it is from varies. It is a mouth none the less and rumor among the world is that even demons fear to tread there. The demons have thus far not refuted it and it is known to let loose powerful creatures and monsters now and again.
4. The Hidden Valley: The goblins well protected sanctuary land deep within the Dragon Spine Mountain range. It is a place of massive amounts of greenery and farmland and fairly peaceful, even though it is also the place with the most goblin forges within the mountains and farmland that typically arm the Greenkin for war.

Mortal Made Wonders:

1. Paradise City: Created by the drow in a massive underground cavern, this is a tropical paradise where no tropical paradise should be.
2. Zukal Magical Academy Tower: This human made structure stands tall over the city of Zukal and can be seen many miles away across the savannah and it opens up it's top like flower petals to take in the sun and help power it.
3. Steel Ring Islands: Once drow territory, taken over by dwarves and then humans, the islands have been turned into a massive stone and metal fortress where humans and delver hold Academic Battles to determine who has the better technology and magic. Stopped as of the Lich Wars and the drow have taken it over again.
4. The Skull Temple: Though fairly lost, this temple of skulls was no ordinary temple of skulls. It was made of the skulls of giants who came to preach and be missionaries to the wood elves. The elves figured if they wanted to be a church, they could literally be one. Just to the Alfhian, not to the Elder.
5. The Trade Roads: Roads may not seem like a great wonder, but when they are underground and stretch go to all four continents, they probably count. Made by dwarves and drow alike.

Supernatural Wonders:

1. The Sylvan Gates: These naturally grown gates connect various points in the world via the Sylvan Plane, which is almost another world in of itself. Since the Lich Wars they have been closed or completely taken away, though they are awakening again.
2. Good Intentions: The road through the hells of Eld which runs much straighter then the Gates and at times a quicker way to get to destinations. Pending you have the right gear.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?


The palaces of the deities would be the first call to mind when thinking of buildings as wonders.

As for natural wonders, there's these(and probably I will think of more at a later date):

Inespell's orginal palace is now ruins(the amount of residual chaos from before it was destroyed means that adventurers aren't yet willing to try and raid it), but Inespell's Rage ticks all the boxes for it to be a palace(people go there to worship, the deity has a slight effect on the surroundings, the deity effectively lives there).
The tallest mountain on the continent is called the Stalagmite of the Sky, due to the fact that at its peak, it becomes flat, with a large spike in the middle that resembles a stalagmite. It's thought that the palace of Cielhim, the deity of the sky, is positioned above the Stalagmite, and that the Stalagmite is formed from the blood of those who perish while at Cielhim's palace(mostly enemies who could fly).
About 3 miles east of the Duongel's city, there is a large whirlpool that the Duongels call the Ocean's Maw. The presence of the Maw is a large part of why most races from the eastern side of the continent do not consider sailing as a viable method of travel. It's believed that Temari, the deity of storms and the East Ocean, has their palace at the bottom of the Maw.
The Eternal Inferno is an inextinguishable fire the size of a hill, which is the location for the palace of Pyrig, the deity of fire. It is also thought that the Eternal Inferno is positioned above the palace of Gehneth, deity of the underworld, as to try and prevent demons and malevolent souls from escaping the underworld(not 100% effective).


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## Ban

*Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?


Elaborate slightly, I'm not sure I'm understanding this correctly.


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## Ban

ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> Elaborate slightly, I'm not sure I'm understanding this correctly.



What was the closest point your world got to an apocalypse.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?

That's a tricky question to answer, because I haven't quite figured out how far I'd go [if at all] into destroying parts or all of my omniverse, nor come to turns with what all that would mean, implications and all that. I might get back to you...or maybe not.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ah, in that case, that would be when Inespell got super powerful and tried to kill the other deities. Inespell and Hosper Paxet are the closest my world has ever come to having an omnipotent being.


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## Ban

In my world, it would have to be the Pakistani nanoplague of 2059. It was the first of its kind and ravaged large parts of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and the Northern Indian states. Although it was deactivated within weeks, it could have gobbled up the globe.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?



Pfft, easy. The Lich Wars, the apocalypse of apocalypses on Eld. Nearly wiped out the world (or at least covered it in undead, then killed the world) and went on to become pretty much the focal point of how things in the world should not be done. There's also the attack by the moon, but that wasn't quite as apocalyptic and was solved far easier.


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## Ban

Oh, there once was a hero named Ragnar the Red
Who came riding to Whiterun from old Rorikstead
And the Braggart did swagger and brandish his blade
As he told of bold battles and gold he had made

*Question 21:* Can you give the lyrics for a song from your world? 
(Alternative if you have no lyrics written: Can you tell me about the meaning of one of your world's songs?)


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 21:* Can you give the lyrics for a song from your world? 
(Alternative if you have no lyrics written: Can you tell me about the meaning of one of your world's songs?)

The song's a bit too long to post here, but it basically tells of the creation of the OmniCosmos, like one of those epic songs of days gone by.


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## Saigonnus

Ban said:


> *Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?



Pretty close. A thousand years ago, a meteorite streaked out of the heavens and all but destroyed the continent of Aerisa, converting it to the shattered lands. At that time, it was lightly inhabited, and it is thought that everyone was slain, because most of the islands that were left after the impact were completely submerged for several days. (The truth: It was completely depopulated of fauna and humanoid life, but partially repopulated by Kyer (water-bourne gypsies) only a few months after the event. The rest of the islands were slower to recover but within a few decades, small population centers appeared.)

The rest of the world didn’t fare well either, it was a serious event that scorched the sky and filled it with dirt and ash for a period of nearly 3 months. Fauna populations were seriously crippled and flora began dying off, but not as badly as with the animals. Humanoid populations likewise suffered the same fate as the animals. Nearly 60% of the world population died off from famine, hunger and of course the fighting for resources. None of the races were unaffected, even those with magic, though if they did have magic, they tended to fare better.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 21:* Can you give the lyrics for a song from your world?
> (Alternative if you have no lyrics written: Can you tell me about the meaning of one of your world's songs?)



I did have even lyrics once (long lost to the annals of Skype) that was a goblin ditty concerning the Queen Inivia and of her slaying abilities. It was often deliberately sung by only the bravest and shrewdest of goblins who could get away before their steady barrage of insults turned her into the rage monster Eld knows and loathes (sometimes loves). By the last chorus of it, it's pretty much suggested that she needs to really get laid and that the Sea Queen would be her best bet.

By that last line, one could expect the landscape to no longer be around for much longer as it was tore apart by her shouts, magic and general lack of anger management mixed with her berserker martial prowess. So, one had to be a really, really brave and smart goblin to get away with it. Many a brave goblin was put to rest because of it and later generations would get to grouse about the irony of it all.


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## Ban

*Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?


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## Blither

Ban said:


> *Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?



Hm, I've never actually given much thought to population numbers before now.

500 years before present, in the pre-fall era, there would probably be about 1.5 billion people worldwide, with humans making up about half of that, and the rest being made up of the now-extinct races like Elves and Dwarves. Probably another ~300 million Atlanteans were living underwater at this time. 

Later, the Dwarves and Atlanteans were both killed during The Fall, and all the other low-population specialised species like Elves were killed off in the next few hundred years after. About ~50% of the humans were also killed during The Fall and the subsequent wars.

So all in all I'd say probably ~400 million humans left, many of which are semi-mutated or fully-mutated abhumans.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?



Peoples is a very stretchy definition in Eld. Anything with sentience and sapience may get a pass (even if it doesn't exclude them from being on the menu). So, there's a lot of peoples. I have no firm number for them though. Or even a soft number. Though it's a lot less then what it was before the Lich Wars.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?


I tried to do some maths to work out the population, but then hit the biggest wall: the numbers seemed a bit high for the kind of setting I was imagining.

As for what counts as people, generally, if it can hold conversations, it's a person. Dragons, while normally able to hold conversations, are not quite people, because they do not have any kind of proper social structure. That and the fact that dragons tend to kill those who do have conversations with them, so most people don't know that they actually can hold conversations.
It's likely that at some point, there has been a creature, most likely from Inespell's Rage, that can literally hold a conversation, in its hand.


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## Ban

*Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime? 
(Obligatory self promotion here  : A Primer on Organized Crime for Writers – Mythic Scribes)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime?



It's very loosely organized, even at the best of times. Pirates at sea mostly all fall under the Pirate Queen/King of the time and those who do not bend knee had better be wily about it or at least pay up if they want to sail in certain waters. Not many criminals can use kraken as hit men, but they can and do. Robber Barons and Hoods plagued the forests and small counties from time to time, though mostly only the Hoods are left and have been brought into the fold as undead hunters with the price paid in any loot they can grab. The cities have the Slum Lords, usually pretty ruthless owners of entire chunks of the city who will squeeze it for as much coin as they can and they in turn pay up to the nobility. And sitting at the very top are those in the nobility and royalty who use their power to get what they want. Though most of those have currently fallen into disgrace or death and undeath, leaving the Slum Lords and Robber Barons holding the reins.

The latest and most active bit of organized crime has been the chocolate and sugar smuggling from the southern continent to the Fea lands after the trade bans put on during the Lich Wars, leaving those who had that luxury to go without. So it was formed and ran by the Sea Queen and kept trade on luxury goods to the north for a princely sum. And when the ban finally fell out they were prepared to open full trade within months due to the smuggling lines.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime?


Theres the cultists of Inespell, and there might also be an association of mages who practice Forbidden Magic, so that might count.

The fact that there's only one safe passage through the mountains so far means that smuggling things across the mountains isn't really possible, especially since a large number of the things one might try to smuggle across attract the more deadly creatures in the mountains.

Crime is pretty low in the Duongel's city, so there wouldn't be much in the way of organised crime there, and in the major human cities, it's about what would be expected of a city which is pretty much all human and sealed away from the majority of substances that would be considered illegal.

The human city just east of the pass through the mountains is aware that it is the most likely settlement for crime, so it is trying out a guild system not at all unlike the one that Terry Pratchett set up for Ankh-Morpork.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?

Most beings in the OmniCosmos tend to stay in the universe they are born in, but there's a handful of people who explore or go into other universes to fulfill certain tasks. 

*Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime? 

Um...there isn't any crime, organized or otherwise...


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Crystal, I think question 22 is population, not travellers


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## TheCrystallineEntity

Oh, well, in that case, I haven't given it much thought. The entire population of the OmniCosmos is probably in the billions. It's not a small place, that's for sure.


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## Ban

*Question 24:* I look above, what do I see? 
(What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 24:* I look above, what do I see?
> (What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)


The sky is the same colour as on earth, and at night, the stars are generally visible.

I'd say clouds probably look like clouds, though there's one permanently positioned above the Stalagmite of the Sky that's pretty odd shaped(as one would expect from something holding a building on it). Sometimes clouds act a bit strange, and usually it's because a deity or weather mage is doing something.

With moons, I'm not actually settled on that yet. There is definitely at least one, about the same size as Earth's, but as I'm not settled on how I want to make my world alternate between being hot and being cold(not counting seasons), I'm not sure about other moons yet. Or if there's two suns.

Absolutely everything above can be ignored while at Inespell's Rage, as nothing looks right or normal there, and you can't even give a definition for what is normal there because it changes so often.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 24:* I look above, what do I see?
> (What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)



The sky is generally blue, except when it's not. The clouds come in typical and atypical varieties, like not really clouds, floating lands and such. The moons are many and varied and I've got no real hold of how many there are in the sky at any one point, and they can't decide either. Sometimes they fight about it. It has one, mostly typical yellow sun. And you can see stars. And flying ships. And dragons and any other number of flying things. Possibly including squid if someone (probably drow) created flying squid.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 24:* I look above, what do I see?
(What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)

Once again, it depends on where you are. Since a lot of my current series takes place in the universe of Wyrd, I'll focus on that. The sky can be any colour at any given time, and sometimes you can see what might be some of the other universes in the distance.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 24:* I look above, what do I see?
> (What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)



If you step outside and look up, there's no guarantee you'll see the sky.

That being said, there's a dome of holy water covering the planet's surface.  This can cause all kind of visuals depending on what is under and what is outside this layer of water.  There is no real sun, moon or stars.  However, there's a "black sun" which is small and not at all bright (though it's pretty loud).  There's also pieces of the sun floating around the sky.  I can't call them suns or stars as the exist in the atmosphere and are constantly moving.
If you go out into the sea, the image of a landmass appears in the sky as if there is an upside-down floating continent.  This is just an optical illusion though.

The "sky's" color tends to be blue near the coast and more orange/red/yellow inland though is pitch black towards the center of the one super continent in the setting.  This is because there's a hole in the sky there.

The biggest object in the sky is the smoldering corpse of a gigantic demon.  The smoke coming from this corpse makes up a type of cloud.  There are numerous small planetoids floating in the holy "sky-water."  Many of these planetoids were man-made structures created and abandoned in ancient times.  Some are near infinite-sized magical pocket dimensions that only resemble planetoids when appeared from the outside.  One of these is actually the old sky that was compressed into a "ball" and replaced by the new "sky".  There's probably a sun and moon in there.


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## Vaporo

*Question 22*
There are 4 races: Man, Smet, Grat, and Fel.

Man is, well, Man. Not really much more explanation needed there. Roughly a hundred million people in the world.

Smet are spirits that do not have a direct physical anchoring to the plane of reality. They exist halfway between Kumbasdo, the Land of the Gods, and the mortal plane and as such are very rarely even noticed by the other races. They were created by Gos, the god of thought, alongside the Fel when he gave up his mind to obtain the power necessary to expel the Generals to the Land of the Gods. The Smet are gatekeepers, charged with maintaining the boundary between the plane of reality and the Land of the Gods. Their population is a bit ambiguous, but generally numbering somewhere in the trillions 

Grat are varied creatures created by the Generals to besiege this plane of reality. They are a combination of severely mutated mortal creatures and eldritch abominations from the Land of the Gods. When the Generals were expelled to the Land of the Gods, the Grat were left behind. With Gos gone, his brother Azizzi's power was waning. So, Azizzi allowed the Grat to remain in the world as an "official" race, provided that they did so peaceably. However, the Grat were created only to serve the Generals, and without their masters they lost all purpose in life. Most Grat are sterile, immortal, and barely need to eat. So, most of them found a nice hole or deep ocean trench to curl up in and hibernate until they find a new purpose, only awakening on the rare occasion that they need to eat. There are about a thousand "Higher Grat" scattered throughout the world, but up to tens of thousands of breeding "Lesser Grat" hidden in small, isolated populations.

Fel are "physical" spirits related to the Smet. They are shape shifters, but default to the form of a human and need practice to accurately imitate another creature. They were created by Gos alongside the Smet when he gave up his mind to obtain the power necessary to expel the Generals to the Land of the Gods. Their bodies are made from Gos's memories given physical form. The Fel were warriors. They destroyed the remainder of the Generals' forces and killed the Grat who refused Azizzi's offer of asylum. However, after the remaining forces were defeated the Fel lost purpose like the Grat. The Fel truly had no needs in the world. They don't eat, sleep, or reproduce naturally. As a result, they mostly just drift from place to place, doing whatever amuses them most in the moment. The only way they can reproduce is by bringing the remains of a Fel to the peak of mount Odo and allowing the latent power there to form a new Fel. They have a short lifespan, averaging about twenty years, and have no civilization. Their only real moral code is that they must return the remains of another Fel to Odo. In the past, their numbers hovered at around a hundred and fifty thousand. However, their exploitation by human wizards known as the Amul reduced that number to a few hundred (or fifty thousand, depending on whether you count the Fel that have been bound to magical stones), but it has since rebounded to about ten thousand.


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## Ban

*Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?



Given this is magic and Eld, there's not many boundaries' about for shackling it. There is no theoretical limit on it (and the humans are about the only ones interested in finding actual limits) and quite a bit is within the realm of possibility. It's one of those things that means it's possible for both the forests to get up and walk away and also means the dead can do the same with some prodding. The only boundary's set are more societal ones and laws. And obviously, those get broken fairly regularly.

An Edit: Though with the undead, comes the shackling of the magic and the sheer raw power of the world. As they are basically parasites that feed off of magic just to maintain themselves and the Liches even more so, it takes away the world's magic and doesn't feed back into it. That in turn breaks the cycle of it and stops the multiplication factors involved in being around truly powerful beings in the world.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?


Depends on a variety of things.

If you've been inflicted with vampirism or lycanthropy, then you can't use any kind of magic more advanced than universal spells, which are the weakest spells of their type, even if you could before. Divine spells are like the ultimate cure for vampirism and lycanthropy, as in my world, both are a set of spells that kick out signature magic from the mana pool(yes, I do visualise it as an actual pool, however metaphysical it might be), and divine spells don't like either of them, and will go over from their special pool and kill the vampire/lycanthrope spells.

If the magic you want as your signature magic is some kind of kinesis power(pyrokinesis, photokinesis, aquakinesis, etc), then you've got two options: go for the creation type, and be able to create something from thin air(using the examples from before, you'd get fire, light, or water respectively), or go for the manipulation type, and be limited to controlling that what is already around you. Each type is better in certain ways, and you can only ever use one type, with the only exeptions being: you get turned into a vampire/lycanthrope and cured, then decide to use the other type instead of recovering your old magic, or a deity blessed you with the ability to use both. Although in theory, it might be possible for someone to be born with multiple mana pools(not counting the divine pool), and someone like that would be able to have two signature magics, even having both a creation-type and a manipulation-type magic of the same thing.

No-one is quite sure what the upper limit for the strength of spells are, but everyone accepts that the limit is much higher for divine spells, and I don't think even the strongest of mages is beyond the kind of strength that a high level mage in an RPG would be, though it's a lot harder to get to that kind of strength due to how limiting only being able to use one type of magic beyond really weak spells is.

I think this might be the last one I respond to until thursday at the earliest, due to me having some mock exams over the next few days.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?



Hmmm...apart from earth, I have two principle worlds, both originally terraformed by the 'ancient aliens,' who then imported other races (including humans0 as servants and experimental subjects.  This resulted in additional races.  Still:

Char - humans predominate, located mostly in Solaria (40 million), Cimmar (25-30 million), Chou (40 million), the great southern plains (20? million), and another 10-20 million in 'other places' (like the 'black states.'   Cities of 100,000+ are not uncommon; a few metropolises approach the million mark.

Goblins and the stronger tougher cousins hobgoblins have their own nations and tribes.  Biggest is probably the Hobgoblin Hegemony, 30+ million, Pakar (7-8 million), 10-20 million more in the southern plains, and another 10+ million in smaller, ill-defined realms and enclaves (about a million goblins occupy menial positions in eastern Solaria).  A large minority of Solaria's humans regards goblins as either animals fit only for manual labor or as vermin to be eradicated.

Largest elf nation is Sinaliel, north of Solaria, with around 8-10 million.  Another couple million dwell in Ghand on the far side of the world, and maybe a few million more are found in isolated kingdoms and fiefs.  Solarians tend to view elves as dangerous quasi-demonic entities because of their magic.

The rachasa cat-people are found mostly in small tribal bands, mostly in the southern plains, though enclaves of up to a couple thousand are found in other races.  Maybe a couple million, total.  They are regarded as a creation of the ancient races, a view supported by their own tales.

As to other races...well, dwarves are basically 'short humans' - a genetic trait that bred true for whatever reason.  In Solaria, dwarves have a reputation for cleverness and are often found as prized servants and artisans.  There are a few more or less purely dwarf realms and enclaves scattered about.  It's much the same with giants: a few exist, hunt hard enough and you'll find a village or two.  They have reputations for stupidity and brutality.  The Skrea bird-people are almost, but not quite a myth, with a realm or two adjoining the southern plains.  The ancient aliens were mostly gone...but that changed recently.

Aquas - a much more mixed collection of sapient's owing to its geography.  Aquas has two principle land masses: 'The Continent' (a bit smaller than north America) and the 'Strand,' a narrow ribbon of land that runs clear around the world - 25,000+ miles on a rough NE/SW axis.  Nations dominated by different races are located at intervals on the Strand.

The Continent requires some work (back-burner project), but boasts several million each of humans, goblins/hobgoblins, elves, dwarves, rachasa, and skrea, dwelling in a vast patchwork array of petty kingdoms, tribes, city-states, and confederations, loosely dominated by a pair of mutually antagonistic wizardly organizations, who first imposed, then largely destroyed a measure of civilization on all these races.  Cities abound, but few have more than 20-30,000 inhabitants.

The Strand is a similar story - a strung together collection of petty realms, mostly at least semi-civilized, with few major cities, and almost none with more than 100,000 citizens.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime?
> (Obligatory self promotion here  : A Primer on Organized Crime for Writers – Mythic Scribes)



There are always people who believe it is their right to take others possessions.  Wars of conquest on my worlds, like those in the real world were often 'theft on a grand scale.'  That said...

...organized crime in Solaria at least is mostly a gang thing, and then mostly in the larger cities.  At intervals the urban cohorts (thuggish police) will sweep the streets, and many gang members end up either dead, in labor camps, or in the military.  Piracy and banditry are not uncommon, but the larger operations get shut down hard by the imperial navy or army.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 24:* I look above, what do I see?
> (What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)



Both Char and Aquas feature the usual 'blue sky and clouds' during the day.  Their night skies differ.

Char has a single large moon - still a bit smaller than earths.  The sun is a tad more orange in shade than earths.  Like earth, it is the third planet from the sun - the innermost world is a gas giant occasionally visible as a disk.  In times past, each was associated with a different mythological entity. The other worlds in the system are not human habitable and are mere points of light without a telescope.  Of great concern to those on Char is the 'Herald of Guzur' or 'Demon Star,' an object that appears every few hundred years bringing greatly disruptive change.

Aquas has two moons, both barely large enough to show disks.  A near literal double planet system orbits closer to the primary, one reddish, the other white, ascribed to the deities of war and love respectively.  The next world out from Aquas is a gas giant, just barely discernable as a disk without a telescope, and its oversized yet still faint primary moon.  In myths, the gas giant is the king of the gods, and the moon is home to his court.  Past that is a dim greenish world, associated with secrets, loss, and mystic portents,


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?



Put bluntly, mortal (especially human) mages are wimps in my worlds compared to others.  Magic is psionic ability, originally imbued into humans and others by the ancient aliens.   ESP - influence, scrying, prediction.  Telekinesis, including levitation, and 'odd knacks.'  (Faith) healing and manipulation of bodily energies - sleep, strengthen or weaken a person).  Illusions - as much sleight of hand as anything else.  Runes and rituals, many dubious.  Teleportation - rare and risky. Pyrokinesis.   Casting more than a few 'spells' at a time weakens mortal wizards substantially.  Some wizards attempt to circumvent these restrictions via pacts with alien etheric entities - aka 'demons' - who are orders of magnitude more adept at the occult than humans.  These efforts usually result in disaster.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?

The only main rule of the OmniCosmos is: You cannot violate anyone's free will.


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?


The boundaries are set by the capabilities of the magician. 
In theory, anything is possible. However, weaving magic is difficult. It needs practice and understanding, and more practice. The difficulty of a weaving increases with the complexity of what you want to achieve.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 25: *What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?



There's a general rule that nothing physical (matter, energy, space, time, etc.) can be created from nothing or be _completely_ destroyed.  Magician's can create matter from seemingly nowhere but that's actually creating matter from energy or thought or whatever.  Likewise, when something is "destroyed" it usually just becomes something else like ash or smoke or something.
There is one exception to this rule: there's a guy who can completely destroy anything (matter, energy, thoughts, concepts, etc.).


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## Ban

Great to see so many responses! I do read all of them.

*Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues played in your world?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues played in your world?

There's no diseases in my OmniCosmos. That does not mean it's a paradise, however. If you want to get metaphorical, there's always a surge and then reside of beings forgetting their divinity whenever they incarnate, but that's a natural process and their own choice; plus they remember once they dis-incarnate. The circle of life, and all that. 

[I'm kind of feeling bad that there's some questions I can't really answer...]


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues played in your world?



Enough that they have entire orders of healers and even dedicated plague doctors are around. Though due to magic and somewhat decent research they've kept them in pretty good check. The magical plagues, especially ones formed up by the Rat King have been much harder to put down. But since the Lich Wars, they've been harder pressed to put down some of the old ones they could once put down are a little harder to kill again.

STD's and other such are also fairly minimal, though this is more due to a combination of factors and things like legal prostitution, temples keeping a close watch on them, going to healers regularly and drow research and their own temples. Probably also helps that it's not demonized unless the literal demons are part of it.


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## ThinkerX

Plagues did play a significant role in collapsing the old Solarian empire, and they have decimated armies and inspired draconian responses from the rulers of various cities.  Imperial scholars and officials were able to halt the worst of the diseases by mandating a minimum separation of 200 yards between well and privy, a statuette that applies to both civilian towns and military encampments.  STD's are a larger problem, though the Solarian tendency towards cleanliness - a measure frequently imposed on brothels - keeps the infection rate down.

Cross-race diseases are rare, and are usually trivial to one species and catastrophic towards the other.

Strange afflictions are often recorded when the Demon Star appears in the sky.  Accounts tell of souls left with mutable flesh, entire cities falling into enchanted slumber for days at a time, a city whose populace was compelled to sing rather than speak, and more.


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## Ban

*Question 27: *Can you give me some insults, specific to your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 27: *Can you give me some insults, specific to your world?



Soulless abomination - Usually thrown at any alchemically created being. Or golem, if most golems recognized it for what it was. And now undead get it thrown at them too.
Drow lover/loving- A very, very specific sort of insult.
Lower then a human- Fairly self explanatory given the world, where humanity is prey more often then not.
Dragons Spawn- Same as the above, but with another race that is often food.
Sun touched nymph- Thrown at the golden elves who may be a bit promiscuous.
Rockhead- For those bone headed dwarves.
Rabbit- All elves, for the ears and their own breeding habits.
Bright as a Sunleaf- An all around insult that implies the current wood elf ruling family is actually pretty dim and that the person in question isn't much brighter. Sometimes has been used at the royal family, but the ones who do don't usually live that long or end up very hurt.
No better then a raging elf- Usually thrown at anyone with a short temper that's not an elf. Usually a good shaming tactic. After all, no one wants to be compared to the damned wood elves. It's very much considered a sort of backhanded compliment to the actual wood elves, as they think they're pretty damn good.
Ugly as a troll- Seems a standard one, though the trolls themselves can dispute it and it's only during their morph phase. They also point out the elves aren't any better in their morph. In the past this has been pointed out with weapons and blows with fists.
Pig rutting greeny- Thrown at orcs, usually in an attempt to get them to rage before battle. Also thrown at the Bristles, who mostly get angry when they are confused with orcs.
Brittle Metal- A delver to delver insult, more or less saying they've got no spine or it's broken.

There's probably more.


----------



## Ban

*Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?



Honestly, I have no clue. I could say Magic, but it's kind of vague. Material value get's a little wonky when there's many ways to make or create materials and even things like rare metals or valuable gems. Though to be fair, steel and it's subsets are likely the move valuable. Steel and iron and all the things you need for war. Though to go metaphysical on you, if story and song is material, then it is the single most valuable. Especially to those who know how to use them.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?

When you can make anything from nothing, material wealth and values pretty much vanish. There is one thing that is exceedingly rare, and sometimes sought after: Eternal One essence, used to make Divine Memory Pastries. The only way to get it is to first find an Eternal One [which is harder than you'd think], and then ask really nicely.


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## Vaporo

*Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?

The material is called unsundo. The word means "memories of a god," and the material is the literal memories of the god of Thought given physical form. All things in the world are made of unsundo, but unformed unsundo is the material of interest here. Its only source is the corpse of a Fel, whose bodies are made of the stuff. It is a glass-like material that is over fifty times denser than lead and is so durable that is nearly impossible to shape by mundane methods. As a result, it is totally worthless to most people except as a curiosity. However, to a kind of magic user called an Alstalia, a single splinter of unsundo is priceless.

Alstalia have the power to take their memories and mold them into physical objects as they see fit. Unfortunately, since they are usually only able to work with flimsy mortal memories, their constructs are always flawed in some way or another. They are less "real" than everything else in the world. However, by absorbing unsundo into their minds and molding it, their constructs can become totally "real." This allows an Alstalia to make things like indestructible armor and weapons, permanent portals connecting distant locations, and magical stones that can bind a Fel to their will.


----------



## CupofJoe

Ban said:


> *Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?


A psycho-reactive crystal. For most people, being near it for any length of time gives them a headache that grows worse the longer they stay near it. It can lead to insanity - it has been used as a very cruel and unusual punishment. It is also why some places are thought of as eerie or cursed. 
For some very rare people, a crystal can amplify their innate psychic ability in line with the structure of the crystal. Each crystal is subtly different and has different strengths so being able to use one does not mean you can use any others. If someone can tune in to the crystal well enough it can give them the ability to see the future, create illusions and lots of other things I haven't had to work out.


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## ThinkerX

Ban said:


> *Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?



First, my two principle fictional worlds were terraformed from near lifeless rocks a few tens of thousands of years ago, meaning they lack a major resource taken for granted in most fantasy settings: coal - the remnants of plants many millions of years dead.  Coal, amongst other things, is extremely useful in smelting metals.  Without it...well much of the metal found in fantasy settings becomes scarce...unless one gets creative.

In the equatorial regions, smiths and smelters make use of solar forges - curved reflective plates that generate intense heat at focused points (a technique used here on present day earth).  At higher and lower declinations, solar forges become less useful (short winter days.)  That is where 'fumar trees' come in.

'Fumar Trees' are a creation of the ancient aliens - relatively short, spikey looking trees, seldom taller than 10-12 meters (30-40 feet),  Their bark has a sort of metallic glitter or shimmer to it, cut through the bark and you find a very thick paste in lieu of wood.  Cut one way, a 30 foot long fumar log will heat a cottage for a winter. In places, northern aristocrats permit their subjects one such log a year.)  Cut it another way, and one can smelt iron with it for a day, maybe longer.  Additionally, just one of the tree's spiky branches ('candles')  - up to about a yard (meter) in length - can illuminate a fair sized room for days, possibly longer.  The 'bark' is heavily laced with metals; a clever smith can use it to fabricate items such as pots, pans, even armor. 

Downsides are fumar trees require heavily mineralized ('tainted') soil in which to grow, and (eventually) leach those minerals from the soil, requiring continuous importation of toxic mine tailings.  They also crowd out almost all other types of vegetation, plus seed to harvest is on the order of twenty years. They also don't grow well in tropical regions.


----------



## Ban

*Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast? 

(choose whichever cuisine of your world that you feel is most interesting/delicious)


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> (choose whichever cuisine of your world that you feel is most interesting/delicious)


The times I've had reason to desribe breakfast in my stories, it's usually been pretty much a traditional Irish fry-up.


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## Ban

Svrtnsse said:


> The times I've had reason to desribe breakfast in my stories, it's usually been pretty much a traditional Irish fry-up.



I bet your characters don't mind. Irish breakfasts are great.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast?
> 
> (choose whichever cuisine of your world that you feel is most interesting/delicious)



Most of mine appear to be to be western style breakfasts. Fortunately I have a description handy, though one you may have read.

_Said food turned out to be a tin platter full of fried eggs, hashed potatoes, sausages and bacon smothered in gravy and a side of cheese and bread. It was a ridiculously large meal, but she began to eat it anyways. And to her surprise, she finished it. And three cups of the tea._

I will grant this is a hangover meal, for an elf. Otherwise it's not too different. Sausages are standard as they're quick and easy eating along with bread and gravies aren't at all out of place. Tea's and even beer's are drank regularly. And there's also breakfast pastries (and cops to go with them of course) and coffee's and the like.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Finally done with my exams, so I can answer these now.


Ban said:


> *Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues played in your world?


Back to the ones I have to come up with answers for on the spot .-.

Since there's a deity of healing, there has to be a plague-bringer deity, due to the way my deities work, so I can't go with the option of having diseases not be a thing, and it would be pointless to have diseases be real without having there be some kind of major plague, but I can't think of anything.

The best I have is that there would be some kind of disease that can only affect Duongels, and any other race with feathered wings, that causes their feathers to fall out, which is annoying for them, especially if the ability to fly is very important to a person's lifestyle and/or job.

There might be diseases that simulate the effect of a Duongel bringing their bodies too far away from each other, and generally the best thing to do if someone gets that would be to handcuff the two bodies together, then try to avoid any physical contact with them. Unsure whether humans would be able to catch that, but if they can, it would probably be fatal.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast? 

Oh, goody. Food is fun.
It's funny; breakfast is rarely mentioned in books. Lunch and maybe supper sometimes, but otherwise there seems to be a shortage of breakfasts. 

Typically, anyone in the OmniCosmos can make whatever they want for the morning meal. No meat, of course, so it's all fruit and nuts and cereal and bread, that sort of thing. Oh, and waffles.


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## Ban

Standard breakfasts in the future of the Netherlands should remain largely the same. Loads of coffee, and either hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) on bread, or cheese on bread. 
*
Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)



Through crier, announcers and the occasional sheets. The more magical means are scryers and criers through imagery magic to appear in as many places at once. They eventually go up to full on newspaper once they get the whole printing press thing down (part machine, part magic and sapient enough to try to make up it's own stories). They also eventually get media and other shows through use of magic mirrors.


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## LxOxGxIxA

Ban said:


> *Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?


I should really get a picture, huh.

It depends on where you are. Out of Ophisteros, Mesiseros and Brostaros, only the first and last are habited.

In Ophisteros, the best place to be would be Cedrus, the Capital of the Cedar Country-Continent. Being the only country so close to the equator it is warmer than the other two continents on Ophsiteros. Cedrus accept visitors by port and boast stone architecture similar to that of the Elizabethan era, past the wooden port stone streets carry tourists between the buildings in various shades of grey unless painted otherwise. It has earned the name "Silver City", though, due to the deliberate action of NOT painting said buildings. There are no skyscrapers in this kind of civilization, the most you will see are banks and other business places towering at the most, four storeys. Merchants line the street as soon as you come off the post, ready to offer you their best in stock.

It's worth it to note the predominantly white population here, aside from tourists the residence of Cedrus Port town is 99.99% Caucasian. Once leaving the port your destination would be the next city over, Cedrus itself. Once in the Port town one will see carriages awaiting passengers and motorcars going to and fro - don't mistake the motorcars for taxis though, only the rich can afford such vehicles. Once you have found a coachman to take you to Cedrus, enjoy the 500km trip within the Railway Walls that protect the flattened dirt road. Before arriving in Cedrus after a lengthy 12 hours of journey, various stops or on the way to allow you to enjoy yourself. Hop out of your carriage and enjoy a skit from a showman, try out the famous flying contraption with a local instructor or stop by some more merchants int he Market Stretch.

Once in Cedrus it continues the Legacy of the "Silver City", this is where the tourism service industry thrives. Countless Restaurants, Parks, Resorts and the like await you. Check into one of the many Lodges available, such as the Premiere Cedar Lodge. Which I'll get into describing when I have some more time.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)

I've never thought about it before. Probably air and wind elementals carry news around from one universe to the next.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 27: *Can you give me some insults, specific to your world?


While I'm struggling to think of ones specific to my world, I can list some that could be found in the real world that are used slightly differently.

Bird-brain: used as a way to call someone stupid, just like in the real world. Much more effective against winged races such as Duongels, as it also has the effect of saying "you have wings, therefore you must be a bird".
"Discount": the word in the Duongel's language that translates to "a**hole". Not settled on how to have them say it(their language has to be impossible for a race with only a single body to speak), but it probably has some kind of harmonic element involved, as well as some kind of body language involving the wings. Only came into existence after humans first came into contact with Duongels, as before then they hadn't thought to insult people in that way(I mean, a**hole is a modern swear anyway, so that's not too hard to believe), and the biggest reason that they have for calling someone that is when a single-bodied person(such as a human) buys only one half of a set at a Duongel clothing store, leaving the other half to be put on a different rack at a "discount" price.

Split Brains: an insult directed towards Duongels, due to them having one mind shared between two bodies.
Singleton: used by Duongels to refer to someone of a single-bodied race. Can be a term of endearment sometimes, so you have to watch their tone and body language to know whether or not to be offended. If they say it with both bodies simultaneously, it's definitely intended as an insult.


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## Vaporo

*Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)

In Untia, particularly the nation of Antisa, proper newspapers and printing presses exist that distribute daily or weekly newspapers to all of its subscribers. In the countryside, people still must rely on word of mouth for the most part, but recently some newspapers have found business delivering papers to rural towns. Typically, they only deliver one or two papers per town and the paper is posted in a public space for all to see. In this case, the paper is often received weeks after rumors start to circulate, so the arrival of the paper can be a miniature event where the local gossip is finally put to rest. Bets on which rumors are true are not uncommon.

Two thousand years ago, the Amulkine Empire was connected by portals, through which news could sent around the world in an instant.

In Kumbaska, people must generally rely on word of mouth, but an "official" version of newsworthy events will occasionally be put forth by the Amul, the religious leaders of the region. While most realize that the "official" version is typically some sort of cover-up, they will avoid voicing their doubts withing earshot of a priest, since to question the word of the Amul is technically blasphemy and punishable by death. This particular case of blasphemy usually just results in a brief religious lecture and a command to retract the statement, but the threat is still there and some particularly vindictive priests really will sometimes order an execution.


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## Devor

Ban said:


> *Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)



I plan on answering some of the older ones I've missed, but I have a moment and I know this one directly.  There are boards and kiosks everywhere which put up daily broadsiders, or posters, with plain factual news on them. And once a week they pass out a bundle of papers that includes news but also commentaries coming from several different sources - anyone who pays a fine and gathers the right signatures and meets their deadlines can have their commentaries included.  Most people can read.  Those with the right access to magic might also listen to something akin to a radio.


----------



## Ban

*Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?


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## Vaporo

*Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?

The hron leaf. The hron is a tree believed to have been driven extinct a millenia and a half. It produced enormous amounts of fruit, its wood was strong, and it grew quickly. For those reasons, it was a staple of the diet of the Amulkine Empire. A campaign to drive the trees extinct was launched a few centuries after the collapse of the Empire after its presence was linked to attacks by swarms of enraged Fel. The campaign achieved success by placing tens of thousands of poisoned hummingbird feeders throughout the world, since hummingbirds are the trees' only pollinator.

The Hron Leaf is a long, thin lobe that splits into two separate tips at the end. The Leaf was adopted as the symbol for the religion of the Amul. In other parts of the world where the Amul don't reign, it is often seen as a symbol of evil or misfortune, originating from the hron tree's historical propensity for bringing eventual destruction to whoever planted them.

Since nobody has actually seen a hron tree in over a millenia, the symbol has seen a lot of variation around the world, often being distorted and mutated until it barely resembles the original tree leaf. In Untia, the Leaf's origin is totally forgotten, and it is known only as a vague symbol of misfortune. It is sometimes used to mark passages of text in manuals that could lead to serious consequences if not read closely, so to many it means nothing more than "pay attention here," similar to putting a (!) before a line in a real world instruction manual.

Even since Antisa started cultivating Hron, none recognize the Leaf's true origins. Most dismiss the resemblance between the symbol and the hron leaf as coincidental, although a few particularly superstitious folk will still hold their hand between their eyes and the tree's leaves to ward off evil when they pass by.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?



Skulls used to be the most common place, used liberally and nearly everywhere. Be they on totems, flags, on a thorn wreathe stuck on an unhappy unicorn. And most often by the wood elves, seeing as they once built a temple out of skulls. Giant ones, but skulls still. In the current day the most recognizable symbols are the Sunleaf flag (red and green halves split by gold with a golden sun with oak leaf sunbursts), Fisheater flag (black background with white shark jaws), Bloodtusk flag (black and dark green with the bloody tusks of a troll maw), Wave flag (blue and white with a sailing ship that appears to be flying) and the closest thing they have to corporate symbol, a beer bottle with a pink dragon on it.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?

Now that I think about it, there aren't really any. Hmm... I'll have to work on that.


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## elemtilas

Ban, this is a wonderful series of questions! I'm so glad you posted them here!

All answers are for The World.

*Question 1. *
_Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?_

You arrive a way outside the great city of Auntimoany. This is a pleasant place. Farm country. The aroma of agriculture wafts around you — this is but preparation for the rather less pleasant odor of a big city! You’ll want to hitch up your rucksack and chalk your walking stick, as you’ve still got a few miles to hike before you get to the city gate. And this ain’t an emerald city and the road isn’t paved with yellow gold bricks! (It is, however, good and well laid stone, serviceable even after thousands of years of traffic.)

The city of Auntimoany always welcomes travellers! And they will always seek to sell you on the best lodgings and cuisine your money can buy! And when you run out of money...well you can always try your luck at a game of chance or sell yourself into debt slavery for a time!

Auntimoany is divided into eight wards. I’d stick with Auntimoany North: that’s where all the money is and where all the tourists stay. Those tourists who’d like to go home again after their holiday, anyway. Try the Broken Pony Inn. It’s at Wharff 6 and is pretty conveniently located to all the touristy places: the Palas (the Empress’s residence, Parliament, the Prime Minister’s house, the Cathedral, the Great Synagogue, Irminsul Place, the Elektrodrome, Heddsoffe! Square, many prominent museums, libraries, philosophical scholia, the House of Opera and more fantastic restaurants and eateris than you can count on all your fingers and toes five times over!


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## elemtilas

*Question 2.*
_Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would that be, and what will (or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?_

Ah, by that time, sorry to say, you’re too late to really do much. What you should ought to have done is immediately make a scene. Raise the hue and cry! The people of Auntimoany love street theatre and will almost magically forma circle around you and the thief. Caught red handed, they will most likely prevent his escape while you enact a bit of justice on him. You know, rough him up a bit, maybe thock his kneecaps with your cudgel. They aren’t blood thirsty per se. But they are very keen on Justice being served. If Justice happens to be served to the criminal that did the crime, well, so much the better. You just have to lay into him until the City Watch appear. And they always appear. Watchmen love a good bit of street theatre as much as any man!


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## elemtilas

*Question 3.*
_I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the sea floor?_

Well, off the coasts of Auntimony, you’ll very likely dive into the Country of the Polupodes. Very formal and respectable folk, for all they have tentacles and squishy bodies. When you meet one of their knights — you can tell on account of the conch shell helmet and stitched shark scale armour — make sure you bow your head elegantly and spread your arms and legs as gracefully as you can. Very courtly, that. They like bits of shiny. They like fresh seafood. Bring some coloured glass baubles and and assortment of clam and oyster dainties and you’ll be hailed as a noble and wandering prince!


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## elemtilas

*Question 4.*
_Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? Where might I actually end up studying?_

Depends on your disposition! Generally speaking, you can hardly beat the great University of Auntimoany. You can study any branch of natural philosophy there from philology to panthropology, historiography to philosophical dwimmery, theology to alchemy.

Like many in your position, that is, _without position_, you’ll probably end up studying at the School of Hard Knocks. Yep, they’ve got a campus in the imperial city, too!

But there are many libraries and scholia and museums where one can engage in independent study. And of course, there are tea houses and _socials _(a kind of upper class tavern run by Daine) where you can learn all about current affairs.


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## elemtilas

*Question 5.*
_What strange beliefs do your peoples have about places lying beyond the known world?_

It is still largely believed by philosophers that the Torrid Zone – the lands around the equator – are too hot to support life. This mythconception is due in part to the wholecloth acceptance of _Heliophilos’s Theory of the Girdles_. The old Rumish word for “girdle” (a lady's undergarment) was _zona_, and it just so happens that the word for north-south regions of the globe is also _zona_. It might perhaps be the case that excitable old philosophers were hooked by the title and read a little too much into the theory. Simply stated, if the northernmost zone is frigid, due to its distance from the Sun, then the equatorial zone must be boiling due to its proximity to the Sun. 

While Heliophilos was not exactly correct on that latter point, he did get one thing right in postulating a parallel southern frigid zone. Oddly enough, most philosophers poopooed this as academic frippery. These philosophers tenaciously hold the notion that the further south one travels, the hotter the world becomes, such that the South Seas are aboil and any lands there are burnt and lifeless deserts. A logical inconsistency, to be sure! – or so say those philosophers supportive of Heliophilos. They hold that if the southernmost regions were hot enough to boil lead and melt rocks, then surely the globe of Yeola would fly apart like a wet piece of clay on a potter's wheel.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?



A circle divided into four represents the heresy of the old gods and their domains: glory and will, craft and skill, knowledge and truth, power and change.  It's basically the equivalent of an upside-down cross or a pentagram.
Four interlocking circles represents the religion of mainstream Olympianism and its denominations: Aesirian, Caulish and Orthodox.  The four circles represents the four gods of civilizations and their domains: government, military, labor and clergy.  That's the cross of this setting.

The sword and pipe represents extroversion and introversion, responsibility to others and self-indulgence, action and peace, the destiny and origin of the religion Paradosi (also called "Devotion to Olympia" or Devotionalism).

A hook and chain is associated with one of the old gods (the power and change god) and is used as a religious symbol for Gnolls and their traditional misotheistic religion.

Red represents passion, green represents knowledge, blue represents life and gold represents power.  These "symbols" are universal.  If the two circle symbols above are shown in color, each circle is one of these colors.

Finally, and most importantly: a three-dimensional ten-pointed star is used to represent the universe and all symbols, powers and meanings within it.  It is said to be the actual shape of reality if viewed from the outside.

So, those are the notable religious symbols.


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## Ban

*Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer make in your world?


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## Ban

elemtilas said:


> Ban, this is a wonderful series of questions! I'm so glad you posted them here!
> 
> All answers are for The World.



Thank you, and I hope you'll have fun answering them


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer make in your world?



Much like the real world, depends on what you're writing and what's popular at the moment. Which also becomes dependent on most species/races on Eld too. Ever since the Lich Wars stories have taken on a desperate need for Happy Endings which are rare enough on Eld at the current time. There's a lot of need for hope and optimism in the post apocalyptic world. Wanna do Epic Poetry, Wars and Romance? Write for the orcs, they eat those ones up. Sappy Romances with literature minded protagonists? Many a troll carries some of them around. Smutty Romances? For the wood elves, who won't even admit they're buying them. Though the gold elves will and the drow open carry them. Adventure Stories and ones that end with the Hero saving the day? Covers a lot of the rest of the races. Just have to tailor the hero/ine very carefully.

Pick somewhere, find a niche and worm your way in. As the whole Crime Fiction genre hasn't started on it, you could try that. Sure a lot of guards get annoyed at how incompetently they often get portrayed in stories and it'd probably be nice to be thought of as competent. Also, if you can do cookbooks, do cookbooks. Be a bit of competition? Sure. Pretty good business all around though.


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## elemtilas

Ban said:


> Thank you, and I hope you'll have fun answering them



I have!

I just hope you'll have fun reading the answers!


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## elemtilas

*Question 6.*
_Pets and mounts: what interesting animals are kept as domestic pets and servant animals or beasts of burden in your world?_

Various kinds of fox & dog are favoured by many, both as pets in the usual sense of the word and also as working animals. Guardsbeasts, vermin control and the like. Birds of prey (eagles, falcons and raptors especially are kept by nobles for hunting and sport. Lots of people like to attract owls and ratbirds to their homes for their obvious utility.

Dragonets are cute and very popular pets. Girls love em, especially, because they’re so cute and soft and cuddly! Basically, they’re cat-sized downy-feathered bird-billed dragons that love to eat bits of fruit and veg. They kind of warble and coo. Bit of a pain to clean up after, mind.


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## elemtilas

*Question 7.*
_The reckoning of time: how will mark the days, weeks, fortnights, months, years and so forth in your world? How are they measured and what are they called?_

Well, if you’ve a mind to study the great Horologue, you can literally watch the actual minutes tick by into hours of the clock. A day is divided into smaller segments called hours, and there are two kinds: _of the clock_, which are regulated by the sometimes a little wonky clockwork mechanisms of the great Horologue; and _of the Sun_, which are generally speaking more regular. Many public squares and parks have well maintained sun dials for your inspection.

Longer times: fourteen days make a fortnight and each month has two: the _fore-half_ and the _back-half_ of the month. In between each fortnight is an intercalary day: the _dies meridianus_ (the 15th) and the _dies januarius_ (the 30th) . Twenty-four fortnights make up a year and a few intercalary days round out the cycle. Each year and century is named. Today is Monday the ninth day of Longnights, by fortnight reckoning, or 24 Bladmath by moon reckoning in the Year of the Crooked Way in the Century of Cured Bacon.

Philosophers also reckon by decades, centuries and myriades. Historiographers reckon also in ages (currently, you are living in Interesting Times indeed, for it is the Fifth (and last) Age of Men). But no worries! The actual end of your race is still some little while off, and war has not yet come to the Men of the Eastlands!

Daine and Teyor, very long lived folks indeed, reckon also the longer ages that can only be seen in the movements of the stars: furthermore, today is also in the tenth year of the reign of Handfast of the Bloody Blade, Emperor of the Avantimen, in the 2018th year of the Fifth Age of Man, the 4th year of the Apwarias Zodiacal Era in the Pwerncas Hipparchian Age in the ninth Age of Stars which hight Calior, the ninth Age of Stars having been born 4205 years ago when the Torras zodiacal era, the Nimbullas Hipparchian Age and the Xora Age of Stars passed away into the dims of memory.

Not that you’ll ever live long enough!, but you might be interested to learn that a zodiacal era is 2100 years; a hipparchian age is 25,200 years and an age of stars is forty hipparchian ages. Something like eight million years and change.


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## elemtilas

*Question 8.*
_Give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural or national epics! Perhaps a great foundational myth._

For the Men of Auntimoany, this would probably be a dusty legend from the time of the Migration. The Theitish folk came, about 1500 years ago out of the Uttermost West, driving their great oliphant drawn waggons through all the long leagues of Eosphora. In the East, they came up against Men who were already living here for a long time, though were in decline. These ancient empires they overthrew and founded the younger kingdoms. The Men who came to Auntimoany found there already Daine living in an ancient land beyond reckoning. Maybe by the whisperings of one of their strange gods, the Men, the Thiets, chose not to attack and invade the Daine, but rather came and lived among them.

Now, it is the case that Men have become comfortable within their dual  country. The emperors rule the affairs of the visible country all around and leave the Daine to their own customs. For their part, the Hidden Queen of the Daine rule the affairs of the country invisible, suffering the whims of Men, condescending to allow them the overlordship.

For now.


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## elemtilas

*Question 9.*
_What do your ordinary folk do for fun? What do the elites think about this (unproductive!) activity?_

People in general, Man and Daine (and Other) alike enjoy a variety of recreational activities. Music making and singing are probably the most popular; story telling and the recitations of the _sagamen _rank up there. But there are parks and gardens and street theatre and street food and subscription concerts and art galleries and public executions and various travelling marvellists’ shows to take in as well!

The elites among Men have actually a fairly laissez faire attitude. They have come to learn that simple people have but simple needs. You know, all work and no play. So, give a hard working and simple man, be he carl or slave, some time to relax, give him some opportunity to improve himself, and he'll be much less inclined to upset the carefully balanced apple cart.

The Daine who rule unseen have come to appreciate this solution. While it is the case that Auntimoany has seen its share of wars and invasions and plots and coups, it has _endured_. The cousins of the Avantimen who ruled over another empire where Men and Daine lived in close quarters, that of old Hoopelle, did not learn. And they were utterly ruined.


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## elemtilas

*Question 10.*
_Tell me a tale that is fictional within your world!_

A favourite kind of phantasy tale that Daine and Men alike enjoy is the _mancalio_. Halfway between our manga and a graphic novel, the _mancalio _mongers love to pen fictions. Tales of either fictional heroes (like Prince Weliwand) or the extremely fictionalised (but essential historical) heroes (like the Adventures of Lena Orck Slayer) are popular.

Born to a family of herdsmen and weavers of Husick, Lena Wolfbanesdaughter rose to prominence during the Orck Wars that ravaged the Eastlands between 1413 and 1418. 

Dismayed by the lack of action on the part of the great armies of the lands about, and especially the imperial armies of Hoopelle, many local militias sprung up to defend towns and villages against the predations of the Orckish Hotai hoardes. The militias engaged the invading armies in many savage battles. Lena became the herzog of one of the more powerful militias and soon took the battle to the Hotai commanders. In order to punish the resistance, the Orcks destroyed Husick in 1415. The tattered remnants of the Husickite army joined with Lena's growing militia and increased her power. In 1417, Lena, now known as Orckslayer, overthrew the Hotai king and founded the Queendom of Husick. As her fame spread and her victories amassed, even the Orck Kings and their warriors took to calling her Foehammer and Warband Slayer. Heckla was liberated a year later, in 1418, when that land was cleared of the remaining bands of Orckish Hotai. 

Though the original Lena undoubtedly wore sensible armor, the Lena of the _mancalio _(particularly Brad Swainford's _She Came in ye Nighte_ serial) invariably wears an iron studded and rather revealing leather loincloth and a rather more revealing short cape (also leather, though bronze studded) round her neck that only just about covers her shoulders. No wonder she has slain so many Orcks; they must have been as mesmerised by her buxom qualities as by her swordwork!


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer make in your world?

Artists of any kind are hugely successful in the OmniCosmos, since Dream personally looks after them.


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## elemtilas

*Question 11.*
_ I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it even possible?_

Mm. A perilous course you make! The best course I can suggest is to follow the feet of many Daine wanderers before you — travel my way and take the highway that’s the best! No, not Route 66! But rather the Great West Road. The Great West Road is a broad highway that extends from Pycleas in Auntimoany and crosses the whole broad and vast expanse of Eosphora and Hespera ending up near Marloyn in a Daine country of the Uttermost West. People say it was built by the gods, but I think it probably predates the gods by a good while. Chalk it up to ancient aliens. In any event, the Great Road is uniformly made, twenty two feet kerb to kerb and is properly graded all along the way. That's wide enough for two olifant waggons to trundle side-by-side and have a bit of room to spare! It has bridges and seems to be a magical artifact of some sort.

The Road can not protect you from all danger. Sure, you won’t get lost; but you can still be snatched by slavers or eaten by _gruôndyo_ or mauled by black hearted trees out in the uninhabited wilds. And it’s a long walk indeed! A number of Daine have made the journey, there and back. The Road passes through many fair Daine countries and long tracts of wild and beautiful country. It's so easy to tarry along the way... They say, take a hundred years for the walk, if you really want to take it all in. Or more if you can spare. Maybe settle down for a time and rest, find yourself a mate and raise up a couple kids. Then go on your way again. That’s the only way to really travel the Road!

If it’s the Walk you’re after, it might take you three to four years maybe five to get there. And another five to get back again. It's not a straight course and there's a lot of Geagraphy to contend with. You'll pass over the Holy Hills and through Ziberi Uplands and down into the midge and black fly infested Mere (thank Heaven for the great dragonflies that eat midges and duel black flies to the death!). And then up, up again into the the high country beyond which lie the hill country and then the foot-mountains of the mighty Spine of the World. (Please, hire one of the guides that inhabit the wayside stations of the hill country!) Through the high passes and down into deeply cloven vales and up again! And at last, down again, into the western foot-mountains and the hill country of eastern Wespera. And then it's the trackless forests of the Bear People (do not, under any circumstances follow the gay music! Do not try and catch them unawares!) Eventually you'll come into the ruined & blasted wastelands of the old Wovydaine kingdoms. Try not to tarry there. Probably best not to seek a mate there either! Eventually, the Road will bear you up towards the coasts of the Sea that was once a mighty a river and at last you'll travel down into more civilised lands and, coming into the great monastery city of Marloyn, you can at last walk upon the great stone wharf that juts far out into the Ocean of Sunset.

And then?

Come back again into the East, if you dare!

On the other hand, you could probably walk north to Mearby-on-Sea, a wonderful little domed city on the chilly shores of the Ocean of Congealed Waters, out in the Wastes of Weem. That might take a month of steady walking. Keep an eye peeled for Orcks in the wildlands. And whatever you do, do NOT stray into the Great Northern Forest.

A much more pleasant walk, perhaps, for the introverted. Far fewer people, to be sure. Lots of nice ruins to explore up in the Anian Desolation. The roads up there haven't been maintained in centuries, so keep a close eye on the contours of the land, lest you become hopelessly lost!

But if you ever get there, Meareby is an interesting town to visit. If you wind up in The World as  a Daine, you shouldn't have any problems. Daine travellers do stop by from time to time. But the folk of Mearby are Men and, well, they do take note of who comes their way and the Archons deem your skills and knowledge are valuable enough, well, they might just not let you leave right away!


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## elemtilas

*Question 12.*
_Can you give me an example or two of differences in morality between peoples in our world and the inhabitants of yours?_

One main difference, I think especially from the Daine perspective, is that they actually take matters of morals and ethics seriously whereas too many Earth humans seem to be lost and wandering in the fogs of im- and amorality. This they do not understand. Daine, you see, are kind of soft-wired to it and by nature will follow the divine Law the way a bird will traverse the magnetic field and fly thousands of miles from Here to There.. They can be tempted away from the straight road, make no mistake! And can make (and have made) terrible decisions; but really that is not in their nature.

Another thing you’ll notice is that the practice of morality and ethics in The World will make even you, a visitor-to-long-term-resident-alien healthier. Sin is truly a spiritual sickness and it is known that the soul-mind-spirit-body system is not only integrated within itself, but is also polydimensionally interconnected and integrated within the World's oecumene. If you starve your body of food it becomes sick; if you starve your soul of moral & ethical nourishment, it too will become sick. And the sickness of the latter especially will rot the former. As an Earth human, you may be a kissing cousin of the local kindred of Men, and thus among the Fallen, but you can do much in your new home to improve your own condition!


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## elemtilas

*Question 13.*
_Zoos, Waterparks, Museums, and Parks. Do the peoples of your world have any equivalent public facilities? Tell me about one._

Well, there’s the Dangling Gardens of the Palas. That’s always a favourite of visitior to and native of Auntimoany alike! The Palas itself is huge stone and brick structure full of audience chambers, government offices and so forth. But up on the stepped-peaked rooves, all is an abundance of red and green foliage, brilliantly coloured flowers, burbling fountains and the song of a myriad kindreds of bird.

A daler gets you in for as long as you care to wander the aisles and culdesacs of plantings. Imagine Longwood Gardens resting on top of Angkor Wat and you’ll get a good idea for what the Dangling Gardens look like.


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## elemtilas

*Question 14.*
What is the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? And how might I join in the celebration?

Yule is pretty spectacular, and is definitely a foody’s favourite holiday in Auntimoany. But probably the most beloved celebration in the whole year is New Year itself. 25 Yastermath (March) is the day. Unlike Earth humans who celebrate the night before; folks in Yeola most often celebrate the day of and the First Night. This is because the new year ticks over at Noon. This is when all seven houses of Parliament gather in the Hall of Thrones and the Empress delivers a throne speech and then there will be public liturgies and then lots of street theatre, street food and as the Sun goes down, parties and revels long into the deeps of night.

You missed the greatest party of the century, though. 2014 marked the passing of the Pesqas Zodiacal Era and 2015 witnessed the inauguration of the Era of Apwarias. Big parties. Harmony and understanding. Sympathy and trust abounding. Lots of Men getting drunk. You get the idea!


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## elemtilas

*Question 15.*
_What is the latest fashion and / or what type of clothing never goes out of style?_

Daine feathers always seem to be in fashion among the rich and fashionable of the Imperial City. Daine are winged folk you see, and grow nice long, beautifully coloured feathers on those wings. Hunters will risk death and dismemberment out in the wilds looking for a hapless Daine with purple or iridescant red and green feathers. As you might expect, most Daine will not willingly part with their feathers, and so they end up being quite the expensive bit of bling to decorate a fashionable lady’s fascinator or bouffant.

Daine on the other hand, wear very little clothing as a rule, so for them, bangles and body paint are the “clothing” style that never goes out of fashion!


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## Ban

*Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?

You don't need to work in the OmniCosmos. Thanks to the Glyph system, you can make food and craft buildings out of thin air. As such, there's no currency, and people trade and share things. There's plenty of leisurely activities, though.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?



Let's see here. Could take up an apprenticeship as a cheesemonger. Work for any number of bars and restaurants around. Take up life as an adventurer, though nowadays that mostly means killing undead. Which is still a hard job, but someone has to do it. There's a variety of jobs, but choose wisely. Find a small village, take up being a guard and only have to fight a few days out of the month, rough up some drunks or be the roughed up drunk and hang out. Probably the easiest job.


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## Vaporo

*Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?

They're always looking for laborers in the hron orchards. If that's not really your cup of tea, maybe try the Talive City Guard. There's a growing crime problem, so the Chief is looking to get ahead of the issue. Or, you could go the other way and try your luck smuggling valuables in and out of the city. Otherwise, you may ask around to see if a local shop or craftsman is looking for an apprentice or some extra help.


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## Ban

*Question 34: *I take a big shovel and start digging, what do I see? (Colour and substance of the ground. Worms, insects, other creatures. Etcetera)


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 34: *I take a big shovel and start digging, what do I see? (Colour and substance of the ground. Worms, insects, other creatures. Etcetera)



You'll find dirt, it's that dark brown to black thing under the grass. If it's good soil where you're planning on digging. Also, how deep do you plan on digging? Dig too deep and you'll find yourself falling into one of the many tunnels or maybe even the Trade Roads. As for critters, worms, night crawlers, ants if you're unlucky. Maybe even relics and artifacts of Eld's many past wars.


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## CupofJoe

Ban said:


> *Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?


They are always looking for fresh meat, I mean new faces, on the trade routes. Good money to be made as a guard if it goes well. Enough to set someone up for a few years. Okay there are the demons to worry about. And the weather. Oh, and the Bandits. Mustn't forget the Bandits.
The Camels bite and spit as well. But even with all that you might have to bribe a Caravan owner to take you on as a guard.


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## Ban

*Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 34: *I take a big shovel and start digging, what do I see? (Colour and substance of the ground. Worms, insects, other creatures. Etcetera)

Assuming you're in Wyrd, since that's where all the interesting stuff happens, the colour of dirt tends to differ depending on what magical shenanigans are happening above it. Wyrd being Wyrd, the very air is full of magical energy. You'd find a lot of broken crystals and fragments of ancient ruins, leftover from the OmniCosmos' creation. 

*Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?

Besides the Eternal Ones, the most celebrated historical figure is Aasha, the Night Queen and Winged Purifier of Nightmares [two of her many, many titles], who fell in love with Dream and became their host. Ironically, the most important historical figure is Arkanus Major, the first being to ever harm another, but only two beings besides the Eternal Ones know about him because he wanted to remain as anonymous as possible at all costs.


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## elemtilas

Question 16.
_Tell me about the itinerant folk (tinkers, gypsies, roamers, carpetbaggers and hobos of all stripes) of your world. Why do they travel?_

Waymen in the countryside of the Empire are probably no different than the tinkers and gypsies of your own world. 




They travel because they perform services and bring goods and news and music and stories to people living far from the City. They’re the handy men, pot menders, itinerant washers, fortune tellers, beast handlers, well diggers and privy shifters of the Eastlands. They admit of any race, creed or ethnos and they do constitute a kind of itinerant kingdom within the Empire.

They are seen by many as something of an unsavoury lot. Having no fixed home or workshop means it’s difficult to track them down once they’ve vacated the region. They can almost magically disappear into crowds and, if the tales are to be believed, like to snatch away pretty young nobles to travel with them. (What they do with said pretty young nobles is a matter of many dark tales.)

There are in the Eastlands several venerable and popular ballads and sagas about the Waymen Hunt: a young noble is stolen away by three Waymen; the queen comes calling for him, but he’s gone; in order to restore peace and plenty to her realm, she’s got to go after him! Usually she ends up dying in the attempted rescue and the by now half-wild young noble must be guided by the queen’s shade until he breaks free from the Waymen’s ensorcellments. Then, hes’ got to find his way back home in order to restore his kingdom, only now it’s all in ruin or overrun by hordes of Orcs or surfeits of Elves or even surfeits of more general kind. In so doing, he’ll naturally find his true love and they’ll have to fight through all the Elves and Surfeits before they can restore the realm. 

Very folkloric, your basic Waymen.


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## elemtilas

*Question 17.*
_It is rather late at night and I am hungry. What food places are still open?_

Ah! In the City, even at night, you can always find a quickfood monger or street food cart that’s open all hours. Some buffet restaurants are open all night: lots of people work at night and will want a bit for elevenses, even if it’s two in the morning!

Street food varies considerably. You can certainly find a hot hound sausage monger almost anywhere. Best not to ask what actually goes into the hot hound sausage, though. By now, it should be enough for you to know that a) it’s hot and greasy and spicy and a bit salty and b) it’s in a bun. What more can you possibly ask for! Kebab fry-ups are popular. Little bits of mysterious meat cutlets and tubers fried to a stick. Mmm!

Most of the ethnic cuisine places are closed this time of night. But Wolf Three Legs is usually open for business. Westmarche Daine cuisine. What that boy can do a with a freshly roadkilled underwharf rat, I can not begin to describe! Succulent meat, spices just right! A packet of crisped taterses on the side. Mmm good eatin in the neighbourhood! He’s practically got rats and badgers and doves queuing up to be skinned, rubbed  and kebab roasted! Coo-ee!


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## elemtilas

*Question 18.*
_Which arts are most appreciated in your world?_

Storytelling is probably the most appreciated of all. Univerally sought after, a good tale and a good teller of tales can literally cause a rain of silver dalers!

When you go out into the Daine countries, they have storytellers out there that can literally fill your mind with phantasies and your heart with desires and let you live a hundred lives in the space of a long summer’s night. Not an entertainment for a Man — the minds of Men are far too easily opened and led astray by these witchqueens of wordcraft!


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## elemtilas

*Question 19.*
_Where do people get their news from? Is there an established media system? What mediums are most commonly met with? Is word of mouth common?_

Word of mouth is by far the most common way people get news. Travels fastest that way, as every natural philosopher knows! Street corners, bake shops, small pubs. They all have the latest news. 

The more literate will buy one (or more) of the city’s broadsheets each day and peruse at leisure. As with any good braodsheet, they’ll be full of what ships are newly come into harbour and their consignments of goods, what ships are leaving and when and whither. Digests of the moots of Parliament and the Courts; tales and news from “over the mountains and over the seas”; adverts for auctions and concerts and social gatherings and public forums.


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## Vaporo

*Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?

Raldan the Immortal - Known by many names and often considered to be a mythological character, Raldan has been around for all of recorded history and leaves his subtle markings everywhere he goes. He has obtained both magical Gifts to become Alstalia and an Alshalei, and is kept alive by some other supernatural regenerative power. He has started wars, negotiated treaties, and assassinated kings in service of a goal that is not known to historians.

Ikla, first queen of the Nation of Ikla - Ikla was, by all accounts, a barbarian. She stood seven and a half feet tall and frequently charged into battle with little or no assistance. She rose to power after the fall of the Untian Empire, when southerner bandits roamed the land razing whatever villages they came across. She was the husband of a farmer and with their first child when her village was attacked by one such band. This was the fourth attack on her village, but she and her husband had been untouched by the previous three. This time, though, raiders killed her husband and tried to kill her, but she bested them by virtue of her sheer size and strength. Unfortunately, her injuries caused her to miscarry, and she vowed revenge against the raiders. She realized that the only way to fight their brutality was to be equally brutal. So, she trained herself to wield a spear, cast a suit of armor from pieces of abandoned bronze lying around her village, and set out to kill every bandit she could find. Soon, she was joined by others until she had a small army at her disposal. Once the raiders were driven out, she set claim to her own piece of land. When she decided to expand that land, woe be to anyone who stood in her way.

Captain Arvus - Antisan by birth, he was the captain of a small trading ship. Antisa had recently gone to war with the nation of Elter, which had a vastly superior navy. However, some admirals got together and came up with an idea to zerg rush the enemy fleet by drafting the vessels docked in the harbor. That is how Arvus, his crew, and his vessel were drafted into the Antisan navy. They were given no training and a single small, low-quality bronze cannon for armaments. When the time came, they ended up right in the thick of the battle, and Captain Arvus fired a shot that killed the Eltran general. When the battle ended, Arvus fled along with most of the other drafted vessels, but was pursued by the Eltran general's ship. The general's wife had been on board his ship when he died, and due to some quirks with the Eltran chain of command she was now effectively the captain. So, she decided to exact revenge on Arvus and his crew.

Arvus was driven far from known waters. He sailed south along the coast, encountering lands not known in Untia. He was pursued all the way around the continent, and it was only when he returned to familiar waters that he finally managed to sink the chasing vessel by tricking it into running aground on a coral reef.

Arvus kept a detailed journal for the whole trip. For the first time, mapmakers knew the shape of the whole continent and new trade opportunities opened up in the south. His journal was published after his death, and it is now known as an Antisan national epic.


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## Ban

*Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements)


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## Svrtnsse

Ban said:


> *Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements)


Yes.

With enough skill a weaver can magically enhance the body of either themselves or of someone else.

Additionally, therianthropy is a magical affliction that will enhance the victim's body in several way, making them stronger, fitter, and more enduring. However, it also has some unpleasant side effects, like slowly turning the afflicted into an animal.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements)

Hmm...probably not, just because most in the OmniCosmos are happy with the bodies they have.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?



Any of The Ten, at least in names that would be unrecognizable to those who do not know them, as they went by titles at the end. So names like Solans, Mab and others would show up. Many of the current rulers such as Titania and her Three Queens would be in it and the Fisheater and Bloodtusk rulers along with Edwin the Necromancer, Glinda the White Witch, Boris the Blue, Liza the Wicked Witch of the West or the Troll Witch, Baba Yaga and Selina the Archmage. Though all are still quite alive, they shaped history as it is known.

May also come across some others in the particular book known as _Histories of the Lost: Eld's Lesser Known Villains and Heroes_. They who were overshadowed by those above and often ended up ran over or put to the wayside by the powers that be. From Kaga the Saurian Queen who tried an ambitious plan to conquer a portion of Eld with a dinosaur army and Blackfang the Indomitable, the dragon who almost became a god.



Ban said:


> *Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements)



Of course. Bio-augments, body sculpting, magical enhancements in many forms. From bottle to spells to politely asking a fleshwright in Zukal to re-form your body. Well, politely asking and handing over a big bag of coins.


----------



## Ban

*Question 37: *How is public sanitation taken care of? (Bathhouses, hot springs, sewage, public toilets, sewage disposal?)


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

Um...I'm not really sure how to tactfully say this...um...

Here goes.

There is no bodily waste. When people in my world eat or drink, it, and the nutrients thereof, gets fully absorbed into their bodies.


----------



## Saigonnus

Ban said:


> *Question 37: *How is public sanitation taken care of? (Bathhouses, hot springs, sewage, public toilets, sewage disposal?)



Given that magic is readily available, each domicile or other public space has charmed objects for the waste that eliminate it within moments of finishing. #noindoorplumbing


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 37: *How is public sanitation taken care of? (Bathhouses, hot springs, sewage, public toilets, sewage disposal?)



It is recycled back into the system, so to speak. Many of the cities have fairly naturally magical ways to keep the cycle of nature going. It means there is also a fairly good supply of fertilizer for the gardens and rooftop gardens and the tree's in the city decently well fed. And the rest of the city fed. A Magical Nature makes things a little easier.


----------



## Ban

*Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?

Well, it's not exactly a sport. It's called Omni Ludo, and the only rules is that there are no rules. I was inspired by CalvinBall, from Calvin and Hobbes.


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?



The common one among the knightly class is something called jousting. You might have heard of it. Otherwise there's melee's and getting in fights in bars. Also variations of foot the ball (or kick the skull). There's also intellectual sports, like chess and poker and gambling. Though the latter are more luck then skill. Unless you happen to be an exceptional cheater.


----------



## Saigonnus

Ban said:


> *Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?



Among the Ruaka, contests with Elementals are common. First, it is a style competition. Each family shapes their elemental; which is made from any material(s) they want to use, so that it is aesthetically pleasing. They are permitted to use any sort of magical enchantments that augment that aesthetic. 

Once they are judged and there is a winner, then the enchantments are placed upon the creature. This is important because once the next phase of the contest begins, the golems will be tested against each other and they must participate in all of the events to win. Each year features different events, so the families must try to maximize its overall usefulness without knowing what the events are ahead of time. Some are combat challenges. Others challenge the creatures physically, tests their endurance or agility and even intelligence by way of given the, tasks to accomplish within a certain time frame. 

The overall winner of the event is granted a life charm, which basically allows the creature to not fade back into nothing from whence they came. They become a guardian of the village, to be use against any that enter Ruaka territory unbidden.


----------



## Ban

*Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?



Why tell when you can probably meet them. Granted not many of them 'boogie', but the ones that are used for scaring the kids are the likes of the Liches and the Golden Queen, who is the all around scary monster of the world. Mostly because she's not dead and can be a threat. There may be an actual 'under the bed/in the closet' boogie man/monster/machine in the world too. Though it is like a spirited mischief spirt.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

The answer to this one question has taken me so long. Material properties are hard to come up with when you're trying to be original.


Ban said:


> *Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?


Depends on who you talk to.

The cultists of Inespell would say that the strange crystals that grow from random points in the air around Inespell's Rage are the most valuable material in the world, as they believe the crystals are formed from Inespell trying to break back into the world. They are not wrong in that the crystals do have some useful properties, but the sheer chaos that they hold is too much to be able to do anything with them without risking calamity.

Adventurers like to have dragon scales on their armour and/or shields, especially if going against dragons, because of their high resistance to fire and heat, and their durability. The scales also help muffle their approach, so they're good for stealth missions that also need strong armour.

Gem Slimes don't quite count as a material, but are highly useful for any kind of mage who requires gemstones for magic, so I'll put them on here. Another thing mages like to have is crystallised mana, but that is made through a special ritual, it's not something that occurs naturally in the world(except maybe at Inespell's Rage, but nothing works as expected there). There's also a metal that can be found within moondust that is a potent magical fuel, and there are a few (difficult) ways of getting moondust safely.

There's a metal which has strong anti-psychic properties, meaning that if, for example, two people tried to talk using telepathy, if there was a wall laced with filings of the metal between the two of them, the conversation would fail(telepathy magic is lazy, and only goes in a direct line). A 1cm cube of the metal has a nullification range of about 1m in each direction. Has a side effect of hurting Duongels to the touch, much like how iron hurts Fae and silver hurts werewolves, due to the inherent psychic nature of Duongels. Haven't got a name for this metal yet.

One last material: Photite, a crystal that absorbs light and then re-emits it when in darkness. It does not absorb the light it emits, unless a manipulation-type light mage were to bend the light so that it heads back to the crystal. A crystal of Photite will actually steal the light from the original source, and leave the source dark until the light stolen has been re-emitted. For example, if you were to fill the crystal with light from a fire, the fire would be left sitting there, black but still releasing heat, until the crystal emits the light that it stole from the fire. The sun is too big for Photite to darken. You'd need a crystal the size of my planet to even make a noticeable difference, let alone completely steal all the light.


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Oh yeah, conspiracy nuts who think people are trying to read their mind will often wear a pendant made from the anti-psychic metal. Much like how conspiracy nuts in our world wear tinfoil hats, but more effective.


----------



## CupofJoe

ScaryMJDiamcreep said:


> Oh yeah, conspiracy nuts who think people are trying to read their mind will often wear a pendant made from the anti-psychic metal. Much like how conspiracy nuts in our world wear tinfoil hats, but more effective.


Or so they would like to believe....


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

No, the metal definitely works, it's just a case of I don't know how effective the tinfoil hats are.


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast?


A standard breakfast for a Duongel who is not in a hurry is often two slices of bacon and two eggs for each body, plus maybe a fruit-jam sandwich split evenly between the two bodies. If they're in a hurry, it'll be a whole sandwich for each body, typically ham and cheese.

With humans, it can be just about anything you might find in our world, though I'm not sure at what point to call the line.


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)


As easy as it is for news to travel across the Duongel's city, there's only actually one official newspaper system. They're able to make copies quite easily, as a Duongel might have one body holding an empty quill over a finished copy, and then just trace over it while having the other body synchronised but over a blank page and with a full quill.

This one newspaper is more for confirming or denying rumours than for actually spreading news, but there are some people that don't even listen to rumours, so it's useful for them. Some businesses will pay the newspaper company to advertise for them, but as this is the only newspaper, it can be quite expensive.


----------



## Ban

*Question 40*: can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?


Each of the deities have a symbol that works as their symbol of worship(much like how religions have a symbol associated with them), so I'll list a few of those.

Inespell's symbol, largely considered to be bad luck/evil (like the upside-down cross) by just about anyone who isn't a cultist, is a strange one. It's a fanged grin, but the eyes are infinity symbols and the teeth are made of broken infinities. As it isn't used by many, people have forgotten what it originally meant, though many artists take the creative liberty to think that it might have been what Inespell's face looked like(all the actual depictions are trapped behind the immense chaos present at the ruins of Inespell's palace).
Traviage's symbol is rather simple. It's a carriage with a horse.
Temari's symbol is a lightning bolt striking a whirlpool. Very fitting for an ocean deity who's also the deity of storms.
Pholux and Ombrsha, my deities of light and shadows respectfully, have pretty similar symbols. Pholux's symbol is a lit candle in front of a white background, while Ombrsha's symbol is an unlit candle in front of a black background.
Tomort, the deity of death, has a skull perched on the end of a scythe, while Livita, the deity of life, has a cat resting on a flower.
Another important symbol in the world is the crest of the Duongel's city(I really need to come up with a name for this city already, it's getting annoying reffering to it like this). The crest is two wings, coming from the edge and meeting in the middle, with a pair of hands crossed over a depiction of the river that goes through the middle of the city. Might have a bow in there, but I'm not sure about that.


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer make in your world?


In the human kingdoms, fiction writers have about as much career viability as they do in our world, as they don't have much direct exposure to the fantastic creatures found on the other side of the mountains. Non-fiction writers can become quite wealthy when talking about the creatures of the eastern side of the continent, and I'm pretty sure the first person to publish verifiable facts about the continent beyond the ocean will instantly become as rich as a standard noble, maybe even becoming a noble, no matter which side of the mountains they live.

On the other side of the mountains, the most profitable writers are those who document the bizzare physics and life-forms found at Inespell's Rage.


----------



## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?


Depends on what you're good at.

Since my interactions with you have lead to an impression that you're good with food, I would say you should look into trying to be a chef at one of the restuarants in the Duongel's city, or maybe a food critic.

There's an adventurers guild near the mage arena, so you could go there if you want to be an adventurer.

Other than that, it works pretty similar to in our world.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?
Well, there's the NoBeing. It was once the child of the Eternal One Dream, but then was transformed into an eldritch, despairing creature. It is known by many other names, including ones that may give you a small sense of what it is like: the Nightmare Child, the Devourer, the Crithled, the Bone Child. 

*Question 40*: can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)

There's a lot of crystals, that's for sure, and spirals and eternity symbols are common in decoration. Open spaces are vital, and most homes are built like Hobbit holes.


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 40*: can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)



Built to last. Or, as built to last as anything can be on the world. Even the most fantastical of the general standard fantasy ideal must be built to withstand a great many things that might be thrown at it. Eld's architecture is to a point fairly utilitarian and meant to withstand lots of battle and fighting. Which may make for not very pretty buildings, but they are quite hardy.


----------



## Ban

*Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)



No.


----------



## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)


I got nothing.  Since I write in English, everyone just speaks English.


----------



## Ban

Don't pass a black cat under a ladder placed on a crossroads on a friday the 13th. Especially if you've opened an umbrella inside a house with the address "666".

*Question 42: *What are your world's superstitions? (Bonus: where do these beliefs come from?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 42: *What are your world's superstitions? (Bonus: where do these beliefs come from?)



It's bad luck to cross a wood elf. It's fairly self explanatory, what with the whole part of them eating other peoples and things. Or, just killing people.
Nymphs kiss is good luck, if only because it's basically a shot of magic straight to the system.
13 is also bad luck, though no ones really quite sure. It's just one of those things. Though it's likely a carryover of merged realities.


----------



## Ban

This terribly important question had to come at some point.
*
Question 43: *Can you give me the descriptions of some of your world's cheeses?


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> This terribly important question had to come at some point.
> *
> Question 43: *Can you give me the descriptions of some of your world's cheeses?



This had to come up some time, didn't it? So...cheeses.

Gruff Cheese: A dwarven goat cheese that's a bit like Picodon. As the dwarves like to make their cheese hard. Comes from the Gruff goats and pairs well with their other meals. Mostly because with dwarves, you eat what you get.

The Golden Wheel: A magical cheese that is said to be the most delicious on Eld and becomes any flavor of cheese. It's gone down in the myths and legends of the world for rolling through fairs and inviting the fair goers to chase it. It may even lead to a cornucopia.

Gunners Cheese: Think pepper jack, but with a chance of explosions. Made on the Southern continent with the gunpowder pepper, it is a soft cheese that can be used as explosives in dire straights. Though it has to have the seeds ground into it for a more effective sort of molded explosive. And if you think it's a little odd, don't. They grow peaches that explode.

Mystery Brie: It's a mystery (of what milk it's made of), but it tastes good.

Hallowed Cheese: More a mystery then the mystery brie. But the mystery is to why it is hallowed. No deity has laid claim to it. But it has effectively been touted as Eld's most holy cheese. It has a good PR department. And after one bite, it quickly becomes clear it was probably made by the drow. It's effectively an alchemical cheese creation that makes people think it tastes divine. Which it probably does.

Pink's Pub Cheese: Cheese with beer in it as made by the dragon brewer and bartender Pink for her pub the Downed Giant. Made with her whisky malt beer and smoked gouda, she serves it beside her beers and meat skewer and herb bread meals.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)

Um...presumably everyone speaks the same language, or has built in universal translators or something. 

*Question 42: *What are your world's superstitions? (Bonus: where do these beliefs come from?)

I have no idea. I must investigate this.

*Question 43: *Can you give me the descriptions of some of your world's cheeses?

Well, the universe of Wyrd has a moon made of cheese, so I suppose it must exist somehow. Then again, Wyrd is...probably the least rational and reasonable universe...


----------



## Ban

*Question 44: *What does an average household look like? (Is it a modern nuclear family, or a multigenerational feudal household? Do pets live inside?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 44: *What does an average household look like? (Is it a modern nuclear family, or a multigenerational feudal household? Do pets live inside?)



I guess it's a multi-generational sort of family. No ones invented nukes yet, so to speak, so no radioactive families at all. Not really much for averages in the world as is, given poly and other sorts are all around too.


----------



## Ban

*Question 45: *How are children treated in your world? (Until what age are the kids? Are children allowed to work? Can they vote? Are they considered people or property? Do daycares and schools exist? Has the concept of teenager/young adult been introduced in your world?)


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 45: *How are children treated in your world? (Until what age are the kids? Are children allowed to work? Can they vote? Are they considered people or property? Do daycares and schools exist? Has the concept of teenager/young adult been introduced in your world?)



Sometimes, mostly like children. Or as much as they can be. Depending on class, some may have to start working at a very young age and may get versions of schooling during free times or winters. Public schools aren't really a thing as of yet, but they are working on it, though it in itself is a new concept of sorts. There are tutors and prohibitive and expensive schools of the private sorts where the nob kids tend to go. Daycare's kind of count, if you go with the goblin nurseries who raise the young greenskin's. As for the humans and elves, that's what a maid/manservant or raising them themselves is for. The gold elves do more of the communal sort of raising like the greenskin's. And the concept for teenagers/young adult is around in a sort but applies more to elves.

And for the final big swing, where wood elves are considered. Many children are conscripted more or less into their families military service. Some at quite a young age (Adriel was ten when she joined the armed forces. Because mommy said so). Some may even work their way through different service branches or become mercenary hires along with whoever they're formed up with. Unlike the other races they have no choice in it and even a young teen is a semi-competent combatant.


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 44: *What does an average household look like? (Is it a modern nuclear family, or a multigenerational feudal household? Do pets live inside?)

Most families live in the same area, if not the same house, and the amount of members depends on the family. Cats are the most common pets.

*Question 45: *How are children treated in your world? (Until what age are the kids? Are children allowed to work? Can they vote? Are they considered people or property? Do daycares and schools exist? Has the concept of teenager/young adult been introduced in your world?)

Children are treated with respect, and definitely treated as people. They are looked after by parents, relatives, and elders. There's schools, but not like there are here. Children learn about what they like best, and develop the skills they want to develop.


----------



## Ban

*Question 46:* What do people in your world value most in a leader? (Strength? Kindness? Rationality?)


----------



## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 46:* What do people in your world value most in a leader? (Strength? Kindness? Rationality?)


Piety.
The term "divine law" is taken very literally in this world.  In fact, the setting is called "Her Law" (a reference to the most widely-worshiped goddess) so statecraft, governance and even law-enforcement is centered heavily on religiousness (or rather that religiousness is built around a respect for law).  Also, fitting the setting's name, most widely regarded leaders tend to be women.  Though they tend to be secular dictators and monarchs.

Beyond that, most secular leaders can get by on force of personality and ruthlessness.  Theocracies are the most common form of government while military dictatorships are the second most common.  In any case, the most charismatic people tend to get higher on the food chain than the strongest, kindest or most rational.


----------



## Miles Lacey

Ban said:


> *
> Question 2: *Wandering through one of your world's cities, a thief steals my wallet. I report the incident to a local authority. Who would they be, and what will (Or won't) they do about my stolen wallet?



In Kadrish, the capital of the Kharran Empire, a tropical city not unlike SIngapore, you would go to the local police.  They would be confused about what a wallet is because people in the Empire use money belts. 

Every temple has an honesty box which is often used by criminals with a guilty conscience to return stolen goods under a  "no faults" policy.  Most of the pickpockets who steal stuff like a wallet or purse will use the honesty box to return it but don't expect it to have more than 14% of the money that was in there when it was stolen.  The 14% is left there as "the gift of the gods".  So the chances are good you will have it returned.

The temple workers usually clear out the honesty box and hand in stolen items that have been returned to the police about once a week or more if asked to do so.


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 46:* What do people in your world value most in a leader? (Strength? Kindness? Rationality?)



Strength appears to be valued over all. Both of the individual strength and the sort of strength to carry an entire army behind the leader. Martial strength and prowess and the cunning to get through politics. True, politics on Eld is usually whoever uses their weapons the best to cut through politics in general. As time goes on though it becomes more about working with peoples rights and being a bit more rational about things. Though, given it is still Eld, having a good sword arm still comes in handy.


----------



## Miles Lacey

Ban said:


> *Question 45: *How are children treated in your world? (Until what age are the kids? Are children allowed to work? Can they vote? Are they considered people or property? Do daycares and schools exist? Has the concept of teenager/young adult been introduced in your world?)



Children are subservient to both older siblings and adults in order of age regardless of the status of the adults within the household.  A child becomes an adult on their sixteenth birthday as part of a Transition to Adulthood ceremony.  A person cannot vote until they are 21.  They are not the property of the parents or elders.  They are seen as people.  Schooling is compulsory from 6 to 15 inclusive.  If they are gifted with magic when they turn 16 they must attend a mages college until they reach the rank of Adept.  As many households include both biological and non-biological parents and other relatives daycare is largely unnecessary except in the cities where the cost of living makes large families under one roof impractical. 

Children do not work until they leave school.  In the Kharran Empire child labour is illegal.  However chores and errands where a child is paid a small allowance is permitted.

Teenagers exist as a category in their own right but their rights vary from region to region.  As a rule city teenagers have more rights than rural teenagers.


----------



## Miles Lacey

*Question 42: *What are your world's superstitions? (Bonus: where do these beliefs come from?)

It is offensive to sit on any surface where food is served. (A Maori tradition.)

As the left hand was traditionally used for wiping one's bum it is never used for shaking hands or saluting. (Based on Middle Eastern tradition.)

Cats are believed to absorb the souls of the living so they are not allowed on beds, in bedrooms or any other place where people sleep. (Arabic tradition.)

The number 14 (the number of gods) is so sacred that no building has a 14th floor and people will often substitute the number with the word saava and the written number with the symbol (usually ¤ ).  (My own invention based in part on my childhood when I could not pronounce the number seven so I called it saa-va.)

It is bad luck to have an adult virgin in the home so people lose their virginity on their 16th birthday. (My invention.)

People wear a precious stone to ward off the souls of the wicked and to bring them good luck. (Based very loosely on a southeast Asian tradition.)


----------



## Ban

(Throwing this one in a little early)
*
Question 47:* What are some common names in your world? (Bonus: Why are they popular?)


----------



## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 46: What do people in your world value most in a leader? (Strength? Kindness? Rationality?)
*
Well, since the Eternal Ones are the closest thing to leaders, one of the reasons why no one wants to overthrow them [the gods of disbelief notwithstanding] is how they treat everyone with respect.
*
Question 47:* What are some common names in your world? (Bonus: Why are they popular?)

All of my names have meaning, because I like etymology and discovering name origins, so there's not really any common names. >.<


----------



## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> (Throwing this one in a little early)
> *
> Question 47:* What are some common names in your world? (Bonus: Why are they popular?)



The currently most popular name is Adriel, due in no small part to her saving the world. Or getting a lot of the credit for it, though she was responsible for saving a lot of it. Though most popular names come from heroes or royalty and such. Adriel happens to be both. So, somewhat to the originals chagrin, she often finds others named like her.


----------



## Miles Lacey

Ban said:


> *Question 46:* What do people in your world value most in a leader? (Strength? Kindness? Rationality?)



In 7441 a survey was done about what people like in a leader.  Above all else they valued decisive and just leaders who lived by the values they expect others to live up to.  Hypocrisy and dishonesty are despised.


----------



## Vaporo

*Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?

This one's easy. Raldan the Immortal: a gnome-like creature that leads drunks astray when they're walking home from the tavern so that he can replace them with changelings. Or challenges men to drinking games for their souls. Or carries off children who sneak some of their parents' liquor or otherwise misbehave. The legend has a lot of variation, but Raldan is usually depicted to somehow exploit drunkards.

*Question 40*: can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)

Antisa has a penchant for structures set partly underground with wide, sloped sides. Antisa is largely grassland and is periodically battered by enormous hurricanes and earthquakes. Sloped walls make them less likely to collapse in high winds, and being partially underground saves on precious wood and means that there's less that needs rebuilt if an earthquake destroys your house. Improved technology has since rendered these to be largely secondary concerns, but the style has stuck around.

*Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)

Every language is descended from the three major languages that survived the war with the Generals. I don't have proper names for them yet, but for convenience I'll call them Ancient Halgolian, Tulvian, and Amulkonian. These three languages were stuck on an island chain for two centuries while the rest of the world stabilized from the Generals' reality-tearing powers, and formed a variety of pidgins. Then there started to be pidgins between pidgins, and elements from these pidgins started to leak back into the primary languages. When colonists finally left the islands, many spoke languages so thoroughly intermixed that it was almost nearly impossible to discern their original origins. The original three languages survived, but in severely mutated forms. (I also just learned that language that emerge from pidgins are called creoles, so that's interesting).

The modern linguistic makeup is something like this: Halgolians speak languages directly descended from Ancient Halgolian with very few outside influences, although a few components from the Amulkonian language family made their way in during the reign of the Amulkine empire.

Untians speak languages from the Halgolian family, as they are culturally from Halgol. However, many native Untians assimilated into the culture the immigrants brought from Halgol, and brought elements of their creole-based language with it.

Kumbaskans speak languages from the Amulkonian family, but severely affected by elements from the other families. The Tulvian family is almost exclusively spoken on Western-Continent-Whose-Name-I-Keep-Changing.

Yeah... if you couldn't tell, I'm not a linguist. I mostly just came up with this stuff so that I could have semi-consistent naming patterns.

*Question 42: *What are your world's superstitions? (Bonus: where do these beliefs come from?)

_It's bad luck to drink without wearing a piece of glass around your neck. _Comes from the ability of magic to steal the memories of a drunk person. There is a glass-like material called unsundo that interferes with nearby magical effects, and can protect a drinker from memory theft to some degree. However, since unsundo is rare and extremely valuable, it is usually in the best interest of the shard's owner to sell the unsundo and use the money to buy a really big parlor room where anyone who is close enough to steal your memories is also close enough to be seen. So, many people started wearing glass necklaces in their place, hoping the sight alone would ward off any potential thieves. Thus, the myth was born.

*Question 43: *Can you give me the descriptions of some of your world's cheeses?

Well, there's Halgolian... "cheese"

*Question 44: *What does an average household look like? (Is it a modern nuclear family, or a multigenerational feudal household? Do pets live inside?)

In Untia, families typically live in a single multigenerational household. Children live with their parents, who live with their parents, etc. A person will likely be born, live, and die in the same house. Typically, the house will be passed down to the eldest man or woman (depending on the family) in the direct line after the previous head of house dies or otherwise becomes incapable of performing the role. There are practical considerations, though. Usually siblings not in the direct line of inheritance will move out when they get married to live with their spouse's family, or construct their own house.

*Question 45: *How are children treated in your world? (Until what age are the kids? Are children allowed to work? Can they vote? Are they considered people or property? Do daycares and schools exist? Has the concept of teenager/young adult been introduced in your world?)

In Untia, children will usually start working at ages ten to twelve, whether they be helping move boxes on the docks or an apprentice. Officially, the age of adulthood is sixteen years, but there's a lot of variability to this, especially in the countryside.

Not too much in the way of democracy in my world, but the tribes to the far northwest of Kumbaska do vote on their leaders. There, all adults are allowed to vote. In that part of the world, adulthood is usually determined by some great deed or event, especially for men. This may involve undergoing a spiritual journey, or killing your first animal in a hunt. There is no true age barrier. Occasionally, a six year old get lucky and stab a wolf through the heart and be declared a man for his deed.

*Question 46:* What do people in your world value most in a leader?

In Untia, people tend to value whatever leader makes them the most money.

*Question 47:* What are some common names in your world? (Bonus: Why are they popular?)

Ikla: Name of the first warrior-queen of the Nation of Ikla. Original meaning of the name is unknown.
The names of the hundred Alstalia who died during the war between the Amulkine Empire and the Fel. Their names are immortalized by the religion of the Amul, so they're naturally rather popular.
Nothing specific aside from those.


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## Miles Lacey

Ban said:


> *Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer make in your world?



The Kharran Empire is a maritime empire so a lot of people spend time at sea so plenty of time to read.  Poetry, ballads and epics are preferred and if you are good at erotic writing you'll do well but be careful.  Branch III of the Ministry of Internal Security tends to be touchy about such things and don't even think about challenging anything to do with the Faith.  Branch IX might send you to a penal colony or a concentration camp.


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## Miles Lacey

Is it okay to answer questions that were asked a couple of months ago?


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## Devor

Miles Lacey said:


> Is it okay to answer questions that were asked a couple of months ago?



Absolutely.


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## Ban

Miles Lacey said:


> Is it okay to answer questions that were asked a couple of months ago?



You can answer these questions at any time Miles. I even encourage you to


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## Ban

*Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)


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## Svrtnsse

Yes!

The Elven Nation - which isn't really a nation, but an international organisation representing the interest of elves is categorically opposed to any form of portal magic. 

The reason for this is to eliminate the risk of demonic invasion/infestation. The plane of existence the elves originated from was invaded and destroyed by demons. It's believed that exaggerated use of portals is what opened the way for the demons.


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## WooHooMan

Ban said:


> *Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)


No.  Not any more than science, technology or art is regulated.  So actually yes, it is (by governments mostly) but what kind and how heavily depends on where you are and who you interact with.  There's no place in Her Law where all magic has some general rule placed against it especially not when almost every single person in the world uses it.

I mean, without any magic; there wouldn't be healers, demon summoning, mind-reading, internet, tape cassettes or hovercars.  And what kind of barbarian can live like that?


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 1:* Suppose I'm transported to the most pleasant place in your world; where would I go for lodging, and what should I order off the menu?

Within the Kharran Empire Dalkhak is viewed as the nicest place to go.  It has regular airship, ferry and train services and its beaches are long with golden sand and good surfing (sometimes).  There's plenty of bars, cabarets, pubs, restaurants and movie houses.  

Many people recommend the Hotel Karem.  Unpretentious staff, both public and private baths, all rooms have a telephone and room service is available.  The cabaret act is popular, especially the belly dancers, and there's a pleasant bar and restaurant.  The temple is a pleasant ten minute walk away and the beach is across the road.


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## Vaporo

*Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)

For the most part, magic is so rare that most people don't even believe it exists, let alone try to regulate it.

However, in regions ruled by the religion of the Amul, magic is very expressly forbidden. There are 1100 "Gifts" of magic in the world: 1000 Gifts of Alshalance, and 100 Gifts of Alstaliance. When its previous wielder dies, a Gift is cast adrift in the world until it attaches semi-randomly to a new person. According to the Amul, the Gifts are the demonic power of the Fel and the only people who can wield them without being corrupted are a few select, highly trained priests. If someone is found to have a Gift, they will be brought before the leader of the Amul, He Who Stands at the Peak, and be asked to surrender their power to him. If they do, they will be given a generous sum of money and an honorary position among the priesthood. If they resist in any way, they will be hunted down, their Gift is forcibly extracted, and executed.

He Who Stands at the Peak holds over a hundred of Gifts in his mind, with another fifty distributed among the priesthood. The extra Gifts don't grant additional power, but he hoards them so that he may distribute them as he sees fit.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?

Coral reefs, kelp forests, swarms of tropical fish that range from the tiny mit to the huge and dreaded naga (a sea dragon) that can take down a decent sized ship, shipwrecks including the aircraft carrier _KIMS Fariq _and if you are very lucky a merperson.  Sharks, whales and crustations can be found in most waters.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)



Zukal probably has the most regulated and regimented sort of magic on Eld, given it is the one of the few places where they research and try to categorize it and make it go beyond their mere human capabilities. That and have Academic Battles on the Steel Ring islands with the dwarfs to keep the trophy for most academically powerful. Most the other races kind of half ass it as their magic comes more naturally and they don't always pursue it as an academic process or something that needs much regulation, what with nature sorting that out normally.

Course, the one thing they all regulate is anything to do with undeath. As it's banned and all. The sentence is always death, or re-death. And there are always a few witch hunters to go after the Evil witches and the like. They've been a bit chagrined since the Lich Wars since even hunting an individual witch is strongly discouraged as they tend to ally themselves with stronger powers or are the stronger powers, so they too join the adventurers and other odd sorts to go hunt undead and persecute a war they can actually fight. And have something to burn.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)

In the Kharran Empire the gift of the Spark (casting magic spells) is gifted to about 0.5% of the population.  A person who receives the gift is required to attend a mages college to learn how to use it.  Once they become Adept they can use magic without supervision from a mentor.

Laws and traditions determine how magic is used.  Branch IX of the Ministry of Internal Security is responsible not only for rooting out heresy but also dealing with rogue mages, mages who meddle in politically sensitive matters and pther troublemaking mages.

Note that what we on earth would call magicians are called conjurers.  They are regarded either as shysters or as entertainers and usually left alone unless they become a nuisance.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 4: *Now stuck in your world, I would like to continue my studies. What university, academy or similar institution would I want to apply for? (Bonus question: Where would I actually end up studying?)

This would depend on whether or not you are gifted with the Spark (the ability to cast spells).

If you're a mage the Occidental Republic's Academy of Magic in Edo is considered the best in the world as it teaches all sorts of Magic including dark magic.  

For non-mages the best place to study is the world famous Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific and Intellectual Development in Kadrish, the capital of the Kharran Empire.  Your chances of getting in?  Applicants who meet the academic criteria go into a lottery and only fifty names a year are drawn.  

The Kharran Empire alone has 39 universities so take your pick.  The region of Al Jadi has one of the best universities and it is located in a great location.


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 48:* Is magic regulated in any way? (By the government, academia, religion, vigilantes, or…?)

There's two different types of magic: 

Spheres [which only the Eternal Ones can use]: chaotic; wild; reality warping

Glyphs [which everyone else uses]: controlled; focused; safe enough; used for daily tasks; making food, building houses, and everything else anyone needs to live comfortably 

This way, no one has the power to destroy the OmniCosmos, but no one is exempt from basic necessities.


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## Ban

*Question 49:* What is taken for granted in our world, that is desired in your world?


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 49:* What is taken for granted in our world, that is desired in your world?



Basic rights. It's not all given on our world either, but on Eld, it's a world where being sentient and sapient doesn't even give you an advantage of not being eaten by other sentient and sapients. So, quite literally 'not being eaten' is something of a basic right the world is still getting on with.


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## Ban

*Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year?

Christmas is still high up there in 2080 netherlands, just as prince’s day, sinterklaas and king’s day. Thanksgiving has flown over from the US, through the enormous influx of immigrants, liberation day has become a minor event, as the memory of ww2 is distant, and Holland has cracked down on celebrations of carnaval in the southern provinces, in response to rising independence movements. There’s a few EUCPL holidays around, such as progress day and European Community day, but no one outside of the capitals of the EUCPL cares about those.​
*Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?

Black bomberjacks and vibrant tracksuits are popular among young people, although they are more and more associated with low-structure organized crime. Whether this is a boon or a curse to the tracksuit industry remains to be seen.

Formal wear inspired by traditional chinese clothing has become popular in Europe and the URS, but traditional italian and british style suits remain the most popular (though they are now produced in eastern europe).​
*Question 16: *Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)

Plenty of people are homeless (more than the media would ever admit), but most of them have access to EUCPL instituted homeless shelters.

There are also wandering bands of cultists, most of Euro-Khmer or SEC (Society of Epiphany Cultivation) variety, who tend to migrate from city to city and motel to motel. They do this to avoid riling up any locals.

Finally, you’ve got transnational networks such as motorcycle clubs who are highly prevalent on the highways. Oftentimes the Highway Gavels (EUCPL cops on the road) are sent to take them down, as manual driving isn’t legal in 2080.​

*Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food venues are still open?

Burger joints, frituurs, shoarma shops, late-night hotdog stands, coffeeshops (dutch type), coffeeshops (regular US definition ), NUSCAn fusion restaurants and perhaps the occassional chinese all-night wok restaurant.​

*Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?

Books have waned in popularity, but not to a degree that they are no longer present and produced. By far the biggest and most lucrative artform, is the music industry.​
*Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or other number) wonders?

Look up the new seven wonders of the world. Up until now, I have not created any new wonders to match them.​
*Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction? (Apocalypse)

The Pakistani Nanoplague of 2059. Before the plague, Pakistan was a third superpower contender against the EUCPL (still EU back then) and Federal China. The nanoplague knocked the country down on the power list quite a bit, and the only reason it was stopped was due to Pakistan’s ability to code a counter-nanoplague in record time of less than half a day.​
*Question 21:* Can you give the lyrics for a song from your world? 
(Alternative if you have no lyrics written: Can you tell me the meaning of one of your world's songs?)

*‘Hammer,*

*Hammer to the head. *

*Hammer,*

*Hammer turn red.*

*Hammer, *

*Hammer-*Bleep* a fed.’*

This is the average type and quality of lyrics you would find in a murderrap song.​

*Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?

14 billion, not including AI-citizens, androids and great apes, but including cyborgs and genetically-engineered people.​

*Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime? 

Hah

Hah

Hah

No sorry, I don’t have time to write a 10 page essay today.​
*Question 24:* I look above, what do I see? 
(What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)

Gray low-lying clouds made purple and blue through light pollution.​

*Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues and the like played in your world?

See nanoplagues. Otherwise, there are some viruses that have been genetically modified by warlords to keep their soldiers servile. Other viruses are used as specialized carriers of stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens. And finally there are viruses used for assassination purposes, that can spread through all people, but only kill someone exactly matching the DNA profile it was created to destroy. These latter viruses are luckily not as reliable as their creators might hope.​
*Question 27: *Can you give me some insults specific to your world?

Cowkill. Cowkiller is a drug that is injected by shooting it directly into your brain with a specialized gun. It gives a person superhuman capabilities (no sleep, no fatigue, no bleeding out, max adrenalin, max concentration, max trigger discipline), but leads to brain damage and fatal bleedout upon wearing off. Calling someone  a cowkill is the same as calling them a short-sighted idiot.​
*Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?

Information. It’s used by companies to gain max profit, and by governments and media to keep the people in control. Same old same old, just taken to its dystopian conclusion.​
*Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast? 

Cereal or bread and cheese for most folks. Hagelslag would remain popular.​
*Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)

The online world has been conquered by traditional news stations, so independent news has been curbed. You will have to listen to any of the mandated media companies.​


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## Ban

*And now the last question of this thread, before a new one will be opened for the next 50 questions. 

*Drum rolls*

Question 50:* I’ve spent quite some time in your world by now, and would like to settle down. How do I obtain a house?


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## TheCrystallineEntity

*Question 50:* I’ve spent quite some time in your world by now, and would like to settle down. How do I obtain a house?

You can build one by using Glyphs, or find a wizard to help you.


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## Steerpike

Ban said:


> *Question 50:* I’ve spent quite some time in your world by now, and would like to settle down. How do I obtain a house?



You must obtain the right to own property, dispensed by priestly powers to the faithful. After the requisite number of goats have been dispatched, and you've bathed in their congealing blood, you can petition the gods through their priesthood.

...perhaps for another tale. For my current WIP, it's a good question. I hadn't considered it, though home ownership is open to anyone with enough wealth to buy one or have one built.


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## Vaporo

*Question 50:* I’ve spent quite some time in your world by now, and would like to settle down. How do I obtain a house?

You buy one. Or rent something. How else? Housing isn't terribly expensive in Antisan cities since the economy is doing so well. If living in close quarters with other people isn't your cup of tea, land in the countryside can be purchased at an all time low because of how many former farmers have moved into the city.

In Antisa, land has always been owned privately by individuals. By law, if you settle on unowned, unused land and can prove that you are actively using that land, it becomes yours. The amount of such unsettled land available has decreased in recent years, but there's still quite a lot of land in the mountain where you can stake your claim. There may be local lords to whom you must pay taxes, but it is illegal to tax for a value greater than a quarter of the value your land produces, or to annex your land for himself. If you own land, it is permanently yours.

This point of property law was laid down during the formation of the nation of Antisa. The government of Antisa was actually once an organized crime ring. The word "Antisa" once literally meant "mafia." After the collapse of the Untian Empire and its government, the crime bosses were the first to step up and fill the role. In a lawless time when bandits roamed the countryside in droves, often setting themselves up as local "lords," the crime bosses realized that the easiest was to gather support and legitimize themselves above these despots was to guarantee the protection of certain rights. Among these rights was the right to own land. And it worked. People and towns pledged themselves to Antisa in droves. Thus, the law has stood firm to this day.


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## Orc Knight

Ban said:


> *Question 50:* I’ve spent quite some time in your world by now, and would like to settle down. How do I obtain a house?



Either build one, make enough money for one. Or, since this is after the Lich Wars, take someone else's house. Chances are pretty damn good they're either dead or undead. Then you can fix it up and make it your own and pay the taxes for it, you're all set. Or live in a gold elf/orc style commune or live out of a river house or even buy a caravan wagon home. Or join with a group that has one and get one of your own in time. Take up a cave if you need to, they can be made quite comfortable (you'll still get taxed even in a cave, there's laws y'know). Or take over an old dwarven fortress monastery or build upon the ruins of former villages and maybe make your own. Hell, if you feel like taking an old mountain with a nice vista view and very firm and entrenched house built by dwarves, goblins or trolls, take one of those.

Again, overall, just pay your taxes and you'll be fine with any of them. The going rates for abandoned and post apocalyptic homes is about the same, even if you set up shop in a hovel, manor or fastness. Just save up some coin or food stores to barter when the tax being shows up.

For tax free environs, try making your home in another dimension. Though there are very few dimensional options outside of drow hands, still can try.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)

Anyone who wants to make a real impression tries to get  their hands on an al-buraq - a breed of flying horse - and go dragon slaying with sword and armour just like in the old days.  Death by dragon is the biggest killer of aristocrats in the Kharran Empire.  Falling off an al-buraq is the second.

*Question 7:* Days, Weeks, Months, Years. How are they measured and what are they called?

There are seven days in a week: senyo, makisenyo, irobi, hamusi, aribi, kidame and ihurdi.  There are four weeks in every month.  

There are thirteen months in a year:  Every month is twenty-eight days.  Dyunisus, Hira, Hyfaystus, Ufrudit, Histia, Hiarmis, Dimitir, Aris, Artamis, Abulu, Athina, Buasidum and Zuyus.  New Years Day is a standalone day called Hadis.  Every four years is a standalone leap day called Kenini Yirak'u.  New Years Day and the months are named after the gods.  

*Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.

_The Ballad of Hadis _is often told by campers sitting around the camp fire.  When Zuyus sent the gods to seek suitable creatures to populate the world with Hadis set out to find the most loathesome creatures in the universe.  He found the karkadaan, the bags and the roc. Zuyus was furious and wouldn't let Hadis place these creatures in this new world.  The two gods fought each other but neither would back down so Hira (the Queen of the Gods) told them they had to perform a ballad to persuade the other gods why they should have their way.  The _Ballad _was how Hadis told the story of the suffering these creatures went through in their home worlds.  It was so moving the gods voted to let the creatures be allowed onto this world.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 9: *What do your common folk do for fun? (Bonus question: What does the elite think about this?)

My main character is a commoner.  She likes to listen to radio dramas, watch gangster movies at the flicks and go wave boarding at the beach.  When money allows she goes to the Khamis Tavern in the port area and has a few jugs of Mammoth's Piss  (a nickname for a very popular local beer) with the dock workers.  She's a striker for the local nutball team  (a game like field hockey where a coconut rather than a ball is used).  When her best male friend is in town they drive out to the countryside to have a picnic and hopefully avoid the less savoury creatures lurking about.

The ruling elite reckons they should focus more on the arts and working on their intellects rather than indulging in such trivial stuff.

*Question 10:* Can you tell me a tale, that is fictional within your world?
In a sense, all stories are true in the OmniCosmos. It just depends on your perspective.

_The Idiot's Lament _is a series of raunchy tales based around the adventures of the most successful female pirate in the Great Western Sea.  Her name was Raja the Axe because she fought with a woodcutter's axe rather than a sword.  Her many antics include stealing a boat full of spices from under the very nose of an Emperor, joining a harem so she could seduce the daughter of a Prince, single handedly defeating a dragon using nothing but an axe and inventing the very seductive _Raja's Snake Dances _that is now an integral part of a belly dancer's basic dance routine.


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## Ban

Vaporo said:


> You buy one. Or rent something. How else?



Join a guild, build a house, conquer a house, walk into an abandoned building and call it yours, ask a local criminal cabal, commission mages for a house to be built, be granted one by royal decree upon valorous service, etcetera. 


That being said, for my own world you pretty much just follow the same rules as our world, as it is in a way, our world.


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## Vaporo

I suddenly realize that I've become "that guy" who will go off on a tangent about the finer points of Antisan property law if allowed. Please send help.


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## Ban

With 50 prompts down, we have reached the end of this thread. In these past  days I've read through a ton of your interesting worldbuilding, and I have been pleasantly surprised by the level of engagement we have had on this thread. Well done to everyone who has commented!

You are all still encouraged to answer any question posted on this thread, at any point in time. For convenience, I have also collected all 50 prompts into one file, which can be downloaded on the first page of this thread:  The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt

Don't worry, this is not the end of the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt. Tomorrow we will continue with a fresh start on the Daily Worldbuilding Prompt Chapter 2, which can be found here: The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 2

I hope you had some fun, learned some new things about your world, and will join me on the next chapter


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## Ban

Question 51 is now up on the new thread.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 34: *I take a big shovel and start digging, what do I see? (Colour and substance of the ground. Worms, insects, other creatures. Etcetera)


The dirt is dirt coloured, except for up by the northern end of the mountain range, where the dirt gets ashy and eventually gives way to a black-sand desert.

The closer you are to the mountains, the quicker the dirt gives way to stone. The place where the dirt is thickest is under the elves' forest, at about 3-5 meters thick.

On the western side of the mountains, the critters are about the same as on Earth, though there is also a thing called a decapede(think centipede but less leg). On the eastern side, I'm not too sure yet, but it will probably be the same as the western side.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 11*: I want to travel from one edge of the known world, to the other. How do I go about this, and is it possible?

Over oceans etc ships are the cheapest form of travel by far.  Aircraft are expensive and are only used by people who need to get somewhere quickly.  Airships are cheaper but a lot slower (136 km/h on average as opposed to 333 km/h for a DC-3 like aircraft).

On land trains are the most common form of transport for long distance and trams for short distances in urban areas and buses in rural areas.  Cars are used mostly by the wealthy or bourgeoisie.  Motorcycles, bicycles and rickshaws are also used.  Horses and horse carts are not unusual in remoter areas.

Road and rail networks vary considerably.  In many poorer countries even main roads are little more than metal roads (i.e. dirt tracks with tightly packed stone chips on top) or tracks.

The planet is circular and the layout of the land masses means the planet can be circumnavigated by sea but it can be slow.

*Question 12: *Can you give me an example (or more) of differences in morality between people in our world and inhabitants of yours?

Most people in my world are bisexual and there are three genders: male, female and transgender (those with both male and female genitalia).  Thus, same sex relationships and intercourse carry no stigma nor are they taboo.  Marriage is not regarded as a declaration of love but a declaration of wanting to have and raise children so same sex marriage is illegal.  Because mages become sterile when they are gifted with the Spark (i.e. cast spells) they cannot marry.

Couples, trios, quartets and even quintets are considered to be normal but couples and trios are the most common.

The transition to adulthood ceremony that everyone has when they turn 16 marks the moment they become adults and therefore have sex.  Most people lose their virginity on their 16th birthday as it is considered bad luck to have an adult virgin in the house.

Children have the surnames of both their biological and non-biological parents in order of the age of the parents with the eldest biological parent's surname being used on a day to day basis.  Sex with anyone with any of the same surnames as yourself is seen as incest, even if there is no possible biological connection.

*Question 15: *What's the latest fashion and/or what type of clothing never goes out of style?

In the Kharran Empire, which is mostly tropical, females favour light cotton clothing.  Green, blue, red, white and yellow are the most popular colours. They prefer dresses, skirts and short sleeves shirts but more physically active females will wear shorts.  Only men wear trousers except where employment requires women to wear them as well.  Working class men wear denim because it's longer lasting and tougher.  

Silk and nylon are very expensive and only worn by the well off.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 13: *Zoo's, Waterparks, Amusementparks. Do you have any equivalent? (Bonus: Can you give me an example?)

What would be associated with amusement parks are part of circuses which travel from place to place.  Because the Kharran Empire is a maritime state scattered across thousands of islands circuses use ships rather than trains to move around.  They set themselves up on vacant land near ports.  Circuses often offer dragon rides on tamed dragons and a few offer the ultimate thrill of riding a roc. 

Zoos are found mostly in cities.  If it's possible to put them on display it's done.

Waterparks are laughed at.  With so many waterfalls, rivers, hot pools, lakes etc they are seen as unnecessary.  In areas with dry seasons water is deemed to be too precious to waste in such places.

*Question 14: *What's the biggest, most beloved celebration of the year? (Bonus: How do I celebrate?)

Summer Solstace.  It's not only a big party with a mardi gras-type parade but it also involves the exchange of gifts.   In this world harem members dressed as nymphs hand out gifts to children.  Traditionally they hand out toys, sweets and cakes.

*Question 16: *Can you tell me about the itinerant folk of your world? (Bonus: Why do they travel?)

Itinerant folks are dubbed hobos if they travel in search of work.  Much of it is driven by the economic depression which has forced people to travel in search of work.  They are not to be confused with nomads who travel due to the requirements of livestock or agriculture. 

Hobos usually travel by tramp steamer or train and are hated by the authorities and often rounded up by the police.  

*Question 17: *It's late at night and I'm hungry, what food places are still open?

Diners which are either stand alone or attached to railway stations are usually 24/7 operations.  Rice is the staple good so whatever you order it will be served on rice unless you state otherwise.  There are many different varieties of rice.  

Ports have pubs rather than diners.  

*Question 18: *Which arts are most appreciated in your world?

In the Kharran Empire various sensual dances such as belly dancing, the fifli (similar to the tango) and the zanjibayl (similar to the paso dople).

Painting postcards is also a highly regarded art form and often helps supplement incomes of people who are good at drawing, sketching and painting.  

Blues, jazz, swing and martial (classical) music are the most common music played but more traditional audiences like ballads and what the Americans would call country & western.  

Sculptures, particularly those which portray the gods and real people, are highly prized.  Small statuettes the side of the Oscar awards of loved ones are often found in the homes of the better off.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?


Not including the deities, you'd find the names of all the Apostles up to about 500BH(before Hosper Paxet), though I'm sure if you snooped around in the palace of Saweip, the deity of wisdom, you could probably find the names of every Apostle ever.

Other than the Apostles, notable people would be the rulers of the nations, life changing inventors, and the first person to safely make it across the mountain range and back(will need to come up with a name for them, probably)


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements)


There's a Universal spell which is able to enhance the sturdiness of something, for example a staff or a fist, enough that you can hit someone in the face with it without breaking it(especially useful for mages that are well trained in hand-to-hand combat), though to get better enhancements you'd need to specialise in enhancement magic.

There's probably some kind of potion-making/alchemy magic, so you have that.

There might be some kind of parasite or symbiote found at Inespell's Rage that can enhance your abilities Venom-style, but it's just as likely to be truly hostile, so best to leave them alone.

Other than those, I can't think of anything at this moment.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 19: *Can you tell me about your world's seven (or whatever number) wonders?

1.  The Statue of Ufrudit in the tiny micro-state of Widit.  What makes it a wonder and a source of bewilderment & controversy is that it features a goddess when she was a teenager wearing an anime-style school uniform.  Problem is that it was carved five thousand years ago when the materials to make such clothing did not exist.
2.  The Golden Lovers of the Dago Strait.  Two statues - one on opposite sides of a narrow stretch of water - tower over three hundred metres high. 
3.  The Gardens of Babushka.  In the Confederation of Madrasa is the ancient city of Babushka.  The Gardens there are considered the best in the world with just about every flower and tree known growing there.  The fruit on the trees can be picked for a small few.
4.  The Pillars of Idira.  Near the fishing village of Idira in the Grand Duchy of Ganghok are fourteen pillars made out a strange stone standing in a circle.  Every fourteen years these pillars light up in a kaleidoscope of colours.  It is said that whoever can stand in the middle of the circle when the pillars light up will be proclaimed the Prophet of the Gods.
5.  The Tree of the Masturbating Drunk.  About fifty years ago a group of road construction workers near Al Mudi in the Kharran Empire stumbled across a tree that looked like a drunken man masturbating.  When the tree ejaculates the liquid from it will grant the person the gift of eternal youth.  The catch: the only known land nagas that guard it are pretty much impervious to mage magic and bullets.
6.  Moth's Peak in the Occidental Republic.  Believed to be the mountain retreat of the gods when they walked among humanoids.
7.  The Silver River Waterfall.  Separating the Republic of Go and the Earldom of Muscovy is the mysterious Silver River Waterfall.  The water flows upwards in defiance of all laws of gravity.  The Silver River is so toxic that even to touch the water will kill a person in seconds and the fish within the river are vile and poisonous.  Although only 30 metres wide at its widest point with no border defences on either side no invading army has ever successfully crossed it.

There's a few others.

*Question 20:* What's the closest your world has been to wholesale destruction?

A meteor crashed into what is now the Germanica Strait that separates the Normerica landmass from the Suderica landmass.  

*Question 21:* Can you give the lyrics for a song from your world? 
(Alternative if you have no lyrics written: Can you tell me about the meaning of one of your world's songs?)

_Omar Dear Omar _is a song written by a female veteran of the Great War who is fed up with her husband (who is also a veteran) bragging about doing stuff he never did, justifying a war of aggression, blaming traitors at home when it was bad leadership and outdated weapons that cost them the war and using fallen comrades to justify his violence towards her and anyone else he disagrees with.  It's a blues song.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 37: *How is public sanitation taken care of? (Bathhouses, hot springs, sewage, public toilets, sewage disposal?)


Looking at the Duongel's city, bath houses and hot springs would be almost exclusively for non-Duongels, as a Duongel's feathers would probably necessitate a very particular washing method, which a bath just can't do. I probably will end up modelling a Duongel's wings off some kind of bird-of-prey, so until I find something that tells me otherwise, Duongels can't partake in the ultimate relaxation of a warm bath. Or swimming(another reason why Duongels don't see sailing as a viable method of transport).

With public toilets, it's always either unisex or the female toilets is far bigger than the male, since all Duongels are female. I'm not sure yet on how the physical toilets themselves will differ, since they would have to accommodate for the Duongel's wings, but they would still function the same as toilets on Earth.

As for sewage, there is a sewage system, but instead of being dumped somewhere, it's brought to an area where purification mages purify the water, with each batch being purified 3 times by different mages, then it goes into the ocean. Which is also where the water in the pipes comes from(it goes through the same process before being pumped out, don't worry).


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 22:* How many people roam your world, and who do you count as 'people' ?

There are 2.5 billion people in the world and those defined as humanoids (elves, humans and neanderthals) are defined as people.

*Question 23: *Can you tell me a little something about your world's organized crime? 

Gangs are groups centered around a territory or personality and focus mostly on thuggery, thievery and scams to survive.  

Pirates are any criminals that prey on shipping whether the shipping is at sea or tied up at the wharves.

Mobsters are basically like the Triads of Hong Kong.  They are often based around powerful families, indulge in bribing corrupt officials and deal in more high end crimes like money laundering, bootlegging, smuggling, trafficking people and wildlife, drugs (especially opiates) and extortion rackets.

*Question 24:* I look above, what do I see? 
(What colour is the sky, what do the clouds look like, how many moons, can I see the stars?)

Skies are blue (or grey if raining), plenty of stars and two moons which appear in the sky together only once every twenty eight days.  They're called Hira and Zuyus.


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 25: What are the boundaries of what is magically possible?
*
The ability to cast powerful magic depends on the mage's physical fitness and health levels.  This is the case whether they have staffs or not.  A mage who reaches the level of Master is potentially capable of wiping out a fully equipped battalion but the reality is they couldn't do it out of fear of public reaction and the brutal Branch IX of the Ministry of Internal Security which gets upright about such abuse of power.
*
Question 26: *Disease shaped our world, so what role have plagues played in your world?

Plagues brought about rapid improvements in living arrangements, housing design and the introduction of a sewerage disposal system in many places.  There are strict rules about bodily functions to avoid causing disease outbreaks.

*Question 27: *Can you give me some insults, specific to your world?

"Tastes like dragon's piss."  A compliment if used to describe spirits.  An insult if used to describe any other beverage.
"Go whore your sister!" - Means get lost and is used mostly by females receiving unwanted attention.
"Shit Shoveller!" - Used to insult a person of inferior class or rank to oneself.  
"Gold Fucker!" - Used to insult a rich person, usually someone who got rich dishonestly.
"Naga Num-Nums!" - A stupid or careless person.  Nagas are large sea creatures with human torso, arms and head and sea serpent that can sink a ship at sea.  Carelessness often contributes to naga attacks.
"Nutcracker!" - A person  (usually a woman) who will do anything underhanded to get ahead.  Among Neanderthals it refers to a nagging woman.  
"Purse snatcher!" - An insult implying someone is in a relationship for financial gain.

*Question 28: *What's the most valuable material in your world, and how is it used?

People in the Kharran Empire wear a precious stone to ward off evil spirits.  The more expensive the stone the higher a person's rank.  The most precious stone (and material) is the Pink Diamond.  It is worn by the Kharran Empire's Monarch as part of a necklace made of the purest gold.  The pink diamond worn by the Monarch is believed to be the only pink diamond in existence and is worth more than the GDP of the Empire.

*Question 29: *What will be served for a typical breakfast? 

Eggs from a bird of your choice served with red rice and steamed al-miraj (carnivore rabbits with a unicorn horn on their head washed down with black coffee with no milk or sugar.


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## Ban

*Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?

The technocracy symbol (a yin yang symbol without the two internal dots) has made a strong resurgence, and is used most prominently by the international technocratic alliance AUREA. It has become a symbol for Eurasianists and government loyalists throughout the supercontinent.

Stars have a dual and opposing symbology. On the one hand, they are included in the flags of the EUCPL, the URS, and federal China (collectively known as the three stars), and thus represents loyalty to these states, as well as its original intended meaning of representing the strive for innovation and progress. On the other hand, stars are used by American migrants as a symbol for the desire to return to their homeland. Finally, the star symbol is used by the Stars nation (a loose, but extensive gang collective) in opposition to their rivals, the Stripes nation, although the crown symbol is increasingly used by the former in the Dutch Stars gangs to symbolize their acceptance of European innitiates, something the Stripes staunchly refuse.

Various corporations have recognizable icons, from the dead-smiley face of the soda brand Hottie Pop to the Paul Bunyan figure used by the Red-Blue Logger fastfood chain.

Finally all of the various new religions and social movements have new icons as well, from the violet Angkor Wat temple on a golden flag used by the Euro-Khmer cult (who are only very loosely based on actual khmer culture, an unfortunate result of the khmermania of the 50s and 60s), to the usage of the neon-green pyramid of MENUSCA by pro-democracy groups in Eurasia.​
*Question 32: *How much of a career can a writer have in your world?

Regular writers can have as great a career as in our world, but the truly succesful writers in 2080 are creative software-engineers who have mastered the art of creating and selling literature generators.

While people have given up on the idea of stories entirely generated by computers, as they led to dull stories no matter how complex the software was, a new industry has boomed in semi-randomized literature generators. These generators are plotted, edited and co-written by a human writer, while the software fills in the majority of the pages in countless ways in accordance to the script given by the writer. For each copy made of the book in question, the generator runs a unique sequence, and as a result each printed copy has a similar story as every other copy, but is formulated in a unique way exclusive to that specific copy. Whether this is just a fad remains to be seen.​
*Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?

Manual labour has been made obsolete due to robotization, which has led to 20% of the EUCPL population being permanently unemployed, with higher numbers when we consider temporary unemployment (periods beneath two years in this case). Three-quarters of the permanently unemployed are elligible for welfare, whereas the other quarter has to rely on precarious labour such as delving through E-dumps for thrown-away technology, or running for a local criminal syndicate.

If you have a good formal education, you will be able to find work in the EUCPL, though you may have to move to another country if you can’t afford to take the hyperloop everyday. Due to shortened travel times and a whole heap of other factors, the countries comprising the EUCPL have become largely specialized in the labout they offer. In France you will be able to find work if you have experience in the recreational industry or academia, whereas you will only have a chance of finding steady employ in Hungary if you are interested in working in the film industry, and all that goes into supporting it.​
*Question 34: *I take a big shovel and start digging, what do I see? (Colour and substance of the ground. Worms, insects, other creatures, etcetera.)

Rock and dead ground under most cities, though an EUCPL regulation has made it mandatory for sizable countries (anything larger than Luxembourg) to allocate 30% of its space to giving room for nature. Here you will find exactly what you’d expect a healthy ground to look like on our world.​
*Question 35: *I'm reading through the history books. Which names am I sure to come across?

Someone remind me to return to this question? I like it, but I have spent very little time on writing about major characters who aren’t criminals. A clear oversight on my part.

For now, I will focus on two serial killers who have proven immensely important in the course of EUCPL history. First of all is Martin Degansy, a french-born serial killer and amateur nanotechnologist who operated in the 40s and dissolved his victims in a nanotechnological mixture he made himself. The substance he used was self-replicating and could be fitted in a vial small enough for him to hide in his socks. Degansy shocked the European populace enough that the death-penalty was reintroduced on a continental scale to prosecute international criminals (Degansy Statute of 2050). This in turn led to the eventual creation of the Central Court of Justice (as opposed to the European Court of Justice) in Luxembourg to prosecute international criminals and criminal syndicates.

The other major nightmare fuel of this time period (excluding the SEC suicide-cults active during this time, a subject for another time), was the Swiss-born Serial killer “Kodiak Killer”, otherwise known as Emil Gurns, a cybernetically-enhanced cannibal who taunted local investigators with crudely written letters. The discovery of Gurns’ cabin in the Alps, and the haunting imagery thereof circulated by the European media, has turned European opinion irrevocably against all forms of cybernetic enhancement and bio-augmentations.​
*Question 36: *Is it possible to enhance your body through means other than hitting the gym and eating well? (bio-augmentations, cybernetic implants, magical enhancements, or…?)

Bio-augmentations can be bought in the Chinese opportunity states, or any of the warzones, whereas cybernetic implants can be found in the Scottish freestates and Canada. In the EUCPL and the URS, opinion is heavily against both and providing these operation services is illegal, though possessing implants is not punishable (except by way of social exclusion). So-called Scottish milkmen (semi-legal representatives of Scottish companies) and Chinese Triads provide implants despite the ramifications.​
*Question 37: *How is public sanitation taken care of? (Bathhouses, hot springs, sewage, public toilets, sewage disposal?)

Same way as our world, though selective usage of nanotechnology makes disposal a lot easier and cleaner.​
*Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?

Slaughterfights are no-holds barred MMA matches between cybernetically enhanced and bio-augmented humans, held in the Chinese opportunity state of Tianjin. Most fights are called off before any serious injuries happen, and the medical experts on hand are some of the best (and best-payed) professionals in the world, but champion fights always end with the death of either the champion or the challenger. In the EUCPL, URS and the rest of China these fights are illegal, but they are streamed for high profits, local fighters go to Tianjin to participate and the competition even goes to the various warzones of the world to scout for promising new talent.​


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## Ban

*Sloooowly catching up now.


Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?

The real-life Boogie man of the month (or year) is a veteran from the warzones called Connecticut John, who has been linked to 10 gang-related assassinations in the Netherlands. Trouble is, video and audio evidence hasn’t been useful evidence for decades, since replication software for both is advanced enough to create perfect fakes of both in a matter of hours. John has been brought before court a number of times, but has been acquitted each time.

On the fictional side, we have a whole heap of slashers who have been making a comeback since the late 60s. They have proven especially popular in the gaming industry, where they have transformed from fun mindless killers, to triple A stars in their own horror rpg’s. The Hangman of Almond Grove, the titular star of Almond Grove, has become a welcome new addition to the pop-culture villain roster. On the less serious side, the Bakebarian, a Barbarian Baker has also joined this rogue’s gallery.​
*Question 40*: Can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)

Plenty of architecture new and old to go around, but one popular one is Blockoco, a mixture of blocky designs and colorful Rococo-inspired aesthetics. They are easy to transport from place to place, and buildings in boom cities can often simply be stacked together with pre-made Blockoco houses.​
*Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language, etcetera.)

Although most english-speaking countries have declined in global importance, with the 5 eyes having all fallen down the list, it would make sense that english would stop being the lingua france, but this is not the case. The EUCPL, Federal China, the North Sea Concord and the URS decided to create the international language institute, otherwise known as the Malta Bureau for its location, as a global authority on the english language. Consultancies can be found all over the world, but only the original creator countries have the power to change the development of new english.

A number of pidgin languages exist in the tradehubs of the world, too many to name, and probably too fleeting to be remembered.​


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## Miles Lacey

*Question 30: *Where do people get the news? (Do they have an established media system, or is it word of mouth, or... ?)

For those with money there's the radio.  For others they can watch the weekly news reels at the movie theatre, read the newspaper or go to an inn and listen to a storyteller.

*Question 31: *From the christian cross to the nike icon, our world is filled with recognisable symbols. What are your world's most widespread symbols?

The Kharran Empire is represented by the symbol of a red pepper as it was the spice trade the Empire was originally built on.

The Faith is represented by a double edged sword to indicate the basic mantra that the Faith cuts both ways: the gods giveth and they taketh away.

The most iconic corporate symbol is a mammoth with a glass mug: the logo of Mammoth's Piss which is a popular beverage.

*Question 33:* I am in search of work. Where could, would and should I apply?

If you don't mind hard physical labour there's quite a few public works projects under way.  If it's a temporary job that doesn't involve too much effort the Kharran Empire is looking for Census workers.  Factories in Dalkhak in the Kharran Empire are short of stone carvers at the moment.  

Oh and many tramp steamers are always looking out for crew.  Cooks, cleaners and machinists are in short supply at the moment.

Ladies, your gender is no hindrance.  Employers world wide tend to be all for equal opportunity which means you will also end up doing shitty work for low pay just like the men if you end up as a factory or retail worker.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 38*: Can you explain one of your world's sports to me?


I'm guessing you're meaning sports unique to my world, so that rules out the extreme archery that the Duongels do, as that's still a form of archery.

For manipulation-type mages, especially light mages, there's a little competition/test of ability to try and accurately replicate a statue at a distance(skill) or accurately replicate many statues quickly(speed)/at once(endurance).

For creation-type mages, there's something similar, but instead of statues it's creating a ball/filling a container, and the speed task is instead measuring intensity of the creation(how bright the flame/light is, how fast the container can be filled, etc).

Specifically for light mages, there's a different contest where a colour will be shouted out, and the mage has to create a ball of light/change the colour of a target to the colour shouted out.

Not sure what else yet.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 39: *Can you tell me about your world's boogie man?


Even though she's a deity, Inespell fits the role of boogie man quite well, as the "threat" of her "corrupting" a child who lives in an untidy room is a rather effective way for parents to convince their children to tidy their rooms, even though the streets are most likely more chaotic than an untidy room could ever be.

I'm not familiar enough with boogieman legends to do anything else without sounding really generic or ripping off of someone else, so I'll leave it at this.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 40*: can you describe the architectural styles of you world? (high/low, peaked/rounded, ornate/modest, open/closed etcetera)


Duongel buildings tend to have multiple stories(the average is 4-5, but the tallest is probably the 20 stories that the universities have at their tallest points), and often have take-off/landing pads at some of the higher levels.

The shape of the roof of a Duongel building tells a lot about what the owner's opinion of loiterers is. If it's flat, then it means that the owner doesn't care. Apartments and cafes tend to have this kind of roof, as it allows for people to get in if the street is too crowded. Pointed roofs mean that the owner doesn't want people standing on their roof. This tends to be on private homes, but important buildings like parliament and the universities also have pointed roofs. A round roof means that, while the owner doesn't mind having people stand on their roof, they would like to be able to monitor entry and exit. Restaurants and libraries tend to have this, and many shops do as well.

Duongel buildings normally blend into their neighbors, so it often isn't easy to tell where one ends and another begins, if they're connected.

As for actual style, I'm not sure. Probably would have a bit of stonework.

The human settlements are more like the standard fantasy setting, and the dwarves really live up to the stereotype(The ones that live underground, that is. The rest is like that one city in Turkey, where they carved the buildings into the face of the cliff). The elves differ slightly from the treetop stereotype, instead living in the hollowed-out base of trees that make redwoods look like pine trees. No clue what to do for anything else.


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## ScaryMJDiamcreep

Ban said:


> *Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)


Not really. Best I've got is that Duongelese(I know how rubbish that temporary name is but I've got nothing better at the moment) is literally impossible to speak unless you have some way of having multiple bodies, such as being a Duongel.


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## Gotis

*Question 3: *I dive to the bottom of the sea. What wonders, treasures and curiosities will I find on the seabed?
I can't say for the very bottom, but you will find three types of merfolk. There are the Wavers who are completely mammalian. They look like your typical merfolk except the tail is more dophin-like. They stay near the surface because they need to breathe air. The Depmer have the same body shape, but are more fish-like in appearance. Then there's the Goonies. They're just The Creature From the Black Lagoon


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## Gotis

Ban said:


> *Question 6: *Pets and mounts. Which are some of the interesting ones your world has? (Bonus question: For what are they used?)


Male trolls are basically live versions of troll dolls from our own world. They spit acid which is used to dissolve prey into goop. With the acid gland removed they make decent pets. They are popular among rich little girls.
Driders (Dark Elf/spider hybrids) can birth a horde of spiders through a ghastly ritual. These spiders go out into the world and act perfectly normal. However the Drider can take over any of her spiders from any distance using them as eyes and ears. They are also good litlte murder weapons.


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## Gotis

*Question 8: *Can you give me the synopsis of one of your people's cultural/national epics? The foundational myths as it were.[/QUOTE]
The Dwarven Creation Myth
The four Under-Gods decided to create a people. The Smith, leader of the gods, made a skeleton out of iron. The Lady(Smith's wife) wove their beards out of spider silk. The Stone-Cutter cut precious gems for the brain, heart and other organs. Lastly, The Hunter wrapped it up in boiled leather. The Dwarves were a disappointment. They were indestructible and would obey any order, but had no soul, no self drive.
The Lady then merged her soul with the Dwarves making them both stronger and weaker. They were now flesh and blood, but had a will of their own. The Smith was enraged that his wife "died" for the Dwarves and so created iron golems to destroy them. He poured most of his power into them and was weakened afterwords. Just as the golems were advancing on the Dwarves, the Smith could see attributes of The Lady in each one of them. He regretted his actions and merged himself with the golems and made them walk away from the Dwarves. Eventually The Smith will lose control and the golems will destroy the Dwarves. It is said that the more the Dwarves are kind and good, the more determined The Smith is to save them, but mean and nasty Dwarves dishonor The Lady and make the golems return that much sooner.


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## blondie.k

Ban said:


> *Question 41: *Can you give me a linguistic overview of your world? (Language families, broad distribution, intelligibility, lingua franca, trade language...)


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