Mythopoet
Auror
I've been making an effort to develop a world that isn't "human-centric". Partly because I have always been fascinated by mythologies and folklores that deal with "other" beings, from deities to brownies. And partly because it seems to me something that is very rarely done.
I am also trying to develop my world and its peoples organically. Not just picking and choosing from among the common fantasy races, but considering what types of beings would naturally inhabit my world. My world is comprised of two distinct created realms (dimensions, for lack of a better term) that have collided and merged. Right now I have 3 distinct types of sentient beings, each of which there are several subgroups with varied characteristics.
The Telchines are from a realm with a very volatile, malleable nature and as such are themselves shapeshifters and have the natural ability to craft, shape, and change the world around them. Time also works in such a way for them that their bodies are essentially born anew each day though their spirits are eternal. Everything in their world is always new to them, everything in their world is clay for them to shape. (Inspired in part by the creatures of the same name in Greek mythology.)
The Kami (also Khamy, Kamae depending on where in the world you are) are humanoid beings indigenous to a world based on principles of Cosmic Order and the Kami are embodied Forms (that is, Platonic Forms) of all that exists naturally in the world. As such they are deeply involved in the day to day working of their world. They are powerful and immortal and are often called "gods" though this word has more of the connotations of the Japanese Shinto view of what a "god" is rather than a Western view. (Which is why, though the Kami are inspired by the gods of many world mythologies, their name is the Japanese word for "god".)
Humans (for lack of a better term, I may try to come up with something else at some point) are an unexpected product of the collision of the world of the Telchines and the world of the Kami. They have characteristics of both but they are mortal.
I have a very complex belief system about personhood in my world which is based on Egyptian religion but it's too long to go into here.
I am also trying to develop my world and its peoples organically. Not just picking and choosing from among the common fantasy races, but considering what types of beings would naturally inhabit my world. My world is comprised of two distinct created realms (dimensions, for lack of a better term) that have collided and merged. Right now I have 3 distinct types of sentient beings, each of which there are several subgroups with varied characteristics.
The Telchines are from a realm with a very volatile, malleable nature and as such are themselves shapeshifters and have the natural ability to craft, shape, and change the world around them. Time also works in such a way for them that their bodies are essentially born anew each day though their spirits are eternal. Everything in their world is always new to them, everything in their world is clay for them to shape. (Inspired in part by the creatures of the same name in Greek mythology.)
The Kami (also Khamy, Kamae depending on where in the world you are) are humanoid beings indigenous to a world based on principles of Cosmic Order and the Kami are embodied Forms (that is, Platonic Forms) of all that exists naturally in the world. As such they are deeply involved in the day to day working of their world. They are powerful and immortal and are often called "gods" though this word has more of the connotations of the Japanese Shinto view of what a "god" is rather than a Western view. (Which is why, though the Kami are inspired by the gods of many world mythologies, their name is the Japanese word for "god".)
Humans (for lack of a better term, I may try to come up with something else at some point) are an unexpected product of the collision of the world of the Telchines and the world of the Kami. They have characteristics of both but they are mortal.
I have a very complex belief system about personhood in my world which is based on Egyptian religion but it's too long to go into here.