The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 2

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Question 59: When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat eachother?)
There are no religions, and everyone shares the same spirituality because the Eternal Ones do exist in fairly obvious ways. However, I can talk about the god of disbelief, and his one man [god?] quest to make the Eternal Ones not exist by denying their existence. Specifically, in the early days of the OmniCosmos, he made a cult for that very purpose, and tried to force it on anyone he met. spreading distrust and fear all over the place. It got so bad that the Eternal Ones had to personally appear to every single being.

Question 60: What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)

In the OmniCosmos, the term is 'bonding', and two [or more] beings who are 'bonded' are called 'bonding partners' or 'lifemates'. There's just a simple little ceremony, with no legal stuff, and are often held outdoors. Close family and friends are invited, but rarely exceeds twenty people, if that. Bonding is a vital part of how most beings live.
An idea bonding ceremony would mimic the symbiont-host relationship that the Eternal Ones partake in, with the personification becoming the symbiont, and an incarnated being becoming the host. In other words, an idea bonding ceremony would acknowledge a sacred truth: that everyone is divine, and love is seeing the divine in another.

 

[Ban]

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?


(I'm really glad to see that this thread is still going strong and people are still enjoying it. I haven't responded to many posts directly, but I do read them all )

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

Well, if they ended up in the universe of Wyrd, no one would react much, since weird things happen there all the time.
Anywhere else, though, most beings would be very welcoming and probably have a party.

 

[Orc Knight]

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

He better watch out, he better not shout. He better not cry, I'm telling you why. Many of the elves will be incensed that other, tinier elves (but still elves) would be toiling under some human (magical or not). Others would think it's a front for some sort of scam and many would look askance at the offered Coca Cola. Still others would think it's a special food delivery with tiny appetizers, a round roast and lots of legs. With strange things in a few bags.

Really, Santa's putting his life on the line on Eld and Tim Allen's not there to take over. Strange things do happen there, but there's probably a perfectly good reason he don't show up.

 

[Ban]

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

In 2080, people would be surprised to say the least, and many folk would rightfully question their sanity. A brief moment of awe and wonder will wash over the present audience, followed by the realization that noone besides them will ever believe them. In 2080, audio and video evidence has been made worthless on account of masterful fakery, thus anyone who wasn't present will simply write the sighting off as a case of mass delusion.

Those people who were around when the santa sighting happened, will likely create some support groups in the years to come, to deal with them having seen something the rest of the world hasn't. Conspiracy theories will spread as a result, some nutters online will believe the santa-sighting stories and some mindnumbing articles will be written on gossip sites, while the rest of the world shakes their collective head.

Silly conspiracy theorists.

 

[Vaporo]

Question 58: What’s the greatest trick pulled in your world’s history? (You have free reign to determine what “great” entails)

In recent history, it would probably be the shenanigans regarding the Antisan line of succession. Prince Frenn III is the firstborn child of King Frenn II and Queen Medreva. Queen Medreva was born Medreva Ikla and is the niece to the Iklan king. Their second child was Princess Ava and third child is Princess Ectra. Antisa follows male primogeniture, so Frenn III was in line to succeed Frenn II. However, Frenn III discovered that he vastly preferred training with the military over the tedious treachery of court politics. His sister Ava, on the other hand, reveled in court politics. Frenn III confided his misgivings to his sister, whom he was very close with, and together the devised a plan that would allow Frenn to dodge the throne.

They sifted through books of Antisan law until finally the found a decree from centuries-dead Antisan King: "No son of Ikla shall ever sit upon the throne of Antisa." Apparently said in responses to one of his advisors suggesting that he take an Iklan wife to seal a treaty. Since queen Medreva was Iklan, Frenn was technically a son of Ikla. The decree barely counted as law, and if they had brought it before Frenn II he would have nullified it with a word, but it was enough. Frenn III's rule would be technically illegal, and Ava was next in line for the throne.

When Frenn II died, Ava brought forth their discovery. In reality, Frenn could have defeated Ava's claim with a few simple arguments, but together they made a great show of a legal battle, even going so far as to gather soldiers to their causes as though in preparation for a war of succession. However, as planned Frenn relented, claiming that he wished to avoid a civil war. Ava would be queen and Frenn would be free to pursue his military interests.

However, there was a third player in this game. Queen Medreva had never lost her loyalty to her homeland of Ikla. Ikla and Antisa are ancient rivals, and her family instilled her with a hatred of all things Antisan from a very young age. When she learned that she was to be married off to the Antisan king as part of their treaty, she was incensed. But, she held her tongue and did her duty. At least, superficially. She played her part exceptionally, convincing Frenn II that she had truly fallen in love with him, pretending so completely that she cared for her half-Antisan mongrel children that not even they realized her internal disgust. However, the whole time she was searching for an opportunity. Some exposed artery that would cripple Antisa without bringing their entire military wrath down on Ikla. In the succession, she found that artery.

Medreva's third child, Ectra, was what an irrational part of her had once believed would come of a union between an Antisan and Iklan. Where her other two children were intelligent and friendly, Ectra was stupid, angry, and demanding. She failed in virtually all of her studies, and she never had a tutor that lasted more than half a year before quitting. She spent most of spare time in her personal dining room screeching at servants gorging herself on all manner of expensive food. Even in adulthood, she would throw tantrums if someone brought her the wrong flavor of ice cream. Everyone had given up on her ages ago and figured that she was destined for nothing more than marrying off in a minor political trade as soon as they found someone who hadn't heard of her bad temper.

So, when Medreva learned of her children's plan, she began preparations. She found a variety slow-acting poisons and found ways to sneak them into Ava's food and drink over the course of a week, to prevent any one symptom from giving her away. Outwardly, Ava kept up appearances, assuming that she would recover in a few days, but she grew weaker and weaker until just a day before the coronation Medreva fed her a dose large enough to kill her. Then, Medreva faked her own suicide. She found a recently deceased corpse that resembled her and threw it off a roof, making sure that its face was destroyed so that nobody could actually identify her. Nobody would expect a quiet, loyal woman who killed herself out of grief to poison her own daughter.

It happened too fast for Frenn to do anything. Once Ava died, all of the legal shenanigans they had pulled were inherited by Ectra, a woman barely competent enough to take a walk in the garden on her own. She was crowned queen and Frenn now spends most of his time in court cleaning up his sister's messes.

 

[Vaporo]

Question 59: When broken down to its essence, what do the biggest religions in your world believe in? (Bonus: How do they treat each other?)

The largest religion in the world is the Amul. The Amul believe that the ancient Alstalia (wizards) who ruled the Amulkine Empire were sent by the divine to lead the world until it was threatened by the Fel, at which point they selflessly gave themselves up to seal the Fel on the world of Gen. They believe that the Alstalia are still out there fighting the Fel and watching over the world, but that some day the Alstalia will return, and with them the Fel. At that time, the Alstalia will defeat the Fel forever, and then they will lead the world on the path of righteousness once again.

They generally believe in unity over all else, and that it's often more important to move as one than to move in the perfectly correct direction. Their core tenets are pretty straightforward: don't steal, don't murder, listen to the priests, etc. They ask that come to the temple weekly to pray and offer a percentage of your income to the priesthood, and that you remain vigilant against the Fel, who are believed to still stalk the world between the gazes of the Alstalia.

Amul is actually surprising compatible with other faiths, although practicing other religions in addition to Amul is rather frowned upon by the priesthood. Because the core tenants are so basic and it's never actually officially said which divinity sent the Alstalia, many people have developed their own interpretations.


The tribes of Tule openly worship the Generals and await their return. Exact methods of worship vary wildly across the continent, but the core belief is generally the same: When the Generals return, there will be a war to end all wars. The Generals' victory is inevitable, so the only way to survive the war is to join the Generals.


In Untia, most follow a sort of highly structured form of animism. It evolved from the beliefs of the native peoples that all of reality is formed from the fragments of another, and that all of the people in that previous reality came with it to give form and spirit to this one. When the Unts arrived, they found their faiths to be surprisingly compatible, and thus they merged to form the modern religion. The faith has no proper name and exhibits a lot of variety, but generally it follows as such: some mighty divine being was shattered by a council of dark gods, but then the pieces were brought together and molded by another divine in order to create this world. However, as a divine the shattered being was not totally destroyed and can hear you if you pray hard enough, and since this being literally is the world it will sometimes answer.

 

[Vaporo]

Question 60: What about weddings? (Who officiates? Where are they typically held? How many people are invited? How significant is marriage in your world? What would be an ideal wedding?)

In Unita, marriages are typically held at temples or shrines and officiated by priests or low-level government officials. It can be as simple as a man and woman walking in, saying their vows, and walking out, or an elaborate party to which half the city is invited. It all depends on the means, traditions, and wishes of the betrothed and their family.

Given that Untians, Antisans in particular, tend to value brevity, I imagine the ideal wedding would look something like this:

 

[Vaporo]

Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

Well, if he rode into the world from somewhere else, the Generals would start searching for whatever hole he exploited to get in so that they may follow. Most regular folk would be confused, but thankful. The likes of the Amul and Raldan the Immortal would immediately mobilize to track down this strange intruder to take his apparent space and time warping powers for themselves, or at the very least convince him to serve their cause. Failing that, the Amul would likely decry him as some sort of Fel trickery and demand that all of his gifts be surrendered for burning. Raldan and the agents of the Generals would leave him be until they determined how this new wild card hindered or helped their causes. One of them would probably try to kill him if and when they decided that the risk of his space-warping power falling into the hands of their enemy was too great.

 

[WooHooMan]

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Question 61: A Jolly old man with elves and reindeer in tow comes riding into your world, bearing gifts. How does your world react?

Nobody knows that an "elf" is so they'd probably assume they are child slaves or something like that. I'm sure someone would report him to the police.

Other than that, a magic fat man riding a flying sleigh and giving gifts is nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[Ban]

Question 62: The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 62: The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?

The hearth, naturally enough. The place where people gather and during the cold seasons it is roaring with fire and even when not cold it is where food is made. It is probably the most iconic of symbols for that sort of thing. Merriment doesn't usually have a symbol as such, due to it coming in various ways throughout the year. Though maybe a bottle or jug of wine and the Feast Halls. In still other places the forges are such places, though still a second to the Hearth.

 

[Ban]

Question 63: Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 63: Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?

The Solstice used to be primarily a time to eat venison, boar and drinking of ciders. Though since it became the Victory Feast, it's an all out buffet of whatever foods they have at the time. Because for several decades both before and a while after the Lich Wars food was scarce and even Eld has it's limits when remembering cannibalism it had to use to survive. So food and drink in abundance and there is no longer any exclusion as it was originally sacrifices for the hunts and harvests.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

Question 62: The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?

Question 63: Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?

I'm not sure about either. Hmm...
I must investigate.

 

[Ban]

Question 62: The sight of a lit-up christmas tree makes me think of a warm home, and good food. What are some cultural touchstones in your world, that makes people think of warmth, merriment and so forth?

Question 63: Is there anything your peoples eat and drink exclusively on days of celebration?

I'm not sure about either. Hmm...
I must investigate.

Go forth and scour the omniverse for answers!

 

[Ban]

Question 64: What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 64: What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?

A multitude. Red can symbolize blood as much as it can heroics or a fiery temper. White can be purity or death. Black can be Evil or just symbolic of shadows. Green is forest or leaves or fields or orcs and such. And it just kind of keeps going in that general direction.

 

[WooHooMan]

Question 64: What symbolism do various colours have in your world’s cultures?

Color symbolism is actually the most important part of my mythology. To the point where I mentioned it in a previous response. To recap...
Red: the color of passion, gumption and willpower. Also overcoming obstacles.
Blue: opulence and indulgence. Ego and pleasure. Also both (shallow, momentary) joy and (deep, profound) melancholy.
Green: knowledge and tranquility. Striving for a higher purpose and gaining new insight.
Gold: the color of power and authority. Also mercy and grace.

 

[Ban]

Question 65: Ain’t no mountain high enough… or is there? What are the greatest natural barriers in your world?