The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 3

Question 136: What are standard units of measurement in your world? Length, area, volume, weight?

 

The standard American ones because I am lazy and it's what I understand.

 

A mixture of metric, imperial and indigenous measurements.

 

I started with a hand, about 9 cm, then a step, which is a little less than a meter, bowshot is little over 100 meters, and then a mile which is about 10 bowshots.

 

How would you like to sail? There's ships, riding serpents or other beasties and submersibles. You can start in Val Royale and work your way east or west and find your way back to it. I haven't actually gotten around to naming a lot of the port cities, island ports, capes, inlets and even the beaches. But there are plenty. Some don't even exist yet and some are formerly existing. But you can have a pretty nice world cruise.

 

Question 135: From Agincourt to Cannae to Stanford Bridge, can you tell me about a battle frequently discussed by strategists and historians alike in your world? (What led up to it and what happened as a result of it in the short and long term?)

This is something that I haven't really put all that much thought into. I suppose that I tend to think of worldbuilding on either a personal or grand scale with nothing in between. I typically think about the outcome of wars and the implementation of strategy on a national or regional scale, not the outcome of individual battles. Surely I must have something, though...

I've got it! Early in the fifty year war when Elter first officially became involved, Antisa came up with a unique strategy. They first drafted every vessel in Talive harbor into its navy. They equipped them each with a cheap, barely functional cannon and the crews with swords and spears. Then, they herded them towards where the Eltran fleet was moored and released them in a massive swarm of small ships.

The strategy fairly effective. The Eltrans weren't expecting an attack so quickly after the declaration of war, particularly not one of this nature. One ship managed to get close enough to the Eltran flagship to kill their admiral with a cannon shot. Most fled as soon as they were able. Many of those that didn't were massacred by cannon fire. Those untrained sailors that managed to board the enemy ships were forced to fight actual soldiers. But, sheer numbers made them successful. Over half the Eltran fleet was either sunk or captured.

However, the fallout was much further-reaching. Afterwards, ship traffic through Antisan ports basically ceased to exist. Nobody wanted to risk getting dragged into Antisa's wars like that. It threw them into economic turmoil and put Antisa at a massive disadvantage for the remainder of the war. It was decades before sea trade was restored.


Question 136: What are standard units of measurement in your world? Length, area, volume, weight?

This is a question that I have desperately avoided answering. If pressed, I use the British Imperial system. Maybe throw some odd units like "hands" in there for good measure.

In colloquial English, words like "mile" can sometimes just mean "a long distance," whereas "meter" or "gram" imply a formalized measuring system that does not exist. I think that most native English speakers units have an intuitive rather than intellectual sense of the value of British Imperial units. One pound is easy to lift. Twenty pounds takes a mote of effort. A hundred pounds is heavy. So, I feel comfortable using them in my world when absolutely necessary.


Question 137: I've decided to travel your world by sea. Am I able to circumnavigate your world this way? What capes and ports will I pass and come to dock at? (If multiple routes are possible, feel free to choose just one)

(sigh) Well, answering this would mean filling out some bits of geography that I've left ambiguous so far.

I am inclined to say yes, it can be done, but it'll be rough. Let's say that you start from the west coast of Halgol. You'd first go west across the Arvus ocean to Kumbaska, where you'd probably end up in on of many small fishing villages on the southeastern coast of the Amulkine peninsula (Not to be confused with the ancient Amulkine Empire. The modern peninsula retains the name but has little relation other than having once been under its rule.) The Arvus ocean is notoriously stormy with strong winds and currents that tend to pull you further west. Crossing in either direction is no small feat.

Once you've resupplied in Kumbaska, you'll head around the Amulkine peninsula. This is where the map starts to get a bit... fuzzy. The southern coast of Kumbaska and the Amulkine peninsula are not well-defined in my head. I don't know if it stretches far enough south to reach the ice caps or not. However, I'm thinking not.

Now that you're past Kumbask, you head back northwest to the lands of Keskan. Keskan is not a nation. There is very little in the way of large civilizations in Keskan. There are a few city-states where you can stock up on supplies, but it's really another place that the map still needs some filling out.

Beyond that, you cross the Mutumy ocean to the continents of Tule and Eastland.

Tule is kind of like the Australia of my world. A relatively small continent in the southern hemisphere isolated from the rest of the world. And you can imagine the shape of Eastland to be like a few fixed geographic points surrounded by vague authorial ideas about what the rest of the continent should be like. Either way, you'll want to go through the channel between Eastland and Tule, since you have to go north anyways since you can't go south around Halgol. Almost no civilization on either continent. Don't expect many more supplies than what you can barter off of the Tulvian tribes.

Once you're past Eastland and you cross the Atvin ocean, you finally end up in Untia. You could travel south and end up on the east coast of Halgol and make the last leg of the journey on land, but we're sailors. Not hikers. Sailing south around Halgol is nigh impossible because of the ice caps, so instead we go north around Untia. The first nation with large cities you can resupply in will probably be Welhassa. Once you sail around the Untian peninsula, your last stop for supplies will probably be in Keflat.

Now you come to the most challenging leg of your journey yet: the Aghat mountains.

The Aghat mountains are not a natural phenomenon. They were created by the gods of Thought and Time during the war with the Generals to inhibit their passage while still allowing their own forces to pass through. They are a series of rocky peaks that just sharply out of the ocean, with countless coral spires located just beneath the surface. They extend for thousands of miles north, nearly all the way to the northern ice cap, and a hundred miles thick at the thinnest. They are nearly impossible to pass if you don't already know a route through them. However, we'll assume that you do, and that you make it to the other side.

Finally, you can head south back to Halgol, where you started.

Writing this has made me realize how much of my map still needs detailed. I'll have to work on that.

 

It is possible to circumnavigate the globe. From Tomay in the Tarakan Empire you can get a ship - ocean liner, tramp steamer or whatever your budget will stretch to - that'll take you around some of the tropical islands of the Tarakan Empire. Bali is a popular spot for people to visit for its cultural diversity. Then you can travel eastwards across the vast Great Western Sea and stop over in the Hulu Islands. This is believed to be the area where the tautai originally came from. From there you'd head down to the Panama Strait that separates the Great Northern Lane from the Great Southern Land. The weather here can be quite treacherous so chances are you'll stay in the most notorious port in the world. It's a port so bad that it would put Port Royal to shame. It's called La Puerta de Entrada al Inframundo (The Gateway to the Underworld). Then you'll travel across the Great Eastern Sea to the continent of Abrica and follow the coast to the Italia Sea and down through the Suez Strait to the Madras Sea where there will be a stopover in the port of Madras in the Orissa Empire. Then the journey continues through to Tomay.

Pirates, naga, corrupt customs and naval officers, tropical diseases, insects the size of small birds, drunken captains and crews and - worse of all - the unrelenting heat or rain will sure to drive you barmy by the end of it.

 

The Irons and Bones. Not jewelry as such, it is what makes a war braid a war braid on Eld. Not always necessarily iron or bones. It is rings of whatever they victor of a fight or battle felt good enough to use as the rings. Usually metal or bones, originally starting as iron and bones. They are basically war trophies to wear over the braid while being something of a brag. To the truly powerful it also doubles as a weight to carry, making the braid itself a decent weapon. It's as much bragging rights as a skull or a weapon, even though there are always those who will cheat at it. This not only common but quite standard across the world as a whole.

As for marriage things, no ring. Bracelets are used, but not at all times. Lot's of other jewelry is wealth based, or what one can steal. Though to see a blinged out delver is quite the sight though. The closest to that would be a particularly piratical sea elf with a flair for the dramatic and shiny things. But jewelry is more a luxury anyways and it is usually used to signify wealth. Or wealth but with bad taste, in the case of a centaur with gold lust.

 

Yes, but depending on the age, person, and status, the party or celebration can be very different. For example, at age 12, the military school will take in students to attend. More than likely, the 12 year birthdays would be celebrated much like a "ship-out" party. Gifts would include money, school books, uniforms, and/or other needs.

 

Question 139: Are birthdays celebrated? If not, is there a similar sort of event? If so, how is it celebrated?

Well, I suppose not. Most Untians don't ascribe a lot of meaning to calendar dates. Untia is an equatorial region, so the seasonal weather cycles aren't as obvious or impactful as in higher latitudes so they have little need for a cyclic yearly calendar. If you were to ask someone their age, they would give it to you in seasons. e.g. I was born in the rainy season and this is my fiftieth windy season. However, unless they're a noble most would be hard pressed to tell you the exact date of their birth. There are also many competing calendars used by different professions. The most common calendar is similar to ours, created by historians and with a year based off of the cycle of the sun moving north to south across the sky. Another that is often used by professional craftsmen has no year and simply counts the days since the calendar began. One used by some sailors is based the motion of the planets.

I suppose that some nobles may host an event if they reach a particularly significant milestone such as a hundred years, but it's not the norm.

 

Not as such. Some do keep track of the years, so one can be thrown into military service. Even though there's really not much of an age limit on that it seems. Though if you give them an idea of it, and tell them it can involve more food and patent a song, you could do well.

 

In the world of my WIP the calendar is made up of thirteen months of twenty eight days. Each month is designated to a god or goddess. They are each represented by a gemstone. The 365th day is a standalone day that marks the beginning of the new year. That day is dedicated to the god of the underworld (Hadis). Every four years there is an additional stand alone day that follows after the new year day.

It is believed that when a person dies they face the judgement of Hadis who decides if they shall progress to the underworld (the place where those deemed good go), Paradise (the place where only the most righteous or blessed go to reside with the gods) or the cosmos (where the bad or wicked are condemned to wander for eternity). Those who are condemned to wander the cosmos pass through the real world on the way to the cosmos. On their way through the real world they seek out people whose bodies they can inhabit so they can avoid entering the cosmos. To avoid being possessed by the dead people wear a gemstone that represent the god (or goddess) a person is born under. They wear the gemstone in a piece of jewellery cast specifically for them. Sometimes it is worn as a ring, sometimes as a necklace and sometimes as the centrepiece of a headpiece. The richer a person is the more extravagant the manner in which it is displayed will be.

A poor person may have a tiny gemstone set in a brass ring while a rich person may have a large gemstone displayed on a solid gold or platinum headband.


The exception to this is in places where gemstones are hard to obtain. In the remoter islands of the Tarakan Empire flowers rather than gemstones serve the same function.

(The image is intended purely to illustrate an example of how a gemstone might be worn.)

 

And not an angry princess.