The "Daily" Worldbuilding Prompt. Chapter 3

[Miles Lacey]

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

Birthdays are celebrated but not necessarily annually. Birthday celebrations are held only in the following years in the Tarakan Empire:

The actual day of birth.
The 3rd birthday when a toddler becomes a child.
The 6th birthday when a child enters school.
The 11th birthday when a child reaches the age of accountability. Prior to this age the parents are legally liable for whatever their children do. From this age the child is legally liable for their actions.
The 16th birthday when a child becomes an adult. The few who will receive the Spark are gifted this on their 16th birthday. In the Tarakan Empire a 16 year old gains the right to have sex, have children and get married but not to vote or take part in elections. They also cannot sign a contract without parental consent. (As with our world, the median age of consent in my WIP is 16.)
The 21st birthday when an adult gains all the rights and obligations of adulthood.
The 60th birthday when a person becomes an elder.

 

[Ban]

Question 140: What's the biggest ongoing crisis?

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 140: What's the biggest ongoing crisis?

As the result of the Treaty of Chur'Bro which ended the Great War the Tarakan Empire lost all its continental territories, had conscription banned, had its military banned from leaving its territorial waters except to defend its remoter islands and abolished the reign of warrior-emperors. The stability of the Empire has been rocked by a combination of the rise of authoritarian political parties, a military that is meddling in politics and an economic depression that the government seems largely incapable of addressing. Society has began to crack along socio-economic, political and racial lines as extremism on all sides takes hold

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 140: What's the biggest ongoing crisis?

Well, the main setting is twenty years after The Last Battle and The End of the World as they knew it. So it's all really one big ongoing crisis. Despite the peace treaties, The Pact with the Heavens and Hells that ended their interference and the general lack of people there's still lot's of issues. Many of the races are still quite divided and there's no real trade going on as everyone tries to recover. It's the post apocalypse. There's not enough priestly types and clerics to help heal the lands, the undead are still showing up from time to time, without Liches. The centaur war herds are growing and they themselves have gotten far more aggressive due to their current Warlord. There's several possible civil wars brewing, even though there's not enough military to actually put up decent wars or even skirmishes.

The North is ever stirring in rebellion of the High Lords and Baba Yaga is about to do something stupid. Almost every scout sits and looks at each other in the Sylvan Forests DMZ, though they may break some of the issues. Just by being bored enough to drink with each other and swap stories. And this is just the area that was most devastated by the Lich Wars and The Last Battle. In the Celestial Lands, no one knows who is Emperor or Empress or which House is in charge of the lands. They took a massive blow, losing most of their military caste in the wars and The Last Battle and there is talk of rebellions to overthrow those in charge as measures get more and more harsh.

In the Southern Continent, the Kingdoms of Zukal are suffering under their own losses from the wars and are about the only trade, sending food to the Fea Continent and the Celestial Lands. But due to their losses, the monster races are starting to once again show backbone and also talking of rebellion and other talk of the Goddess Bastet's Avatar finding a way to lead them all and help depose of the Magocracy that holds them. The elf and troll jungles are mostly set on getting population back up and hunting undead and also keeping an eye on expanding again, now that Zukal is suffering under it's own breaks. Many kingdoms within them are looking to break away and some already have, they have just failed to inform anyone of it.

The Red Sands desert is still thirsty. And many of it's coastal cities and villages are being rebuilt from their own clashes with the undead and they have to keep their water supplies blessed and clean. Walking cadavers still show up from time to time, but they are still a nuisance. And not even the desert creatures will eat them. Not even the sand worms.

So, all in all, it's just one big f'd up crisis.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Most likely, it's the "cold war" between the Midlands Union and the United People's Republic of Ygdras and Fuurland - except I haven't really developed that in any significant way. It's more of a vague concept. I'm sure that by calling it a cold war, it'll give you the right idea though.

 

[Devor]

At the start of Smughitter things are mostly settled. But I'd say the situation in Kax Helyis Bay is the ongoing problem. A previous war ended in something close to containment after the people there used illegal magics to heavily transform their own landscape. For now they keep to themselves, but there's ongoing embargoes and tension surrounding their actions in the previous war, as well as the sense that their magic may be growing. It mostly won't be important until book 3 (of 5).

 

[WooHooMan]

Question 140: What's the biggest ongoing crisis?

Kind of depends on what you mean by "ongoing" and "crisis".

I guess the simple answer would be the Celestine Crusades.
It's a long series of often barely related wars and battles which are "canonized" by the Aesir-Olympian church(es). Or it's the human expansion into the south-western reaches of the world. Or it's gnoll incursion into goblin and human territories. Or it's a religious war wherein mortals seek to overthrow the gods of civilization and reinstall the primordial gods (or demon-kings). Or mortality is an evolutionary phase between animal and godhood and the Crusades are an attempt to kick start the next phase of physical-spiritual evolution.
It all depends on who you ask. It's been going on (non-consecutively) for about 1300 years.

There's also the Dinosauroid-Telepath Crisis brought about by the Hyperspace Leviathans, the Demoniac Succession Crisis and the Reinstatement of Heaven but all of those occur on the "higher" or "outer" planes of reality so most people are unaware that they are happening (and they're better off not knowing).

There's also things like world hunger and poverty but...y'know, that goes without saying.

 

[Ban]

Question 141: Opening organs or watching the patterns of birds. How do/did people claim to augur the world, the divine and the future? (And does any of it work?)

 

[Devor]

Question 141: Opening organs or watching the patterns of birds. How do/did people claim to augur the world, the divine and the future? (And does any of it work?)

I don't know if I'll actually use it. But for divination I have listed the little whirlibugs you see at the top of the water in a pond. When you disturb the water, the bugs zip around, and the pattern they make reveals your future.

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 141: Opening organs or watching the patterns of birds. How do/did people claim to augur the world, the divine and the future? (And does any of it work?)

For the true diviners of the future, everything from rolling the bones to playing with guts and even tea leaf readings are all just a sort of focus. And they all used to work as the focuses that they were. This all ended with the Lich Wars, when one of the most powerful prophets cut off all the paths to see the future. So all prophecies and looks into the future now are just guesses and cold reading, due to the path to the undead leaving all things after them as a surprise. Including rather or not the nations would survive them.

For those who used to be sure of what would happen, it is no more. Any attempt at prophecy or trying to look into the future tends to get embarrassing unless one can read the people you're doing it for. And watching bird patterns is just a new hobby coming about. Some sort of naturalists or something.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 141: Opening organs or watching the patterns of birds. How do/did people claim to augur the world, the divine and the future? (And does any of it work?)

A common - and popular - way to tell the future is to ask a question that can be answered as yes or no. The fortune teller shuffles a deck of playing cards then reveals each card until either the ten of spades or the nine of hearts turn up. If the former the answer is "No" & if the latter the answer is "Yes". If one of these cards is closer to the end of the deck it means it's more a maybe. If one of these cards is one of the first ten to be revealed it means it'll likely happen.

Reading tea leaves, playing the tiles (which is called pagbabasa ng mga bloke) or an occassional divine inspiration transmitted through a prophet (a branded mage) is also used.

Officially, fortune telling is discouraged because scriptures state "There is no such thing as destiny."

 

[Ban]

Question 142: How ought a member of the nobility behave in broad lines? (And how ought a member of royal nobility behave?)

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 142: How ought a member of the nobility behave in broad lines? (And how ought a member of royal nobility behave?)

One must behave as if they are powerful and stoic and that nothing can be seen to break them. This rarely is the reality, as nobles come in many forms, including easily cowered and more then a little dumb. Often what they present is a facade of what they are supposed to be. Though every once in a while you get truly noble nobles. They must also be intelligent enough to take on various plots and usually have a good sword arm or enough money to afford a good bodyguard.

Royal nobility is supposed to be an even higher version of it and to make it to the top the families have usually winnowed out the worst of the family through plots, warfare and incompetence getting the better of them. So this has led to them actually being very good under pressure, able to step into a fight and plot. Even the worst plotters, wood elves by far, their royalty is still good at plots and playing people off of each other. Even if they'd rather take the issues personally in hand.

 

[Ban]

Question 143: A, B, C, easy as a 1, 2, 3. What are the alphabet and counting systems like in your world?

• What sounds are used? Clicking sounds? Growling sounds? Sounds humans can't pronounce?
• What's the base number in counting systems? 10 like ours, or 12 like the Sumerians, or...
• Has the zero been thought-up yet?
• How did the alphabet and counting systems come about, and are they unified over your world? If so, how?

 

[blondie.k]

Question 143: A, B, C, easy as a 1, 2, 3. What are the alphabet and counting systems like in your world?

This one is a bit difficult to answer but here goes:
Cyrom has shifted over to the common tongue (English) so Cyromnean is nearly dead. Still learning about the old language so can't say much. Numbers are the same as ours but they are written in Roman Numerals. There isn't really a set base in the number system but in the monetary system, the number base is 25 ($2.50, $250, $500).

 

[MrNybble]

Question 143: A, B, C, easy as a 1, 2, 3. What are the alphabet and counting systems like in your world?

The only alphabet and number system I gave any thought to is the one dragons use. Make the framework complex. An alphabet with only twelve letters that are very simple because the dragon must draw these out with claws most of the time. The hard part is learning how to use them as the letters change meaning depending on where they are in relationship to each other. To make it even harder to learn, the letters are written in complete circles starting from the outside and working their way inward. So you must know what you will write and how much before you even start.

Pronouncing is a based on growling and tongue slapping. Head gestures are also used to emphasize certain sounds and change its meaning. Very few can speak words from other races like humans because most just lack the articulation and pallet to do so.

Numbers are written using the same letters as the alphabet. Based on the same twelve as the letters.

All this came about as the dragons that can understand these concepts make up about one percent of them. The leading class that guards their precious language from others even their own kind. Wanting to pass on their knowledge to whoever they deem worthy, but not wanting others to have it. Even with dozens of different variations, there is a core that's understandable by most that try to learn it. Finer details are a mystery unless they know the local dialect. Also it's used for spell work that makes for a whole new learning curve separate from the spoken version but using the same letters and structure.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Question 143: A, B, C, easy as a 1, 2, 3. What are the alphabet and counting systems like in your world?

• What sounds are used? Clicking sounds? Growling sounds? Sounds humans can't pronounce?
• What's the base number in counting systems? 10 like ours, or 12 like the Sumerians, or...
• Has the zero been thought-up yet?
• How did the alphabet and counting systems come about, and are they unified over your world? If so, how?

When the Tarakan Empire was created they initially used the same alphabet as that of the Occidental Empire but, as the Empire began to expand, it became clear to the Tatakan Imperial rulers that the Occidental alphabet, which used pictographs not unlike Chinese, was too cumbersome, especially as the Tarakan Empire mostly used writing for taxation, trade, accounting and stock-taking rather than literature so they wanted an alpha-numeric system that would be easy to write, especially in conditions where people didn't have access to ink wells and quills, such as in the spice plantations. The result was the Tarakan Alphabet. It is based on a series of strokes to indicate words and a line with dashes to indicate numbers. Zero (as in nothing) is indicated by the symbol "x" while the symbol for zero when it is part of a number such as ten it's indicated as an "-". In Tarakanese the minus symbol is "o".

In the remoter islands a language using raised dots (or small holes if using rock or stone) evolved. It's not unlike Braille except it uses eight dots instead of six dots. The seventh dot indicates a number and the eighth dot indicates punctuation or a mathematical symbol.

The Tarakan language is spoken through words. It was the local language of the original island that broke away from the Occidental Empire. Over time the Tarakan language evolved into High Tarakanese which is used in literature and government documents and Low Tarakanese which is used in business and everyday use. There are also many regional dialects and languages but learning Tarakanese is compulsory in all regions and is the language of Imperial rule.

 

[Ban]

Question 144: What's the range of colours your fantasy folk can observe? (The standard red/yellow/blue? Do any of your folk miss one of these like dogs for example do (only see yellow and blue)? Do any of them see ultraviolet or infrared? Does your world contain 'colours' unknown in ours? If so to any of these, how do the folk benefit from or mitigate their circumstances?)

 

[Ban]

Question 145: What's the most common comfort food?

 

[Orc Knight]

Question 143: A, B, C, easy as a 1, 2, 3. What are the alphabet and counting systems like in your world?

• What sounds are used? Clicking sounds? Growling sounds? Sounds humans can't pronounce?
• What's the base number in counting systems? 10 like ours, or 12 like the Sumerians, or...
• Has the zero been thought-up yet?
• How did the alphabet and counting systems come about, and are they unified over your world? If so, how?

Once again, this is one of my ones that I just used standards and really didn't expand much upon. I just use the 'assume it's the English alphabet' and as for numbers, someone had to have found zero. It's not something I've really stretched my mind about.

Question 144: What's the range of colours your fantasy folk can observe? (The standard red/yellow/blue? Do any of your folk miss one of these like dogs for example do (only see yellow and blue)? Do any of them see ultraviolet or infrared? Does your world contain 'colours' unknown in ours? If so to any of these, how do the folk benefit from or mitigate their circumstances?)

There is a mage sight is a secondary sight common throughout Eld, basically allowing to look on the magic level to see how powerful people are. Of course, looking at a super powerful person in it can blind a person. Eyesight can be morphed due to magic too, so some races can see in the dark or in infrared or even by heat sight. Not to mention there's potions and spells to do this too. Some can even smell colors and can see on differing light levels. Though the mage sight is the most commonly used in stories.

Question 145: What's the most common comfort food?

Seems to be with my characters, beer and meat skewers. Something quick, tasty and served at a bar or on the street. Otherwise within the world, I'd say a meat heavy meal, probably covered in gravy of some sorts.