Re: Emoria: World-Building OOC

[Hello Danger]

Directly left of the black X. There's 5 of them.

Sweet! My world is going to be way kickass!

[Gadreille]

Awesome! I look forward to seeing your kick ass world!

[Sighlent]

That's actually pretty cool, and it's a good image of Elementals to have in mind. They kind of remind me of those monsters from the cartoon movie Hercules. =3

Sigh, you know how there are several religions that feature the same god(s) with different names and different practices? I don't see why our two countries couldn't have a similar vein of thought. Once I have my character sheet all finished and posted, I'll PM you to work something out between our two countries. Sound good? May I mark the Sretin Providences as an ally to Taurë Arda?

That sounds like a good idea, maybe we can collaborate something together between our countries! And yes you may add us as an ally! XD

[ImmortalSin]

Alright alright! Cyclone Olga has relented for now, so I'm back online and working hard on my character sheet. I'd say I'm about half way through so I'm going to try to power through the rest of it while I have the time.

[Gabe]

You can have battles with the sorceresses, if you want to. I'm not sure what it would have been about, perhaps the sorcs were trying to gain access and control of the explosive powder resources and failed?

You don't want to be enemies with Sigh because she has major food resources, while you have none. I'm not sure about your other neighbors though.

Edit: I just thought I'd let everyone know I am allies with Silvone's people and enemy of Dax's people. Oh and anyone that has their character sheet up, just let us know if you need to make changes!

Ah, this is my fault for not wording it properly, but I meant that more as a request for others to include the Ayre in their histories as either enemies or allies at some point. It is very important to note that the Ayre fight for some sort of material gain, and VERY rarely fight for intangible things such as honor, ideals, etc. Ayrens don't necessarily harbor hatred or favor towards the other races, but in my culture I sort of explained that they are hired to do some dirty work, collect their pay, and leave immediately after. If anyone hasn't read it, please do so! It's very awkward compared to what you and I see as normal, especially by today's standards...just imagine a whole civilization based off of this awkwardness and you've got the Ayre.

[Caleb]

Username: Caleb

Character Name: Raa'Lhen Gestalan

Species/ Race: Drenata

Physical Description: Bred from the age of twelve, like all of his people, to be substantial in size and power, Raa'Lhen stands 6'5", about the average size of his people. His frame is massive, but not so large as to make him a sluggish adversary. His purple-grey skin, scarred by the sins of his ancestors, is protected by large and flashy black and gold armor, a symbol of his wealth and power amongst his people, and cloaked in lavish red cloth. His hair, a powder white hue, stands on end due to the unnatural power that flows in his veins and pumped by his heart. He is rarely seen much different than this, in full armor with his trusted obsidian warhammers, also lavishly accented with gold, crossed on his back. When out, he often has his pipe hanging from his lips, though he is mostly seen with while idle or in casual situations. As was always intended since birth, Raa'Lhen stands straight, tall, and imposing.

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Occupation: Drenata Warchief. The Drenata are constantly embattled with their natural foes, the ogres, and with other human races ages ago. Thus, the title of Warchief makes you the figurehead of government.

Skill: The Gestalan line have been Warchief for three generations, and since then have had a policy that every healthy-born male, and volunteer females, are to be trained from youth to fight their enemies, and the royal line is of no exception. Raa'Lhen chose to deviate from the ways of his family and train as a warrior, minoring in weapon-based magic based around glyphs. He is a cunning warrior, though not agile. Not to be taken for slow, either, he makes up for it with quick thinking in battle and a mastery of Earth-shaking surround spells. However, due to a lack of much magic ability, he does not have a wide range for attacks. Getting in close is suicide. He is a master of his weapons, two obsidian warhammers dubbed the Hands of Traemador, crafted by the finest smiths and enchanted with Earth-moving glyphs carved by his father, the former shaman Warchief.

Personality: Raa'Lhen is seen as an eccentric by his people, and his popularity is somewhat polarized by whether each individual agrees with his point of view. The Gestalan line have always been people who believed that the Drenata had a long way to go in terms of intelligence and technological and society progress. Like his fathers, Raa'Lhen is open to the idea of trade and co-operation with other nations, though the Council of Four still has not approved any of his efforts thus far. Raa'Lhen is not only loved by his warriors for his hands-on approach, always on the front lines of a major battle, but also seen as scandalous by the elders and veteran parents for his somewhat indulgent behavior. Though introspective and fair on the inside, he hides this personality with a veil of pride and arrogance.

Culture: The Drenata have since returned to the ways of old. Essentially a race constantly marred and held back from progress due to constant embattlement with their natural enemies the ogres. The most important traits to the average Drenata are pride and honor, so many are very nationalistic, which from time-to-time unfortunately breeds racism. As explained earlier, every healthy born male child is bred from age twelve, as well as volunteer women, to fight against their enemy, while slaves prepared weapons, grew food, and basically upheld the economy and well-being of the Drenata. In the older days, weak children were cast out to die, but since the Gestalan family have taken the throne, children who do not show a propensity towards fighting or whom are not born healthy now occupy the roles once filled by slaves, which the Gestalan family also put an end to. There is a certain air of humility to the older generation of Drenata, due to an incident which occured six generations ago, in which the Drenata, seeking to gain the upper hand against their new enemy, the "(insert cooperating race here)", turned from their shamanistic religious lore of harmony with nature to the worship of a dark being from the Shadow Plane who had promised them great power. In exchange for their allegiance, the being from the Plane of Shadow taught the shaman to abandon their elemental-based magic in favor the dark magic which he commanded. Their shaman became warlocks, and in their bloodlust they nearly wiped out the "(inset cooperating race here)," but the side effects of controlling such unnatural power soon made itself clear when the children born that generation were birthed with purple-grey skin, scarred with rune-shaped markings on their face and hair the color of parchment. The parents of these children rose up in anger at the warlock Warchief Therosan, fearing that their children would die or were not even of their race, who used to feature a light brown skin tone. Therosan, in a bloody coup, was assassinated and replaced with Won Gestalan. Warchief Won used his position to broker a treaty between the Drenata and "(insert cooperating race here.)" The side effects still plague their race, and that unnatural power still courses through their veins. While desire for revenge against this dark specter still runs deep within the Drenata, their sheer inability to take any action prevents acting upon it. Today, the Drenata are isolationists and self-sustained. A bourgeoning population of ogres threatens their livelihood, and they, despite their arrogance in matters of battle, are losing that war. Those of their race who choose to train in magic have returned to shamanism, believing their ancestors grant them access to their power, but some, still harness the powers they possess from their bloodlines' connection with the Plane of Shadow, though there is debate as to whether these arts should be permitted. Drenata are instructed to practice cautious courtesy towards members of other races and nations when out of their element, but are generally not very hospitable.

World-space: Traemador is a rough, nearly desert-like terrain with random patches of fertile soil and a large river, called Urador, which divides the nation nearly in half. Many describe the land to be simply "chaotic" and unorganized, with no clear balance or inbalance between the elements there. This affects the specialization of shaman depending on which region of Traemador they come from. The capital city, Won'Thar (named for the Warchief who brought the pilgrimage to Traemador after the territory wars with "(insert cooperating race here)") is located to the northeast sector of the land, and is of course a hub for royalty and economy, being the largest city as well. It is among the less fertile, desert part of the land, so food and supplies are made in the smaller surrounding cities, called the Halo of Won (comprised of the cities Fraendor, Thur'Khal, and Urzhen.) Fraendor is located across the river directly to the west of Won'Thar and is responsible for food production, commanding herds of cattle, goat, and various other farm animals as well as being nearby a forest region where exotic meat can be obtained to be sold for higher prices. Thur'Khal is located slightly southwest of Won'Thar, though still on the eastern side of the river, and is responsible for transportation of armory and weaponry from Rendhor, the city across the river that takes up much of the southwest region of the nation. Thur'Khal also transports the food and clothing made in its surrounding cities, given it is closest to Won'Thar. Urzhen, then, of course, produces fine clothing. It is also considered an illustrious rural living place due to this upper-class trade which accommodates mostly the rich. As stated previous, Rendhor produces weaponry and armor and is the main hub for training and housing warriors. It is located right on the edge of ogre territory, though that edge is slowly fading as the ogres are reproducing at an unprecedented rate. Other than this very simple trade route, the smaller villages and cities in Traemodar are largely self-sustained. Trade with other nations is not widespread, but does happen when foreigners venture into Won'Thar, but only on a microcosmic level.

Religion/ Diety: Drenata are mostly shamanistic in their religious beliefs, believing that their ancestors in the Plane of Spirit offer them protecting, and the warrior-shaman harness this energy, though it is only their person interpretation of this power. Some still worship the Almighty One who granted them power from the Plane of Shadow, but this belief has been maligned to cult status and is looked down upon.

Government: Raa'Lhen is a figurehead of the government. His actual power extends about as far as that of the modern day Queen of England. The real movers and shakers are a group called the Council of Four, who make all the real decisions on foreign affairs and economy, as well as in the war effort against the ogres. Raa'Lhen has been very involved with them, however, more than any other Warchief. He has been trying for many years to convince them to make an alliance with a neighboring race to help defeat the ever-imposing ogres.

(Drenata are isolationists... so no Allies)

Enemies: Ogres

Will submit a map of territory later tonight or tomorrow. Also, the spaces that say "(Insert cooperating race here)" is basically one of the other players' races that will soon play the role as our ex-enemies.

[Gabe]

Idona might work as your former enemy, it could certainly help me fill a void in my history as well as define some of the objectives I want Nilus to pursue in the present-day story. I will send you a PM with the details.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Okay. I've sent a PM to Silvone with my character sheet. Once he ((or Ryona)) posts it, I'll start discussing more alliances and enemies and history and such with others. ^^_^^

[ImmortalSin]

Username: ImmortalSin
Character Name: Safiyah (sa-FEE-ah) Cavalcanté
Nickname: FiFi
Species/Race: Valinyx
Physical Description: For a Valinyxian, FiFi is nothing out of the ordinary. She is typically shorter than most other females she meets, standing at a puny 5’2”. She is an extremely slight girl who could do with a bit of extra meat on her bones. Usually her complexion is paler than it ought to be due to exhaustion, dehydration or lack of food. In fact, she often looks a little under the weather because of the lack of attention she pays to her health. This is almost always combated by the glowing smile she wears and the serene look in her eyes.
Typically she is seen in her formal attire. Robes adorned with gold and silver, a gray cloak hanging from her shoulders and when performing a ceremony several striking turquoise stones called Oss (native to Valinyx) are attached to show her status. She also has a pendant made from Oss that is normally hidden amongst the layers of her clothes.
One peculiar thing to note is that FiFi always wears some form of gloves on her hands. She does not remove them - even when bathing - and will refuse to explain why to anyone not part of the Order. In truth, it is because beneath the gloves many scars wind and twist from her fingertips to her elbows. Some fresh - others years old. On the inside of her left wrist is a birthmark in the shape of a four-pointed star. It is referred to as the mark of Vallar.
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Occupation: High Songstress of the Order of Valinyx
Skills: Anyone with the mark of Vallar is granted the ability to create miracles. The outcome of said miracle could be anything from the curing of a minor ailment to the ability to summon a bolt of lightning from the sky. Each miracle comes at a cost. Each person decides how to pay it. But it must be a type of sacrifice.
Even though the Valinyxian race frowns upon harming others there are tales of those who have chosen to sacrifice the lives of others in order to sustain themselves. In FiFi’s case, her own blood suffices. At the end of every moon cycle she finds that her power is dwindling and thus makes the sacrifice. When it comes to larger scale miracles praying is also required. It may take a prolonged period of time before the prayer is answered and in some cases it is not answered at all. Some (FiFi included) believe that singing hymns also improves the odds.
Creating miracles takes both a physical and mental toll on the individual which usually leads to an early death. For this reason the majority of members of the Order of Valinyx are no older than 30.
World-space: The lands of Valinyx begin at the northern point of the continent and extend towards the center. Those situated near the coast find themselves nestled amongst endless mountain ranges and lush valleys. Game is plenty in these parts and the people have become quite adept at fishing. The humidity is a tad bothersome at times but cool breezes and even snowfall seem to soothe the disgruntled. Grand cathedrals and shrines have begun to appear all over the place, but they pale in comparison to Vallar Cathedral - the home quarters of the Order of Valinyx. It is in this part of Valinyx that the people have most certainly thrived.
The same cannot be said for those in the lower parts of Valinyx. The closer one comes to the border, the more barren and treacherous they will find the land to be. There are no forests, no rivers - nothing but empty plains and deserts. This is said to be because the earth there is scarred. A massive canyon was carved into the rock, one that stretches from the ocean and very near cuts off access to Valinyx altogether. This was the result of a quarrel between Ordis and Vallar, or so the people believe.
Those unfortunate enough to live in this part of Valinyx find themselves facing poverty and succumbing to disease. If ever an invasion occurred they would also be the first to suffer.
Allies:
Enemies:
Religion/Deity(s): The Valinyxian people do not believe in good and evil and instead conclude that every being serves a purpose no matter how malevolent or wicked that being may be. They have two deities - Vallar and Ordis. When praying for miracles it is Vallar who decides the outcome and Ordis who ultimately delivers or punishes accordingly. Some believe that Ordis has ill intentions, but in truth he is only following Vallar’s orders.
Governing Body: No sole person governs in Valinyx, although most will look to the Order for guidance. They are the unofficial rulers of the place and the majority of people are happy enough to listen to what they have to say and do as they are advised. Those from the Order are often seen as peace-keepers and missionaries.
The Order itself has a high priestess and then a council of advisers. Ultimately, the high priestess has the last say. She is the most respected figure in all of Valinyx - an oracle of sorts. Most other members of the Order have no official title, save for what they are best at. (For example, Songstress, Healer, Defender)

---

Phew, so I'm finally done! I'm not sure whether you guys (Ryona and Silvone) will be okay with me adding the canyon, but if you aren't just say so. I realise the cathedral is a liiiittle bit big in comparison to the rest of the map, but my internet is terrible still and I'm not up to editing and uploading it again. Just to add, Valinyx isn't that plain and simple - I only made the map to show where the Vallar Cathedral and canyon was, not the mountain ranges etc etc.

So, at the moment Valinyx has no enemies or allies - I wouldn't mind for that to change. I doubt they would classify anyone as their enemy, but they'd certainly be up for some allies. If you're interested in collaborating with me please send me a PM. I'd be up for somehow forging some history with another country/kingdom place as well.

Now, I'll apologise in advance if my character/country is in anyway similar to someone elses. I haven't had the time to catch-up yet so please bear with me.

[Guest]

I like all of the new profiles, Kathryn, Immortal Sin, and Caleb! I will put them all up immediately.

@Kathryn: Yes, I like the idea you described in the PM concerning the portals. I don't know if you want to write something up and have it put at the top, or just have that information revealed through the story itself.

@Immortal Sin: What you do with your world-space is completely up to you I'm definitely fine with the canyon. And I'm really looking forward to seeing another map! Not that the first one was bad... (It was a really nice canyon)

@Caleb: Great character and history. I like the thought you put into this. I can't wait to see where you choose to place your world-space.

@Hello Danger: Thanks for joining the bandwagon! I've honestly never seen so many people join one role-play before... I can't wait to see what you come up with

Edit: I've added a section to the character sheets: Character Bio.
I feel kind of stupid for leaving this out originally... We haven't really had anywhere to talk about our characters themselves, being so focused on creating our world-spaces. So feel free to add that to your character sheet and let me or Ryona know when it is ready to be updated so I can put it up at the top.

I've also added a bit to my own profile, detailing the city of Spire a bit more, if anyone cares to take a look. I think I am going to try and draw a map of the city, if I can figure out how I want to do it.

I would like to discuss allies/enemies as well. My culture imports everything it needs, and all it has to offer are the mercenary services of its Guild of Heroes and the precious metals it extracts from beneath the volcano. They no longer have access to much of anything beyond their city walls except their harbor on the coast.
So...I'm alread trading with Ryona and the sorceresses, and I assume I would be doing extensive trading with the Sretin Provinces belong to Sighlent. Would anyone else consider themselves allies with the people of Spire, or perhaps enemies?

The only outright enemies I can think of for my people are the Mountains of Night and everything that entails.... They kind of have enough problems as it is, without bringing in more.

[Gadreille]

I updated the territories on the first page.

My apologizes to you Deadeye for misunderstanding your request. Perhaps the sorcs hired your lot to fight off a bad batch of lycans.

After Caleb decides upon a location, I will suck it up and start to make the real overall map. This will take a long time, but hopefully will be worth it in the end.

Question to Silvone: Are we just putting up separate histories or are they going to be strung into a single history of the world?

***Edit: I have three nominations for the world name. I'll give everyone else until tomorrow to come up with a name if they want to. Tomorrow morning I will put up a poll so we can vote for our favorite name.***

Kalon & Gunneh, I'm not sure if your land has contact with the main land, but it seems like my territory is where they would likely land if they are traveling to the library. Should we set up some sort of history of trading or initial contact between your people and mine? I'm sure the sorcs wouldn't want them trapsing through the bog without so much as a "howdy-do, here's some currency to pay for our intrusion".

[Guest]

Caleb your race/worldspace reminds me of the WoW orcs! Not a bad thing by any means, I love the race and it's backstory . Ryona, I'd like to nominate "Varimastra" as the world name if you don't mind.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yes, that sounds good, Ryona. I'm still working on the map for our island.
We'd also probably be good friends with Elric's people.

[Bird of Hermes]

I was just thinking of this when I was trying to come up with a history of my character... What year does this take place?

I want the emancipation of the Ionairus to be a relatively recent event, but I don't know what recent is for this world.

[Gadreille]

Hmm...I don't know if anyone has used years yet. Let me discuss this with Silvone and get back to you. For now, just put a blank spot where the date should go.

[Guest]

Well consider the time frames. For Morgarath 100 years is not long at all. For a human that is a very long time.

The world is a fairly new world I would guess. Somewhere in the range of 11,000 years old

I would guess the worlds age to be something near that 11,000 years old. At least about that with sentience existing. Morgarath showed up for the first time about 10,000 years ago.

But to answer your question, I would say recent in historical sense would be about 50 years. And the other question, the current year is the 11,023

[Dax]

If anyone (I am thinking all those mercenary nations) wishes it, feel free to place some of your men to have aided either the Mountains of Night or Vatienne in the Wars of Illuria.

I am thinking it wouldn't matter much since its a thing of the past and we already know the outcome of said wars.. as long as current history can kind of reflect past ties or something.

[Guest]

Yeah that sounds good,

The picture I had of the world was one where the Mountains of Night and Vatiene were the two great powers. Similar to as an example, Mordor and Gondor from lord of the rings.

[Dax]

its 'Vatienne'

Its funny you mention Gondor, because their soldiers are exactly what the Vatiennien soldiers look like.
only, isntead of having the tree of kings (I think thats what it is called) on their flags, it would be the Vatiennien emblem... that I have yet to think of.

As for Vatienne and the Mountains of Night being the two great powers... I dont know, thats kind of pretentious... maybe they are part of the stronger nations?

I mean, if we look at it this way, a strong nation doesnt necessarily mean military might, it only means like..
- a sedentarised people (meaning living in cities/villages and not nomads) but I think everyone falls under this category

-an economy with some back bone

- I guess a strong military... well the means to defend yourself, at least (once again, I think everyone falls under this category)

and other basic things I probably forgot to mention on improvisation like this.

Besides, not all of the sign-ups are accounted for, so before we can start pointing out the most powerful nations (if any), it would be after we see everything.

[Guest]

its 'Vatienne'

Its funny you mention Gondor, because their soldiers are exactly what the Vatiennien soldiers look like.
only, isntead of having the tree of kings (I think thats what it is called) on their flags, it would be the Vatiennien emblem... that I have yet to think of.

As for Vatienne and the Mountains of Night being the two great powers... I dont know, thats kind of pretentious... maybe they are part of the stronger nations?

I mean, if we look at it this way, a strong nation doesnt necessarily mean military might, it only means like..
- a sedentarised people (meaning living in cities/villages and not nomads) but I think everyone falls under this category

-an economy with some back bone

- I guess a strong military... well the means to defend yourself, at least (once again, I think everyone falls under this category)

and other basic things I probably forgot to mention on improvisation like this.

Besides, not all of the sign-ups are accounted for, so before we can start pointing out the most powerful nations (if any), it would be after we see everything.

By General rule, the Darklord has to be one of the great if not the greatest of the powers. Simply because nearly everyone ends up against him or her.

I figured Vatienne as the nation of light would fit well as one of the other big nations.

[Guest]

Terribly sorry for the double post.

I just wanted to ask if there were any objections to the years I had posted a few posts ago?

I had figured it out based on the historical snippets and I think that is a good age for the world.

[Bird of Hermes]

I have no objections, but we need to see what everyone else thinks.

[Gadreille]

I think it is a good scientific age, but that shouldn't be the year according to the people inhabiting the world. Even if the oldest beings were still living, they wouldn't have known when the beginning of time is.

On earth, our world is very old, yet our year is only 2010.

We need to choose a moment in time from which to begin measuring the years. As for when that is, I'm not sure.

[Guest]

Well Morgarath is unless people have issues the oldest being currently alive. He has bee around about 10,000 years. To him this is year 10,023.

By another system it might be another year than that.

His just goes by the number of years he has been alive.

[Kathryn Lacey]

Well, the way I have the history of the Great Library of Nolwë set is that library was constructed so long ago that no one really knows when it was built. It's just always seemed to have been there. It's also been there long enough that the vast majority of the Quendi have forgotten about the portal that the Library protects, and a single Quendë lives to be about five thousand years of age on average.

Basically, the only Quendi who know about it are the Quendi that have to know about it to keep it safe. That actually goes for any race/species in the Material Plane.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I probably shouldn't have gone to all the effort, but hey, I couldn't stop. ^^

Here's a map of Gunneh's and my island.


And here's the line-drawingything for you, Ryona, just in case.



I may need to add a large volcano in there somewhere on Gunneh's side.
Let me know where you'd like it, Gunneh, and how big it should be!

[Kathryn Lacey]

hahahah I love this. Maybe once I'm done sketching the Portal, I'll try to map my area. Of course, I don't have a scanner, so I'll just have to go to the library to scan it... if they have a scanner. =\

[Gunneh]

Red = Volcano
Dark Blue = Major Cities

Also, I'm thinking that the city in the forest, since it's so far inland and nearest to your side, that this could be a place where our cultures mix more prevalently. I also kinda see something like the Ewok city when I think of it...you know, building in trees, bridges from tree to tree, blah blah blah.

We also need names and to work on the history, my friend! I'm thinking that our island probably could've supported Vatienne in its war against the Mountains of Night. You know, since we are pretty much making it the Island of Light

[Kalon Ordona II]

Speaking of, here's the demigod-like figure who rules the Light Plane. This guy is also the head of my country's theocracy. ^^

Behold: Alos, Lord of Light!!

[Gunneh]

That is AWESOME! I wish I could find something like that.

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