Allwind

This is the official, as much as that word can apply, blog of Yehoria's worldbuilding project Allwind.

[allwind]

Okay, so i came up with how my incredibly cool overpowered OC will be defeated.

You see, she is a magnificent swordslinger, who can fight fully surrounded, deflect and dodge arrows, and has the ability to sense incoming attacks with exposed skin.

The way it works in allwinds physics is that the mass of the objects generates wind. This may be hinted at by her taking ambient wind into consideration in planning.

Now, as you would understand the ground would actually also have its own wind. And that's the secret. By shooting an unusually light arrow on a very low arc at close distance, she will be struck in the heel like Achilles. Call it a reference

[allwind]

Isn't it weird how in most fantasy all the major races need basically the same amount of sleep?

We don't even think about it... So, i've been thinking. Orc and goblins of Allwind are kind of the apex predator on their world, and lions, for instance, are lazy as fuck. Sleep 16-20 hours a day and such.

It Just Makes Sense. Orcs and goblins are eepy peoples. This means they can get less done - they build slower, they travel slower, they can't really agriculture. They are either hunters or herders. Or fishers.

So in contact with dwarves they would be amazed at how little they sleep. Only half the day? Dwarvish colonies under the south pole icebergs expand comparatively fast, despite being slower walkers dwarves can travel further in a day than orcs. The few who venture into the broader world(oh they came from space btw, their homeworld is entirely iced over, that's why they live undeground) become very popular craftsmen as they can simply work faster and such. When eventually a few daring humans arive(there's a whole other deal with humans, so there aren't many on the world in question), their Staying Awake For 2/3 to 3/4 of a day perk lands them the roles of watchpeople, merchants and messengers. And of course this affects my name pendinghalf blooded OC, who is almost as strong as orcs, but can stay awake for much longer, and has more stamina due to the human half.

[allwind]

"I am not afraid of dying, not because i am ready to, but because i know that today i won't."

[allwind]

Okay so my name pending half orc half human OC is like on the bottom end of how strong you can be and actually fight an orc. Because once blades are involved it's all about technique, right. Structure, edge alignment. But a baseline of strength is needed, because if an elf tries to parry an orc there's a decent chance they will displace their wrist or elbow in a bad way and it's over, they could never control the bind at all, and basically. It's impossible for them to actually fight an orc. Same goes for humans. But a half human half orc in peak physical condition is, in muscle strength slightly above the orc baseline. Of course, bones aren't as maluable but they're strong enough to go sword to sword.

And yeah, i think it would look really cool if in a fight sequence someone displaced their wrist while parrying.

[allwind]

I've been thinking about my newest OC Euegene the (not) Eunuch.

He has dreamt of growing a beard since forever, and has studied witchcraft with that express goal. He has tried and failed many times, and managed to become one of the greatest witches of his world along the way.

[allwind]

Dwarvish warhammers have moving parts.

[allwind]

There's a concave cripping head that can slide around a piercing spike, it acts as a guide to catch on convex armour plates, that a single spike would slide off of. A small spring separates them, when free, but it's fairly weak, so as not to dissipate the force of the strike.

Dwarves oil their hammers to reduce internal friction.

[allwind]

Dwarvish warhammers have moving parts.

[allwind]

the Sich Analogue is called Prya, as a kind of joke, because i couldn't be bothered to make a proper conlang.

[cossachka-offical]

Okay, so. Actual explanation + related linguistic tidbits.

Both sich and prya mean a battle, but with slightly different sentiments.

In ukrainian sich is written as січ, and ultimately shared the root with the verb сікти/sikty (ignore the ти/ty it's just the infinitive ending), which means to cut up or slice. Sich thereby means a massacre or a slaughter, so likely the reason sich was called that because that's what happens to your enemies when you're defending an island fortress. Prya/пря on the other hand ultimately shares a root with перти/perty which means to go forward or to put pressure. In context of battle it means charging or pressing an attack. In effect Prya on the as of yet unnamed orc and goblin planet is named after the kind of thing it is supposed to withstand, not what it does. You can make up whatever reason you want for that, i haven't come up with a good one yet, and it's not that important - this is language, it can be left ambiguous.

[allwind]

oops, posted to the wrong blog...

[allwind]

the Sich Analogue is called Prya, as a kind of joke, because i couldn't be bothered to make a proper conlang.

[allwind]

I am considering this incredibly horrifying idea for death in allwind.

So in allwind there is souls, that are basically like brains from real life except not at all, and maybe also like the entire nervous system.

And after certain bodily processes stop they begin to fade from existence, except if you specially prepare them by pouring chemicals directly into a hole in the top of your skull, in which case it will comtract and harden into a little crystal and can be reactivated by growing a new body around it. Which is how you reincarnate someone.

But for normal people it starts to fade, but that tales a while, and once it started it's irreversible, so everyone takes really long to completely die, except for those who reincarnate. But the thing is the "inputs" of a soul are a lot "denser" the "outputs", so basically everyone who isn't like beheaded or burned alive gets to spend several hours completely paralyzed, but still sensing. They grow number over time but it's like really painful and scary and nobody lives to tell the tale

Because the process by which people are made possible to resurrect also prevents them from experiencing this.

And i thought that maybe in my eventual writing i should have corpse POVs

[allwind]

"You are not worthy of tasting my blood!", the bound orc shrieked. As Zhorka drew her saber, she answered: "I was not intent on honoring your death with anyone's teeth". The blade cut through flesh cleanly, before abruptly stopping not quite halfway through the neck, once it hit the spine.

[allwind]

I think that one post about The Hobbit being "translated" from westron rewired my brain a little.

I could write different stories from different POVs and depending on what that characters main language is, it changes which names are "translated" and not.

The same island fortress could be called Clash, and Prya, depending on what effect i want...

[allwind]

Orcs sometimes use falcons to deliver messages. The birds are hard to train, as they have not to find a place, but a person, somewhere in the wide steppe, where orcs wander as nomads. Usually each falcon knows two orcs, and can find them from the sky by sight.

[allwind]

On orcish blood oaths.

Children and parents

Allwind orcs believe that exchanging blood forges a sacred connection, akin to that between mother and child, as mother and child exchange blood through the umbicular cord. The scars left after the ritual are then viewd akin to a bellybutton.

The most common ritual is with a father, or otherwise adoptive parent. For orcs, it matters not who conceived the child, but who takes the obligation to raise them. As such, the man who to be considered father, bloodies the childs bellybutton from a cut on their thumb. Same is done with mothers, other than the one who birthed them — whether they help raise the child, or adopt them after the birth-mother dies. As such a child can have any number of parents of equal status, other than the birth-mother, who is the only one considered to have a greater connection than the others.

As such each orcs full name consists of their given name at birth, any number of names after parents, which are their parents' given names with a possesive suffix, in the order in which those parents adopted them, starting always with the birth mother. Then come titles of honor.

Equal relations

There are a number of oaths allwind orcs bind with blood.

Exchanging blood from the cuts on a hand signs an oath of actionable material help to one another. It may mean aid in battle, or performance of labour for one another, or sharing of supplies.

Exchange from cuts on the forehead signifies sharing of knowledge. This usually means the two are comfidants to eachother, sharing the burdens on their souls, but can also relate to shared keeping of secrets, exchange of intelligence, or simple promise of teaching the other some skill.

These two kinds of oaths are common among siblings, who often will swear both oaths to one another.

Sworn lovers kiss with cuts on their lips. (Marriage not really being a thing), commonly combined with one or both of the previous oaths, having sworn all three being seen as closest of bonds.

There are also sworm rivalries, signified by taking a bite out of someone. These don't have to be resiprocal, but usually are.

Service and leadership

When an orc swears loyalty to another, it may be signified with exchange of blood through palm and forehead. "My soul is an extension of your will", the oath states.

It may also be signified through the shoulder — "My arm is an extension of your will", this is usually a stricter, less trustful kind of oath, for those who perform labour and fight for their master, but aren't given authority to speak on their behalf or have advisory input.

When someone is forced into submission, the master will take a bite out of their shoulder, and exchage blood there, through a cut in their hand, as a kind of combination of sworn rivalry and oath of service, forced on those who are defeated and enslaved.

Another kind of oath exists between elected leaders and their followers. In that case, the leader's back is cut, and the supporters place their hands on the back(with cuts). "We push you forward", "You represent our will".