Thank you!! <3 I’m jumping between fantasy worlds here depending on what is the most interesting, sorry haha!
20. are there pirates? what role do they play in the story?
There are no important pirates in Project Lux or Kin Verse (the first because they are rarely near oceans, and the latter because there is an extreme lack of oceans).
However pirates are in Shoreless! Pirates are unable to sail around the Adress Isles due to the extreme currents around the islands, and so are primarily on the western coast of the Mainland, but mostly working the Merchan streamway. Though we don’t meet any pirates per say, it is the knowledge of a pirate that makes Klaris turn against her destiny and finally follow her own ideals.
25. what type of food do people eat in your world/region? is there some only few can afford?
In Jorryl, most food is very simple - hunted meat, wheat, vegetables and fruits that farms can grow in the cold. Some more tropical imports - including sugar - are more expensive and usually not affordable by the public. Most sweet things in Jorryl consumed by the public are sweetened using fruit or other natural ingredients.
Adress is another interesting one for food. Most of the Adressian diet consists of seafood, and meat is incredibly rare and expensive due to the lack of farm animals on their land. They do hunt and eat deer and rabbits, but cows and pigs are rare on the island, and sheep are farmed for wool over meat.
30. what kind of folklore exists in your world? are there stories people tell their children?
In Clarend, it is said that a black wolf roams the forests and will kill children who sneak out at night. Hunters who kill one of the rare black wolves, which are larger than normal wolves, receive an immediately knighthood.
In Jorryl, some say that beyond the Bloody Mountains there is a secret utopia where the True Gods have retreated to when they grew tired of watching over the world.
On the Mainland as a hole, Chaine Island is said to be haunted for it is a former prison island, and that spirits of the dead whip of the ocean to shipwreck any boats that come near it.
31. are there prisons in your story? any form of a criminal justice system?
In Kin Verse, prisons are few and far between. Most countries have a small holding facility within police stations, and criminals are in court as quickly as possible. With more complex cases that require police investigation before trials, the suspects are held on house arrest or sent to a secure, small holding area if they cannot be trusted to stay in their house. Smaller crimes (selling drugs, theft, or cases where it is believed to have been an accident) typically result in the guilty party getting a choice to go to community service village or exile from the country in which they committed the crime (if it was slightly more severe). If exiled, the party is to receive a tattooed mark on their cheek that is recognisable and detectable under makeup, and often results in many other countries also refusing entry.
The seven Descodian countries all share one community service village in Olnipheta, where convicts live in an underground village in which most of the prisoners work in the mines. It is something of a gated community, and family members are free to visit and even stay as long as they wish.
More severe crimes (typically anything that involves harming another living thing on purpose) result in the guilty party being sent to one of the four high security prisons across the world.
Those who carry a Taint are often unfairly prosecuted and sent to the Abbey of the Seven Orders. On the surface, this claims to be a religious sanctuary built to handle and keep those with uncontrollable Taints (or powers) secure and away from the public. However, it is public knowledge that this is a facade and the Abbey is more of a prison that locks away and tortures Tainted people in the hopes that they lose their powers.
