Discover Top Posts Tagged with #aquiland

Day 9: If someone asks you if you’re a god...

Nominally, the dominant faith of Ues is Sohnism: a monotheistic religion with its start in the coastal city-state of Metria. Over the course of thousands of years, and a fair number of holy wars during the early days of duchies and kingdoms, Sohnism spread along the Midland Sea, and from there both north and south to almost completely saturate the continent. To put it simply, Sohnists believe that the sun itself is some form of deity, and that it takes a direct role in the affairs of the inhabitants of Creation.

Now, you might have noticed that Sohnism is nominally the dominant faith. I say that because while most people are Sohnists, not everyone is the same kind of Sohnist. Over the course of history, Sohnism has splintered into over a dozen varieties, some so wildly different that it’s difficult to imagine they came from the same base.

For reference, the original form of Sohnism, sometimes called Old Sohnism or Traditional Sohnism, is still practiced in Metria and its colonies. In this form, the sun is an all-seeing, all-knowing god who directs Humans with messages in their sleep, then watches them during the day to see who understands his words, and who acts on them. Those who consistently do are welcomed to his solar paradise when they die, while those who understand his words and refuse to act are forever damned to wander the cold blackness of space, eventually becoming the stars we see at night. There’s a saying in Metria that out of the entire population, only one Metratic person per day will understand and act on Sohn’s words spoken to them the night before. A lightly more cynical version of this saying continued by claiming that the head of the High Priest of Metria has never been that person.

Aquiland follows what is known as Reformist Sohnism, which developed as a way to integrate modern knowledge of the sun and the rest of the sciences into the religion. In Reforming Sohnism, the sun is a conduit through which Sohn views Creation. They still believe that Sohn sends them messages in their dreams, but in this case these messages are more of tests to see who is ready for the responsibility of following his orders. Those who understand and don’t act aren’t considered damned, but instead simply unready. While Reformist Sohnism started in Xerstra, it quickly spread to the Kingdom of Aquiland and its vassals, and remained the dominant religion there after the revolution.

Shapechangers, by and large, do not believe in Sohnism. In fact, most are agnostic. This is due to two factors: the feral, pre-colonialism Shapechangers weren’t civilized enough to consider an organized religion; and no Uesean religion explicitly covers the existence of Shapechangers . Some apply labels to them as Demons or Spirits, but these depictions are hardly flattering. Shapechangers did learn one important fact from organized religion, though.

The fact that Shapechangers bound to wooden stakes cannot survive being burned alive.

#writing #amwriting #worldbuilding #worldbuilding june #worldbuildingjune #wbj2020 #wbj #2020 #The Game We Play #Aquiland #Metria #Sohnism

Day 2: Fantastic Places and Where to Find Them

Creation is home to two main continents, split by a chain of islands. The first of the continents, named Ues, is partially split into North and South by the Midland Sea; a body of water running roughly along the equator. The native population of Ues is almost exclusively Human, aside from a few tribal, almost feral holdouts in the most inhospitable corners of the continent.

Both halves of the continent are almost fully inhabited by a number of countries, with South Ues being home to Aquiland (the main setting of The Game We Play) as well as others such as the Kingdom of Xerstra or Metria City, and North Ues being home to the revolutionary country of Askedelos and the Federation of Rhosan Republics.

Ues’ climate runs the gambit from tundras near the poles to deserts by the equator, aside from where the Midland Sea runs of course. Both Aquiland and Askedelos lay in this Mediterranean-esque zone along the sea, and enjoy mostly moderate weather thanks to it. Countries at the extremes, such as the Rhos, instead deal with near-freezing temperatures for most of the year.

The second continent has been named Outrem by the Ueseans, and is the homeland of the Shapechangers.Before its discovery by the rest of Ues, Outrem was, and still is for the most part, a wild and untamed wilderness without hide nor hair of civilization. This is due to the fact that, before the Ueseans arrived on their shores, Shapechangers had little need for civilization, or for society in general.

Most of Outrem is covered by temperate rainforests, with occasional raised mesas to break up the tree cover. The exception to this is the scattered Uesean colonies along the eastern coast, such as Xerstra’s Dorianlanz and Aquiland’s Port Aqui.

The island chain called the Wisewurm’s Scales. These islands run from pole to pole,encircling the entire world like a ring. These islands are mostly uninhabited, but there are a few free-ports that have sprung up, populated by disgruntled sailors, disenchanted colonists, and a few adventurous Shapechangers; and of course, by pirates too. Some of these ports are known only to their inhabitants and the trade ships that sail past them, but some like Little Ues have an almost legendary quality about them.

#writing #amwriting #worldbuilding #worldbuilding june #worldbuildingjune #wbj2020 #the game we play #aquiland #2020 #wbj #xerstra #metria #askedelos #rhos #outrem

Day 18: The Art of the Dress

For the average Aquilish citizen, tastes in clothing skew more towards comfort than fashionable. Cloth shirts and blouses, denim trousers and ankle-length skits, flat shoes and work boots. With that said, the advancements of the textile guilds have made a wide variety of colors and styles that were previously outside the realm of the common folk.

Members of guilds, on the other hand, almost universally look like they’re ready for business. This usually means two-piece or three-piece suits made of silk or cloth, or high-quality dresses made of the same materials. The higher up in the guild you are, the more expensive your outfit is: not just as a show of your wealth and status, but because of simply psychology. After all, you’re more likely to be promoted if you already look like the people above you. When off the clock, of course, people can wear whatever they want.

Those in the Aquilish government, especially the Princes/Princesses, are expected to look the part whenever they’re out in public. A Prince’s “casual” outfit looks a lot like what a guild’s leader would wear: three-piece suits and fancy silk dresses. In general, these are also relatively conservatively cut and colored, favoring muted shares of greys or blues.

There are some exceptions to that amongst the Grand Princess and Princesses, of course. Gale Iokiend, Grand Princess of Melas, is well known for eschewing dresses all together and instead favoring the suits worn by her male peers. This has become a sort of signature style for the Princess, and has raised the question of whether her daughter, Fara, will follow in Gale’s steps.

#writing #amwriting #worldbuilding #worldbuildingjune #worldbuilding june #sbj2020 #sbj #2020 #the game we play #aquiland #gale #fara

Day 6: And JAM IT IN!

Human sexuality in Aquiland is not as repressed as it could be, although still not as open as it is in our world yet. There are a few openly non-heterosexual individuals in the public eye: most noticeably Prince Haldi Caldian of Viso and his husband Valmir, the leader of the research and development guild Universal Business Magic (or UBM for short).

But saying “it’s like our world but different” is boring, so lets talk about them Shapechangers.

In their native form, Shapechangers have no distinct genders. Then again, when you’re a sack of meat jelly with a proto-brain in it, gender isn’t exactly your first concern. Even when consuming creatures with gender, the Shapechanger usually doesn’t even consider the differences beyond what is easiest to catch, and then what works best for catching more prey. The form of a male boar might be better for fighting off an enraged bear, but the form of a female spider would best for catching insects and small birds. In other words, gender takes a back seat to utility.

Things get more interesting with Shapechangers with Human forms. Since the human form comes with a greater self-awareness, it’s usually these Shapechangers who have an idea of their own assumed gender. Interestingly, this gender doesn’t necessarily match that of the Human they eat, or even the gender of most of the creatures they’ve eaten up to that point. In fact, some Shapechangers run into a dilemma where their Human form doesn’t match the gender that they’ve come to identify with. The question for these Shapechangers then becomes whether they then eat a second human, or learn to live in a body that doesn’t fit them. On the other hand, Shapechangers with multiple Human forms take great enjoyment in mixing and matching themselves into forms that precisely match their own place on the spectrum.

The final piece is the act of actual reproduction for Shapechangers. Despite what many Humans may believe, Shapechangers do not reproduce asexually. In fact, Shapechangers are incapable of reproducing with other Shapechangers. In their native jelly forms they have no way of carrying children to term, and even in the form of male creatures they can’t *cough* produce the necessary genetic material. This means that Shapechangers must take on the form of female creatures, and seek out male members of the same species in order to keep their own race going. The Shapechanger becomes locked into the form they’re currently in while carrying their offspring to term, in order to protect the bouncing baby beef-jello inside them.

Fortunately for Shapechangers, finding willing participants is much easier when amongst Humans, since as I mentioned back on Day 3, Humans are extremely compatible. Giggity.

#writing #amwriting #worldbuilding #worldbuilding june #worldbuildingjune #wbj2020 #wbj #2020 #the game we play #humans #shapechangers #aquiland

World Building June, Day 4: What’s it’s history?

(Do ya get it?)

There are a few historical events that are important to the story of The Game We Play. The first took place over 200 years before the start of the story, and that is the Aquiland Revolutionary War. While it’s called a war, it was really a coup by the Aquilish people to depose the monarchy. The king’s loyalist troops were fought, and eventually overwhelmed, by the revolutionary army. After six years of bloody combat, the revolutionaries won out, and executed the king, his family, and all other members of the nobility they could get their hands on. From this, the seeds of the modern Electoral Republic were sown.

Of course, with a couple hundred years of distance, there are now Aquilish people who believe that Aquiland should return to a monarchy; either headed by surviving member of the former ruling family, or a newly chosen king. These monarchists mainly keep their opinions to themselves, as in recent times the rest of the Aquilish have been taking a “Punch the Monarchist” approach to dealing with them.

The next historical event of note is the invention of the Focus; a device that uses mana to produce specific magical effects. The first of these devices, created by Aquilish native Adam Turnam, was a pair of connected crystals; one drew heat from the air around it, and the other converted that energy into light. Before the Focus, magic mainly took the form of single-use items, such as scrolls, potions, and rituals. The Focus both provided a reusable method of using magic, and opened up the use of magic to everyone; both of which lead to a technological and magical boom.

The final event known as either the Askedelian Civil War or the Askedelian Conflict, depending on who you ask. This was a war in Askedelos between two successor governments after the previous government collapsed, fought between the Independents and the Unifiers. The independents wanted to form a loose federation of states, while the Unifiers were seeking an absolute dictatorship. Multiple nations provided support to the three sides: the Independents, the Unifiers, and the rapidly crumbling former government.

This support grew into armed troops and fleets being sent to fight on behalf of their respective sides. Notably, Aquilish forces fought for the Independents, while Rhos (formally known as the Federation of Rhosan Republics) did the same for the Unifiers. At the end of a 4 year bloody war, the Unifiers claimed victory, executing the majority of their former foes and closing the country for the next 3 years. Those who were not killed became refugees, with many of them seeking shelter in Aquiland.

#writing #worldbuilding #worldbuilding june #wbj2019 #the game we play #wbj #2019 #aquiland #askedelos #rhos #worldbuildingjune

World Building June, Day 8: How is your world run? Who’s in power?

Remember that Council thing? With the representatives and the Princes/Princesses? Well, they might in charge, but they’re not always who’s calling the shots. Let’s talk about the guilds.

On Creation, a guild is what we would consider a corporation or company. There’re big guilds, small guilds, and guilds that cross international borders. Guilds tend to specialize in a particular field, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t multiple guilds catering to the same customers. For example, agricultural guilds include names like Universal Goods, Hordsen & Sons, Montanos, and others.

Entry into a guild isn’t mandatory, but most business owners tend to get pulled into them due to an inability to compete with them. A Ma & Pa corner store just can’t supply enough goods to break even with a major guild, so they get bought out and incorporated. Aquiland has laws against foreign guilds buying out Aquilish businesses, but that doesn’t stop them from getting eaten up by Aquiland’s own guilds.

The most powerful of these guilds are the Magic Development Guilds, who invent and produce Focuses. These range from HASIA to Rosen-Gunn, from Kannonmench to Talpasis Arms & Armament, and the big boys themselves: United Business Magic, which makes its living producing Focuses fro other guilds.

Why cover the guilds in a prompt about who runs the world? Well, it has to do with Aquiland’s laws concerning patronage. A representative, or even a Prince/Princess, can become a patron of any individual or organization, essentially representing that person or group as well as the people they were elected by.This was originally developed to allow subgroups, like Hemfall’s Love United movement, more play in Aquiland’s politics.

The result, however, has been more representatives becoming patrons of guilds, who just happen to also donate large sums of Scrip to their election campaigns and projects. Some have argued that the guilds are buying power in the Aquilish government, but the representatives assure the populous that the guild’s views align with their own.

#writing #worldbuilding #worldbuilding june #worldbuildingjune #wbj2019 #wbj #2019 #The Game We Play #aquiland

World Building June, Day 2: What’s the Geography of your world?

Yep, that’s the best you’re getting. Made with Inkarnate so I’d have an easy way to visualize how far apart everything is.

This is a rough map of Aquiland, the country in which The Game We Play takes place. The rest of Creation is, roughly, equivalent to Earth: ice caps at either pole, a hotter equator, one sun in the sky and one moon circling it. Bam, done.

Aquiland is south of the equator, so the northern coast with cities like Talpasis and Port Mordan are the hottest parts. Cities to the south, like Hemfall, are colder, with heavier forests and hills the more south you get. That band in the middle of the country stays fairly comfortable all year round; not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winter.

The capital of Aquiland, Aqui City, is built into the base of Mt. Oriad, the tallest mountain in the country. On the opposite side of Mt. Oriad is Melas, a center of magic and engineering advancement filled with counter-culture, organic foods, and piping hot stimulants.

So basically, it’s fantasy Seattle with wizards instead of techies. No wonder both of our protagonists live in or around it.

To the north of Aquiland is the nation of Askedelos, whose already scorching equatorial landscape has been blighted by weapons used in a violent civil war several years ago.To the east is Xerstra, one of Aquiland’s few remaining political allies. And far to the north, past Askedelos and the Midland Sea, lies the Federation of Rhosan Republics, an oligarchy who’s relationship with Aquiland can best be described as “peacefully antagonistic”.