#canahi lore

[brutal-nemesis]

You already know you've got me invested. So a bunch of questions about your HRT magic system, whenever you've got the time:

- what does the ritual actually look like/involve?

- does the process look the same for both feminizing and masculinizing, or are they different?

- are there any effects that can't really be achieved using this form of HRT?

- how long does it take to build up effects? will you see some changes immediately, or is it slower?

More to come later, I'm sure 😁🧡

suit up bitches it's time for all the trans magic lore

What does the ritual actually look like/involve?

Essentially, person performing the procedure uses magic to force the patient's gonads (testes or ovaries) to produce more of the desired hormone, whether it's estrogen or testosterone. Unlike in our world, where people on E need to take T blockers to ensure that they see results (since T has stronger effects), this change in what the body itself is producing means that T levels would naturally decrease since the testes are producing more E. The actual procedure usually just involves the one performing it placing their hands on the patient's back near their spine and carrying out the spell. This typically takes five or so minutes, depending on how much the patient's natural levels need to be adjusted. The spell only lasts so long, so after a couple weeks it will need to be cast again. The spells themselves are called estrogen/testosterone production stimulation, EPS and TPS for short.

However, as magic advances, beyond the point it's at in Castys's early story and the entirety of Erebus & Terror, a new method is developed that alters the hypothalamus and pituitary glands instead, since they tell the rest of the body of what hormones to produce. This spell, called hypothalamus pituitary direction alteration (HPDA) only needs to be done once as the effects are permanent in the sense that they don't wear off, even after decades. However, it's much more complicated to carry out, so it takes longer to cast and is usually more expensive. The procedure itself usually involves the caster putting their hands on the patient's head and doing the spell for about 20 minutes.

It generally becomes standard practice for a patient to undergo at least a year of E/TPS in order to find the right balance of hormones for them before getting HPDA. The effects of HPDA can be altered later, but it's complicated enough that it's best to get it right the first time, hence using E/TPS as a trial run of sorts to figure out the best fit for each individual person.

Does the process look the same for both feminizing and masculinizing, or are they different?

Yes and no. The actual process is very similar, since it's just changing what hormones are produced, but adjusting the AMAB body to produce E and the AFAB body to produce T are different enough that most doctors specialize in one or the other. There's a lot more nuance to it than just turning up the hormone dial, so specialists in one or the other are skilled at helping bring about the wanted changes and preventing certain negative side effects.

Are there any effects that can't really be achieved using this form of HRT?

Since it's pretty similar to HRT here, it has the same limitations and effects, for the most part. Magic can certainly be used to help with things like top and bottom surgery (which sometimes don't need to be an actual surgery and are just a magical procedure), but neither form of HRT discussed above will completely change primary sex organs or massively alter skeletal structure.

How long does it take to build up effects? will you see some changes immediately, or is it slower?

It's a slow change, happening over the course of years, just like it is for people on HRT in our world. The body takes time to adjust and change on its own, and forcing it to do so quickly can have drastic consequences. At the start of E/TPS, all changes are closely monitored so that the levels of hormone production can be adjusted in order to suit the individual patient best and prevent side effects like emotional instability and blood clots.

[brutal-nemesis]

How do people use magic/abilities/special tech/etc. to improve the mundane parts of their everyday lives?

While not everyone can use magic, it still helps everyone out in daily life. Since spells can be stored in the class of minerals corresponding to their element, anyone can use enchanted mineral crystals to bring about various effects. Some of them are things we have here, like starting a fire for cooking or lighting up a room, and some of them are a little more ✨magical✨, like creating water that's at the perfect temperature for a bath or quickly defrosting frozen food (since ice magic is often used to keep food cold, though most places don't sell any pre-frozen food so it's more of a way to preserve ingredients you've bought or something you've made yourself).

These stones cannot activate automatically unless part of the spell on them sets criteria for activation such as light level, which costs extra, so most of the time someone needs to touch the crystal in order to give it energy and activate it. Certain ones should also be used with care and under adult supervision or serious injuries might occur!

People can buy these stones anywhere they would buy the associated goods, like crystals for preserving food and cooking at places such as butchers and produce sellers and crystals for lighting at places that sell furniture, and usually come in some kind of wooden holder so the crystal can be picked up without activating it.

[brutal-nemesis]

PLS give us the slave collar lore dump

Aight here we go boys

Slave collars were invented sometime in the early 700s (about 1200 years after the events of Erebus's story) and they're a metal ring around the neck with this design on the front:

Until they're put on someone, they just look like a small metal rune. The rune is pressed into the neck of the slave and it forms the ring, but those three prong things don't form until the slave recites their three commands. When they say the command, a prong grows and the spell forcing the slave to follow the command activates.

So a slave physically can't disobey their three commands, but any loopholes they can find are fair game, so you have to be careful when coming up with the commands. And you can't just slap one of these on someone while they're sleeping since they have to recite the rules themself or the collar won't work. Which means very fun and humiliating forcing them to say their commands as the collar is put on :)

[brutal-nemesis]

*triangle* Neteri, do you really think that you're a good doctor, scientist, or whatever it is that you "think" you are? You were in charge of the armputation; you messed that up so badly that Erebus was in extreme pain, and you almost collapsed when you failed to fix what you did. Couldn't you have given Erebus some sort of magical painkillers or something?

10/10 this is a sensitive topic everyone clap

“I know I messed up, alright?! I worked so hard to get here and I’ve already made a mistake like-” she takes a deep breath, “no, I can fix it. I just underestimated how complicated it was going to be, and I didn’t have enough energy to heal it all the way. I got too ahead of myself and both of us suffered for it. But,” she looks you in the eye, “I’m good enough to fix it. I’ll be more prepared next time. This won’t happen again.”

“And since it seems you aren’t aware, it’s a well known fact that anesthesia and magical healing don’t mix. Any sort of interference with the nerves can cause major problems in healing them with magic, and it can sometimes damage them beyond repair. I’m sure Erebus is aware of this because he has to have been injured or at least exposed to the situation of having to choose between healing something naturally with painkillers or healing something magically and enduring the pain. I’d rather he not have to suffer that much but this isn’t something I can do without using magic.”

[brutal-nemesis]

(off topic, but feel 4000% free to make an infodump of lore for Taiyorum bc 👀👀👀👀👀 uhhh I NEED it with my entire being (fr, you never have to feel like it's an imposition on us to infodump lore (for anything really tbh)) you're amazing and your world building is a million % appreciated and we love you <3)

(*/ω＼*) wow okay thank you let’s see...

I already sorta talked about Taiyorum here, though a lot of it was just in my terrible handwriting in the picture, so I could talk about some of that shit here so let’s go

It’s got a lot of greenery! Most of Xerna is rather desert-y, but being on a peninsula and on the other side of the mountains that prevent that part of the continent from getting much rain allows Taiyorum to have a more tropical climate. There are numerous parks and gardens all throughout the city

It’s a pretty international place, with ships and merchants coming from all around the world, so there are a ton of different cultures and races interacting. Even in Erebus’s time, when the world isn’t quite unified yet, Taiyorum was pretty globally connected

The cuisine shockingly involves a lot of seafood, which isn’t true for all of Xerna and is more of a Taiyorum thing. There’s obviously a lot of different cultures going on too, so you can get pretty much anything. For the most part, cooking has a lot of spices since being a trade city gives it access to them. And, per Xernan tradition, most food is eaten with a flatbread called suti which sort of acts as the utensil 

Xernans revere the sun greatly, and some say it’s the great Iridescent Dragon herself, bringing light and warmth to them. The sun brings life, and this reverence for it is why it’s the symbol of their empire and why Xernans are sometimes called “the people of the sun”. Their currency is even called “suns”

That’s all I’ve got off the top of my head, but I promise this shit’ll actually be in the story in a couple of chapters so you’ll see it there...eventually.

[brutal-nemesis]

I am always down for some lore so tell me about Taiyorum please!

PERMISSION TO LORE DUMP

First please take this drawing and random blurbs from this morning (sorry about my handwriting)

The biggest thing is that massive sandstone cliff along the west side of the city. It’s on a peninsula, so the rest of the city is surrounded by the sea/ports. The cliff is inlaid with Xerna’s crest made of various lightstone minerals. These minerals are also present along the base of the cliff. People from all over come to touch them and send their prayers to the sun and offer some of their energy to power the crest so it shines at night. This glowing sun in the cliff is why Taiyorum is called “The Midnight Sun”. The palace is under the crest where you can see those blocky-lookin things (I can’t draw buildings okay). Erebus is imprisoned somewhere in there :)

I’m too lazy to retype everything written up there but uh yeah

[brutal-nemesis]

Look at that it’s Erebus’s brand, the Erebrand

So yeah that’s the crest of the Xernan Empire. The word in the corner isn’t part of the brand I just wanted to show off my fun sexy alphabet. It just says “Xerna”. Maybe I will write other things at other times...who knows. But yeah that’s the brand! 

[brutal-nemesis]

Are there grocery stores in Taiyorum?

Lol not really. Most produce is sold in the various open-air markets that dot the city, with seafood and foreign goods being sold in the markets along the port, meat and vegetables in the central market, and spices and handmade goods generally along the cliff that marks the west border of the city. Indoor shops sell more specialty/expensive things.