#guilt notes

[talesofsapiens]

The Cauldron

A blurb regarding Lorn dragons.

Many dragon species inhabit Lorn, all varying greatly in size, appearance, and behavior. Biologists once disputed what defined a dragon as a dragon, but only research within the last few decades has given a definitive answer. For although many dragons share similar traits, only one trait is shared by all dragons.

It has been known for centuries that not all dragons breathe fire, but it is new information that all dragons possess the necessary organ to produce flame-- regardless of its size or functionality. This organ, commonly called the cauldron, appears adjacent to the stomach, branching off of the esophagus. In order to produce flame, a dragon must ingest various metals, navigating them into the lower portion of the cauldron. From there, a  powerful acid breaks down the metals, creating a clear gas that is stored in the higher chamber of the cauldron. When a dragon wishes to spit fire, it has only to expel this gas from its cauldron; the gas then ignites as it leaves the dragon’s mouth.

The earliest dragons could all produce fire, but the trait has become lost in some species. In most species that have lost the trait, the cauldron has shrunken significantly, becoming about as useful as an appendix. In some, however, the cauldron remains an ample size. The cygnus dragon, for one, still commonly consumes metals, despite having lost the ability to produce flame. When a cygnus does this, the metals either fall into the cauldron where they later produce a foul-smelling and non-flammable gas-- or, more commonly, these metals miss the cauldron entirely and wind up in the stomach. It is unclear if digesting metal through the stomach has any impact on a cygnus dragon’s health, though they appear hardy enough.

[talesofsapiens]

A somewhat rudimentary but updated map of Lorn. 

The most notable difference between the current map and the old one is that the size of the map has increased and the most important locations have shifted to cover less of the available space. With the old map of Lorn, traveling to all of the key story locations required my characters to travel across the entire map in a static manner. I wanted to change this in a way that would allow my characters to cover significant ground, without making the country seem small and easily-traversed.

The red star marks the capital of Lorn, Bellis.

Each off the blue dots stands for an important town; in order from lowest to highest the towns are: 

Witchen: a town well known for its commerce. Stone trade routes travel directly towards the sea and capital from this location, drawing merchants from far and wide.

Quins: a town that sits at the base of an imposing stone hill, overlooked by the Rubine Woods. Several mines have been dug into the side of this hill, the largest of which has been dug entirely by slave labor

Deluse: the largest mining town in Lorn. The town takes up a great deal of space, but has a very scattered layout. A high poverty rate-- coupled with little interference from the king’s guards-- has allowed the Golden Dagger organization to thrive from this location

The Basilica: the largest Elder town in Lorn. The Basilica is one of only two Elder towns that has survived an attack of the king’s soldiers. The Golden Dagger has targeted this town since its conception. 

[talesofsapiens]

In Lorn, species are all divided into three large categories: Elders, Mythics, and Animals. Each hold their special place in old folklore.

Animals are seen as the first creatures of Lorn and are of little notoriety. Elders are their balance. As stories suggest, in Lorn's distant past, there was no balance between predator and prey. It is the job of Elders to ensure that a balance exists and is maintained. For every class of animal, there is a reigning species of Elder to match. It is not the job of Elders to overpower the animals under their charge, nor to protect every last prey creature from predators. They merely ensure that a harmony is maintained and that the animals they watch over stand a fair chance in the world.

Mythics are a completely different story. Mythics are extravagant creatures, the last to enter the world. Most Mythics are strong, robust, and smart creatures. For every class of animal, there is a Mythic (such as with Elders.) These Mythics are often loyal to their reigning Elders, but are just as capable of standing on their own. They provide great assistance during times of war and hardship-- but may also prove a great threat (particularly towards humans...)

*Guilts technically fall under the animal class, but are rarely considered animals themselves. Folklore suggests that guilts were intended to be the first Elders-- the only Elders-- but fell short in this task.

[talesofsapiens]

In Lorn, accents are typically described using compass directions. What with the variety of people and creatures, this makes determining the origins of someone’s accent far easier than pinpointing it to a certain culture or species. There are no words like “Brazilian” or “English,” so compass directions define what the missing words cannot.

  Accents typically go as follows:

(In order of relevance for the area)

  Northern: Indian/ Asian/ Russian

Northeastern: Scottish/ Irish

Eastern: English

Southeastern: Brazilian

South: African

Southwestern: Spanish

Western: French/ English

Northwestern: Russian

Central Lorn: highly blended (typically: African/ Scottish/ English)

   Any other accents are not common enough in Lorn to be mentioned largely.

  This doesn't necessarily mean that someone out of, say, the South cannot sport an accent from another part of Lorn, however. There are many exceptions to this rule, particularly when applied to various secluded settlements that dot the entirety of Lorn. Anywhere that is commonplace for markets and merchants is also bound to hold a slew of different accents from far and wide.

Some accents may also be more common for a certain species of Elder or Mythic, regardless of where they are from. Avians, for example, commonly have French, Indian, and English accents, although many of them live in the North and South.

So if someone was born in a Southwestern town but took on an English accent, they would still be described as having an Eastern accent.

Lastly, there are two ways to describe someone with a mixed accent. The easiest, but less-descriptive, method is to refer to them as having a Central accent. The central part of Lorn is highly mixed so, although there are some accents in Central Lorn that are more common than others, the phrase "Central accent" is more commonly associated with a mixture.

The more descriptive method is to actually name both directions. Roger, for example, has an English/Scottish accent, so his accent would be an "East-northeastern" accent.

If someone's accent is a Southern and Eastern blend, however, where the combination would simply imply a Brazilian accent rather than a Brazilian/English blend, then the accent is described as a "Southern-eastern" or "East-south" accent.

This is all, of course, if people choose to be very technical when speaking about accents. Generally, in friendly conversation, people may simply refer to the main compass directions, rather than being specific. Someone with a Scottish accent may be called Northern-- someone with a Spanish accent may be called Southern-- and so on.

[talesofsapiens]

Weather in Lorn:

If Lorn’s climate could be described in one word, that word would be “rainy.”

During the spring and fall, floods are quite common in Lorn, particularly to the north. Up north,  is not uncommon for it to rain five days out of the week—perhaps in a row—from gentle showers to full downpours. Because of this, most of Lorn’s inhabitants are quite used to wearing cloaks and coats throughout the year, and losing an umbrella can be somewhat devastating.

There is a bit of a break from this weather during summer. Throughout summer, the weather becomes milder and, during the heart of summer, can become quite uncomfortably warm for several weeks. Hot weather is very uncommon in Lorn, however, and it does not last. Summers are still regarded as very comfortable, enjoyable weather, though, and the lack of rain is much appreciated by its inhabitants. During late summer, the rains begin to come back, accompanied by strong thunderstorms.

Winters is Lorn are another story. While the rain during fall is frustrating and can easily waterlog a basement or two, rainy weather is far more tolerable than a winter in Lorn. Up north, the Asper province quickly plummets into the single digits, with large amounts of snow and ice, and by the middle of winter, the temperature is well below zero. It doesn’t take very long for a large portion of the map to be covered in at least a few inches of snow—and, at most, several tall feet. Alike spring and fall, Lorn winters are also full of rain, although this rain is often accompanied by sleet and hail.

[talesofsapiens]

Why humans dislike guilts:

Guilts may look identical to humans and share similar lifestyles; however, humans dislike and often target guilts as enemies for a number of reasons.

The most prominent reason for why humans dislike guilts has to do with who guilts choose to align themselves with, and more specifically their connection to elves. As elves are the Elders to guilts, guilts are, in ways, considered distant family to them and thus share strong senses of kinship for elvenkind. In doing so, guilts are often introduced to and raised under Elder customs and ideals and do not share the same mindsets as humans do. What more, modern humans have begun to target, destroy, and capture Elders—many of which are elves—which is seen as only a heinous crime to the guilts.

Another reason humans tend to dislike guilts is that they are practically useless during times of war. Guilts share the emotions of those around them and fall incredibly easily in battle unless partnered with a cygnus dragon (a beast that the humans do not trust, which omits this option.) So even if a guilt has made a partnership with a human settlement, they are then seen as a liability when war starts.

Many humans also dislike guilts simply because they do not fully understand guilts and believe old superstitions revolving around them as a species. There are humans who believe that guilts can read minds or bend someone’s will to their liking. Guilts are, in many ways, even the foundation of several “witch” superstitions. One of the most common variations of this superstition involves a guilt and human couple that dated back centuries ago. It is said that the couple had several children, and that these children spread bad blood into generations that followed, making wicked, dangerous people-- “witches.”

In actuality, most human/guilt unions—or any diverse union with a guilt—will result in children with birth defects. It is not uncommon for children born between guilts and humans/Elders to have complications of the brain, heart, or immune system, and many are stillborn or simply do not live very long or well. It isn’t impossible for relatively healthy children to be born, however it is certainly rare.

Regardless of the reason, many humans dislike guilts and have clumped them with Elders so much so that guilts are commonly referred to as Elders themselves. Humans target them just as much as any Elder throughout the purge, and show little mercy when guilts are found. The only thing keeping guilts safe and somewhat active in modern society is their identical appearance to the very creatures that wish to eradicate them.

[talesofsapiens]

Tailbones as a swear:

There is no such thing as "Hell" in the common culture of Lorn. Because of this, the word itself does not exist.

In place of the word hell, many of Lorn's residents will use the word "tailbones" or just simply "death." "Oh, tailbones, what a mess.", "Go follow tailbones for all I care!", etc. Sapiens' name may also be used in place of the word tailbones, while still implying the same general phrase. "Go follow Sapiens for all I care!'

It is said that the tip of Sapiens' tail consists of several fleshless tailbones and that, when one dies, they follow him into their next life. Through this belief, the concept of "following tailbones" in death came to be and, with it, several commonly used phrases and swears.

This is considered something of a mid-strength swear (that varies depending on the form it takes) and can invoke varied reactions from people. Children are highly deterred from using it in most, if not all forms.

[talesofsapiens]

Guilt races and appearance:

Physically, guilts are identical to human beings. While this is so, guilts are not as diverse in skin tone or other such features as humans are. Guilts tend to be slightly taller than the average human and often have less muscle mass. Like elves, they commonly have high metabolisms and are often fairly skinny and lanky because of this. Guilts vary in appearance between English, Scottish, and Spanish likeness. Humans of Lorn, on the other hand, easily vary between French, English, African, Russian, Scottish, and several smaller groups. Much of the middle class is comprised of English, Russian, and African people, whereas the lower class mainly consists of Scottish, English, and other less-populated groups. With the French Demar family's reign over much of Lorn, the wealthiest class is predominately French.

This comes as both an asset and an issue to guilts attempting to blend into human society. On one hand, the lower classes are heavily populated and easy to blend into. On another hand, the lower classes are treated with far more disdain from guards and this can cause inherent dangers.

Roger’s mother was English and part of the lower middle class, but Roger’s father was Scottish and Roger’s appearance leans towards his genes. In addition, Roger develops a mixed accent from his mother (English) and the common accent of his hometown (Scottish). Because of this, Roger is treated with much disdain when he moves to Witchen, a town known for its favorable stance in the market and high sales. (And his limp does him no justice at that.)