#staylos

[roamuniversae]

The Revenan Bloodcasters

For the last several hundred years, the magical essence of Staylos has been known to fluctuate dramatically. Magic is born and dies along with those birthed every several generations, and is known to be very unpredictable. One form of magic that has been ever-present, however, has been the natural ability of the Revenan to manipulate the blood of themselves, and those around them. This act is known as blood-casting. Not all Revenan can bloodcast, however, as it requires training and practice. Some Revenan have compared blood-casting to swimming, or reading, as they’re all capable of it, but some just haven’t learned how.

           Those who teach themselves the basics of Blood-casting, for simple convenience, or amusement, can warm or cool their blood, or make it flow faster or slower. With practice, they can somewhat dramatically control the temperature of the blood of themselves or those around them. They can make deep wounds bleed an unnaturally small amount, and shallow wounds not bleed at all. These abilities amongst all Revenan are elevated in times of high magical essence, and lowered when magical essence is low, but even when magic is all but lost to the citizens of Staylos, the Revenan generally maintain some semblance of magical ability in this regard. 

           One of the most feared castes of warriors in all of the Ennead, are the Revenan Bloodcasters. They are taught how to blood-cast, and how to fight when they are children, and are made to train and practice every day. They wield almost implausibly light weapons, and aim to only inflict small wounds on their enemies, before drawing enough blood out of them to cause a loss of consciousness, or even death. In periods of high magical-essence, some more powerful blood-casters are said to have been able to give their enemies hypothermia in the middle of summer, or heat their blood to a boil in order to kill them without even inflicting a scratch.

           Almost all Revenan soldiers, designated Bloodcasters or not, are known to use blood-casting to some degree, and so Revenan military forces are known to generally use lighter weapons as well, however their blood-casting abilities are less developed, so their weapons are still fairly practical

           This ability has more uses than just combat. All of Staylos benefits from Revenan bloodpresses. By mixing blood of miscellaneous animals with ink, Revenan with developed blood-casting abilities can create dozens of copies of the same book in a day or less. Most books which are mass-printed and fairly common throughout Staylos were printed at a bloodpress.

[roamuniversae]

Ganavan Physiological and Genetic traits

The Ganava are a rather diverse species, physiologically. Not only does the colouration and patterning of their scaled skin vary wildly from one individual to the next, but there are several traits which a Ganava can have that affect their physical appearance. Some Ganava look almost like bald, colourfully skinned humans, while others look more like human forms of the nagas they worship.

          Scale density/size One of the most apparent features of any Ganava, to a human, would be the size of their scales. Generally, each Ganava has either small, smooth scales, like a python or garden snake, that blend together into one flat, almost skin-like surface; or large, hardened, defined scales that protrude from the body, like a viper’s.

          Hoods Ganavan neck-hoods come in three variations: full-hooded, half-hooded, and unhooded. Full hoods are wider and more prevalent than half-hoods, and begin closer to the eyebrow, and run farther back the head. Half-hoods look smoother and more refined. Unhooded Ganavan heads simply look like scaled human heads.

[roamuniversae]

The Minstrel’s Academy

Although there are schools in many major cities dedicated to teaching the Bardic arts, none compare to the Minstrel’s Academy, located in the Fuhireum city of Fautos. The School itself is almost its own city, with streets, plazas, and several districts, which occupy at least thirty percent of Fautos’ total size.

           The Minstrel’s Academy is considered across Staylos to be the foremost authority on the entertainment arts, and has organized the arts into 7 different ‘Great Schools’. These would be musicry, poetry, speechcraft, performing arts, raw literature, and playwright. Each school is divided into a varying number of sub-orders, and some orders are broken down even further. Each school has an Arch-Doyen, and each order has a Doyen who oversees the teachers of each class within that category. Most issues within specific orders are dealt with by the order’s Doyen, and school-wide issues by the Arch-Doyen. Academy wide problems or decisions are dealt with via a council, which is formed by the Arch-Doyens of every school, who are led by a Grand-Chancellor, a role which is traditionally (but not always) held by Fuhireum’s Master-of-Wit.

           The Academy itself holds a great deal of power in Fuhireum, often being considered the second most powerful organization in the province, behind the Fuhireum senate. Arch-Doyens are often consulted with on important political issues, regardless of if they are a Satyr or not.

           One of the main reasons that people from all across the Ennead are drawn to the Minstrel’s Academy, would be to get a Trouper’s Rindus (Often called Trinduses outside of Fuhireum).  Rinduses are given to those who have graduated the college, and have not only shown a great deal of talent towards their designated craft(s), but also an affinity for responsibility and leadership. Rinduses are small tokens, engraved with the graduate’s name and specialization, which gives certification that they are a fully-fledged graduate of the Minstrel’s Academy. As a result, troupes led by someone with a Rindus, or with several Rindus-verified entertainers, are more readily accepted by townsfolk, less scrutinized, more appreciated, and therefore better paid, and Rindus-verified troupes often find patrons much easier than those who did not attend the Minstrel’s Academy. Rinduses don’t exclusively benefit troupes either; wandering bards, minstrels, and musicians have an easier time convincing innkeepers to let them play in their taverns, or having nobility let them play for their court. Poets, writers, and playwrights also have an easier time getting their works copied and published, if they have a Rindus.