Denizens of The Sunken: Type Wheel, KEMC Diamond, and Habitats
Some researchers have asked what all the graphic icons in our encyclopedia entries mean. The following document should explain them all.
PART 1: THE TYPE WHEEL
The creatures populating the Sunken Island can be classified under ten (eleven) different Types, and five (six) different Cores. This diagram illustrates the relationships between Types and Cores.
The inner wheel contains Cores, the intrinsic origins of a creature. The outer wheel contains Types, the modes of a creature’s existence. Cores have certain Types associated with them, though a creature may deviate from these common links entirely.
Cores:
MUTANT: Life as we know it, twisting and accelerating beyond explanation.
UNDEAD: That which is no longer alive, echoes clinging to this world.
EGREGORE: Collective concepts brought to life, human ideas.
CRAFTED: That which was deliberately built, taking on life of its own.
HAZARD: Life inimical to other life, parasites, forces of nature.
Types:
VERMIN: Beasts. That which scurries, scratches, consumes. The rage of a thousand cornered rats.
WEED: That for which growth and movement are one and the same. Plants. Fungi. Sessile animals.
SHELL: Corporeal undead. Cadavers. Dust. Fossils. Rot. Food.
SOUL: Incorporeal undead. Ghosts, grudges, hauntings. Aftershocks of history.
RUMOR: Beings born from whispers. Legends. Cryptids. Bogeymen. Fear. Uncertainty given flesh.
DOGMA: Beings born from rules. Philosophy. Religion. Information. Code. Conviction given flesh.
MECH: Automata. Mechanical monsters free to self-replicate, free from their origins in human factories.
CHEM: Homunculi. Chemical processes running rampant. Water, salts, fuel, coarse stone, refined crystals.
PHYSIC: Forces of nature. Extreme heat and cold. Storms. Blunt impact. Distant stars. Disasters passively harmful to life.
PLAGUE: Invaders. Parasites. Infections. Consumers from within. Pestilence actively harmful to life.
Blank:
A Type and a Core at the same time, Blank is defined by absence. Some would call this a 'normal' or 'neutral' attribute, but there is nothing normal about a creature devoid of an identity. What little unites these Denizens involves empty vacuums, blistering cold, and unfilled vessels. Blank creatures are rare, and they tend to behave oddly when exposed to other life forms.
-----
PART 2: THE KEMC DIAMOND
Damage varieties:
All Denizens have the ability to inflict harm on others. That includes you, reader. Please familiarize yourself with the risks inherent to field research before going outside to catalogue the wildlife.
KINETIC: Harm inflicted with physical means, such as claws, fists, fangs, or infection. By far the simplest form of danger to understand, but no less deadly.
ENERGY: Harm inflicted by emitting high levels of energy through comparatively small amounts of mass. This may take the form of fire, electricity, radiation, among others.
COGNITIVE: Harm inflicted by assaulting the mind and senses. Creating illusions, manipulating emotions, and altering memories all fall under this category.
METAPHYSICAL: Harm inflicted by locally rewriting the rules of reality. What was fiction a moment ago is now a fact of life, and yesterday's laws of physics are today's fairy tales.
-----
PART 3: HABITATS
The icons above represent the various environments a Denizen may call home. The Sunken Island is very humid and situated well within the tropics, so many habitats such as deserts and glaciers have never been present here. Other icons may be added to the Denizen Encyclopedia if those presented are insufficient.
-----
That should cover everything, for now. If you have any other questions, please direct them my way!
-Dr. Calypso Ceiba, Postdoctoral ecologist for the Denizen Project
