Speaking of kings, I had originally concepted them as using the King appellation, but somewhere in there I had the impulse to use the title of Thane... but that doesn't really carry the same authority, which bums me out.
This is off the top of my head, but what if we play into green's view of the food chain to play in with your impulse to use the title Thane. What if "Thane" is the highest a mortal elf can obtain, because *something* else is always higher? Now, that *something* can be almost anything, spirits, gods, forces of nature, whatever, but the title of "Thane" implies authority of other mortals, but subservience to a greater force.
This also sets up an interesting possible story of an Elf heretic declaring himself "King."
This is off the top of my head, but what if we play into green's view of the food chain to play in with your impulse to use the title Thane. What if "Thane" is the highest a mortal elf can obtain, because *something* else is always higher? Now, that *something* can be almost anything, spirits, gods, forces of nature, whatever, but the title of "Thane" implies authority of other mortals, but subservience to a greater force.
This also sets up an interesting possible story of an Elf heretic declaring himself "King."
What do you think?
That kind of clashes with their focus so deeply on the natural and substantive rather than the supernatural and ephemeral. The way I've set them up, they really have a strange sort of worldly based spiritualism rather than any concept of greater forces that you cannot touch. I'm even seeing them as having something of a fatalism that the world is the only thing that exists, that there is no afterlife. It could make for some interesting views on ghosts as beings with some anchor still in the world, but that does kind of slide out of green.... or maybe not. Hm... I mean, spirit does tend to run into all colors, though green just rarely gets them, but it would help to distinguish them somewhat on this world. Mmmm think it's food for thought, but I'm not sold enough to commit right now. Of course, that's still a step removed from the elves.
Anyways, the main reason I wanted to use Thane is because it is culturally meaningful. It has a specific origin that hasn't seeped into the general awareness and diluted. With all the focus on totems and the like, I've gotten the inuit influence in, but I think it overwhelms some of the other overtures I was trying to build in. I'm going to try to use Irish names, and I'd like a little touch of Nordic influences, but those are on the backburner.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
Well, it doesn't have to be something ephemeral, it could certainly be something like the earth itself (well, the ground, anyway.) Of course, there's really no reason you can't use it as the top title without further explanation. I don't think it's a particular problem.
Well, it doesn't have to be something ephemeral, it could certainly be something like the earth itself (well, the ground, anyway.) Of course, there's really no reason you can't use it as the top title without further explanation. I don't think it's a particular problem.
Eh, it's not a huge deal to have a being called the Elf King. It has a certain ring to it... particularly as the more I think about it, the elves in magic don't really have any royal structure. They seem to either bow to something that isn't an elf or rule by consensus.
Anyways, even believing the planet is a higher power isn't grounded enough for them. They're VERY material.
CRUD, you just reminded me I didn't include one section in the elf synopsis. They're staunchly opposed to lying. They have a serious truth fetish, and it is a serious serious offense to lie to an elf. They virtually don't even think of doing so, even though they are capable of it, as evidenced by the usurpers trying to gain the crown in history. Yeah, they were killed for their part in that.
Ugh... now I have to find somewhere to place all that. I could really use a suggestion for that.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
Hmm, I would have to think about that. Maybe this one is would be better served by an anecdotal description rather than a meta one? Similar to your description of the vampire origin. Failing that, a description of their dedication to the truth could simply be attached to near the end, with the story of the crown coming in as an example.
Hmm, I would have to think about that. Maybe this one is would be better served by an anecdotal description rather than a meta one? Similar to your description of the vampire origin. Failing that, a description of their dedication to the truth could simply be attached to near the end, with the story of the crown coming in as an example.
I think I might be able to segue it off of the talk about how they tame elk by having a bridge about knights in there somewhere. I don't think it's a good idea to cross the crown/amber stuff with this other.
I'll see what I can get typed up later after work today.
At some point I'm going to have to cover the other icons besides dragons. Which means I'd still need a litmus on how people react to Kirin. As well as the previous question posed about the inclusion of Viscerid as blue's midrange.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
And the notion of Mammoths as the Icon of green still strikes me as a good suggestion (can't remember who offered that idea). Particularly if you up their size to be like small hills, basically--huge, lumbering, tectonic entities emerging out of the snow and fog... I really dig that visual basically.
If not, though, Kirin could work fine. It's a pretty radical change but one that I'm confident you could work in.
I love everything about this plane so far. This really speaks to me somehow more than any of your previous planes, even. For something that seems to be coming so rapidly to you, it's some of your best work.
Truthfully, and kind of amusingly, the reason why Viscerid came up is because of... crab fishing reality tv shows. Since those take place in such dangerous waters far in the north, I thought it an appropriate fantasy adaptation.
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And the notion of Mammoths as the Icon of green still strikes me as a good suggestion (can't remember who offered that idea). Particularly if you up their size to be like small hills, basically--huge, lumbering, tectonic entities emerging out of the snow and fog... I really dig that visual basically.
If not, though, Kirin could work fine. It's a pretty radical change but one that I'm confident you could work in.
Well, mammoth totally are in, including probably a mammoth harness but the way elephants straddle two colors makes it an uncomfortable fit for me as an icon. But on a greater note, it's because they aren't really magical. All the other icons have some aspect that makes them magical in one way or another. The reason for that is because I want to make a story for each of the icon's impact on the world, just like with the vampire and demon. I have something vaguely in mind for each of them... except green, of course.
The Kirin is meant to tie in some of the other eastern influences that came with the Yeti.
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I love everything about this plane so far. This really speaks to me somehow more than any of your previous planes, even. For something that seems to be coming so rapidly to you, it's some of your best work.
Thank you. Really, I mean it. It means a lot to me that people are finding it to be a resonant place.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
To get a little in the ways of more cultural resonance in the elvish quintant, I decided that it would be a good idea to create a number of artifacts similar to the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann and the three treasures of Japan. This ties in a little of both the celtic influences as well as some of the far eastern. I think I'm going to settle for 6 treasures, possibly linking all the way back to the formation of the Elfin kingdom, the uniting of their people under the rule of the one king.
The Stag's Crown clearly has to be one of them, resonating as both a stand in for the Magatama and the Lia Fáil. Since swords play into both, we'll find some way to include a sword, if even not two.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
In aeons long past, there rose an empire of man built upon the backs of others. From each of the races, they drew tribute and demanded servitude, but none were so abused by the tyranny of man as the fae. The cruel men hunted the faefolk mercilessly and used them as little more than light and distractions, conjuring their pretty lights for the bemusement of nobles. Moons passed relentlessly and the fae slowly ebbed ever closer to their nadir. The hearts of man proved colder to their suffering than the deepest winter storm. Amidst the multitude of the enslaved, there dreamt one who wished for nothing more than to be free, unbound by the shackles of others and beholden to none.
Serisa sat upon the floor of her cold stone cage, staring at the stars far above as they wheeled across the vault of the heavens, and with each pass of the moon she felt her own life ebb away. She could not remember when last she ate, though surely she must have, but it never truly filled her. The only thing that marked the time outside the dance of the distant stars was the emperor's visit to her prison. He would come to her before his rest and ask her to make for him something beautiful. The time ran further still each time as she was treated as little more than novelty. So time passed and she further waned, her wish the only strength remaining.
There seemed but one last trick she could try, to glamor the cage itself, to fool the emperor for her release. However, in her weakness, she could not judge her desperation, and with the last breath of her power, the illusion gained such weight that it ceased to be so. In her fevered need, Serisa had changed what was to what she wished it to be. With a weak pulse, she rose from her cage and escaped into the night, tossed upon the zephyrs and into the stars above.
Serisa rode the winds towards the moons until unfamiliar stars swam before her eyes. She felt at last the sweet kiss of freedom, but it was not to be. Landing far below, she wished terribly that her freedom was not so short lived, to have tasted it so shortly before she died. To her immense relief, life flooded her tiny form and the last thought she had before drifting off to a blessed sleep was one of shock. When Serisa awoke, her surprise was overwhelming, but so too her curiosity. She felt drawn above and with a thrum of her wings, she soared into the clouds, frost riming her delicate being as she climbed every higher until at last she broke the high canopies of the overcast. There in the light of the moons and stars, she saw a figure dancing in the pale light.
"So you have finally found truth, child." the djinn spoke, his voice like the susurrus of the wind. "I have given you freedom and life and should you choose, I have but one boon left for you. Tell me, my little fae, what is your heart's truest wish?"
Serisa floated before him and thought back to those long hours lost in her cage, forced to meet the whims of a petty tyrant. There was but one thing she wished, and the djinn smiled all too wisely.
"I wish to have power so that I will never be bound by another again." Serisa pleaded. The djinn's smile became a ragged thing and the clouds rose to cocoon the tiny fae. She fell through the cloud and emerged a blazing star, wrapped in a nimbus of light that dwarfed that which she was. A mantle of cold power settled across her and she was made anew. She stood tall, a wisp of impossible grace and might. Her skin the palest of winter, her hair the silver of stars. Her locks blew in a breeze all her own. Serisa gasped and even in the chill of the air, her sigh was far colder than the blizzard around her.
She could think of only one thing to do. She returned to whence she escaped. The guards stood aside as she approached the gate, mesmerized by her beauty and driven to their knees. So it was as she strode the castle, looking upon her captors and tormentors as they bowed at her passing. Each step spread the glaze of frost upon the hall. At last she passed through the doors to the Emperor's court and all but her truest bane fell before her ethereal allure. The emperor stood from his throne and approached this intruder in his court. He stood eye to eye with the object of his obsession and scowled.
"I will not have this challenge in my court. My subjects are mine alone. I care not who you are nor how beauteous you may be. I demand you remove yourself from my presence!" the emperor raged. Serisa coldly watched and with a single flourish of her hand, granted the king's desire. He vanished as simply as that and all throughout the castle, subjects and servants alike went with him, leaving only piles of clothes where once stood people. Serisa banished them to the icy wastes, thinking the cold suited the warmth of their hearts. She left the castle then, and as she passed, the cages of the fae became brittle with ice and shattered, a brilliant tail of weaving light leaving the castle far behind.
The empire of man fell shortly after, and moons passed as kingdoms rose and fell across the world. It all passed by so quickly to Serisa, but she could not find the freedom so dreamt of in years past. You see, her power drew her kind, and like or not they came to her in swarms. She created a palace, hewn from ice and illusion to stand tall in the night, and there she sought to rest from the demands forced upon her. Without ever really meaning to, she became the queen of the fae.
For the first time ever, the fae were united, but for all the power she had, there were none like her. None that she could speak to, to help share the burdens she now felt. The longer it went on, the colder she became, more withdrawn from the world, and each moon made her heart ache with the loneliness of her rule.
Centuries after she had met the djinn, he visited her in the brilliant shimmering palace. He came upon the storm's wind, blowing her hair to and fro as she stood alone on the balcony.
"You seem so sad, my lady. Has your wish not given you what you desired?"
"No. For all my power, I never wanted this, and yet I cannot escape. This is not what I wished for at all."
"True. You wished to be beholden to none, and I have granted that wish." the djinn's smile became ragged once more, and he vanished into the winds. His voice echoed as he departed. "You are beholden to none save that which I granted you. It has given you everything you desired. You are now free, but freedom is not what you thought it would be."
And with that cold truth, the faerie queen stood alone again, shedding a single frozen tear.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
To get a little in the ways of more cultural resonance in the elvish quintant, I decided that it would be a good idea to create a number of artifacts similar to the four treasures of the Tuatha de Danann and the three treasures of Japan. This ties in a little of both the celtic influences as well as some of the far eastern. I think I'm going to settle for 6 treasures, possibly linking all the way back to the formation of the Elfin kingdom, the uniting of their people under the rule of the one king.
The Stag's Crown clearly has to be one of them, resonating as both a stand in for the Magatama and the Lia Fáil. Since swords play into both, we'll find some way to include a sword, if even not two.
I would imagine a staff would be a good idea for one of them, as something that is simultaneously symbolic and practical (walking staff). With all the cold and wind and so forth, I would think some sort of garment is a good idea, like a cloak or robe or something like that. Considering they ride, maybe some sort of bridle or harness? Even if they ride bareback, it could be symbolic to them. And the obvious one, with a totemic-based culture, would be some sort of totem, though that may be a bit 'on the nose.'
I'll read and give you my impression of the Faerie Queen piece when I have the time (I'm giving my finals today.)
I think you want "amusement" rather than "bemusement."
Other than that, I like it. I love the parallelism with the origin of the vampires. I on some level almost feel like the tie in to the ice isn't quite as organic as that of the vampires... like, for them it just felt right that they should be cold in addition to being dead. The coldness here feels a little forced somehow, but I'm not sure how I could characterize that that forcededness...
Other than that, I like it. I love the parallelism with the origin of the vampires. I on some level almost feel like the tie in to the ice isn't quite as organic as that of the vampires... like, for them it just felt right that they should be cold in addition to being dead. The coldness here feels a little forced somehow, but I'm not sure how I could characterize that that forcededness...
I do think I know what you mean, and that's partly because I had an end result that I wanted and had to find some way to get there. It definitely was less natural than the vampire, but I plugged away at it to try to get there. I could almost certainly find some way to tie it closer, though not from the djinn. It'd have to be some way in the "how" of how she became what she is rather than the why. It's certainly not as polished, so I'm totally up for suggestions.
What I really do like though, is how layered the fable's morals are, because it's really rife with them.
And yeah, the parallelism was really sharp, but it's something I'm going to try to do for each of the icons if I can. I think the Angels will be next in that line. I have the basis laid for the dragons and the red wizards, but not the circumstances, so that's... vexing.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
I would imagine a staff would be a good idea for one of them, as something that is simultaneously symbolic and practical (walking staff). With all the cold and wind and so forth, I would think some sort of garment is a good idea, like a cloak or robe or something like that. Considering they ride, maybe some sort of bridle or harness? Even if they ride bareback, it could be symbolic to them. And the obvious one, with a totemic-based culture, would be some sort of totem, though that may be a bit 'on the nose.'
Urgh... Sorry, I kind forgot to respond to this with my previous post.
I did consider a staff, but I think it might be more interesting to make a spear haft, like the head isn't important, it's the wood that is. I was toying with ideas regarding the swords, and I think one of them should be a legendary magic blade that supposedly belonged to the first knight. It has a good sense of history to it, though I don't know what sort of power it should have. Also, considering they have mead, a little homage to the Norse Mead of Poetry might be a good idea, though I think it'd be advisable to mix that, perhaps, with the Dagda's cauldron o' plenty. Have some sort of goblet or such. Totems are definitely out since it would diffuse too poorly through the culture.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
Just as a progress report, I expect to get the faerie section up later today, as well as the white humans. In particular, the white human has helped me to kind of gel the ideas of how humans are going to meet their color presence. I'm not going to focus on individual cultures or try to develop some rivalry amidst humans, but the colors will naturally grow out of occupations that they possess. But with that being said, I'm looking at it and seeing a clear divide coming into focus. With two continents, we have two different sorts of cultures arising across the fjord and straits parting the two. But I'm going to try very hard for color to actually not play a factor in how each of those people's rose. Instead, I'm going to try my best to play on the urban and rural divide. With that said, black is giving me SUCH a problem.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
The Bjørn Ridder Out in the frosted plains, where demons dare to tread and dragons burst from ashen snow, it is a world apart from the peaceful interiors and high stone cities of the mountains. In those lands, bordering the wastes, there is little comfort but the companionship you bring. There is a sect of knights whose sworn duty it is to ride those frontiers, shielding the civilized lands as best they can. They are the Bjørn Ridder: The Bear Knights.
They take their names, of course, from the massive polar bears that act as mount and partner in those frozen lands. The bears are chosen as cubs and raised by their rider, trained as diligently and armored as well the knights they protect. The bears go through several sets of iron armor throughout their lives, custom fitted as they grow. There are entire foundries dedicated alone to the outfitting of the bears and their riders, all part of a network scattered through the major cities meant to support the brave men and women. These foundries are often located near the barracks meant to house the riders who have come in. The barracks house people from throughout the territories as they ride along a massive circuit, resting for a month and then departing for another, only coming in for supplies. Often times the knights will travel in a sleuth, a group of four to six, but it is not unusual for a rider and his bear to ride alone across the gelid wilds, depending solely upon the other.
Nobody is quite sure any longer of when the Order started, but they've been at it for as least as long as there has been iron armor, dating back centuries in the least. It is massively expensive to fund such an order, as metal is hardly bountiful, but they often are paid in their downtime away from patrols to supplement the city guards or escort caravans along the trails, though this has made them somewhat unpopular with the free companies of men who make their living doing exactly that. While on patrol, they often carry letters from one city to the next, as their travels demand.
The closest thing to an ally the bear knight's have outside the cities is surprisingly the Yeti, though they it is a wary relationship. The Yeti respect the strength they demonstrate, and overall, the knights better understand the harsh demands of the wilderness better than the city dwellers such as the Vulpin. The bear riders all have a staunch code that they live by, but unlike other knights of other lands, it is not a code born of honor, but of survival, of the fierce demands placed upon them as they wage war against the scourges of the borders.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
...Of course there are bear knights. I don't know what else I was expecting.
... can't tell if sarcastic or not.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
Remember when Bear Cavalry was a thing on this here Internet? Those were the days. Days of horror and fire and blood.
Not just bear knights. Dragon-fightin', vampire-slaying, demon-huntin' bear knights! ... I seriously want to make a few cards for them. I'm kind of drunk on mead right now, so I don't think I'm going to be able to hammer out the faerie synopsis tonight.
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At twilight's end, the shadow's crossed / a new world birthed, the elder lost. Yet on the morn we wake to find / that mem'ry left so far behind. To deafened ears we ask, unseen / "Which is life and which the dream?"
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