Please Show Working (Daelathan)

A

Anguissette

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Original poster
In which I build a new world using many of the excellent lessons, exercises, questions and tutorials available on Iwaku because:

1. I'd like to.
2. They're there.
3. It may come in handy later on...

Principally for myself, though if you're interested you're very welcome to comment or chat. If I exhaust most of the available resources I may crowdsource some questions to help fill in the details.

And yes, I'll stream-of-consciousness my way through here, showing working.

I'll start with this clever guide: LESSON - How to Start World-Building
 
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1. Genesis (or, the Spark and How a World Begins)


A vision of immense stone titans that stride through the stormy worldsea, every one of them a city riddled with tunnels.

2. Ignition (or, Feeding the Spark)

Do we want an Alternate World or a New World?

I'd like a New World. Let's take this one from scratch since we'll take all the time in the world to work on it (and I'd prefer not to have the Statue of Liberty and the Colossus of Rhodes wandering around).

a. Ok. So, how does the world work?

Earthlike physics and natural laws except where otherwise stated.

One contiguous continent with an archipelago of disunited isles far enough out to sea that a self-sustaining Titanos* is the most practical means to get there*. Unknown continent on the far side of the world, theoretically reachable by Titanos but undiscovered*.

Magic exists, but far weaker than in the myths. Small tricks can be done by conjurers and charlatans alike, great workings require more energies than can reasonably be gathered by even dozens of Attuned*. Artimancers instead spend months or years imbuing magical energies into inscribed or engraved runes of the old tongue*, empowering objects to their own purposes.

Day and night cycle? Divided evenly between sun and not-sun (allowing for seasonal bias), but complicated by the presence of three moons that provide varying degrees of moonlight. Typically this leads to a period of variable length* in the middle of the night when all three moons are out, referred to as noonlight.

NB. What's with all those * you keep putting in your post?

They're plot points I'd like to expand on, or plan to ask myself another question about.
 
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b. Who lives here?

Ancient

The Aetheri are an ancient but advanced civilization long disappeared into the mists of time, but whose ruins and monuments can still be found on the continent, especially towards the western coast. There are myths and rumours of a "lost land" beyond the setting sun where they still thrive, but no archaeological evidence for this has been found.

Old

The Illumina Empire stands unchallenged astride the great continent, dominant over all within its borders but beginning to decay beneath the weight of its own civilization and corruption. Home to a striated caste system, the scions of the pale-skinned* elite jockey for power underneath the all-seeing eye of the Serene Emperor*. Even the poorest most ebon-skinned peasant however stands head and shoulders above the slaves of the other races, and in many cases even acts superior to their free.

The Selkin are a fractious collection of tribes with a strong myth culture living on and around the archipelago. They are highly amphibious although they require air to breathe and grow ill if too long outside of water. They are proud of their traditions and have previously raided the Illumina on the coast. Punitive raids have encouraged them to keep to their own territory while they still remain proudly independent.

The Biota were created by the Aetheri as an accidental byproduct of their experimentation prior to the cataclysm. After their creators disappeared these quasi-sentient plants continued to select for intelligence and evolved to full intelligence. Typically they reach this at the age of 12 years and before this age are frequently kept as pets. Biota operate socially in hive colonies, bowing to the will of the colony's mother tree (which takes root and is more arboreal). Near universally in service to the Illumina Empire, where common Biota act as domestic servants.

New

The Human Community arrived as refugees* two generations ago, and only a few still live who remember the journey. The Illumina granted them asylum and settlement rights, but over the years this has increasingly become a form of bondage as the Humans' population climbs. While most humans remain free, they are often a very attractive choice of slave for the Illumina notables, many of whom seize on any opportunity to twist the law to their satisfaction.

The Rockin were the Illumina answer to the Biota, magically enhanced golems designed for independence of thought although with imperfect success. They are used for labour duties in the Illumina Empire, their craggy resilience touted as far superior to the Aetheri discovery. No known cases of independent action (although they are starting to wake up). Rocky exterior covered in Artimantic runes, requires regular maintenance.
 
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c. What are Titanos?

Behemoth, Leviathan, monolithic sculptures carved out of the magically active western continental coastal rock and attuned with Artimantic runes, typically years of work for hundreds of Attuned and thousands of workers. The smallest of these are over twenty metres tall and used in coastal waters only. The largest (the eponymous Titanos) stands fully 8.6 km in height, fully a city in motion with fishing nets trawling from her arms to reinforce her self-sufficiency. Titanos are not designed to submerge for long (if at all), and are intended to remain in contact with the ocean floor at all times. While any Titanos has an active crew dedicated to its operation and Reattunement, most play host to a citizen population as well. There are no reported incidents (outside of sea stories) of Titanos gaining even the limited understanding of the Rockin.

Titanos are generally commissioned by the Imperial Court, but some powerful noble houses have commissioned their own as a sign of their wealth and there are no restrictions against this.

Titanos are not armed.
 
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d. How else can people get to the archipelago?

By ship. It's a couple of months each way and the locals rarely let strangers replenish their food there (which limits how much the ships can carry aside from food) but enterprising traders still make the journey from time to time. The locals are touchy at best so it's a definite risk, but more than one merchant prince made his or her start with a cargo of rare goods from over the sea.

e. Does anyone live on the archipelago?

The Selkin tribes do, seven tribes in all. Six of them have their own island while the seventh is divided among three smaller islands. There is one island with a ruined structure* on it that is generally uninhabited, but plays host to the Selkin Council when the tribes need to consider matters and come to a united decision*. Despite some generous gifts*, the Selkin as a whole have resisted any attempt to establish a permanent Illumina presence on the archipelago and merchants are forbidden from setting foot on the islands except under armed escort for their safety.

f. Why is the unknown continent?

g. What are the Attuned?

h. What is the old tongue? Where did it come from?

i. How do people know the variable length of noonlight/seasons/tides?

j. What about air travel?

k. What is the Illumina fascination with skin colour?

l. Who is the Serene Emperor? How are they chosen?

m. What happened when the Human refugees arrived?

n. What is known about the ruined structure on the Council Isle?

o. What was the last united decision of the Selkin Council?

p. What gifts do the Selkin value? Why gifts and not bribes?