Ahhhh, the 31st post. Time to look back and reflect on what has come and gone while I pull strings from my brain and twine them into threads on wotc.
I should probably be a little more strait forward about "where this is going" :embarrass people have asked after all - and I responded with casual flippancy - as I find amusing. What I find funny - others might find offending, but thems the breaks eh?
Its a bookstore. On this bookstore is a couple of scripts, a short story, and the appendix/outline and forwards of the book that you are here in this thread reviewing. Yes - I am serious. I am planning on turning this into something I am planning on selling. Map makers? Artists? Anyone who wants to get pro cred and (if/when by some act of fortune) MONEYS!
I am totally serious about this - not only am I so totally serious about this that not only can you lay money on the fact that the majority of what you see here is going to appear in the book titled "A Wonderful World, Bestiary" (barring death by disaster - just to be precise), I would also like to proposition those of you with some amount of editorial bent.
Anyone who considers themselves good with a red marker, anyone who appreciates just how many people appear on the inside cover of published game books, and anyone who would like to get their name on a well put together and well edited sample of work,
I need some help. I can't do this all on my own. I am at this point specifically looking for editors. Anyone reading this respectfully invited to select from any of the pieces already posted and ... well ... edit them. Spelling, grammar, flow, even content editing is welcome.
If you perform any editorial tasks (even critique commentary) please include a reference as to how you should be listed in the legal section of the completed work. If you would prefer to remain publicly anonymous (here at wotc-public) please state; "leave my name off" or "use my forum name in the 'special thanks to' section" alternatively you could send me a PM with your listing info - and have it simply appear in the list of editors in the final product).
I am willing to entertain concepts inspired by the work as a whole. Don't be scared to throw something out there - I might like it. I am a pretty agreeable guy. I will most likely be modified, edited, rewritten, and reworked .... buu'ut .... you should be ready for something like that to happen to your writing. If you want to be professional about it anyway.
The highest of the high skies. So called seat of the dragon gods. Above even the moon and the font of the deluge there is an island that none can honestly claim to have reached. There are those that claim they have been to Dragon's Home Island. Legends speak of these hearty adventurers, but surely they must lie. No one legend agrees with the other. The tale of Cinder Sailmistress claims that on the surface of Dragon's Home there is a vast city, larger even than the Imperial City. The stories of Gerna, Gnome Trader claims the opposite - not city but endless fields plowed by dragons. Many tales tell many stories, and not one of them agrees. The only way even two of the stories could be true is if Dragon's Home Island changed its face for each visitor. Such a thing would be wondrous indeed, but most likely impossible.
That which is known is that Dragon's will never speak of what is on Dragon's Home. Over the century cycles of Dragons Falling and Rising some of the dragon kind descend from the island, and some ascend to depart from the world forever. Nevertheless they will not speak of what is upon the island. They will however speak of what is above the Dragon's Home Island - the True font of the deluge. Most that sail the high skies have seen the font. A hole in the sky directly below the lowermost underpeak of Dragon's Home. There on that crag is a small shrine. Too small for a ship to land, but not too small for those with flight to reach. From this shrine a seeker may look down to the flipside of the font and see any place in the entire world save the surface of Dragon's Home or the Pure Lands themselves.
According to the Dragons the font of the deluge that is seen below the fountain shrine is a mirror of the true font. The true font, they say, is above the Dragon's Home Island. The font below is a portal that the eldest of the dragons (those more aged and powerful than the dragon elders that rule the elements and the mists of the world below the Dragon's Home Island) use to transfer the endless waters of the font where they need to go. According to the dragons the font is endless. The water that falls from the font below the shrine is carefully measured for the well being of the world. Excess waters are sent to the bottom of the world and fill the endless sea. The truth or lie of these tales is impossible to say - for who can question what comes from dragon's mouth?
• Keiron (light) High Skies • Fieron (flame) Mid and Low Skies • Volturon (stone) Mid Low and Bottom Land • Icthyron (water) Low Sky and Bottom Land • Emuron (forests big flightless) Land Based • Rhearon (plains small flightless) Land Based • Bog Born
• Two Legs • Four Legs • Doomsayers • Sting Tails • Araneas (dopplegangers) • Daritaurn (Drider) 2. (alligator/crocodile) Lizardfolk 3. (mantis/grasshopper) 4. Naga • Anknaga • Centipedial • Two Arms • Many Arms • Behirish • Salamander
The Masters of the Sea. Oft Called Water Mans. The Thalians are the most populous Mans of the seas. Unlike Mans that live on the land and venture out into the seas the Thalians do not sail in boats. The Thalians live in a most amazing and unique form of city. Their cities are made of crystal. The famed crystal cities of the Thalians are actually alive. The cities are ever changing as the crystal grows over time. The most important profession amongst the Thalians is the art of singing crystal. Without the Crystal singers the city walls would grow uncontrolled and eventually open a vent from which water could cascade into the city and sink the entire settlement. Those born with the gift to sing crystal are given the very best the city has to offer, and are the symbolic leaders of the Thalians.
For the most part Thalian crystal cities do not interact with the surface world hardly at all. Most of their trade is done with sea born races such as the Malenti (Sea Elendi) and even some with the Haggan. The Thalian cities may sink deep into the waters to harvest goods from fallen ships. There are also deep sea cities that have attached themselves to mines on the bottom of the world. These deep sea mines are the Thalians most well protected settlements as the Haggan hoards are most interested in taking possession of ready made sources of metal. The Thalians are technically Imperials, but are rare to attend any form of Imperial councils on the bottom lands. Similar to the Malenti the Thalians see themselves as beyond the reach of the normal Imperial business. Disputes between the Thalians and the Malenti are handled differently than the way that Land and Sky dwelling Imperials handle such matters.
Thalians harvest mostly fish and sea plants for their food. They, like all Mans, are capable of eating nearly anything. The one thing that defines their diet is availability. There are certain plants that the Thalians are able to grow on the very crystal that makes up their city, but most of their vegetable and fruit are gotten through trade with the Malenti. The Malenti, like the Haggan, are mostly interested in the weapons of worked metal and crystal that the Thalians produce. When trading with the Imperial cultures that are willing to venture out to sea to meet with a Thalian crystal city when it surfaces seasonally the prize that most seek is the very crystal that makes up the city. The living crystal has one particular trait that makes it invaluable to those that travel the waters of the world. Placing a shard of the crystal inside your mouth allows you to breath water as though it were air for nearly an hour before the crystal dissolves.
Traveling to a Thalian city is far easier than attempting to visit the Malenti. Furthermore, visiting a Thalian city is most often the first step in attempting to meet with the Malenti. Thalian cities surface twice a year, depending on their city's calender. Due to ancient trading arrangements with their Imperial cousins the Thalians will always surface at the same location so that trade is made easier. Those that wish to visit a Thalian city for longer than a couple of weeks as they make trade with the surface, and enjoy the open air, are in for an extended duration. Six or seven months will pass while the Thalian city travels under the surface of the sea. Beyond that, the Thalians are remarkably Imperial. Customs and language are mostly familiar, save that the crystal singers are granted the deference that most would apply only to Kings and High Councilmen.
In the rather rare case that a retinue of Thalian nobility should attend your court the most proper thing to do is treat them as you would any other Imperial guest. The Thalians are Mans, and appreciate novelty in their dining. They live their entire life on a diet of fish and will rather enjoy whatever local delicacy your province or kingdom has to offer. Noble Thalians are as well versed in the matters of court and council as any Imperial house, and should you consider it judicious to be pointedly tactful the exploits of the Thalian houses are readily available from Imperial scribes. The most common mistake in diplomacy with the Thalians is in accidentally treating them as you would the Malenti. Thalians are most certainly Malenti - despite their common relations with them.
The household invader. The treasure that eats you. These creatures, if they can truly be called as such, are to be found throughout the known world seemingly without rhyme or reason. What was once a common item is at some point replaced with one of these creatures. They have to date refused to be diplomatic to the point of even giving a common name for their species, and are most often referred to as "the mimics" by those that have run afoul of them. They are carnivorous, and extremely dangerous to any who come upon them. They are categorized as mud born for our purposes. Interestingly a single mimic is not single at all, but in actuality a colony of creatures. Their "hive" nature is what allows them to take on the various forms they are to be found impersonating.
The Mimic is in reality a teeming mass of small shelled creatures smaller than a firefly. The creatures that make up the mimic are so small that they are impossible to see with the unaided eye. Those that have examined the remains of a fallen mimic have noted that the remains of the creature are capable of movement and have found that barring fire or acid the colony of creatures will regroup and become a new mimic. The ecology of these tiny creatures is such that they work together to locate a an object they are able to subsume. In the process of enveloping the object they gain a small amount of sustenance, more if the object is organic such as a wooden chest or barrel and less if it is inorganic such as a statue, but their primary motivation for subsuming the object is to lure a living creature near them.
Once an object has been subsumed the mimic hive creature will wait for the arrival of a living creature. A well fed mimic will wait until the creature touches the object. Once the unsuspecting victim touches the object the mimic will expend the energy to attempt to catch hold of the creature. Some mimics must exist out in the wilderness amongst the tangler trees, but they would be hard to identify. The Mimics most speak of are those that have found their way into storehouses and treasuries. The most notable legends of mimics are told regarding that most uncommon of mimic - the ones that have taken the form of statues out in public. They benefit from the fact that people regularly approach and touch statues, but they suffer from the fact that they are easily detected if they fail to keep careful watch over who is watching when they attempt to devour their victim.
Attempting to speak with a Mimic is an exercise in futility and frustration. Most often the mimic will simply ignore you an attempt to eat you. Occasionally a especially urbane mimic will be willing to speak with you, with the sole purpose being to convince you to bring victims for it to devour. Those Mimics that do speak invariably speak in a plural "we" when referring to itself. This facet of the rare communication with the Mimic species is what lead to the discovery that the Mimic is in fact a hive being, and not a shapechanger. Those with dark hearts have been known to use Mimics and their endless appetite as a way of disposing of bodies. The Revalians, are notable examples of those that do so.
"A Mimic in your court" is a saying that comes in and out of favor over the years. Usually referring to someone masquerading as a diplomat of another nation when they are in fact a rouge. The idea of actually entertaining diplomatic negotiations with a race of creatures that seeks nothing more than to devour as much living flesh as possible is simply unconscionable. Not even the Revalians keep Mimics in a diplomatic sense. The Mimics held in the darkest dungeons of the Revalian keep are there expressly for their disposal capacity. The only "diplomacy" any other need concern themselves with is fire and acid. In one of the two lies the answer to any negotiations with Mimics.
When a soul cannot rest, or will not. The souls of those that were not properly interred rise to haunt the area that their remains reside in. In civilized realms wraiths are almost unheard of. In the wilderness and in certain realms they are far too common. Should someone die in the wilderness for any reason they will most certainly raise as a wraith. Hence the civilized Mans natural fear of traveling through most wilderness. In some of the less civilized regions of the Empire the dead are not properly cared for and in these realms they are plagued with these angry dead. The Taurn and the Orcnin deal with wraith in a fashion that most Imperials would find repulsive, however they do so for reasons they consider adequate.
The great roads of the Bottom Lands were originally created to protect travelers from the countless wraiths that plague the expanses of the Bottom Lands. Perhaps it is the Empire's own fault as their ancient form of execution was to simply toss an offender over the ridge and allow them to fall to their death. It was these angry spirits that most thoroughly vexed the original expeditions to the Bottom Lands and provoked the ancient Imperial archonists to create the great roads and enchant them so that wraiths, as well as other creatures such as the Orcnin, could not set foot upon them.
Regions such as Reval have taken to dealing with the angry dead in much the same fashion that the Taurn and the Orcnin do. Instead of interring their dead in a proper fashion - binding their souls to the greater powers and releasing them properly from their material shell - the Taurn, the Orcnin, and some Bottom Lands Imperial houses have taken up the practice of binding the souls to service. Upon death the souls is captured in a gemstone imbued with Arconistic power. This bound souls is doomed to be a servitor to the gemstone's owner much as the Genies are. Their only hope for release being the destruction of the stone.
A wraith as a guest is unlikely. They may maraud your house but not in any fashion that resembles pleasant company. The problem most certainly stems from a wraith inability to perceive the present properly. A wraith will always recognize those around it as being those that were present when it was killed. Some shadow of recognition may glimmer in the dead soul, but not hardly enough to alter its behavior. The only types of wraith safe to keep around uncontained are those that died of simple causes such as food poisoning or accident. Those that were murdered or mauled by dire beasts are a threat to all those who come near. Those that died of accident are often still quite annoying as they are prone to wailing for unending hours.
Should you find a wraith and desire to do something about it the most simple process it to contain it within a gemstone much as the Revalians do. This fact alone is the reason that the laws allow that particular arconistic ritual to this day. Without the simple yet powerful ritual of containing wraiths in imbued stones many of the greatest Imperial houses would be haunted to this day. More difficult, yet better for the soul in the long view, is a ritualized internment. The longer the remains have been left to the elementals the more difficult it becomes to complete the ritual, but nonetheless interring the body of the wraith will at the very worst contain the wraith to the proper area of your city or village - the graveyard.
Ronians without wings. The giant chickens of the Bottom Lands. The Emurons are perhaps the most civilized and powerful breed of Ronians in the world. Their agricultural industry is one of the most powerful on the Bottom Lands. They build cities that outshine any created by their sky born cousins. They maintain a form of communication between the Orcnin tribes, the sea faring peoples, the pridelanders, and the crosslanders. While technically Pridelanders the Emurons stand apart from the Taurn much as their sky born cousins hold themselves apart from sky lander societies.
When the Imperial expeditionary forces found themselves setting out across what would later come to be named the Pride Lands they found the Emurons waiting for them. Their cities simple yet shining examples of intelligent architecture. The Emurons offered them hospitality and served them the delicacy of their red potatoes. The first time an Imperial had ever eaten such a thing. Hard to imagine the Empire without potatoes, but they were cultivated first by the Emurons. In a classic example of Emuron diplomacy the Emurons not only aided the Imperial Expeditionary forces across the pridelands to the Goval region, but they demanded that the humble potato forever remain a symbol of their alliance with the Empire.
Emurons and other Ronians have a strange relationship. Whereas most Ronian tribes of the skies are tacitly anti-Empire, and in some cases openly hostile to the Empire, the Emurons have always defended the Empire while at the sametime never officially joining it. Perhaps it is as they say "Ronians are Ronians and nothing else" but despite their refusal to form an Imperial house and council the Emurons have never openly warred with any Imperial house. They have remained cordial relations with all the major powers of the Bottom Lands save for the Darians and Formians. The simple yet elegant people seem content to remain tucked along the shores of the Bottom Lands. Living both on the plains and in the waters of the endless sea.
Visiting Emurons are a treat. They regularly purchase travel up to the skies for the purpose of both travel and trade. While potatoes are commonplace throughout the Empire in this era there is still something unidentifiable unique about the Emuron's stock. Their potatoes are not their only trade good. They fish the seas and raise livestock as well. Emurons have as cultured and civilized a palate as any Imperial, and suffer no particular dietary restrictions worth noting. Furthermore Emurons are well versed in diplomacy, should any matter of note be important - their heralds would most certainly inform the lords of the house.
Visiting the Emurons is not as glamorous as it might sound. Their structures are elegant ... in their simplicity. Sturdy most certainly, and arranged in such a fashion that they are easily defensible from the great threats that roam the Bottom Lands. Perhaps they are comfortable to other Ronians, but they are most certainly not designed for Mans or Taurn. Those that intend to visit the Emurons should prepare as they would to visit the wilderness. Tents, furniture and the like should be brought with. The grand dining halls of the Emuron's villages are most impressive and covered with murals telling the saga of the tribe however, that at least is something to look forward to seeing.
Mer-Dwar. The sorry soggy lost dwar. Like most Dwarentyr the Flippered are not a "true dwar" as most Dwar would consider. In this case the Flippered are not in any real fashion a civilization. They have no place in Dwar societies. They have no real place in any society for that matter. Mostly they are found living on the fringes of another group such as the Shakar or the Aquan Elendi. There are usually a handful making their way amongst the Thalians, but they must make their homes on the outside of the Crystal sphere, and are thusly rather lonely. The Flippered Dwar are invariably lonely as they have no true society - only the scraps of others.
Six Legged Dwar, Eyeless Dwar. The Darin Dwari are considered an anathema to the greater population of Dwar and Dwaren. DarinDwari are the result of a Dwar and Darian crossbreed. Such a thing is only possible due to the nature of the Dwar, and the result is more horrid to look upon than the Darians themselves. DarinDwari are born eyeless and with an extra pair of Darian limbs. They do not gain the webbing of the Darians, but they do gain a special affinity for manipulating it that non other than the Darians have. DarinDwari are almost exclusively found amongst the Darians. Even amongst the Darians there is some societal antagonism. The Doom Sayer religion considers them a weak detriment of the Darians interaction with other societies that will be whipped clean once the true Doomsayer returns.
The grand experiment gone wrong. Hobgoblins are the result of the Orcnin'Sa attempting to create their own breed of Orcnin. Originally intending to call this species the Orcnin'Ra the result was so far below the Sa's expectations that they named the species after the goblins. Some thing that the Hobgoblins are some half breed between the Goblins and the Sa, but that is not the case. The source of the Hobgoblin is truly the blood of the Trolls. At the same time that the Imperials were invading the Bottom Lands the Orcnin were dabbling with greater Arconistics - blending the blood of Trolls with the blood of the Taurn. The result is the nearly feral (but minimally more intelligent than a Troll) Hobgoblin.
The Hobgoblins are more intelligent than Trolls. They are not much more intelligent than Trolls, and it is debatable if they are more intelligent than Goblins. They are larger than Goblins with has placed them above the Goblin in the Orcnin pecking order. The Trolls still outrank them for sheer destructive power. Their superiors are the Ogre, named after Ogran himself. The Ogre are the successful version of the rituals that created the Hobgoblin. The stretch of history that separates the creation of the Hobgoblin from the creation of the Ogre includes the change of power amongst the Orcnin from Sa to Ha, and the massive defeat on the Bottom Lands at the hands of Mans Empire.
The Hobgoblins are fiercely loyal to their creators. They at all times favor the Orcnin'Sa over the Orcnin'Ha. Whether this facet of their sub-society in the Orcnin's is due to their creation as subservient to the Orcnin'Sa or if it is due to ingrained indoctrination is unknowable. What can be said is that where the Orcnin'Sa go the Hobgoblin will follow. They are the protectors, heralds, courtiers, and flag bearers to the old guard Orcnin. They maintain many of the traditions amongst themselves that the Orcnin'Ha have done away with at large. Most specifically the rituals wherein a Hobgoblin, or Goblin that speaks out of turn is fed its own finger. Many Hobgoblins bear Troll hand necklaces, and only those that have had their teeth removed are taught to read or write.
A Hobgoblin that arrives at your palace is not to be trusted save they have no teeth. That is not to say they are all vicious, evil, and unworthy of trust. Simply that Hobgoblins have long been used by the Orcnin'Sa as insurgents. Tales of old warn right that Hobgoblins will enter into a city seeking sanctuary from cruel masters. Full of true tales of despicable treatment, and unfathomable punishments. These creatures have nonetheless betrayed their patrons without regret or remorse on countless occasions. Let history be your guide and never trust a Hobgoblin that can still smile.
Visiting the Orcnin is always a risky venture. The Hobgoblins are rarely found without the Orcnin'Sa and thusly to visit a Hobgoblin tribe is to visit an Orcnin'Sa horde. The Orcnin'Sa are the elder tribe of the Orcnin. They follow rules of antiquity in most cases and unlike the Orcnin'Sa may be willing to break bread under the flag of Triune truce as was done of old. However such practices are also considered one of the major factors leading to the Orcnin's defeat in ancient times and as such the Triune flag of truce may or may not be respected amongst them. Worse the Orcnin'Sa may at first honor the flag only to betray its honor when the time is right for them to avenge their fallen ancestors.
The unseen watchers. The invisibles. These beings are mysterious to the extreme. Their society is as invisible to most as they themselves are. Many mistake them for a form of air elemental, but nothing could be further from the truth. Stalkers, or watchers as they are known by some, are simply another race that lives and loves in this wide and wonderful world. They make their settlements in the shadows and nooks of larger cities. There are a select few cities that are even aware of a the Stalker settlements that co-exist with them just around the corner and in the lee of the city walls.
Save for their invisibility Stalkers look much like hairless Barkin. An interesting point is that they are invisible to each other as well. They occasionally participate in a ceremony that reveals their appearance to each other. This rare moment is something that the Stalkers treasure and anticipate with great fervor. Marriages and coming of age ceremonies are happy occasions. Condemnations and executions are less joyous, but are also occasions when a Stalker's appearance is revealed to the community. In lieu of the ability to see each other the Stalkers must rely on their hearing and touch to interact with each other. Their language has perhaps the most explicit form of location declaration of any of the known languages of the world.
The most celebrated and famous of the Stalker settlements is the one in Imperial city. They live primarily in the 7th tier. Along with most Orcnin and races that prefer subterranean life. Stalkers are not subterranean by nature, however they find it easier to interact with those that do not utilize sight as their primary sense. The Stalkers of Imperial city are equally urbane as any, and despite the Stalkers less than illustrious reputation throughout the Empire they are respected members of society in Imperial city. The next most well known Stalker settlement is far less respected. Found in the Sky Lakes the city is known to be a haven for scum and villainy.
Stalkers are hardly a unified society. For the most part they simply find places for themselves amongst the societies they find themselves in. Sadly due to their natural gifts the Stalkers find it easy to associate themselves with the darker elements of any given area. A Stalker makes a profoundly effective thief and the guilds that organize such things are constantly seeking to bring more Stalkers into their fold. Thankfully the majority of Stalkers are simple people more interested in family and health. At this time there is no recognized nobility amongst the Stalkers. Instead they simply either swear fealty to the nearest Imperial Noble or attempt to avoid such issues entirely by remaining simple commoners.
Should a rare family of Stalkers consider itself noble and make an official reception at your court the first most important thing to consider is not their invisibility. They have no qualms regarding being spoken directly towards. In fact the occasions on record with the Imperial archives indicate that Stalkers will usually present statuary to serve as focal objects for their hosts. This practice is apparently used in the homes of the Stalkers as well. The Stalker children grow to adult hood speaking to an images of their parents created by a member of the family from the memories of their appearances that were revealed during the marriage ceremonies.
The deep dark MereDwarel. The shadow Dwar. These Dwar are rarely met by those that do not live in the depths of the Bottom Lands with the Dwar themselves. On those rare occasions that a MereDwarel is found outside of the deepest of Dwaren halls they are most often mistaken for the Flipper Dwarentyr. Though they look nothing alike the MereDwarel and the Flipper Dwarentyr are similar in that they are an aquatic people. Flipper Dwarentyr are rare enough that very few know that the Flipper Dwarentyr are furred, while the MereDwarel are entirely hairless.
The MereDwarel hold a rather unusual place in Dwaren culture due to the fact that the Dwar do not consider them Dwar, and yet keep them amongst the Dwaren people. Hence the title Dwarel as opposed to the outcast Dwari. According to legend the MereDwarel were created from the Dwar by the Gnomes (one of the Dwari) in the grand conflict that seperated the Gnome from the Dwar. MereDwarel are the only one of the five types of Dwarien that were spawned by the Gnomish Wars that remains with the Dwar. The Hudder Dwari, the Derro Dwari, and the Lanvatier Dwari were cast out when the allied with the Gnomes. The MereDwarel adhered to the High Lords of the Imperial Dwar.
The MereDwarel are the only known extant Dwarel. Once long ago there was another Dwarel. According to Dwar legends it was known as the DraconDwarel, but this race of Dwarel died out long before the fall of Taurn in the Mans-Tree wars of antiquity. The nature of being Dwarel is such that the MereDwarel are allowed to participate in the larger Dwar society only in limited ways, and yet they are afforded the full protection of the Dwar armies and resources. The MereDwarel live in the deepest of the Dwar halls where waters from the endless ocean have seeped in and created underseas. They mine precious stones from the bottoms of these undeseas for the Dwar Empire and are thusly wealthy after a fashion.
The MereDwarel are not keen on house guests, and do not maintain the same kind of high ritual that the majority of the Dwar do. Visiting the average MereDwarel home is a simple occasion. You will dine on fish and squid. Perhaps turtle or other aquatic lizard. The MereDwarel are able to breath underwater but they do not generally live below the surface. Rather they make their homes on the shores. Partially in the water and partially on the land. There is always an entry portal from the water and from the land. Staying in one of their homes if nothing else a damp experience.
As far as entertaining an envoy of MereDwarel, it is simply not going to happen under any normal circumstances. There is a remote possibility that a group of MereDwarel may seek sanctuary at your keep, particularly if you are a Bottom Lands house, but such a circumstance is hardly one requiring of pomp and circumstance. While they primarily eat sea creatures such as fish and squid, the MereDwarel are not unable to eat normal fare. The fact of the matter is that the only time you will likely meet a MereDwarel is in the company of a larger Imperial Dwar reception. Beyond that occasion is probably better to forget they even exist, as most of the Dwar do.
The Elder Orcnin. The once great Sa. These are the second born race of Ogran. After Ogran found the Trolls wanting for lack of any form of real intelligence the great and hoary elder god decided to create a beast race. The Trolls thought like Trees, slow and simple. The first and greatest lord of the dark decided he needed a race capable of thinking faster than the Elendi. In his "wisdom" Ogran gathered together a collection of the beasts that he considered most powerful and dire - the Owl, the Bear, and the Crocodile. These three beasts were warped and wrapped together to create the creature first known as the Orcnin. In their own language they are called Sa.
For century upon century Ogran guided the Sa directly. The Sa ruled the Arconistic isle and they were the first true Arconists. Their great arts emulated the true Arcons in that most sacred act - the creation of new peoples. The Goblin, the Hobgoblin, and others called Orcnin. The nomenclature of the Orcnin clarifies what was created by Sa and that which was created by Ogran. The Orcnin'Ha and the Orcnin'Ka were created by Ogran. The rest, save for the Trolls, were the creation of the Sa. The Sa ruled the Orcnin empires for centuries until their great failure durring the Wizard Wars. When Arconistic Ilse was lost they were cursed by Ogran and cast aside.
The curse of Ogran on the Sa was as such; where once every Sa had the ability to commune with Ogran directly the cursed Sa cannot hear the words of Ogran. Also the cursed Sa are hairless. In ancient times the Sa were covered head to toe with luxurious long hair. It was a point of pride and vanity amongst the Sa. Orcnin'Ka were kept mostly to preen and brush the Sa. Those who follow the Arconistic drama point to this flaw as that which led to the Orcnin'Sa's ultimate downfall. Their interests being focused more on their own appearance than the success or failure of their strategies. The Orcnin'Ha are most certainly not beautiful to behold as the ancient Orcnin'Sa were.
The Orcnin'Sa are surprisingly civil, for Orcnin. They are an elder race and as such comply with the ancient tenants of the Triune faith. So long as once visits on the proper holidays or under the proper circumstances the Sa are most hospitable. They will cook food for you, and even speak in you language. This was the way of the ancients. It was the Sa that taught the ancient Elen and Mans the ways of Arconistics. Before the loss of Arconistic Isle Mans, Elendi, and even Dwar were allowed to attend the schools of Arconistics that the Sa kept on their Isle. Some say that it was this honor, not their vanity, that angered Ogran. For, certainly the Orcnin'Ha have none.
Should an Orcnin'Sa seek audience with an Imperial court the moon has most likely fallen into the endless sea, the deluge has dried up, and Taurn risen back into the sky. While the Sa will gladly offer the hospitality of the proper Triune holidays to their ancient enemies - they are proud in such a manner that they rarely, if ever, seek the hospitality of others. Rather than beg the graces of an Imperial house they will forage in the woods for game. Even after their curse and fall from rulership of the Orcnin peoples the Sa will never forget that for untold ages they were the chosen of Ogran. Of course the only people that care for such matters are the Orcnin themselves.
The strange and misshappen shore dwellers of the bottom lands. Sometimes called MereMans. These creatures, though a people after a fashion, are perhaps the barest example of such in the known world. Their intelligence mocks the term. On average there are smarter beasts roaming the world than these hairless near Mans. Those that study such things ponder that perhaps when the gods first made Mans they made instead the Trogdorn. Then seeing what a dreadful mistake the Trogdorn were they cast them down to the Bottom Lands to survive or expire with the rest of their unwanted creations. If that is the case it is a miracle that this simple people has survived for so long.
The Trogdorn live on the shores of the inner sea of the bottom lands. They hunt and fish and generally live simply. The only thing that separates them from the beasts is their rituals, and of course their hands. They create art. This art is crude by comparison to that created by any other people in the world, but it is art nonetheless. Statues of their ancestors and their gods. Though in their simple society it is hard to be sure that their ancestors and their gods are not one and the same. They do not domesticate animals so much as there are a number of animal species that have taken a kindness to them. Crocodiles and some birds live amongst the Trogdorn and the beast kings will often aid the Trogdorn in their hunts.
The Trogdorn are able to breath underwater for a short period of time, but live on the land. If they stray too far from water their skin will dry and they will suffer for it. They are a most perilously created people in that it seems the only place for them to survive at all is exactly where they are. Just near the shores edge where they can fish, but close enough to woodlands to hunt other game for the furr they make their clothing out of. Their weapons are made of simple bone or wood. Even stone spear heads are something only one Trogdorn craftsman out of a thousand ever happens upon. Metal wepons occasionally come into their possession from other peoples, but does not take long for such a wondrous item to rust in the hands of a simple Trogdorn.
Visiting the Trogdorn can be a retreat from the wearisome civility of Imperial life. Much like visiting some Taurn settlements living amongst the Trogdorn the world seems to slow down. So long as a meal is ready and the store houses are stocked for the coming weeks there is nothing to worry about. The miracle workers of the Trogdorn are more intent on monitoring their children than defending the marshy stretch of the Bottom Lands that they claim. If there is one thing that can be respected of the Trogdorn is their focus on family. Entire tribes will create rituals and songs that can be sung in mass during marriage ceremonies. These rituals are most marvelous to behold, and will always occur in the spring.
The likelihood that the Trogdorn will visit is rare. It has happened that an envoy of young Trogdorn will set out to learn something of the larger world, but they have rarely gotten farther than the Darien or the Crosslands. The Kinder Elentsi are the people that know the most about the Trogdorn visitors as they are the closest nation to the stretch of shore that has been left to the Trogdorn. According to the Kinder Elentsi entertaining the Trogdorn is easier than falling off a log. Anything, literally anything, other than the simple shore life they are used to is wondrous and astounding to them. The only thing to remember is that the Trogdorn skin need constant moisture. Other than that they should be fine.
The masters of technometrics. The Tolonese Mans are the most powerful nation in the Empire. Their arts of technometrics have taken the place of ancient arconistics in almost every facet of society throughout the Empire. For centuries the Tolonese Mans were little more than nomadic ascetics that inhabited the deserts of Tolon, but in since the Wizard Wars and the fall of Taurn the Tolonese have developed their once simple technometrics into the phenomenal power that it is today. Before the rise of the Tolonese Mans the Gnomes were the undisputed masters of the sky sailing. Today the majority of ships that sail the skies are of Tolonese make.
While the Tolonese are the number one manufacturer of sky ships the Tolonese Mans themselves are rarely found sailing the sky lines. When they do they prefer to sail in ships that are as large as small cities. Entire families of Tolonese Mans are known to travel together on the Tolonese cruisers. The ships that the Tolonese make for themselves are both larger and faster than any of the models that are sold to non-Tolonese. The Tolonese battleships are also special models that the Tolonese refuse to sell to the non-Tolonese. These battleships are tiny in comparison to most of the sky ships, and yet are armed to the teeth with Tolonese lightning guns, and wind force battering rams.
To date none have attempted to attack the Tolonese, and for good reason. Not only do they have the most advanced sky ships both of merchant and war, but they are also the pillar of modern economy. The vast majority of trade in the world must eventually profit the Tolonese. The modern economy is often called the Tolonese economy or the the crystal economy due to this fact. The explanation is of course the Tolonese crystals. Created with technometrics; the gold, silver, red, and blue crystals that most of the world use for merchant trade are created in Tolon City One. To most of us the crystals have little use other than trade, but to the Tolonese the crystals are the miraculous source of energy that they use to power their technometric devices.
Visiting the Tolonese is a bland if unique experience. The Tolonese do not have ceremonies the same way that other nations do. They are extremely ascetic, and the best you can hope for is a short audience with the grand engineer or a private meeting with the grand financier. Visiting a Tolonese machine city is amusing for its novelty, but the food is perhaps the blandest in the known world. If you wish to attempt to pass unnoticed you will have to shave yourself completely as the Tolonese do.
A visiting group of Tolonese engineers are the most pleasant and obsequies guests in the world. They will rarely speak, they will refrain from interacting with others in the court, and they will request only grain for food. Any invitations to enjoy events will be seen as an insult, and any attempt to cajole them to participate in seasonal festivals will be considered even more insulting. The best thing to do is leave them alone, pay them their wage in crystal, and allow them to complete whatever technometric wonder they have come to install into your palace or city.
The Shackled Dead. The Embodied Ghost. The Ghilan are actually a class of ghost that refers to several different types of dead. Ghouls are Ghilan that come from Mans, Ghasts Ghilan that come from Elendi, and Ghilan proper are actually the dead souls of the Genies. There is a fourth type of Ghilan most often called the Doppelganger that comes from dead plants. The Doppelganger is sufficiently different from other Ghilan that it will be covered in its own entry. The Ghilan are often mistaken for undead due to the fact that they have physical bodies unlike most ghosts, but unlike the undead a Ghilan will reform its body some days after being destroyed.
They key element that defines whether a dead soul raises as a Ghilan as opposed to a Wraith is in the amount of arconistic power that the body is invested with at the moment of death. Genies of course always become Ghilan due to the vast amounts of arconistic power they collect naturally, but Ghouls and Ghasts are created from the death of an arconistic master. Despite any knowledge or power collected by the Ghilan in life the Ghilan of Mans, Elendi, and Genie are all mostly alike. They are near mindless beings that differ from zombies only in their sturdier nature and their ability to reform when destroyed.
Many consider battling a Ghilan less unsettling than battling a being such as a Wraith or Spectre. Most ghosts are bodiless and extremely difficult to defeat. It requires a powerful force of presence to defeat a bodiless ghost, but a Ghilan can be beaten into submission through simple force. They can be destroyed, at least for a while, through the same means that one destroys any opponent. One can usually tell whether a Ghilan has been defeated once before as the newly risen Ghilan will often retain the clothing and equipment they carried in life. Whereas as Ghilan that has been defeated a number of times will usually be dressed in the remnants of rags or nothing at all.
Ghilan are unlike most ghosts in that they are not bound to the location of their death. Instead they wander aimlessly throughout the world. Should they be destroyed they will reform in the place of their original death, and in that way they are connected to the place of their death. Most commonly the Ghilan will attempt to attack and devour any living beast they come across. What exactly motivates them to do so is somewhat obscure as the Ghilan needs no food to live. It is presumed that the remnants of intelligence that remain in the dead vessel motivate the Ghilan to reenact the most basic activity of the living which is to feed.
There are those that have attempted to put a Ghilan to rest by seeking out its original place of death and setting the reforming body of the Ghilan in a proper burial. This act is pointless. Even a properly interred Ghilan will simply claw its way out of its grave and continue its mindless attempts to feed on living flesh. The Genie are the only people that have a reasonable method of getting rid of the Ghilan. As all Genie that die become Ghilan it was incumbent upon them to find a way to deal with the phenomena. The arconistically adroit Genie simply open a portal directly into the darkest of the shadow planes of existence. They place the Ghilan there and leave it to wander for eternity.
The fallen ghost. The Shadows are the ghosts of Trees. The long lived Trees grow ever taller throughout life, and their shadows ever longer. Until one day the Tree must fall, and when it does its long shadow is loosed. Few would be able to guess that the Shadows are the spirits of dead Trees. The reason being that a Shadow will always mimic the shadow shape of those that it is attacking. This of course means little once you understand this fact. Shadows are perhaps one of the most dire of the ghosts because of their unwavering drive to create more of their kind. Shadows do not attack the Trees to make more Shadows, instead they plant their seeds of death in Mans and Elendi.
When a Shadow attacks its touch chills the living to their core. If they are not driven off the touch of the Shadow will freeze your blood, and you will die. Once you have been driven to death by the Shadow the dead Tree will plant a seed into the soul of the Wraith that would normally form from your untimely death. Instead of becoming a Wraith, doomed to haunt the place of your death, a Shadow spirit will devour your soul and unleash a new shadow upon the world. All told, perhaps more Shadows have never lived than were once Trees.
Shadows are by far the most common dust born in the world. Not only are they created by the death of Trees, but they are able to create more of their kind from the beast races. Unlike Spectres and Wraiths they are impossible to contain in gemstone prisons, and like most dust born they are able to reform mere days after being banished or beaten. It is possible to disperse a Shadow through sheer force of presence, but doing so will only slow the spread of the dreadful Shadows. Only the brightest of lights can protect one from the Shadows.
While Trees know that they create Shadows upon their death, they seem unconcerned. The only race the Shadows do not attack are the Trees, and it is most likely the Trees final ploy in the long past Mans-Trees wars. For every Tree felled Mans brought a being perhaps even more dire into the world. The Trees have no direct control over the Shadows, and the ghosts are not intelligent in the least, but they are nigh unstoppable. In the end, some 100 centuries after the end of the Mans-Tree wars the Trees may yet win with their dead.
There are those that know how to destroy the Shadows. These being are known as the Healers, and were it not for their undeserved reputation amongst the majority of the Empire they would possibly be able to stop the menace that is the Shadow. The Healers (sometimes called Vampires) are able to bring the Shadows into their soul and are somehow immune to the chilling touch of the ghosts. The Healers have been known to do this for some Imperial provinces, but more often the tales of Healers saving travelers from Shadows have simply made their way into the archives.
The bound soul. The guardians. The Spectre is perhaps the most unfortunate of all the dead. While a Wraith is a spirit that was not properly interred and thusly doomed to haunt the place of its death for nigh on eternity the Spectre is the soul of one that has been intentionally transformed into a ghost. Instead of not being interred the Spectre is intentionally turned into a guardian spirit by the priests when interring another. Often the being that is to become the Spectre is alive up until the burial process is finished. The practice of creating Spectres is one that was much more common in the ancient times, but is still practiced in some Imperial provinces to this day.
The process of creating a Spectre is one that was learned from the Plants. During the Mans-Tree wars the Trees would take the souls of their fallen foes and use them as weapons against the Mans. Those arconistic masters that allied with Mans Empire learned how to duplicate the process, if not perfectly, and the result was the Spectres. Unlike the wrathful ghosts created by the Trees arconistics the Spectres are as equally tethered to a specific location as the Wraiths are. Unlike the wrathful ghosts created by the plants a Spectre retains much of what it knew in life. Those that are able to communicate with the dead can learn much from a Spectre.
Most often the Spectres were created to be guardians of a crypt. When a noble is interred the family will take a number of the slaves owned by the recently deceased and bind their souls to the crypt for eternity. Sometimes the slaves are willing, and other times they are not. Their attitude toward their fate has little to do with how they will behave once they have become Spectres. The nature of the ritual creates a compulsion in the dead soul that forces it to protect the area it has been bound to. There are a handful of Imperial provinces that use Spectres not only to protect their gravesites, but also to protect their city walls.
The most well known Imperial province to use the Spectres publicly is Revalia. Traveling to the Imperial Province of Reval is a frightening experience in the first place, but arriving at their city gates is nearly soul shaking. To those that can see them the Spectres of Reval's fallen enemies and publicly executed circle the city gates furiously. The eyes of the beings glow with the power of those that they have most recently devoured. Passing through the gate is chilling, and making your way through the city almost as bad. The Spectres make for powerful defenders of the city, but at what cost? Simple enough to say that Reval city is safe for any law abiding Revalian.
Spectres cannot leave their stations once bound, unless they are captured in crystal. Similar to wraiths the spirit may be contained in a properly arconistically treated gemstone. Revalians sell captured Spectres as a commodity, and indeed the guardians are effective at protecting your treasures. Should you allow the Spectre escape containment however ... it will become what is known as a Boggy. The Boggy are a dreadful nuisance that will be covered in their own section of this tome. Needless to say it is best to attempt to prevent a Spectre from escaping its crystal containment.
The souls of the mad. The wrathful ghosts. These spirits are created when a living being is driven to madness and death. When the soul is escaping the mortal coil it has been weakened so much that plant arconistics are able to capture and put the spirit to task. The result of the strange plant arconistics is the gibbering Allip. These ghosts are unbound in that they are not tied to a particular location. Instead they roam the world seeking that which drove them to madness in life. Unfortunately for the Allip their spirit is equally as mad in death as they were when they died. Their never ending quest for vengeance cannot be accomplished, and even if it was the Allip would have no way of knowing that justice had been served.
An Allip could have equally as easily become a restless wraith, bound to its place of death. Both Wraiths and Allips share the fate of not being properly interred. The difference is found in the plant arconistics that are enacted at the moment of the creatures death. In ancient times the Allip was one of the plant peoples most potent weapons against the Mans Empire. The Allip was terrifying to Mans because it shared in part the soul of Mans or Elendi. As such it is able to pass through certain protections that plant spirits cannot. Furthermore the Allip is a wrathful ghost with a dire compulsion to punish those that made it suffer in life. This violent nature is perhaps the most potent aspect of the Allip as a weapon of war.
Allips have become less common in the years since the Mans-Trees wars came to an end. Most of the Allips that roam the world to this day are the remnant of those created in the ancient times. There are still Trees that consider it their duty to create Allips when a Mans or Elendi makes it way into their grove to die. Not all dying Mans or Elendi are able to be turned into Allip. The subject must be mad from suffering. Those that die content are immune to the ritual that creates an Allip, and those that are interred properly by clergy are of course safe from such a fate despite their sanity or lack there of.
Seeking out an Allip is difficult at best. The Allip roam far and wide in their futile quest to avenge the suffering they experienced in life. They rarely roam together, but the occasional pair of Allip have been found. Sometimes the Allip travel with arconistic masters. These Allip have been captured with arconistic arts, and bound to serve their masters. Doing such a thing is possibly one of the most detestable acts one can think of. Those that have the power to contain and command an Allip must also have the power to release the soul to its natural place.
If an Allip finds its way to your protectorate it is best to seek out any aid possible to be rid of the thing. Miracle workers or arconistic masters either one. The Allip are dire beings that are capable of inflicting their madness upon you population. There is no reasoning with them - one must have them bound or banished. The only way to truly be rid of an Allip is to unleash the spell of containment wrapped around it by the plants that originally caught the soul. Few miracle workers are adept at such a process, and thusly one must consider relying on an arconistic master for such a thing an unsavory but necessary reality.
The free spirit. The homeless ghost. The Boggy are created, most often, when someone who has purchased a Spectre fails to keep the containment crystal safe. The Boggy can also be created when a Wraith is released from a containment crystal as well. Once released from containment the Boggy is no longer bound to any location or to follow the orders of any master. The Boggy is free to roam, and maraud, the world as it pleases. To a greater or lesser extent the Boggy may or may not remember its life, what happened to it, or what is happening around it at the moment. As a dead soul its connection to the living world is tenuous at best.
Some consider it an act of piety to obtain the soul gems sold by Imperial provinces such as Revalia and release the souls by destroying the gems. Many of these well intentioned individuals are thereupon destroyed shorty. Serving only to bring another Wraith into the world. A Wraith or Spectre that has been through death and binding may retain little of it once life, not to mention many of those transformed into Spectres are murderers or villains of some sort. In Revalia being transformed into a Spectre is no form of honoring the dead. Wraiths have often been lost for centuries before their binding, and the longer a Wraith is disconnected from the time it lived the more confused it can become.
There are rare, powerful, Wraiths and Spectres that are able to retain much of their personality. These beings invariably had undeniably powerful presences in life, and this attribute carried over into their ghost. This sense of self does not make them safe, only aware of themselves. Where some newly released Boggy are scarcely able to recognize that they are dead, those occasional powerful souls are very aware of the fact and may attack without compunction. It is the rare Boggy that will be both self aware and still capable of enough compassion to thank the one that releases it.
Boggy are an unpredictable type of dust born. Due to the fact that they invariably come from the some form of containment they are wary of being captured again. Those that are able to understand what happened to them are wary at least. There are many Boggy that might as well be misplaced Wraiths. Without the presence of self to understand what has transpired, or the ability to recognize the difference of the location, they will return to their original haunting behavior. Those that were originally Spectres will often seek to return to their place of birth for some attempt at rest, or seek to return to their place of death to exact revenge on the arconist that damned them.
Some of the grandest advisers in history have been Boggys. Those powerful souls that retain their sense of self, and the ability to recognize their surroundings have been known to find a place for themselves in an Imperial household as a source of knowledge. Not only knowledge, but as a nearly invisible spy and sleepless guardian. It requires quite a special being to have both a sterling sense of self and the piety to wish to aid others after the horrors they have suffered. More often when a Boggy comes to your keep it desires to drown your children in its death aura while they sleep in retribution for the act of binding it. Being prepared with Revalian crystal traps is the most effective form of defense against such a happenstance.
I have been reading your posts over the past two days or so, and find them very astounding.
Interested, I downloaded the 78 pages you have published on the site, and started reading them about 45 minutes ago. I am now on page 25 (not very far in).
I love it. It is good to the point where I almost don't feel right reading it. Personally, I think you have hit home with this book.
I am good with a red pen, and would be honored if you would allow me to even correct spelling and grammatical errors.
I have also been know to squeeze out a good map or two (only by hand though, computer programs are too inefficient for map-making).
Those once known as Gnome. Not Kinder Elentsi. The Elen Dwari are often mistook for the Kinder Elentsi in that they are almost identical in appearance. The difference is that Kinder Elentsi are a completely separate people created by the wizards during the wizard wars, and the Elen Dwari are the result of a Dwar female mating with an Elen. These Dwari are thinner and less hairy than most Dwar, and are much longer lived as well. Like most Dwari they are rare, and considered unacceptable by Dwar society. The only place for an Elen Dwari is with the Elen. They are a part of the Elendi houses, and while there has never been a noble house of Elen Dwari, they have served Elendi houses with great honor.
Elen Dwari are more Dwar than Elen. They must consume at least some meat to maintain a healthy diet, and that puts them in an odd place amongst the herbavoracious Elendi. Elen Dwari are often the beast keepers of the Elen. Which means that visitors to an Elendi settlement have a disproportionate amount of contact with the Elen Dwari. When Mans, Taurn, or Orcnin visit the Elendi the nobility will often employ an Elen Dwari to prepare meals for the meat eaters. Elen Dwari are also employed regularly to act as guides and diplomancers for those that are unfamiliar with Elendi society. Due to the fact that they hold such an unusual place in that society.
The lost Dwar. The outcast. The strange result of a Dwar that has grown of age without connection to any of the rituals of the Dwar. These beings are difficult to communicate with, and do not have a culture per se. More properly they are the result of a Dwar reaching maturity without any culture. Even those Dwar raised by Mans or Elendi achieve a measure of civility, but a Dwar that matures outside of the watchful eye of a society become something more bestial than say an Elendi that matures outside of a Deme. The power of blood connection that Dwar posses is the cause of this strange aberration of what most would consider normal.
The blood of the Dwar is perhaps the oldest extant blood of the known peoples. Some argue that Trolls or perhaps Elendi, or even Mans, is more ancient, but the Feral Dwerein are a case example of the argument for the Dwar blood being more ancient. Something in the nature of Dwar blood connects over strongly with that of the Dragon. The Feral Dwerein develops scales that are similar to the Dragon. They grow talons and fangs. Their legs are more powerfully developed, and many are known to develop draconic gifts such as the breath. Many who encounter a Feral Dwerein believe they have met a Dwar Dragon crossbread. This is not the case.
Those who study the Peoples of the world know for a fact that any pure blood Dwar raised without the rituals of maturity practiced by Dwar societies will develop these draconic traits. The Dwar themselves will sooner destroy the Dwerein than attempt to bring them into their society. Their legends tell of great calamities in times past caused by Dwerein. Some Dwerein have found a place amongst the Dragons themselves, while most seek either solitude or the company of Mans. Those Dwerein that have civilized have most often done so amongst the Imperial Mans. Numerous Dwerein have gained much prestige in the Dragoon orders. Their connection to the Dragons gives them an unparalleled knack for handling the less intelligent of the great beasts.
Feral Dwerein do not have noble houses. They are accidents each and everyone. In the cases where two Dwerein have had offspring the children have matured as normal Dwar. Feral Dwerein is the strange result of a Dwar child rearing itself outside of the confines of any civilization. It is a credit to the power of the Dwar blood. Most Mans or even Taurn children would be completely incapable of rearing themselves. It is also an indication of the potential callousness of the Dwar society that so many Dwerein have been known to exist. Some have even suggested that there is some sort of regular practice amongst the noble Dwar that intentionally creates these outcasts. It is a strange phenomena.
When the Dwerein come to visit or to stay the foremost question is whether they have achieved language. Those Dwerein that have achieved some civility are generally as amenable as any Dwar or Mans. Individuals to the last of course, having no real society of their own. When one finds a truly Feral Dwerein however the most important issue is to treat it as you would a Dragon. Offer food. Meat preferably. The risks to one's person are real, but the rewards of adding one of the powerful Dwerein to your roster of Dragoons is manifest. And! Unlike training a battle Dragon, a trained Dwerein is actually fully intelligent an capable of normal speech.
The Sky Dwar. The noble Dwar of the High Skies. These Feathered Dwar consider themselves equal or greater to the Dwar of the Bottom Lands. Without any authority other than the Dwar themselves one cannot say which is more ancient. The Feathered Dwar of the High Skies are certainly less populace. They are primarily found on the Isle of Wild Home. A number of settlements exist on larger islets throughout the High Skies, and the Feathered Dwar are a common sight on the Isle of Gem-Ron. Unlike the Dwar of the Bottom Lands the Feathered Dwar are not nearly as antagonistic against the Dwari such as the Gnome. The Feathered Dwar are perhaps the most civilized of the inhabitants of Wild Home.
Feathered Dwar do not have the ability to fly as is commonly held by many Dargonians. The only physical difference between the Dwar of the Bottom Lands and the Feathered Dwar is in the fact that they have feathers instead of hair. Other than that detail they are remarkably similar physically. Socially however they are almost the opposite. Where Dwar strenuously refuse to deal with any of the Dwari, all the peoples of Dwar are welcome in the halls of the Feathered Dwari. Feathered Dwari have worked with the Empire during the colonization and mining of the Gem-Ron isle. The architecture of the Feathered Dwari is definitely reminiscent of the Bottom Lands Dwar, but differs greatly in that the Feathered Dwari create standing structure instead of burrowing into the ground.
The noble houses of the Feathered Dwari have been invited to join the Empire on a number of occasions and they have each time politely refused. They do seem to favor alliance with the Empire over dealing with the Orcnin, or even the Taurn tribes. Despite cordial relations the Feathered Dwari have remained separate from the Empire, and the reason may have more to do with the Dwar than the Empire. The Dwar are officially part of the Empire, and have been since the initial expeditions to the Bottom Lands. Some suggest the Feathered Dwari are supporting the Empire by refusing to join the Imperial councils. There is a distinct possibility that the Bottom Lands Dwar would withdraw from the Empire should they be forced to deal with Dwari on a council level.
Visiting the Feathered Dwari is a dangerous proposition. The High Skies are perilous. If you can survive the journey you will be rewarded with some of the finest sights and pleasures to be found in all the world. Feathered Dwar are fond of music and arts. In their bright halls they put on regular performances, and they have delicacies that can only be found in Feathered Dwari halls. Their unique access to the isle of Wild Home means that their game, and their fruits, are unlike anything to be found in all the skies. Those Feathered Dwari that oversee passage to the Gem-Ron are sterner than their higher sky dwelling cousins. Their place near the breach in Dark Sky means that their settlements must be made of sterner stuff, and are interestingly more reminiscent of Bottom Lands Dwar construction than that of their relatives.
Visiting nobles of the Feathered Dwari are to be treated much the same as one would the Bottom Lands Dwar. Similar requirements of food and accommodations apply. The necessity of keeping any Dwari scare however is entirely unnecessary. In fact the Feathered Dwari quite fond of the other Dwari and Dwarentyr. The only Dwar they seem to come into conflict with are the Dwerein and the Half Dwaren. This has more to do with the unpredictable nature of these two rare Dwar than something strictly to do with the Feathered Dwari themselves. The Feral Dwerein generally prefer their solitude anyhow. All in all the Feathered Dwari are a treat to have in your castle or keep. One can only dream of the day they officially join the Empire and our relations increase in frequency.
Centan Dwari. Running Dwarentyr. These Dwarentyr are the result of the crossbreeding between Centyrn and and Dwar. They are for all intents and purposes Centyrn. These crossbreeds, as with all Centyrn are raised by the father's family as the Dwar will treat them as Dwari. They are stouter than the Centyrn, and their faces are decidedly more Dwar than Taurn. Their furry legs are thicker and more powerful than the average Centyrn, but they are decidedly slower. Interestingly the Hoofed Dwarentyr do not have the same hoofed fingers that the Centyrn. This allows them to create finer and more intricate works of art than the rest of their hoof handed tribesmen.
Weran Dwari. Worg Dwarentyr. These Dwarentyr are the result of the crossbreeding between Weran and and Dwar. They are for all intents and purposes Weran. These crossbreeds, as with all Weran are raised by the father's family as the Dwar will treat them as Dwari. They are decidedly stouter and more powerful than their Weran brothers. The mixture of Weran and Dwar blood makes their connection to the after realms even stronger, and a Clawed Dwarentyr are often found as the speaker for the dead amongst a Weran tribe that has one amongst them. Other than being shorter and stouter most could not tell the difference between the Clawed Dwarentyr and the rest of the Weran.
Great ideas - the setting is very imaginative and you play with and subvert cliches wonderfully. But due to your somewhat unclear writing style and the lack of any organization all I've been able to glean is a series of interesting, clever and apparently unconnected ideas. I would suggest that before posting anything else you edit and re-organize your posts to make the world a little more cohesive.
Great ideas - the setting is very imaginative and you play with and subvert cliches wonderfully. But due to your somewhat unclear writing style and the lack of any organization all I've been able to glean is a series of interesting, clever and apparently unconnected ideas. I would suggest that before posting anything else you edit and re-organize your posts to make the world a little more cohesive.
Did you read the book at lulu? That should clarrify the "organization" intended.
This should help as well. "A field guide for the modern adventurer and socially elite." Written in character by three characters. "Testing..." AND! what say you unclear!!
what say you unclear!!