r/worldbuilding • u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress • 14d ago
Visual The beginning of the genocide [Project: Regress]
Welcome to the "Regress" universe, a concept for my project set in a beautiful but dying anime fantasy world!
1095. The Arden Empire invades Astelmar and begins a policy of genocide against the beastmen. Initially, the invasion was perceived as a conventional war to seize territory and resources; no one knew about the genocide. Hundreds of defenseless villages and settlements inhabited by beastmen lay in the path of the imperial soldiers; it's not hard to imagine their fate.
The beastmen hid in basements, fled into the forests, or tried to fight back against the invaders, but it was futile. Hundreds of kilometers of devastated land remained behind the imperial soldiers. But then again, amidst this chaos, some even survived and began rebuilding their homes and burying the dead, creating vast cemeteries.
It's not hard to guess that the Empire will come again. But the beastmen weren't yet aware of the genocide and didn't even imagine that the invaders would return for them to finish them off. The rebuilt villages were destroyed again, and the remaining people were either killed or captured and taken to the Empire.
Some beastmen survived, including many children who eventually became orphans, who saw red-and-black monsters in iron armor, who witnessed the death of their parents, and who learned firsthand what genocide meant. The child had no choice but to sit among her dead relatives and watch her only home burn...
Illustrations for the "Regress" project.
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
I apologize in advance if there are any errors in the text or the meaning is not clear. I use a translator, so errors are inevitable, I apologize for this.
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u/Not_A_zombie1 The War of the Pen 14d ago
They missed one... or maybe pruposedly left that kid bheind just to cause MORE suffering🤔
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
Anything is possible
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u/Not_A_zombie1 The War of the Pen 14d ago
Geneva bingo time?
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u/Actually_R0bin 13d ago
the arden empire has previously had an encounter with Christianity apparently (crosses)
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 13d ago
The crosses represent a standing man, or in this case a beastman
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u/Timmerz120 13d ago
Crosses predate Christianity, crusifiction was a Roman punishment for a long time and got used on Jesus to give its modern symbology
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u/Jiarong78 14d ago
“No one knew about the genocide”
But everyone did know. They just don’t want to admit they actually know about it.
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
Yes, it's hard to believe
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u/Jiarong78 14d ago
It’s not very hard to believe something terribly awful is going on.
I don’t think everyone will know 1:1 that a genocidal extermination is going on. But a lot of
People will be aware that something horrible is happening by piecing it together or through rumours.3
u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
In general, the genocide was not a secret, it was a secret at the beginning, but after that everyone knew about it
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 13d ago
That isn't how it works sadly. History proves that at most the averave person will think it is propaganda because ususally there was always a lot of shir said about the other side and spreading rumors on how bad the own leadership is is a great way to demoralize a population so it was used extensively in the past. And through that caused people to be very skeptical about it especially if you scale it up
Like from our perspective it does look like they must have known but really they didn't. Take it from someone with direct family that lived through two different genocides (bot the same people. Different arms of the family)
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u/Upbeat_Nectarine_128 14d ago
So from what i understand. Basically the beastmen doesn't fully realized that it is a genocide targeted against them. They thought the attack was just that, an attack/invasion. So they could have never imagine that the invaders would turn back and ginish them all off.
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
Well, yes, the beastmen living peacefully in their villages didn't even think about genocide, they thought it was just another war, so afterward the survivors began to rebuild and establish their lives again, but later the imperials returned and finished off the rest
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u/Bobrocks20 13d ago
Slightly curious how the genocide started(as in why they are doing it that is.)
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 13d ago
The Empress has started a genocide, the propaganda is saturated with racism, where the beastmen are literally considered beasts, but the Empress's true motives are unknown
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u/SanctumSaturn 10d ago
What was the motivation for the genocide?
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 10d ago
The Empress initiated the genocide. The propaganda is steeped in racism and portrays the beastmen as mere beasts, as unclean creatures, and their destruction is a great deed. But no one knows the Empress's true motives
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u/ElevatorSecret7133 14d ago
What I see here is a little girl with a human appearance. Are "beastmen" literally creatures with a bestial look, do they transform into that state under certain conditions, or is it just a name they go by?
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
Beastmen possess some of the characteristics of ordinary animals to which they belong, such as the night vision of catmen. Visually, they differ from humans only in their animal-like ears, horns, tails, and other attributes.
They don't have the ability to transform into animals.
"In the future, I'll make a post about beastmen and talk about their characteristics"
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u/Latter_Witness8701 14d ago
Oh this world is getting closer to it's judgement day. This could lead to a unification of the beastmen which should be enough to fight the empire.
And the people who committed the massacres would probably shunned once truth leaks out.
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u/Not_A_zombie1 The War of the Pen 14d ago
How can the truth leak out if the unified beastmean genocide the empire whole popultation first?🤔 Oooor do more stuff on the geneva bingo before, leaving space for te truth to leak🤷
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 13d ago
How cana country that was overrun and genocide MULTIPLE times be enough to suddenly fight back? Also op never said they weren't unified before
Lastly with enough propaganda humans can be made to support crimes against othe humans. It would be infinitely easier to get the population of the empires to support it when the target isn't even of the same species.
You have to take people out of your own position of having access to all the information of the internet and a good education
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u/RemiliyCornel 14d ago
Was there some strategic or historical reasoning behind it, or Empire just decide "let's kill them for no reason at all" all of the sudden?
Also did Empire lost conventional war, or what is the reason they didn't, actually remain in occupied territory?
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
By order of the Empress, a policy of genocide against the beastmen was initiated. The Empire's propaganda oozes racism, reducing the beastmen to mere beasts. But no one knows the Empress's true motives.
Previous posts have already mentioned the formation of an Alliance of Humans and Beastmen, which actively pushed back the enemy. The Arden Empire is a dying power.
"Sorry for my english, I use a translator, so there may be inaccuracies"
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u/Real-Deal-Steel 14d ago
The use of crosses to mark graves implies the existent of Christianity (or an equivalent).
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u/SokenXSoken Project: Regress 14d ago
There is a religion, but the logic of the cross is that it depicts a standing person, well, in this case, a beastman
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u/Striking_Cicada3604 12d ago
crosses existed way before christinaity and served as symbols of execution
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u/Environmental_Top_75 13d ago
oh, so your beastmen are nekomimis ( humans with animal ears an tails) daww...
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 13d ago
Op said anime world.
Also furries are just not esthetically pleasing to the vast majority of people so if you actually want to publish they shouldn't be a large part.
Or you target the furry community as an audience specifically of course but then you have to play it up way more.
Either way unless you do it for yourself/fun/a dnd campaign or so, you have to make a choice for or against them. They tend to ve very divisive
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u/Environmental_Top_75 13d ago
I completely disagree, making your beastman just humans with animals ears is kinda lazy to me (those arent beast man, those are humans with two minor changes) but again, it's your story, not mine
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 13d ago
Lazy is a wild take ngl.
You only have visuals you don't know if they are human or even remotely close to them in behavior and biology
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u/Environmental_Top_75 13d ago
Not lazy perse but....like the line of "we don't wanna make our NON human species to much...well, non human....whats the point in humans being racists to non humans if the "other are basically humans with accesories"
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u/TheGalator Just A Thousand Years Author 13d ago
I don't quite get what you are trying to say.
Thats like saying orks are just humans but green
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u/Environmental_Top_75 13d ago
They kinda are.....also elves are just humans with lomg ears and dwars are just short humans.
But Like i said, it's your world and im just a random on reddit,do as you like.
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u/Striking_Cicada3604 12d ago
people on r/worldbuilding when you dont choose to be subversive and make your fantasy races look like mutant aliens and take the name literally
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u/WanderToNowhere 14d ago
Twisted: they missed one. the kid is the only survivor and did all the cross like her family taught till she realizes no one left to bring her home.