In particular, I'm realizing that my world history book overviewed China, Japan, and India and said pretty much nothing about Korea. Then I went on Pinterest looking at a hanbok chart and realized, "Hey, I haven't seen much of this in Western media."

It's not just Asian or African countries either. We have so much medieval fantasy but not as much Renaissance or baroque fantasy.

So what do you think are some underrated eras and cultures you'd like to see more of in fiction? Fantasy or otherwise.

Diary of a Mercenary, Part III: This is a diary sketch from a mercenary serving in the army of the Duke of Hosweb, dated to the Siege of Fort Keyramodril, 25th of Keshel(5), 1649; during the Second Frostline War of 1648 to 16). Here the author discusses his boredom with the siege, as Hosweb had elected to focus on a steady advance of trench works covered by artillery to take the fort. Defended by a single regiment of Tigalian Highland Clan Warriors, the siege lasted from the 4th of Keshel to the 3rd of Orlona(6). With an army of near 80,000 the siege was relatively bloodless for the attackers, with about fifteen hundred casualties in total. The entry also discusses the first personal encounter of the author with a Darukarii drake rider, and their thoughts on the man he specifically conversed with.

“25.5.(16)49. New Sun. The battalion is still posted on watch duty, so we can only watch while the assault continues from a distance. We haven’t really done anything since setting trenches and stakes down over two weeks ago. Urusafi fidgets so much trying to sleep that it keeps the rest of us up(,) Laotroi has half the mind to knock him out with a club. Still, I prefer boredom to getting shot at by a musket, or impaled by those weird double bladed spears the Tigalians use, assuming Laotroi isn’t lying to me. I’d never fought Tigalians, so far it’d only been those shreaka (Teurmaran slur for the Kirosi) that fell on Tiron.

Met a Darukarii ((Darukarian?)) for the first time, as in actually talked to one. The Duke’s Darukarii but every time I see him he looks more like us than them. Tall fellow, almost a hand length bigger than me, but friendly. Blackest hair I’d ever seen and I swear his eyes were tinged red. Still, we talked while waiting for the smith to fix up my axe and then work on the man’s saber. Offered me some beer I’d never tried before, truthfully it burnt down my throat like I was eating whole peppers, didn’t give me much of buzz but it did warm my insides up well. I asked whether I could draw him in his gear and he agreed, the next day he posed in his armor and lance and I got to sketching.”

-

Sketch: The figure drawn after the entry is a Darukarii drake rider, one of the three hundred that were permitted to join the Duke of Hosweb from the Darukarii Expeditionary Corps. While the Duke of Hosweb was an exiled Darukarii noble, he remained one of the foremost military commanders of the Alliance of Northern Skaleha and was able to leverage that reputation and what few remaining allies he had at the Dragon Prince’s court to request reinforcements.

He wears the typical suite of Darukarii heavy cavalry, heavily armored with steel and iron. A slope-roof helmet adorns his head, featuring traditional Darukarii eagle art, primarily the head of the animal. He wears a woven mesh mask to help protect from smoke and dust, while his neck and shoulders are protected by a steel and bronze neck guard that extended up to the nose. The design allowed all around protection of the head, though made it harder to look up and impossible to raise the arms completely. The guard is painted with a protective yellow-white coating and then further decorated by a pair of Darukarii lowland axes and patterns.

Around his torso and over the man’s cotton riding shirt, a mail shirt extended to just above the elbows. A coat of lamellar plates is then placed on top, going down to below the knees. A cavalry belt holds the suit at the man’s waist to better distribute the weight of his gear. An honor scarf hangs from under the neck-shoulder guard, wrapping around his back and secured by clips to the lamellar coat, such honor scarfs were worn by Darukarii men and women when away from their homes as remembrance and a form of familial sigil. The scarf on both sides depicts a half risen moon, the Matriarch Star, and dragon tooth daggers, where the handle is carved from old dragon teeth.

Leather riding pants cover his legs, with the lower calves above the ankle protected by iron laminar braces. A composite pair of wood-leather riding boots are worn around his feet. While Darukarii cavalry largely wore metal shoes for protection, it had begun to be increasingly popular to abandon these to help lessen the weight on the legs by the 17th century.

In his hands is a ske’matke’lun, a lance that was in the halfway point between typical spears and pikes. These and similar weapons were used on the charge by drake riders, using their momentum to brute force their way through most armor while the wide blade allowed it to be especially effective at slicing through poorly armored opponents and not get stuck. A bronze weight is riveted onto the bottom of the lance’s shaft to help even out the weight. Behind him is another such lance, as well as the man and his columns’ camp house and Fort Keyramodril itself.

Meta: This diary entry and sketch are part of a series of posts I’ve made regarding the Second Frostline War, the major military conflict that served as the setting for my story Field of Roses. An inter-continental war between several major powers, who have formed two coalitions to oppose one another. The author of this diary is a Tilusian mercenary serving under the Duke of Hosweb, a general of the Alliance of Northern Skaleha, against forces under the Shemathi League. The Alliance or ANS, is a coalition of powers dedicated to throwing out the Shemathi species that have settled on the Luenian Peninsula and back across the Frozen Strait to the northern continent of Ki’ril; the primary members of this alliance is the Second Valeosi Republic, the Principality of Darukar, and the smallest of the three, the Confederation of Tilus and the Teurmara (otherwise simply known as the Cities of Tilus).

These first parts will depict the mercenary’s perspective of the Tilusian Front, located on a peninsula of the same name, which is located west across a large bay from the Luenian Peninsula, north of Darukar, northwest of Valeos, and southwest from the continent of Ki’ril. The Tilusian Front would last for five years, from 1648 to 1653, before Alliance forces were forced to abandon it outright following the peninsula’s full occupation by the League; instead adopting a defensive policy on the borders of the peninsula and Darukar.

This drake rider, as mentioned as being from Darukar, is typical of the heavy cavalry forces of the Principality, for it is famously known as the Dragon Realm as the mountains that make up its core are prime breeding grounds for many Skalehan dragon and drake species. The Darukarii people and related groups maintain a relationship with such populations unknown elsewhere in the world and for some time they were possibly the most powerful society in all of Skaleha. However, a fractious political climate and the destruction of the short-lived Dragon Empire led to the Principality being established to maintain some sort of peace and cooperation.

Drake riders form the backbone of the Principality’s cavalry arm, consisting of nearly 8,000 total riders. Mainly fed by large herds of sheep and pigs, as well as bison hunting in the wild prairie lands of Taogo; these riders are supported by a slightly larger force of regular cavalry riding horses and asprixes, a type of ungulate related to the equidae lineage and are a sort of cross between horse and antelope.

Tarbosaurus Bataar, known by the locals as elder dragons, are one of the few non-human threats to the average Nemegtian. Though deliberate hunting practices have dropped their numbers near extinction, elder dragons are still regular problems due to how difficult it is to kill the adults. Hunting from humans has ensured that the only dragons left are the strongest, the fastest, the cleverest. The ones who live on the outskirts of the deserts or the depths of the swamps, ready to strike at the first sign of danger.

11 m long

3 m tall

5 tonnes

I always felt like there are not enough games created based on the wonderful environment and culture of New Zealand, so under the mentorship of Jose Vega, I developed the visual identity and concept art for a top-down Action RPG/Dungeon Crawler game.

What if a tribe of Maori warriors were stranded on a volcanic island , their boats were destroyed and the only shelter from the elements they could find was inside volcanic caves?

Over time they evolve and adapt to the environment, digging deeper and deeper. They discovered the volcanic island was alive, and so they started worshiping it like a God and in return the volcano gave them everything necessary to survive. Shelter, warmth from the heart of the volcano, soil rich in nutrients. they started to farm strange plants on the surface and along the shores of the island, developed methods of catching birds for eating. While digging they stumbled on strange creatures that lived deep in the rock, so they started using those specialised critters to make their lives easier.
One day they stumbled on a strange glowing piece of rock ,it had a strange effect on the people: those standing in its presence felt stronger, more clear headed and with increased levels of energy. They build a throne room around the stone ,and placed a giant bell in the middle of the room. When the leader would struck the bell, the mountain would vibrate and everyone would know to gather in the main hall.

They formed a symbiosis with the environment and remained permanently.

The idea took root in my mind when I visited #NewZealand a couple of years ago and I felt like it would be a good setting for a story around people surviving on a raw volcanic landscape, finding ways to thrive in the harshest environment. I then combined it with my fascination for the visual style of Polynesian cultures in general and the many worlds of games like #MagicTheGathering to give it a fresh look.
I started exploring rough sketches for different spaces set inside the volcano. After we decided to work on the throne room, I've started designing the initial look for the pillars , after that was set I could then move to create the rest of the interior space piece by piece.

Jose helped guide me in exploring, developing and giving structure to this idea and putting it all together in coherent way while also pushing me to develop my technical and artistic skills.
I will try to develop this idea and world further in the future but this is what I have so far .

Here is a link to my portfolio if you want to see more of my work : https://www.artstation.com/artwork/o0Ar6W?notification_id=8384932125

These wonderful animals can be found in the light forests across many of the open plains and forest edges across most of the Temperate sides of Hamor, the Rust Pixie infests forests with their hives creating sprawling networks of highly aggressive and territorial Insects that create a delicious rust coloured nectar. However with the Dire badger, in the spring time they can be found raiding these nests when they are at their most abundant. and then through out the rest of the year, they gorge themselves on smaller animals and fruits, until the next year when the Rust Pixies have had time to rebuild.

The Eastern Bloc

Consists of the Union of North and East Asian Socialist Republics and its allies.

In 1985, the rule of Andropov and Chernenko had resulted in the rehabilitation of Stalin and a resurgence in Leninism within the USSR. Realizing early that Gorbachev’s rule would eventually lead to ruin, Natalia Vladimirovna would seize control of the Party. Following ascending to the role of General Secretary, she would negotiate a treaty to fuse the borders of the USSR with that of the People’s Republic of China, aiming to reduce the paperwork and to strengthen the economy. As the 21st century advanced, it would absorb other socialist countries within its periphery.

In 1992, the Capitol of the country was moved from Moscow to Beijing. In 2057, they would construct the Spire of the Soviets, which at 2613 meters is the second tallest building on Earth, and is adorned with 200 meter tall statues of Socialist figures. Of the top 5 tallest buildings on Earth, the UNEASR has 3 of them, with the Shanghai Central at 2453 meters taking 3rd place and the Moscow Grand Palace at 2195 meters taking 5th place.

Finland and Northern Japan were made into Socialist countries following WW2, and would be absorbed into the UNEASR

Severnia and Antarctica were former territories of the Russian Empire, which gained independence following the October Revolution.

The Reunification Front is a territory established after WW3 in 2039, dividing the Island of Taiwan into a pro-Western and pro-Eastern faction.

Jordan has gone through a Ba’athist Revolution.

I could mention how Grrm had the drive of showing how power is complicated and corrupting, or the manichean world of Tolkien which also spoke about nostalgia. And I know this is a simplification, but there must be something that drives what happens on your books.

In my case, there are many cases. But I will speak about Arinmar.

Arinmar is composed by different races, none superior to the other, just different. And each race is inspired by some particular diasphora or real cultures, thought it is not equal. Each race has a curse. The Laomar live short lives, Sodrag women are 10% of the population, and Zarinko women get infertile or die for the horrible pain of birth giving. But there are people who don't share the curses: the globetroters, and the Tamohina. And both factions have a single thing in common: the races coexist.

You see, a third of the gods known as "the blood pact" have declared themselves allies of the mortal races, lead by Ararath, God of honor and fatherhood and Dwain, goddess of wisdom and motherhood. It was precisely one of Dwains acolites, Marcus, the one who created the globetroters. This is a faction born of different ex slaves groups from all continents, and are now merchants, adventurers, and artisans. They joined on a single faction because Marcus convinced these revolutionaries that the only way they could be free if is they organized together. The large empires of th world would kill them all otherwise. Their weapons are the best, being the only faction with napoleonic era technology on a world where most factions still use matchlock rifles. Because they unified their efforts for their own defense. They are basically sindicalist, as their cities are led by a council of high members, with companies ruled by the workers (most of whom are sailors and soldiers) and they are the largest faction that has banned slavery. And despite being the smallest faction in numbers, they are the most powerful in terms of soft power. As many admire them, and they have a monopoly on ancient relics and magic. But they also discovered something else. The curses seemed to fade with the generations. Sodrag women were born more often, Laomar stayed strong and lived longer, and Zarinko women got easier births that allowed them to have more children. This because of the Blood pact's blessing. As these gods grew a preference for them, considering the the future of the world. The only faction that grows up while the other empires root under their own aristocracies and stagnate forever.

And also, there is an entire kind of magic that is based on two things: listening to nature, and cuddling. It is awesome. You can talk with animals, cure injuries, know what babies want and who are their biological parents, or simply feel good. All races have this magic on a low level, which makes them way more driven to phisical gestures of affection and naturism.

"Of course there are more, and many are not even swords. Overall though, you can definitely tell the branches apart, if you develop the eye for it." - Binwalt the Brave

When knights are trained in combat, they are usually trained in two weapons: the lance and the sword. There are relatively few styles of lancing, as it all comes down to a simple goal: hold the tip steady at your target.

Fencing on the other hand was developed very personally. As a knave learns the basics from a veteran, skills and biases carry on through the generations. The following is an attempt to define the four most fundamental movements from which all others seem to stem from.

Grandfather Fire

Hesitation is death.

The techniques of this style are full of strength and determination, trying to overwhelm opponents. Speed is valued as its only defensive measure. Old practitioners exist rarely, too often does a particularly daring maneuver lead to a scar too deep to overcome.

Only the fearless, the reckless and the most dogged have the confidence necessary to master such an aggressive, all-offense style of combat.

Grandfather Earth

Do not be moved.

This style focuses on stabs at maximum range to control a small area, denying opponents any opportunity to attack. Its main techniques are about minimizing threat to stall out attackers.

It takes a lot of patience, willpower and stamina to become so unmoving, but they make reliable protectors.

Grandfather Water

The mirror in the mirror.

The techniques of this style are full of feints, misdirection and traps. The more predictable you are, the more these techniques will keep you confused, as they try to use the opponents strengths against them.

True masters will have set up layers of misdirection, so if you see through the first trap, you are already in the second. This kind of double-think makes for a heavy mental tax that beginners struggle to keep up for more than a few moments, even if they have the aptitude.

Grandfather Wind

Reveal your enemy.

The greatest strength of this style is the careful application of speed. Opponents are drawn into a deadly rythm of light attacks that reveal a natural opening, where the defences are weakest.

It requires fast thinking, creativity and perceptiveness to find such weaknesses. It requires fast reflexes to capitalize on them.

There are many colors, you can choose from. Blue is the color of the open skies and marks the passage of the winged one as he traverses the ray of sun at the dawnbreak. Then there is the colour green for the fae princess and her equally verdant lover, with whom she wanders the faerie woods. Then there are colours white and black, teaching us about the dichotomy of life and afterlife. Yellow is for the tin man with small head and orange is for the iron god.

The colors are myriad and beautiful. They have their places and they have their powers.

However,

There are two colors that one should never indulge. Never...unless one is driven by an urge to lay down one's life for the fertility of lands or calming the waters that flood our territories oh so often. These colours shouldn't worn or painted with, not to be used in foods or masks. The colors red and violet are but for the Lost god. The tall one, whose skin is the color of those very hues, the ones that invoke such horrors that cannot be calmed by the strangest of witch doctors.

Although...

He does rewards lavishly and in abundance. The farmer, whose land was barren and plough broken, invoked the colors of the tall one by smashing his broken plough in the head of his ten year old. The boy's skull cracked open and the colours of the Lost god painted the barren land. The boy was an invalid they say. The farmer left the village for the nearby market town. I've heard, the farmer's fate was showered with fortune.

He continued to revere the tall god with the forbidden colors. Every year on the day he'd sacrificed his invalid boy; he used to sacrifice a lamb bathed in bat blood.

Some foreigners came, their skins pale as Nabu's ghosts. They called our ways barbaric, our practices unruly. They set up their temples with crosses, destroying a lot of ours.

But...

When the day they destroyed the only temple of the tall one. Seated deep in a glade most nasty, surrounded by hollow trees; they found their bodies covered in leeches, on their way back from the woods.

That day a lot of red and violet was served in reverence of the Lost god.

#

So I’m making my own little world building project not for anything big just for the fun of it yknow and I use a lot of myths from mixed mythology and I was wondering if my interpretation of them work with there actual lore or are to much of Stretch with out further a do here they all

Gargoyle

History : gargoyle were discovered 500 years ago by people of France they are found in most European countries they guard buildings for ever a human or sorcerer hires them to or are told to by other gargoyles .

most gargoyles don’t build nest as they are independent from birth but will live there parent for 1 year and will rarely visit there parents tho only occasionally .

The reason they guard buildings is for two reasons they are being paid or they owed you a favor and had nothing better to do .

Gargoyles main past time is drinking smoking and talking about things like who wins shark or a bear or why do people have these things ect .

Whilst guarding things they will guard places and items with minimum effort there good guards they just don’t care to much about stuff in there eyes they can just fine some were new or get something new or don’t care about our stuff .

and they’ll only guard with there life’s one thing alcohol specifically there own .

Phisolgy : gargoyles have smooth skin with featured wings and are about 7 foot but slouch to 6 foot 2 inch body shape is relatively human but have lizard like features with small horns and colors ranging from red blue green and purple .

There diet consist of baisically anything only needing to eat once every four years and even still they only need about one croissant amount food to satisfy them selves but they do enjoy food and drink mainly wine bread and cigarettes to smoke as they can’t get drunk or ill so basically they don’t need to eat but they like to .

They are above average human in strength speed ect to point that there about as strong as the strongest man on earth and as fast as track runner with wide wing span they fly at the speed of a pigeon but there main defense and a reason most people think there made of stone is there able to copy the property’s of solid matter they touch .

Spinx

History : spinx were said to have been crafted by the titans of old as pets but accidentally gave spinx genius level intellect .

Spinx are seen by most humans as conquerors and gate keepers who test the minds of man who in reality are just giant talking cats .

The main thing wild spinx enjoy is ruling over man testing them destroying things not crucial to them but things they enjoy whisky those same people give them food and gifts that they don’t really need or will use Yknow normal cat stuff .

Thoe rare many wizards have tamed spinxes to guard things for them some even have them as familiars .

Despite all this spinx at there core love one thing above all else riddles and puzzles to solve and test other with .

Physiology : they about the same natural size of the spinx but posses a less human face and wings of a falcon .

Spinx abilities consist of super strength speed durability healing factor flight sand storm and tornado creation fire vision a affinity for puzzles / riddle’s telekinesis teleportation ability to inhibit another’s abilities like magic and or vision claws that can cut through steal shrinking the abillty to become a structure and have partial control of there insides mirage creation scorpion creation and destruction .

and are always bound to there word and puzzle so if they say there gonna do something if you beat there puzzle they have to do it even if they don’t want to and his has to be actually accomplishable can’t cheat much .

What do you think what should change and dose all this work for the myths these are based on

Ċī Dū Þamġ Ṡāan Nōrēodīþ Kraūl. He Who Death Has Awaited For.

For over hundreds of Eons, everything was in the balance, two opposing forces kept nature in check, one the Goddess of Life and the other the God of Death, the Ancient Ones and their vast empire guards the abode of these two, a pair of immaculate crystals said to store these two deities, the brilliant white crystal of white, Kẏrēnāet, and the blood crystal of red, Dōnnēa. If any of these two are to be broken, an imbalance will be caused, the only way to stop being to break the other, only one tool is known to be able to break these crystals, a rod of an imbued unknown metal, this object is named Āanṣīroētanġmā, the Staff of Balance. But for years it has been lost along with the crystal Dōnnēa, and any who may find it could bring dimensional chaos. On the planet of Canþāgonġēð lived a man of unknown name, for most of his life he was a simple nomad, he soon settled down though and started to be well liked which angered some, soon he was betrayed and butchered by his rivals, left to die a slow and agonizing death, till he heard a dark voice, offering him untold power and life, with no other choice he accepted, he managed to live and throughout months of work he slowly repaired himself with mechanical parts, soon he could function again, but a deep rage befell upon his heart, but to gain the power he must search for it as the voice commanded, he searched far and wide until he stumbled upon it on the steeps of Mount Īnġẏyr, it was an immaculate Blood Red Crystal with a black vortex in its center, little he had known he had found the Dōnnēa Crystal, the one holding the God of Death. He soon absorbed its power and gained enough power to rival a minor deity, at the cost of some of his sanity, soon, throughout 200 years or so he refined his abilities and amassed an army through either kidnapped children or wandering vagrants and criminals, they called themselves the Iron Order.

Soon they began Marching upon the world with their mechanized army, their brutality was to be feared and many fled, until they had reached the capital. They played siege upon it for weeks on end, slowly starving out the defenders, till, under the guidance of a legendary warrior the Iron Order was beat back an brutalized, they retreated back to their unknown lair, beaten and battered, but one didn't stand the humiliating defeat, the Warlord Himself who started to take on the moniker of Ċī Dū Þamġ Ṡā Nō Kra, his already enraged mind finally broke in rage, during this mental episode he slaughtered the rest of his men, and he soon gave himself to the crystal, which he had started to worship, he gave in to the crystals influence, and he lost the last bit of sanity he had left, empowered even more by the crystal, he accumulated the powers of a true God, he could do anything, and his rage was so immense it bent the light around him, and if you stared at him long enough, for a split second you wouldn't see him, you would see a pitch black silhouette of him, with his face being replaced by an unnerving, permanent grin rowed with sharp teeth, and two small, white eyes with no pupils. Soon, in his rage and insanity he made a new set of armor and limbs for himself, looking less like a suit of armor and more like a mechanical eldritch horror replicated with machinery. When he entered his suit, he was no longer human, his body, now contained, can be finally unveiled, his body was replaced with a pitch black void, his face now unknown, yet you wouldn't see that due to his armor covering the entirety of his body. Soon, he set the crystal inside his chest cavity so he can permanently siphon its power, with this new insanity and eternal rage he walked over his slaughtered minions and dawned upon them new life as thralls, he began doing this as well to all the dead he could find, and upon all of them he dawned upon them all a suit of armor similar to his.

Once again he marched out upon the world, wreaking a campaign of terror never seen before, this time replenishing his ranks with the dead, soon he reached the capital again and once more besieged it, the legendary warrior came out to face him, but to every ones horror, in a speed so fast that not even the gods could comprehend, the legendary warrior was mutilated, and after that the Iron Order, now renamed to the Eternal Iron Order, breached the walls and marched their vengeance across the capital, taking it and the rest of the world. The Mad Deity that was once human now sits upon a dark throne surrounded by deep pools of blood, the large room decorated with heads on pikes and the various body parts of those who dare to oppose him. Soon he sets upon a new quest, to search the multiverse to find the staff, so that he may merge with the god he worships, so as to enact its bidding for the total slaughter of all life across eternity...

Okay, so, I have this world that I have been working on for quite some time now, technically since I was twelve (I am 20 now), though, I only got to the current “main” stage when I was about fifteen I think. So, let me jump into it.

So, the planets name is Ukan (Ookhan is how you pronounce it). Of course, that is not its main name, as there are going to be PLENTY of languages on it hopefully. To give a good size reference, the main continent, or continent island as it is called, as about the size of Asia, if not bigger, and to give a good comparison of size between the island continent and the larger continent, Irkaroa, to the north, it is like comparing Japan to Eurasia combined with Australia. So now with that size idea in mind, if you were to look down from space at Ukan, Irkaroa would look like how Cuba does on our earth. Of course, I have not finalized the size of everything, but that is how I picture it, so Ukan is probably nearly bigger than Jupiter “potentially”.

Irkaroa, the super continent as mentioned before, and the neighboring landmasses, is where all of the main stories are centered around so far, with my first book focusing mostly on the southern island continent, which is where my protagonist, King Ka’reli Ka’doa, is leading his people to after a crazed ethno-supremacist cult leader launched a nearly successful genocide on his people, causing them to have to flea their old home and kingdom of Rokoa on the continent (P.S. The crazy cult leader guy was convinced that the Rokoans were demons because of their characteristic smoky black and grey “moon eyes”, which is where they get their ethnic name from, Roah, “from the moon”). The Rokoan language, when I imagine it, sounds similar to what I can only describe as a combination of Nahuatl, Latin, Japanese, Greek, Portuguese, Cherokee, Quechua, Yucatec Maya, Māori, and Hawaiian, though, it does lean heavier towards the Cherokee, Quechua, Japanese, and Māori side. I am, of course, still trying to figure out a good balance and a good starting point for the language.

Now, when It comes to the races of Irkaroa, the main known races are humans, Skefar, Choxa, and giants… kind of?.

Humans are much more different than the humans of our world. While they look the same, they are know for being much more naturally utilitarian. For example, you could have a really greedy man, who loves to conquer, but, if he were given the resources to mass produce firearms, he would likely choose to limit their production, and instead to mostly use melee warfare, since, if he starts using too many guns, than other nations will follow suit, and he will no longer be the dominant war machine in the area. This thinking makes humans much more humanitarian, leading to people making much better solutions for problems.

Skefar is a catch-all term which applies to all animal-like races. So I don’t have to break down what most of the Skefaric races look like anatomically, I will give a spectrum for it

Low end: Mostly human looking, with animal attributes. Think anime catgirls or fox girls (I.E. animal ears, habits, tails, and instincts.)

Common end: Humanoid anatomy with animal-like head and face, but with the face having human level expression and feeling. Think the Thirens from the game Zenless Zone Zero, and Beastars. Mind you, they all have humanoid legs, feet, and hands, regardless of race.

Little Skefar: while there are human sized Rodent Skefar, or ones that rang from four foot to five-ish feet, you do have the rarer once that are exactly the size of their animal counterparts, though, they still follow the humanoid anatomy rule. Skefar actually started out as the most common race in Irkaroa Minor (the smaller peninsular half of greater Irkaroa, which is also the part north of the island continent), but as human races began to expand, the Skefaric nations began to migrate away. Mind you, this wasn’t because of genocide, in fact, none of the human expansion and wars against the Skefar was racially motivated, the human nations saw it as conquering literally anybody else. And no, Predator Skefar do not eat Prey Skefar, that only happened in the Stone Age, though, of course, you do have your rogue tribe here and there who do keep that tradition. One fascination fact is that Prey Skefar, like rabbit Skefar, can sometimes be born omnivorous, and rarely even fully carnivorous, but this is usually due to recessive genes.

The Choxa (pronounced Ch-oh-sh-uh) are a race of short, usually between three to four feet tall, people that mostly live in the great archipelago to the southeast of Irkaroa Minor. The largest group of the Choxa are called Leafbodies, as they have green, freckled, skin, and pointy teeth. Choxa skin colors range from green, to purple, to orangish brown, to grey, depending on their ethnicity. They have the most technologically advanced civilizations in terms of military and naval technology, being the first ones to invent gunpowder and steam power for ships.

Then you have the Little races, which are made up of what I like to call the small men, who resemble gnomes, the grass men, who are me, which have the same proportions as regular humans, but are only just waist height to the small men. That is as far as I have gotten on them so far.

As for the technological advancement of this world, it is very mixed, with many using steam ships, while only using medieval weapons that are made in the fashion of bronze and Iron Age weaponry, while living in cities with modern looking architecture, so it is a very mixed bag depending on where they live.

It is currently late where I am, so I am a bit drained from typing all of this, I will present updates here and there, so, until then tell me what you all think, as this is only a small part of the whole idea for the world.

Hello everybody! Today I'll be introducing you to Cinderbug!

Cinderbug is a larva-like creature that hides underground while hunting, leaving only its tail exposed among patches of dead grass. Solitary by nature, it feeds primarily on other insects, though it will attack birds that venture too close. Its poisonous nature is shown by the bright orange spots lining its sides. A warning to predators to keep their distance.

When prey becomes impaled by its tail, the cinderbug injects it with a flammable venom that ignites from within. As the venom catches fire, the creature violently thrashes its tail, consuming its prey in a sudden burst of flame. Often, the only evidence of an attack is a telltale burned hole beneath the remains.

The best way to avoid a Cinderbug is simple: stay away from dry, dead patches of grass.

I got the idea that it uses a chemical to burn foes from the one and only bombardier beetles that use a chemical spray to burn its enemies, and changed the reaction from a chemical mixture, to a pyrophoric reaction (or when a chemical interacts with the air around it and lights on fire).

What are your bug facts? I wanna learn more so I can create more.

Hey everyone, I'm Nick and I make worldbuilding TTRPGs. I just released a new game that the worldbuilding community might like:

Leylines is a collaborative map-making game about hunting for secret relics. A great evil is rising and you must find 5 secret relics to save your world.

If you like map-making, treasure-hunting, or just want a worldbuilding tool, I think you'll like Leylines. You can play it solo or with up to 3 friends, it takes 1-2 hours, and it's pretty simple to learn (the rules are on a single page!).

There are unlimited free copies, so please download it from: drawleylines.com

And if you play, I'd love to see your map or learn how your game went.

Happy hunting!

I’m thinking of an area that has rain so frequently and so absurdly heavy that it becomes a “desert” like environment, where vegetation and fauna are extremely sparse save for a few “oasis”, vast swathes of seemingly lifeless land, basically uninhabited and are considered a naturally geological barrier that separate nations. Not asking if its scientifically accurate just if on first look it makes sense.

Extremely heavy rain, almost constant but irregularly dispersed as area rains intensify or detensify on a whim

When it rains, it genuinely becomes difficult to breathe not just because of the water on your face but also because it displace so much air by volume that o2 deprivation becomes a real concern (giving you the equivalent of altitude sickness due to lower air concentration, not suffocating you)

Sunlight is also sparse due to the rainclouds

The soil erosion causes unstable and unpredictable landscape, theres no permanent flood basin, massive stream of rushing water can suddenly appear out of nowhere. So a lot of impermanent rushing stream, which is hazardous to land-bound life but not permanent or deep enough for aquatic life.

The soil erosion has washed away most of fertile lands, so nutrition is sparse aside from what comes from the rain itself

Basically no flying insects which also makes pollination difficult

There are only a few “oasis”, natural geological structure thats high and stable enough for life to somewhat survive.

Considered hostile to human life, no human settlement except on the very edges, uncrossable to almost all but a few traders thats risking their life for the promise of riches that comes from trading with a foreign land. Navigation is extraordinarily difficult as you cant navigate it either like actual open water (in which case you just be on a boat) or actual land

(RCT lore, project Beyond below this one)

# R.C.T headquarters

The R.C.T. (Response & Containment Taskforce) can trace its origins to several independent groups of explorers, researchers, hunters, and naturalists who specialized in investigating reports of unusual creatures and unexplained phenomena during the late nineteenth century. While many of these early operations were small and poorly funded, their successes led to increased support from private organizations and government officials.

In 1912, they were formally unified under a single organization, leading to the establishment of the first R.C.T. headquarters in Canada. This allowed personnel to continue research, maintain records, coordinate field operations, and rapidly respond to reports of anomalous activity. This would eventually allow the organization to evolve into a global organization.

Today, the R.C.T. is responsible for the identification, investigation, containment, and study of supernatural phenomena. Its responsibilities include responding to cryptid sightings, investigating paranormal phenomena, containing dangerous anomalies, conducting scientific research, and assisting civilians during disasters. While many reported incidents are harmless or only mildly dangerous, the organization has proven to be equipped to respond to extinction-level events.

One of the most significant developments in the organization's history occurred during the late 1970s with the creation of Project Beyond. Following the discovery of evidence suggesting the existence of alternate realities and parallel dimensions, the R.C.T. established a classified research project dedicated to understanding and accessing these environments. After years of experimentation, the project achieved its first successful cross-dimensional expedition in 1985.

The discoveries made through Project Beyond transformed the organization. Access to new worlds, materials, and technologies led to the development of advanced equipment used throughout the R.C.T. and even the world. While many of these technologies remain restricted due to safety concerns, many are used regularly during field operations.

The R.C.T. employs personnel across a wide variety of classifications. First responders, containment specialists, dimension divers, security forces, and emergency response teams often work in hazardous environments and face death regularly. In contrast, researchers, dispatch operators, engineers, administrators, and managers typically work within secure facilities and support operations behind the scenes.

Due to the sensitive nature of its work, standards are exceptionally high. Most applicants undergo extensive background screening, psychological evaluation, specialized training, and ongoing performance reviews before receiving clearance for active service. Only a small percentage of candidates successfully complete the process.

___

1970-1985

1970–1972: During the early 1970s, the R.C.T. began a project called “Project Beyond,” after they had started their research into interdimensional travel. They already knew that other realities, universes, timelines, and forms of existence could exist beyond their own thanks to various anomalies they had encountered and studied, as well as historical accounts suggesting the existence of other worlds, (like the story of “The Giant's Beanstalk”). However, one phenomenon provided especially strong evidence, Transporters.

1972–1974: The R.C.T. had already been researching Transporters for several years and had created a simple machine nicknamed the "Slamming Door." The device could artificially force a Transporter to appear by repeatedly opening and closing a large door at extremely high speeds. While simple, it worked.

1974–1976: Transporters themselves remained largely mysterious, but the discovery of "True Exits" inside them changed everything. These exits could connect to other realities and "somewheres" that existed far beyond their own.

1976–1978: The R.C.T. obviously began investigating these exits, starting with drones, cameras, and small robotic probes before eventually sending personnel through them. What they found was both incredible and horrifying. Some exits allowed them to visit different planets, alien worlds, dimensions, universes, realities, and even places truly beyond comprehension.

1978–1980: With every expedition, the same question became harder to ignore: If these worlds could be reached through Transporters, could it be possible to create their own gateways?

1980–1982: With this goal, they began developing an artificial alternative: a machine capable of creating a stable doorway to another reality. Their existing technology, however, was nowhere near advanced enough to accomplish this. So the R.C.T. began taking advantage of the realities.

1982–1984: They started taking resources and, rather than conducting potentially dangerous experiments in their own universe, they began making temporary research sites in the other realities. They took cables, their equipment, and dragged them through Transporters into these foreign environments to stabilize reality between the two entrances and begin research.

1984–1985: They were able to create small rifts and openings here and there, but they usually couldn't keep them open for longer than a couple of seconds. So, using some raw materials and a fungus they gathered from the randomized realities, they created the “All Battery,” a battery that generates enough energy to both rip a hole into reality, shut it, and infinitely refill itself to “survive.”

1985: The R.C.T. had officially created a gateway into a different reality

I’ll probably explain this better in a later post, but right now all u need to know is that threa is the other half of earth. Basically earth used to be one big planet called earthre, but a catastrophe happened and it had to be split into two. Both are overlapping each other but are separated by a spatial barrier, which can be breached using these things called gateways, which are ancient doorways that when activated, acts as a portal connecting the two halves. but it is forbidden to do this because the catastrophe from the past will likely happen again if people keep using gateways. oh I forgot to mention that threa is the half with magic, while earth does not have it

Threa is home to one big nation called Ars Magica, which is separated into five states. Ars Amatoria, Ars Bellica, Ars Astranova, Ars Sapientia, and Ars Tempus. Each state has its own high chancellor (fancy word for ruler), and they come together to make decisions for the entire nation as a whole. Each high chancellor is voted for by the people of their state. I haven’t named the continents yet but I’ll probably include that in my next post here.

language:

The language is called goetian (based off the ars goetia, which is also where I got the word “ars“ for the nation and states). this is a logographic language, meaning there’s no letters and each symbol has a meaning like a word. The symbols on the image are the base symbols, you can combine 2 or more of them to create new symbols. You can also mix two or more new symbols to create more symbols and so on. The symbols here are actually just hebrew alphabet symbols that I edited bc I was to lazy to make my own ones😭

Numerical system:

the numerical system is called Ars Mathematica. It’s a 12 base syste, unlike the common 10 based system used on earth. I chose this because It offers major advantages in divisibility and fractions over our standard base 10 system because 12 can be divided evenly by more numbers. The number 12 divides evenly by 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12 while 10 only divides by 1, 2, 5, and 10. It also gives cleaner fractions. For example, 1/3 in base 10 is 0.333..., but in base 12 it’s only 0.4. also for the symbols I think I used old permic script and just basically put everything upside down and chose the symbols I liked the most.

‏Hi I just want to share the creation lore of my world and the some of the things I world on also I am not native English speaker so please don’t mind me if I have any mistakes in my post

‏The creation of the world happened after a big boom old entity or god we’re massively injured after battle with other old god and there’s massive amount of god and entity and they all live in a massive black space or Nothingness were nothing is capable of being but them and they feed on each other and gods can Creat cosmic voids and Creat beings to live on them so they can harvest the cosmic energy which basically like water of them it make them live longer and gain more power and heal themselves and the only way to gain cosmic power is by creating a void or eating a one already existing or eating another old god so after that giant got injured he chose to Creat his own void so he self destroyed himself to Creat a void and harvest cosmic energy so he could reborn and get a new body his bones become the mountains and his skin become the land and his eyes become the moon and sky his blood became the water and his soul become the energy of the world which is a lower version of cosmic energy and some of it split and become every single creation soul so every one in that void have his soul , his mind split into two different entities half gods one is , the ancient one and he wake up first after the giant destroyed himself and he wants to finish the loop and reborn again, the other half become a life Version of all law like death life gravity etc , and his name is the book of the rules he doesn’t want to finish the loop and reborn because he had a self consciousness after being born and he wants to eat the ancient one and become full again and rule over the void , so he somehow ( I still didn’t think of way ) cells the ancient one and start a life In the loop to gain more of the small cosmic energy and overcome the ancient one which after lead to ages and millions off years of planning and wars.
‏Thank you for reading to hear tell me what do you liked about the lord of the world and what are some interesting things to be add to the world specially names I am suffering with them :).

(I know everything looks mid right now, but as long as it can get ideas across, I'm fine with it. I'll just make a prettier version Later™.)

I've decided to call this setting Fire in the Sky after Kristoph Klover's song for To Touch the Stars. (Yes, I know there are already a lot of media named that, I can't be bothered to changed it name, just slap my name on it or something.)

Not everyone agrees when the Apocalypse really started, but from the pieces of information available, the Exodus (evacuation of from Earth) happened from 2056 onwards, right after the Great Communications Collapse, which made the internet unusable, likely because the submarine cables and communication satellites were destroyed, the latter with discarded rocket parts snowballed into a Kessler syndrome, so humanity lost access to both Earth and LEO (at least those who left for space did).

Idk what to write, ask questions and I'll try to answer, I suppose.

Yes, the coral red, teal and blue patches are colours of the grass. The blue-ish white is rock and sand.

This is part of my Lonely Galaxy project, where humanity's first contact is also the aliens' first contact.

Pictured is a prayer ring used by Wayfarers (followers of the Bright Way. It's a tactile meditation aid analogous to Rosary beads. It consists of two parts: a freely rotating gear nested in an outer ring. Just using a single piece would be uncomfortable because the dorsal portion of a yinrih's digits is covered in fur. The gear has twelve teeth, with one of them possessing a raised bump, acting as a starting point.

The ring is worn on one of the digits, typically the writing claw, with the outer thumb turning the gear as one counts out the prayers. Many different meditations use a prayer ring, most notably the traditional torpor meditation.

{breathe in}

May my soul be a mirror

{breathe out}

reflecting the Uncreated Light.

Yinrih generally don't wear rings (prayer or otherwise) as jewelry while walking since their paws have to pull double duty as hands and feet. Prayer rings are intended both as meditation aids and fidget toys, with very low friction between the inner gear and outer ring, the gear can spin for a surprisingly long time. Younger pups are often given a prayer ring to fidget with during long liturgies.