⦃ ¼ Eternity - Out of Character ⦄
∞
∞
lore of the OrW universe and all that good stuff:
The known continents number three -
- that of Ketmayr, the warm northern continent of the old world,
- that of Merreteria, its colder southern brother,
- that of Arcreete, where Riverain resides.
Ketmayr consists of the Ket Empire, a coalition of provinces that make up most of the continent's southern half, the countries of Tamasia, Giré, Nihlam, Nihah, Múm, Zhiro-yye, and Inami, along with the vast and unconquered desert and tundras of the north-east and rainforests of the north-west. It's the fertile crescent if the fertile crescent was both Iceland and Ecuador up north.
Holem is an island to the north-east of Ketmayr rumored to be populated by an incredibly advanced, unknown sapient people.
Merreteria consists of the Garr, the alliance between the elves of the Garr island and the humans of the northernmost tip of Merreterian Peninsula (the Ancient Greeks, but with Dark Elves), the countries of Berika, Chüvlauk, Medesi and Baersaeel, the kingdom of Suoryyath, the peppered islands in the Beaking Gulf, and the Empire of Lirinan on the far west.
Arcreete consists of Visolkia and Riverain, the Baersi colonies of Aersaeel, the Skerra-Kar mountain range and the vast uncharted jungles of Faan'os-syy.
I don't have a map for Riverain, yet, but I'll get one up in a day or so. The capital is Orfelin Port (yes, that's just Orphan in French) and the royal family is the Infeni line. It's somewhat of a loose rule in Riverain, where most towns govern themselves. They trade through water-ways, with barges running through most of the marshy country-side and allowing their exports to filter into the main port cities. The Skerra-Karr mountain range is their eastern border, to the south is the forests, and north is Visolkia (or Visolkya, if your character is from there).
Humans ⋅ Humans aren't as agile as elves or hearty as dwarves, but they make up for this in their impressive ability to adapt to any environment. 70-90 year lifespan, approximate.
- Half-elves, also called elflings, are the offspring of a human and an elf. 120-140 year lifespan.
- Half-dwarves, also called dwarflings, are the offspring of a human and a dwarf. 150-175 year lifespan.
- Half-orcs, also called orklings, are the offspring of a human and an orc. 70-90 year lifespan.
- Selkins, or sea-children, are the (often unwitting) offspring of a human and a selkie. Unknown lifespan.
- Dhamphyre, the living child of an undead woman, with the strengths of a vampire but none of the weaknesses. Lives indefinitely.
Undead manifest as vampires, ghosts, liches, and as the mindless bodies necromancers summon. They can survive (without truly living) indefinitely, but require the life-force of mortals to continue their existence.
- Vampires are undead who retain their physical bodies and sentience, and feed by bloodletting living humans, killing or maiming them. One can be killed by ripping its heart out (in which case it will starve), dismemberment with a blessed blade of Aulon (god of the sun), burning, or direct exposure to sunlight.
⋅ There is a very, very small chance that a pregnant woman will revive as a vampire and the baby will survive, resulting in a half-living dhampyre or dhamphir.
- Ghosts, also known as specters, phantoms, wights, and a plethora of other names, are undead that do not retain their physical bodies. They feed by draining a living-space of its energy in increments, resulting in 'hauntings' that wear on victims' emotional stability and health. They can be dispersed through divine or occult rituals and blessings, and killed through the outlawed practice of necromancy. Ghosts revive as a result of some unrest in life or through magical tampering.
- Liches were necromancers in life who cheated death through ritual. They retain their physical bodies, though they continue to decompose after death and can only move and function through continued practice. They feed by draining a large area of its life-force (illness, fatigue, and sudden-death on a town-wide scale, for example).
Dwarves ⋅ Dwarves are the mortal descendants of the gnomes, the earth elementals. Short and wide, they are typically pale or grey-skinned with small, brown eyes and hair colors ranging from black to brown to red. Most males wear beards. Nearly all dwarves are formidably intelligent by a human's standard, especially with their hands, and they can outmatch and outwit any human or elf in strength of body or cunning. Hailing from Suoryyath, the mountainous and frigid south of Merreteria, their cities are mostly subterranean. 270-320 year lifespan.
- Yuorunde, lit. "Children of Below", are a cave-dwelling civilization heard of only in Dwarven myth. They were described as an impish, beast-like race.
Elves ⋅ Elves are mortal descendants of the Sylphs. Common among all regional variations are large, almond-shaped eyes and long, triangular ears. Males do not display facial hair. They are lithe and often beautiful by human standards. Their hearts beat 250 times a minute when stimulated properly, leaving them with lighting-quick reflexes, but they sleep ~10 hours a day to make up for the exertion. Their kingdom is that of Múm in Ketmayr. 200-220 year lifespan.
- Garrish, the elves of Merreteria that advanced alongside the humans of that area, who go by the same name. Ashen-skinned with dark eyes and flaxen hair, the average height of both man and woman is 6'3" (190.5 cm).
- Syyni, the elves of Arcreete, who occupy its vast jungle. Tan, with brown eyes and sandy-blonde or brown hair, they are shorter than their Garrish and Ketti cousins (though taller than humans) and considered diminutive and kinda prejudiced. It's rare to see them outside their own homogeneous civilization.
Orcish ⋅ Orcs are the mortal descendants of the Salamanders (dragons). Tall and hulkish, with protruding lower eyeteeth, patches of scales, calcified spikes for hair, and thick skin, the Orcs are a race of nomads native to the desert tundras of Ketmayr's high north. Considered barbaric and untrustworthy by other races, they are privy to states of savage rage when truly frightened, but otherwise civil as a society. Natural horsemen, they are responsible for the massive size and sturdiness of the Tundra Steeds. Think huns, but bigger. 80-100 year lifespan.
Selkies ⋅ Selkies are the mortal descendants of the Undines. They appear as normal humans, if unsaturated and sea-washed, but are marked by their insatiable wanderlust (specifically their draw towards the ocean) and distant personalities. They also turn into seals after a while in the water, and then promptly forget they are seals when they turn back. Very little is known about them, though legends are common to the coastal cities of southern Ketmayr and northern Merreteria. Unknown lifespan.
The Fey ⋅ Also known as the Fair Folk, they are the fifth, wild-card companion to the four elemental races and the manifest of magic. They can take any shape or form, some preferring only one, and possess volatile tempers. Notable figures are often misconstrued as Gods among mortals.
Gnomes ⋅ One of the four elementals and the manifest of earth, they are small beings seemingly made of root, soil, and foliage. Some appear to mortals as slight-statured nymphs, while others look much more like their Dwarven descendants. Like all elementals, gnomes are immortal.
Slyphs ⋅ The manifest of wind, they appear as small, winged little folk adrift on the wind, if they reveal themselves at all - though it's thought that their true forms are much larger, similar to the tall and lithe Elves born from them. They are immortal.
Undines ⋅ The manifest of water, undines are also known as naiads. They appear as sallow-skinned, naked, and chubby women, with the dark scleras of an animal, or as another sexless, amphibious form.
Salamanders ⋅ The elementals of fire, they are not to be confused with the log-dwelling efts that gave them their name. They live in extremely hot environments - volcanic caves and geysers, for example - so it's unlikely anything but a thick-skinned orc will come close enough to witness them. If one does, he or she would describe what they saw as a great, horned serpent.
- Half-elves, also called elflings, are the offspring of a human and an elf. 120-140 year lifespan.
- Half-dwarves, also called dwarflings, are the offspring of a human and a dwarf. 150-175 year lifespan.
- Half-orcs, also called orklings, are the offspring of a human and an orc. 70-90 year lifespan.
- Selkins, or sea-children, are the (often unwitting) offspring of a human and a selkie. Unknown lifespan.
- Dhamphyre, the living child of an undead woman, with the strengths of a vampire but none of the weaknesses. Lives indefinitely.
Undead manifest as vampires, ghosts, liches, and as the mindless bodies necromancers summon. They can survive (without truly living) indefinitely, but require the life-force of mortals to continue their existence.
- Vampires are undead who retain their physical bodies and sentience, and feed by bloodletting living humans, killing or maiming them. One can be killed by ripping its heart out (in which case it will starve), dismemberment with a blessed blade of Aulon (god of the sun), burning, or direct exposure to sunlight.
⋅ There is a very, very small chance that a pregnant woman will revive as a vampire and the baby will survive, resulting in a half-living dhampyre or dhamphir.
- Ghosts, also known as specters, phantoms, wights, and a plethora of other names, are undead that do not retain their physical bodies. They feed by draining a living-space of its energy in increments, resulting in 'hauntings' that wear on victims' emotional stability and health. They can be dispersed through divine or occult rituals and blessings, and killed through the outlawed practice of necromancy. Ghosts revive as a result of some unrest in life or through magical tampering.
- Liches were necromancers in life who cheated death through ritual. They retain their physical bodies, though they continue to decompose after death and can only move and function through continued practice. They feed by draining a large area of its life-force (illness, fatigue, and sudden-death on a town-wide scale, for example).
Dwarves ⋅ Dwarves are the mortal descendants of the gnomes, the earth elementals. Short and wide, they are typically pale or grey-skinned with small, brown eyes and hair colors ranging from black to brown to red. Most males wear beards. Nearly all dwarves are formidably intelligent by a human's standard, especially with their hands, and they can outmatch and outwit any human or elf in strength of body or cunning. Hailing from Suoryyath, the mountainous and frigid south of Merreteria, their cities are mostly subterranean. 270-320 year lifespan.
- Yuorunde, lit. "Children of Below", are a cave-dwelling civilization heard of only in Dwarven myth. They were described as an impish, beast-like race.
Elves ⋅ Elves are mortal descendants of the Sylphs. Common among all regional variations are large, almond-shaped eyes and long, triangular ears. Males do not display facial hair. They are lithe and often beautiful by human standards. Their hearts beat 250 times a minute when stimulated properly, leaving them with lighting-quick reflexes, but they sleep ~10 hours a day to make up for the exertion. Their kingdom is that of Múm in Ketmayr. 200-220 year lifespan.
- Garrish, the elves of Merreteria that advanced alongside the humans of that area, who go by the same name. Ashen-skinned with dark eyes and flaxen hair, the average height of both man and woman is 6'3" (190.5 cm).
- Syyni, the elves of Arcreete, who occupy its vast jungle. Tan, with brown eyes and sandy-blonde or brown hair, they are shorter than their Garrish and Ketti cousins (though taller than humans) and considered diminutive and kinda prejudiced. It's rare to see them outside their own homogeneous civilization.
Orcish ⋅ Orcs are the mortal descendants of the Salamanders (dragons). Tall and hulkish, with protruding lower eyeteeth, patches of scales, calcified spikes for hair, and thick skin, the Orcs are a race of nomads native to the desert tundras of Ketmayr's high north. Considered barbaric and untrustworthy by other races, they are privy to states of savage rage when truly frightened, but otherwise civil as a society. Natural horsemen, they are responsible for the massive size and sturdiness of the Tundra Steeds. Think huns, but bigger. 80-100 year lifespan.
Selkies ⋅ Selkies are the mortal descendants of the Undines. They appear as normal humans, if unsaturated and sea-washed, but are marked by their insatiable wanderlust (specifically their draw towards the ocean) and distant personalities. They also turn into seals after a while in the water, and then promptly forget they are seals when they turn back. Very little is known about them, though legends are common to the coastal cities of southern Ketmayr and northern Merreteria. Unknown lifespan.
The Fey ⋅ Also known as the Fair Folk, they are the fifth, wild-card companion to the four elemental races and the manifest of magic. They can take any shape or form, some preferring only one, and possess volatile tempers. Notable figures are often misconstrued as Gods among mortals.
Gnomes ⋅ One of the four elementals and the manifest of earth, they are small beings seemingly made of root, soil, and foliage. Some appear to mortals as slight-statured nymphs, while others look much more like their Dwarven descendants. Like all elementals, gnomes are immortal.
Slyphs ⋅ The manifest of wind, they appear as small, winged little folk adrift on the wind, if they reveal themselves at all - though it's thought that their true forms are much larger, similar to the tall and lithe Elves born from them. They are immortal.
Undines ⋅ The manifest of water, undines are also known as naiads. They appear as sallow-skinned, naked, and chubby women, with the dark scleras of an animal, or as another sexless, amphibious form.
Salamanders ⋅ The elementals of fire, they are not to be confused with the log-dwelling efts that gave them their name. They live in extremely hot environments - volcanic caves and geysers, for example - so it's unlikely anything but a thick-skinned orc will come close enough to witness them. If one does, he or she would describe what they saw as a great, horned serpent.
So! We can change all of that, or we can go with it if you want. If you want any more specific information on something, let me know!
1x Like
