The Home of JT's Ideas

I love the idea of the Elven District. Kinda make sense the smug bastards would want their own little block.

Yep, seems like a good idea to put the Elves in their own little city. And I wondered if Negav had an Arena... I guess it should have one, seems logical.

AisuKaiko wrote:

Yep, seems like a good idea to put the Elves in their own little city. And I wondered if Negav had an Arena... I guess it should have one, seems logical.

Would it also have a TRUE Arena?

Hehe, well, the arena is Karbo's idea originally, I think. I remember him mentioning it in a conversation and I thought it was a neat idea.

It's a popular idea to have a fantasy city with some kind of arena that typically involves fighting. Like in Oblivion, or Fable.

For some reason I'm remembering the Zanarkand Blitzball arena. That was pretty sweet.

And now Sean will be forced to the Inevitable Tournament just so that employer his employer looks like he's worth something.

Question about the elf district, do they accept other species of elves? For example, let's assume a Phantom Elf made it to Negav, would Elves in that district just let the Phantom Elf enter without question?

Sean Okotami wrote:

And now Sean will be forced to the Inevitable Tournament just so that employer his employer looks like he's worth something.

Now you gave me more reason to make more fiction when it comes to "employing" lol.

But yeah. i Find elves a bit tenacious when it comes to interracial things and more conservative then most others. wonder how that'll work...

(I hate the arrogant bastards btw)

As for Elves of other species... well, they seem to be rare outside of certain areas. I'm not sure if the majority of elves would have even seen their more exotic cousins. I think if a phantom elf arrived with money and belongings and was friendly and not brash the elves would make an exception.

I'm feeling a little down. And what does JT do when he is blah? History, of course! It is very late.

The Felaryan Calender

The "Felaryan" Calender is called such as it was used by the Sagolians before being taken as the timing system of Negav. It is speculated, however, that this system could extend to even pre-Sagolian days. Even the Dridder Empire used the Felaryan Calender, in essentially the same format of years, with slight differences within a year, especially in the naming and organization of the months.

The Felaryan Calender utilizes Twelve Months in a Year.

Each Month is exactly 36 days.

Each Month is divided into 6 weeks, which are 6 days long.

Each Felaryan Year is thus 432 Days. The Felaryan Calendar does not make use of modifiers such as leap years.

The Months are each named after a variety of things and, traditionally, are themed around certain aspects of life. Typically, the last week of each month is dedicated to a holiday, though some month's holidays are celebrated more widely than others. For example, the 1st Month is the Mirrored Month, or Month of Mirrors - tradition records that one should reflect on their achievements of the past and coming year. The last days of the Mirrored Month are in preparation for Cal-Chanim on the last day of the month. The 12th Month is the Hallowed Month, or Month of Candles, which tradition states is a time of religious contemplation in time for the new year, ends with the celebrations of Kris'Maas. Other Months have celebrations for love, or remembrance of the dead, or other such things.

The Elven Empire

Before Negav and even before Ur-Sagol, The Empire of the Elves spanned much of central Felarya. It is said to have lasted for 3000 years. Current scholars have found more and more relics and place the founding date at 5512 B.U. The references to the start of the Elven Empire are hard to discern from legend - they detail some entity "granting" power to the first Elven Emperor.

The Elven Empire was unlike the others that succeeded it. It's strength came from a unity with the jungle and nature. The Elves apparently had some awareness of the Guardians and attempted, as best they could, to live with the land. This did not diminish their power, however - they were rumoured to have unparalleled skill at manipulation of the mighty Felarya trees, creating whole cities out of them. They also did various works with stone, building many elegant buildings in the Empire's prime - religious buildings were the ones where stonework was usually used. However, due to their major cities, including their capital, being made from and within the trees, it is very difficult to find relics of the day to day lives of these people. Thus, very little is known about the day-to-day life of its citizens.

The boundaries of the Empire are not clear. It is known that they marked their western border at the fairy kingdom and that they did not advance far North or North-west. However, it is still not known how far the Empire extended to the North-east, as the Oloonde Lakelands were certainly part of it - as well, they may have stretched quite far south.

The Elven Empire collapsed in 2126 BU. This was not a single event, but the end point of a building of factors - the Elves were one Empire not smitten down by the Guardians. Despite their unity with nature, the Elven Empire worked hard to expand, wanting to bring safety and order across Felarya. However, they often found only frustration when dealing with other races. As they gave these races the taste of civilization, they either rejected it, like the Nekos and Jotun, or took it with their own form, like the Dridders and Humans. Eventually, the Elven Empire was in full revolt as two fledgling provinces in its midst rose up - this was the genesis of both the Sagolian and Dridder Empire. A brutal war was waged and many smaller pockets of rebellion sprung up to take advantage of the chaos (While predators took great advantage of the disarray). The most devastating of these raids came finally in 2126 when a large force of Jotun was reported to have sacked and pillaged the Elven capital, putting it to the torch before running off home with everything they could take. (It is still unclear if the Dridders or Humans had a part in this - there are suggestions they bribed the Jotun to attack at a crucial moment.) The Empire fragmented and the fragments were swiftly annihilated in the chaos. The trees took back their forms and the Empire was lost to time.

The Elven Empire still has some legacy. Their religious buildings were sometimes built of stone and some of these ruins still exist, the best known being the Milkadis Temple, built in 2981 BU. Other edifices can be found across central Felarya. As well, the Elvish Language is still known to historians and many phrases from it are used today. Finally, many cultures and customs from the Empire are continued in the Elven populations of today. These are stronger in some areas - the Oolonde Lakelands in particular has many Elven communities that retain the customs of old - this area was spared much of the chaos of the Empire's fall, being separated from the main body of the Empire.

Oh my, the Elven Empire certainly sounds interesting. Seemed a tad farfetched at first, but if I'm imagining exactly, the way you explained it makes sense and could let it work.

Also, yay, a calender, O: I approve of that

I don't have a problem with the calendar. It doesn't screw up with my planned timeline for my own work.

As for the elves, with all those ideas you put that deal with them, I am under the impression that you really like elves.

The only critics with the elven district and empires is the fact, elves are presented as a homogeneous specie and not a hydrogenous ones. It's make the ideas looks a bit generic with the "elven" words, why you don't specify a particular elven ethnic or people ?

gwadahunter2222 wrote:

The only critics with the elven district and empires is the fact, elves are presented as a homogeneous specie and not a hydrogenous ones. It's make the ideas looks a bit generic with the "elven" words, why you don't specify a particular elven ethnic or people ?

Wait... what? What the hell has elves not having hydrogen in them...?

I am utterly baffled as to what you are trying to communicate with your first point.

As for that latter bit, I'm assuming "regular elves" The other species are less in number and usually regionally specific.

He meant heterogenous. He thinks that elves, as far as they go, are pretty much the same with only mild variations in appearances and abilities, while no culture between the different elf species has been developed. I do have something for phantom elves. I tend to see them as stealthy warriors since they are described as vicious in battle, and since they live in Sunfall, where it's always night, then they probably hide a lot in shadows.

well there's homogeneous and hydrogenous; the first being like everything is similar in nature, and the second is more used to describe "girly guys".

I did a mistake I meant heterogeneous not hydrogenous and Sean sums up what I want to say.

@Bael and anyone else coming through here.

HYDROGENOUS - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hydrogenous

It means containing hydrogen. Nothing to do with "girly guys". It does not mean "differences within a group."

Now that's done...

Like I said before, I mean the main elf species. Phantom Elves, Mist Elves and Scarlet Elves are all endemic to very specific parts of Felarya - Sunfall Thicket, Mist Ocean (Or Misty Glade... misty mire... anything with "Mist in it") and the Jungle of Peril.

As Sean suggested, they probably have very different cultures. Seeing as Sunfall Thicket is in the Fairy Kingdom and the Jungle of Perils is the Jungle of Perils, I doubt regular Elves would have much contact from their cousins from those areas. As for Mist Elves, their draconic heritage sets them apart.

You don't understand what Sean and I want to say. What we want to say the concept of a main specie elf make them generic. You consider the specie as a whole with a single specie with a single culture,it's not a question of they are endemic specie to Felarya vs regular elf and even that we have to assume all the non felaryan elves are coming from the same world, I doubt so. As humans, neko and any other sentient species they can come from than different world with different culture etc...
But let's drop it. Your idea is good all you have to do is waiting Karbo's approval.
Bye

Mount Albazar

Mount Albazar is a location within the Oloonde Lakelands. It is a large, long since dead volcano, located North of the Lake of Arrows. The entire crater of Mount Albazar is flooded, forming Lake Albazar. The waters from this lake cascade off a waterfall, eventually flowing into the Lake of Arrows. Lake Albazar is fairly shallow and calm - there are no aquatic tauric predators and few aquatic predators that could be a threat. The lake teems with edible fish that would otherwise be eaten by predators.

In the middle of the lake is, however, the most noticeable aspect of the Mount - the small city of Hashelm. This place is built with its foundations on the shallow lakebed, the town rising up on strong stone supports. It is an old place, having been built during the peak of the Elven Empire. White stone is carved into elegant architecture and water from the lake is used to water elaborate hanging gardens. Small docks house boats that go out and reel in the bounty of fish and lake-plants. The Elves here are generally safe from predators, who would have to make the trek up the entire mountain to reach this city. The exception being that Hashelm has been, for many years, plagued by aerial predators, namely harpies. The Elves use the magic they study to defend their home fiercely and harpy attacks are intermittent, but they show no signs of stopping their raids entirely. These assaults have taken their toll over the centuries and Hashelm is not what it was during the days of the Empire - many buildings and even districts of the city are uninhabited and falling into disrepair, the worst areas even beginning to slowly sink as their supports are not maintained. The Elves do their best to keep their city in shape, but they are much less numerous than they once were. This ruination has also caused another form of predator to descend on the city - looters and treasure hunters, another foe for the Elves to contend with.

Mephar Woodlands

The Mephar Woodlands lie to the west, assumably north-west of the Lamia mountains. It is a hot area, but a coastal one, which regulates the temperature. It has many tall trees and vegetation, though not the lush congregation of the jungles of Central Felarya. The trees here are tough and similar to oaks, though much larger. Though the area is near the sea, it is, for much of the year, very dry, with rainfall being slight and intermittent. The most notable thing about the Mephar woodlands are that the trees and plants that inhabit it are all extreme pyrophytes. Due to the dry climate, this area is very often ravaged by wildfires which sweep across it. However, the trees have strangely adapted to this, many of their seeds not taking root until undergoing large quantities of heat. The trees themselves seem immune to the fire, having thick bark and some species are reported to even sustain themselves on heat and fire. With wildfires occurring extremely often, it is not the safest place for an adventurer and there are still many predators here, of strange varieties able to withstand flame comfortably. The most notable inhabitants are the regions Fire Elementals, who can be found in their greatest concentration here - indeed, many, if not most, of the wildfires are caused by their presence.

Hustenn Forest

The Hustenn Forest lies to the south, beyond the Kyromia fields. It's many tall, dense trees are noted for, all of the year, existing in the vivid reds, oranges and yellows of an autumn season. These trees often loose their leaves, carpeting the forest floor in them, but they grow remarkably quickly. Also quickly grows the vegetation on the ground, a bounty of fruits and vegetables that renew themselves quickly. Despite this, however, this forest is strangely empty. There is little wildlife and essentially no larger creatures or predators. It is said that the forest is cursed, though by and for what is an old memory. Only a single tribe of nekos live here and they avoid any sort of strangers. The only sign of them are the many charms, trinkets, carvings and other artifacts they leave hanging around the forest, on many of the branches, a warning perhaps, or a ward.

The Bramble

The Bramble is an area north of the uncharted areas beyond the Green Hell. Almost none have visited it and returned to tell the tale. The Bramble is colder than the areas to the south, but the vegetation grows thickly here. Massive thorny plants choke every inch of the forest, making travel difficult, if not impossible. The further one goes, it gets only colder and more difficult to traverse and the elevation increases as mountains loom. Larger creatures find it nearly impossible to navigate and smaller ones tend to mysteriously disappear. It is said a tribe of wild, chaotic and primitive fairies are responsible for most deaths here, though few have seen them. Most frighteningly, in many ways the Bramble seems alive and an entity unto itself, which quietly but savagely "deals" with intruders. It is said that old ruins lie buried under all the thorns, but who would build beyond Deeper Felarya?

Your ability to crank out ideas at such a high rate never ceases to amaze me. The city of Hashelm is intriguing to me. I was considering creating an attolian city. Hashelm is close to what I was thinking. I'll be thinking of a few alternative ideas for attolian cities.
Nice job on these ideas.

Hehe, I hope my proliferation of ideas is not seem as spam - I get a lot of ideas and try to note down as many as I can. I enjoy world-building immensely and things like geography and history are also interests of mine...

Now, while we're at it...

Water Elemental - River Snake

The River Snake is a water elemental found in damper areas of Felarya, being most common in the Torrential Coast. However, they are still a very rare form of elemental. They are massive and especially long and appear to be a serpentine creature made entirely out of water held into this shape. River Snakes are unique in that each is in a way a miniature ecosystem. River Snakes have no way to feed themselves, but at creation, each River Snake takes into its body a variety of aquatic organisms, such as fish, many of which can be quite large themselves. These creatures live out their lives and reproduce within the moving River Snake. The River Snake, though little understood means, sustains itself on the life-force of these creatures. In return it provides them with food - the River Snake will eat almost anything, plant or animal, which then passes into its watery body and is in turn eaten by the creatures living there, wether herbivores or carnivores. River snakes grow larger the older they are, every so often returning to the water source from where they were born and taking on new water and passengers. The very oldest ones are extremely huge and contain fish that could easily gobble up an adventurer. Even being eaten by a smaller River Snake is dangerous if you are not a top quality swimmer - currents inside them flow backwards, to disperse food and keep it from escaping through the sides of the River Snake.

Ohh tiny worlds into the creature ? It's a really neat and orginal idea here

And don't worry about "spamming" the forum XD
You have a very fertile imagination indeed and most of your ideas are really well though of and valid

Added The Web Fells. As usual, please tell me if you agree with the disclaimer ^^

Of course.

This is not an new idea (one of my oldest in fact - actually, I think it may be the oldest.)

But, since it's so old, I feel it got a little dated and musty with age.

So - here are the Jotun. I hope the little edits better articulates them. I want them to be a unique culture, not so much "funny looking giantess subgroup". I also don't want them to just be a constrained race. Critique is good, but even better are questions - is there anything I forgot?

Jotun

Jotuns are a humanlike predator race found in the cold regions of the north-west. They can range from as small as about 75 feet, to up to 150 feet. Physically, they are a lot like humans, but with certain differences. They have pointed ears, tusks and a tail that resembles that of a cow. Female Jotun have smaller, more discreet tusks, while males have larger ones. Jotuns dress in simple clothes, the leather farmed from large beasts that live far to the North-west. They also collect bones and rocks in order to craft crude weapons. Jotuns like treasures above all this however, and will pick up and collect anything shiny, sometimes drawing sarcasms from other species. Jotuns use treasures to decorate their cavern, trade them with other Jotun, or give them out as small gifts. Of course, Jotun's don't have a comparative value system for human sized treasure. A Jotun may give you what they consider a shiny sword, but is in fact a powerful magical artefact. Jotuns also like to tattoo themselves and make and wear various charms and amulets.

They are tribal and live in a large cavern system in clans. They value family a lot. Thus a Jotun that has lost it's family often becomes very depressed or despondant and will constantly wander, looking for some place to belong. They are generally friendly and enthusiastic, with a love for the fun parts of life, although they have a serious side dealing with honour and family. Jotuns have a high tolerance and love of alchoholic beverages. Like most Felaryan predator species, there seems to be a much larger concentration of females in the population and the males do not really have dominance. Thus, most Jotun males keep several mates, or several mates keep them. Usually there is one male for a small clan of Jotuns.

Jotuns are a predator species and see smaller things mostly as food, anything really. Jotuns believe in reincarnation, so they don't really see the problem with eating people. (The Jotun religion states that you are reborn as an even better person if you try hard in your life. A Jotun who reaches the pinnacle of honour then gets into Jotun heaven, where there is fighting and feasting for all time). They generally aren’t fussy about what they eat, though quite a few have a taste for elves. Many, however, prefer large quantities of cooked meat to a small human-sized snack. If a Jotun is not hungry, you may be able to just talk your way out. You have to be very courteous and some flattery helps as well. If the Jotun is hungry however, then you're prey. Jotuns admire strength and intelligence - outwit them long enough and they may let you go out of respect. If they do catch you, you can still talk your way out of it, if you keep calm. There are certain things to avoid. Begging, bribing and threats get you nowhere. Above all do NOT try to offer someone else as food. Jotuns hate what they see as traitors.

Jotuns believe heavily in the concept of honour. If a Jotun gives you her word, it is certain that she means to keep it. When a Jotun fights for a cause, it can be very dangerous, as they are raised as children on tales of valour of the ancient Jotun and many strive to be as mighty as their heroes, who slew the mightiest beasts, rescued the most beautiful Jotun maidens and found the most delicious princesses to eat. Jotuns also believe heavily in the concept of freedom – no Jotun can control another or tell them what to do. This anarchist viewpoint has often led to conflict with their more “civilized” elven neighbours.

Jotuns originated in the Elifga Valley, in the mountains to the North West. If you go there, you have a good chance of running into one, especially in the Eastern slopes where their cave-dwellings are. Jotun, however, love exploring and they can be found across any colder or frozen zone in Felarya and even, a bit more rarely, in the more temperate climes. Many Jotun have even developed boats to explore the Shimmering Sea, encountering and trading with areas like Iracal Island. In Elifga Valley, the Jotun often come into conflict with their Elven neighbours. While the Jotun there do prey on smaller groups of humanoids, among other prey, they have befriended one group of humans, who forge items and weapons for their allies in return for protection. No Jotun would ever dream of breaking this oath.