Stabs' Pit of Nightmares (and ideas)

Karbo wrote:

Nice job on those ^_^

I really like the seeker of paradise . It's an original idea that fits well and take advantage of the nature of the world

Thanks.

Karbo wrote:

I just wonder, according to you, what make the bird come back to Felarya anyway ? and also what zone are you meaning by the most dangerous one ? the green hell ?

I'd wager the bird comes back to extend its lifespan, to get rid of any slow-acting diseases it may have picked up, and mayhaps for ready access to more places where it can be an invading species without staying long enough for anything to adapt to it.
By the most dangerous zone I meant the northern banks of the Jewel River, where it touches the Jungle of Perils. There also be Bloodclaw apes there, another species that has dimensional disturbances as part of its life cycle somehow; while the Green Hell is dangerous, it's also a special case. That place actually hates you :p

Emerald Electronic wrote:

I see what you mean now by the seekers of paradise. I think I said that in regards to a storytelling perspective, there doesn't seem to be anything to warrant a distinction because both genders look different but are the same. Realizing that they're birds of paradise shout outs it seems more sensible. However if the boys and girls are going to remain different maybe something could be done to differentiate them behaviour wise too so there's a reason to have them visually separable in the first place?

True, they are the same, but still, differentiating them makes them more clearly birds. As for different behaviour, I think there's already enough material on the Seeker of Paradise, but we could squeeze in that the purple ones sing and the red ones incubate eggs.

Karbo wrote:

The Gusto vole is a funny idea, I thought at first it was convenient but on second thoughts, on a crazy place like the fairy kingdom it's existence wouldn't be that surprising XD

Convenient? For sure, but the point of the Gusto vole was that it be wacky and silly. Also, because I've been thinking aboot anything else there is to eat that isn't human. I wanted to devise edible shrimps, but the last time I touched the subject of shrimp, I turned them into antediluvian, unknowable, inchoate aberrations. Can't make aberrations of cute li'l rodents though.

Karbo wrote:

I'm less convinced by the celestial iron though, I see it as a little too powerful ^^;

Funny that. It doesn't do anything that angels don't do already. Eh, anyway...

Archmage_Bael wrote:

Hm, alright. I thought that they could do it innately, guess I was wrong. Apparently they need tools to do any kind of shrinking or growing magic, even doing it to themselves they cant really grow or shrink. Only a few can. I thought maybe that blade thing was a special case (because I thought it was a little unclear), but I was wrong. Honestly it kind of makes me feel like that that makes their dimensional abilities kind of a sham. Ah well, I guess Angels cant do everything XD

Angels are one size fits all; they don't shrink or grow. Yes, the blade is a special case, but I don't know if the blade was devised for that particular purpose, or if it's just the kind of metal they use. I aimed for that some angels derive some abilities from a metal they make, or at the very least amplify them through special tools.

Emerald Electronic wrote:

A defense against silver succubus makes a lot of sense as well, but I'm not sure why the rest of the effects would be there. Angels I would think have little need for magical protection being divine beings. Perhaps it bestows the user with the qualities of an angel? Then they would have both a defense against the silver succubi's and a more imperative reason to guard from the hands of mortals and demons. Whichever way you decide to take it though I don't see much use of it besides a get out of ferromancy free card, save for maybe a few uneducated wielders being unwittingly attacked by seemingly innocent beings.

While angels are divine beings, many mythologies have had divine beings using tools. Mjolnir, Zeus' disposable Lightnin' Bolts, the Book of Thoth, Michael's sword, Aeolus' sack full o' wind, Hephaestus' everything, the list goes on and on. Didn't see much wrong in saying purifiers did it with their swords, and that angels wear armor that doesn't get silver succubi'd.
Though in hindsight, this doesn't explain defilers, so I guess I can forget about that angel- that angle. Other than that, it'd be a get out of demonic magic free card, which angels also use to extend their stay in the mortal realms- and which they guard jealously.

"Once size fits all" has never really made much sense to me in the prospect of a living creature that doesn't act as a living boot.

We've always had a lot of shiny rocks in Felarya. Diamonds, rubies, topaz, diamonds, corundum, diamonds, emeralds, diamonds, malachite, diamonds, diamonds. It was only a matter of time before we had a zone made completely of them, diamonds. The Topazial Sea and the Jewel River make good examples, but they're too... non-toxic for my taste. So was it that I saw a let's play of Zeliard, a game from my youth... and remembered the Cavern of Tesoro, diamonds. The whole place was made of gold- lovely, ain't it? But you know, it made me wonder sometimes why couldn't I take a brick and go back to the store and buy everything. It gave me an idea, diamonds.

Looking in wikipedia for pyrite (FeS2), I saw chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) and Bornite (Cu5FeS4), also known as "peacock ore". The thing they all had in common, diamonds? Sulphur. Then again, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure there's already a zone that's made of shininess underground; though it's not on the wiki, there's a li'l ! sign on the map that reads... I can't remember what it read.

What do you think of this, diamonds?

The Shining Maze

Stretching across and beneath the Jewel River lie some underground pathways lined with golden blocks. The Shining Maze, as they've been dubbed, connect the Tolmeshal Forest, the Grove of Carnivorous Plants, and the Forest of Whispers, amongst other places, though its inhabitants only appreciate trespassers when they get to eat them.

These tunnels were excavated on a winding bed of sulfides by the local creatures- the natural fracture of the rocks creates the bricklike, winding appearance of the maze. The walls are almost completely golden (due to the iron and copper sulfides they are mainly composed of), with patches of blue, silvery, and irised materials where other minerals form. Glowing, almost gemlike patches of moss decorate the angles of the walls. Moisture tends to accumulate in some parts of the maze, creating small, flowing streams of noxious liquid, carpeted with live, fungal verdigris.

These caves are home to mostly nocturnal animals, spending the day inside the shallowest reaches of the maze. As one gets farther from the surface, the Shining Maze becomes much more desolate, but the atmosphere grows less breathable the farther one goes downwards. Deep enough, it becomes corrosive, and often jets out from cracks in the higher levels- begetting the question of what, exactly, generates those vapors.

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So I was in a hot springs kind of mood, and this came out. I could go on and on about the fauna, but I'm trying to keep the focus of the place on the hot springs. It's kinda difficult- I don't even know where those would go. Mount Vylkren comes to mind, then again, Felarya doesn't have a mantle, so maybe I should go instead for Miragia. It's where the weird stuff goes on. But... it could also go very well somewhere in Frost Peak, where a hot spring would really hit the spot. The Jungle of Perils could also be the right place, if we're going to make it the fountain of youth: nothing better than bloodclaw apes to keep anything from getting a firm foothold there. There's also the Sulphur Sources in the Great Rocky Fields. You know, I think elementals of some sort would be right here...

Problem, though, I run out of inspiration where we get to the healing properties. I had been thinking, maybe we could finally give up and just throw some springs of youth in there, or maybe a spring of regeneration (and have some regenerating fauna while we're at it)... or we could be ironic and make it poisonous, like some hot springs are. I had been thinking, maybe the healing properties in the mud from this place can be preserved for as long as one keeps it hot enough, unlike in the rest of Felarya; that could present a logistical challenge with a sizeable reward.

The Boiling Hill (name may yet change)

Hidden by the vapor that rises from it, this muddy crag is characteristic for the of dozens of ponds that criscross it at several altitudes. These ponds are warm enough to elevate the temperature of the area well above that of the rest of the zone, and keep these conditions even at night.

These hot springs are home to unique lifeforms, at home in the extremely high temperatures of the springs. Any submerged rock is slippery with a mat of goo that thrives on the minerals contained in the water, and brightly colored amphibians lick these rocks for sustenance. Almost no other native creature populates those springs, though many come from time to time, giant predators in particular, to delight in the peace and warmth of the water.

These are some good ideas you're tossing around. I've been trying to come up with a tropical area with lots of gems and precious stones of sorts myself, and I wanted to stick it somewhere on the eastern side of the map, but it'd need to be next to one of the jungles near the north.

This actually just made me think about how on one side is a jungle, and the other is a tundra. two opposite climates right next to each other? Hm...

Anyway, making a region with a ton of precious metals is near impossible I would think because gems and precious metals are so varied that they're all formed in different situations. However, regarding you desire for hot springs, since there's a desert, maybe there could be a jungle area, with the boiling hill there. Keep it in similar climate types and all.

For the "Land of the Mirror Sky" I had magic concentrated into intense pools of energy, that end up reflecting the land in the sky during some circumstances, but for you, similar types of pools of energy could be formed but tweaking them to have some different properties. Though healing properties are kind of redundant aren't they? As the effect from the soil spreads through the water and the plants as well - though its possible I'm not really understanding what you truly want here.

Overall I like were you're going though.

Archmage_Bael wrote:

These are some good ideas you're tossing around. I've been trying to come up with a tropical area with lots of gems and precious stones of sorts myself, and I wanted to stick it somewhere on the eastern side of the map, but it'd need to be next to one of the jungles near the north.
This actually just made me think about how on one side is a jungle, and the other is a tundra. two opposite climates right next to each other? Hm... Anyway, making a region with a ton of precious metals is near impossible I would think because gems and precious metals are so varied that they're all formed in different situations.

And yet we have the Jewel River, and the Topazial Sea. No, none of the golden elements I've described is a precious stone or a gem, they're ores. Cuprous and ferrous ores, mainly pyrite and chalcopyrite in fact- basically worthless, though they can fool you into thinking they're golden. The Jewel River was a pet peeve of mine when I arrived, but I got more or less used to it. Besides, come to think of it, there is a way it could've form-

BRB writing legend.

Archmage_Bael wrote:

However, regarding you desire for hot springs, since there's a desert, maybe there could be a jungle area, with the boiling hill there. Keep it in similar climate types and all.

Yeah, thinking about that, but by the way, hot springs don't belong in any particular climate. They're a geothermal thing, a property of the tectonic plates and stuff.

Archmage_Bael wrote:

For the "Land of the Mirror Sky" I had magic concentrated into intense pools of energy, that end up reflecting the land in the sky during some circumstances, but for you, similar types of pools of energy could be formed but tweaking them to have some different properties. Though healing properties are kind of redundant aren't they? As the effect from the soil spreads through the water and the plants as well - though its possible I'm not really understanding what you truly want here.

I've been thinking about that. No, healing properties aren't redundant: the Holy Oak magnifies healing properties 10-fold, the Ascarlin can magnify them 10-fold too. That's a x19 increase made already possible without going into new material. I was thinking that maybe even losing 80% of its properties upon leaving contact with the ground, the mud here could be magnified from the soil to such an insane level that it could even be carried out of Felarya, and... well, you can do the maths yourself.

Let's just say hot springs gotta be really damn healthy.

Archmage_Bael wrote:

Overall I like were you're going though.

Thanks.

If I could throw in an idea/persuasion in here, Imoreith Tundra could use a little more love. ^^; And really, a good hot spring would attract certain types of explorers, especially if it had magical properties like the ones you're throwing around.

Ohh I really like the shining maze !
that idea of iridescent golden and blue walls create a pretty unique place and walking literally inside a treasure is pretty exciting too ^^
And hot spring is an interesting idea, I know a couple preds who would probably love them XP

A Handsome Ransom, aka Don't Do this at Home Kings

There is an old tale that speaks of a remote empire, far to the north of Felarya. Well past the Jungle of Perils, the Green Hell, lay a stretch of land that a greedy conqueror had carved into a makeshift empire. This land lay at the base of a chain of spiny, jagged mountains, high beyond imagination, loaded with ice too high to thaw. And, oddly enough for Felarya, several kingdoms lay at the foot of these mountains. However, one of the kings saw fit to become a conqueror, and quickly overran his neighbors' land over the course of a generation.

For once, this reign was not stopped by the Guardians- but by its own ruler. When the conqueror fell in battle, his heir, Emperor Pothame, took his place- but quickly became smitten with Princess Ihrema of the lands across the plains, his heart coming to harbor a shameless, insane, unholy lust, unconcerned with limits, blind and deaf to all reason. Leaving her kingdom for last in his plans for conquest, he'd time and again try to woo her, and time and again she'd refuse his advances- until, aware that he might very well choose to cut to the chase and take her (kingdom and everything) by force, Princess Ihrema suggested him a task for a dowry- were he to pick every gemstone hidden in the gut of the lands and present them to her before the end of the week, she'd finally grant him her hand in marriage.

With the unabashed arrogance and recklessness that youth, royalty, obsession and lust all inflict on their hosts, Emperor Pothame accepted almost before she fully explained her conditions and put his war on hold for that week. All restraint flew from his mind as he conceived a first (and terrible) plan to gain her hand: he would kidnap the genie Desineun, consort of the then-young Queen Thanjayuur, the ruler of all that lies beneath the lands of Felarya. Desineun was said to be the greatest treasure of Felarya, the most beautiful man to have ever lived, or that would ever live, a lover of epic proportions, a consort whom even goddesses were not worthy of. Any man's handsomeness, no matter how great, served only as a mediocre monument to his own, and every woman's beauty was but a humble offering to his taste. Every word spoken in his praise was naught but a pale, offensive disservice, every toast to his greatness served only to highlight the ignorance and folly of those who tried to do any justice to his handsomeness.

Nonetheless, Emperor Pothame spoke to the spirits, and had them spread the word that he was actually as beautiful as Desineun. Though an obvious lie, Emperor Pothame made sure to speak to blind spirits, and trusted that the genie's arrogant, boastful nature would lead the being right towards him. It worked: the first obstacle away, it was child's play for the Emperor managed to trap the genie. Then, speaking to the spirits again, he sent a message to Queen Thanjayuur. He told her that, when every jewel hidden in the land within his sight was laid bare to the wind, the beautiful genie would be released. He warned her as well that were any undue harm incurred in the process, he would not hesitate to harm her consort. Then the emperor stood in the land between both kingdoms, waiting for his demands to be met.

Queen Thanjayuur, understandably annoyed at the demand, upset about the methods used by the fledgling emperor, and fuming with rage that anyone would think of touching one of her Desineun's hairs, specially some repulsive sleazebag like Emperor Pothame, quickly came up with a way to grant the request. She commanded the dirt, the soil, and the rocks in sight of Pothame to vanish from his sight if they sat over jewels.

Before the emperor's eyes, the plains shattered and crumbled to nothingness. A massive section of the mountain crumbled before his eyes, the stone standing only to avoid disintegration by collapsing on top of the jewels he was to be shown. Delighted to see the land covered in gems as far as the eye could see, he took an instant to proclaim, atop the thin dirt spires left beneath his feet, his love for Ihrema, and his success in his scheme- perhaps an instant too long. While he forced Thanjayuur to unmake the rocks atop the gems, she had no power over the ice in the mountain peaks. This ice came apart, fell, shattered, and thawed in the way down released, turning into an absolutely immense glacial deluge that carried him away like a hollow, rotten log. He closed his eyes.

HAPPY ENDING:

Unfortunately, he didn't word himself too well with his wish. It mattered not that he closed his eyes- as soon as he was within sight of the land, it would disappear into nothingness, creating a path for the water to rush through: with the emperor's flailing body heading the charge, a new river was cleared, whose bottom would be littered fast with the unearthed gemstones. One violent turn after another, as the torrent tore a path through whatever seam was nearest under the ground, the violence of the fluid had struck him mortally several times by the time the water finally wound up in the sea. Eventually, the water around his corpse stilled, so the fish could pick his bones clean.

Reunited with her consort, Queen Thanjayuur eventually bored of the genie. However, Desineun knew he had been spotted by Princess Ihrema during his release from the mad emperor's trap. Having never taken a mortal lover before, but curious about the reason why Pothame would have done what he did, he married her. In the genie's arms, she forgot that Pothame or his kingdom, now hidden behind the broadest river in the world, had ever existed.

FUZZY ENDING:

Unfortunately, he didn't word himself too well with his wish. At any time, whenever the land had him within sight, whether his eyes were closed or not, it would fade away to reveal the measly gems hidden beneath, creating a path the water rushed through, carrying him aloft. One violent turn after another, as the torrent tore a path through whatever seam was nearest under the ground, the violence of the fluid had struck him almost fatally several times by the time the water finally wound up in the sea. Only by miracle did the waves carry him to shore, where he still had a path of thousands of miles to tread back alongside the newly minted river's edge.

Driven by the same insane, frightening obsession, the emperor started the long way back home to his palace. The memory of the princess' beauty kept him going, facing an odyssey's worth of trials along the newly minted, currently still uninhabited river- but he arrived in court to see the wedding between Ihrema and Desineun. As he found out from a wise man, Queen Thanjayuur had since grown bored of her consort, and the two of them had met and fallen in love while he was trekking upstream. Knowing that he could never compete with the genie, he decided to give up on his insane pursuit of Princess Ihrema, and stealthily left the wedding before anyone could ask for his invitation.

The emperor wasn't sure of what to do then. He found himself strangely empty once rid of the obsession; he didn't want to return to his kingdom just yet. Putting it back together after they had most certainly tore themselves apart over who'd take over seemed like a daunting and unfulfilling task. So he walked downstream along his new river for a full day- stopping in the evening to gaze at the new and interesting fish that lived in it now. That's when he met Unaphin, the elemental queen of Water, who was right now surveying the newest addition to her dominion.

The water explained to her that he was the man who'd been carried along by the churning torrent as it carved its way through the continent. Curious as she was, she had the water beckon him to her, so that he may satisfy her curiosity. Oddly compliant, the emperor accepted her invitation, and told her of his story, in all its stupid, embarassing details.

She found his tale amusing enough to be a fair trade for the life he forfeited by accepting her invitation. In fact, it was because of her that Pothame is remembered up to now- his kingdom forgot, in the genie's arms, the princess forgot him, the genie had never paid him any mind, and even he himself managed to put his errors behind himself before he finally passed away. Only the Queen remembered his folly, and it became one of her favourite tales to share with those she cared to amuse- or deter out of attempting to manipulate her kin into granting boons.






What'cha think, boss? I'mma need some help with this one- haven't thought of a good name for the elemental queen of water, and it's a king for all I know. We could just leave it at the happy ending.

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Say, dem ephemerales and dat limbo gave me a weird idea. Did anyone read Alraune? I sure didn't. But the myth of the mandragora is way older than the novel Alraune. So I had been thinking... how do we make a Felaryan mandragora? Just in case, I checked for Slimetoad and Jasconius not to have done it before. You can never tell with those guys. Apparently, the only one who tried it was Pyrostyle, back in September 2009, from the 10th to the 11th. But his stuff looked kinda tame... so I threw in a couple things in mine just to crank up the scariness factor. Instead of just having mandragoras, those are mandragora-amazons-Predator (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger)-locusts-Antheus-treants-zombies-orcs-aliens-kudzu-vampires. Also, Lavos.

P.S: If you think this is scary, look for my good ol' Aspen Dryads. Feels like practically the same thing, in hindsight...

Mandragora

Mandragora is the name given to the root of an eponymous plant, characteristic by its broad, oval, wrinkled leaves and small, clustered flowers. While the plant itself acts rather mundane, usually growing in groves of several dozen specimens, its tubered, ginger roots grow actively larger throughout its life cycle, reaching rather disproportionate dimensions compared to the size of the plant itself.

When the root is developed enough, which can be anywhere from a five feet long to an eight foot long system, the tuber undergoes a bizarre mutation. The root warps itself into a rather humanoid form, complete with holes for peeking eyes and a slash-like mouth. This lumpy form is actually just armor; mandragoras are actually green and exactly shaped like muscular females, complete with hair, eyes and a mouth right behind their hide's eyes and mouth, and depending on how much damage is done to their outer hide, they may show more or less of it. Once per day, usually at night, the mandragora searches for small prey, this is, anything close to the ground it can swallow whole and moves slow enough for them to capture. In most cases, this means insects, small rodents and baby birds, though in some cases it might involve rarer, sentient fare.

Mandragoras don't usually go after human-sized prey, but if a creature tries to pull out their leaves while they're underground, they'll immediately emerge and let out a scream that'll summon any other mature mandragora within hearing range to the screamer. Even though they seem unable to manage a pace faster than a power walk, keeping always at least one foot on the ground, any offender should flee while the mandragoras are still busy unearthing themselves. Mandragoras also go after human-sized prey if they are confident they outnumber them or can otherwise make short work of them. They don't actually consume the prey: they bludgeon them into submission, strangle them, and bury the corpses close to their root systems, where another plant with broad, rugged leaves will sprout a week or so after.

The tuber's stamina is seemingly endless anytime they're in contact with the ground. Fire, unlike one would expect, doesn't frighten the tubers- they are too watery for it to do more than superficial damage, their hairy, lumpy hide usually falls off before any damage is incurred to the meat of the tuber- and they know it will grow back. Fearless and impersonal as they are, mandragoras don't stop even because of predators, though they may direct their wrath at them if something happens- this usually leads only to a meal full of nutrients and vitamins. The most effective way to actually stop a mandragora is to use an arrow to stick a sack of salt to its back, so that when the roots return to their plant they'll wither the whole grove; its fibrous armor isn't sensitive to arrows.

That trick will work against most mandragoras, but sometimes, mandragoras just happen to grow, pardon the pun, smarter. Clever mandragoras, as they're called, while on average far, far duller and simpler than humans, are capable of sufficient organization to stablish a pecking order, and may also grasp speech (usually slow and paused), craftsmanship (as long as it's only one piece), reasoning (with considerable difficulty) or trade (when they really luck out). They also got a bit of a green thumb, just enough not to fall for the salt trick, and a rudimentary grasp of tactics which, combined with their strength and numbers, may actually endanger a predator sometimes.


FUR BESHITARYAN PERDATHURS LOL

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This is a little craziness I developed on my own. I had been thinking about what ghosts are made of, and also I was studying about polymers, the newest (and cheapest) group of materials used in engineering. If you read long enough about a subject, you'll have hot dreams about it. Yes, that includes all the boring things like the mathematical triangulation of the effects of supply and demand of commodities on developing economies. Which explains Spice and Wolf. :B

P.S: I'll post a version for dummies someday... yeah, sure...

Polyecter

As a rule of thumb, matter both has a mass and takes up room (Lavoisier and Lomonósov. 1787 AU). This used to be more than just a rule of thumb, until the discovery of polyecter.

Many creatures in the multiverse seem to disintegrate into nothingness once slain (Sakaguchi et al. 1988 AU). The process of slaying them for whatever they may be carrying used to be common practice once upon a time, considering the object left behind to be but an anomaly. While wasteful in comparison, the process seemed sufficient for everyone until chemical developments (Hyatt, 1863 AU) suggested that the waste of material was the anomaly. He managed to congeal the lost material and use it appropriately.

Eventually the material became used for clothes (Nagai et al. 1977 AU), though its actual nature was only codified nearly a decade after (Venkman, Spengler and Stantz, 1984 AU). It didn't take long for polyecter to find other niches which it continues to hold to this day, thanks to the advances made by several trailblazers (Leed-sha, Maeda and Fukumoto 1989 AU, Shiina et al., 1991 AU, Takeuchi et al. 1992 AU). Independant experiments (Imaishi et al. 2007 AU) have tested, with satisfactory results, the performance of polyecter in extremely demanding conditions.

Polyecter is usually found as an aether (Aristotle et al. 377 BU), similar to terra pingüis (Becher and Stahl, 1682 AU), except its mass is variable (Takeuchi et al. 1992 AU, Imaishi et al. 2007 AU) due to polymerization, though some authors (Michelson and Morley 1887 AU, Lavoisier and Lomonósov 1787 AU) believe this is absolute horseradish. When the polymerization is initiated (Nagai et al. 1977 AU), the polyecter reacts immediately to form repetitive, expanding structures, with practically limitless size (Imaichi et al. 2007 AU). While the repetitive structure is a given, the degree of criscrossing in the material can be modified (Goodyear, 1839 AU) just as well as the activation methods, so as to obtain different microstructures with variable properties.

It's common practice [citation needed] to use a load during polymerization, so as to reduce the amount of polyecter employed. It's this practice, rather than any other, that has allowed polyecter to achieve costs much lower per pound than any other material, even considering its usually low density [dubious, discuss]. The use of a load entails the polymerization of the material while mixed with an existing material (Cronin and Gerow 1963 AU, Beck and Parker 1939 AU) had already proven satisfactory, creating material of appropriate density and tremendous strength.

Currently, polyecter activators must be obtained from the wild (Tajiri et al., 1996 AU, Sakaguchi et al. 1988 AU), directly from creatures that make use of the material. These activators are then built into the appropriate magical device (Takeuchi et al. 1992 AU), which will make use of the activators to synthesize the necessary polyecter into the required structures (weapons, clothing et c. 500000 BC). The versatility of properties that polyecter is capable of ensures its engineering applications are as broad as the properties the original sources manifest (Tajiri et al., 1996 AU), though later studies have suggested that the practice of hunting for polyecter may in fact cause the depletion of the source organisms, in a manner similar to other species (Tajiri et al., 2010, referring to Loxodonta et al., 1966 AU).

While most activator-bearing entities present no particular challenge to defeat, actually harvesting any component requires the use of a special kind of weapon (Shiina et al., 1991 AU, Tajiri et al. 1996). Some particular entities, however, should be hunted with a neutrona wand and a proton pack, with a corresponding trap (Spengler and Stantz, 1984 AU). The actual process of harvesting the polyecter activators, on the other hand, exceeds the limits of this document.

[...and so on, and so on...]

wow lot of ideas here XP

Great job on Handsome Ransom It clearly has a tale feel to it, and a moral of sort ( don't mess with Queen Thanjayuur XD ) and having it being a tale of the Queen herself as a mean of warning is a nice little twist. I loved the Fuzzy ending better ^^
The Mandragora are suitably scary, I imagine what it must look like to pluck a leave from a plant only to see it screaming, seeing a humanoid form starting to emerge from the ground and attracting others nearby ^^

For the Polyecter though.. I admit I haven't really understand what it is about ^^; I mean you mention creatures that vanish into nothingness but leave that substance behind ?

Also I would like to add the shining maze, if you agree with the disclaimer :3

Karbo wrote:

Great job on Handsome Ransom It clearly has a tale feel to it, and a moral of sort ( don't mess with Queen Thanjayuur XD ) and having it being a tale of the Queen herself as a mean of warning is a nice little twist. I loved the Fuzzy ending better ^^

Also, it explains who made the Jewel River

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Karbo wrote:

The Mandragora are suitably scary, I imagine what it must look like to pluck a leave from a plant only to see it screaming, seeing a humanoid form starting to emerge from the ground and attracting others nearby ^^

Yeah. And when you're done with the surprise factor, they're lumpy, brown, and want to kill you. And when you're done with the horror factor, that lumpy, brown hide is a green amazon's organically grown powersuit. And when you're done with the sci-fi violence, they're stupid.

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Karbo wrote:

For the Polyecter though.. I admit I haven't really understand what it is about ^^; I mean you mention creatures that vanish into nothingness but leave that substance behind ?

It's just one of my usual bizarrades, like Sareu Trosvil, only written kind of like an academic paper. A'course I didn't write a proper abstract, introduction, and stuff.
What can I say in my defense? Thinking of people's faces as they read this is kind of fun.

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Karbo wrote:

Also I would like to add the shining maze, if you agree with the disclaimer :3

OK, I agree.

Jetstreams

A strange atmospheric phenomenon sometimes occurs near the upper limit of the atmosphere in Felarya, very similar to the phenomenon of the same name in physical worlds. Jetstreams in Felarya are tunnel-shaped sections of air, much longer than they're wide, with wind speeds nearing 100 miles per hour. The area inside those tunnels forms a unique world in itself, looking down both at the seas and the clouds.

Strange animals live within those wind torrents, staying buoyant thanks to the wind speed alone, for the duration of their lives in some cases. The wind is thriving with microorganisms, themselves eaten by filter feeding animals, which will in turn serve to feed the flying squids that will in turn be eaten by their larger kin (which eventually shall drop out of the jetstream themselves if the speed falls below a minimum). Eidoron rocks of otherwise unseen sizes serve as 'islands', lying near some tunnel bifurcations, providing small respite for those rare animals that need, for some reason, to stay out of the wind for a while. Some giant harpies like to spend a little time here, despite the unfathomable cold and the absolutely thin atmosphere, and there are some of them who consider the Jetstream a sacred place, forever out of reach to any other creature not blessed with their flight, lungs, and mass.

The jetstreams are one-way only: flying against the current is more or less impossible, not only because of the power of the buffeting winds, but also because of the numerous objects that the current carries: not all of them are small animals. For those who know where the flow leads (and have the vigor to reach it), the jetstream can reduce flight time importantly. Some harpies have developed their own kind of divination magic in order to know when the jetstream is favorable: as a side effect, they also know when a particular stream will suddenly vanish, dropping dangerous flying squids in the unsuspecting Felarya beneath.


Albedo Dreamer

This tall, black tree is surrounded by a conspicuous aura of darkness. The reason is rather simple- Albedo Dreamers alter the reaction to light of the surfaces around them, practically turning all the light absorbed into heat, and reducing visibility as if the sun had been turned into a dim bulb. They also distort the flow of light around them, drawing light to themselves as if they stood in the focus of a magnifying glass (though slightly out of focus so as to not kill themselves too easily). These adaptations are meant for extremely cold weather, and the tree will give itself a viking funeral if it happens to sprout in an area where the wind isn't constantly chilling it below its burning point. They also don't thrive in areas that aren't rocky; the tree needs the ground to be able to trap heat once it melts off all the snow atop it, or else it'll freeze during the night. The combination of requirements makes the Albedo extremely picky on where it sprouts, and thus it remains very rare.

For those who can approach an Albedo, they'll find it distinctly warmer than the surrounding area, not to mention very dark during the day. Due to their choice of terrain, this is, rocky, most creatures make use of the revealed ground's ability to retain heat, finding Albedo trees about as good as a natural firepit to sleep around: there are even some species which treat the trunk as a hotrock. In fact, given the tree's ability to gather heat and sunlight, some particularly large specimens have small ecosystems close to their roots, where the ice and snow they melt form a temperate pond near which other plants may thrive. Of course, no plant thrives directly on its roots: the Dreamer leaves precious little sunlight in its area.

So, we still don't have any idea why the years are counted as they are. I think I've figured out a way to count the years, considering none of the celestial bodies visible from Felarya have regular cycles- except maybe the moons. So it was time to look at the non-celestial bodies. For obvious reasons, I only looked at the edible ones... like Oldman suggested, the calendar was more likely to develop amongst agricultors, hence I thought maybe edible plants [cereals, drupes, berries, inflorescences, tubers...] followed a cycle, with or without seasons.

For the record, I hate fruits.

CAVEAT: This article assumes that fruits are available in large enough a volume for their disappearance to have a reasonable impact in behaviours throughout the jungle.
CAVEAT: There be magic that grows fruit. I haven't touched upon the subject, though.

THE DECREE OF CALVABRINA

Despite there being no seasons, Felarya's flora continues to bear fruit for what seems to be most of the time. Mysterious magic, dodgy dimensions, and inherently ineffable impossibilities conspire to keep that a reality- but even then, vegetables' vitality has a limit. The lack of a defined celestial or climatological cycle leaves most plants running sketchy cycles of their own, flowering and bearing fruit seemingly at random, stopping for no visible reason, for as long as they well please. The lack of any defined schedule is mitigated by the fact that while one plant is still doing nothing, another might still be flowering, and yet another might be bearing fruit: at all times, there should be a berry, drupe or tuber out there somewhere.

But however many cultivars there may be out there, their cycles somehow align every 300 days (of whatever duration), generating three tendays of barrenness. For that lone month, no plant will bear fruit, and even fleshy broad-leaved plants, such as lettuces, or tubers such as the stam or the tater, conspire to stop storing starch for those three tendays, leaving anyone who isn't a steady herbivore or a carnivore in dire need of another food source. Most animals that once depended on fruits will either run out of energy and be eaten quickly, or they'll switch their diet to other kinds of food; for most predators that supplement their diet with fruits, this is the time to eat the other, now hungry, frugivores.

The exact reason for this season is unknown: supposedly it might have something to do with microorganisms or insects, but ancient texts subscribe to the notion this is a decree of Calvabrina, goddess of the hunt, intended to ensure that all able-bodied (meat-digesting) creatures experience life as a predator at least once a year (whether they want to or not), marking thus what passed for a year to her. Whatever the reason, it's known that this phenomenon predates Ur-Sagol, and even the Elven Empire. Research is still ongoing on whether it predates the war with the Correctors.



-Demons, Y U ugly?

While succubi are the charismatic megafauna from Hell, they still seem to number way too high for me taste. I mean, does Hell really need that many succubi? Do these girls... I dunno, reproduce, that there are so many of them? And where are all the guys? All we've seen is them freaky fuglies like Agnashrakh "the Annihilator" and that other one who revealed his entire strategy to Mennysan. Gave me an odd idea, guys- what if THOSE are the incubi? And if so, why are they so... ay danno, demonic, while the girls aren't? It gave me the craziest ideas. Here's this for a laugh.

CAVEAT: We already know succubi are separate from everyone else in Hell. You got the succubi on one side, and the generic demons on the other, and the fallen angels on the other... so... you know.
CAVEAT: This would make feminist succubi... very, very ugly. Silly, ain't it?
CAVEAT: If you're squeamish about plastic surgery, this isn't funny.

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER

Succubi, in general, are a comely (and conceited) lot. One would think that their beauty is an inherent caracteristic, that they're born beautiful and could never look anyhow else. They do embody all the unreal desires had by anyone who's ever lusted after a woman, don't they?

Except for the part where they embody that most of those desires are unrealistic. They groom themselves VERY hard, and for a good reason: they're still demons. Succubi don't grow hair on their legs, they grow jagged, coriaceous spikes. They don't get fat, they sweat interestingly colored fluids through uneven, taut skin. Their eyes don't develop bags, they get bleached and swollen. The less said about what happens to their breath, and the lifeforms that colonize the mess that becomes their hair (and the rest of their body), the better. A succubus that isn't getting her beauty time slowly turns into an absolutely ineffable abomination, just the sight of which would send the very Correctors fleeing in terror.

This is the reason incubi seem to be rarely portrayed- they aren't. The strange demons that usually accompany succubi are, in fact, incubi- except they are much more tolerant of their unsightly state: spiked beards on chins that look like turtle shells, taut nostrils, decayed eyes, and a bedhead that might as well be skin-covered horns. Those incubi that concern themselves with little other than their love of battle attach no shame to regressing to that state (much to the chagrin and grief of succubi, who can barely tolerate the double standard, and their more vain brethren, who find 'em an eyesore). If they decided to return from their No-shave November, however, the process would be long and horribly painful, as it would involve a plethora of personal care procedures that would constitute performing facial ostheotomy, without anesthesia, on oneself, just about anywhere else.

Suffering is the price of beauty. And Hell has suffering in droves.

Recovered from the notes of the sage Groggeliou Carno. Shortly after writing this book, he disappeared in mysterious circumstances- twice, never coming back the first time.



-Negav, revisited

Looking at the tiers of Negav, and the fact there were walls between all tiers, I kinda wonder if that was because the city itself had been built in tiers. Kinda made me wonder, though, where'd those walls come from, and what were they for. I mean, I don't think the Great Wall of China has that much rock on it, and I'm not sure how, or if, they would do any good at keeping predators away. Even magical siege engines of doom have limitations, after all- unless you want to put ballistic missiles in ancient Negav. It's one of the things I don't like about sci-fi fantasy blends that need both places at different levels of technological advancement (and magical availability, too)... we can't ever know anymore what they used in ye olde butcherede englishe times. For all we know, they shot plasma grenades out of slingshots.

Which again got me in teh mood for being silly. But I held it in, because the subject seemed to have more potential on the serious side this time around. Unlike facial self-ostheotomy without anesthesia.

CAVEAT: I can't be sure about the structural integrity of a 150 foot tall wall, even if it weren't holding 100 feet of dirt on one side. Let's call that steel beams... and magic. Magical steel beams, aww yeah.
CAVEAT: I'm pretty sure that the only way there was granite anywhere near the top of the hill would be if it were a volcanic hill. Maybe not, I guess...
CAVEAT: While it had more potential on the serious side, I'm a silly guy. :B :B :Bidoof
CAVEAT: The Old Wall? I mean, like, seriously?

The following text was pulled out of a trashcan near the Tourism Guild of Negav. It's obviously a rough draft for a pamphlet.

THE OLD WALL

The Old Wall is a sight you can't miss if you're traveling through Negav! This ancient architectonic artwork, smartly built on a hillside, used to be the first and only line of defense for the early city of Negav, and has fueled the pride of this city for centuries.

Its construction was outstanding- rather than up, the walls were built downwards: the hill was excavated in a two-mile ring around its summit, forming a 12-truvi deep (That's 75 feet!) cliff. The stone was quarried from farther uphill: much time and manpower was saved that way. Predator attacks were an ongoing problem during construction: it is said that the loose dirt they kept throwing downhill, reducing the available traction, and the dust carried by in the wind, problematic for any harpy that came by, bought the workers precious minutes they needed to get to safety.

Even after their construction, the walls were unique. They didn't exactly perform as walls: rather, they were meant as a platform, which allowed for two distinct levels to exist around the summit. The upper level, constituting Negav itself, and the lower level, consisting of the part of the hill that was excavated. Though the walls were only 24-truvi tall, hardly enough to keep out a determined predator, they were enough for the Negavian engines to launch stones from 8-truvi over the preds' heads. Careful calibration and flexible aiming allowed them to pelt anyone who tried to scale the walls with burning stones, while defenders closer to the walls could simply use the 8-truvi advantage to turn just about anything heavy enough into a deceptively lethal projectile, protected by jagged metal crenellations that would slice at the fingers and body of any predator that tried to scale it or paw at the defenders. Many attempted to jump over it, or shatter a section in order to bypass it: none succeeded.

Living without fear of being eaten was an experience that had been forgotten for generations. Negav became a symbol, and as the people of the surrounding zone grew more curious, it quickly grew into something no one had seen before- a proud, true urban center. All trade was carried out within the city, and it grew in its prosperity until it could no longer be safely housed within its confines. A second, and then a third wall were built out of the first wall, though none as great as the first. The Old Wall saw no further use until the Great Destruction, when the other walls were overrun. The Old Wall's jagged crenellations, however, kept the high tier safe from most predators.

Currently, this construction serves only to separate the High Tier from the Middle and Low Tiers. Defensive functions are concentrated on the Third Wall, which has no need for a height advantage. However, the Old Wall remains a marvel of ingenuity, and its view is matched only by the tallest buildings in the High Tier.

Ah, incubi. Were you after that period? They've been brought up before, but I know not where. Something happened to them, they no longer exist, and that is all I know of. I can only theorize that maybe there was a fight between them and they were massacred or driven from hell somehow. That's the explanation I've gone with: but all I know for fact is that they used to exist...and they don't anymore.

As for the wall, I didn't bother to realize how realistic it would be to build something that crazy. It's actually taller than 150 ft I think, given the scale you see in the picture. Granted there are buildings that are even taller than the Negav walls, so they managed somehow.

Oh wait, just came to me, it must be possible because Felarya's world as a whole is meant for people who are Crisis-sized, not human sized. So relatively speaking its not actually that implausible. You also cant question how ants build homes that are so big, much bigger than a human...but they do. I think we'd both be surprised about such feats of construction and engineering.

Vanguard Bells:

Another one of the special tools that are made good use of, vanguard bells are small rocks inscribed with a tracking spell. Those who are hit by the rock become pushovers to track with the appropriate spell or device (user's choice). The use of those rocks is supposed to allow a large number of people to anticipate a threat found by a forward force, or vanguard, that fires one at the threat in question. While it doesn't kill (if one rock could kill, this one wouldn't be necessary), it makes a good job of giving away the predator's position silently, making it impossible for it to ambush anyone in posession of the tracker.

There's also technological equivalents: minidarts that use a 24-hour battery and a VHF emitter together with a local anesthesic. These are designed to shut off in case of being pulled out, as clever predators could abuse them otherwise. It's advised to fire them far from arm's reach, in conjunction with some extreme distraction (such as a few volleys of gunfire) otherwise they could be pulled out before the anesthesic masks them.

A more lowbrow variant, also called the fart dart, carries a spell that causes nervous flatulence in those hit. Every time the target attempts to focus (in order to ambush someone, for instance), they'll suffer a bout of flatulence, making it impossible for them to conceal themselves. Even more lowbrow variants forgo the magic completely and just use a dart with some foul-smelling compound whose stench is hard to miss when in close proximity. The most lowbrow variants forgo even the dart and just throw stink bombs.


Precursor Ants:

[Credits to Slimetoad and Karbo for help with this one]

Size: 1/2 inch
Danger: Special

A particularly useful (and disturbing) creature, precursor ants are oversized insects that come in several fun and bright colours. They gather food from wherever they can, picking off small pieces with their large mandibles and carrying them back to their nests, showing a preference for anything that has some sort of magical affinity. They're also an indicator of coming rain, for they abandon their nests before one.

But the real treat to them are their alchemical properties. Precursor ants stockpile magical compounds in their bodies, not unlike boom bees, but unlike them, these compounds aren't active until consumed by a larger being (usually; some colors don't even do that). It's at that point that the colour of the ants begins to matter: different colors, varying by the location and availability of their foodstuffs, cause different effects. One colour of ant could render their predator blind; another colour of ant could make the eater turn purple, another may make them shrink, and another could simply make the eater crumble apart in a mass of ants. Eating enough of them of the same color is a danger unless their effects are properly negated, which their predators generally do through combinations of ants of different colors: for some reason, eating ants of all the colors available in a line equally causes their effects to be negated. Losing track of how many of each color have been eaten, however, is deadly dangerous, and most insectivores avoid lines with more than three colors: the sight of a new color of ant joining the line generally causes some animals to crap themselves out of fear.

Precursor ants are obviously used in alchemy, where the combination of multiple colors becomes more of an art than a science- and the availability of them may be specially limiting to their abilities. Precursor ants, it's worth remembering, do not create new compounds, but merely gather them from their environment.


Jungle Cat Fabric:

[I'll be honest... I needed a reason why a catsuit would be a good idea. This is my way of admitting there wasn't one.]

The source of this unique fabric is a well-kept neko secret. It's soft to the touch, very light, and remains dry even after full submersion in most liquids, much like a lotus leaf. The fabric allows the skin to breathe despite being waterproof, yet provides an excellent barrier against the elements, some contact poisons, and most importantly, some adhesive tongues. The fabric itself is rather strong for its weight, though far from strong enough to stand a knife, bullet, etcetera.

The fabric is usually used in full body suits, given that any openings in it would let liquids get at the skin of the wearer and render the properties of the fabric pretty pointless. The suits made of this fabric are good for just about any outdoors situation, including climbing, mud-trekking, hiking, even swimming. Of course, real nekos know that you don't really need one of those in the wild, and a true survivalist can make do with just about anything: actually wearing one is admitting you haven't been out for very long.

Magivolver [just for giggles. Sean already made a point it was a bad idea ]

Given the lack of proper chemical facilities, some inventive Negavians have sidestepped the issue of how to synthesize a primer for percussion caps and decided to rely on magic instead to ignite the propellant in their bullets. The magivolver is an example of that.
This gun replaces the striker in the trigger mechanism by an array of silver sigils around a single pyralite. When the trigger is pulled, the sigils react by forcing magical through the pyralite, causing it to create a flame within the propellant cap. The process ignites the propellant (obviously), thus firing the bullet.
The precious stone and silver inlaid (lack of) mechanism involves no moving parts other than the trigger and its corresponding spring, rendering it ridiculously solid (if gaudy), literally impossible to jam, and perfectly capable of firing even very old ammo. On the downside, unlike with real guns made by real gunsmiths, the delay between the pull of the trigger and the shooting of the bullet varies wildly depending on the craftsmanship.
Most magivolvers are revolvers (hence the volver at the end), but there are other kinds of guns too. Unfortunately, matching propellant to barrel alloy seems to be impossible for most Negavian crafters, who don't grasp firing pressure too well. Most of their barrels are made of brass, capable of handling only weaker propellants, and they tend to asplode when fed smokeless powder loads meant for chromoly or stainless steel rifled barrels. Accidents of this nature are probably going to plague Negavians' psyche regarding guns for a few more years.


Charm Edges

Combining the properties of a good luck charm with the usefulness of an edged weapon, charm edges are a family of enchanted talismans that is very popular in Negav. They are edged weapons of all sorts, ranging from knives to claymores, but also function as good luck charms, and thus they're better to have than guns. They make you lucky, but only if you're a real man.



Kidding. Minor enchantments upon those blades assist their wielders: despite being basically trifles, some of them can be really useful. For combat, there is nothing like a stop charm- a single gash of the blade will basically sap the target's strength and initiative for a few vital moments, which may very well be the last moments. Some of those blades glow blue when in the proximity of dridders, and some of them make dridders glow blue when struck. Very special blades may have some ability to freeze what they strike, and the nastier ones corrode and dissolve what they cut (very useful against metal). Other blades heal, and there's even some blades that can function as multiple blades in one. Ironically, the most popular blades just bring you good luck: the price tag may have something to do with it.

They require tremendously magical ambients, however, to have any special properties. Your healing shiv would turn into a regular shiv anywhere there isn't one. Why not just make charm guns, you ask? Because all that magic doesn't fit in the bullets! You gonna make a glow gun, why, to pistol-whip people so they glow?


Lydiol [because rule of 3]

Also known as the Fault Elixir, this highly unstable substance, while not difficult to isolate, is nonetheless amongst the rarest minerals available in the world between worlds. This syrupy, transparent liquid condenses spontaneously in Lydus when the fabric of the universes ruptures, and spills out into whatever unlucky physical world is on the other side of the tear.

The lydiol usually seeps into the ground, and then dissolves into the atmosphere to degenerate into radiation within a matter of hours. If caught before that point, it can be held and stored, though the container must keep the lydiol both away from the atmosphere and in constant, vigorous stirring to keep it from degenerating. Primitive water wheels and jars have been able to handle the task, though higher technology can and has been used.

As an anomalous material, lydiol has bizarre properties that give it no sensible application. Despite this, it can be deceivingly useful: its impossible reactions with other materials spawn a new plethora of options for anyone with the resources and energy to devote to their search. Amongst its basic applications is its use as a corrosive for dimensional boundaries, and an anomalous dopant for semiconductors, generating electric circuits that can conduct currents despite discontinuities and with arbitrarily low resistances. The material is simply out of this world... or any other.

However, large storages of lydiol tend to start acting on their immediate dimensional boundaries, causing a lot of accidents and often simply destroying their containment material. It's said that Vishmitali technology involved (and may, in fact, still involve) a great deal of lydiol: the loss of their lydiol reserves may be one of the factors that currently hold the vishmitali recovery back.

(I had been thinking, maybe we could call this The Hobble, and place it on a grounded ship instead of under a turtle's shell. Kinda like how the Hubble keeps finding new stars, y'now?)

Miragia Location: The Coil

Danger: Moderate, tending towards Legendary over time.

The hollowed-out shell of a particularly large dead Torkudas in Miragia serves as a small redoubt for people looking for a way out of Felarya. While the Negav gate connects to many worlds, and the Ur-Sagol gate connects anywhere there's a portal, many worlds connect to Felarya only once, never to be heard of again. The people that end up in Felarya during those disturbances, if they will struggle to return to their homes, flock to a spot within Miragia known as The Coil.

The Coil stays in a relatively stable zone of Miragia. Continuous efforts are made to redistribute the dimensional unstability as far away from the station as possible; from there, vanishing land activity is monitored continuously. Most of the Coil's nonmages spend their time searching through vanishing lands, taking pictures and material samples, or in rare cases, attempting to pre-empt a vanishing land in order to be transported to another world so as to study as much of it as possible. A huge archive is kept inside the station, where the materials are compared and studied continuously in hopes of being able to tie them to a particular world.

Both the unqualified and qualified staff are ever insufficient to search as much as they would care to: anyone desperate enough to join The Coil is welcome. The odds of ever finding one's homeworld again are slim, but it does happen (though some people get desperate enough to compromise instead). However, many people die first as no risk is worse than an unknown risk, and the Coil is all about uncharted lands. Having any handy skills, on the other hand, will allow one to stay inside the shell, where the risk is almost minimal.

Supplies of all kinds are always in extreme demand there. They aggressively hunt anything that moves, trade cures (jars of dirt, mostly) with any vanishing land they can (and there are rumors that some small groups prefer to armor up and discreetly raid them), and freely deal in unusual demands that anyone may want to make regarding the uncharted worlds out there. They receive some aid from the OADD, Negav and Galfam-Abh, but it's never enough.

The Cult of Lataran stole the Codex where they kept identified worlds a few years ago. Though some effort has been made to rebuild the archive from what people remember (and there are backups outdated only a decade or so in both Negav and Galfam-Abh), a small reward has been posted for anyone who can recover the file from the Temple of Lataran.

I like it. It gives me the idea to present future stories or ideas based on true "Indiana Jones Like people." Not to mention it puts in a notion that someone will take advantage of the idea of dimensional instability as a chance to to be very versatile in research more than anything.

Too flesh out a few things, you should go into more detail of what kind of people are there. We know that most of them want to get back home but their could be an interesting research station that scientist all over the continent would go to to get a lead on their own personal developments or something similar too that practice. Heck i could imagine the bigger guys on the continent would give these guys a pretty penny to find stuff like castles or fields of rare fruit,minerals,resources in general.

Other than that I like it !

Very cool idea that, Coil. A location that not only takes advantage of Maragia's unusual properties. I also like the fact that people who've been displaced from their worlds and can't get back at least have a chance there. Gives me some idea of how Kate might try to get home one day. Likely fail but still it'd be interesting to see. Also I find this ironic since I just started watching Babylon 5 this month and this place sorta makes me think of it. All these different races and peoples all crammed into one place. Kinda heart warming. Though I do have to ask...what keeps preds away?

Thank you for your comments, RV, JE.

The heartwarmingness, JE, I think is completely accidental. Drown a sliver of hope in an ocean of despair, that's my recipe.

Yeah, they could profit with stuff, RV. You never know what you're going to find; you could find tech based on a scientific principle exploited in a completely unexplored way, or even tech that works because of something that wasn't known before. That's without going into magic, because... you know. Magic could be anything.

But at any rate, I think these guys would mostly pick up random junk from just about everywhere, archive it like they're OCD, and sell anything they've got more than one of (unless they get desperate, which is... all the time).

I imagine they could pull a profit too if they dropped some sorta dimensional beacon on particularly interesting worlds, opening them up for someone else to do the exploration (exploitation?), but that sounds kind of mean. You don't know what they're going to do to it; someone you know may be from there.

As for the preds... Miragia's only common predator are dryads. Any other predators would have to be deterred solely because it's Miragia, and they could end up just like the crazy preys if they don't stay away from the Coil. Beyond that and the 50-foot shell that reflects magic, I'd say The Coil is basically defenseless.

I did consider predators amongst the Coil, but then I remembered they don't need the Coil. Preds can wander into vanishing lands anytime they want to, and don't need to group up for protection the same way we hoomynz do. Besides, they wouldn't fit in the station, and those that do, fairies, don't live long outside Felarya. The only thing The Coil has to offer is food that happens to share their interests, but there's just too much risk, too much bias to overcome, and even then, The Coil isn't the best place to live in.

Crisis likes other worlds, though. Go figure. :B

I like the coil idea
It's pretty unique and in the same time it make sense to take advantage of the instabilities as a powerful defense mechanism. Nice job ^^

I was thinking about making fairies that were hybrids with magic elementals, then I realized we already have too many fairies and too few magic elementals. So, there was this old idea I had, based off creepy crap, and now it's as good a time as any for it to come out of the Pit of Nightmares. Here's my creepy crawlie for today...

Magic Elementals: Floating Heads

One of the most disturbing types of elemental known to exist, floating heads spend most of their existence as a diffuse, slumbering presence underground. They don't take a form, much less notice of their surroundings, until magic disturbs their sleep. The use of magic around a floating head during its slumber causes it to gradually awaken, starting to feed off the magic as it is gathered. They don't take much at first, allowing for magic to function normally, but they quickly get greedy enough for wizards to notice. A wizard headstrong (or desperate) enough to continue using such will find themselves in a very dire predicament as one of their spells outright fizzles and the floating head manifests its form instead!

A manifest floating head looks like a comely female- with no body below the neck, her head enshrouded in a morass of ethereal, shimmering tendrils, much like ghostly hair. The head itself measures around eighteen feet tall, more than enough to swallow a human whole. They are heavily decorated with collars, earrings, crowns, face-paint and headwear, sometimes even with facial piercings, eyewear or masks; while these objects may look like stone, metal, bone, coral, plastic, leather, jewelry, live flesh or what have you, they're actually part of the floating head, and fade away if somehow removed. The designs they sport veer towards the complicated and intimidatingly bizarre, sometimes including such features as moving pieces, musical instruments, "slots" within the face, and even body parts. It is theorized that floating heads are capable of changing those designs, but the lack of brave souls willing to look at one twice has prevented this from being confirmed.

Floating heads usually devour the wizard that "summons" them right away, rarely being persuaded to chat instead; a floating head will fade back into slumber less than a minute after appearing unless they eat, and this knowledge makes them tend to be rather inflexible on that respect. They become chattier after eating, hoping to fill the borrowed time with something, but their voracity inevitably comes up every few minutes. Those who have chatted with one know them to be frightfully intelligent, and rather fond of news about the world, which they claim to mull over between enforced periods of inactivity: having interesting tidbits may save your life with them.

Being made of magic makes them less than material; these elementals are perfectly capable of floating through solid objects, a great advantage in the underground they prefer to inhabit. They can disrupt spells around them with a mere glance; only weapons that harm ghosts are practical to use on them, as spells won't work without their consent. They prefer to snack on other magical beings if available, much like other magic elementals.


Lataran didn't seem like the worksman to me. Besides, given it's older than any other building, and he's not the god of stonecutting, I was wondering how had Lataran raised the place. Seeing that Karbo's close-up of the temple had elements that seemed to belong to Angry Birds or maybe Legend of Zelda, I had an idea. God of thieves... there you go.

Architecture in the Temple of Lataran

The temple of Lataran is older than anyone can remember. As far as any records say, it simply sprouted up one day, fully formed. For most adventurers, this is good enough: ruins do not need much of an explanation, as long as there's treasure in there. Good amounts of treasure are stolen every day, and brought to the temple, by the faithful of Lataran.

Lataran himself prefers to steal other things. Recent findings, comparing sketches of earlier iterations of the temple to its present form, show that the temple has changed form over time. Further research and cross-checking has proven that the architectural style of renovated areas matches perfectly with other styles developed elsewhere in the multiverse. A little questioning has revealed, much to everyone's surprise, that the architectural style isn't the only thing that matches. The entire architecture of the changed areas, down to the position of the water closets, matches that of specific buildings, in fact, buildings that mysteriously disappeared from their original location!

This discovery has been met with general outrage and tremendous bafflement. Suffices to say Othemites did not take kindly to learning that one of their temples that had been supposedly torn away, stone by stone, by heretics whose blood was spilled in retaliation, had actually been spirited away by Lataran and is now used to host a course named "The Way of the Monkey". The thousands of pounds of gold foil that adventurers (many of them financed by the Othemites) pried from its gilded halls only add insult to injury.

The proximity of the temple to the Giant Tree seems to suggest that Lataran might have stolen the tree too. The titanic dimensions of the plant, on the other hand, have led some to theorize that it was enlarged upon arrival as has happened to some people: even for Lataran, there's no way he could've stolen a tree that big. Some believe the closeness of the temple to the tree is evidence that Lataran is still pinned underneath it, remotely toying with structures to pass the time while he figures out how to dig himself out of that mess.

-The Tree

Not a lot of people pay great mind to the stars; the direction in which they turn is often missed, despite being one of the few indicators for the four cardinal directions. The stars all over Felarya turn in the same direction, and this is very important at sea. For those at land within the main continent, the Giant Tree serves just fine. In fact, by observing which branches they are facing, many individuals learn their exact bearing: while the tree is evergreen and gigantic, it is not cylindrically symmetric, and the rate at which its branches grow, fall off and regrow is slow enough as to consider it practically unchanging on a geological scale. The same branches have been pointing north for centuries, and most people know what the tree looks like from where they live.

-Thaumaturgical Directory
The entities one can make a thaumaturgical pact with are varied. Here are a few examples.

-Elementals (bind):
No elemental ever pacts with a binder willingly: it is as parting with a fraction of their essence, and unlike other thaumaturgical entities, they can't do this naturally. In order to make a pact with an elemental, one must bind it first (which usually involves slaying it and preventing its regeneration), strike a deal next, and finally enforce it upon the creature. The powers one can expect from the elemental are pretty much obvious- power over earth from an earth elemental, power over water from a water elemental, power over technetium from a technetium elemental...
The elements care to be free, and they will never abide by any deals if they are given an alternative. Hence, they must be chained, and kept from reaching both full strength and sufficient clarity of mind to refuse the binder: should the first threshold be broken, they'll break free, and should the second threshold be broken, only threats will help keep one compliant. Exactly what will deter an elemental from denying their binder depends, but most of the time, the threat of being bound for what will amount to an eternity with no possibility of ever reaching full strength will keep one mostly compliant. Should they ever break free, however, retribution is to be expected.

-Angels (reading):
Most angels are not willing to make pacts with anyone. Of those that are, most are known as squires or shieldbearers: naïve and innocent creatures with little power, often rather bare, with an almost childlike appearance and nearly unarmed. Untrained with their own essence, they employ it as a bargaining chip to gain the aid of a mortal in their everyday tasks. Anyone who can prove their heart pure and their cause just may call upon one of these: if they are found worthy of watching over the little angel (it goes two ways, as the angel will watch over them right back), they may even make a pact with them. Shieldbearers grant their binders the power to heal, fortify, protect and mend.
In exchange, those naïve things need their binder to provide help with whatever dillemas they encounter in Heaven: most of the time, this will involve giving moral advice, looking up information, and generally showing a lot of confidence. Squires are literal-minded, and given bad advice or talked to sarcastically they'll follow it, probably losing their contacting privileges in Heaven, which would leave the binder in (pardon the pun) quite a bind. Lying to one of those poor creatures is a dangerous proposition. While they'll fall for anything hook, line and sinker, they have a tendency to blab about it. Heaven doesn't like it when its most vulnerable people are used with no consideration: some heavenly retribution WILL be coming your way. So don't be naughty with the poor things!

-Ancestors (blood):
Ancestor pacts are the simplest to make, though very restricted. Elven wizards in particular favor this contact with their ancestors, and many rely on tutoring from these ancient beings in order to advance their skills. Depending on the individual's family tree, a contact with these spirits may grant many things, though it usually grants little beyond tutoring in a few trades, a thorough knowledge of the grudges that run in and around the family, and a fun way to gossip with your many sisters across extremely long distances.
While some fun relatives may very well be mighty warriors, holders of far-reaching secrets or arcanists of the highest degree, it's paramount to remember that spirits whose intention is merely to serve you are only an ideal case. These spirits were people like you, first and foremost, and expect to be treated as family: realizing that they are being treated as means to an end will probably end up badly for you. No one wants to spend the rest of eternity suffering fools, so being annoying with them is an even worse idea. Most importantly, some of them may have agendas that carry beyond the grave: while spotting one may give you some leverage, you should be really careful of what you could be getting into. If your grand-grand-uncle was a beguiler in life, who's to say he won't deceive you into doing his bidding? What are you gonna do about it, kill him?

-Demons (service):
In stark contrast with heaven, hell's hordes do not care for your good intentions. Rather than shieldbearers, demons who deal with mortals are known as "handlers". What interests them isn't so much pluck and purity, but ambition and ruthlessness, qualities that make for good contacts in the material world. They expect the individual in question to use the power invested upon them to advance themselves immediately as far as possible: if the handler evaluates the binder's performance as less than golden, be it because of small-mindedness, scruples, remorse or (please forbid) quitting, nothing short of immediate usefulness will stop the binder from being betrayed and slain in a wicked manner (and even then, not for long).
If the handler proves this beginning satisfactory, the individual will be allowed to keep those powers (assuming no display of weakness follows) until service from them is required. Needless to say, to refuse is suicidal: every service is followed by a shorter period of peace, until eventually more is required of the binder than they are capable of. They usually die at that stage, and their souls are finally reaped for the handler's master (or mistress, it doesn't really matter). Those binders who continuously subvert this stage, delivering no matter the demands, may one day look forward to an afterlife in demonhood themselves.

-Watchers (music):
These bizarre residents of Lydus have interests extremely difficult to grasp by human and humanoid standards, but usually skill with a wind instrument will grant one favor with these entities. Watchers can offer one the ability to see into faraway places, and travel there, striding across mountains, seas or even celestial bodies with but one step; their familiarity with the fabric of reality is also imparted upon the binder, who'll be able to foresee and identify disturbances upon it.
Their apettite for music is nigh-insatiable, however, and eventually most binders fail to maintain their pact: watchers need specific melodies, melodies that don't exist yet. If their musician fails to improvise a melody to their liking, the pact is over: long-time binders of the Watchers have consistently delivered the right music to their otherworldly masters because they have learned what they seek, not because they understand it. While failing to honor a pact rarely carries any consequences, those who use the watchers' favor to travel might very well find themselves stranded without a plan. Further, those abandoned by the watchers tend to find strange creatures drawn to them for the first fortnight; the secret to surviving those seems to be not to play any wind instruments at all.

-Correctors (???):
The Correctors do not seem to take a consistent nor comprehensible interest in Felarya, and in fact, whoever managed to curry their favor should expect to be ordered to withdraw from it immediately. Inevitably, however, they all end the same way: sooner or later, the Correctors have stolen all color and willpower from the would-be servant, as they take no chances with any rebellion after they have invested such a chosen one.

I love a lot those ideas

The floating heads are really interesting and original. I'm just wondering  where a prey go when they are eaten XP  Somehow it makes me thing of the mirror maws you find in Milkadis temple. The two could be related ^^

The temple of Lataran stealing parts of other architectures is certainly fitting for the god of thieves !

The tree orientation make perfect sense, I can imagine Crisis and others use it so naturally they don't even realize it ^^

And good job as well on those thaumaturgic contracts . I especially liked the angel one. It's kind of cute and not what you would normally expect XP

I'd like to add a couple of those if you agree with the disclaimer

Stabs wrote:

Not a lot of people pay great mind to the stars; the direction in which they turn is often missed, despite being one of the few indicators for the four cardinal directions. The stars all over Felarya turn in the same direction, and this is very important at sea. For those at land within the main continent, the Giant Tree serves just fine. In fact, by observing which branches they are facing, many individuals learn their exact bearing: while the tree is evergreen and gigantic, it is not cylindrically symmetric, and the rate at which its branches grow, fall off and regrow is slow enough as to consider it practically unchanging on a geological scale. The same branches have been pointing north for centuries, and most people know what the tree looks like from where they live.

Simple, but amazingly usefull! O.o I hope you expand sometime and say which directions and branch formations lead to where and what. Also love the Thaumaturgical Directory entires! Particully found of Angels, Demons and Ancestors XD

Sho'nuff, boss. I agree to the disclaimer for a couple of these.

Karbo wrote:

The floating heads are really interesting and original. I'm just wondering  where a prey go when they are eaten XP  Somehow it makes me thing of the mirror maws you find in Milkadis temple. The two could be related ^^

Could be. You ever figure it out, just tell me. I kinda imagined they'd use their brain for digestion, but being metaphorical about it (or sending them off, together with the mirror maws' stomaches) might be creepier.

jedi-explorer wrote:

Simple, but amazingly usefull! O.o I hope you expand sometime and say which directions and branch formations lead to where and what.

That could do. I was thinking, maybe the Giant Tree could be like... like it had a trio of branches called the Chordoni Triad, because they point towards the Chordoni, a broad branch called the Topazial Fan because it points to the Topazial, a high root called the Jadong Snake, because it curls along the ground but generally points towards Jadong, and so on?
Still, I'd sooner leave that part to Karbo. My mapping skills are gone somewhere featureless and inhospitable. Like Mare Tranquilitatis.

jedi-explorer wrote:

Also love the Thaumaturgical Directory entires! Particully found of Angels, Demons and Ancestors XD

Karbo wrote:

And good job as well on those thaumaturgic contracts . I especially liked the angel one. It's kind of cute and not what you would normally expect XP

Thank you both. Glad I have a thought to inspire you, though I'm sure some magical girl anime has done something of the same thing I did with angels. They do everything forever with friendship.

Also, the idea is flexible. If you want, you can have the devils being the ones you help while the angels are the ones that require a strict code out of you, or make it so that elementals don't need to be bound if they're willing to make binding pacts, but demons or angels do, or all entities need to be summoned and bound, or all entities can be both made pacts with or summoned and bound.

I remember you wanted to make magic a bit more uniform, so that there could be an approximate rank for anyone. I'm afraid I don't know how would this fit into that... ^^; Maybe by being given an estimate according to the creature that's made a pact with you: should you make a pact with Baby Cupid, you get rank 1, while if you are working directly under Iridan, you have rank 5, and somehow getting one with Faldhatée means the guy who does the rankings will give you any rank you want if you just promise to leave without hurting anyone. Good enough for a first draft, though I'm not sure all of Iridan's cultists (lol, yeah right) are provided exactly the same magic.