General Q and A

Prof.Nekko wrote:

Not quite sure if this has ever been asked... But what would the internal anatomy of a dryad be? You know organ-wise and the like. I only ask because of the fact that dryads are part plant so there may be organs that they don't need

Organs I think/know Dryads have. a heart, we all know they have Brains, Stomach, small Intestines (not too sure about), most defenitly reporductive organs (plant/animanal hybred reporductive organs? maybe), Lungs (maybe to intake CO2?)

Organs I think a dryad doesnt have. Large intestines, a exrectory system( not too sure about that one), Kidneys, Liver, galbladder.

Wells thats my best geuss Prof.Nekko but Im sure someone else can answer your question a little better than me.

They also might have an organ that's substituted for the spleen, or whatever helps filter food. after digestion, I think it would literally use every ounce for nutrients, and do it efficiently. Though that's a pretty specific question- Dryad anatomy.

Do Selachis express tonic immobility when flipped over, just like in sharks?

Jasconius wrote:

Do Selachis express tonic immobility when flipped over, just like in sharks?

Well, the simple answer is 'No'.

Longer answer... well, tonic immobility is a primitive defence mechanism, and not needed by Selachi who are more intelligent.

It is not so clear cut to define tonic immobility as a defense mechanism with sharks, because it's never been conclusive. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it as such. It is definitely a defense mechanism used by other animals (usually rodents or birds), but with sharks they are usually more apex predators and the more important thing is that sharks don't go tonic on their own, they require an outside influence and it is more usual to see it applied to the female.

Because it is used as a defense mechanism elsewise, people associate it as such but it is more likely a mating mechanism than a defense one for sharks, and this has been seen in the wild. Male sharks intentionally flip a female to induce tonic immobility in order to mount them - this is why female sharks often have bite marks along their body/fins. It's not usually because they were attacked in the 'about to be eaten' sense. I've pointed this amusement out to Terra in the past regarding her character and the 'bite marks' she has.

Another point against the favor of a defense mechanism is that in some sharks you can induce tonic immobility without flipping them - simply by rubbing the very sensitive receptors in their snout you can induce it. There was an entire episode on it in shark week. Again, no one has observed a shark going tonic for defense.

Indeed, tonic immobility in sharks has been seen applied in the inverse direction, as orcas have been known to induce tonic immobility in sharks to suffocate them.



So, I'd say you could definitely have a version of tonic immobility applied to Felaryan Selachis if you desired, but probably not to the same paralytic extreme. Perhaps if you flip a Selachis it calms them. Even if it doesn't work all the time, or even most of the time, I could definitely see it as being a Felaryan rumor.

About the Bulvon Wood, its entry isn't very clear whether it's a jungle or a marsh. It says its a humid rainforest, but it's wet underfoot, with moldy soil and stagnant bogs. That last part make it sound like it's a marsh area rather than a jungle.

I'll start off with a couple simple ones

how does a predtor react to the force field generated by the Isolon eye?

I seem to have a slight confusion with the imortality of felarya soil. does a person live for all eternity or is their life simply extended (everyone has to die a natural death eventually, right?)

How big is the giant tree? (measurement)

1. Already answered, intense uneasiness, and assuming the effects too place only if you got deep within reach, death from shock.

2. Already answered, it neutralizes damages caused by age, so you can't die from old age, but you can still be killed easily.

3. No one ever returned alive to measure it.

Sean Okotami wrote:

1. Already answered, intense uneasiness, and assuming the effects too place only if you got deep within reach, death from shock.

2. Already answered, it neutralizes damages caused by age, so you can't die from old age, but you can still be killed easily.

3. No one ever returned alive to measure it.

1-2 I wouldnt have known that it was already answered

3. THIS ISNT A JOKE!

Axel Hunter wrote:

Sean Okotami wrote:

1. Already answered, intense uneasiness, and assuming the effects too place only if you got deep within reach, death from shock.

2. Already answered, it neutralizes damages caused by age, so you can't die from old age, but you can still be killed easily.

3. No one ever returned alive to measure it.

1-2 I wouldnt have known that it was already answered

3. THIS ISNT A JOKE!

Im breaking my forum silence since I love the Q and A thread, and what it stands for.

1: The field of the Isolon Eye creates extreme uneasiness and uncomfortablness the closer you get to the Eye itself. The effect tends to vary depending on the individual, so some predators could potentially get closer to Negav than others (although, if you get too close, you are likely to draw the attention of the Isolon Fist, which would be bad). If a predator gets too far wtihin the Eye's field and doesn't leave, the effects will increase to the point of death. For example, a Harpy could not just dive-bomb in and out of Negav to try and grab people. Getting that close to the Eye would kill her, assuming the AA guns and rockets didn't do that already.

2: The healing factor of Felarya kicks in at a person's prime, where any further aging would begin to degrade them. For humans, this occurs at about the age of 26-28 years old. For giants, this is usually around the age of 50. The person will not age past that point, or suffer any negative effects from aging. You can still die though, through injury, poison, magical curses and so on.

3: No one knows for sure. Many kilometers in height. If we go by its size on the Felarya map, you're looking at something the size of a small US state hovering in the air. Its very big, large enough to where entire human cities could be built on is branches, and to where its branches and canopy house their own ecosystem seperate from the rest of the jungle. It is very possible that the Giant Tree is actually the largest living thing in existance.

Lay off the caps, this ain't the place.

Sean Okotami wrote:

About the Bulvon Wood, its entry isn't very clear whether it's a jungle or a marsh. It says its a humid rainforest, but it's wet underfoot, with moldy soil and stagnant bogs. That last part make it sound like it's a marsh area rather than a jungle.

I would say its halfway between a tropical rainforest and a freshwater swamp forest, given the description.

Yay, rcs619 is back, kind of!

Anyway, I'm kind of curious as to how a leviathan mermaid is supposed to find enough food to sustain itself. Something that huge must have to eat a lot to avoid starving...

itsmeyouidiot wrote:

Yay, rcs619 is back, kind of!

Anyway, I'm kind of curious as to how a leviathan mermaid is supposed to find enough food to sustain itself. Something that huge must have to eat a lot to avoid starving...

Working off the wiki and own guesses their metabolism is either really slow so whatever they do eat stays with them for a very long time. Or there is a lot of idiot ship captains who piss them off enough to make them angry. Or there is simply just a lot of fish and other animals available to eat in the waters of Felarya that have yet to be seen or classified by humans that are able to keep these large creatures feed. Or maybe they secretly eat their own charges! O.O (on accident of course... right?)

I know for my own Leviathan Mermaid Galaya whenever she needs to eat she will always separate herself from her school of various other sized mermaids and swim down to the dark depths of the Shimmering Sea to feed on the sea creatures down there. Where the truly old and ancient things dwell in the sea where fish of large size's live and are big enough to feed on mermaid's smaller then her. Where what is commonly seen as a weak and powerless fish closer to shore and the sea's surface, but deep down in the dark depths they can grow to far larger sizes and are able to feed something as large as a Leviathan Mermaid.

rcs619 wrote:

Axel Hunter wrote:

Sean Okotami wrote:

1. Already answered, intense uneasiness, and assuming the effects too place only if you got deep within reach, death from shock.

2. Already answered, it neutralizes damages caused by age, so you can't die from old age, but you can still be killed easily.

3. No one ever returned alive to measure it.

1-2 I wouldnt have known that it was already answered

3. THIS ISNT A JOKE!

Im breaking my forum silence since I love the Q and A thread, and what it stands for.

1: The field of the Isolon Eye creates extreme uneasiness and uncomfortablness the closer you get to the Eye itself. The effect tends to vary depending on the individual, so some predators could potentially get closer to Negav than others (although, if you get too close, you are likely to draw the attention of the Isolon Fist, which would be bad). If a predator gets too far wtihin the Eye's field and doesn't leave, the effects will increase to the point of death. For example, a Harpy could not just dive-bomb in and out of Negav to try and grab people. Getting that close to the Eye would kill her, assuming the AA guns and rockets didn't do that already.

2: The healing factor of Felarya kicks in at a person's prime, where any further aging would begin to degrade them. For humans, this occurs at about the age of 26-28 years old. For giants, this is usually around the age of 50. The person will not age past that point, or suffer any negative effects from aging. You can still die though, through injury, poison, magical curses and so on.

3: No one knows for sure. Many kilometers in height. If we go by its size on the Felarya map, you're looking at something the size of a small US state hovering in the air. Its very big, large enough to where entire human cities could be built on is branches, and to where its branches and canopy house their own ecosystem seperate from the rest of the jungle. It is very possible that the Giant Tree is actually the largest living thing in existance.

Lay off the caps, this ain't the place.

srry bout the caps, I'm still a rookie with alot to learn despite my time here. I dont have all of felarya memorised back and front and I hate it when people assume I do


that said... what if the predator was just an average sized naga?

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that said... what if the predator was just an average sized naga?

Human-sized hybrids can live inside the Eye. The Motamo Docks, for example, is a demi-human settlement that was built a short distance from Negav. It lies inside the Eye's area of effect, allowing its inhabitants (human-sized nagas, dridders and harpies primarily, with other human-sized demi-humans mixed in), to be protected as well. They're in just as much danger of being eaten as a human would be.

Considering that the Eye tends to react to voraciousness, its likely that only human-sized nagas and dridders who genuinely mean no harm to humans will be allowed in. So, a wild naga who is fine with eating humans and can't control herself, would be affected by the Eye just like a giant pred. Although, its largely unclear exactly how the Eye affects human-sized predators. Nekos live within Negav, so either they are not voracious, or the Eye only cares about voraciousness towards humans. Its still kind of vague.

To be fair though, hurting a human within Negav or the near-Negav area is the last thing a naga, dridder, etc would want to do. If they get caught, well, a portion of Negavians don't trust or like demi-humans anyway. If the Isolon Fist or Investigators doesn't get them first, they'd probably be done in by old-fashioned vigillante justice.

TL:DR Human-sized hybrids (Nagas, Dridders, Harpies, Inu, Nekos, and more) can, and do live within the area of effect of the Isolon Eye, with some of them living or working within Negav itself.

rcs619 wrote:

So, a wild naga who is fine with eating humans and can't control herself, would be affected by the Eye just like a giant pred.

Not quite. I believe that the Eye takes size into account, so it wouldn't be quite the same effect.

It takes both into account. You need to realize that aside from voracity, a giant can also cause a lot of collateral damage with their enormous girth, and I doubt and Negavian in their right mind would want to see half a city block trampled.

I was just wondering, do outposts of civilization like Negav have any methods of keeping their populations in check?

I could imagine that overpopulation can become a serious problem when people don't die from old age or diseases...

itsmeyouidiot wrote:

I could imagine that overpopulation can become a serious problem when people don't die from old age or diseases...

I can agree with you on that. if people cant die then the population is extremely difficult to control. Perhaps the immortality can be limited to jsut extended age.

Axel Hunter wrote:

itsmeyouidiot wrote:

I could imagine that overpopulation can become a serious problem when people don't die from old age or diseases...

I can agree with you on that. if people cant die then the population is extremely difficult to control. Perhaps the immortality can be limited to jsut extended age.

Keep in mind. Negav is a special case.

Negav is home to around 900,000 humans, but the actual number who live in Negav permanently are a minority. A great many of the people in Negav are transients. They are adventurers, traders, merchants, explorers and such from offworld. They may only live there certain times of the year, or may only be there temporarily. The majority of Negav's population lives in the low district, and other than the inn-keepers, tavern owners, shop owners and such, the vast majority of people there are offworlders. They are either going to die out in the jungle, or go back home between expeditions. Most of Negav's permanent residents live in the middile district, or high district.

Also, keep in mind, people can still die. How many people die each year from accidents around the home? From accidents while at work? You'd still have people in Negav dying of stuff like that.

Negav is also special because of the dimensional gate. They import nearly all of their essential supplies.

Other big settlements, like Chiotia or Kelerm aren't going to be able to do that. They are going to need to farm, fish, hunt or find some other way to feed their people. That means leaving the safety of the city itself, which is inevitably going to lead to more than a few deaths here and there.

rcs619 wrote:

Axel Hunter wrote:

itsmeyouidiot wrote:

I could imagine that overpopulation can become a serious problem when people don't die from old age or diseases...

I can agree with you on that. if people cant die then the population is extremely difficult to control. Perhaps the immortality can be limited to jsut extended age.

Keep in mind. Negav is a special case.

Negav is home to around 900,000 humans, but the actual number who live in Negav permanently are a minority. A great many of the people in Negav are transients. They are adventurers, traders, merchants, explorers and such from offworld. They may only live there certain times of the year, or may only be there temporarily. The majority of Negav's population lives in the low district, and other than the inn-keepers, tavern owners, shop owners and such, the vast majority of people there are offworlders. They are either going to die out in the jungle, or go back home between expeditions. Most of Negav's permanent residents live in the middile district, or high district.

Also, keep in mind, people can still die. How many people die each year from accidents around the home? From accidents while at work? You'd still have people in Negav dying of stuff like that.

Negav is also special because of the dimensional gate. They import nearly all of their essential supplies.

Other big settlements, like Chiotia or Kelerm aren't going to be able to do that. They are going to need to farm, fish, hunt or find some other way to feed their people. That means leaving the safety of the city itself, which is inevitably going to lead to more than a few deaths here and there.

Accidents sure, but thats only a small percentage even with a world as chaotic as felarya. natural death is a big factor fo our pop contol on earth, without it that presents a problem now. Not that there is anything wrong with imortality, but it does have concequences

Natural death is just one population control measure.

There's...

- Accidents: Household, workplace, and random.

- Murder: Negav is a rough place, especially in the low district and The Pit. Pick a fight with the wrong people and you could very well end up dead. You also have plenty of bandits out in the Chomikai Commons beyond the city walls, and its possible that some of their victims could be killed, either as part of the robbery, or from them trying to defend themselves. You also have the potential for inter-gang, inter-criminal group conflicts.

- Military service: While the Isolon Fist and Investigators are very well equipped and trained at what they do, people dying in the line of duty is inevitable.

- Offworld travel: Adventurers don't live there permanently. They are always coming and going between other worlds and Negav. Same with traders and merchants. A great many of them only live in Negav temporarily and head home after making their fortune, or to restock their supplies. There's also the possibility of Negavians leaving to go to other worlds. Maybe they fall in love with an offworlder, or just get tired of big city life.

- Felarya-related death: Some adventurers are never going to come back from their journies.

So, while there may not be natural death in Felarya, people will be dying everyday, or leaving Felarya to head back home as new people come in. Negav is also a very vertical city in places, which lets more people live within the same space.

As for other cities and settlements, they don't have dimensional gates. They would actually have to venture outside of the city fairly regularly to farm, fish or hunt. So, you'd have a much higher instance of Felarya-related deaths. They'd still have to deal with accidents and the occaisional murder as well. Not to mention, those cities grow at a much slower rate, since they don't have loads of people coming in from offworld all the time.

Is it possible for someone to survive in the Pyrale mountain region? If so what would you need?

Axel Hunter wrote:

Accidents sure, but thats only a small percentage even with a world as chaotic as felarya. natural death is a big factor fo our pop contol on earth, without it that presents a problem now. Not that there is anything wrong with imortality, but it does have concequences

Actually, you're quite mistaken here. Accidental death was ranked fifth of all causes of unintentional death back a few years ago (2007) across all spectra, which was the third leading cause of all death (behind heart disease and cancer) in America for men and the sixth leading cause of death for women (behind heart disease, cancer, brain diseases, chronic respiratory failures, and Alzheimers). For comparison, the only other items on the list not related to disease/illness was Suicide (11) and Homicide/Assault (15).

While a good deal of the issues listed would be either negated or controlled by Felarya's healing soil, recall again (and again and again and again) that the soil is not equal in all places. Down in the south the effects of the soil are lessened extensively and death is far more common. Also recall that not all diseases/illnesses are cured by the Felaryan soil - in fact, some can even be worsened by the effect. Given that heart disease accounts for about 25% of all deaths, that number is the one you should particular focus on. We can say for most of the acts covered under the umbrella of 'heart disease' that the Felaryan soil would prevent or minimize them, which knocks out a good chunk - but we still have cancer to deal with.

The Felaryan soil is not as all encompassing as people try to label it, and to fully appreciate the gesture you have to understand just how people die and what it is from. The Felaryan soil does not protect against parasitic/fungal infections, poisons, venom, curses, and hexes for example. As mentioned previously, it also actually makes some things worse, such as autoimmune system illnesses. The soil works by boosting immune system properties and prevents prime aging (so we can assume the method by which humans age, that is cell death from loss of RNA over life is somehow eliminated).

The idea of immortality is inherently flawed when viewed with almost any current animal's mindset, including that of humanity. The thought process is simply 'reproduction is immortality', that the species continues to survive through the children vice through the self. Thus, regardless of whether or not someone could live forever, they simply will not based on environmental influence which is only more appreciable in Felarya.

I'll try not to beat the dead horse any more than it has already been beaten, but again there are several threads already covering this issue on the forum which are also linked to earlier on. Hopefully when Karbo returns from his trip one of the items he can make his priority is the wiki FAQ, so that this question can stop being asked repeatedly.



As for the Pyrale Mountain question - this is covered in the wiki with regards to if you could survive there. What you would need to survive there is really knowledge (in the form of avoiding the demons of the area as well as knowing where to get those ice flowers in bulk, for example), the ability to operate without electronic equipment or machinery (or the use of metal period, if possible/practicable), and immense luck (for dealing with the random quakes, earthen upshoots, lava flows, etc). Certain areas of the mountains are obviously impassable for certain types of creatures though (the palace comes to mind) regardless of any preparation you may have.

Quote :

While a good deal of the issues listed would be either negated or controlled by Felarya's healing soil, recall again (and again and again and again) that the soil is not equal in all places. Down in the south the effects of the soil are lessened extensively and death is far more common

Isn't the Lamina region the only place the soil doesn't work? Im pretty sure it works everywhere else. Remember, it isn't so much the soil as it is a massive magical field radiating from Felarya itself.

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As mentioned previously, it also actually makes some things worse, such as autoimmune system illnesses.

I don't believe I've ever seen anyone make that assertion. The healing factor enhances the immune system, and keeps it functioning normally. autoimmune diseases occur from an error, or mistake within the immune system running out of control. I believe the healing factor would prevent that just like it prevents the vast majority of everything else.

Also, cancer occurs from the DNA of a cell going out of control. The immune system can actually kill and combat a lot of forms of cancer, it just gets completely overwhelmed by the speed at which the cancer cells reproduce. A boosted immune system should be able to handle most cancers just fine, assuming that cancer cells can even form at all with the healing effect in place.

Of course, this doesn't even factor in the ability of magical healing practices, unknown natural remedies or advanced offworld medicine to fight cancer if it could pop up. I just don't think it would be much of an issue in any kind of organized settlement, even if it were possible.

Its been confirmed again and again. The only illnesses in Felarya come from
- Poison/Venom
- Parasites
- Magical curses

Although, I have to wonder how fast-acting allergic reactions would be handled. It could be entirely possible for people in Negav to be dying from bees, wasps, peanuts and shellfish just like people on Earth. Given how quickly those types of reactions go to work, I could easily believe they would be able to overwhelm the body and cause death just like they do in the real world.

But yeah, even ruling out standard illnesses, heart disease and cancer, you still have accidents, murder, and death by Felarya, and between all of them, there should be plenty of population control. Negav still remains a special case because of the gate, but with that, you have lots of people coming and going, and a very large portion of the population being transient.