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Geography & Cultures
Tweet Topic Started: Aug 16 2010, 08:20 PM (128 Views)
Satojinn Aug 16 2010, 08:20 PM Post #1

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This guide is to explain the structure of world geography and the cultures from around the world. First we need to temporarily name the world itself to make referencing easier. For now, lets just call it "Terra Novus", standing for "New Earth". Good name?

You can separate Terra Novus into five directions and five continents. North, East, South, West, and Central. The northern continent is a frosty region largely made up of rugged mountains and plateaus with very little flat terrain, and is dominated by the Dwarves. The eastern continent is not much of a continent itself, being more of a great big archipelago with oriental influences and mild weather; many strange and exotic creatures of unknown origin inhabit this place. The southern continent is a desolate region with a large mass of deserts that puts the Golden Plains to shame, with the only real life coming from the prairies and coastal regions; the Tauren and Wulven claim origin from here. The western continent is almost entirely swathed in gargantuan forests and is home to the Elves, though some human civilizations have claimed coastal areas as their own. The central continent is a jagged, crescent-shaped landmass, lush and fertile, home to all human civilization and dominated by the Kingdom of Ascalon; though this is the homeland of all humans, humans are also found elsewhere. Below is a detailed guide of each continent and their inhabitants.

Northern Continent

The Northern Continent consists of a vast mountain range called the Deep Range, known to many as the Dwarven homeland and referred to by many Dwarves affectionately as "the parent mountains". Nigh on impassable to any but a skilled Dwarf who knows his way around the winding mountain paths, the dark underground tunnels that run under the sea, and the dense forestation, few non-Dwarves have laid eyes upon the full majesty of the Deep Range; most non-Dwarves have only sighted the massive mountains from afar, looking upon the great peaks in wonder. When the Demonic Invasion begun, the Dwarves were the first to fall. Without warning, the Demonic Invasion begun one day and swarmed the Dwarven strongholds, taking them completely by surprise; as the horde charged in largely from the underground tunnels which the Dwarves were so proud of, the Dwarves were immediately cut off from each other as the tunnels were their main form of transport and communication. By the time the Dwarves were fully aware of the threat they faced, they were already fighting desperately in a war they could not win. Despite the finest armor and arms Novus Terra has ever seen, the severely diminished Dwarves were soon too battered to continue as they lost mountain after mountain to the demon hordes. Swarmed on all sides by demons who wielded massive power and who seemed to appear from all directions, the few surviving Dwarven Clans lost heart and fled the northern continent through their undersea tunnels, hoping to find refuge in other continents and warn them of the oncoming threat. With sorrow in their hearts they abandoned their ancestral mountains, and the demon hordes made use of the same tunnels the Dwarves used to escape to pursue their goal of world domination.

Dwarves are highly xenophobic when it comes to their skill with metalworking. They keep their secrets to themselves, and have spent centuries perfecting their art, making their smiths unrivaled when compared to other races. The special type of metal only Dwarves know how to forge is called Dwarvensteel, and while it was rare to begin with, ever since the Demonic Invasion deprived the Dwarves of their homes, mines, and forges, Dwarvensteel has nearly gone extinct save for a few pieces of rare and ancient Dwarvensteel equipment. The Dwarves themselves call Dwarvensteel by a different name, quite offended by the name labeled to it by humans, and insisting it "ain't made 'o steel, why are 'em humies callin' it steel? Och! Is fockin' hundereder times strong'ar 'en steel!"

All Dwarves, regardless of which mountain or clan they claim origin from, have certain stereotypes. For one thing, they all seem to love alcohol. They'll drink alcohol regardless of what kind of alcohol it is or where they find it. They'll complain about a certain type of alcohol for hours on end - and drink every bottle to the last drop. Another is the supposed fiery temper of the Dwarves. Once enraged, they go into such a blood-boiling rage that the feud may last for years, leading to the proverb "it is better to face an angry dragon than anger a dwarf."

The Dwarves tend to follow certain traditions with a steadfast rigidness. They put great emphasis on age, and the older a Dwarf is, the more respect he/she gains, as the Dwarves believe wisdom and virtue come with age. This is evident in many of their practices. For example, when a wedding is held, it is not presided over by a priest or a nobleman, but rather, by the oldest Dwarf in attendance- whoever it is. In this, an old Dwarven beggar could actually marry a Dwarven King as long as he was older than him! Though it sounds foolish, the Dwarves take great pride in this practice.

In addition to all that, they have a structured naming practices. Dwarves have up to five names are birth, though in front of strangers they do not bother listing all five. The first name they have is a given name, given to them by their parents, and this is usually the one they use for introduction to non-Dwarves. The second name is the name of the gender parent. The third name is a clan name. The fourth name is the name of their ancestral mountain home. The fifth name is their 'name of accomplishment', given to them when they reach the age for maturity (for a Dwarf, that is fifty years of age, not eighteen). So if a male Dwarf was named Bardun, he'd take his daddy's name which might be Thorgal, take the clan name of Hammerfist, have origin from Mount Thunderpeak, and maybe was skilled with a sword, he'd have the full name of, "Bardun Thorgalson Hammerfist Thunderpeak Strongblade".

Eastern Continent

The Eastern Continent is largely made up of several massive island archipelagos linked together by narrow isthmuses or connected by man-made networks like bridges or water highways. The weather is mostly very warm here, though it does get cold during their winter seasons due to winds from the north. Typically, the environment is very asian and exceedingly oriental, with sakura trees, hot springs, silk robes - the whole package. The inhabitants of the eastern continent are largely unknown, and the humans who reside in the eastern continent stay out of contact with their fellows. The distance between the eastern continent from the other continents is vast, so not much is known about this place, but it appears to have not been too badly touched by the blight yet, as no refuges have fled from there to Ascalon.

Southern Continent

The lands of the south are hot, arid, dry, and totally unsuitable for civilization. There are no such things as cities in the southern continent due to the unpredictable natural disasters which are common in the south. Yet you will still find life in here. The most hardy kind of life. Within the prairies, deserts, and dry hills of the southern continent, there reside anthropomorphic creatures who have a clannish attitude and live by certain creeds. Derogatorily, they are called Beastfolk or Beastmen. Only three types of Beastfolk have shown sentience and enough intelligence to communicate, the three being the Tauren, the Wulven, and the Dragonborn - who are also called "Draconians". Human civilization flourishes here as well, though in order to survive the native humans are forced to be continuously on the move; these nomadic human tribes are known as the "Bergir Tribesmen", or the "Bergerians".

The Bergir follow a strict honor code and can be perceived as a warrior society. With their dark skin, 'barbaric' behavior, and devil-may-care attitude, many other humans do not see the Bergir as their own ilk. That is fine to the Bergir, since they see other human civilizations as dishonorable and impotent. Hardy and resilient due to the nature of their homes, Bergir have traditions that may seem odd, and practices that border on tribal. Whenever a Bergir wins a fight, they will take something off the defeated opponent as a souvenir before slaying them, and then turn the souvenir into some kind of accessory. For example, when a Bergir kills a man, he cuts off a lock of the man's hair and ties it into his own hair as a braid. When a Bergir kills an oceanic beast with no hair, he plucks off a tooth and uses it as necklace. The nature of their gathering of odd objects is simply a way to keep track of their kills - and show the rest of their group how very good they are at slaughtering things. The odd souvenirs they collect are called "pieces", and each "piece" signifies one kill. A Bergir could cheat and simply take many pieces from one kill, but there is no honor in that, and they shame only themselves with their deceit. The worth of a Bergir warrior is judged by the pieces. Warriors who have more than a hundred kills to their name, and thus a hundred pieces, are given the honored title of "hundredpiece warriors". Their naming tradition is also quite strange. Bergirs are named according to the first thing they kill, so for the majority of their childhood they go around being killed "hey", "boy", or "you there". This drives many young Bergirs to an early death as they try to 'earn' their identities. This naming tradition, however, also means a Bergir can make many enemies once people learn of the tradition. A Bergir walking around with the name "Dwarfslayer" is sure to attract ... unwanted warhammers and battle-axes. Another interesting thing about the "pieces" of a Bergir is a dueling system only Bergir follow so far. When two Bergir duel, they refrain from killing each other if both have multiple "pieces". If one Bergir is defeated, the opposing Bergir cuts off one of the opponent "pieces", but does not kill the opponent, as he believes he has already claimed a life from the fight. Thus the "pieces" serve as a sort of safeguard for Bergirs, granting them additional lives against their fellows. When a Bergir fights others, if he sees they have things like braids or necklaces, he may mistake them to be "pieces" and refrain from dealing a death blow, instead collecting those accessories.

Many of the Beastfolk and the Bergir have been forced to flee their homes in the wake of the Demonic Invasion. Though the natives fought bravely, they were too disorganized to put up a real fight and hence forced to leave their homes. Different Beastfolk clans and Bergir worked together to build ships, and then sailed for the relative safety of the central continent - for Ascalon - and could only watch as their homes were torched by demons.

Western Continent

N/A

Central Continent

Where the roleplay takes place. A lush continent shaped like a crescent that is the homeland of all humans, the entirety of it is dominated by the Kingdom of Ascalon. One of the few places untouched by the blight and secured by a massive standing army and valiant defenders, refuges from various continents have fled to Ascalon over the years in search of safety as demons demolish their homes.
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