[CHAR] Fantasy Worldbuilding

[Red Wizard]

Post your WIPs here!

[VitaVitaAR]

Nem: A diminutive race from the deserts of the south, the Nem resemble small humans, commonly reaching heights of around 3'4-3'5. They are universally pale in skintone, with red or yellow eyes and black hair. Nem males cannot grow facial hair, and as a whole they are small and agile but lacking in physical strength. They are also known for being skilled archers, and wielding curved swords(well, more like daggers to the larger races). Their language lacks an equivalent to the letter "B", and some Nem have trouble pronouncing it as a result. They are nocturnal and possess excellent night vision, but during the day their vision is slightly worse than a human's. They also easily burn their skin in the sun and must wear covering clothing to move during the day. Most Nem live in their desert homes, but there is a sizable number in other lands as well as well. They have an extremely low alcohol tolerance. Nem worship a night goddess known as Ila-Nem. Just the basics about the race for now. ^^;

[Red Wizard]

Humans (WIP, feel free to comment!)

Humans are the most widespread sentient species in the world. They live short lives and are quick to reproduce. The three most important factors in the success of human population are their ability to adapt to the environment, their innovation and their bottomless ambition. Where many other species find themselves suited to one climate or geographic zone, humans thrive everywhere. Humans vary much in appearance and behavior. Depending on where they live, their skin, hair and eye color varies greatly. Adults measure anywhere from below 100cm to nearly 300cm in height and between 30kg and 200kg in weight. Typical humans measure around 150-180cm in height and weigh in at around 50-100kg. Variations in hair growth, limb proportion and other differences are also common. Humans are fairly cosmopolitan as a species and are known to mix and interbreed with other species. They are quick to grasp how other species think and operate and often use this to their advantage. Most human civilizations know how to develop agriculture, work minerals and metals, and domesticate animals. The human species as a whole is divided into many families, groups, clans, and nations. There is no special loyalty between different factions of humans; at times groups of humans can be more loyal to local members of other species than to distant members of their own.

[Sessamaru]

The Grimoire (WIP)

Introduction Magic is a universal force of nature, a phenomenon so mysterious and powerful that it fills the heart of many with awe. The energies that permeate the multiverse is tied to that of creation, and the inevitable destruction thereof, that is, in reality, uncontrollable. To master its power is to assign yourself to oblivion. It is simply wiser to say that you allow it to move through your body, an extension of your being, independent and must be coerced, not controlled. However, how did magic come to be? What causes it? How can one learn it? Simply put, everthing is born and molded by the Nexus. Even the recently raised dead are bound by it, preserved with artificial life connecting them to the Nexus. To learn how to use it, to employ the elements or the natural energies of one's own body, takes years of training, even with natural talent. The Nexus, born from nothingness and giving birth to all creation, radiates with the multitude of energies used in every day life, from the basis of physics to the metaphysical. We shall begin with the different energies gathered from the Nexus...

Mana

Mana is the external energies of the Nexus. It is taken into the body and is released into a more primal essence, known as spells. However, Mana can be used in more elaborate ways with practice and understanding, and not simply as a primal element. Interestingly enough, the fatigue that comes with its use is due to the consumption of the gathered energy which is thus expended, mentally straining the caster. When too much Mana is taken in, adverse effects occur. Mutations, internal bodily damage, and perhaps worse. When one cannot properly hold and mold the energy, accidents can occur or perhaps nothing will happen, depending on the amount taken in.

Chi/Ki

Chi/Ki (depending on culture) is the internal energies of a being, focused upon the unison of body and soul (also known as spirit). Chi/Ki is the result of the Nexus's influence upon creation, being a gift to all life by granting this internal storage of energy. This type of magic is more kinesthetic, and can use the fighting energy of a person to release more focused forms of raw energy. Masters of Chi/Ki are able to use these kinesthetic energies to perform abnormal, superhuman feats. Flight is obtainable as well as the manipulation of the internal energies that flow throughout one's body. Swift movements and powerful punches are also accessible. Those who possess the talent to control their own Chi/Ki are known to be renowned martial artists.

[Pie Flavor]

The Undead The undead are a race that is independent and separate from all the other races. The only exclusion is that when they die, that is when they are able to become an undead. It is a race that is controlled by the use of pillars to support itself, aka a hierarchy is used to determine the power of the undead. Most of the time the undead are a neutralistic race, however when twisted and provoked they, become what you fear most. However, sometimes it is not their fault as with the use of necromancy the will of the dead can be twisted into horrifying things. The main goals of the undead who remain true and untwisted is to guide the souls of those who have died to their afterlife; whether as an undead being or another species it is the choice that the souls make.

The Undead (Chaotic- Neutral)(WIP)

Reincarnation Upon death, the person’s soul is briefly removed and put into a relatively safe location, where it then undergoes metamorphosis becoming the first basic stage of being an undead, as well as rebirth. A crystal, it is the physical representation of the soul which can vary in many colors and size and has special properties depending on what they did in their life. The crystal itself, in purely invisible to the living and undead, existing on a separate plane known as the Aether. The Aether is where death and life connects and is where these crystals remain until they become a spirit. Inside the Aether, it is filled with mana and charges these crystals til they glow brightly. This stage of metamorphosis usually takes up a week, until the crystal crumbles away leaving a blue wispy being in its remains. This is the second stage of becoming an undead, in which this is where you either are reborn or continue the trek of becoming an undead being. In this stage, the crystal has transformed itself into the spiritual representation of the soul and is ejected out of the Aether, as they are now considered to be an living yet actually not an living being. In this stage, if they wish they were given a pearl upon breaking out of the crystal and they would have to let the orb absorb them into it. The pearl represents the womb of a parent, in which they are born into and shatters after they become absorbed which represent the process of development of a new baby and the death of their past life along with the removal of their experience being an spirit.. (then all the natural stuff happens) Path of the Dead This is where becoming an undead splits, one way of advancing to the next stage of an undead being while still being in this form, requires another metamorphosis. This will then determine what type of undead they will become, with one being the physical apparition and then the spiritual apparition.

[Rin]

So this ended up a little longer than I initially intended. ^^; Whoops. Hope it's okay regardless. Also my ideas for orcs are that they are a race of social darwinists, but we'll see how that turns out when I get to work on them. EDIT: Oh right! Female Ky-Ree and male Ky-Ree. The males are noted for having somewhat darker skin than the females.

Ky-Ree

BIOLOGY: Physically, Ky-Ree are rather similar to humans, enough so that they are capable of producing viable offspring together. Their most obvious differences are their green skintone and unusual (from a human perspective) hair colours, although they also only have four digits on both their hands and feet, and their long ears come to points. On average, they are usually shorter than humans (the tallest Ky-Ree only being about 160cm/5'3"), and their average lifespan is about the same length. Ky-Ree musculature is more efficient than that of humans, leading a Ky-Ree to be somewhat stronger than a human of similar build would be assumed to be. Their green skin is also notably tougher than that of a human, allowing them to endure greater physical hardships. In fact, it is their strength and hardiness that led to them initially being used as a slave race. The Ky-Ree seem to be inherently unmagical; they have no magic users amongst their ranks, and possess a small degree of magic resistance. Ky-Ree age at roughly the same rate as humans, and live about the same length. CULTURE: The Ky-Ree are, simply put, a race of warriors. Their culture glorifies honourable combat, warfare and strategy, and every Ky-Ree is trained to fight from as early as possible. They are not a barbaric race of raiders, mind you; they approach the subject of warfare and battle almost philosophically, treating it as the ultimate test of ones abilities. Battle scars are seen as not only a symbol of pride but of experience; Ky-Ree children are known as "Ihclynnat" or "Unscarred", as one who has not gained any scars is thought to have not seen true battle yet. Despite their obsession with war, however, the Ky-Ree do not wage war for frivolous reasons; mostly war is declared due to some unforgivable insult from another nation, or aggression from their neighbours, or from a need to expand their territory for various reasons. They admire the cultures of other races and nations, and although they have more interest in their views on warfare and military tactics they will happily listen and learn about other subjects too, even if they will inevitably find some way to link it back to warfare. Even in times of war, unless their opponent is truly despicable they will treat them with the utmost respect and honour; they favour head-on tactics, and are rather loathe to use subterfuge and sneaky, dishonourable tactics. Due to their emphasis on culture and honour, even and especially in regards to war, the Ky-Ree look down upon anyone who would treat their soldiers as expendable; to them, each and every warrior is a valuable resource, and must be treated with respect and dignity. The Ky-Ree's view the orcs as an ancient enemy due to their history with them, and they are the only race with which they will immediately drop all pretenses of honour against. As far as they are concerned, the orcs are a menace that need wiped out entirely. Also because of their history with the orcs, the Ky-Ree are highly opposed to slavery; they see slavers as the worst kind of scum, and will treat them no better than they would the orcs. Ky-Ree warriors are trained in many forms of combat, although many prefer either the scimitar or the bow. In battle, many Ky-Ree ride atop mighty saberfangs, large tiger-like creatures with long, knife-like canines. Saberfang calvary are are the shock troops of the Khaganate's armies, and many a foe has fallen to the combination of Ky-Ree arrows and swords and the mighty cats' fangs. Whilst most Ky-Ree serve the army of the Khaganate, there is a sizable number of them that have spread out into the wider world, seeking fame, fortune and above all glorious battle as mercenaries. It is noted that they tend to lower their prices dramatically when hired to fight orcs. The Khaganate is a meritocracy, where anyone, no matter their gender, age or social status, can gain great reknown, wealth and power as long as they can prove themselves. Each of the Khans who command the armies of the Khaganate have proven themselves through countless battles to be mighty warriors and great tacticians, and they are presided over by the greatest of them all, the esteemed Dasi-Zeh Khagan, the Great Khagan and supreme warlord and ruler of the Khaganate. Dasi-Zeh Khagan is a rather progressive leader, and her policies revolve more around making allies and offering military support to others than they do with waging war against their neighbours. At least, as long as the hated orcs aren't involved... The Ky-Ree are not a religious people, and put no stock in the works of gods or spirits. The closest thing they have to a religious text, the Ynduv-Fyn, is roughly one-quarter philosophy text, three-quarters a treatise on tactics and strategy. The original Ynduv-Fyn was, according to tradition, writen by Fyn-Sycdan Khagan in the blood of orcs, and is kept in the grand palace of the Khagans to this day. This original copy is the closest thing the Ky-Ree have to a holy relic, and in fact Fyn-Sycdan Khagan is the closest thing they have to a god, as he is venerated as the Prophet of Freedom and the First Great Khagan. TERRITORY: The Ky-Ree Khaganate is a vast empire that takes up a sizable chunk of the north-eastern continent of the world, and is one of the largest non-human civilizations in the world. It is a land of mostly flat plains and rugged mountains, savannas and shrublands, and to the south the occassional desert. HISTORY: Once, millenia ago, the ancient Ky-Ree were little more than a slave race to the orcs. The bigger, tougher greenskins considered them to be a race of weaklings that deserved to bow before their clearly superior race. This went on for centuries, until eventually one Ky-Ree proclaimed "No more!" and stood against their oppressors. For this act alone Fyn-Sycdan would be remembered forever by the Ky-Ree, but he went further and managed to rally the Ky-Ree into a mighty rebellion. The orcs who had looked down on them were soon put to the blade, and those that weren't slaughtered were sent running far away from the Ky-Ree lands. The Ky-Ree gave chase, not willing to let any of their hated former masters live, leading them to rather quickly conquer the land that would become the heart of the Khaganate in a mad frenzy. Despite many of the orcs escaping their vengeance, Fyn-Sycdan proclaimed that they need not live in bondage any longer and that they were now free to carve out their own destiny. And the destiny they chose was to be forever prepared in case the orcs ever came back to reclaim their former slaves. Warfare and military training became the central focus of the Khaganate, and eventually a culture of honour and strength arose and was quickly embraced by the Ky-Ree.

[VitaVitaAR]

Female!, Male! And some of my sketching of them. BIOLOGY: Physically speaking, Nem are almost identical to humans anatomically. The possess two arms, two legs, a head, skin, hair, eyes, a nose, and everything else you would expect from a human, and it's all arranged and proportioned as you would expect. However, one of the biggest and most noticeable differences is their height. An adult Nem will be around 3'4-3'5 in height, and no taller. Nem have large, expressive eyes(though not large to a disconcerting degree), which are invariably either yellow or red in coloration. These eyes possess excellent night vision, but during the day they are slightly worse than a human's. Nem have black hair and very pale skin, their extremely pale skin tone due to their nocturnal lifestyle. Because of this, their skin easily burns in the sunlight and requires coverage to avoid damage during the day. Nem tend to be lightly built, though for some reason teenaged to adult Nem possess rather wide hips. Nem are rather lacking in physical strength, but they tend to be quite agile and swift, making for remarkably fast fighters and archers. Due to their small size, Nem are unfortunately vulnerable to poisons to a greater degree than larger races. This includes alcohol, Nem are notoriously lightweight drinkers and are quick to pass out from drinking. While it is possible for them to conceive children with larger races, female Nem are not built to bear larger offspring and will not likely be capable of carrying an interspecies child. Males cannot grow facial hair. CULTURE: Nem are a nocturnal, desert-dwelling race built to handle the hot temperatures of the Southern deserts. Their lives revolve around the night, at least in their native home, and as to be expected this means that they sleep during the day. This means that they naturally shun the sun, and this is reflected by the antagonistic and vengeful nature of their sun deity, Yrrah. Yrrah, to the Nem, is a massive humanoid being wreathed in flame with a gigantic whip. This whip represents the pain of the severe sunburn Nem suffer in the sunlight. Yrrah is scorned, and the only worship he receives are charms placed to keep his heat from homes However, the chief deity of the Nem is Ila-Nem. Ila-Nem is a night goddess and an important part of the Nem creation myth. To them, she appears as a beautiful Nem maiden dressed in the finest of clothes and wreathed in the glow of moonlight. Her name is a contraction of "Ila-Zenniso-Netuyem", which translates to "Ila, Great Goddess of the Chosen Night People". Indeed, the name of the race is derived from this contraction, Nem being a shortened version of "Netuyem". Every Nem City or village possesses at least one shrine to Ila-Nem, cared for by the Nem religious leaders, "Iylah/Iylayu", or priestesses. All iylayu are young and female, ranging from early teens through to around thirty years of age. They live in the shrine and care for it. Each shrine has at least three iylayu, and many of the larger shrines possess more. The biggest may have ten or more iylayu tending to them. While most iylayu depart from the shrine at thirty, the most devout remain behind and become siri-iylayu, a higher and more authoritative iylayu. A single iylah can become the supreme leader of the Nem religion, the Uthur-iylah. There is only one Uthur-iylah at a time, in accordance with how Lia Arahas was but a single Nem girl. Also due to the importance of Lia Arahas, Nem religious leaders are all female. There are many other deities based around various objects and concepts in the Nem religion, but none hold as much importance as Ila-Nem. In terms of government, each Nem village or city is run by a Council, known as the Tras-Rulah, composed of a variety of figures, from distinguished farmers to former members of the guard, in order to represent interests from all over the settlement. Members of the Tras-Rulah are elected directly by the group they belong to. For example, someone wishing to represent the guards would be elected by the guards, while someone wishing to represent farmers would be elected by farmers. Both male and female Nem can be represented on the Tras-Rulah. The only members of the Tras-Rulah that are not elected are the representatives of the village or city's shrines. In this case, the oldest siri-iylah and two iylayu she has hand-picked represent the shrines and even relay decrees from the Uthur-iylah. The size of the settlement dictates the size of the Tras-Rulah. Villages and cities are mostly autonomous, but when an especially great or important decree is made it can be communicated to other settlements. Indeed, Nem settlements of all kinds possess loose connections to one another, connections mostly forged by the noterunners, or in the Nem language, the "Uradamaso". The uradamasyu are a set of skilled Nem, rotated monthly, who run messages from each Nem village to the next. They are skilled at surviving in the desert away from their homes. The uradamasyu are deeply respected by other nem, and enjoy fame and popularity in their homes. Despite not being an official part of the Tras-Rulah, an uradamaso carries some political clout due to the importance and danger inherent in their position. Between noterunning duty, they enjoy a sedate and quiet life in order to recover from the dangers they experience. The harshness of the Nem's original conditions guaranteed that both genders were treated with equality, as everyone needed to contribute equally for survival. Now that conditions have vastly improved, this equality remains. The only example of inequality is the barring of male Nem from all religious positions. Water is highly valued by Nem, and they are excellent at locating it as a result. A deep well is dug in all Nem settlements, and there are a series of underground communal bathes. Shrines to Ila-Nem have their own bath for the iylayu. Communal bathing is valued by the Nem as time to relax and spend time with your friends and family. In terms of family, Nem rarely have more then two children, who are not allowed to venture too close to the settlement walls or outskirts as part of a superstition that a mythical "Child Eater" or "Kreshid" will devour them. Nem children are expected to be able to help their parents work upon reaching age nine, but for limited periods of time during the night. Nem children in villages are educated by their parents, but in some cities there are communal education centers. Nem are considered adult at age fifteen. The Nem have limited military. However, their guards are highly trained, skilled archers who fight with curved blades(or rather daggers in the hands of larger races) at close range. The ferocity of Nem guards defending their home has brought down many a wandering scorpionman. The most honored of the guards are the Day Guard, or Uraluefas. Uraluefayu endure the heat and sun to keep Nem settlements safe during the day, and for this they receive a vast amount of respect. Nem do not have a standing army, and instead raise militias in order to defend their homes from danger. Nem cuisine includes desert melons and a favored delicacy of Nem, the Sandcrab. Sandcrabs, known as "Bikura" to other races of "Tytufo" to the Nem, are a staple in the Nem diet, along with various other desert plants an animals. A favored method of preparation is to crack the body open and extract the meat, before placing it back in the shell and using the shell as a makeshift cooking pot. Of course, this is hardly the only method. Sandcrab meat is moist and soft. Nem dishes are often rather spicy, counteracted by a sweet, sticky paste created from various desert plants. Nem are poor metalworkers, capable of working with basic metals but not forging alloys due to their small size and lacking physical strength. They have a healthy trading relationship with humans and the distant dwarves as a result, often exporting their glasswork. Nem glasswork is renowned for its excellent craftsmanship. Nem also import exotic foods in addition to metalwork. Finally, not all Nem dwell in the desert. Some have traveled to mixed-race cities, taking small shrines with them in order to continue their worship of Ila-Nem. City Nem often work at night, or wear heavy clothing during the day to protect themselves from the sun and the relatively cooler temperatures. TERRITORY: Nem dwell in the deserts to the South, on the Western Continent. They live in villages composed of circular white buildings and a small underground portion. The largest Nem settlements, great enough to be considered cities, dwell within large caverns in arid regions. HISTORY: The Nem race began as scattered, nomadic tribes, who relied far too much on chance to protect themselves from the blazing, harsh rays of the sun. They were easy prey for scorpionmen, and life was difficult for Nem. Their numbers were low and it seemed as if they fell every day. That is, until they were united. A girl named Lia Arahas emerged, claiming to have guidance from Ila-Nem herself. She forged a path to stability and prosperity for the Nem, leading them to build their white villages and even their cavern-cities. To this day, it is believed that Lia Arahas is the living embodiment of Ila-Nem herself, and she is regarded as one and the same with the Nem's chief goddess. They met other races and founded trade with them, primarily exporting glass and importing metalwork. NEM LANGUAGE: “I killed a scorpionman yesterday.”=”Ah mera hadrid yo tayra.”(more on scorpionmen later) “That vicious bastard insulted my sister!”=”Yat dahrum hadrid ahs fasra!” I=Ah Killed=mera Scorpionman/vicious bastard=hadrid, plural hadriyu A=yo Yesterday=tayra That=yat Insulted=dahrum My=ahs Sister=fasra Action comes before the subject that performed it unless it is a personal pronoun, “dahrum hadrid” Hadrid is both the word for scorpionman and a very harsh swearword. “B” does not exist in Nemmish. “My name is Tesi.”=”Ahs da yar-ei Tesi.” Is=”da” Name=”yar-ei” Greeting to new person=”Safas ma tasu.” To someone you know=”Sahtas.” To a friend=”Sawahas.” To family=”San’ai.” To someone you respect=”San’yashu.” To someone you dislike=”Rutashsa.” Nem contraction of “Netuyem”, which means “Chosen Night People”. Humans are called “Juyuem”, which means “Many Feet People”. “Ila-Nem” is the common version of the shortened name of their goddess. It is the shortend version of “Ila-Zenniso-Netuyem”, which means means “Ila, Great Goddess of the Chosen Night People”. Obviously this is not a direct translation. Mythlogically, Ila-Nem shortened her title so that it would serve better as a name. Me=”ahz” Dwarf, dwarves=”duwahf”, “duwahfyu”, a loanword as Nem did not meet dwarves until after hearing of them from others.(because of course we need to have dwarves) Day Guard=”Uraluefas”, meaning “Honored Daylight Watcher”

[DAWNSTAR]

The Bestiary

Here is where I shall store all products which are either finished or still a working a progress. Requested animals will specifically be listed as Requested by (Insert Name Here).

Angor

These massive creatures stand at about twelve to fifteen feet in height and span a length, from rear end to snout, of about twelve feet. Their thickest part, the chest, has a measured length of eight feet. The Angor is known only to every eat vegetables and be peaceful but will occasionally gore people when they feel threatened. Usually, the victims will die from the severe wounds caused by its massive horns which can span a total width of fifteen feet. Often, the Angor has been spoken of as a 'Forest Guide' due to its nature of leading those who are lost in the forests out. The Angor is a dying breed for their population has dropped from a former amount of fifty thousand to only fifteen thousand. Their horns are very tough and can be either made into bone weapons, furniture, or be sold as carvings.

Bikura

Requested by VitaVitaAR

The Bikura is a large, carnivorous crab like creature which lives in deserts far in wide. These crabs span a total distance, from one leg to the other, of two feet across and are well known for a sack of water which is located just to the right of its heart. A male Bikura can stand at a total height of three feet while weighing a good fifty to seventy pounds. The large left claw is often used to smash its prey or block arrows from would be assailants. Once the Bikura has its prey, it will eat it whole and move on to the next bit of food it can get. Amazingly enough, Bikuras are capable of going a good week without eating but will engorge themselves when they are given the chance. The Bikura is known to burrow into the sand at night and occasionally can be seen digging into the sand in hopes of finding water hidden in pockets beneath which they would then consume.

Canopy Forests and Lux Trees

These closed off forests are often dark with the exception of Lux trees. A lux tree produces fruit which is both sweet and bitter but emit a light which is bright enough to light the entire area around the tree. These trees take three decades to grow from a seed to a young sapling. After a century, a Lux Tree is officially an adult and will start producing the lux fruit. Once picked, a lux fruit will decay slowly and, after about a day, shall no longer produce light. The fruit of the Lux tree can be fermented to form a sort of alcoholic beverage which is very potent. The forests which a Lux tree grows in are often very dangerous and filled with wild life which uses the darkness as their habitat.

Seasonally Flooded Forests

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These low-lying forests flood almost every spring and, when the tide ebbs away, the ground is covered in the new life of flowers. The Trees in these forests have adapted to the flooding by having their trunks either out of the water or deep enough roots to resist the removal of sediment. The people who live in these forests of building their houses and other structures on pillars to keep them from being washed away. The heavy rains in the spring might make these forests look like a bleak place but it is not rare to see the sun shine while it rains. The forests after the rains explode with vibrant colors of flowers and birds who have flown in.

Other Forests

These forests are just like regular forests you would see in real life. The trees vary in shapes in the sizes. The animal life is generally full of small birds and the occasional deer or Angor through out the forests.



Look at the above. Same applies with the exception of the trees generally being smaller in size.

Sparse Forest

Really sparse northern forests. Few trees grow in these forests and the only animals which live here are the occasional fox, owl, and hawk.

Mother Tree and Forest Spirits

Mother Tree

Forest Guardian

There are three important parts which exist in each and every forest across the world. The first and most important part is the Mother Tree, a Tree larger than all the others in the forest and much older. This tree is believed to be the heart of the forest and as long as it lives so shall the forest around it. These ancient trees, if killed, will more than likely kill the forest with it. That is why there is a forest guardian. Each forest guardian takes a form specific to the forest itself. It is the job of each guardian to watch over all those who take from the forest and make sure they don't take too much. The Forest Spirit on the other hand is the manifested will of the Mother Tree itself. This spirit almost always will be passive to adventurers and will only show itself to those who are pure of heart and true of will. Should the spirit feel that it is threatened, it will act against the assailant. In no means is it a good idea to fight a Forest Guardian or Spirit.

Bog Forests

Bog Forest

Light Lilly Pad

Vintus

These bog forests are well known around the tidal area and low lands near seas or lakes. These bog forests are almost always flooded and, as a result of the flooding, the trees in these forests have adapted to have roots which cling tightly to the ground and absorb only the amount of water they require. Often times, these forests are rather dark and one of the sparse patches of light are lily pads which release a phosphorescent spore into the air every night. Often times, these spores will float across the surface but rarely actually pollenate. Yet, there is both danger and beauty in these bogs. There are monsters, commonly known a Vinus. A Vinus is basically a living plant which takes the form of a large flower as a trap for its prey. When the prey comes close, the Vinus will pop out of hiding and crush the prey with its long, root-like vines. The Vinus then consumes the prey and goes back into its flower state.

Lantern Plants

These lantern-like plants seemingly grow only near salt water sources. The spindly trunks of these plants grow towards the setting sun no matter where they are planted. The branches of the Lantern Plants develop fruit which holds fist sized seeds. The fruit it self is rather tart but filling and can be full of enough water to fill two quarts if properly squeezed. For some reason, cutting open the fruit produces such a pungent smell which disgusts bugs but is sweet smelling to fish.

Glow Flowers

Glow Flower 1

Glow Flower 2

These phosphorescent flowers glow in darkness and at night. Their beauty is only matched by their poisonous excretions. The flowers produce a very nasty paralytic toxin which, if applied to the skin will causes numbness and then lack of feeling in the contact zone. Should the toxin go directly to the blood, it is possible that the agent can paralyze the muscles of the heart and cause the victim to die. These flowers often have their entire self, from petal to petal, covered by a small bubble of air which is kept in place by a see through membrane.

Yuginara

The Yuginara is by far one of the most fierce monster which dwells on the savanna. This creature is born with a small, yet rock hard, crest running from its snout to the very back of the neck, just before the creature's shoulder blades. Occasionally the yuginara can crack or even shatter the horn but it will grow back in a few months to a year at the most. The teeth of a yuginara are extremely sharp and generally have two long teeth which are separated by two other teeth at the top front of the jaw. A yuginara could crush bone and break through metal should it be able to get its jaw around its prey. The average yuginara can reach a max of a horse while an alpha can stand taller than a horse by six or seven inches.

The Yuginara is a long distance running animal and, though it can not move very quickly, it can run for miles on top of miles. These large beasts are best on open plains though they are certainly capable of traversing mountainous terrain. Being a very hostile animal, a yuginara is very difficult to tame. Yet, taming a yuginara can be a very fruitful endeavor which will lead to a life long friend and all around ally for the rider. A yuginara will produce a litter of four to five pups of which only two are likely to live to adult hood.

Dragons

Dragons Pictures

Dragons count themselves among the most ancient races in the entire world. But, they are also the rarest race in the entire world. Their numbers have gradually decreased over centuries of hunting due to the reckless rampages of their mimicking cousins the Drakes. These creatures are one of the largest beings the entire world with wing spawns of forty feet for a newly adult dragon while the oldest of dragons can sometimes have wing spans which reach a eighty to a hundred feet. Though large, a dragon can be surprisingly light weight with an adult dragon ranging anywhere from eight hundred to a thousand and five hundred pounds. Just as humans vary in skin color and hair color, dragons vary in scale color. It use to be common to see Red or Golden color dragons but they were the first to be hunted down. Now Reds and Golds are rare scale colors for they stand out the most in landscapes. As caused by natural selection, it has turned out the the colors of white, brown, green, blue, and grey are now the predominant color among dragons. The greys, unlike their other brethren, have no scales and instead rely on their agile bodies to out maneuver both prey and predator alike.

Dragons are unique in their stages of life. There are three in total: hatchling, wyrmling, and adult. A hatchling is a recently hatched dragon or a dragon which has yet to develop its breath. Often a hatchling will stay a hatchling for anywhere from a year to three years. Once a hatchling develop's its breath, which is generally unique to the dragon itself, it becomes a wyrmling. The wyrmling can be one of the longest stages in the life of a dragon as it can generally vary anywhere from twenty five to a hundred years. A wyrmling is officially an adult when its wings are fully developed. Often, the wings will start out as small bumps along the back of the wyrmling which will grow over a few months time. By the end of the growing cycle, the wyrmling will feel the urge to break open the fluid filled pockets of skin and let their wings out to dry.

With its wings free, the newly adult dragon will feel the urge to consume a large amount of meat. The Adult dragon will then travel many months to find a mate and cave of their own to raise their eggs in. At this point in a dragon's life, the dragon will simply reach a point where their only goal is to survive and make sure their children survive. Yet, there are certain dragons who don't settle down simply because of the fact that they prefer the life of adventure. These dragon's are almost always on the move and rarely stay in one place. What makes a dragon unique is their ability to learn like humans, elves, and dwarves. A dragon can learn languages and eventually learn to read.

Breaths:

A hatchling is no longer a hatchling when he/she earns his breath. A breath will vary from dragon to dragon. Sometimes a dragon may breath flame like a person would normally find. Occasionally, a dragon can spit acid out instead. A wyrmlings breath varies on the way their young life went. A hatchling which is raised through the heat of battle will develop either a flame breath or acidic breath. A hatchling which is raised alone, on the other hand, could develop a breath of icy cold wind or fearsome lightning. Though most races try and reason that a Dragon's breath is truly made in its body, the true way a dragon forms its breath is magical. A dragon is attached to the nexus in a sort of way. When a dragon dies, it is as if a chunk of mana is flowing back into nexus. Some theories state that dragons are originally manifested from the nexus itself while others suggest that the Gods created dragons to protect the races of Olor. The Breath of a dragon is what makes a dragon unique. Unlike a drake, which can only breath fire, a dragon's breath will vary from dragon to dragon. While one dragon can breathe freezing gales of wind, another could breathe gushing water.

Scales:

A dragon is born with scales, excluding greys of course. A dragon's scales are strong by nature and vary from white to black and all that is in between. Yet, a dragon requires to feed on metals to maintain the strength and shine of their scales. The more metal a dragon eats, the harder their scales are. A well fed dragon will have scales which are hard enough to take several hits from a spear before it would break. Eaten metal also causes the dragon's scales to regrow healthier than before. While most dragons will be happen to eat any metal they find, a grey will not feel the urge to consume the metal they find. Greys are born without scales but are far more agile and capable of blending into stone.

Undead Dragons

Wyrm

Every now and then a dragon's will to live after its death causes it to go down the path of the Undead. These Wyrms, as they are called, are the physical manifestation of an undead dragon. The partially decayed or sometimes bare bone bodies of a wyrm are basically frozen in time. Once the wyrm takes over the body, the decay slows down to such a crawl that it is negligible. A Wyrm will almost always have a breath as cold as ice no matter what its breath was when it was living. The Wyrm acts only on instinct but does not feel the need to eat food. Instead, the Wyrm will spend its days in the mountains or caves and will only attack if they are threatened. Yet, occasionally the memory of its past life will cause the Wyrm to attack any and all living beings. There is the rare occasion that a wyrm will instead manifest itself in a more sentient form.

Dracolich

There is only one other kind of undead dragon in the entire world, the dracolich. A Dracolich is by far the most dangerous kind of dragon in the world. This dragon has, in some way, been able to extend its life to the point where it is capable of holding on to its body even after death. This often undead beast, unlike its wyrm brethren, acts only on its own thoughts. A dracolich will keep its breath even after its body has long decayed to nothing but tendons. This makes the dracolich even more dangerous that its wyrm counter part. It is rare to see a dracolich for the knowledge to extending one's natural life seems to have been lost many eons ago. The only way to kill a dracolich is to destroy its body and soul. Should one only destroy the body, the dracolich can move on to another nearby vessel of both a dead dragon or dead drake.

Drakes

Drake Pictures

The drakes are distant cousins to dragons at the best, unrelated mimics at the worst. The Drake life cycle flows quite the same way a dragon's does except their lives are far shorter and their breath is far weaker. The Drake tries to mimic the dragon so as to avoid being preyed on by predators across the world. An adult drake may look like a dragon yet, they are smaller. Where an adult dragon can have a forty feet wingspan, the drake will only have a wingspan of twenty-five to thirty feet when their wings are fully developed. The average drake will weigh six hundred to a thousand pounds at the most. Yet, there are some easier ways to tell a drake is not a dragon. Though a drake can learn like a dragon can, the majority of drakes are feral and thus act only on the need to survive. Drakes are far more aggressive than dragons and will often attack any settlement which is in its territory. Drakes will very greatly in appearance. It is believed that there are around fifty thousand drakes living in the world.

Leviathan

The Leviathan is basically a living storm. A creature born from the nexus itself, the leviathan moves through to world and brings with it powerful thunderstorms and heavy rain. There is only ever one Leviathan in the world at a time and the Leviathan is a docile creature which travels with the wind. Despite its massive size, the leviathan is actually very light. The Leviathan, though never actually a recorded fact, is large than a ancient dragon. It is unknown what the Leviathan would do if it was attacked for no person has ever been able to reach the Leviathan or actually find it.

Bailous

The Bailous is a creature born from plants which have been mutated by trace magic. This creature is created when there is a concentration of residual magic left over from magical use. The residual magic mutants the plants and, if there is enough present, create the Bailous. A Bailous is loosely kept together by a sort of slime which covers its root or vine like limbs. The bailous is dangerous for it an grow larger and larger as it consumes more plant matter and living creatures. Yet, a Bailous is easy to kill due to its slow movements and weakness to fire.

Griffins

Griffin

The Griffin is a creature usually found on grassy plains across the world. It has the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. It is similar in size to the latter. Griffins are highly territorial and aggressive top-predators and are as such not afraid to attack anything. They live in families of up to twelve individuals, usually housing only one male per family. The Griffin becomes mature at three years of age, and can live for as long as twenty. Griffin feathers are a much sought after trade commodity, as it is believed to be a charm for good luck in some cultures.

[Voltus_Ventus]

WIP Name of Race: Tarandrus General Biology: The Tarandrus are a sentient species that can be described as half-human, half-reindeer. They are bipedal and bi-armed, very much humanoid in configuration, their torso and abdomen are those of a human, consisting of bare skin that varies slightly in color depending on the region in which they live and a pair of breasts for women. However their lower body is that of a deer's, complete with stiffles, gaskins and hocks (a bit of terminology for you), hooved feet and completely fur covered, also little cute tails. Their heads vary widely on where they live, specifically their biomes; Desert Tarandrus, for example, have long pointed black horns at the front of their heads that resemble those of Oryxes, Whereas Forest Tarandrus tend to have wider more branching antlers from the sides of their heads. However even the resemblance of the antlers change from place to place, being more moose-like the colder it is and more deer-like in leafier places; The color of their coats also changes accordingly to biome and type of horned creature they get their head adornments from. Their eye also varies from that of a human's, they tends to be one color, usually black or dark brown but can also be greens or blues, they are positioned more further apart then a humans and are much wider, resembling those of a deer.  The male Tarandrus stands on average around 6"6' tall and weighs in at about 350Ibs mostly due to the amount of muscle within the legs. A male usually has hair running up the middle of his back, all the way up his neck and joins with the head of hair, the hair is almost always the color of the leg fur. Throughout most of the year prior to the two months that make up mating season, the sexual organ of the male is stowed within the body, emerging during mating season through a sheath, that is angled slightly upwards, between their legs; their testicles and scrotum however, hang freely through out the entire year. However, a male Tarandrus sexually matures at a very late stage, at around 17 years of age because the reproductive system of the female also takes a long time to develop.  The female Tarandrus stand at around 5"4' dwarfed by their male counter parts and weigh a dainty 200 pounds, as they are much slimmer, with skinnier limbs and smaller torso and have less muscle. A female has a much narrower strip of hair down their backs then males, however they make up for this by having triple hair growth speed on their heads. Also, while we are still on the topic of heads, they have much smaller horns/antlers, more for decoration then for combat, and much longer wider deer ears then males. The woman's reproductive organ, unlike in other species, is not frontal but underneath the tail, making the up angled male organ necessary for more comfortable intercourse. However for most of the year, the organ is closed and would require tremendous force to get through, but to make up for prolonged periods of sexual inactivity, woman give birth to litters of two offspring at a time. The gender of the offspring isn't decided by the gametes of the mating couple but completely by the female, her eggs containing both genderal chromosomes for either gender.

[The Patriarch]

Name of race: Ratmen biology: Ratmen are humanoid rats that stand between five foot six and five foot two. Despite their small size, Ratmen are very hardy and can take a beating thanks to their tougher bone structure. Their muscles are strong which allow them to have a good amount of strnegth and they have sharp teeth and claws for natural weapons. The race's senses are highly developed especially their sense of sight and smell. Their digestive system is very unique in the fact that they can digest almost any type of edible substance with having almost no ill effects, and thanks to having a abnormally high metabolism they can regain energy back quicker from eating. The Ratmen's main source of nutrients comes from eating meat and cheese. Because of their high metabolism, Ratmen have to eat more than most life forms and can die from starvation at a quicker rate. --- *coming soon, spirits*

[Voltus_Ventus]

http://voltusventus.deviantart.com/art/Revised-Version-515311295 Map Revisited.

[VitaVitaAR]

Scorpionmen: Scorpionmen are large, powerful beings that wander the desert. Possessing rudimentary sapience, they have a very basic language. However, given that their sapience is the barest minimum, they are more likely to respond to their aggressive animal instincts and fight one another then speak to each other. They possess no inherent magical capabilities and instead rely on their massive size and strength. Scorpionmen are aggressive and violent, similarly to some species they get their name from. Their massive claws can bend steel and crush stone, and their sharp tail can deliver a deadly poison directly into the blood of a victim. However, they are dim-witted and their head is very vulnerable to attack. Scorpionmen have no qualms with devouring members of other sapient races, and in some cases even smaller members of their own kind. They are a hazard in the desert that seems concerned only with eating and nothing more complex than that. As stated, their heads are highly vulnerable, and Nem archers are well-versed in sinking arrows directly through their skulls. To the nem, they are known as Hadrid.