Races: The Ashenacom : The Qumor : The Sealanders : The Berserkers : The Finders : The Human Races
Places: Qar Iq-Qirishid : A New Climate Map (Defunct) : World Map, Mk. III (Defunct) : World Map, Mk. IV
Species: The Yeti
World Elements: The Nine Gifts (Defunct) : Spell Types (Defunct) : The Nature of the Gods : The Sixty-Three Names of God : Birthrite : The Long Count : Tension Points : Climate Map Revised
Stories: A Smile in Your Heart : Short Stories : Bithwealdes : Bithrael the Faith of Irthiron
Histories: The History of Irthiron Geography : Native Cultures & The Tharons
Linguistics: Irthironian Nouns : Quipus of the Qumor : Qoldishtari Grammar Pt. I : Classical Hercuan Morphology
Polls: Irthiron
Tasks: 2021
And, most recently, a new story: Kaadhral, Pt. I
The Three Suns and Seven Worlds
Ajjamah (the Salvian name; it literally means "land-place" or "Earth") is the second planet in orbit around Suran, a yellow-orange K-type star a mere 5 billion years through its projected 18.2 billion-year lifespan. Suran is unique in this galactic neck of the woods on account of not only having a planet capable (and demonstrably so) of supporting life, but also for being in a trinary orbit with two other K-type stars and maintaining a stable planetary system. It has four recognized planets. Kasar, another K-type star, has a thirty-six-year binary orbit around Suran, coming as close as 7AU and moving back as far as 169AU at different parts of the timeline; it has its own planets as well, with moons visible through a telescope, which proved a really important feature of early heliocentric theories. When Kasar is in the daytime sky, it's bright enough to cast shadows; when it's present at "night" it outshines the moon. It has three recognized planets. There is a third star, Maṭā (yet another K-type), which orbits at quite a further distance away, at about 500AU over a period of around 364 years. Any planets that may be in orbit are unfortunately invisible to the people of Salvi through the naked eye (and Finders who've tried to focus their Perception over the area have been...shall we say less than coherent on account of the distance involved).
The four worlds of Suran are:
Toksha (Salvian Tokśah), a small rocky world similar to Mercury, orbiting at a mere 0.3AU.
Ajjamah (same in Salvian), the home planet of the people who call themselves human, orbiting Suran at 0.73AU over a period of 227.81 Terran days (approximately 210 local days; the Ajjaman day is 26 Terran hours long).
Sanavir (same in Salvian), a Mars-like world orbiting at an average of 1.1AU.
Beyond Sonu there is a decently-sized asteroid field.
Vyapa (Salvian Vīpā), a bright blue gas giant orbiting at about 3.5AU.
The three worlds of Kasar are:
Ninaya (Salvian Ninayan), a super-Earth orbiting Kasar at a distance of 0.5AU; from the images present of its surface it appears to have an atmosphere similar to Venus.
Gunavar (Salvian Gunavar), a gas giant four times the size of Jupiter orbiting in the habitable zone of 0.9AU; it has at least two moons capable of supporting life.
Beyond Gunu is an asteroid belt.
Nosti (Salvian Nōstih), a mini-Neptune orbiting at a distance of 3.7AU. Radiant Nosti, with massive rings, is often the brightest of Kasar's worlds seen from Ajjamah when the home-world reaches perihelion.
The Home World
A Map of Ajjamah At Present (in the Year 16 White Chupacabra)
(NOTE: the layers on the relief map are as follows: 0-249m ASL, 250-499m, 500-1,499m, 1,500-2,999m, 3000+m)
On its own, Ajjamah has little to differentiate it from a hundred other worlds. It has three suns, to be sure, but only one is bright enough to provide enough light to keep the planet alive, and is dimmer than our own ever so slightly (although slightly larger). It has one moon--and tides that reach four times the height of those on Earth, with an average of 2.0 metres up and down instead of 0.5--but because of the respective sizes of the moon and sun a total solar eclipse is never possible (the moon, Tana--Salvian Tanā--has an angular diameter of 0.45º compared to Suran's 0.625º). The planet itself is 87% the size of Earth, and has 95% of the radius; objects fall at 9.43 m/s2, very close to that of Earth proper. Ajjamah is composed primarily of iron and silicates, like Earth, and has a radioactive core that hopefully won't go out for a good long while yet.
One rather subtle difference is that because of a slightly less stable solar system, Ajjamah's axial tilt varies a great deal more than Earth's. It has ranged from 21º to around 28º over the past 40,000 years (compared to Earth's 22º to 24.5º), leading to some rather exciting changes every so often for the planet; the current axial tilt is 24.5º, still quite a dramatic chance from the 25º it was 500 years ago.
Currently there are five broad landmasses, each bearing its own name:
Pelia, the continent to the left, ranging from the Qutosbegek Mountains in the west to the Salvian Peninsula to the east, and from the Sealander Coast in the north to the Malehi Archipelago to the south. Ethnicities of note: the Sorcerers, the Telepaths, the Swoopers, the Botanists, the Cannibals, the Recollectors, the Divers, the Finders, and the Keepers.
Borealia, the northernmost continent, largely covered by ice and inhabited by an eclectic mix of mammals and birds. Ethnicities of note: the Trancers, the Vampires, and the Statues.
Meniscia: the smallest of the continents out in the Eastern Ocean, with a fairly large desert in the western portion and several smaller islands to the north. Ethnicities of note: the Normal People.
Hemeraea: the largest of the continents (even discounting Akwa), ranging from Hercua in the west to the High Plateau to the Vortex Plains to the Inclement Shores in the far east. Ethnicities of note: the Crusaders, the Berserkers, the Eternals, the Performers, the Size-Changers, the Hunters, the Shifters, and the Sane People.
Akwa: the northwestern portion of the continent shared with Hemeraea, divided by the High Plateau, and largely known for its two river basins: the Omiri to the west (running through the Ochu Desert), and the Acúraçõ to the east (the largest river basin on the planet). Ethnicities of note: the Zombies, the Reincarnators, the Changers, the Shifters, the Impaled People, the Bouncers, and the Pathfinders.
Climate and Biology
Climates of the World
(NOTE: red for tropical rainy, dark orange for tropical wet-and-dry, light orange for semiarid, pink for arid, light green for dry summer subtropical, vivid pink for humid subtropical, light grey for marine west coast, dark brown for humid continental (warm summer), light pink for humid continental (cool summer), teal for subarctic, purple for tundra, white for icecaps, yellow for mountainous areas)
One feature that might be noticed on this world is a relative lack of desert climates. This is deliberate; increased insolation in some parts of the year have transformed what would be desert lands (such as the long northern coastline on the east side of Pelia) into vast seas of grass and scrubland, perfect for hunting, pastoralism, and maybe a bit of light agriculture on the side. This is likely to change in coming years, however, as the axial tilt slowly shifts back and the planet switches back to something closer to Earth in our time.
There are plants on Ajjamah that would be recognized on Earth (perhaps not all from this era), some others that would be totally alien. Photosynthetic chemicals are slightly altered in this world to better reflect the orangey light of the sun; leaves range from spectral green to spectral yellow, leading to some fairly spectacular golden forests. Plants use spores, seeds, flowers, and the occasional bit of fungus-like parasitism to reproduce. In the Far East of Hemeraea, there are vast labyrinths of trees growing on top of trees, like coral reefs on land and with as much diversity. Along the length of the Omiri River grow cactus-like plants with exploding heads that impale a would-be drinker with spines, leading to blood loss and eventual death (preferably some distance away). All along the Sealander Coast in the Pelian northwest there are immense forests of redwoods and pines, some older than the oldest existing civilizations today. Every so often one finds a plant species that's a little more magical than the rest--these often live in symbiosis with the local sapients.
Animals, too, are similar enough but incredibly divergent. Mammoths still abound in the frozen north, and prehistoric cameloids have recently evolved into the much faster cyphion (cyphion cyphion), which traverses with ease the Quiramic Grasslands and Swooper Desert. Bar a few species--including the swamp lion of Wenglau--the lactile "whales" have gone extinct, being replaced with phallenes--ovoviviparous birds related to the Ajjaman equivalent of the penguin. Monotremes, or their closest equivalents, survive not in the water but among tree branches, with gliding bird-monkeys like the hawkbill tamarin dominating the jungles of Meniscia. On the Vortex Plains great birds of prey have survived, the harbinger (ceryx indomitus) being one of the most populous, travelling in packs to hunt down whatever else may lurk in the long grass of the steppe. Salamanders, not frogs, are the most common amphibian--but they make up for it by having tails built for jumping great distances (the golden dart salamander, toxicus interbidus, can manage twenty feet on a good night)
Vertebrate life evolved 520 million years ago, lactiles (this world's equivalent of mammals) a mere 214 million years ago, and hominids a paltry seventeen million years ago. Humans (species anthropus praeditus "gifted person") share the planet not only with their close relatives (such as the yeti, anthropus villosus, or the Dragon People, anthropus parvus) but with three other sapient species, each capable of magic in their own way. The phoenixes (caladrius ardens), descended from parrots, build great communal nests in the deep forests and carry spells on their wingtips. The leviathans (novocetus allapsus, great whale-like beings, can pass through any plane in any direction, and use their songs to keep aloft as they pass from one portal in the sea to another in the sky. And the behemoths (cornobelua placida), resembling modern-day elephants, carve their own trails into the land through continual migration, and trade memories for motives in the form of little puffs of smoke from their trunks.
Magic
Three is a surprisingly useful number when it comes to magic on Ajjamah. There are three worlds: the physical world, the Dream (where what sapients think comes to life, and the Deep (where everything that has ever happened is recorded). There are three souls: the Acting Soul (controlling one's physical body), the Speaking Soul (one's presence in the Dream), and the Thinking Soul (one's presence in the Deep). There are three sources of magic: the light of Kasar (the second sun), tectonic activity within the bowels of the earth, and the biosphere (past and present). And there are three ways magic may manifest itself: through the Gifts inherent in various peoples, through the land itself, and through communication with the spirits along their bi-planar forms.
The Gifts (Salvian tarih, plural taryā) are abilities that some sapients (including from the other three species) gain through prolonged exposure to the land they live on. These can range from the mundane (which normally occur in the general populace) to the extreme (such as a centuries-long lifespan, detaching one's soul and using it to cast spells, transforming into a giant indestructible Hulk-like being, etc.), and are unique to particular ethnicities. Note that they are not static; they change and evolve over the centuries, depending on necessity, intermixing, and location.
How are the Gifts determined? In part by how close people are to Loci (Salvian ēsṛlah, pl. ēsṛlās), which are in effect waypoints in the world where a particular kind of magic is found, usually dependent on tectonic activity and the local biosphere (or lack thereof). There are Major Loci (which have the most effect on Gifts) and around them several Minor Loci (which generally are not as powerful--although this may change over time). These are normally associated with particularly important landmarks, mountains or rivers or the like. The Major Locus on the Salvian Peninsula, for example, is up in the Northern Highlands, and provides any who stay near it the ability to create structures out of magic, which can then be used to affect the physical world. The Locus in the Ochu Desert, on the other hand, is the Omiri River itself, which grants those along its banks a certain proximity to the dead. Needless to say, people in both locales have taken advantage of this as time goes on.
So what about if you want to try and preserve your Gift, no matter the locale? For this you need a fully-functioning spirit (Salvian kallih, pl. kalliya- "oath-spirit"), who will grant you a connection to a particular Locus. Often these take on the functions of gods and goddesses, as one does not necessarily need to join with them body and soul for the spirits to have an effect on the physical world, merely to pray to them. The Salvians have taken this to one logical extreme and collect as many spirits as they possibly can for their temples; the Hercuans have taken the opposite view, and have seen to it that one deity and one deity alone receives their praise, subsuming all other spirits in the process and taking on their powers. (The Salvians are understandably unhappy about this attitude.)
And of course the world around everyone is useful for controlling the flow of magic as well. The Loci are connected to places in the Dream, where specific powers are imagined and brought forth. The amount of life in an area acts as an anchor (in the Deep) for the magical and physical realms to combine. And of course the whole process is only made possible through the light of Kasar, which waxes and wanes as the years go by...
Lexicon Sizes
6,015/6,000
Classical Salvian: 1,176
Irthironian: 924
Duales Hercuan: 603
Chomgonese: 510
Icemannic: 309
Kisimbi: 300
Malehinese: 273
Qumor: 252
Motzálac: 246
Qoldishtari: 189
Gykkeni: 165
Qoliyyu: 159
Minoan: 150
Warruka: 120
Yamatsoki: 108
Proto-Vitrean: 87
Truzithan: 93
Lewidzian: 78
Goldlandic: 72
uduBal: 72
Ashenacom: 60
Hysteran: 33
Saporian: 24
Idhvig: 12
Spell Merchant Pilot Script
2,216/6,000