Re: Lurker's Stories Comment Section
Brain exercise, trying to help worldbuild the world of Blackshard a little bit. Blame one of the /tg/ worldbuilding threads for starting this, however this really needed to be done just so I can try to continue the story further.
- Blackshard Worldbuilding Bits -
*General Kalifer Notes*
- Blackshard's main continent is mostly spherical, split into the four kingdoms of the major races. After Rift Magic became a thing, certain fragments of the world took on extra details based off the Abyssites. Good examples would be an oasis forming in the greenskin's desert area with wild Abyssite plants growing.
- There is a secondary continent to the northwest, and a island chain off of it's eastern shores. The eastern islands are home to the Dragonkin Empire, and minus some trading from the tropic ports there is little contact with them by Kalifer itself.
- Wild monsters and beastmen existed before the rifts, thanks to Kalifer's magical energies. Beastmen commonly require females of other species for breeding, and tend to be aggressive to any trespassers. Attempts have been made to try and make peace with beastman tribes before, but in general the Beastmen are too wild of a mindset to last for long. Only one permanent village exists for the Beastmen where there is some cohabitation with them, in the northern mountains. This village, known as Herdspire, is pretty much an entity of itself, outside of any kingdom's laws.
- As well as beastman, there is also female monsters, known as monsterkin. Some specimens exist in Herdspire, but most are wild specimens, hard to tame. Much like beastman, they require another species to repopulate, however with the matings of beastman and monsterkin tends to result in only beastman, they tend to avoid each other. The only monsterkin truly trusted by any species is the Underelves's treaties with the Driders, with both the matriarchal society and the spidertype monsterkin sharing the race's men.
*Major Race Notes*
- Human -
Bog-standard human, with emotional energies behind them acting as their magic source. This form of magic is a bit more wild and untamed than the ones used by the other species, which rely moreso on channeling from one medium or another realm, but the effects are much more varied, from conjuration to even artificial life, depending on the strength of the spirit behind the spell or if it's augmented for better or worse with the rush of emotions.
*Kaliferian*
The primary human presence on Kalifer, tan-skinned and skilled with spear and horseback to compensate for the long plains and deserts that make up much of Kalifer's landmass. Kaliferians are a sturdy lot, with a heavy reverence to the god patheons that they worship. The Kaliferian main lord is the Rashiah, or High King, who oversees the actions of various city-lords, who further oversees the lands around the cities they own. Architecture tends to be hybridized between ascetic and militaristic, with large plain fortifications often surrounding highly decorative and intricate designed architecture.
*Shiriti*
Primarily living in the jungle, this female-dominant tribal society has dominance in the islands to the southeast of Kalifer, primarily surviving with fishing and hunting the many monsters of the jungle. The Shiriti have a high reverence to the goddess of war, Grandian, and often hold sacrifices of foodstuff and animals to gain her affections, with a yearly offering of a willing sacrifice to add to her harem in the afterlife. The Shiriti's primary warfare tactics rely on the spear and arrow, with highly decorative armor of feathers and pelts decorating their strong female warriors. For some reason, the men of the Shiriti tend to have stunted growth, causing a minor role reversal and a dominant, matriarch society.
*Helius*
Far to the east, beyond even the Dragonkin Empire, the Helius were rumored to exist for thousands of years, long before the Rift War began. However, a great cataclysm struck them, believed to be the goddess of elements, Kirania, punishing them for the perfection of soul magic to the point they could transfer soul energy into inanimate objects and golems, creating a massive empire which was constantly boasted at being the strongest of it's time. Massive earthquakes and tsunamis battered the island city of Helios, until finally it was brought into the ocean below. However, the Helius are believed to have somehow cheated death, and several members of thier society has popped up recently in the Dragonkin Empire, demonstrating this amazing technology that they bring along and speaking of Helios being able to hold the water back with their soul control. The question is, however, for how long can this last.
*Braxilian*
To the northwest of Kalifer lays the kingdom of Braxil, a strange kingdom which shows much more tolerance to the Beastkin and Monsterkin societies, with many fragments of such creatures even finding ways into the hierarchy of society. With that said, however, they have become a massive trade empire and a figurehead of technology, with many gifted individuals and scientists working alongside other races and creatures to rapidly plumb the secrets of the laws of magic and science. Known greatly for the advanced technology they wield and have invented, such as the massively powerful magitech boiler and airships, and a favoritism for gunpowder and fencing, the Braxilian humans are a vocal minority on the continent of Braxil but one wonders if the place would be the same without these pale-skinned inventors. Unfortunately, Braxilians have lost a lot of sight to the gods and goddesses of the world, becoming quite focused with the knowledge that they often get confused with the magical miracles those blessed by the spirits tend to show.
*Nullimite*
The Nullimites live to the south of Braxil and the west of Kalifer, and for the longest while it seemed that the kingdoms being formed there was relatively peaceful. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line a mysterious power rose through the ranks, by the name of the One Faith. Believing in a unnamed goddess above all and finding any that didn't share thier faith 'unworthy', the kingdom has quickly isolated itself, with horror stories of the fanatics butchering nonhumans and the nigh-devotion the Nullimites have to this unnamed figurehead. If and when the Nullimites develop naval ships strong enough for them to take their holy wars from the small island that had formed thier home, both Braxil and Kalifer fear that a conflict even greater than the Rift Wars may erupt.
-Elfkin-
Guardians of much of the southern jungles and central forests, the Elfkin are considered the most repressed species by the other three races, but when a race lives for centuries, it's hard not to stay relatively mellow. The elfkin mostly live in the sprawling Wood Elf capitol of Forest's Heart or the underground catacomb that is Spiderbloom, the capitol of the Under Elves, with small groups and individuals living in various locations around the world.
Most elven society is a primary matriarchy, with the Wood Elves' Grand Matriarch acting as the primary ruler of their kingdoms and main liaison for the Elfkin. The Under Elves' Spider Queen is also a seat of power, and often the Grand Matriarch and Spider Queen must meet against each other on a monthly basis to keep relations strong.
*Wood Elf*
Taller than most humans, with various sizes of ears, the Wood Elf has a unnatural synergy with nature, able to manipulate it easily without damaging the plants and animals. Wood Elves tend to be quiet and aloof, feeling that this great power of forest control is something worth renown and interest. Most elves take up the combat tactics of the archer and ranger, with skills of bows being one of the best of any race. Unfortunately, the elves suffer from a long development time and extremely low birthrates, when combined with the standard aloofness means that Wood Elves don't have huge numbers in comparison to some of the more breed-happy races. With that said, when a elf reaches 15 years old, their body has mostly matured. with only their minds being quite underdeveloped and arrogant.
*Under Elf*
Nearly the opposite of the Wood Elves, the Under Elves are highly connected to the nature and creatures that live far below the earth, managing to tame many of them and holding alliances with many of the Monsterkin and Beastmen that roam below. The Under Elves are also much more arrogant and sure of themselves, with the elves showing much interest of showing off their dominant personalities instead of repressing it like their surface cousins. The Under Elves barely go up to the surface, though they are well-skilled with the longblade and chakram when they do leave their underground home.
*Snow Elf*
The story of the Snow Elves is a sad one indeed. In the past, a colony of Wood Elves attempted to make a home into the Razorspine Forest, a dangerous woodland nestled into the heavy mountains of the far north. At first, these elves thrived, managing to tame a glade to make their home. Unfortunately, they had been close to the last secret hiding place of the Nether Worshipers from the Rift Wars, and several weeks after the colony was set up, they were attacked, many of them killed and many more of them captured. When the royal armies of the Grand Matriarch finally rescued the survivors and put the Nether Worshipers to the sword, the remaining elves had been twisted by the Nethermancy and cold environment, with bluish skin and white hair. Thus resulted the Snow Elves, outcasts of elfkin society who fear the curse they had been put under may spread to the other elfkin. Mostly loners, the Snow Elves have made very few settlements, the curse they suffer making their bodies constantly chilled but resistant to such harsh elements. Occasionally they will assist those that get lost in the dangerous mountains of the north, but it is rare when a Snow Elf will willingly leave the mountains they have been banished to.
-Dwarven-
Claiming to be the first race on the world, the Dwaves are a stalwart, if remote ally to the other kingdoms. With a focus of technology over any of that 'distrustful' magic, the Dwarves have instead discovered magic-laced stones such as flarestone, blast powder, sparkmetal, and so on, each allowing myriad of ways to be combined with more mundane materials like iron and gold to create truly marvelous technologies. Creating an empire based off of magitech, the Dwarves are one part trade empire, one part master technicians, and the technology they forge can be seen in many large settlements, even the magic-rich elf homes sometimes making use of the more basic magical stones and tech pieces for reliability reasons.
The main form of Dwarven production is threefold- magitech, ores and magic-infused stones and gems, and high quantities of salt, all of which are traded for the few things that the dwarf society isn't able to self-create. Most Dwarven fortress-homes require at least some degrees of self-sufficiency, due in part to being set in remote locations in comparison to standard villages. Luckily, a combination of ground roots, surface farms, and domesticated animals ensure dwarfish society keeps ticking.
*Mountain Dwarf*
The primary dwarf society, the Mountain Dwarves has dominance over many of the mountain ranges of Kalifer, with the dwarven fortress Grand Forge acting as both the seat of the Dwarves' Forgeking and one of the burial places of the cursed Blackshard Vaults. Dwarves are a rowdy bunch, constantly drinking and making merry when they aren't busy with work and tasks, often quick to anger and known to hold grudges over many years. With that said, the Mountain Dwarves are relatively open to other species, even the Elves that they tend to find as bad company.
*Cave Dwarf*
Most dwarves live in the upper elevations of mountains and caves, however at some point in history a colony of dwarves dug too deep, getting lost in the massive cave systems the Under Elves call home. Forced to fight against the monsters of the deep and too prideful for years to accept help, the colony resisted the calls to aid until they finally had secured a strong foothold and the underground fortress of Earth's Heart was created. Unfortunately, this constant war and anger at the 'outsiders' has left the Cave Dwarves as a extremely angry species, one that still to this day constantly rebukes outside help and shows great suspicion to any outsiders.
*Gnome*
Believed to be a offshoot of the Dwarves and responsible for the Dwarve's hatred of actual magical use, Gnomes are even shorter than dwarves, looking nearly childlike in comparison to the stocky, bulky dwarves. Some have theorized that the gnomes are nearly indestructible, with surprising amounts of elasticity and a rapid healing process, and even a little bit of the human's form of magical control, with power ebbing and swelling with their emotions. Gnomes seem to always be in a chipper mood, and are hard to angry or upset. Gnomes do tend to have a special effectiveness of technology, though the attention span required for enhanced technology tends to be wanting without practice.
-Greenskin-
The Greenskin race's history is a bloody one. Before the Rift War, the Greenskins were the main instigator of a lot of world conflicts, thanks to a bloody warlord acting as the Tribechief, the high leader of all the Orcs. When the Warlord finally fell in battle, and the other three races of Kalifer threatened to put the race down, a shaman approached his people, and attempted to lessen the bloodlust that the warlord had instilled in the Greenskins in general. History would remember him as Fribechief and High Shaman Gul'thog Spiritbreaker, and his rule over the Greenskin tribes would travel through most of the Rift War and beyond.
The Greenskin tribes are split into various sizes of demihumans, the development having split sometime in the past before developing into what we know them as today.
*Orcs*
The primary Greenskin tribe, Orcs are a proud, noble warrior race, who only began to find their magical niche under the tutorage of the great Spiritbreaker. Realizing that they could contact the spirits of the long-lost, the Orc temperament of a warrior culture mellowed slightly, mixing with a high amount of shamans and other spirit-using members.
*Black Orc*
Unfortunately, not all Orcs were able to fully contain themselves in battle, and as a result, the Black Orc subspecies came out of the woodwork somewhere in the time of the Rift Wars. Often referred to as Blood Orcs, because they are often smeared with crimson blood of a fresh kill, Black Orcs are terrifying berserkers, always in a angry rage, whose spirit has been twisted with the darker edges of the Orc's spirit control. Often, spellcasters of the Black Orcs are versed in darker arts such as necromancy and intense forms of spirit control. Those that can't control these gifts turn into unspeakable killing machines, known in Orc society as Thur'rags, aka Spiritmad. Spiritmad Orcs are a serious threat, and one that the Seers of the Orcs constantly hunt out.
*Goblins*
Much like Gnomes, Goblins are believed to be a similar mutation of the Orc genus back from the chaotic days of magic control, and before the Orcs themselves drove towards warrior combat before they became spiritual. Oddly, they also have the interest in technology, with the added bonus of the focus required to really work on the technology. Unlike gnomes, Goblins have no active control of magic themselves, instead relying on scavenged or handmade technology and the occasional dwarven or Gnomish creation. They're crafty little bastards, though, and their large ears are really sensitive to sounds. Combined this with similar, surprising survivability like the Gnomes, and a even larger desire for breeding in female specimens, and these a numerous addition to Greenskin society, often serving as the working class with their hodgepodge machines while the larger Orcs and Trolls fulfill as the primary armed forces and hunters,
*Trolls*
Also primarily living in the jungle edges near the Greenskin territories, trolls are interested in mysterious magical arts such as voodoo and necromancy, as well as more substantiated magical arts like herbalism and necromancy. Tall and lanky, Trolls have massively high regeneration rates, elongated ears, and long tusklike teeth, as well as a major interest with piercings and jewelery that seems to be a species-wide interest. Trolls in general are calm and relaxed, though if they enter battle they can become terrifying berserkers with a affinity with axe and throwing weapons and a great weakness for electricity.
-Abyssites-
As a general rule, the Abyssites are a mix of concepts- combining the classic ethereal and infernal themes, with a few shades of the Draenor destruction story in regard to the ending of their plane of existence, with a tiny bit of Cthulu-style background.
Originally in-tune to the realm known as 'the Nether', the Abyssites began to fear the creatures that dwell within, and through great spellwork on their part, managed to mostly sever them from that line of magic. Unfortunately, many individuals are still in tune with that magic flow, and after the realization of another dimension than theirs, the Rift Wars was sure to have been inevitable. After the Rift War, the Abyssites wound up having to create settlements of their own, and are perhaps the most widespread race in Kalifer as a result.
More than any other race variant, the Abyssites have the most varied of subspecies, ranging from hulking behemoths that at first glance look like a Beastman race, to slender and lithe near-human specimens. This sheer amount of variance has made it hard to classify Abyssites into a direct bloodline tree by the other races, though the Abyssites tend to refer to themselves under various 'tribes' thanks to specific generation traits or dietary needs.
*Cubite*
Smallest Abyssite variant, and the one that seems the least mutated in comparison to the standard humanoid races. Cubites are spirit-eaters, who must suckle spirit energy to feed. Luckily, humanoid species tend to have hearty spirits, but even still, it a cruel curse for the Cubites to suffer. Cubites are best known for being natural seducers and seductresses, and the usual variances of the Cubite race usually have short claws, some form of wings and tail, light horns, a mostly-humanoid body, uncommonly a form of foot mutation, and rarely a set of horns or more.
*Tetra*
Tetras ironically didn't start as a Abyssite race, but as a countereffect to the original human soldiers that went into the Riftlands. The first generations of children after they left the parents were surprised and confused to find them born with extra arms and other minor traits of the Gnarled, like occasionally horns and tails. Still, the primary difference is the near-human appearence, usually similar traits to the Kaliferians, and additional sets of arms. Usually this is a singular extra set, though certain individuals have had even up to eight arms at a time.
*Gnarled*
Arguably the most common of the Abyssites, the Gnarled were originally quite beautiful according to their history, only for the twisted practice of the Nethermancy to twist them into the forms they have today- hunchbacked, with a wide variety of mutations ranging from facial tentacles, elongated arms and fingers, twisted and digigrade legs, multiple arms, tentacles from limbs and backs, various forms of ears and tails, chitin and tendril hair, and other odd mutations, randomly between individuals. Gnarled are a stoic race now, usually quiet and studying the new world they have found themselves in, often taking up hobbies such as alchemy and herbalism as a result.
*Thrull*
Unlike most of the Abyssites, the Thrull are surprisingly uniform in how they appear, thanks to them having originated as a colony insect species many centuries prior to the Rift Wars. Resonances of Nether Magic help further develop these creatures faster than they were originally planned, resulting in a mostly-insect species with several humanoid members at the top of the evolution chain.
Thrull begin as a larval state, a large, two-foot-long spiky creature which, while it can defend itself, cannot really fight back as easily. This larva then evolves eventually into the other thrull variants, from smaller organisms that do various hive tasks to the three primary sentient Thrull variants, the Broodqueens, the Broodlets, and the Broodguards. Broodqueens are the primary breeders, entirely hermaphrodite and uses a combo of ovisposition and standard sexual intercourse to lay Thrull eggs at a rapid rate. Usually there is only a few Broodqueens per hive, though, as the tendency for one to try and assert dominance over other queens is strong thanks to natural selection. Broodguards are the warrior caste, with near meter-long claws and multiple spikes acting as defensive and offensive weapons as the case may need be, with vestigial wing muscles instead forming back scythes. Finally, there is the Broodlets, which are under-developed Thrulls which usually act as extra breeding stock (mostly as harems for the Broodqueens) or ambassadors for the Thrull hives. They appear similar to the Broodguard, but are much lighter in frame and the amount of sharp spines, as well as bearing long antenna and dragonfly-style wings from the shoulder blade.
It is rare to see a Thrull beyond the boundaries of the hives they have formed in the forests and deserts, but occasionally one can find a Broodlet or Broodguard who has become either hiveless or lost contact with the hive mind of the Broodqueen. Occasionally the sentient species are also grabbed as slaves, especially Broodqueens when they are found to be easily captured.
*Gurnord*
Massive in comparison to most their kin, Gurnords are huge, hulking Abyssites that stand easily nine feet tall or even larger, Gurnords however are quite accommodating to others, having a even temperament most of the time. With scaled skin, swept-back ram horns, digigrade legs, and commonly spikes from limb joints and claws. Coloration vary between individuals, but the Gurnord's are general guessed by the minor traits similar to the Gnarled as well, usually on a much more grand scale.
*Garden Watcher*
The Garden Watchers is a generalization of another form of the Abyssites, and possibly the closest to being a untamed species like the Monsterkin. This specimen type is formed similar to foliage and other trees, similar to the dryads and other elemental spirits in the forests, however they are separated in how they develop and the main food source.
The typical Garden Watcher growth form comes in a immobile, plant form, similar to a arulane, eventually creating itself legs to explore it's territory, before eventually becoming entirely independent. Eventually, the plantgrown woman no longer requires the ground-based nutrients, and is finally allowed to explore the world fully without requiring a tether to their roots. At this point is when most people are first aware of the Garden Watchers, this third stage.
Garden Watcher's diets require standard plant nutrients, such as light and sunlight (Varying depending on the base plant genus). However, much like the Cubites, the Garden Watchers are drawn to the lifeforce of other sentient species, and feed on the blood of these victims with surprisingly powerful seduction tactics.
Some common growth cycles of the Garden Watchers include Lust Rose/Rosus Erectus/Noctis Blossom, Bloodshroom/Spore Walker/Mushqueen, and Blood Sapling/Hunter Dryad/Redbark Walker.