Post by arrasailsup on Dec 17, 2007 9:39:27 GMT -5
((Still not yet finished. Sorry Farain.))
Name of Place: Jahata "The White City"
Climate: Icy and quite cold all year round. Snow falls heavily in winter, and even summer is quite chilly.
Geography: Jahata is a very large city, despite having a small population. The land surrounding it still has some semblance of warmth, and is mostly plains with, um, snow dunes. Rumours of some fabulous treasures that can be found underneath the dunes are ignored by falcons, but entice quite a number of outsiders to come and get eaten by any number of strange beasts that wander the snowy plains.
Further back, there are a lot of tall, tall mountains. Again, there are rumours of treasure hidden there, but the mountains are far more treacherous than the snowy plains. Quite a number of mountains are hollowed out with a large number of passages, home to anything from outlaws to giant wolves and yetis.
Small caves can be found almost anywhere, but with their entrances partitially hidden. Still, one would be a fool to venture inside the caves. A large number of icicles are everywhere, and can fall anytime. The bad news? Icicles in Jahata or anywhere near it are very large, tall, sharp and pointy.
Jahata itself is in the middle of the plains, which are surrounded by mountains. It's hard to reach Jahata, unless one has the help of some divine prescence. That or Vyri or any of the Royal House wanted them to reach Jahata.
People Groups:
Falcons, mostly. You know, beings that resemble Keyi? They are shapeshifters, able to spin powerful magic of their own. The population is quite small. A falcon lives for a long, long time, and can attain great power in their lives.
An average falcon has three forms. The first one is the human form, where a falcon resembles a completely normal humanoid...aside from the feathers on the back of their neck and in their hair. Most falcons don't use this form unless necessary.
The second is the pure falcon form, where, as the name suggests, one is a falcon. The species of falcon one transforms into varies, although gyrfalcons, peregrines, aplomados and merlins are the most common.
The third is the demi-form. Most of the inhabitants of Jahata go around in this one. Why? One has both of the characteristics of the human form and falcon form combined. Basically, a falcon in demi-form looks like a normal human, not counting feathers in their hair and on their nape, but with falcon wings on their back. Eye colour and shape of the body can change slightly when in this form. Senses are also heightened.
Culture:
The truth is what you make of it. Layers of deception upon deception. Vera is honoured above all else. Keyi is also worshipped.
For some reason, falcons rarely produce children. Vera claims that this is to prevent them from becoming too powerful. Children are seen as a precious gift, and revered above all else, except for Vera, Keyi, and the other gods. And possibly the members of the Royal House.
Punishment in Jahata is swift and merciless. The slightest unsatisfactory remark about the Royal House can get one skinned, tortured at the very least, unless one happens to be favoured by Vyri, or Vera and Keyi intervene. That's one of the main reasons why the falcon population is so small.
The word of the Empress is law, no questions asked.
Every God, Goddess and Demi-god must be honoured, especially those who deal in manipulation and magic. Any slight against the gods, even those who are not normally worshipped, will be punished by slow and painful death. Again, no questions asked. Not even Vera or Keyi will intervene.
Yes, the falcons are a very religious people.
Falcons don't have any special ranking system. Either you're part of the Royal House or you are not. However, there are some occupations that are valued above others, such as dancers and weavers.
Magic also plays a large role in the lives of falcons. If one is strong in magic, one has more chance of being favoured by the Royal House. Many of the things done in Jahata are accomplished with magic. Yes, especially dancing and weaving.
As most might have guessed by now, falcons excel in magic that have anything to do with ice, cold, control, bondage, mind powers, etc.
This makes it extremely hard to conceal anything.
There is no money used in Jahata, instead, one trades or gathers things for themselves. Dancers and performers are one exception. Or maybe not. One could say performing for food could be trading.
Outsiders are not turned away, but neither are they exactly welcome. As long as they do not disrupt anything inside Jahata, they will be left in peace. Still, most don't stay long.
Why they visisted in the first place is beyond me.
Current Events:
Things are always happening in the White City. No, not the ice wreaking havoc, or any wars, unless it is wars with themselves. Worshipping one goddess and one demi-goddess both in charge of manipulation tends to become a manipulator. Jahata is a land of politics, with its inhabitants too busy toying with one another to bother with expanding its borders.
But tensions are rising in Jahata, as the heir and the heir's heir plot to take over the throne from the Empress, Vyri. Their reason? The heir, Mens'rea, wishes to expand the borders, and does not care for the ancient traditions of manipulation.
Now, of course, this can't happen, but Vera is intrigued by how this will turn out and has refrained from stopping Mens'rea right now.
And no one is sure of the heir's heir, Sephari, motive. The fourth-in-line for the throne, Nihil, seems to have mysteriously vanished. Nobody knows if it was a kidnapping, as all of the Royal House is keeping it hushed up.
Royal House:
The Royal House of Jahata isn't really related, so one could call them a council. Of course, Royal House sounds much better, so stick with that unless you wished to be skinned.
The current Empress is Vyri the gyrfalcon. And no, she will not be dying anytime soon. Falcons lived pretty much forever, but hardly ever produce children. Hence, the only one with a child in the Royal House is Mens'rea the hier to the throne, but the child, Euphrosyne, is currently away on a quest of some sort. Again, Mens'rea refuses to give details.
Mens'rea is the power-hungry heir to the throne, a peregrine falcon, and a rather devious falcon. She sits quite high in Vera's favour, just below Vyri, which is why Vyri is the Empress and she is not.
Euphrosyne ought to be third-in-line to the throne, being the daughter of Mens'rea, but she has been sent away on that quest of hers, after all. Whether she will return or not is debatable.
Sephari the beautiful aplomado is currently the third-in-line, and personal favourite of Keyi. Little is known about her motives, or ultimate goal. Little that is true, at least.
The only male of the Royal House is Nihil, a merlin, the one who has recently dissapeared, remember? Vera and Keyi both favour him, although most wonder why. He can rarely be seen by the common people, even before his dissapeareance.
All of the members of the Royal House are the most ancient among all of the falcons, with the exception of Euphrosyne.
History:
A long time ago or a short while ago, depending on whether you are immortal or not, Vera, in her infinite wisdom, said to Keyi, "Hey, wanna make a new race of magic-using manipulators?"
Keyi, who was younger then, replied, "Sure, why not?"
So, they added sugar, ice, and everything cold and maipulaty-like to create the ultimate race of manipulators.
But at the most critical moment, a feather from Keyi floated into the mixture.
Thus, the falcons were created! Originally intended to resemble elves, they now resembled Keyi more than anything, with mostly blue or silvery eye-colour that darkned when they used their magic abilities.
Vera didn't complain much, as the falcons were even better than she had originally anticipated.
Name of Place: Jahata "The White City"
Climate: Icy and quite cold all year round. Snow falls heavily in winter, and even summer is quite chilly.
Geography: Jahata is a very large city, despite having a small population. The land surrounding it still has some semblance of warmth, and is mostly plains with, um, snow dunes. Rumours of some fabulous treasures that can be found underneath the dunes are ignored by falcons, but entice quite a number of outsiders to come and get eaten by any number of strange beasts that wander the snowy plains.
Further back, there are a lot of tall, tall mountains. Again, there are rumours of treasure hidden there, but the mountains are far more treacherous than the snowy plains. Quite a number of mountains are hollowed out with a large number of passages, home to anything from outlaws to giant wolves and yetis.
Small caves can be found almost anywhere, but with their entrances partitially hidden. Still, one would be a fool to venture inside the caves. A large number of icicles are everywhere, and can fall anytime. The bad news? Icicles in Jahata or anywhere near it are very large, tall, sharp and pointy.
Jahata itself is in the middle of the plains, which are surrounded by mountains. It's hard to reach Jahata, unless one has the help of some divine prescence. That or Vyri or any of the Royal House wanted them to reach Jahata.
People Groups:
Falcons, mostly. You know, beings that resemble Keyi? They are shapeshifters, able to spin powerful magic of their own. The population is quite small. A falcon lives for a long, long time, and can attain great power in their lives.
An average falcon has three forms. The first one is the human form, where a falcon resembles a completely normal humanoid...aside from the feathers on the back of their neck and in their hair. Most falcons don't use this form unless necessary.
The second is the pure falcon form, where, as the name suggests, one is a falcon. The species of falcon one transforms into varies, although gyrfalcons, peregrines, aplomados and merlins are the most common.
The third is the demi-form. Most of the inhabitants of Jahata go around in this one. Why? One has both of the characteristics of the human form and falcon form combined. Basically, a falcon in demi-form looks like a normal human, not counting feathers in their hair and on their nape, but with falcon wings on their back. Eye colour and shape of the body can change slightly when in this form. Senses are also heightened.
Culture:
The truth is what you make of it. Layers of deception upon deception. Vera is honoured above all else. Keyi is also worshipped.
For some reason, falcons rarely produce children. Vera claims that this is to prevent them from becoming too powerful. Children are seen as a precious gift, and revered above all else, except for Vera, Keyi, and the other gods. And possibly the members of the Royal House.
Punishment in Jahata is swift and merciless. The slightest unsatisfactory remark about the Royal House can get one skinned, tortured at the very least, unless one happens to be favoured by Vyri, or Vera and Keyi intervene. That's one of the main reasons why the falcon population is so small.
The word of the Empress is law, no questions asked.
Every God, Goddess and Demi-god must be honoured, especially those who deal in manipulation and magic. Any slight against the gods, even those who are not normally worshipped, will be punished by slow and painful death. Again, no questions asked. Not even Vera or Keyi will intervene.
Yes, the falcons are a very religious people.
Falcons don't have any special ranking system. Either you're part of the Royal House or you are not. However, there are some occupations that are valued above others, such as dancers and weavers.
Magic also plays a large role in the lives of falcons. If one is strong in magic, one has more chance of being favoured by the Royal House. Many of the things done in Jahata are accomplished with magic. Yes, especially dancing and weaving.
As most might have guessed by now, falcons excel in magic that have anything to do with ice, cold, control, bondage, mind powers, etc.
This makes it extremely hard to conceal anything.
There is no money used in Jahata, instead, one trades or gathers things for themselves. Dancers and performers are one exception. Or maybe not. One could say performing for food could be trading.
Outsiders are not turned away, but neither are they exactly welcome. As long as they do not disrupt anything inside Jahata, they will be left in peace. Still, most don't stay long.
Why they visisted in the first place is beyond me.
Current Events:
Things are always happening in the White City. No, not the ice wreaking havoc, or any wars, unless it is wars with themselves. Worshipping one goddess and one demi-goddess both in charge of manipulation tends to become a manipulator. Jahata is a land of politics, with its inhabitants too busy toying with one another to bother with expanding its borders.
But tensions are rising in Jahata, as the heir and the heir's heir plot to take over the throne from the Empress, Vyri. Their reason? The heir, Mens'rea, wishes to expand the borders, and does not care for the ancient traditions of manipulation.
Now, of course, this can't happen, but Vera is intrigued by how this will turn out and has refrained from stopping Mens'rea right now.
And no one is sure of the heir's heir, Sephari, motive. The fourth-in-line for the throne, Nihil, seems to have mysteriously vanished. Nobody knows if it was a kidnapping, as all of the Royal House is keeping it hushed up.
Royal House:
The Royal House of Jahata isn't really related, so one could call them a council. Of course, Royal House sounds much better, so stick with that unless you wished to be skinned.
The current Empress is Vyri the gyrfalcon. And no, she will not be dying anytime soon. Falcons lived pretty much forever, but hardly ever produce children. Hence, the only one with a child in the Royal House is Mens'rea the hier to the throne, but the child, Euphrosyne, is currently away on a quest of some sort. Again, Mens'rea refuses to give details.
Mens'rea is the power-hungry heir to the throne, a peregrine falcon, and a rather devious falcon. She sits quite high in Vera's favour, just below Vyri, which is why Vyri is the Empress and she is not.
Euphrosyne ought to be third-in-line to the throne, being the daughter of Mens'rea, but she has been sent away on that quest of hers, after all. Whether she will return or not is debatable.
Sephari the beautiful aplomado is currently the third-in-line, and personal favourite of Keyi. Little is known about her motives, or ultimate goal. Little that is true, at least.
The only male of the Royal House is Nihil, a merlin, the one who has recently dissapeared, remember? Vera and Keyi both favour him, although most wonder why. He can rarely be seen by the common people, even before his dissapeareance.
All of the members of the Royal House are the most ancient among all of the falcons, with the exception of Euphrosyne.
History:
A long time ago or a short while ago, depending on whether you are immortal or not, Vera, in her infinite wisdom, said to Keyi, "Hey, wanna make a new race of magic-using manipulators?"
Keyi, who was younger then, replied, "Sure, why not?"
So, they added sugar, ice, and everything cold and maipulaty-like to create the ultimate race of manipulators.
But at the most critical moment, a feather from Keyi floated into the mixture.
Thus, the falcons were created! Originally intended to resemble elves, they now resembled Keyi more than anything, with mostly blue or silvery eye-colour that darkned when they used their magic abilities.
Vera didn't complain much, as the falcons were even better than she had originally anticipated.
