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 Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 12:06 pm
~---~::=::~---~  ~---~::=::~---~
Alcyone is a lot like a slightly bigger and very unpolluted Earth, its immense, shining oceans covering most of its surface. Wind is the dominant factor in climate, and it rarely stops except for the valleys guarded from it by mountain ranges. The vast continents are very seperated from each other, making it impossible to reach them even on the back of a dragon- and making each continent have scarce and vague enough relationships with each other. (Anthedon is a groupment of continents that makes an exception to this. The continents in Anthedon are close enough to each other. Anthedon is not a country, it's just a name you give to the groupment of countries- like Asia, Europe, or something like that.) The only way to reach overseas is by boat, and of course, dragons can neither build nor drive a boat themselves. xD Dragons foreign to their continent would be an extremely rare occurence.
OH YUS, THE MISTY LANE! How could I forget. x3 Alcyone as a planet is surrounded by a ring of astral dust, like saturn- a draconic legend surrounds the Misty Lane, but that'll be told later, in the "Story" part. ^^ The astral dust capts and reflects moonlight, making a glowing, glittering streak across the night sky. It's a beautiful sight to behold and is the inspiration to many Alcyonan myths and legends. 3nodding (it ESPECIALLY holds a special place in the hearts of dragons.)
Setting.
Populace- Elves, humans, anthropomorphic species, and various other humanoids all have their place on the planet of Alcyone. There are numerous fantastical beasts as well. There are no "demons" or "angels" although there are divinities, spirits, wonderful creatures and terrible monsters as well.
Magic- Magic is commonly seen being used by all life forms intelligent enough to do so. The use of magic requires instruction except for natural magical properties like breathing fire for a dragon.
Technology- Flight technology for the humanoids is not very advanced; there are small, lightweight motor planes that can carry two people at most, like our own first planes. Other than motors, there aren't any technologies to speak of. ~---~::=::~---~
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 12:07 pm
~---~::=::~---~  ~---~::=::~---~ 
Anthedon is an archipelago of continents whose total surface area (without counting the underwater land of Lauviha) is about the size of North America. In other words, Feilun (continent to the left) is half the size of Australia. Big, isn't it? xD
Kingdom of Glades
[Hereditary Monarchy.] The Kingdom of Glades, or just Glades for short, is very evenly split between humanoid territory and dragon territory. The dragons that live closest to humans, especially water dragons, do not fear or avoid them; those who are a little farther away from human villages and cities regard them indifferently and might even prefer to stay clear of them. In the Kingdom (short for Kingdom of Glades,) dragon-humanoid relationships are actually regarded as pretty good.
The climate to the north is warm and dry half of the year, and has normal winters. Mainly the terrain is composed of grasslands and mixed forests. More to the center, where the main rivers are, the climate gets warmer and the winters are brief and powdery-snowed. Lower down the climate is even warmer, and the land is higher. The green valleys and forests are lush, and there is no winter save for the period or dryness. Most dragons love this climate and like to stay around this area. The south of the Kingdom of Glades is marked by a huge desert that splits it from Cael's lands. The deserts are unpopulated because you cannot grow anything there save for the occasional small desert plant, and prey for dragons is also scarce. The desert is safe enough by day, but terrible storms rage at night. At the southeast of the desert, there is a giant oasis, where the desert people live- the only hope for travellers who wish to reach Cael's lands by other means than the sea. The desert people live completely apart from dragons, but it is rumored that friendly fire dragons occasionally stop by to offer transport to Cael's lands from the oasis.
Lauviha
[NO GOVERNMENT UNDERWATER.
Lauviha ISLE, although, is policed by the mercenaries hired by the nobles and high society that lives there. No form of government otherwise. Sometimes messy, but there is very little trouble on Lauviha Isle- the water dragons on land defend the merchants and peoples. 3nodding ]
Lauviha is a giant, underwater continent, populated by a huge concentration of water dragons and other aquatic species, even aquatic humanoids. Coral reefs and an utopian abundance of seafood lies deep below the water, and there, all species pretty much get along very well. (Although most air-breathing species reside on Lauviha Isle, who is connected to Lauviha by an underwater corridor, all along the corridor and at the bottom, there is a less populated, farmlands-like community who relies on magic to keep air and oxygen in giant, dome-like areas.) For air-breathers, access to Lauviha is only possible by travelling all along the corridor. This usually takes at least a week. In any case, humanoids and water dragons get along very well, as usual.
Lauviha Isle is like a port between Feilun, the northern continent and the Kingdom, so it's a very busy place, much like a giant port city, crammed with all sorts of beings. There are very, very few dragons other than water dragons on Lauviha Isle and no dragon nests apart from water dragon dens at all. (Water dragons are like amphibians; they can live both on water and on land.) Lauviha is an overall friendly place, if you don't hate the smell of fish. xD
Shivoenn
description pending
Cael's Lands
description pending
Feilun
description pending
Coruba
description pending
Bareyun
description pending
~---~::=::~---~
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Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 6:32 pm
~---~::The Ways of Man and Dragon::~---~
::CULTURE:: ish very, very important. =O The culture is, unlike what you might think, not at all like the middle ages, despite the slight resemblance. ^^ Humans are, of course, the main populace, and although they have claimed most of the territory, their large population dwells mostly in the already colonised areas. The rest of the land is only marked here and there by villages more or less big. So... back to the culture. Humans are open-minded and accept most humanoids. They hold almost no discrimination at all against elves and other races that resemble them most. Furries might have a little trouble once in awhile, but they're never persecuted outright; that...would be for the more beastial life forms, like dragons. Dragon hunters and collectors can be arrested or praised as heroes depending on where they are.
There is a very large diversity of religions, but all of them are based upon spirits and multiple deities. They all resemble each other up to a certain point, so religious war is unheard of in Anthedon. Think Greece and Rome, but less stone and more wood. xD
: biggrin RAGON CULTURE:: There are quite a few cardinal groups/families and hundreds of branches and sub-groups/families of dragons. There are "Wings" for flying dragons, and "Dens" for the earthbound ones. Groupments of dragons composed of both flying and earthbound dragons are called "Nests". Dragons are generally peaceful and companions with each other, but territorial wars are bound to occur from time to time, often resulting in the division of the losing Wing, Den or Nest into many smaller Wings, Dens or Nests. The culture of dragons holds honor very high. They prize their heroes, their past exploits, and most of all, their legendary origins make them proud beings. Their "religion", if it can be called so due to lack of deities, is also based on spirits. They believe the Misty Lane to be the source of spirits on Alcyone, and where all spirits return to.
Dragon society is composed of, in short, one alpha leader and two beta leaders for each Wing, Den or Nest. The leader is generally the oldest, and thus wisest, dragon. The betas are basically chosen as those who represent the leader of the Wing, Den or Nest. Of course, these would be wiser and more powerful than most dragons. There aren't really fixed roles for dragons otherwise, and no distinct difference between female and male roles. They both hunt and tend to their offspring.
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Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 3:29 pm
~---~::=::~---~ 
Everytime I say “nest”, I actually mean “wing, den, or nest”, but typing all of that over and over again is exhausting. sweatdrop
Ranks can change because of RP. 3nodding Dragon hatchlings always start out rankless, because dragons that are not roleplayed remain rankless forever. (What's the use? Ranks are for RP anyways xD)Citizen- A dragon who lives in human society, most often entrusted to and raised by a human guardian due to the custom mentioned in the above post. Citizen dragons are treated just like people by humans, and are generally neither feared nor hated by either humanoids or dragons except for dragon-hating or human-hating cultures, or personal reasons. Citizen dragons are generally more cultured, open-minded, and well... more human than the usual dragon. Guardians are not allowed to mess up the upbringing of their dragon, so it is very rare for a citizen dragon to be evil, murderous, or haters of humanoids or dragons in general. If a citizen dragon goes rogue, their rank changes to “Rogue”.
Rogue- A dragon who is not a citizen and does not belong to any nest, or who left their nest or resigned from living from humans. Sometimes loners, sometimes having a family of sorts with other rogue dragons. They can start their own nests or join nests, but theformer takes a family (does not necessarily mean blood-related), the latter needs you to earn the trust and acceptance of the nest you want to join. Both of these take a lot of effort. Rogues can be very dangerous or perfectly safe- it depends on their upbringing (or lack of), their beliefs and their personalities. Basically, they're the same as human strangers- you need to get to know them before assuming anything about them. Dragon rogues aren't uncommon, but most dragons still stick together in their nest- a lone dragon is very vulnerable to other rogues, dragon hunts, and... well, loneliness. (Awwh.) Being without the protection of warriors and the eldest is a scary concept for non-rogues, so rogues are usually hardier than normal dragonkin.
Dragonkin- Also just called Kin by dragons, or even Nestkin by the dragons of the same nest, Dragonkin are dragons belonging to a nest, but who do not play a particular role in the clan. (Of course, adults would have to help with hunting and tending to children like everyone else.) Dragons belonging to a nest but who haven't reached teen age yet are called Dragonkin unless they are of higher birth. (For example, birthed by a warrior, an elder, the eldest of the nest, or even an ancient.) Most dragonkin were born and raised in their nest, so their culture is that of their nest. Dragonkin who leave their nest become “rogues”.
Noble- Like dragonkin, but birthed by a warrior, an elder, an eldest or an ancient. Nobles are not usually any different in personality than dragonkin, unlike the human stereotype of “spoiled rich brat”. xd
Warrior- Warriors are particularily strong or powerful dragons, and their considerable strength or magic- or maybe both- are usually recognised sometime in their adulthood, when they are given the title of “warrior”. Warriors are meant to protect their nest with their talent and ability, and love every member of the nest so that they could risk their lives to protect them- but nevertheless, they can go solitary if they want to, and even cut contact with their nest completely, because in dragon culture adults are allowed to do as they wish. Leaving the nest and becoming a Rogue will just make the rank change to “Rogue Warrior”. Rogue warriors are frowned upon by most dragon nests because they abandoned their responsibility.
Adjutant- There are usually two adjutants in a dragon nest. They're pretty much the beta leaders- they can order other adult dragons around. One adjutant must be female, and the other, male. Together, all adult dragons of the nest and the Eldest discuss who will represent the nest. The two chosen become Adjutants, and are meant to be strong, wise, good-willed and hardworking for the profit of the nest, like the Eldest, except that they are not necessarily powerful, and of course, corruption happens with power... well, otherwise, Adjutants help the Eldest make decisions and are like an aunt or an uncle to any of the dragons in the nest. They also act as messengers to other dragon nests or to human cities/villages. Other than that, they behave much like any other adult dragon.
Eldest- The alpha leader of a nest, and always the oldest of the dragons of that nest. This is because the older a dragon gets, the more magical ability it amasses. Eldest lead their nest and protect it with their lives if danger comes. Being the most powerful of that nest, nobody would dare rebel against him/her- (yes, they can be either of the genders) and so law and order is maintained, although cruel and evil eldests can happen. But since dragons are a species of pride and honor, the eldests would never betray their nest. Unless they're really evil and can profit from leaving the nest. Which would be surprising, because helping the nest grow into a miniature army of dragons is a lot more profitable... in terms of military power... I think. rofl
Special ranks (RAAAARE. Rarerarerare. Will only come much later.)
Dragonlord- The most powerful dragons, dragonlords are said to have Cael's blood running through their veins, granting them truly excessive magical power. Dragonlords like to breed with other dragonlords or dragons of high magical potential so that they could pass down their power to their children with minimum loss. Like the upper class for humans, there are dragonlords for dragons- they are almost untouchable by the lower classes, and do not belong to any nest, wing or den. Dragonlords are so powerful magically that they can take human shape (heh... with their own magically appearing clothing xP) , but their horns always stay, and sometimes even a ridge of scales along their spine and a small hint of a tail. They usually live alone, but if they have family, they stay near a dragon nest or, more often, a humanoid city so that the young ones can socialise. (Yes, “pure” dragonlord offspring can take human shape early in their lives.) Dragonlords actually prefer being in human shape to dragon shape, because of how practical it is. Their magical ability is not diminished by their shape, and they usually only shapechange into a dragon if they need to fly. They also prefer living near humanoids to dragons for a particular reason- dragons want the power of Cael's blood for themselves, and jealousy often leads to hate or much more attention than any dragon would desire. On the plus side of humanoids, Dragonlords are affiliated with the king in the Kingdom of Glades. They can be asked to battle for the king and couldn't refuse such an order, but in return, they have access to all of the Kingdom's riches and can live with and act like humans all they want. Actually, they're pretty given the status and power of human noblety, and can take part in politics, but only if they want to. Those who have lived around dragonlords a lot, like military men of the Kingdom and others affiliated with the king, do not fear dragonlords unless the dragonlords make themselves feared. sweatdrop (So yeah, they can be tyrannical overlords, like any politician given lotsa power... but usually not. Thankfully. xD; )More to come... ~---~::=::~---~
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