Adriel Story stuff

Here's the basic outlay of the town, with probably more houses but whatever. The unbroken lines are rail tracks and the broken lines are fencing. They are kind of next to a cliff and the terrain slopes sharply upward from bottom left to upper right so that the bottom of the school is almost level with the second or third floor of Merv's house, and any buildings immediately east of the rail are much higher. And there are some sort of mesa-like cliffs beyond the emesa border directly north.

So that little finger of land on the left doesn't connect to anything but it was inspired by this picture

To the east I imagine there is some hiking sort of like this at the highest elevations

This is what the cliffs up north look like except not green

You go a little bit south and you see stuff like this

And if you go even further south on the west coast then this happens at some point

But that's another part of Kareha entirely.

If Dieselpunk is 20sish then it seems to weird to not have social dancing. But can you have dancing without music? And how does that all work? What kinds of outfits do people wear? Is it couple dancing or line dancing or individual? Is it super frowned upon by the older generation as it was way back when?
I'm just thinking like what is there to do in town.
They should have some kind of pool hall sort of place but then I'm sure I'd end up with them doing something suspiciously like bowling.

Then again this is when they're kids so ... they'd probably find plenty to do if they're not teenagers yet. Maybe once they are a bit older Micah drags Adriel to stuff.

Worldbuilding Questions yeahhh!

1. (I'm gonna strikethrough the stuff we've already basically answered when it comes to the Isorin story)

      General

   • In which geographical areas will the story take place? How much ground will the story cover? What are the most striking features of landscape, climate, animals, etc. in this area? How will these features affect travel time, communication, etc.?
   • If there are non-human inhabitants, are there any areas they particularly claim as their own (e.g., dwarves traditionally live underground, usually in mountains)?

2. Climate and Geography

   • Have human activities affected climate, landscape, etc. in various regions? How? (Example: Sahara Desert growth has been increased by over-farming.)
   • How do differences from Earth (multiple suns, moons, etc.) affect the climate in various areas?
   • How much land is in each of the equatorial, temperate, and polar zones?
     

     Note: climate affects landscape through erosion and weathering; the distribution of plants and animals, and formation of soil. As a result, it determines what crops can and can’t be grown, what animals can and can’t live in an area, what clothes must be worn to cope with the weather, and how houses are built. Winter freezing and thawing may change travel patterns, as waterways freeze or flood and passes close. Weather also affects available sports, like skiing. Are all these things consistent with what you say the climate is like in particular areas?

   • Where are major mountain ranges? Rivers and lakes? Deserts? Forests, tropical and otherwise? Grasslands and plains?
   • If there are imaginary animals, how do they fit into the ecology? What do they eat? How much habitat do they require? Can they live anywhere, or do they prefer or need specific kinds of climate or terrain?

3. Natural Resources

   • Which areas are the most fertile farmland? Where are mineral resources located?
   • Which animals/wildlife are commonly found in which areas?
   • Which natural resources, if any, have been depleted in which areas over time?
   • Which resources (e.g., coal, oil, iron ore, gold, diamonds, limestone, etc.) are particularly abundant, and in which areas? Which are scarce? Are there places where there are rich deposits that haven’t been discovered yet, or where they haven’t been fully exploited?
   • How much conflict has been or might be caused by these imbalances in resources? How much active, peaceful trade?
   • What water resources available, and for what uses (a mill wheel requires flowing water, i.e., river or stream; irrigation needs a large, dependable water source like a lake or large river; etc.)?

4. World History

   • How far back are there records or tales of historical events? How widely known are these stories?
   • Do average people believe old tales, or do they dismiss some that have a basis in fact (e.g., Troy)?
   • How long have there been people on this world? Did they evolve, were they created by the gods, or did they migrate from somewhere else? If there are non-humans, how long have they been around and where did they come from?
   • How similar is the history and culture of an alternate earth to real history and culture? Why is it similar/different?
   • Where did civilization begin? What directions did it spread? How was its development affected by the presence of magic (ruklarim)? The presence of non-human races, if any? The actions or direct interventions of the gods?
   • Which peoples/countries/races have traditionally fought, allied, traded, or been rivals? Where are there still hard feelings about old events?
   • Which peoples/countries/races have been in conflict in the recent past? Why? When and why was the most recent war? Who won?
   • Which peoples/etc. are considered the most civilized? Which are most technologically advanced? Which are most advanced in magic (ruklarim)? Least advanced? Why?
   • Is there a single, generally accepted calendar (including time measurements), or do different countries or peoples or races have different ones?
   • How many languages are there? Which ones are related (e.g., the Romance languages) and why? Which languages borrow words or phrases from other languages? Which is likely to be most widely spoken?
   • Is there a “trade language” that facilitates commerce between countries that don’t speak the same tongue? Is there a “universal language” spoken by educated or noble persons, as Latin was in the Middle Ages?

5. Specific Country(s) History

   • How accessible is this area? What natural features mark the borders? Who are the neighboring countries/peoples and what are they like?
   • Why did people settle in this country in the first place — strategic location, trade route, water transport, minerals, good farming, etc.? Have things changed much since, or do they still depend on whatever brought them in the first place?
   • How do the weapons of this country compare with those of surrounding cities and countries? Have there been recent innovations that may upset the balance of power, or is everyone more or less equal?
   • Who are the rivals or enemies of this country? How close are they physically? How powerful?
   • Who are the heroes and villains of each country’s history (e.g., Washington and Lincoln in the U.S.; Henry V in England, etc.)? Why are they heroes/villains and what do this say about the country and the people who admire them?
   • How many people are there in this country? How does this compare with world population? What is considered a small town/large town/city in terms of number of people?
   • How diverse is the population of this country — how many different races (human or non-human), creeds, etc. normally live in various cities and towns in this country? In what percentages?
   • Is population shifting from rural to urban, south to north, mountains to coast, etc.? Why — invasion, plague, gold rush, etc.? What effects has this had on the places being left? The places gaining people?
   • Is magic legal here? All magic, or only some types? Do laws vary widely from country to country, or is the attitude generally similar?
   • What does this country import? Export? How important is trade to the economy? How is currency exchange handled, and by whom? What is the system of coinage, and who mints it?
   • Which peoples/countries/races have been in conflict in the recent past? Why? When and why was the most recent war? Who won?
   • Which peoples/countries/races fought, allied, traded, or were traditional rivals? Where are there still hard feelings about old events?
   • How much of the country is farmland? Forest? Desert? Mountains? Plains?
   • What are the primary crops (e.g., potatoes, cotton, tobacco, coffee, rice, peanuts, wheat, sugarcane, etc.)? Are any grown mainly for export? What crops can not be grown here because of the soil, climate, or for other reasons?
   • What water resources available, and for what uses (a mill wheel requires flowing water, i.e., river or stream; irrigation needs a large, dependable water source like a lake or large river: etc.)?
   • What wild animals, actual or imaginary, live in this area? Are any of them potentially useful?
   • Which animals, actual or imaginary, are commonly domesticated in this area? Which aren’t here, but are elsewhere? (Example: water buffalo in India vs. oxen in Europe vs. camels in desert areas.)
   • How do most of the citizens make their living — farming, fishing, trade, manufacturing? Do non-humans tend to take up different trades from humans? Are they legally limited to certain trades?

Archipelagos

I feel like we need more of these on tiraseh. Like several countries should just be a bunch of relatively small islands with shallow water in between.

Maybe not exactly like that but a basic idea of having lots of pockets of sea water in the most agricultural regions. I was originally thinking something like puget sound, but I think the sound might be too big and too deep really.

Now imagine if the above-water parts were bigger and there was a bit more of the visible underwater part.
Also I imagine manmade ocean barriers and such are a relatively recent development that would be invaluable for agricultural uses.

I'm too distracted and dazed to write much tonight but these are some good reference photos to just push my brain in the right direction.

Yesterday's thingy

I drew this during lunch. A tirasian winter outfit. The head thing is not as attractive as I envisioned. Boo hiss.

Also not all outfits need to be anything like this, it's just one I envisioned. Random generic person modeling.

What are tirasian toilets like

no really

cuz

toilets are different.
Holy cow there are incinerating toilets. They don't flush stuff away, they BURN IT AWAY.
Smelly.
I think tirasians would probably ... do a combination of flushing and composting toilets... ? But they'd have to be pretty efficient to not waste water...

ANYWAY ENOUGH ABOUT TOILETS...

Desis has to have dark blue associated with it. I dunno if the countries have flags. Wikipedia says national flags were only commonly used after the 1700s... because they were first commonly used to signify what ship was from where during encounters at sea. Buuut. If they have like uniforms or anything like that, I think Desis would have to have dark blue. Like navy blue ish blue. I don't know why. IT JUST DOES. Oh maybe cuz Isorin is from there. I'm getting better at mentally pronouncing his name right.

Emesa needs to have like yellow or orange associated with it I dunno maybe because it's warmer there lawl.

I need to actually do some concept scribbles instead of just talking about stuff. bah.

Relevent Stuff!

So I forgot that I should be working on stuff that is relevant to like. THE ACTUAL STORY. HAHA.

So the main things which need work are:
-Physical design of settings
-Main striking differences between Emesa and Desis
-Stuff having to do with food and food transport and preparation etc because that will probably help me figure out how the heck the culprit country did the thing they did.
-Pottery stuff

Okay so

Here's what I wrote about the Desis country character I was going to make.
Secretive, gets defensive when people are nosy (my business is my business)
Outwardly very friendly and colorful
Determined to be well-thought-of
Air of self-reliance

Emesa is south of Kareha so it's like... Kareha's ... Italy... if Kareha were Germany... Emesa is probably where everybody in Kareha goes when they want to be warmer. Lawl. So it's like a less snooty Kareha, and yet a lot of important people are there so it has a high-class feel? Maybe Emesa is like where a lot of international meetings take place. I'm thinking like its cities are like california cities where you could run into famous people but mostly it's just normal people being all lively and stuff. Touristy in a cal sort of way? Maybe?

Yes, touristy. Good.

Desis is not touristy. It does not want tourists. I mean, sure, people can come, but they want to know what they're doing, if there's going to be a lot of them. Because they don't want anyone offending the Seorim or upsetting the delicate balance they have there. So, it welcomes people when they come, and tries to be very hospitable, to show they're the good guys, but they keep an eye on their guests and try to show their best side, show that they're not just Seorim puppets.... they've got a lot more anxiety than Emesa, about how they're seen.

Whoops

I missed a day.

So I'll try to post again tonight.

For now though I'm just going to write down an ecosystem idea.

The big house-fungi grow because there are these animals kind of like penguins (no they're not really like penguins) who go onto land to breed. I say they're like penguins because I know that when a penguin is brooding they don't eat anything. They have to go eat and eat and eat and eat and then not eat for a long time. So I figure that's what it's like for these animals. They eat a ton in the ocean and then they go onto land to have their babies. And maybe they die after the babies reach an age where they can return to the ocean. So they're kind of like salmon? Salmon penguins? Penguin salmon?

And so then their bodies make the nutrients that the fungi grows from.

The animals should probably have their bebes in spring and then die in summer and then the warmth decays them faster and then the dampness makes the fungus grow before the winter sets in yay. Also the fungus can grow over the carcass and preserve it as a food source fufufu.

Okay this is kind of gross
but
circle of life everybody

Anywho that's that. Yay migrations! And then smaller fungi can grow on smaller like, insects and other creatures.