New New Notes
- Blacksmithing materials:
- "Glass", aka uranium glass, glows green under UV light (Dark Star)
New Notes
- Guide to all things Menen:
- Menendras: the duchy
- Menendara: the city
- Menen Vale: the lands between the rivers
- Menendîn: the river (pronounced "men-in-dine")
- Etymology:
- "MENEN": unknown, likely a dwarf's name
- "DARA": feminine form of "city/fortress", indicating an outdoor city, open to the sky
- "dras": from "DARAS", or "town/village". Refers, when interpreted as a plural, to the smaller towns and villages that would supply Menendara with food and trade goods, and in turn be protected by it. A fitting name for the duchy itself.
- "dîn": ascadation of "DAJN", or "river". Implies a very large river; contrast with "AJN" and "AN".
- Jut of land separates tirland from pirate crescent; part of the Ulden Highlands
- Dennebran: capital of modern Uldenor.
- Derived from Daen Burin, or "fortress of the Daens"
- Burin derives from same root as "Brinn", and the "bren" in Uthbrennol
- Dennoth = Daen Orth. "Orth" shares a root with "rith", as in "Obrith"
- Early continental settlers diverged into two groups: the Tirrith (lowlanders) and the Daen (highlanders)
- An offshoot of the Daen migrated higher and higher until they reached the Crescent Vale, thus founding Uldenor (from Uole Daen Orth, "High Daen Lands/Realm")
- The Uldennic culture has remained distinct from Tirrith culture for a long time. More warlike, less agrarian, more prone to trial by combat, more individualistic, etc. Kind of Germanic, to the Tirrith French/Celtic.
- As the Tirrithfolk expanded inland, the Uldennic populated the Crescent Vale (once home to an offshot of the Elven folk, who never bowed to the Undying Queen).
- By the time they met, they were in modern Brinn.
- "Brinn" means "fortress(es)" in the shared root language of Tirth/Uldennic. It was once a highly militarized land, constantly under threat of invasion by elves.
- In fact, it was the elven tactic of hit-and-fade raiding, with emphasis on starting fires, that provoked the development of the stone keep and castle.
- Modern Cardien (from Caer Daen, "Fortress of the Daen") was founded by the Uldennic people, who overtook the Tirth advance and founded their own fortress, to assert dominance over the highlands/inland region. It has changed hands many times since, and modern Brinn is overwhelmingly Tirth in culture, but the name has stuck.
- Ultimately, "Daen" comes from the Elder (pre-Druidic) Tirth "Aufdon", or "Of the Wall", referring to the Curtainwall which traditionally separates Daen from Tirth lands.
Unorganized Notes
Factions
Each should have:
- Name
- Legitimacy (with ranks)
- Category (military, economic, etc)
- Goals (minor, major, epic)
- Some are secret
- Many are local
Example:
- Church of the One God
- Legitimacy: 50,000
- Category: Religious
- Goals:
- Secret: eliminate non-human races, collapse Tellandor's orbit into Io, destroy pagan gods
- Epic: achieve 100% conversion of all humans, reunite with the other hemisphere
- Major: become dominant religion in Juni and Trader Lord realms, remove The Malevolence from Uldenor
- Minor: (various local)
The "Gypsies"
- The post-Kurn gypsies are all about roads and rivers (and the possible ring system in the sky).
- Own religion: pagan, animist, ancestors?
- Why can they tell futures? Why can they curse?
- More like the Oracle at Delphi: some drugged tart (or triad)
- The maiden babbles crazy nonsense about the future
- The crone interprets
- The mother represents
- When the maiden becomes the mother, she is in charge of the clan
- Reputation for bringing misfortune
- Do they cause trouble? Or do they just know when to leave a place, before misfortune arrives?
- It's all about the Shadow, the Malevolence
The Five Pillars
- Arcane, Divine, Primal, Shadow, Artifice
- Each stretches from the merest mundanity to the grandest epicness
- Each has an emotional concept, with a positive and negative aspect. They can accomplish great things.
- Shadow: dreams vs madness
- Arcane: creativity
- Divine: faith
- Primal: anger? primal, carnal force
- Artifice: audacity
- Edge cases: are undead pure Shadow, or the combination of Shadow and Divine?
Monsters
Not every scary beastie is a monster. "Monster" is a very meaningful term. All monsters are possessed by an Animus, a spirit of Essentia. Killing it releases that Essentia. But it's no easy task; simply being a monster means it is far more powerful than its flesh would suggest.
- All monsters are aligned to one of the five pillars
- Their eyes glow. Color-coded for your convenience:
- Primal: green (good/neutral), red (evil/underworld)
- Shadow: black
- Divine: gold, red
- Arcane: white, blue
- Artifice: silver?
Monster Cults
Pseudo-religion. They worship monsters, and use their essentia to empower themselves.
- Beast-men: were-men. (malarites)