Welcome to Aeloss, land of proud stonewomen, magical rainforest, cut-throat merchant houses, and a sea-worshiping autocracy. The main settlements and cultural notes on Aeloss will be detailed in this document. Along with Aeloss; Triltalepon, the Undergardens, and the Da’Laderan empire as it operates outside of Da’Lader are also covered in this guidebook. Please buy my other guidebook, a Visitor’s Guide to Da’Lader, to learn more about the homeland of the Da’Laderans.
The island of Aeloss is a tropical island, large, with mountains to the north and a ring of hills running around the west coast of the island. Originally a volcano but long-since extinct, the land has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. The west coast is artificially converted farmland, with salt purged from the soil with mineral magic, while the southeast coast is swampy and lowlaying. The mountains - mostly inhospitable - creep down the eastern coast and meet civilization at the river canyon. The whole of the central island is unforgiving rainforest, full of magic and danger, and humanity - except for the most insane - stays to the coasts.
Aeloss is a part of the Da’Laderan empire, although it has a strong indigenous culture. There are a few fairly universal traits among Aelossans. First, Aelossans are proud, hard to scare people who are mostly devoted to their Faith. They also have a long tradition of oral storytelling - writing is mostly used by Da’Laderans for censuses and taxes, although merchants use it to some extent for business transactions.
Aelossans, like Da’Laderans, are tattooed, although Aelossan tattoos are stationary and cultural, not cosmetic. Women are mostly subordinate to their husbands, except in Met, and most young people are married off by their family between the ages of 15 and 25. Len, Met, and to some extent Cape Della are the exceptions, as Len has a much more fractured social society, Metians don’t marry until much later in life due to the independence of their women, and Cape Della has much laxer social norms than rural areas and Calis.
Travel tip: Aeloss is a land of relative extremes. Be prepared for the climate of where you are visiting, whether it be the mountains of Met, the swamp regions, or the beach. The rainforest is enchanted and extremely dangerous, with creatures such as the invisible men that hunt with tigers, the man with rubies for eyes, and the stone-wolves. Avoid at all costs.
Calis
Also known as: The Sister-City, the Capital, the Good
Residents: Calisians
Climate: Tropical, with wet and dry seasons
Summary: the capital of Aeloss and the seat of the religious leader of the Faith, Calis is both beautiful and important. The city is walled on land as well as surrounded by the Protectorate, a wall of white reinforced stone spires that rise out of the sea and control the movement of ships into and out of the harbor. The city is small, extremely religious, and mostly made up of aristocracy and their servants, merchants, and select foreigners. It’s run jointly by Da’Laderan imperial civil servants and the priesthood of the Faith, who report to the Ira. The current Ira, Dosira, is a young and powerful reformer, determined to re-establish control over the rest of the island. Native Calisians are extremely suspicious of citizens of Len and rarely ever venture past Calis’s gleaming walls.
Travel tip: religions outside of the Faith are prosecuted within Calis’s walls. If you are a religious minority, do not wear paraphernalia, discuss your faith, or worship inside of Calis. The naked, wet and crazed-looking people are the iras, the religious leaders. Don’t stare.
Len
Also known as: The Brother-City, the Slums, the Quick
Residents: Lenians
Climate: Tropical, with wet and dry seasons
Summary: Outside to the north and west of the gleaming walls of Calis lies its brother city, Len. Len is huge, much poorer than Calis, and crescent shaped, wrapping around Calis’ walls. The city is not governed by the Ira (or much at all), although Da’Laderans have outposts for tax collection and crime close to the walls of Calis. Hierarchy is determined by proximity to Calis, and the big fish are the merchant houses that wield power over industries and extensive gangs. The Faith is important, although most iras are Lenians who do the ira training and return to minister their old communities.
Travel tip: if trying to reach Calis from the land, stick to the wide roads that travel directly through Len to Calis’s walls. Policing presence is limited in Len to guarding passage on these thoroughfares. Also, beware the mosquitos, which feast with fury in standing water and carry Blood Madness. The natives cover up, use oil of lemon eucalyptus and oil of citronella, and avoid being outside at dusk and dawn. Sensible advice for Len regardless! Also, prostitution is common but illegal. Partake with caution.
Cape Della
Also known as: the Cape
Residents: Dellans
Climate: Tropical, with excellent weather. Hurricanes sometimes form south of Cape Della, but are usually prevented from coming ashore by the iras.
Summary: Named after famed merchant Della, the Cape is the most cosmopolitan of cities on Aeloss. Passer-throughs are seaple, halfbred, Aelossan, Da’Laderan, Triltaleponese, and more exotic peoples too, and plenty of rural swamp and farm people come to seek their fortune. The city’s residents are mostly followers of the Faith, but attitudes towards religion and all things are fairly liberal. Everything is for sale - even slaves, although only to the seaple - at the enormous weekly market, and there is a robust mural culture. The Cape also has the best beaches in Aeloss!
Cape Della is also where the main human contact with seaple occurs, outside of the seaple tribes’ slave raidings along the western coast. Da’Laderans that learn the Old Tongue negotiate on behalf of prisoners, manage trade, and occasionally step in if the seaple tribes’ warfare seeps into human life.
Travel tip: there is a new expedition into the rainforest that has the city aflutter. As a reminder, there is a reason we avoid the Forest. Stay clear. Also, there are some entrenched industries that one would be best not interfering with. At the moment, these consist of hemp from Triltalepon, silver, turquoise and stone from Met, pearls from Da’Lader, and indigo from the western coast of Aeloss. These products are regulated by Da’Lader (and are extremely lucrative.)
Met
Also known as: the Stone City, the City of Stone
Residents: Metians
Climate: Temperate
Summary: Met is a closed off city, accessible only with great difficulty by either sea or land from the west coast and entirely inaccessible from the east. Ships usually sail up the coast, restock at Last Chance, attempt to avoid the pirates that lay between the cliffs, and if they’re lucky, make it to Met, where their goods are lifted up the cliff face with stone magic or an intricate pulley system. The land route is no less perilous, as the road to Met through the mountains is only summoned into existence twice a year by the stonewomen of Met.
Met is a part of the Da’Laderan empire like the rest of Aeloss, but in name only. There are a few representatives of Da’Lader, but they are Metians appointed to imperial positions, not Da’Laderans. The most powerful is Irinani, the legal, appointed representative, and her husband Arda, who owns the vast mining operations within. Although they pay their dues to Da’Lader, there are no pretences about who the city’s vast natural resources belong to.
Travel tip: Metians are, if possible, the proudest of Aelossans. They also have extremely independent women. As frustrating or backwards as it may seem, be sure to treat these women as equals or risk offending both men and women. Also, give yourself time to adjust to the altitude, be sure to try cliff diving, and check out the many waterfalls that flow into the sea!
Undergardens
Also known as: Tokka, the Gardens
Residents: Seaple
Climate: Temperate water conditions
Summary: the vast underwater coral city of the seaple. Bands of the three tribes gather here, with regular territorial disputes, although the Shoal tribe is generally the most powerful and permanent within the Undergardens. There is a hierarchy and occasionally borders here, but not any apparent to the walkers, or humans.
Captured criminals, pirates, and other undesirables from land are sold down to the Undergardens for entertainment or labor.
Travel tip: As beautiful as it is, unless you are a capable ira or a half-bred, you don't want to find yourself in the Undergardens. Nearly all walkers found venturing in the Gardens are then enslaved - all three tribes engage in this behavior, although the Shark tribe are the most aggressive - and given air, food, and lodging at the mercy of their captors. The Da’Laderan Empire maintains an embassy in the center of the Undergardens in case of capture, but please don’t cause undue trouble for them.
Triltalepon
Also known as: The City of Music and Lilies
Residents: Triltaleponese
Climate: Tropical, with a wet and dry season
Summary: the City of Music and Lilies could also be aptly called the City of Smoke. Ritual fumes waft over the city in a haze, and most citizens have an unhealthy relationship with alattin, the plant they smoke for their religious rituals (and everything else). Triltalepon is the only human city in the Wetlands. Although very solidly a part of the Da’Laderan empire, it has a strong indigenous culture, with a separate religion, language, and magic than the rest of the empire. Triltalepon is well known for its music, and to a lesser extent, its dance culture, and both are popular throughout the empire. Prostitution is also legal here, unlike in Aeloss, and both men and women are available for hire.
The New Quarter is a safe spot for anyone on their way to Aeloss, where the layabouts are kept out and the streets are clean. The hotels price gouge, and you’ll need connections with a merchant house to stay in one of the beautiful, sprawling estates here. That being said, even if you’re staying in one of the other districts, it’s worth visiting for said estates, enormous marble pathways, and soaring archways.
The rest of the city is divided into Lowmarket, Midmarket, and Highmarket, although plenty of folks argue that Midmarket doesn’t really exist. (Don’t ask the Triltaleponese about this. It’s not worth the energy.) Lowmarket is the poorest area in Triltalepon, and it’s mostly water. People live on piers and in basements and subbasements that flood regularly. Highmarket is full of beautiful treehouses and irresistible plantlife, including the famous, labyrinthian fruit gardens. It’s wealthy, although less fancy than the New Quarter, and much safer from the regular typhoons that force lowmarketers to start over. Midmarket is between the two and features houses on (mostly) dry land.
The rest of the Wetlands are not worth visiting.
Travel tip: If you choose to engage in nokken hunting in the Wetlands, remember two things: 1. they are just as smart and strong as you are, and the winner consumes the loser, and 2. do not under any circumstances attempt to assault a nokken woman. They have no vaginas and eat the penises of their male counterparts during sex.
Travel tip: If you choose to engage in nokken hunting in the Wetlands, remember two things: 1. they are just as smart and strong as you are, and the winner consumes the loser, and 2. do not under any circumstances attempt to assault a nokken woman. They have no vaginas and eat the penises of their male counterparts during sex.
Other points:
Magic: Aelossan magic is dual elemental magic - water and stone/mineral. The magic is inherent in individuals (although training can enhance it), is usually hereditary, and is nearly always gendered. Most water magic is found in men, while most mineral magic is found in women. It is a fairly rare gift, while far rarer is the woman who controls water magic, the man who controls mineral magic, or the individual with both abilities.
Da’Laderan magic is hereditary as well, and empathy magic. All Da’Laderans can sense and manipulate the emotions of others to some extent, and although this ability was originally exploited to build the empire, under the current Imperial Council, it’s been used more to establish effective social policies within Da’Lader. Da’Laderans also have a history of golem-making. Although less popular these days, there are still those who practice the old arts.
Triltaleponese magic is music magic. It stirs the heart and soul, encourages one in the hunt, and apparently once cursed an entire nation into feeling its own collective pain. It's learned over an instrument.
Religion: the Ira is the head of the Faith. The iras are the other priests that make up the Faith. They are nearly all men, both because of their water magic and because of pressure within the Faith. The Faith is the dominant religion of both Aeloss and the Da’Laderan empire, although based in Aeloss. The Faith is worship of the Sea as a life-giving and life-taking entity and values severity and purity. It recognizes the Stone’s salt as an important and subordinate part of what makes up the Sea, but worship of the Stone is extremely offensive to members of the Faith due to its/her subordinate nature.
The Da’laderan empire is faith-neutral, and although most native Da’Laderans are members of the Faith, some practice ancestor worship, follow Qopo, worship both Sea and Stone as the male-female binary, or practice a mix.
Qopo is the antlered, green-tinged many-handed god of Triltalepon. He is worshipped in smoking ceremonies, where he appears to followers to prophesize, as well as with music. His followers are often hedonists.
Ancestor worship is fairly common in the Da’Laderan empire and is the main practice of the seaple tribes. It's most commonly found on the west coast of Aeloss, where seaple and humans mix most regularly, and in rural Da’Lader. Its practices are extremely location specific.
Appearance: In Aeloss, eyebrows are important indicators of personality; the bushier the better! There are popular tattoo artists dedicated to enhancing the brow. Both men and women wear weaved clothes of palm fiber as well as hemp fabric. Depending on the weather and insect conditions, people may be more or less covered, and nudity is very normal on the beaches of Cape Della and for iras. Men grow long hair and beards, which may be styled in dreads or loose curls. Trendy women are cutting their hair short, although most choose to have hairstyles similar to men. Blue eyeshadow is a signifier of the Faith, and worn by both men and women. Tattoos are given at marriage and to commemorate important events. Skin tones vary slightly across Aeloss, with lighter skin further north, although all could be referred to as brown.
In Da’Lader, women traditionally have short hair, while men grow out both hair and beard. Jewelry is extremely important in Da’Lader, with pearls, turquoise, and silver being the most popular, and rubies and other rare gems extremely sought after. Da’Laderan tattoos, while less common than Aelossan tattoos, move slowly and change color and are usually cosmetic. Clothes may be hemp, palm, or bamboo fiber. Da’Laderans have the darkest skin in the empire.
In Triltalepon, clothing - usually hemp, although sometimes bamboo fiber - is dyed with red or blue natural dyes from local trees, often in intricate patterns. The clothing usually permits easy movement. Heavy eyeliner and long, curly hair is popular for both men and women, and hair accessories include flowers, headbands, and antlers. Triltaleponese are medium skintoned.
The seaple tribes have their own fashion and customs specific to each band, although most have blue skin and scales. They often paint their bodies.
No comments:
Post a Comment