Living Lore Document

As the title implies, this is a living document, which I reference and change as I flesh out the world of Naowei. It lives primarily as a document on my laptop, and I will only be making periodic changes to this version when I make a major change.

Naowei the Planet

Naowei is a tidally locked planet: one side always faces the sun while one is in eternal darkness. The Sun-side is protected by a thick layer of clouds, and gets most of its sunlight indirectly from the three moons in the sky. The Star-side experiences very little, if any, sun or warmth, but a majority of Naowei’s moons are on that side, reflecting light in an eternal night.

Origins

Aeons ago, Naowei was at peace in the sky, orbited by her many children, the angel-moons. Her face never turned away from the sun, but in the utter darkness of her shadowed body, life flourished. From the pitch-black at the bottom of the oceans wriggled the nyxi, who sang with voices as deep and echoing as those unknowable depths that birthed them. The stars cast their light down upon the top of the water, and those twinkling reflections breathed and became the [GIANTS], ever hungry and growing.

Then, disaster. A quartet of meteors flew across the sky, intent on destroying the cosmic family, and pulled the moons out of their places. They all tumbled across the sky, knocking into one another. Many perished, and some even fell from the sky onto their mother.

Two moons fell onto Naowei’s back, their bodies still mostly intact as they sank to the bottom of the sea. One body was pulled up by the giants and devoured, imbuing those who feasted with unfathomable power. The other was claimed by the nyxi, who to this day protect him with their lives, claiming that they can still hear his dying whispers and are obeying his will.

One moon fell into Naowei’s face, and his final breath gave life to the sun-warmed stones around him, who opened their eyes and walked as the first mans. As they were given life, they nurtured new life in turn. Yet a fourth moon shattered completely, creating a cloud of dust that fell down over Naowei’s face over years. As the dust fell, it coalesced into clumps and grew wings, falling to the ground as the racji, who crave the divine light from which they were born.

Two more moons crashed into one another, or were destroyed by meteors, and their bodies created the thick cloud of dust that became the Veil. Naowei strengthened the Veil by conjuring up massive storms over the water that kept the skies dark.

Fate & Seers

Central to life on Naowei is the ever-present current of Fate. Fate is inevitable and it is futile to fight it...but not to change it. It is known that every person on the planet has their own “Fate” that is written more or less in stone. This doesn’t mean that every single aspect of one’s life is planned out, but that there are major events that are unavoidable (for example, almost everyone must die.)

Those known as “Seers” who are born with the ability to See the events of Fate that are coming, but lacking any ability to manipulate it. They can passively See in their dreams without the ability to control what or who they are Seeing, or can choose to perform rituals to See something or someone specific.

Omens

Omens are not agents of Fate, but they are drawn to it and feed on it. They will flock around a person when they are about to experience one of the Fated events of their life. The event strengthens them and allows them to grow.

When not hunting Fate, Omens are often laid-back and are almost never dangerous.

Fortune & Trinkets

While Fate is the tapestry of one's past, and the prediction of the major events of one's future, the smaller oncoming events are left to the changing whims of Luck (or Fortune.) Fortune cannot be foreseen, but it can be changed through various means. It is generally accepted that, through an abundance of Fortune, one's Fate can be altered positively. (This is not true.)

It is possible to sense the Fortune of another person, though not your own. Fortune can be gained with accomplishments, physical, mental and otherwise.

Magic

See Magic & Magicians.

The Angel-Moons

The angel-moons are the divine children of Naowei. They are created wholly from her, and like her have divine abilities. Being younger (in comparative divine terms,) they are actually able to more easily communicate with the children on Naowei’s back, and some act as translators of Naowei’s wholly inscrutable communications with her younger children. Communicating with them does not mutate or madden one as quickly as communicating directly with Naowei.

Dikat, Diramni, and Dimatre are the three angel-moons that orbit primarily on the Sunside.

There are seven angel-moons that orbit primarily on the Starside.

Four of the angel-moons fell from the sky during the Cataclysm, one on the Starside and two on the Sunside. Two of them crashed into one another.

Time

Days are measured based on the lunar cycle of the smallest day-moon, Dikat. It is a twenty-hour cycle, and anywhere from three to five of those hours can be considered “night.” Night on the Sunside occurs when the largest of the four night-moons passes directly in front of the Sun and blocks it. Months are based on the third and largest day-moon, Dimatre, which is a 48-day cycle.

A year on Naowei is 637 days, which is just over thirteen months. This is roughly equivalent to two and a half Earth years for the purpose of characters’ ages and timekeeping. A full day/night on Naowei lasts about thirty-three Earth hours.

The exact math: 8,766 hours (Julian year) / 24 hours (1 Earth day) = 365.25 Earth days/Earth year. 8,766 hours * 2.4 (Naowei/Earth ratio) = 21,038.4 Earth hours/Naowei year. 21,038.4 (1 Naowei year in Earth hours) / 33.02 (1 Naowei day in Earth hours) = 637 Naowei days/Naowei year.

The Sunside Standard Calendar

As the name suggests, the Sunside Calendar is exclusively used on the Sunside of the world. It was modified slightly when its use became widespread across the continent/

The Sunside Standard year is divided into 3 Seasons, which roughly correspond to winter, a combined spring/summer, and autumn: the Season of Fire, the Season of Water, and the Season of Soil respectively. The Seasons of Fire and Soil are fourth months each, and the season of Water is five months. Months are broken into 12 four-day weeks. Every other month contains an extra day, and there are also an additional three days that are not “part” of the year. Some cities put these at the beginning/end of a year, or place them at specific points throughout the year. Because of this, despite the fact that the cities all use the same basic calendar with that begins on the same day every year, they may disagree on what day of the year it is.

Years are only counted since the conception of the calendar, 326 years ago. In some cities, they are simply numbered, while others name each year based on various criteria.

Daily Timekeeping

Timekeeping varies by city-states.

In the Ly Islands, each day is measured by the length of the night in the Season. The length of the night is called a [SLICE], and the day is divided into [SLICE]s. In summer (season of Water), the night is about six and a half hours, and the day is twenty-six and a half hours. Time is kept using output water-clocks of varying designs.

Props to husband for this one: a timepiece that resembles a Ferris wheel with cups and a pitcher with a spout. The water falls from the pitcher at a steady pace, and as the cups fill, the wheel spins. One of the cups is decorated slightly different and represents the first hour of the day, allowing you to look and see how far into the day you are. There are different sized cups to be used throughout the year.

The Sunside

The Sunside gets no direct sunlight. A thick layer of clouds/dust called the Veil protects the surface from the unbearable heat, but Naowei’s moons reflect sunlight in a way that both creates seasons and makes keeping time possible.

The Continent [PLACEHOLDERNAME]

The Sunside has only one large landmass, known simply as [The Continent], with a few small islands at the edges. [The Continent]’s center is one mountain range that nearly bisects the landmass, covered in lush forest with trees half as tall as the tallest mountain herself. In these forests, the racji thrive. Six-armed, moth-like people, they live exclusively in the “mother forest” of [the Continent]. Very few ever leave it, and there are no permanent communities anywhere else in the world, only an individual or handful that for some reason or another have left their homeland.

Outside of the forest is man’s domain. Eight large city-states are where the majority of mans live. Each is ruled by its own set of laws, headed by its own kind of ruler.

Flora and Faun

The Sunside has many unique animals and plants that have flourished after the Calamity.

One creature is a large wolf-sized jackalope, which occasionally is born with wings like a peryton.

The Sunborn

One of the “meteors” that fell cracked open and spilled Sunlight down into the scar left on the ground.

Racji

Racji (singular racja) are one of the two newer life-forms to grow from the Sunside.

Racji are born from cocoons that are spun and tended to by their parents, and when they die their bodies fossilize extremely quickly into brittle fungus-like growths. Their forests are toxic to mans, though racji can survive outside of the forests if they are allowed to cultivate their own fungal spore gardens (think Nausicaa meets the quarians.)

Man

Mans (singular man) are the second of the two new Sunside life-forms. They are very similar to what we would call humans, save for their propensity for magic and the fact that, when they die, their bodies turn to stone. When they are born, they are extremely stiff and still within their gestational sacs. When the sac is cleaned off, their skin and body softens and they are able to move more than one part of their body at a time.

The City-States of Man

There are eight city-states on [the Continent] established by man. They are almost all coastal, with only two exceptions. There are almost a billion mans on [the Continent], spread almost evenly between the eight, with one city-state, the Ly Islands, having a much lower population than the others. The largest by population is Zhan, but the largest by territory is Nor.

There are some small communities of mans living outside of the city-states. Most of them answer to the nearest authority while some do not bow to any city.

Nho

The mans of Nho were created from the valley stones near the far western tail of the Mother Bones, but the spreading influence of the Sun drove them very quickly into the desert to the south. Because of their proximity to the Sunburn, they developed a superstitious and cautious culture.

They have a species of giant jackalope-type animal that they keep.

Idil

Idil is based on the Kiesha’ra hawk culture that I made up: An extremely emotionally reserved, but deeply artistic people who hide their hearts behind metaphorical and literal masks.

Masks have their own etiquette: always in public, but almost never in private, not if you’re around people you trust (I think that avians would rarely allow themselves to be a private setting with anyone they didn’t trust, though, so there’s very little overlap there). What kind of mask you wear is also important. Generally speaking, the highest-ranked or oldest person in the room sets the precedent, but if you’re unsure, a half-mask is generally safe. Completely removing your mask, however, is only for those with whom you are very intimate. Nobility don’t wear anything less than a half-mask,and only remove their masks for family. In general society, the rules are slightly more lax….family and very close friends! And even then, there’s a limit. It’s considered scandalous to remove your mask in a crowded room, unless it’s only family and the situation is right. People who take off their masks in crowded rooms or public places are frowned upon, and seen as being childish, inappropriate, and/or untrustworthy.

They are so reserved and poised, and their art was just the complete opposite. They fully realize that completely repressing your emotions will lead, at best, to severe unhappiness, and so they channel their emotions into their art (another reason they were, initially, a very craft-centric culture). Thus were born extremely evocative sculptures, graphically violent paintings, and very very sad music.

The Idil love their books. Or scrolls. (I think it’s books.) Their libraries are gorgeous, and extremely well-protected. Often families have their own private libraries, with the journals/novels/poems/songs written by previous generations. Many family “libraries” are actually basically art galleries, because everything their family creates is kept, not only books.

The Idil court is arranged very particularly. There is not only a hierarchy of authority that is upheld, but also a very strict assignment of duties and roles. Every single person in court has a place, and that place is based upon an archetype. It’s primarily based, I believe, on the same pantheon they worship (I believe that avians are extremely religious, and their religion affects pretty much every aspect of their life in some way, but that’s another headcanon jam for another time). There are certain “roles,” so to speak, that it is believed must be filled in order for the court to function as it’s intended to. Much like the rest of court, your role in court is highly dependant on your lineage. It’s not unheard of for someone to fill the role of an archetype they can’t trace their heritage back to, but it is very uncommon. This also ties into the whole “calling everybody by their last name, even if you’re related to them.” The person who is filling that archetypal role is referred to not by their given name, but by the name of the role they embody.

In addition to their acknowledgment of the moon, they have a hierarchy of thirteen (kind of terrifying) deities that are (mostly) based off of people who actually existed and now exist as these bastions of society and what makes a good person.

Keta

This one exists too.

Mille

Black! Gold! Decadence!

Zhan

Not sure about this one.

Jan

The easternmost city-state is Jan. Jan is tulle and flowers...which is not a very good basis for a culture, I am aware.

Nor

Nor is shells, pearls, and the sea. Nor is a city obsessed with stone. They prize gems of all kinds, using them in jewelry as expected, but also embedding them in masks, sewing them into clothing, and stringing them into hair. Gemstones are so prized they are almost worthless from a monetary standpoint, though quality and size may of course serve as an exception.

Ly Islands

The Ly Islands are surrounded by the Green Sea, an enchanted stretch of water patrolled by magically-enhanced aquatic creatures that are hostile to anyone not flying the Lyssian flag. Were it not for the number of people living on the Islands, they might not be considered a city-state on their own. However, there are nearly a hundred thousand people living on the Islands.

The climate of the Ly Islands is based on Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It is a subpolar oceanic climate, which experiences mild winter and a milder spring/summer than the rest of the planet. It also experiences longer nights and winters than [the Continent].

The agriculture on the Islands is dominated by fishing. There is a small fleet of fishing ships that patrol the Green Sea. They also cultivate the fish that spawn closest to the Islands with a hatchery on one of the smaller Islands. The Lyssians also raise the Naowei equivalent of sheep and poultry, as well as some other animals that double as messengers and scouts. In addition to fodder crops, there are also several large farms that provide the entire nation with vegetables, edible flowers, and berries.

The way a Lyssian family works is like so: at the head of the family is the matriarch, who everyone is beholden to. Her daughters hold the most power in the family besides her, though their daughters hold no more power than anyone else...except over their own children. You are beholden first to the mother who gave birth to you, and secondly to your matriarch. Any child is expected to bring wealth to the family in two ways either through craft or through accomplishments in order to gain material wealth (in the form of scales, the Lyssian currency) or immaterial wealth (in the form of Fortune.) Based on their accomplishments, a child may elevate their family to Captain status, as the child’s accomplishments are claimed by their mother and by their matriarch. It is considered the primary burden of the sons to grow the family’s wealth, while it is the primary burden of the daughters to grow the family’s numbers and to mold her own children to best suit the family.

A Lyssian full name is their family name, their mother’s name, and their given name. For example, Tamrat’s full name is Setthe (family) Lulit (mother) Tamrat, and Mahlet’s is Setthe (family) Kokeb (mother) Mahlet. I am using Amharic names for the Lyssians, and their family names are off the dome (as they are more related to the eldritch world of Naowei and the moons.) Mazin’s name, for the record, is Zavala (their mother’s pod name) Nilima (their missing nyx mother) Mazin, though everyone save for Mahlet and Toyin just call them Zavala.

Most Lyssians are referred to exclusively by their family name. They also use a combination prefixes and names to show their relationship to a person. These prefixes are typically used in public, with given names being used in private. Using the prefixes in private, however, can be seen a deep emotional show that affirms your closeness even though no one is listening. Once you become deeply platonically intimate with a person, you use the prefix “Oa-” and either their family or given name depending on how close you are to them. For someone you are courting romantically, the prefix “Ua-” is used in combination with their given name. This prefix is not used for someone that you are courting for the purpose of only having children or getting married for wealth acquisition. For lovers and spouses, the prefix “Yua-” is used either in combination with their given name, or alone as a pet name (this is more common among lovers and spouses who married for romantic reasons.) The prefix “Hoa-” is always added, regardless of familiarity, to the name of another family’s matriarch, unless you yourself are also a matriarch. When using this prefix, whether you use her family or given name is what signifies your intimacy with her.

Prefixes are also used to denote your relationship to people within your family. The prefix “Oma-” is used to refer to the parent who gave birth to you, referred to as your mother regardless of gender. “Uma-” is used for a family member who did not give birth to you (this can but doesn’t always include your father.) Similarly, “Ona-” is used to refer to a child you gave birth to, while “Una-” is used to refer to a child within the family you did not give birth to (or any family member who is younger than you.) “Homa-” is used to refer to your own matriarch. All of these prefixes can be used with or without given names, with dropping the given name signifying a casual atmosphere and/or a very deep emotional bond.

All of these prefixes can be used as nouns to refer to one person’s relationship with another. For example, Tamrat would be described as “Uma” to Mahlet, who is his “Una.” Tamrat would be described as Lulit’s “Ona,” and she is both his “Oma” and his “Homa.”

There are six islands that make up the bulk of the Ly Islands nation. Each one has a large town/city that it shares its name with. The large central island is Setthe-Ly, and going clockwise, the other islands are: Brinr-Ly, Xer-Ly, and [SOME OTHERS].

The Universities

There are six Universities dedicated to studying all sorts of things on Naowei, mostly what we would call magic, but also agriculture and biology.

The first, [UNIV1NAME], was established by a group that split off from the city of Idil. The others were established later independently of one another, by multiple different groups, and [UNIV1NAME] sent representatives to all of them proposing that they all unite under one banner to share knowledge. This proposal was accepted by most of the existing universities at the time, and the two that refused were slowly drained of students until one shut down and the other relented and joined. One other University has been created since then.

The Ring of Storms

Separating the Sun- and Star-sides is a ring of intense storms over a green-tinged sea. The clouds above are significantly darker than those over the Sunside, and noticeably thicker than anything that gathers on the Starside. The storms are such that only a handful of ships have ever survived making the journey in either direction, and none of them made it without casualties.

The Starside

The Starside, meanwhile, has no great landmass or continent to speak of. Hundreds if not thousands of small islands float in the icy sea, and great mountains rise out of the water to allow the new [GIANTS] and nyxi to walk and swim in their dark home.

Giants - Placeholder Name

[GIANTS] are one of the two original children of Naowei, walking across the frosty backs of the Starside islands.

[GIANTS] have no control over Fate, so they devour nyx, mans, and dragons to gain their own perverse kind of magic. They believe that both the light on Naowei, and the life it brought forth, is unnatural. Some of them are seeking a way to either reverse what was done to bring light to the planet, or to subjugate the Sunside.

Nyxi

The nyxi (singular nyx) are the other original children of Naowei, who prefer all things dark. They are a semi-aquatic species, able to breathe and move underwater as well as, or even better than, they can on land.

I need to figure out exactly how nyxi work. That would help a lot with both plotting and characterization. So it’s brainstorm time.

Nyxi are one of the original beings on Naowei from the Starside where the Sun never touches. They are immortal, meaning they don’t copulate to reproduce. Instead, the parents will construct a body out of sand, seaweed, and usually a few drops of their own blood.

Nyxi do not need sleep, but they do rest in “resting baths,” where they float in a semi-conscious and telepathically open state. In this state, they are able to pool vague knowledge and form bonds. While they don’t need to sleep, however, they do need to eat. What do they eat? I have no fucking idea! They are loosely a mix of mermaids, vampires, and succubi/incubi, so they are some form of carnivore. My ideas are straight up meat, nebulous soul/life energy, and strong emotions. Discord said straight up meat, but that will totally get rid of the sex subplot with Mazin and Toyin, so...we’ll see.

Nyxi look cool as hell. Their skin is blue-black, and their outlines are wispy (think like Reaper Overwatch). Nyxi have forms that are somewhat malleable. Though they have a humanoid shape and distinct features, their edges are soft and can “bleed” out, resulting in a somewhat flattened or stretched appearance. Some have even greater control over their forms, and can change their forms more dramatically. Their eyes are black-on-black, and they have wide mouth and sharp teeth compared to mans.

THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN

The Sun is an eldritch being, whose actions in the story are fueled by jealousy and desire. Unfiltered, undiluted sunlight is a corrupting force that overrides your will with the Sun’s, burning your body and soul until you are nothing but a vessel for her desires. The light that emits from your burning body further spreads her light and her will. She is unable to create life, and yet Naowei’s moons were able to steal her light, soften it, and use it to grow life on the Starside, the nyxi, the [GIANTS], and the many aquatic creatures that were able to swim on both sides of the planet.

Centuries ago, the Sun sent her comets to kill the angel-moons, a plot that ultimately failed. [REDACTED FOR MASSIVE SPOILER] This gave her another plot to enact: the sunlight at the center of the comets was nearly as potent as a channel for corruption as her own undiluted light. Now, the [GIANTS] who fished up a comet’s body from the ocean have become her pawns, and are working to spread her light across the entire planet. In addition, the large sunburn on Naowei’s Sunside is leaking corrupted light that is more subtly corrupting those who live near it.

Sun sickness can also be caught if you spend too much time in sunlight, even with the Veil.

The Comets

It is widely believed that the meteors that fell were the Sun’s children, created for the explicit purpose of killing Naowei and hers as, unlike the angel-moons, the comets do not have any will of their own, and were only vessels of the Sun’s will. [REDACTED FOR MASSIVE SPOILERS].