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The Starry Canopy

Home of the Korechi, the Starry Canopy is a forest consisting of countless gigantic trees known as voidwood trees. The oldest of these trees are so large that they are used as homes when they decay and collapse. Perhaps even more notable than their size is the density of the foliage, with the Starry Canopy being given its the name as the trees and their leaves are so densely packed that the forest is in a perpetual night, with the little sunlight that does pierce the canopy appearing like stars in the night sky.

The Korechi are known as fierce warriors, armed with powerful log guns that are illegal in many nations, and this is paired with their notorious for love of blood sports. The Arena of Silverwood in the Korechi capital is visited by many from across the continent with the highest profile matches here drawing crowds in the tens of thousands.

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The Acreans

Inhabitants of the many islands of the Gladen Sea, the Acrean culture and society is extremely unique, diverging from the Marians during the collapse of the Marian Empire. Seafaring is at the cornerstone of their exsistence, gaining a reputation as fierce pirates in the modern day, descendants of the privateers who once fought for the empire. They are also frequently employed by other nations as navigators for trade expeditions. They are also known for their complex dyes and inks, synthesised from the large variety of ocean wildlife that they harvest and know intimately, some of the dye works on the islands are Millenia old.

Torpedo Foils:

Scavenged Titan artifacts their original purpose is unknown, but in the modern day they are used as high power engines, able to propel themselves faster than any other known vehicle. Carrier baskets for a pilot are attached underneath, although they’re sometimes used as weaponry in themselves.

Acrean Catapult Boats:

Known for their unique design and distinctive sails, the catapault boat is named for the forward ramp at the front of the boat. The ramp is used to assist in the launch of torpedo foils, which are attached to the ships anchors, which when dropped provide enough speed to launch the torpedo and activate its engine.

The ships are often elaborately decorated, usually painted as various kinds of creatures, with the example above being a depiction of a shark.

Gyrotube:

Making use of a Looksee, a type of orb made from a whale’s eye that can show a desired object to whichever user it’s linked to, this ingenious device makes use of the Looksee’s ability to point in the direction of a target. When activated the gyroscope allows the looksee to “lock on” to a target which then allows the attached firetubes to fire extremely accurately.

Whalegun:

A pretty typical Log Gun, the whale gun is unique for its decoration, being typically decorated with the skull of a whale calf, as whales are seen as symbols of overwhelming power due to their association with Kasina Kene, a powerful war goddess of war and childbirth. They are also linked to Hotu-Hairangi, the primordial god of beginnings said to live in the Sunrise. In some legends it is said that the first whales were born from the spit of Uitnuli (goddess of the sun) when she spoke towards the east, landing in the Sunrise and migrating west as the herald of Launaka (goddess of the monsoon and underworld).

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(wip) The Fish Riders of Hylae

A tradition beginning amongst the Braellian and Kin of the Southern Hylae Valley, the Giant Cartfish are bred in captivity and used to pull carts along the Hylae Wagonway. They wear medallions of Unville, the Braellian God of Ambition, which are believed to scare off bad spirits and omens that they believe can attract bandits.

Their riders are notable for their mix of Braellian and Kin traditions/culture, reflected in their clothing that is a mix of Kin veil wear and Braellian travelling gear. They are also known for harvesting Cartfish Oil, a magically potent element that produces an electric charge when dispersed, it is often used for lighting and metallurgical application .

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Folklore Motif - The Victory over the Serpent

Excerpt from the Graeca Sister’s Exploration of Divinistics

Particularly popular in the southern parts of Titan, the folkloric structure of usually a pair of heroes defeating a serpent that threatens to “consume the world.” The scholarly consensus is split on the origin of the tale as the use of serpent iconography is extremely general. It is however agreee the story must be quite old as it nearly always is involved in some form of creation myth, or generally “primordial” myth.

The serpent in question is often two headed and is believed to represent some form of death. In the Marian telling, the story recounts Enya defeating a python that prowled in the oceans, subjugating it (image shown above). This version of the story is generally agreed to be a much later construction, written as a mythologised telling of the Marian victory over the early Acrean pirate kingdoms.

In the Braellian version, Unville, representing primordial ambition slays Leviathan and splits him in half, the blood from his two halves forming the earth and the oceanic realm.

According to recent works by scholars at Emura-Taresh the story may be a retelling of the construction of the Mechanical God by the Moon Goddess, while others argue it is actually linked to a different folktale structure known as “The Old Death” arguing that the heroes represent the twin deaths and their defeat of the serpent was what lead to the old death disappearing as a frequent occurrence.

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Sketches of Korechi

The inhabitants of the forest known as the Starry Canopy, the Korechi are largely Chimer, although humans do live amongst their ranks. Horn carving is an important of their culture and different "styles" are often an expression of identity and can tell you a lot about a person. For example the bladed style began as a loophole to a ban the High King put on the carrying of arms on royal grounds, also serving as a sign of protest, overtime eventually evolving into generally a symbol that one works as a politician.

The Log Gun is the most important export of the Korechi, despite its ban in many nations. The Log Guns are by far the most powerful weapons on Titan, consisting of a branch of a Nightwood tree, carved with the words of a fire scroll on it. A spirit anchor is then attached on both ends. When energy is inputted into the Log Gun, it is stored in the anchor until it reaches its breaking point "snapping" at once and releasing all the stored energy in a straight line that can reach as far 500 metres if properly used.

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Left: Rhonan first born of Unville, Braellian conception of The Comedian.

Right: The Crow Sister, Novunian conception of The Tragedian.

The Twin Deaths

On Aereis there are two Intruder Entiries (Deities governing abstract laws) that govern the process of death. They are often paired as the twins, Death the Comedian and Death the Tragedian and are two of very few universal deities on Titan.

The two twins are some of the most active deities, frequently taking up physical forms and regularly intervening in conflicts as they see fit. Death the Comedian believes death is a random process that actually should have minimum intervention and instead should be a physical process, seeing his role as death as a mercy to prevent the pain of near death. Death the Tragedian instead believes life should be spent building up towards a worthy death and is often seen as a moth by people engaged in duels. She is also believed to appear at the site of momentous battles to congratulate those who sacrificed themselves for victory.

The two are in near conflict with one another, ironically this constant conflict results in many lives being saved every day as the twins would much rather prevent a dearth than let their other sibling kill someone in the way they see fit.

For his role in the randomness of death the Comedian is often scorned as an antagonist figure while the Tragedian is worshipped as the god of “good death.” If you were to ask my personal thoughts though I think the Comedian is much more commendable a figure. The pursuit of a truly “useful” dearth is nearly always futile and it is very rare for the Tragedian to set up someone for a truly good death. Despite his propensity for prematurely ending life, I would hardly call The Comedian cruel, he’s the one who accompanies the injured child, the one who accompanies the lone soldier who died in a futile charge, the one who sits by the side of the withering elder. When he says he provides mercy to the suffering he means it and I think the few that have met him in his physical form come to appreciate that.

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SHOWCASE #1 : Various People of Titan

Braellian Gunman : The primary infantry of the army of the Braellian Empire, their distinctive face-masks are based off the designs used by the Metalworkers of the Steelworks in Natrus, Hylae and Hor-Skashi, from which many of the ranks of soldiers are hired.

Eumen-Riad Fighter : The Eumen-Riad are a warrior Euva who currently reside in the Isle of Erdione. They are descended from the Golden Band of Emmon, and lead the Neo-Marian invasions. They were forced from their home in Castle Rosa, when its current occupants took over and they fled to the Taprenyin Sea. They use ferromancy to control their weapons, specially designing them with faults through which deadly spikes of metal can be extended out of the blade, instantly killing the victim of the attack.

Rosa Knight : The Order of Rosa lead the reformation of the Central Republic as part of the nationalist movement. They would eventually defect to the Darkwater Republic (soon to be known as Ferenstraiter) during the Central-Darkwater War. They are known for their iconic armour which is impenetrable by nothing except the most powerful of firetubes, and are feared by all. Their base is Castle Rosa, which they seized from the Eumen-Riad during their founding. The modern Order is actually an imitation of a far older knighthood, which ruled the ancient Central Kingdom. Fashionable Soruki : The Soruki are the inhabitants of the Gilded Republic (also known simply as Soruk and Soruksten), which is best known as a refuge for the various noble houses that have been displayed throughout the various of the last two centuries. This mixing of noble families and their cultures has lead to what is quite frankly a bizarre series of fashion trends as the mix of clothing wealth and royal clout chasing bash against each other into a rather alien sense of style.

Marian Noble : The Marian Noble is from one of the Great Cities of the Gladencoast. Marian clothing often includes themes and imagery of sea-life and sea creatures often manifesting as the many swirling patterns engraved into the man's head-dress and collar. Due to their matriarchal society, both men and women follow feminine beauty standards, with men usually fully shaved and boasting young faces, enhanced by makeup.

Demon King Cultist : Various Demon King cults have existed throughout Titan, but who exactly this so-called Demon King is, is hotly debated. The Emmurian Consensus is that it's a corrupted form of Unville, the Braellian god of Primordial Ambition and important folklore figure. Some Marian scholars have instead argued its a version of the Mechanical God, a figure often referenced in ancient Onchi texts and believed to be their god of magic. Shie Koremlo : Member of House Koremlo, she is at the centre of the Koremlo Sundering and the later Ivar Sundering, an event that saw the Koremlo Clan, divide into the Ivar and Koremlo factions over whether the family should allow themselves to be annexed into the Marian Golden Empire. The Koremlo would eventually succeed, with the Ivars retreating back into Tareneauv. Later the Ivars would be similarly split on which side to support during the Tareneauvian Civil War.

Euva of Mearimir : The Euromancers of Mearimir make heavy use of Titan technology to enhance the physical and magical abilities. The Euva of Mearimir was founded by Kaeyon of Mearimir, founder of the Euvagean Empire, who was a heavy enthusiast of Titan technology, making regular expeditions into the Chasm. The modern Euva continue this legacy with their research.

Euva of Kin : The Euva of Kin are a culture of pastoralists, with their lifestyle and culture revolving around their raising of cattle and aurochs. They were the former heads of the Kingdom of Kin, the greatest of the post Neo-Marian states, whose war with Teva Teva forced the creation of the Marian Provisional Government. They would fall out of power following their defeat in this war, and later with the Necromantic Bombing of their capital Trelynska. The capital would be moved to Hollow Row and now the Kin are fiercely loyal to the Euvagean Empire.

Euva of Erdione : The Euva of Erdione are a euva of coral and pearl divers and have a close connection to the sea, as it is the centre of their lifestyle. The Erdione have a close relationship with the Eumen-Riad who reside on their islands. The corals and pearls collected by the Erdione are very commonly used in the creation of luxury goods, most notably being made into beads. They also collect many other forms of sea life for use in trade.