#I am tired so anxiety-based defesnses that keep me from babbling are donw

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

On my worldbuilding bullshit again

NOW FEATURING MAPS!

And it's after midnight and I'm way too tired to let anxiety get the better of me and prevent me from posting so here's a worldbuilding ramble!! Settle in if you like worldbuilding rambles.

So this:

is my latest attempt at making a map of The Domain, (THE GREEN IS WATER and also plant growth stick with me for a minute) a section of the larger wold map of Elewna, here:

Which is the land of shapeshifters. There's *counts on fingers* ten overarching clans that live on this continent alone and they are:

Umatoe

Onisraeri (with four subclans: The Onishiki, the Arros, the Ooneloah and the Aoni)

Orieiifio

Sati

Ugi

Ubli

Kamare

Faroae

Deveol

Bahaat

BUT there are also two LOST clans that are aquatic in nature that disappeared a long time ago and no one knows where they went which is a given really seeing as how Elewna is an ice planet so where the hell did they go? No one knows, that's why it's a mystery. It's even more of a mystery how they came to be in the first place, but let's not talk about that right now *laughs in worldbuilding hysterics* BUT ANYWAY none of those are the ones Imma focus on right now simply because they don't live on The Domain (the original opening map); that honor belongs to these guys - The Umatoe!!

(Early work in where I decided to take my cat and my mom's cat and play with forms)

Which, yeah. Essentially to get to an Umatoe you start with a giant (like maybe 7/8' tall) feline that can stand upright. Add in a fin around the tail that can stretch and shrink, a neck pouch that can hold extra oxygen, and variously-sized tusks, and you got yourself an Umatoe. They have a lore about how one of the early Umatoe's participated in a race with the elemental gods and the gods cheated, but the Umatoe still won because she ripped the fins and the neck-pouch from the gods' bodies and attached them to herself, using them to swim faster than the boats the gods had created for the race and she beat them to the world's end and then demanded freedom for all her kind to live without the gods' interference. One of the gods (oh right, did I mention that Elewna exists in a Polythesitic universe where there are actually two different levels of elemental gods, one of which being the ones that the Elewnai have stories about interacting with called Atmu, and the giant creator-gods which are called Masu which are essentially giant Space Dragons) decided that the Umatoe was correct in her demand and so granted her request while at the same time letting her keep her stolen bits. And that's why the Umatoe believe they were born with an affinity to water and the bodily accessories to match.

ANYWAY.

To the map; Elewna works on an opposite geothermal principal as ours. The higher you go and further from the ice core you get, the warmer it is and vice-versa. They don't have a whole lot of moving storms outside of the mountains so far as I've got so far, but the cluster that's at the top right of the map? All clouds. (AND I MADE THIS WHILE THINKING OF THE RAIN SHADOW but I may not have gotten it completely right, still working on my understanding of the thing, THANKS TUMBLR) That's possibly the highest mountain range on the entirety of the planet (The larger world map doesn't agree yet because I haven't changed it yet, but trust me it's Like That) and everything slopes down from there. So the big greenish looking thing is essentially one of the only spots on the world that is all free-flowing water as it's from the clouds, the storms, and it's high enough to not get frozen over. The mountains around it act like a big bowl so far as I can tell, keeping most of it stopped up with exception to the mountains at the very bottom, where the rivers start to form and sort of give freshwater for the rest of the territory of the Umatoe. Which means the Umatoe are one of the only clans to have actual fresh free-flowing water on the whole of the ice planet. I'm still thinking of what this means in terms of biome. BUT

It also means that the Umatoe culture evolved building things on mountainsides and cities that float. They're very well adapted to their environment, which is a huge mountain pool at the top and slick ice at the very bottom because it's close enough to the lower zones to have started to freeze over but is still high enough that it's more like foggy cold sludge than anything else. AND THEY STILL SWIM IN IT SOMETIMES BECAUSE THEY ARE BEASTS!!!!

Anyway

I think I'm running out of ramble steam, so here. Have a poem of the race against the gods in their own language because yes I conlanged because I'm insane with translations under each section.

Mauhr-Ro-Mauha, Raistr, Sloa;bolsro Raistr;Punaek Hapro Ain;canani

Uma believe that song and music carry more than words can say They carry out beyond sight, and speak to the heart without knowing

Nheiohmauhr osc Naioh-Ro-Rahisc-Ro-Iea-Ro-Utaiar Niknipa-Ro-Acranipa Atmuad;chaakt kabnikni Bic;naniorapa Utran;Padu-naheakt Bic Rahspr;atmukaac-kabicni

We sing of the AllMother, a song of freedom, of journey, of skill and fireceness. She tricked and stole from Atmu wanting to trick her She beat the ones who made her She befriended the honorable Padu Won the race they set up to lose

Iscipa, raha;naehempra Atnabo-Ro-Boioh, urypa, atmuad Aiakbioh, kabliocalu;loiotpra Aiakbioh, kabasiahac;Iohnirahu Aiakbioh, kabracicca;micalu

Walked a path through the mountain Tore fins and breath from the Atmu to win Was the first to swim through the water Was the first to reach World’s End Was the first to come back to home

Rahspr Paruospa Liocalunai, Umatoe Atmunaini;bolsni Kabumtoaiako, Umatoe Liocalu

Her race was gifted Uma allowed to swim free  No more Atmu control Uma swim to their own destiny