#gotêvi

[aeniith]

👥 & 🏠 for the hometown asks pls!! // ~livvywrites

I’m using the Gotevian/Quariosian port city of Naeglitan for these.

1. What is your town’s primary population?:

It’s largely youngish adults (18-35), since this is the age range of most of the newcomers and temporary inhabitants in the city that are there for their jobs (mostly sailing, dock work, trading). This gives the city a very vibrant, busy feeling. There is a lot of crime, but snlot of opportunity as well.

2. Where do people live? how large is an average home? are there enough homes for everyone in town?:

People usually live in large buildings stacked on top of each other. There are not as many families or multigenerational households as in other parts of Quarios, so most households consist of about 2.5 people. There are enough places to live but space is a premium, making rent expensive. Some housing is subsidized by the govenrment of Quarios because it wants to support trade in these kinds of port cities.

Thanks!

[aeniith]

I was digging through my harddrive and found this composition that Eric did for me a looong time ago, of Gotevian pipe music. He even created a system of musical notation for Gotêvi! I was so impressed. 

Now I want to compose more Aeniithian music!

[aeniith]

Conculture notes on Gotevians/Gotêvi...

Kind of headcannon-y, cultural notes about Gotevians (and Gotêvi itself). Some are kind of generalizations (obviously not all people of X nationality are like Y), but still might help to give a general feeling to the people...

Reincluding this moodboard about Gotêvi:

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Education is very important to Gotevians. Many believe it should be government-funded, but they are unlikely to have this wish fulfilled en masse. There is a limited amount of publically-funded education for children, but only in and around cities.

The sentiment is widely held that domestic and personal life shouldn’t be undermined by political or professional career.

The Gotevians take utmost care in making their homes as neat and aesthetically pleasing as possible.

Most tend to be quite formal when interacting with new acquaintances or strangers. If they are over 40, they probably use the title of respect meliarenwhen addressing peers in formal situations.

Despite how dearly they’d like to keep up the pretense, they really don’t care much for the Lomi on a social and cultural level, despite their historical and political alliance. They secretly think the Lomi are slightly unstable and backwards, though most Gotevians far too diplomatic and tactful to admit it.

Gotevians admire the ethereality of Bayën art and culture. They might view it as an escape from the mundane of their own society, or they might be drawn to the elusive and mysterious nature of the Bayë in general.

Despite its flourishing economy, Gotevians of the middle class make nearly all of their clothing and many grow a lot of their food, except for their exotic imports, such as various types of foreign spices, fruits, cloth, and precious gems and metals.

Gotvians love to wear linen, silk, and cotton. Often, to appear sophisticated, some might wear many thick layers of silk in the winter instead of wool. Wearing canvas or leather is considered pretty rugged, unless one is from the south of Gotêvi (which is a southern hemisphere place), where it gets really cold. This is where the Teg and Phul peoples dwell, who are culturally and ethnically distinct.

Most speak at least one other language apart from their their native regional Gotevian dialect. These may include Lomi, some language from Ei, the “standard” Gotevian dialect (though they don’t consider it as much another language as a different social register, or even something as exotic as Tosi (if you’re considerably cultured). If you do know Lomi, they generally only use it when they have to, and thus it’s a bit rusty for most people. More people speak Ori than speak Lomi. Gotevians like to trael to the Quariosian territories of Ei, and Ori is widely spoken there, even though Orikrindia is an independent state.

Cow’s milk is considered disgusting to drink. Goat cheese and milk, however,     are standard foods in some places.

The mainstream ideal appearance for a man or woman is a slender, moderately tall of build, grey eyes and a pale face. Long hair and fingers are a plus as well. Overly muscled physiques generally don’t improve things.

Dancing is a favorite hobby, and most Gotevians consider themselves good at it and do it often.

The classically ideal number of children to have is 1-2, but most people are “unfortunate” enough to have more. But for royalty, this is desirable.

If your spouse dies, a Gotevian probably won’t remarry for quite a while, at least legally. If they separate from a spouse or partner, they often stay single for a long time afterward. Quickly remarrying is considered unwise and “looks bad”.

It used to be customary for males to undermine females in terms of royal succession, but this has been elimianted from law.  On a day-to-day basis, gender roles in Gotêvi are fairly loose, compared with some other cultures in  Aeniith.

By law, one can only have one spouse at a time.

May Gotevians have a slightly hard time understanding that there actually are people who believe in the concept of fate. As a culture, thy regard societies that believe in it at large to be bizarre and illogical. It viewed as primitive and dangerous.

The majority of Goetevians are not overtly religious. Some believe in some elemental spirits, but they do not worship them. Some people have some social ties to a local temple, priest(ess), or religious group, however, such institutions and persons are generally considered enigmatic and worthy of tacit suspicion.

One bathes every two days. Infrequent bathing is considered unpleasant, but over-frequent bathing is considered to be bad for the body. The environment’s too arid for that in any case.

Gotevian culture considers language arts to be the highest form of non-visual art, closely followed by drama and music.

It is popular to have a cat or ermine-type creature that lives in one’s house and which fed.

Those under approximately twenty-five who are member of the upper-middle-class, often depilate all the hair growing anywhere below below the eyelashes, regardless of gender. It’s considered to be a sign of cleanliness and consciousness, despite the fact that the older generations consider it to be silly and fastidious.

Regular nudity is proper only for the highest classes and possibly the lowest, depending on where one lives. Brief or practical nudity (such as occurs with changing clothes, public bathing, or working in hot weather) among the middle-class is acceptable, however.

Rape is a greater criminal offense than murder, and is punishable by 30 or more years in prison. Capital punishment was abolished under Gotevian rule in the year 403 E.K.

The kitchen is the largest room in the Gotevian house, unless one is wealthy, in which case, the main “all-purpose” nɛxivan room is.

Only children wear ankle-length socks. After the age of fifteen or so, thigh-length stockings with decorative garters are worn, except in the summer when most people wear long, light clothing to keep the sun off and to keep their legs cool.

Wearing shoes in a house that’s sufficiently heated is considered pointless and uncomfortable. It is polite to remove the shoes before entering a house, especially that of a host.

The only women who wear their hair up on their head are servants, manual workers, and queens.

All members of royalty and the higher nobility wear cosmetics in public, except small children.

It’s considered inappropriate for non-noble young people to wear heavy make-up in public places, unless there’s some kind of festival, ceremony, or something of the sort going on.

If someone becomes seriously ill, they can be fairly sure the local governmental services will pay for any advanced treatment, unless one is a proven criminal.

The majority of the populace is an artisan, farmer, or a working artist.

Many people have a large, soft, intricately designed rug on the floor in the main, non-kitchen room. It’s almost always an old family heirloom, and is never, ever walked upon with anything but meticulously clean or socked feet. If one has young children or infants, they commonly sleep on it.Sometimes adults sleep there as well during the middle of the day, when it is hottest, or at night by the hearth when it is cold.

When a person dies, their belongings, legally and traditionally, go to any surviving children, and are divided equally among them.

If one lives anywhere outside a large city, they have to prepare every summer for the possibility of wildfires.

Soft curls on either gender are considered very attractive, especially long, soft curls.

Those who live in one of the major port cities are often well-traveled and cultured, taking trips to Ei and even into Elta.

Staple foods include bread, vegetable or grain-based porridge-mash, or rice. Meat is reserved for special occasions. Many people grow vegetable gardens and herbs.

Young females between the ages of eleven or so to seventeen often keep bundles of lavender, mint, or rose petals in a chest of personal items to keep them from smelling stale.

Cane sugar is rare and expensive. Honey is usually used to sweeten food.

The idea of a strict patriarchy or matriarchy is disturbing to most Gotevians.

Many people of the lower and middle classes collect berries, nuts, roots, and edible flowers and leaves in the summer and autumn.

Gotevians tend to value serenity, sensitivity, and introspection.

Many people living outside large cities build their own house and live in the same dwelling all of their lives.

Most people don’t have a personal bathing room at home. If they live in a decent-sized town, there are public baths. Otherwise they use streams, lakes, or rivers.

The idea of theocracy is foreign and considered primitive by most Gotevians.

Most people wear silver more than gold, and not because it’s more abundant; it’s considered more appealing.

Most Gotevians count on living for about 90-100 years, yet they are deeply concerned about their mortal nature. It is not appropriate to discuss death or dying in polite situations, even euphemistically.

The typical Gotevian maintains a reserved, stoic, almost innocent public image, but are often more worldly and cunning than their appearance.

If one has the resources and money, most Gotevians conclude that there is no excuse for having an aesthetically unappealing living environment. Rich people who have no taste are considered pathetic and contemptible.

There are two meals taken per day: one in the late morning and one in the early evening. Gotevians drink lots of nourishing liquids through the day including herbal teas, fruit juices, and various elixirs that help keep up their health.

Symmetry is considered more aesthetically appealing than asymmetry. This is the biggest Gotevian gripe with Lomi art and fashion: it is seen as too chaotic and unbalanced.

[aeniith]

Ideas on Gotevian wedding clothing

Since both parties wear the same thing, regardless of gender, I’m trying to find more than just pictures of women wearing yellow tunics, although that is most of what I am finding. Also, a lot of these are apparently Indian traditional dress, but I don’t mean to imply that the Gotevian versions are actually based on Indian khurtas (or is it kurta? I keep seeing both), but this is the closest thing I can find images of on the Internet so far. Although I am finding some really epic African designs too! I wish I were a visual artist so I could draw what I have in mind!! :O

Anyway...pretty yellow shifts abound!

[aeniith]

World building...

I’m working on fleshing out Gotevian customs and cultural practices. Here is a short blurb on wedding customs. I’m trying to fill any cultural “gaps” or holes in information for Aeniith (specifically Gotêvi at the moment), please give me world building asks so I can be sure to have a balanced creation! Thank you! :)

~

Gotevian Marriage Customs

Marriage in Gotevi is a legal practice rather than a religious one, though religious marriage ceremonies can be held nonetheless. Weddings must be over seen by a magistrate (irftɛnnir)in order to be considered legal. Usually they are held in a public building—some buildings exist constructed specifically for matrimonial purposes. Both parties usually invite their friends to the ceremony, sometimes even the entire neighborhood wherein they live will come, if only to eat and drink for free.

Traditionally, wedding clothing is bright yellow, for both bride and groom. Their clothes are similar in cut and style as well—usually shin-length tunics with long sleeves. The similarity of clothing symbolizes the binding and thus likeness of two people.

First, there is a party with food and drinks and often some type of music. Fervent dancing is traditional; this is perhaps the only case in which tradition suggests unruliness in Gotevian culture. It is considered appropriate that the woman and the man both socialize with their friends of the opposite gender to emphasize the trust of their partner. There are many traditional games played during wedding parties, including lots of gambling, though these are recent developments and are often scorned by the older generations.

After the festivities, the magistrate arrives and the people to be married sign a contract to each other. Everyone attending is technically a witness, but the magistrate’s presence is still required. After this, the couple is tied together facing each other with ribbons by their friends, and they must untangle themselves without any other help. This supposedly symbolizes the fact that now they must rely on each other to get out of trouble and have the ultimate trust in each other.

[aeniith]

Imporant artists of Gotevian history

Eclectic artists throughout Gotevian history: (E.K. = eimoina koa (“our time”)

-       Oemai (F, 500-613): Poet. Known for her elegant yet morbid style of prose and poesy, one of most influential writers of the 5thcentury E.K.

-       Korveng (M, 744-856): Court flautist known for brilliant and virtuosic flexbility. 

-       Kréana (F, 500-?): Free verse poet and personal minstrel (as well as one of the few female minstrels of that time period) of the queen Kirolya of Gotêvi. Known for her bittersweet lyrics.

-       Ladhena (F, 301-396): Famed sculptor; she did large works of animals and humanoids in the midst of motion or frozen in critical moments, such as at the moment of death, birth, or great emotion.

-       Bometan (M, 234-340): Metalsmith; developed new alloys that became popular in jewelry and technology.

-       Pelusa (F, 345-522): Singer, in the classical style of the Teg culture, the musical scale of which is a seven-tone scale (in contrast with Gotevian music which is based around 19 tones with scales comprised of 5-8 tones). 

-      Xukull (M, 246-376): Lute player of Teg music; father of Pelusa. 

-      Nagaise (M, 103-198): Portrait painter, hired often by Gotevian royalty. Known for his skillful use of light and shadow across the bodies of his subjects and the details and realism of cloth, hard surfaces, and skin.

-      Tikur (M, 478-569): Watercolor painter. Famous for paintings of flowers and plants, as well as other phenomena in nature. Also made a large illustrated catalogue of rodents native to Keta.

-       Thiurun (M, 563-649): Known for his plays and spoken poetry, Thiurun’s imagery is lush and sensuous, featuring themes of nature and the beauty of the body. 

[aeniith]

A couple of basic moodboard thingies for Orikrindia and Gotêvi. I want to do one for each country. 

[aeniith]

Gotevian foods?

Someone recently asked me what kind of food Gotevians eat. Gotêvi is one of the countries within Quarios–a continent but also a kingdom, of sorts. It is in the southern hemisphere of Aeniith, with its north near the equator and its south becoming more temperate and even quite cold at times. Much of the land of Quarios is either a. forest/jungle in the north, or b. steppe and grasslands, which are where most of the agriculture takes place. Traditional foods are based on crops grown, which include grains and legumes. Spices abound in the north, which are used all over the country. So typically, you get stews with carbohydrates and proteins (e.g. grains, beans, peas) flavored with spices. Veggies might be separate but most would be included in the stew itself. Food is pretty flavorful and trade is very common within the country itself, so everyone pretty much can afford spices from the north. See here a map of Quarios. The equator of Aeniith is to the north of Naeglitan, the port city that brings in a lot of trade from the rest of the world. Down in Teger, the land of the Teg people, it can get quite cold. Quarios is a large continent.

Gotevinurae mar e nielo thanne maiad lar. ‘We are Gotevian and our food is tasty’

[aeniith]

Currency in Aeniith

Keta (lateral hemisphere #1): The Quariosian empire has one basic currency. At the time when Gotêvi and Lomilin where separate countries (they later merged into one), there were different currencies for each of them. After the coalescence, Gotevian plunithent replaced the Lomi pila. You can still use the pila but it is no longer being minted. You can also exchange them for plunithent for a 2:1 exchange rate in the capital city. Other Ketan countries have their own currencies. In Orikrindia, gems called copoyosa (sg. copoyos) are the traditional currency, though these are generally only circulated among upper classes. Most of society uses the pelti, a small silver coin, which is often physically cut into pieces to represent fractions of its value. These coins have the profile of Calcurassen (god of justice and order) on one side, and that of Asteren (god of, among other things, metals and craftwork) on the other. Elta (lateral hemisphere #2): The Ríli did not use currency until relatively late, compared to other peoples of Aeniith. They had a system of trade based on precious metals and jewels, but no formalized currency. Roughly 500 years ago, they began to use coins made of a variety of alloys, but they weren’t very standardized and varied by region and by what metals were available. After a while, one form rose above the rest, known now as gölhañ, which comes from íka gölhañ, meaning just “standard money”. The Tosi empire only enforced currency standards within its “home” region of central and southern Izoi. In its other protectorate (aka vassal states), it allows the use of local currencies. In its home region, the standard is the jilu, which is made of a silver alloy. Half a jilu is a rek, and there are four ghin in a rek. Rek are made of bronze, while ghin are made of copper.

[aeniith]

Cultural exploration--values of the Gotevians

Gotêvi: Culture, Art, and Society

There are several ethical and aesthetic values that influence a lot of Gotevian culture and art. A few of these are the following:

TRUTH: There is a fundamental Gotevian belief that truth is something that must be found whenever possible. Lying and covering up the nature of reality is considered disingenuous at best and malignant at worst. Search for the truth is also the motive for the Gotevian practice of introspection: to know oneself is considered the beginning of knowing the world. As such, lying (especially in relation to oneself), is considered horna, or an ethical crime.

SYMMETRY: Symmetry is related to order in Gotevian thought, which is in turn related to harmony (see below). Much of traditional Gotevian art sought out the symmetry in nature and reproduced that balance. Balance is considered the beginning of stability, which is considered necessary for health and peace of mind. Symmetry is also related to equality—equality is believed to foster harmony.

HARMONY: It is very important that the world work smoothly to the Gotevians. Harmony is thought to be necessary to true happiness and peace. But in practice, Gotevians are not willing to sacrifice truth for the sake of harmony. Thus, a harmony that wears the mask of serenity instead of being true serenity is no harmony at all, but rather it is a lie, and thus must be changed.

SERENITY: Serenity is highly valued, both physically and abstractly. Mental serenity is believed to give longevity. Physical serenity in the world at large is believed to foster introspection and reflection, thus leading the way to truth. The strong belief in serenity may have influenced some of the military decisions made in the history of Gotevi and its people.

PROSPERITY: Prosperity is considered the result of harmony combined with irrkima ‘the vital fire’, what might be described as chaos, ambition, desire, or change. Things like these are considered a necessary additive for anything to “happen” in life, or for any positive change to come about. It is considered necessary for material and spiritual prosperity, which is described by the Gotevians as a kind of chaotic power that has finally fallen into a working pattern.

[aeniith]

Random thoughts on concultures of Aeniith

This is gonna be totally disjointed, because I sprained my ankle and it hurts and I can’t really think straight, lmao. So.  ~

I’m thinking about gender roles in the different cultures of Aeniith. It’s something I thought a lot about over the years. Gotevian culture was one of the first that occurred to me. I say “occurred” because I definitely didn’t think of it on purpose or really choose to create it. It just happened, when I was very young.

Gotevian culture has always appeared to me as pretty gender-egalitarian. Not super patriarchal, not super matriarchal. Gender roles are comparatively open. Other-gender folks are recognized, not terribly stigmatized, and there are even instances of agender/bigender people in spiritual culture and history (e.g. in legend, myth, etc.). I’d also imagine that non-heterosexual relationships, while not officially recognized by the state, aren’t ridiculed or stigmatized either. Gotevians are more or less pretty chill about this kind of thing. I think the laws are pretty slow to change, however, so many same-sex couples will eventually be given the same legal status as hetero couples. 

I think the lines between what we’d consider “queer” and what we’d consider “not queer” are relatively comparable to modern progressive culture in the West but gender roles may be less defined in Gotevian culture. 

In Quarios, married or partnered couples are expected to provide for each other. There is no necessary expectation that women are domestic, or that men work outside the house. This is an economic distinction that isn’t particular relevant to gender roles in Gotêvi, at least not anymore. 

I think the reason the Gotevian culture originally developed this way (in my mind, I mean) was because this is kind of how my childhood image of gender was: my family is/was very open about gender roles, in pretty much every way. My mother was and still very much *is* a dominant force in my family, and my sister and I grew up a lot more fiery, outgoing, stubborn, etc. than my brother (and my dad is super chill and sweet, likewise). I grew up playing with just as many trucks, trains, and tools as I did with ponies, dolls, and fairies (fairies were a major part of my existence as a kid tho). So my early perception of gender as a kid was very much that...it wasn’t a restrictive thing. Being a girl, boy, or anything else was something you could be...but it didn’t mean that suddenly then you weren’t allowed to do or be other things.  That might explain the very early development of Quarios/Gotevian culture as pretty egalitarian on gender terms.

Later, I started imagining contrasts to this approach. I knew that Orikrindia had a line of kings--just kings--no sovereign queens. I knew this meant something about their society. That there were specific ideas about who could and should be rulers. Authority was interpreted as a masculine purview in Orikrindia, and because of this, independence for girls and women (and indeed any non-masculine people) was severely restricted. Hence stories like Elucuna’s, in which a young noble woman flees her country for a change at independence and mastery of her own fate.

On the other side of the coin, there is the Tosi Empire, which is highly matriarchal. I never imagined that a strict matriarchy would ever be ultimately any “better” than a strict patriarchy--it still restricts all of its members and makes life especially shitty for one half (or so) of the population. I knew the Tosi were expansionist, imperialistic, and had a society we’d consider pretty brutal, unfair, and probabyl downright cruel. Still, I knew there would be stories that would be worthy of telling. What is life like for men in Tosi society? How is it different from or similar to life for Orikrindian women? What other inherent differences in the two cultures would influence how individuals would experience their lives?  In trying to find the answers to these questions, I started writing about them. This is ultimately when the story of Elucuna and whence another story I am writing about a Tosi man and woman who are involved in political intrigue in the Tosi military. I personally feel that some of the most fascinating stories are told by those who aren’t necessarily very privileged in any society--the underdogs, the survivors, the people who’ve been given the shit end of the stick and still come through, traumas and all. I think these are some of the stories I’ve been yearning to explore in these fictional societies that have become so central to my personal imagination. 

~

Mintaka

[aeniith]

Dragons? Dragons.

Aeniith does have dragons. 

They:

- Vary in size from cat-sized to the size of a car

- Live mostly in Keta--in and around the main continent of Ei. But there are some smaller populations in Elta (other side of the planet), mostly in Naga and Arcuna. 

- Many of them live in hot environments, but not all. Some dragons (known as snow-screamers in Arshi) live in the antarctic regions in the south of Arcuna. These are tiny dog-sized dragons that live amongst ice floes and are semi-aquatic. They have skin similar to a penguin or seal. They get their name from their...impressive, high-pitched calls.

- In Gotêvi, they are the focus of many legends and superstitions. The larger ones can be dangerous to people, but usually want to keep out of the way

- The smaller species sometimes hunt in packs, similarly to wolves or some species of dinosaurs (e.g. velociraptors, troodons). 

- In northern Ei, some people keep the smallest species as pets (more like “pets” since dragons are very free-willed)

- Some dragons are named after jewels and gems for the shimmering tones in their scales (”emerald”, “amethyst”, “pearl”, etc.)

- Some species have feathers

- In Ei, finding a dragon feather is considered very good luck. Some people collect them and get a little obsessive about dragons. These people are sometimes called ethudounda ‘dragon-crazy’ 

[aeniith]

Peridot (OC)

Moodboard for one of my first OCs (created around 2003), Peridot. She is a young woman living in the woods of Gotêvi, just before the country was merged with its neighbor Lomilin. She belives she has accidentally put a curse on a girl called Rosemary and makes it her goal to save the girl from what she thinks will be a terrible fate. 

[aeniith]

Peoples of Aeniith pt 1

Aeniith itself is a planet—a cohesive world in a fictional universe. The basic layout of Aeniith includes two lateral hemispheres. Just as the concepts of “eastern” and “western” hemispheres of the Earth are based on an arbitrarily drawn line, so are the two hemispheres of Aeniith. The “western” hemisphere is known as Keta. This includes two major continents, Quarios in the south, and Ei in the north. The name Keta means “cradle” in Gotêvi (also known as Gotevian or Gotêvinur), one of the languages spoken in Quarios and Ei.

The “eastern” hemisphere is known as Elta. Elta includes the continents Izoi, Naga, Arcuna, and Hizai.

Throughout Aeniith, there are various nations, countries, and cultural groups of different species of humanoids. The main species are as follows:

Amelae (singular Amel): these are the most physiologically “human-like” of the intelligent humanoids species of Aeniith. They live in Keta and Elta. They are also the most internally diverse species with regard to physical differences. Well known nations of Amelae are Quarios and Ei (made up of the Gotêvi and Lomi cultures), Orikrindia (the island east of Ei), the Arshi of Arcuna, and the Teg of southern Quarios.

Zuna: the Zuna live primarily in Elta, and are notable for being larger than most other species. They have higher sexual dimorphism, with the females typically being larger than the males. Well known nations of Zuna are the Tosi, Selupa, and Karkin.

Ríli (singular Ríla): these are some of the smallest of the peoples of Aeniith. They have greyish skin and typically stand 145-160cm tall. They are native to Izoi in Elta

Bae (singular Baa): the Bae are the most unique from the other species of Aeniith. They have physiological systems that none of the other peoples share, such as a separate circulatory system, low level telepathic abilities, the ability to absorb electricity from the nervous systems of others species into their own, very long life spans (800-3000 years, depending on the subspecies) and six fingers on each hand. They are unable to successfully breed with any other groups beyond their own. Because of their marked physiology, there are many theories across Aeniith as to their origins, although none has been proven. They are divided into several subspecies: Mei, Nonil, Megana, Quiluma, and Nirfai, which tend to have self-contained cultural groups. They live primarily in Keta, but some groups have traveled to Elta, most notably the Clussimeth (sometimes called “vampires” of the Bae), an offshoot of Nirfai, which live on Izoi. The term Bae is actually an exonym (name given to a group by another outside group) that is a Gotevian word, the plural of the word baa, meaning vaguely ‘spirit’. The Baen word for themselves is Iemir or ‘the people’. The singular form of this word is Iem or Em.

Amongst the peoples of Aeniith, interbreeding is possible for some. The most common by far is that between Amelae and Zuna. They are probably the most physiologically similar of any two groups. Many people of mixed Amel and Zuna heritage live in Elta especially (due to this being the side of the planet where almost all Zuna live), and some cultural groups exist that are totally integrated and consist of Zuna, Amelae, and many degrees of mixed-heritage people. One such nation is that of the Keresn.

Other species may occasionally produce children together, but it is far less common than the Amel/Zuna. A few Ríla/Zuna pairings have produced children, but they are not common and not well known. The Bae, as mentioned above, cannot reproduce with any other species of Aeniith, though are able to do so within their own subgroups (Mei, Megana, etc.).

[aeniith]

Peoples of Aeniith pt 2

Last post I introduced some of the species of people in Aeniith. Today I’ll start talking about some of the cultures and nations of those peoples. I’ll keep the map up for reference. For a more detailed/interactive map of Aeniith, see this part of my site: http://aeniith.com/maps.html. 

Nations of Keta

The history of the nations in Keta is a complex story. In the past, the southern continent of Quarios was divided into several discrete countries, the largest of which were Gotêvi (whence the language Gotêvi/Gotevian) and Lomilin (whence the sister language of Gotêvi, Lomi). Eventually many of the other smaller countries were subsumed by either Gotêvi or Lomilin, although there were some notable exceptions in the south of the continent such as the Teg and the Phul people, who still maintain sovereign nations to this day.

At a certain point, the two countries of Gotêvi and Lomilin merged into one country, called just Quarios (after the continent). All the territories that both Gotêvi and Lomilin had in Ei now became the combined territories of Quarios (the country). However, throughout Ei, there were and continued to be many small nations that were independent countries as well. They historically had rather testy relations with each other over time, and this tendency continued into the time in which Quarios existed as a single state. Many of the Bae people lived throughout Ei, in some of the more isolated places where Amelae peoples did not frequent. Some Bae of Ei are nomadic and some have permanent settlements and cities.

Nations of Elta

The nations of Elta consist of many countries of Amelae and Zuna, as well as the one Rílin nation. The Ríli live in northern Izoi surrounded by dense forests that include many poisonous flora and fauna that are endemic to their territories. The Tosi empire spreads out to the south from there. The heart of the Tosi homeland lies to the south of the central mountain cluster of Izoi, in the more arid regions and grasslands. As the Tosi empire expanded, it needed more and more resources to support its growing size, leading the Tosi to expand even more—often in the form of warfare and taking the natural resources of other peoples in lands outside their territory. This was the case with the Ríli, and was the impetus to the decades-long war between the Ríli and the Tosi.

The Selupa (whose language is called Seloi) are some of the most technologically advanced peoples of Aeniith, although they fiercely guard their secrets with a shadowy and mysterious centralized government. Most of Aeniith has not crossed the boundaries of industrialization in any sort of way, but the Selupa have invented the steam engine, though they guard it so well that their neighbors (namely the Tosi and Karkin) cannot grasp what exactly they have created. In the various warfare activities that the Selupa have engaged in (which are few and far between), leftover broken parts of Selupa tech have been scavenged by their enemies (as well as by others), but no one has managed to understand or backward-engineer any of their machines. Rumors have spread of strange underwater vessels, explosives, biological weapons, steam-powered machines, and mechanical weapons that confuse and frighten any who would threaten the Selupa. For these reasons, as well as due to their highly secretive ways, the Selupa have managed to avoid open conflict while residing in one of the most infamously war-torn parts of Aeniith.

Another notable group of Elta is the Karkin people. They are also a group of Zuna species people, living near the Selupa on the eastern island off the coast of Izoi. They have a very divided society, having a few cities with centralized governments consisting of a number of ruling clans. The different clans have greater or lesser presence in each city, and their influence determines the way each city is ruled. Outside of the cities, however, the people tend to be nomadic and live in a state of lawlessness to different degrees. They are marginalized to the extreme and tend to live very hard and short lives. Crime is high and social woes are many. These people living outside of cities are called the Kaitoxkita, and they have given the Karkin people a reputation for being crazed, uncivilized, violent, unpredictable, and chaotic. They tend to have more or less neutral to positive relations with the Selupa, and their proximity to them has ended up keeping them from being caught in many conflicts with the rather dangerous Tosi.