The World of Terra

Every country on Terra celebrates the four seasons with the midwinter and midsummer being the most popular.

Royal birthdays are cause for celebration. As are royal weddings and funerals. The deaths and births of nobles and military leaders are often noted, as are some noble weddings.

Cynsely celebrates the births of their most noteable contributors and leaders. They also celebrate the day of their establishment as a democracy.

The ends of great conflicts are often celebrated: civil wars, sea battles, invasions, and the like. Days of countries’ foundings are as well.

There are festivities on days of great discovery, especially magic establishments in Krezdiv.

Nestapor celebrates the beginning of foaling season as well as when the weather calms to allow deep-water fishing.

Alondrol has several indigenous groups who celebrate their own sacred days, in addition to royal birthdays and weddings, and the seasons.

Recently, Iskenderun celebrated two royal weddings and the end of the Monster War. Glendar celebrated a royal wedding and the end of a civil war.

The majority of countries across Terra have domesticated a plethora of animals for sustinance, attire, or transportation. Later cats and dogs were domesticated for hunting or pest control.

Adamar is the only country on Terra that has domesticated camels for travel. It is the only desert country. Horses are also used traverse the desert sands. Some nomadic tribes manage to raise goat and sheep with a fair amount of success.

Cows are a large portion of farming life in every country but Morgath, Dorath, Ni-Shan, and Glendar. There are only a few small herds in the Free Lands.

Ni-Shan imports all of its fibers except silk. It only really focuses on raising horses, oxen, ducks, chicken, and pigs. They cultivate koi for their ponds and drainage ditches.

Turkeys are a large export for Alondrol, as are geese, chicken, and ostritches. Horses are the most common form of transportation. Some farms raise goats and sheep. Others breed rabbit, mostly for their fiber.

Before the monster invasion, Morgath was renown for its yaks, oxen, llamas, and goats. Long-haired rabbits were also bred for their fiber. While stout shaggy ponies and large draft horses were used for the few farming tasks and some travel.

Quail, deer, rabbit, turkey, duck, and geese thrive, wild, in abundance in Glendar. Only horses and sheep are domesticated for transportation and fiber, meat, and milk. There are wild reindeer near the mountain border with Dorath.

The island nation of Cynsely raises sheep, goats, and horses in abundane. Fishing along the coast is plentiful. Oxen and rabbits are also raised in relative frequency.

Nestapor raises all manner of horses and cattle. Sheep and goats are raised in sizeable herds. There are a handful of rabbit farms. Fowl and deer roam wild in abundance. Near the mountains, llamas, alpacas, and yaks are common.

Every country on Terra has one form or another or domesticated cats and dogs.

is a fluid thing in the world of Terra.

There is little discrimination toward those of non-heterosexual orientation, However, such orientations are not overtly celebrated or drawn attention to.

Same-sex marriages are held in the same manner as heterosexual marriages, depending upon rank, race, nationality, and religious beliefs. There are also interracial marriages held, though these are less frequent due to the hostilities between certain races.

In the nobility of most nations same-sex marriages are less frequent. This is due, in large part, to the desire for strong lines to continue the family names. However, often, once several heirs have been produced and reared through childhood, it is not unheardof for the noble couple to divorce in favor of their same-sex lover.

Some nations celebrate such diversity. There are parades, fairs, and the like. However, most are content to be themselves in the world.

aren’t nearly as prevelant and plentiful as they were in the early days of Terra. Their sacred hollows, groves, and glens have been overrun by the ever-growing populace.

*spoiler alert*

They now make their home deep in the heart of Glendar, the elven nation. While they had an uneasy truce with King Sylvanus, under King Tarak there is a growing desire to see the fae thrive. Tarak has long had an alliance with the fae queen, Etheria, for over a century. She and her pixies, sprites, brownies, and faeries were instrumental in assisting the Fae Knights during the elven civil war.

All known faerie lore applies to these beings. They are capricious, whimsical, and mischievous beings who are beginning to expand their travel outside the borders of Glendar.

begins millennia ago.

A single, great warrior rode at the head of the largest nomad encampment ever seen. It consisted of nearly three million men, women, and children as well as its herds of sheep and goats. This warrior had many wives and many more children, though only seven sons. When he died, after his sky burrial, the tribe was divided into seven smaller tribes, one following each of the sons.

They spread out across the Free Lands warring amongst themselves and occasionally harrying the towns that sprang up around the handful of wandering willows across the country.

As the decades past, the seven tribes continued their conflict and the towns grew into walled cities, for fear of the tribes.

A millenium after the tribes became seven, three great chiefs conquered and redivided them. This lasted nearly another millenium before breaking back into the seven tribes that roamed the Free Lands until the story begins.

are a constant. Though they change from one season to the next as Terra makes her way around the sun.

Those who sail the seas and spend extensive time outside have learned the dance of the celestial beings across the sky. They mark the passage of time with each of the constelations as they move through the heavens.

The most well-known and easy to spot, especially shortly after sundown, are The Archer, The Mermaid, and The Serpent. Those  that appear shortly before sunup are The Wolf, The Warrior, and The Centaur. These are in the northern hemishpere in the spring and summer. During the fall and winter, in the northern hemishpere, it’s The Tortis, The Dragon, and The Stag in early evening with The Swan, The Fountain, and The Maiden just before dawn.

In the southern hemisphere, in spring and summer, shortly after sundown, the most recognizeable constelations are The Sword, The Anvil, and The Skeleton. Those shortly before sunup are The Warhammer, The Phoenix, and The Lovers. In fall and winter, shortly after sundown are The Spyglass, The Stallion, and The Hare. While the ones before sunup are The Scales, The Bear, and The Tree of Life.

There is a myriad other constelations in the skies throughout the nights, varying by season and hemisphere, but the ones listed above are the most relevant and renown.

vary throughout Terra.

Each country has it’s own jokes. There are, of course, varying levels of humor. Children play pranks and practical jokes on one another. Then there is the jovial attitude of coworkers and companions. Finally there is the dirty humor.

Not only are there jokes and pranks, but also comedies, satyres, and playful songs.

Each race has inapropriate jokes about the others, often focusing on their most noteable traits. Everyone knows about elves being “woodland sprites” and makes fun of it. Dwarves are “rock-humping” midgets. And so on. Such jokes are frowned upon in mixed company but often spoken out the side of one’s mouth as well. Bards make fun of wizards, druids, and rangers. Warriors make fun of everyone. Mages make fun of wizards and bards. Few mock priests and clerics, as they have no desire to anger the gods.

Some human nations are more the brunt of jokes than others. Cynsely is mocked for the same reason ancient Greece was. Bedaile is mocked for being a matriarc. Nestapor is mocked because of the amount of time the Navy spends at sea. And the list goes on. Again, it’s considered rude in most polite circles but often snickered at nonetheless.

Whatever major political events happen to be going on, are often the fodder for popular theatre troops to turn into satyres. These are immensely infamous among commoners.

while not uncommon, is not as frequent as it is in our world.

Peasants seldom divorce. There are far too many challenges. Often there are children, homesteads, and other such assets to be divided. Unless one spouse or the other is violent and abusive, married couples remain together and simply look the other way on the occasional indescression.

Nobility, on the other hand, has a slightly higher rate of divorce. While they marry for advancement, it is seldom for love. Once several heirs have been raised to majority, the unhappy couple part amicably and seek their own romantic relationships.

Royalty never divorce unless there is blatent evidice of abuse. Daliances are often an open secret with royal couples.

Elves, gnomes, and halflings are free-spirited and seldom divorce. Affairs and daliances are a way of life and therefore their marriages are more open and understanding. As with most other cultures, only violence provokes an end of the nuptials.

Dwarves are not as liberal in their marriages as others. They take their vows seriously. As a result, divorce is almost non-existant in their culture.

are more prominent in some countries than others. Especially in the dwarven nation of Dorath and Krezdiv.

There is an engineering academy in Cynsely. It teaches both civil engineering and warfare. Some of the greatest to construct in not only Iskendurun but Krezdiv, Adamar, and Nestapor, for civil engineering. Even the dwarves send some of their best to the academy as well.

The dwarves and halflings are the most renown and ingenious when it comes to technology as well. They also get a great deal from Krezdiv.

Magic influenes technology in strange and interesting ways, throughout Terra. Each nation and group of rulers uses the assets at their disposal in varying and unique ways and so each country has developed after a different fashion.

With ever-changing magics, materials, and individuals, the technology and engineering of Terra continues to evolve.

can be found wherever one travels.

Unfortunately, due to the conflicts across Acleron there is little time for such things at present. However, many children still play their games. The most common games are stick-ball (lacross to us), football (soccer), and barrel-ball (a variation of basketball). These are popular with children all over Terra. While the rich and noblemen of many kingdoms play a variation of polo and women play a variation of croquette.

There are village festivals throughout the world. Small celebrations that are significant to only that area. They are often overshadowed by the great midseason festivities. The most significant is the midwinter festival that heralds the new year.

Weddings are always a source of celebration. The wealthier couples frequently take long honeymoons to mark their nuptials. Their wedding feasts and cerimonies , also, are noteworthy. Royal weddings being on par with national holidays.

The Corelon Zepheroth is one of the greatest events in all Terra. The bard competition beforehand is nearly as celebrated. Iskendurun hosts its own royal tournament during the midsummer festivities. Nestapor hosts something similar during midaytumn. The same with Alondrol in midspring. Tournaments featuring jousting are popular in a half-dozen other countries across Terra, as well.