Random Info (Updated 7/23/07)

[DragonFlight]

Well, as I like giving out random info about Kynn, here's some stuff. I may update this from time to time.

Update (2/27/07) - Time & Seasons, Nexus-Exclusive Factoids
- New section near the bottom, with an addition to Nexiian info regarding it.

Update (12/22/06) - Nexus-Exclusive Factoids
- Another factoid or two about outer-world travel, Kynnese local time, and other things.

Update (11/28/06) - Nexus-Exclusive Factoids, Gods & The Blessed (Updated), Demons & The Abyss
- Only one factoid so far, that section is mostly for little things that will only apply to Nexus-based stories. Gods section got a little tweak, no personalities yet.

Update (8/14/06) - Kirga
- Updates to gods will happen later, here's another little tidbit elsewhere.

Update (8/11/06) - Religion & The Afterlife, Gods & The Blessed
- I've asked a few people in the past how they handle this aspect in their world, so it's high time I wrote out mine. ^^

Update (7/31/06) - The Citadel Of Shadows, Kaiu
- Info that will be on the Citadel's pages if I ever finish my revamp. @_@

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Saehr (Swamp Beast - Fauna)

The saehr is a native species to Kynn, found in jungle regions and swamplands - anywhere there is an abundance of water and warm temperatures, though not necessarily humid atmosphere.

Saehr (both the singular and plural for the species) are reptilian by nature, and are endothermic (warm-blooded) unlike the reptiles found on Earth.

Saehr are relatively intelligent, able to be taught to understand basic commands and words, much like a dog or a horse. They do, however, have a hive mentality, which they link into about two weeks before they hatch, under the direction of the hive queen.

Queen saehr are far more intelligent than normal saehr (some believe they may even be sentient and sapient), and use their link to their hive to perform whatever tasks need completing. Queens look significantly different from normals, in that they have six legs, four eyes, and far more visible fangs. Queens are the only ones that lay eggs in the wild, due to simple hierarchy, though lesser females have been known to lay small numbers on their own. Queens can lay between 10 and 20 eggs in one clutch, while lesser females may manage up to 5.

Saehr are omnivorous, living on whatever they can gather or catch, and pretty much capable of eating anything within reason. Normal saehr are about the size of a clydesdale horse, while queens are somewhat larger.

The people of Kynn have domesticated some saehr (though there are still plenty of wild ones) by taking saehr eggs before they reach for their link to their queen.
This causes the young saehr to reach for another 'queen mind', which often ends up being the saehr's 'caretaker'. (A saehr can bond to anything sentient/intelligent enough, but a saehr can never have something else bond to -it-, the 'lessers' simply aren't intelligent enough to do so. A person, much like a saehr queen, can have multiple saehr linked to their mind, becoming the 'core' of their hive mind, so to speak.)

Saehr are commonly used as beasts of burden by Kynnese people. Not only are they obedient and docile towards their 'queen', but saehr are reknowned for their physical strength, being able to support almost fifteen times its own weight without being burdened.

In rarer instances, saehr are also used as show animals, in competitions and the like. While it is catching on, it remains rare, because of the permanent link to a single individual that much be forged while the saehr is still eggbound. Research is ongoing as breeders attempt to find an artificial method to manage the links, or at least delay the need to link until hatching. It as, so far, been unsuccessful.

Saehr are not physically compatible with other species (at this time).

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The Citadel Of Shadows (City)

The Citadel of Shadows - more commonly shortened to the Citadel by its residents - is the only viable settlement on the island of Kaiu (see below for specific regional information). It is entirely self-sufficient, making use of its underground caverns to provide water sources as well as food (there is a source of 'artificial sunlight' for this purpose).

The 'central' area to the Citadel is Mishuvel's home - her black towers which overlook the sea from the cliffs nearby. Mishuvel's 'bastion' is also home to her garden - which is filled with deadly plants of maybe varieties. Her home also encompasses the Nexus Gate, which allowed regulated travel between Kynn and other worlds and realms. The both the sands and the 'fighting grounds' for visiting dragons and other beasts are also found here. (Hopefuls for hatchings tend to find themselves looking for lodging in the city beyond Mishuvel's home, unless they are her guests.)

The rest of the city - comfortably surrounded by walls and a protective barrier against many different threats - is constantly changing in population as people come and go. All sorts of things can be found there.

People of darker persuation tend to congregate in parts of the city, be it to exchange goods or information, or to escape whatever they're running from - the city makes no distinction.

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Kaiu (Geographic Location - Meyan)

Kaiu is the smallest of Meyan's three islands, resting to the south of the larger island of Anuh. While the entire Meyan region, Kaiu included, is of a northern climate, its temperatures are consistantly warm throughout the year during the day, and cold at night. This is mostly due to the volcanic activity covering the region, and is also in part to the warmer weather fronts constantly moving through the region.

Like Meyan's other islands, Kaiu has almost no shoreline beaches. Instead, there are reaching cliffs to the areas higher than sea level. The rare beach is accented with both black and white sand. Kaiu itself has no visible active volcanoes. Its landscape is much like the rest of Meyan - large amounts of rock occasionally cut through by patches of rich black soil. The sky is almost always covered in dark clouds, though rain is uncommon. That said, Kaiu, like the rest of Meyan, is very barren in comparison to most other areas on Kynn.

Kaiu and the other Meyan islands are cut through by a great many underground caverns, as well. Water sources are more common in such locations.

While there is little in the way of local flora, there are some species of plants which grow above ground, and some which can be found below. Fauna found on Kaiu tends to be rare, though dangerous.

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Religion & The Afterlife (General Topic)

Religion on Kynn is a strange topic to discuss. Due to its relative seclusion (discussed in another topic), Kynn has a distinct and 'isolated' spiritual system.

Religion in Kynn does not rely on faith in the unknown. It is more than common knowledge that Kynn's gods do indeed exist, and even actively interact with the world.

A god's following is generally comprised of mortals to whom the deity grants power - normally refered to as clerics, priests, hierophants, and what have you. These individuals generally have some semblance of communication with their patron deity.

Mortals frequently select a patron deity - normally one they feel 'familiar' with or have a sort of connection to, but that does not halt the worship of other deities. For example, while an individual might ask for Aaliyah's blessings on a daily basis if she was his patron, wishing for good luck would be directed at Rannee (the goddess of luck, among other things) and a prayer for a good harvest would likely be directed between Mejhe (plants) and Lilith (weather).
That said, there are those who are devoted to a single deity, or those that don't bother with the gods at all, though both of these types are rare. (Those that don't bother are not atheist - that the gods exist is fact, not speculation - they just choose not to deal with it.)

The afterlife is open to all of Kynn's people, regardless of their faith or acknowledgement of the gods. At death, the spirit of the deceased moves on to Ranayashim, the spirit realm. The spirit remains in this place, reflecting on its life, or lives, as the case may be. While many spirits can be content in this place, many more seek out Sagadalius (god of the dead), to either be reborn, or - if they have earned the privledge - move on to one of the divine realms for some higher purpose.

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Gods & The Blessed (General Topic)

The Kynnese gods follow a fairly set hierarchy, and have their own set of rules and laws. They generally do not directly interfere with the mortal world, unless there is an issue which directly concerns them and it is drastic or important enough to get their attention (in which case they are required by the laws of their pantheon to physically manifest on Kynn and deal with the issue, and are essentially stuck there until it is resolved). It should be noted that the Kynnese deities are exceptionally powerful, as well as immortal (as one might expect) - however, they are not infallible. (And there are ways to hurt them, but such things will not be discussed at this time.)

One thing to note is that Kynn's deities have a particular law amongst themselves that they will not fight directly with one another, as this results in rather catastrophic events for the mortal world. (This law has been broken on a few distinct occasions, however, this is more of a history topic.)
Each of the gods is permitted (by their consensual agreement) to select a Blessed (pronounced Bless-ed. Two syllables, not one.). Blessed are mortals given some form of power by their god. They can be chosen for many reasons - as a voice for the deity, or as a 'champion', or sometimes for no reason at all.

A Blessed does not normally make his or her status public knowledge. A Blessed is connected to his god, albeit weakly. Rarely does a patron bestow his Blessed with immortality or the like, as this enhances the link between them, and the longer the Blessed remains in the deity's service, the stronger it gets. This can be both for good and for ill - the deity gains a strong ally and presence in the mortal world, but at the same time, if anything happens to the god's Blessed, the deity receives a sort of 'backlash' from it. The stronger the link, the worse the damage. (Also of note, a Blessed that receives immortality from his god immediately stops aging.....but if the god rescinds this gift, the mortal immediately ages accordingly, or drops dead if their lifespan has since passed. This occurs because of a mortal's natural link to Sagadalius (death) when another deity is not 'interfering'.)
(Those few of you who read any of the story about my character, Ixin - this is why Ixin is still cursed - same deal.)

Blesseds are marked by their patron with a symbol on their body somewhere, often resembling a tattoo. The mark is always the personal symbol of the deity - not whatever representation mortals have made up - so it is generally not commonly recognized. Blessed also tend to develop small traits relating to their patron, manifesting in some physical or magical effect. (Example: The Blessed of Mejhe (plants) leaves a trail of growing plants and flowers when she walks on natural earth.)

One other note to make on the gods - their 'jobs' do not necessarily force them into a matching archetype or personality.

Pantheon reference (name, ranking & status). (Bio/profile blurbs pending.)

Aaliyah (Elder - Creation, Purity, Life)
Aineas (Intermediate - Fire, Love)
Allavole (Lesser - Night, The Stars)
Amerou (Lesser - The Moons)
Ciaran (Intermediate - Magic, Knowledge)
Glace (Lesser - Music, Healing)
Ikari (Greater - Dreams, Dragons)
Inanna (Intermediate - Fate, Time)
Kith (Intermediate - The Hunt, Summer)
Krystus (Greater - Protection, Honor)
Lanriki (Lesser - The Sun)
Lilith (Lesser - The Sea, Weather)
Mehen (Lesser - Undeath, Nightmares)
Mejhe (Intermediate - Nature, Spring)
Nahal (Intermediate - Travel, Winter)
Rannee (Intermediate - Secrets, Luck, Chance)
Sagadalius (Greater - Death, Justice)
Shadow (Elder - Destruction, Corruption, Negativity)
Sysha (Intermediate - The Arts, Autumn)
Tahirah (Intermediate - Revenge, Fury)
Tengan (Lesser - Chaos, Beasts, Trickery)
Yaashir (Greater - War, Strife)

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Kirga (Fauna)

The kirga is a solitary predator found in many different regions ranging the full gamut of climates - they are often colored to match their environment and some studies have even indicated that they possess color-changing abilities.

Kirga are relatively small compared to other reptilian species on Kynn, coming to about four feet average from claw to shoulder (making them about 15 or so feet long).

A kirga is very intelligent, considered sentient and sapient by most. However, only one of its heads has any form of thought at a given time. They other two do possess minds, but these are entirely dormant, and the extra heads act as functional limbs instead. A kirga can transfer its mind to any of its heads (normally the middle is the primary) - this acts as a defense, allowing the kirga to survive easily if its primary head becomes damaged or lost. Kirga also regenerate quickly, though studies cannot yet pinpoint why.

A kirga rarely uses its claws as weapons, as they are better for climbing, digging, or other forms of traction. Instead, the kirga strikes much like a snake, and uses both its primary head and any secondaries it has to constrict its prey. While a kirga does tear apart some of its prey, it prefers to swallow large chunks (or even the entire thing) whole, and it can unhinge all of its jaws to do so.

Kirga wait long periods in between their hunts, as their metabolism is extremely efficient. The kirga are also extremely dangerous to the human-variety Kynnese races. Though a single kirga will never attack large groups of travelers - lone individuals or smaller groups should be wary, however.

The mating habits of the kirga are not extremely 'parental'. A female in heat locates a male to her liking (males never attempt to woo a female or fight for her) and the two briefly pair off. Following that, the male leaves almost immediately, allowing to female to nest in private. The female will lay a large number of relatively small eggs (generally about the size of a human fist) - anywhere from 15 to 30.

The female kirga will protect the nest from other predators (though other kirga will never bother her or the eggs) and scavengers, and will provide her hatchlings with their first meal only.

After that, the hatchlings establish a pecking order amongst themselves, and will follow their mother, watching and learning from her, as well as stealing parts of her kills.

This hones the hatchlings' skills, as they are not directly taught. During this time, the weaker hatchlings are weeded out by their stronger siblings as prey. By the time they are about half their adult size (generally within about a month of hatching) there are anywhere from one to seven younglings left.

At that point, the female will acknowledge them as strong, and will assist them in hunting larger prey until they are capable on their own. The younglings leave soon after that.

Kirga have an accute sense of smell, and can see both in normal light spectrum, and infra-red.

Kirga appear to be compatible with 'dragons' of about their size, and are intelligent enough to make that choice - however, their mating practices and the tactics used to raise their offspring may be the inhibiting factor.

Kynnese people have made past attempts to breed and curb the ferocity of the kirga, with no positive results - they have since given up such experiments.

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Demons & The Abyss (General Topic)

Demons are the stuff of old legends and scary stories to tell children. While most people equate tales of Demons to the Malakym (due to their appearance and rather unpleasant reputation), Demons do actually exist.

Origin
Kynnese Demons came into being long ago, back when even the gods were young and somewhat naive. After the exile of Shadow (touched on in another section), negative emotions cast off by the deities had nowhere to go. (One of Shadow's purposes - which the gods were unaware of at the time - was eating these cast-off feelings.) Over some time, these emotions built up and produced a sentient presence - the first Demon (though not initially called such). The gods were quick to notice this, for they hadn't intended another creation, and they didn't realize where it had come from. So they watched it. It grew in strength, and the gods noticed it had a divine spark. This was, of course, because it was made from whatever gods tend to be made of... But they considered it not as a child, but as a brother.

Then, it...-he-... grew strong enough - and made more of his own kindred, who began to grow on their own. The gods were confused by this - they could not do such a thing. But they did not stop him. And still he grew stronger. And when his kindred were ready, they left the side of the gods, and entered the mortal world of Kynn. And the gods saw the horror and destruction they left in their wake.

Apalled by what they had (naively) released, the gods attempted to strike down the first Demon and his spawn - and found they could not. Their anger and fear only served to strengthen him against their powers. And the ruin of the gods' creation continued.

The gods finally realized where the Demons had spawned from, and sought out Shadow in her exile, and pleaded for her aid. She refused it. Unable to undo the mess they had made, the gods resolved to seal away the first Demon and his brood, until they could find a way to destroy them completely.

The gods created a small planar realm, fragmented below Madalashim, the Shadow Realm, and cast the Demon and his kindred into it, sealing the only entrance behind them.

Info
Demons are spiritual beings - though they lack physical bodies to interact with the material plane, but their magic and influence still extends into it. (They are physically manifest in the Abyss due to the nature of the plane.) Demons are spawned from negative emotions - anger, hatred, suffering, sadness, despair, etc. - and grow stronger in the presence of such emotions.

Demons are sealed within the Abyss, and generally are unable to leave it under their own power, unless the Gatekeeper (guardian of the Abyss Gate, currently Yaashir) is incapacitated. Demons can, however, be summoned from the Abyss by mortals possessing the proper magic and ritual. Demons within Kynn prefer to possess mortals to gain access to their physical forms. A possessing Demon can forcibly shapechange his mortal host into his demon form, though most Demons cannot hold the change for very long.

Demons abide by a hierarchy system in the Abyss, based on strength - demonstrated by the number of wings the Demon has. New wings can fledge when the Demon gains strength, and they can be lost in fights which hinder the individual.

The Abyss itself is as close to 'Hell' as a Kynnese realm gets. It doesn't serve as part of the afterlife, though. The Abyss is a small plane, consisting of the Demons' 'city', which is carved from volcanic stone, sits atop a lake of fire, and tends to smell of brimstone on occasion.

(More info can be made available upon request.)

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Time & Seasons (General Topic)

Time within Kynn is uniform and linearly constant. However, Kynn does not measure time on the Gregorian calendar, and tracks its months and years by lunar movement, while its days are solar.

A Kynnese day is as long as a standard Earth day - 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours in a day. The exact length of daylight or nighttime is dependent upon season.

Ironically, Kynn has neither an elliptical orbit nor a tilted axis - seasons are controlled by the presence of Kynn's deities planetside. (The Moons do not have seasons. Other information to be made available on this phenomenon.)

The Kynnese year is sixteen months long, and each of these months has four weeks of eight days each - bringing the Kynnese year to exactly 512 days long.

(List of month and day names to be made available later.)

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Nexus-Exclusive Factoids

Stuff you won't find in a resource book. ^^;;

- Kynnese deities found outside Kynn's 'borders' will tend to act strangely, generally attempting to avoid notice by or contact with 'outer world' deities. (Example: Asuka, Aki, etc.) This is not because Kynnese deities are weaker away from their home (as some might imagine), but because their own laws dictate complete non-interference (on a divine scale) when dealing with other worlds. They require the direct permission of the local/ruling deity to even manifest fully within that deity's 'territory', sometimes at the cost of a favor or two. (Hence the avoidance issue.)

- Unlike more worlds in the Nexus, Kynn cannot be found on any star chart you might have. Kynn essentially has its own planar space - enclosed and watched over by its gods. This 'bubble' occasionally intersects with Nexus space, forming small rifts, which a space-bound vehicle can use to enter into or exit from Kynnese space.

- Entry into Kynnese space by any means immediately places the vehicle or individual in Kynn's local time stream, which moves differently compared to other Nexus areas, and can be either faster or slower, ironically enough. An individual on Kynn may stay for a week and upon his return, find only a day has passed....or perhaps a whole month.

- Reaching Kynn can be performed several different ways. The first, prefered method is by the Nexus Gates. Kynn has several of these gates, which function as fixed portals. Nexus worlds can connect to Kynn's gates, allowing offworld travelers easy access to certain locations. The second method is by either teleportation or planeshifting (also known as realm ravel). Teleportation is extremely unreliable for anyone without an intimate knowledge of Kynn, and has been known to shunt travelers far off their intended course. Planeshifting is far more accurate, even without intimate knowledge of Kynn. The last method of travel into Kynn is via a space-cruising vessel of some sort. Kynn itself does not have space-faring capabilities. Ships that have cleared themselves with the Lunari (the race living on Kynn's moons) can dock on one of the moons in the Lunari cities, and get transport to the surface. Vessels that do not bother with such clearance must land planetside, which is unequipped to handle space-faring traffic, and a spaceship being seen by locals can have unpleasant side effects.

- All people on Kynn measure their ages in Kynnese years, making most individuals a great deal older than they say in comparison to Gregorian measurements. It should be noted that lifespans for Kynn are also not measured on a Gregorian calendar, and they are often longer than the Gregorian measurements anyway. Meaning that average lifespans for Kynnese races are significantly longer than most others in Nexiian space. (For example, a basic Human from Kynn often lives almost 150 -Kynnese- years, reaching middle age at around 75. A 75-year-old on Kynn, while in the prime of their life, is around 105 years old by the Gregorian calendar.)

- The longevity of the Kynnese races is directly related to the gods, though no one is certain exactly how. Offworlders (outsiders, foreigners, whatever you wish to call them) on a brief visit will not benefit from this effect. However, even an outsider who has lived there for a long time often finds they receive some of this benefit, gaining longer life and more youthful energy.

- Countering the longevity of each race, unfortunately, means that the birth rate is slightly lower among native Kynnese than it is among most other outsiders.

[Boo]

Oh.... These sound very interesting. ^^

I'k still figuring out what to do with the one I got from Unyko's line-art. :3

[DragonFlight]

~Adds more stuff~

[DragonFlight]

Added more again, with pending info on the specific gods.

[Cacopheny]

Yaashir! :: waves little flags XD ::

[Shard]

I can't wait to see more details on the gods. This is a very nicely worked out system! It's *faintly* what I had developed as a back-burner info bit for Vaun's world - a Sanger in an anthro world. Their connection to the deities was a little more strong, though, without the ill effects.

Nice work!

[DragonFlight]

I've been influenced alot by D&D, but I was never happy with some of the things I had to put up with....especially the deities - they were either uninvolved or TOO involved...and there wasn't really a negative side to things. ^^;;

[DragonFlight]

Some new stuff posted cause I felt like rambling about it. ^^

[DragonFlight]

Posted a little rambling about the Kynnese measurements of time and the longevity of its native races.