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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11695 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Jan 2018 : 15:03:59
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So, I'd been envisioning this place in Katashaka that's full of "cat folk" of various breeds, bird folk of various breeds, and "winged cats"... as in winged cats (tressym and larger cats), winged cat folk (a divine gift), hakuna/dragonnes, sphinxes, lammasu, and variations of griffons. I was going to have them led by very wise sphinxes (and eliminating the lammasu after some thought). I may include some rabbit folk as well, worshipping Ix Chel. However, I'm thinking more and more, and I'm thinking I like the idea of a "manifestations of the gods living amongst them". Then I'm thinking I like the idea of this Katashakan realm but with earthmotes floating above it in the sky, and that's where they "gods" stay.
The four gods in particular that I'm picturing are
Nobanion (seen as a giant lion with a mane and wings of golden fire)- god of nobility, goodness, etc... as in Faerun
Phoenix - as a sun deity, god of rebirth and renewal
Ix Chel, Lady Rainbow - jaguar goddess of rain and flood, fertility, weaver of destinies, and the moon
Water Lion he won't be IN the Highlands, but periodically his "avatar" may be seen in the surrounding seas (usually with a herd of seacats).
I'm not picturing any evil deities here. This will ostensibly be a "land of good". What are some ways that I could VISUALLY make this place more of a verdant and good land. For instance, those earthmotes that are floating... I'm picturing lining the bottoms of them with say crystals that shine in the sunlight. I'm also picturing putting these giant trees there (Dumacha Nut Trees) that grow to 150 feet tall and have blue leaves and have various uses (I'll post more about them in a second post).
So, the main thing here... what might be some things to do to make this place visually different other than what I've proposed.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 28 Jan 2018 15:05:36
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11695 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2018 : 15:05:14
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| There are great trees in this jungle, known as the Dumacha Nut Tree. These trees grow to be over one hundred and fifty feet tall, often growing up to a hundred feet tall within just a century, and most are between twenty to thirty feet in diameter. They generally live for about five hundred years, and the harvesting of a Dumacha Nut Tree for its wood involves much celebration. There are literally thousands of these trees throughout the Highlands, but they are still vastly outnumberd by the othre trees of the jungle, so typically a Dumacha nut with its extreme height and blue leaves tends to stand out amongst the local flora. Also, unlike most trees, their leaves are an odd pale blue color, as is the wood of their trunks when the brown bark is peeled away. These leaves have a leather like strength, and when dried they turn a deep mauve coloration, and they are often used in the construction of relatively simple and temporary items that would normally be made of leather that lasts for up to a decade, such as simple carrying bags for the poor. Many creatures of the Wakanari Highlands actually make nests or sleep amongst the tree limbs of these great trees. Each year, they produce a strange fruit roughly the size of a halfling fist. The outer skin of this fruit is somewhat hard shell with hairy, prickly stems coming off of them. This skin is often kept to be later ground up and added as a dye into the plaster of their buildings (producing an odd purple hue when mixed with the mud in the vicinty) or producing a blue dye for cloth. When this outer skin is cracked, the interior is a white, gelatinous fruit with a large pit at its center. This fruit is often eaten as a snack or used in desserts. The pit itself is ground up and said to be an aphrodisiac for felines when brewed in a tea, and some are known to add the scent into candles, making these trees popular not only in the Highlands but throughout northern Katashaka. Drinking this tea is also known to aid in breaking fevers. As a result, Dumacha Nut Trees are considered a national treasure, their growth is promoted, and harming one before it is ready to be harvested is normally a death sentence. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11695 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2018 : 15:57:55
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Oh, and the story of the earthmotes will be that they are the blessing of Ix Chel, goddess of the moon. Long ago, the moon goddess peered down upon the peoples of Katashaka as they danced around their fires at night. It was a joy to her to watch them, as they exhilarated in joy, eating, drinking, and lovemaking. Then one day a drought came, and the people suffered. So it was that Ix Chel sent a portion of herself from the night sky, in the form of many moon shards to hover in the sky above the Wakanari Highlands. These shards carried with them bountiful lakes of water, gathered from the clouds. Soon, the drought was gone, and the people rejoiced once more. Since then, the Eyes of Ix Chel, as these earthmotes have become known, have floated in the air above the Wakanari Highlands. These earthmotes are essentially floating oases in the sky, each with deep lakes at their center. The people of the Wakanari Highlands have installed flood gates which can be opened to allow this water to be drained away during times of drought (and even during times of drought on the world below, these lakes seem to produce adequate water, as long as Ix Chel is being appeased).
As Ix Chel is also a fertility goddess, so too does she encourage the protection of children. As a result, periodically her priests are sent to the villages of the Wakanari Highlands with lists of chosen amongst her faithful. These chosen are expectant parents (either pregnant mammalian creatures or bird folk with eggs) who are brought to live on one of the earthmotes until their child is born and for several years thereafter. These numbers are not small, for roughly 20% of the population is born and raised on one of these earthmotes. Rarely is a couple chosen more than twice for this blessing, and since most families consist of at least 5 "birthings" in their lifetime, most adults spend at least a portion of their lifetime on one of these earthmotes. Usually upon reaching the age of five, parents and their children are expected to return to the Wakanari Highlands below. In these instances, as one family goes up, they give up their housing to another family leaving an earthmote. This has resulted in a lot of "movement" of the people's in the Wakanari Highlands from village to village over time, and an assimilation of their cultures. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Lord Karsus
Great Reader
USA
3737 Posts |
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Wakanari Highlands of Katashaka
