Flesh witch are titles given individuals that have undergone and survived the bioengineering procedures. The exact procedure is classified (aka haven't thought through yet), what is known is that it works off the blueprints of regenerators.  

The end result is a bioweapon with a much stronger connection to the Abyss, the veil between realities weakens around them (basically a psyker i know). Through their transcendence they were bestowed the ability of self-sacrifice, an act of willingly and consciously giving up parts of the flesh; whereby that body part will wither and decay. This mechanism will create manifestations that cross the veil and cause destruction in their sight. Flesh witches will store some of their limbs and organs in growth vats behind their back, the fluid will prevent the sacrificed unit from completely disintegrating and allow for self-regeneration.  

The flesh sorcery mechanism is kinda complicated and is a work in progress. In essence, it is damage reflection through damaging themselves, but magnified in more grotesque manifestations.  

The act of sacrifice not only offers flesh but also involves the soul. The bioengineering subject would have been implanted with tissues (cerebral or something else), from the fossil of a leviathan-classed organism. It may have warped the subject's soul in such a way that damaging the soul (from within the abyss) sends a pulse that weakens the threshold and allows them to conjure their 'sorcery'. 

Still work in progress, but I like the design so far

I don't mean the usage of LLM's or GenAI to make content or brainstorm ideas for said stories or worlds.

I mean, has the experience of interacting with chatbots and the like affected how you view AI's and how they interact with people in your worlds?

Instead of worldwide evil AI, instead we've got an overly helpful chatbot that gets basic facts wrong and gets mixed up easily.

Historical Notes

When the Martian Federation was founded in 2527, they continued using an updated version of the older Type 41 rifle originally adopted by the Union Self Defense Force, which was redesignated as the R25 ("Rifle, pattern of 2525"). While upgrades to the R25 were able to prolong its service life by a few years, by 2533 it was clear to the Martian High Command that a replacement was needed. The next year, the USDF adopted their new Type 34 rifle, and this development, coupled with the Martian Arms Corporation’s development of the 6.5 x 56 millimeter caseless round, accelerated the planned development of a modular magnetic accelerator rifle platform for the Martian military. Thus the R36 was born, with the blessing of Chancellor Galvani himself.

The new rifle used electrically-driven mechanisms to cycle caseless flechettes at a rate of nearly a thousand rounds per minute. The power for this mechanism is provided by a detachable battery pack loaded into the weapon’s collapsible stock, while a vertically-fed magazine holding thirty rounds in two columns is loaded in front of the pistol grip. The rounds issued to many frontline troops on Talvan are analogous to jacketed hollow points in 20th and 21st century armies, in that they slow down dramatically and expand upon impact with soft tissue, causing devastating wounds to the soft tissue of unarmored targets like the native Y’Varis.

The R36 was one of a laundry list of designs which, in addition to being shipped to the Nova System in transport vessels by the Martian Federation, were uploaded to the Interplanetary Communication Network so that they could be printed in large numbers on location. By the time the Nova War ended in 2559, there were more than two million R36s floating around Nova space, and as of 2569 they are a favorite weapon of rebel factions like the Talvani People’s Front. In this capacity, the R36 has seen extensive action against Martian occupation forces on Talvan — an ironic development fot a weapon long seen as a symbol of the imperialism of the Federation.

Author's Notes

I would be remiss if I neglected to give credit where credit is due. The basic design for this weapon is a photobash (that is, it was made by taking pieces of existing pictures and mashing them up in Photoshop Photopea), which I made using pieces from a variety of weapons. For the R36, I primarily drew from Adam J. Middleton's work on the Praetorian railgun from Altered Carbon, with some additional pieces from "Jack's rifle" from Oblivion (2013), the Halo 2 Battle Rifle, and of course the H&K G11. As always, no plagiarism or copyright infringement is intended with this design. Rather, I seek to pay homage to the weapons which inspired this design, and to use the work which came before my own as an inspiration for my own designs.

This fact sheet was also heavily inspired by the work of one RT0RRES, whose work I found while browsing for references on DeviantArt. If you like what I've done here, I encourage you to check out his portfolio, too!

As a final note, if anyone reading this is interested in finding out more about The Spacers Saga, this link will take you to the Substack blog where I've been sharing all of the lore updates about the setting, as well as occasional posts of stories from within the narrative. Please note that there is NO pressure to subscribe at any time - it is of course appreciated, but even just having folks visit the site and check out my content is a major blessing 😄

Hello everyone! I’d like to share another piece of worldbuilding from our visual novel, Mycelium Protocol.

This time, I want to talk about why humanity in Kudesh is considered “fading” even though humans still exist, and what fungal symbiosis has to do with it.

Kudesh is a city isolated from a world scorched by nuclear war.

Most of its residents rarely give much thought to the past. That responsibility largely falls to the Museum of Fading Humanity.

The Museum collects archival devices, documents, household items, books, and everything else that might tell us something about the human civilization. Its employees study and catalogue their findings, try to restore their original purpose, and determine their historical value.

Artifacts of genuine practical use are given a second life. This is how computers, certain medical instruments, and old manufacturing technologies returned to Kudesh. Everything else is disposed of. It is impossible to store everything, and an excess of information would only distract the Museum's staff from the truly important fragments of the past.

But why is it called the Museum of the Fading Humanity if humans still exist?

There are far fewer of them than Symbiotes, but Kudesh is still home to several thousand living humans.

So why is humanity considered fading?

Several centuries separate modern people from the humanity that built Kudesh. According to "The Saga of the Fading Humanity", Symbiotes did not yet exist when the city was founded.

Today, things are different. Most of the city's residents are Symbiotes, while the number of humans decreases with every generation. And the reason is certainly not some mysterious disease.

No human has to remain human anymore.

For that, there is Grafting — one of the most complex medical procedures in modern Kudesh. A specially prepared fungal component, known as a Symbiont, is integrated into the human body. However, describing the process as a simple transplant would be wrong.

A transplanted human organ remains a human organ. A Symbiont becomes a part of an entirely new system. Its hyphae gradually grow along connective tissues and vascular networks, integrating into the body's metabolism and forming stable connections with the host's nervous system. The human and fungal components begin to function together.

The Symbiont can stimulate tissue regeneration, support damaged parts of the body, produce essential substances, and take over some of the functions that the human organism performs far less effectively.

The human body was not designed for such coexistence, which is why preparation for Grafting begins long before the operation itself. Doctors adjust the immune response, prepare the tissues, form future grafting zones, and select a metabolically compatible Symbiont. Even one mistake can have extremely unpleasant consequences.

The result, however, is worth it.

Thanks to Grafting, the residents of Kudesh have gained what humanity pursued throughout almost its entire history.

Time.

The natural limit of a Symbiote's lifespan remains unknown. The first Symbiotes appeared roughly three centuries ago, after the Catastrophe, so claims of symbiotic lifespans lasting five hundred or even a thousand years remain theoretical estimates for now.

One thing is certain: a Symbiote reaches maturity relatively quickly. After that, the aging process slows dramatically. Many age-related forms of damage are also mended by tissue regeneration.

And so, one of the most serious problems of a long life eventually becomes...

Boredom.

Kudesh has found a solution to that problem as well. But that is a story for another time.

Of course, not everyone chooses Grafting. Some humans continue to live the way their ancestors did. They eat. Sleep. Grow old. Have children. And one day, their children face the same choice. The child of two Symbiotes, on the other hand, is born without such a burden.

As humanity gradually fades, so does the culture it once created.

Books. Paintings. Music. Poetry. Films.

It is difficult for Symbiotes to understand why the humanity of the past put so much effort into things that did nothing to make the city more efficient. In modern Kudesh, even humans themselves rarely engage in such activities. Not because they are forbidden. Of course not. There are simply more important things to do.

Besides, no art can convey thoughts and emotions as precisely as direct communication through a neuro-implant.

If anyone can undergo Grafting and live for several more centuries... can refusing the procedure truly be considered a way of preserving humanity? Or is it simply a voluntary decision to remain in the past?

What do you think?

STEAM PAGE

Our artists: Anggrishka, Greenery and Ichurichi

I might never make a story out of this; it's just a fun little exercise. People often use "planet of the hats" type situations with Aliens, especially Grey Aliens. They are never given any personality outside of abducting humans. Sometimes, looking back at old Alien media, a part of me thinks no one actually believed they were part of a grander civilization just guys who happened to be there.

Here's my idea:

Greys is the exonym that Humans give them due to their skin tone, similar to how we refer to certain races by skin color. In reality, however, they call themselves the Angoa, which roughly translates in their language to "People Who Share Thought."

They're an amphibious race; their homeworld is Tok'ata (translation: Motherland), was covered in 90% ocean. Many of their terrestrial civilizations live submerged, while the more wealthy ones are on the continents and surfaces. They have heavier skeletons and dense muscles, and their eyes are often built for more low-light environments, so they wear eye contacts in areas of higher light levels. Though some extraplanetary residents adapted with eyes in high level environments.

To an Angoa, species is merely biology. Civilization is defined by shared history, ethical responsibility, and cultural memory. They also have various diverse and complex cultures and civilizations that assume the ones who abduct Humans are the same is like assuming Human civilization has been the same since Ancient Rome.

Angoa live in several different civilizations across the galaxy, with different cultures and politics. Including, but not limited too:

• Conord of Leth
• Merchant Houses of Orun
• Memory Republics
• Free Clans

The Free Clans or Marauders, are the Angoa's version of "barbarians." Their origins stretch back centuries. Some descended from failed colonial expeditions abandoned after economic collapse. Others were formed by military deserters, smugglers, scavengers, or families who gradually became disconnected from mainstream society. Over generations these disparate groups developed their own customs, dialects, and values centered on survival, opportunism, and personal loyalty rather than civic responsibility.

Unlike the stable governments of the core worlds, the Marauders operated through shifting alliances. Captains commanded individual vessels, temporary fleets formed for profitable ventures, and leadership changed frequently through negotiation, mutiny, or economic success rather than formal succession.

Maintaining advanced spacecraft requires enormous quantities of specialized materials. Lacking industrial infrastructure, the Marauders built an economy around acquiring valuable goods by whatever means proved practical.

Earth is considered the most advanced pre-Galactic world at the current time, while most alien worlds aside from the Angoa and other species are in their tribal or medieval state; Earth was well past its industrial era when the Angoa discovered it.

Angoa explorers discovered Earth around WWII; interspecies conflicts on the scale of the World Wars were nothing new to the Angoa. Especially the following Cold War; for the Angoa, war itself proved to be very expensive; as such, they understood the value of winning an arms and tech race. That was how many post-Galactic Angoa wars were fought.

For the Muaraders, Earth was an untapped gold mine; it was full of biodiversity and a highly adaptable, dominant primate species, something that was a rarity in the Known Universe. As such, they wanted to abduct humans and animals to study their biological and neurological makeup to sell in medical black markets.

Humans attracted particular attention because of their remarkable adaptability. They flourished across nearly every climate on Earth despite possessing relatively little biological specialization. Their immune systems, neurological development, reproductive biology, and social cognition all represented valuable subjects for xenobiological research.

Official Angoan governments, however, had already designated Earth a protected pre-contact civilization under long-standing interstellar observation protocols. Every raid violated multiple treaties recognized throughout civilized space.

Individuals were typically sedated, examined, scanned, sampled, and returned within hours. From the perspective of some Marauders, living subjects were far more valuable than dead ones because repeat sampling and longitudinal biological studies increased the worth of collected data. The pirates never intended to permanently keep human captives, not out of respect, but mostly because it was cheaper and easier to just carry data rather than trafficking sapient beings.

If I had to think up a plot, I like to think there is this one guy who is hunting the Greys, and he is trying to talk with this fringe and knowledgeable "Grey expert" who has made frequent contact with Greys, allegedly. He decides to help the guy study them but is worried that if the world knows about the Angoa, humanity will try to wipe them out.

As I've been building my world one of the most fun things I've gotten to do so far has been building a mythology, and a pantheon, for that world. And as a part of that, I've had to figure out how the divinity of my world (the gods, devils, demons, and so on) relate to mortals. For the most part I've taken a more Greco Roman style approach where the gods more closely embody mortal characteristics and personality traits (just with significantly less assholery).

But as a result of that I've also had to consider how the gods of my world relate to sex, sexuality, and gender identity. And when considering this I decided to have the gods be reflections of their people in that regard. Take for example the Octavi, my world's version of dark elves. their society is by far the most sexually liberated of my world, and they have a significantly more advanced grasp of concepts like sex and gender and how those are entirely different things. biologically speaking the Octavi, while still a dioecious species, also exhibit intersex characteristics far more readily and substantively than other ancestries. As a result the Octavi deity of the moon, Xen, also displays these characteristics, having both primary (A penis and a vagina) and secondary (developed breasts) sex characteristics.

But where I really started to have fun with the concept was with the Octavi God of Science and Technology, Caliban, who is Transmasc. now objectively, a deity would not have nearly the same amount of issues as a real GNC person would have in our real world when it comes to transitioning. But what I found to be a potentially really interesting character trait of a Transmasc AFAB god is if said god didn't use their immense power to immediately actualize themself, and instead kept themself in a state of transition, as an act of solidarity with his followers who didn't necessarily have the power to transition with a wave of their hand. Where Xen represents and reflects the physiology of the Octavi, and relates to their gender in that way, Caliban who had top surgery instead of shape shifting, and kept his vagina instead of magically growing a penis represents an understanding that being GNC or trans isn't simply a physical reality but an emotional one as well, and that just because one doesn't have access to, for the example of a fantasy world, a true polymporph or alter sex spell, that doesn't mean they have any less right to be who they are.

So that's how I started top develop my gods as it related to their understanding and relationship with sex and gender. Both as a reflection of their peoples and as gestures of fellowship and empathy. But I am very curious as to how other folks determined how the divinities of their own stories or worlds related to the same and I'd love to hear folks share their own reasoning as to the same!

(My account was accidentally locked so the previous post disappeared but I want to expand on the world building of planet Tertullia and Planet Daju specifically. I will start with the general context and then at the end of the context go into detail about how these worlds work and some of the cool aspects of the story. I’ve written a lot more about this world I’ve come up with and I hope everyone finds it entertaining to learn about.)

CONTEXT:
[I wanted to share my latest world building project. It’s a brand new science fiction universe in the great genre and I want to explain how it works:

The context is that this is a world set 1000 years in the future and humanity is on the run. Specifically, a branch of our species has found a hidden planet, a world called Tertullia, where they believe they are safe from the alien clan that is hunting them, the Vogrom. Humans on planet Tertullia have built a new culture based on pride, the stars, and the all important black line—the thread of fate that controls destiny and works in ways humanity has yet to come to understand. They have an annual festival dedicated to worship of the black line and this void has chosen members of the Tertullians (but I can get into that later).

All of this takes place in the Milky Way galaxy. Humanity has colonized many planets and is separated from one another. There are also alien clans that reside in our galaxy, one is known as the Barbum, who look human other than their very long arms. They have their own religion, which is largely rooted in ancient scripture which speaks of the end times. The Barbum consist of all males, except for one female survivor, as their clan was fractured by a civil war where the insurgents murdered every female member of the species and only left one alive but sterilized as an act of rebellion. They are a warrior clan, and have also battled the primary antagonist, the Vogrom for many centuries. Both clans are to be feared for they both are formidable and dangerous foes in war.

The Vogrom are even more fanatical than the Barbum. They consist of an insect alien species with four arms and hardened carapace. They belong to a polytheistic religion called Shael’dok. Their primary god of war and victory is named Shaelix. Their scripture orders them to annihilate the disbelievers and so with their mighty armada, they make war upon all other star systems. They originate from planet Daju, a desert planet with massive oceans and rivers. Their greatest companions in the worldly realm are the flameflies as seen in the dark-themed sequel cover. Much like how dogs are to humans, the same goes for flameflies for Daju aliens.

All of this world building is designed so that each faction has reason to clash with the others. Humanity is weaker, but they are developing a superweapon founded upon the strange power of the void, the same black line they worship. It’s called Project Phoenix. It isn’t ready, but it’s getting close to completion. The problem is that the Vogrom is closing in on planet Tertullia, and time is running short.

The orange-themed image is the first book drawn by a digital artist. It features Sergeant Louis Wolffe at its center with another character, a kind of enchantress named Bellona, standing by his side. The alien in the foreground is Supreme Commander Kaelith Sothrak, the Daju leader of the Vogrom clan. Then the machine monster arms belong to the monster of the void, the Tornak, yet another antagonist who appears in the book. They are all on planet Tertullia in the image and the mountain ranges of the planet are behind them.

The dark-themed image is the sequel cover drawn by the same digital artist. It features the main character Sovereign Kaelith Sothrak kneeling before the elders of a rival clan, the Mezrathi.
These elders do not accept his presence on planet Jugong, for they view his rule over the Vogrom clan to be unearned and false. Kaelith kneels before the Mezrathi elders, asking for their blessing, before he will go to climb the mountains of his dreams as seen in the background.
The journey he must go on is perilous, as he traverses ranges that are far more hazardous than the Himalayas. Along the way he will encounter the void, and he will forever be changed by his encounter with it.

By the way, 0% Al slop involved in the covers. You can check out the artist's work on Fiverr, his name is Unos and he's got a vast portfolio. He deserves more business.]

Ok, so that is the context. I’ll start with Planet Tertullia. This world is home to the Tertullians who are hardy survivors of many previous wars. Many of their past wars were amongst themselves, and I included a small detail in the story which was inspired by a statue in Seoul, South Korea. There is a memorial statue of a true story of two brothers who were caught on opposite sides of the war. The older brother fought for the south while the younger brother fought for the north. What happened is that they encountered each other on the battlefield and the younger brother is held in the arms of his older brother. Their uniforms are strikingly different and their story reflects the horror of war. I included this statue in the history of the Tertullians, one of my main characters, Wolffe walks past this statue on the planet’s main spaceport.
Planet Tertullia is a place of many biomes and is a vast world. It has extinct species such as the Cuttlefly, a huge squid-like flying creature that sang songs of love and loss in its time. There are many cities throughout the planet and the Tertullians have come up with a clever defense system which is called the plasma dome. Through a planetary network that runs beneath the surface, they have invented a protective shield that projects from the world against orbital invasions. This plasma shield is a crucial part of the Tertullians’ survival.

Planet Daju is the homeworld of the antagonists of the story, the Daju insect alien species. Their lore rests in the caves of the planet, where painted on the walls of the caverns in ochre and charcoal are depictions of ancient tribal birdmen encountering the void in different ways. One illustration painted next to geodes and crystals, reveals how the spiraling void hunted the tribal birdmen in the past, swallowing them like a black hole. The sequel goes into greater detail how these paintings form an important of the Daju religion of Shael’dok and play a large role in the division amongst Daju aliens. This is a new idea I am fleshing out, but the Daju are divided into two groups of thought. The main faction, the Vogrom believe in the core idea that Shaelix is the primary god and that the void is to be revered and respected but to believe that any Daju is blessed by the void is heresy. The other minority sect, the Mezrathi, are the covert believers of a more esoteric understanding of the void. They are dedicated to a specific painting that shows a being pulling the void thread from the sky, in an eternal punishment by the gods for his failure. The Mezrathi believe that this First Puller created the gods and the universe through his harnessing of the void, and now the main character, Sovereign Kaelith Sothrak finds himself living out this ancient prophecy in real time in the events of the sequel. I’m currently figuring out how all the pieces connect as I write (64,000 words into this story).

If you have any questions are interesting thoughts on where the story could go I would love to hear them👍🏻

This is a map I made for the United Dorian Federation. It was originally 40mb so I had to compress it. In case there are quality or legibility issues, I have added additional photos.

LORE:

The United Dorian Federation is a country located in and named after the Dorian Ocean. In this timeline, meteors hit earth in 1964, 5 large meteors land in Southern Sudan, Isfahan, Northern China, and Bavaria. Smaller meteors would pelt the Earth for months afterward, near Japan, Russia, Mali, Congo, Botswana and South Africa, Spain, Norway, Scotland, and the United States. The Soviets and United States would race to the landing sites. Anomalous effects began around the crash sites, mutated creatures, strange physical properties like reduced gravity and unusually hot and cold areas and objects.

This caused the race to the meteors to ramp up. The USSR, USA, EU, China and others had no problems funding proxy wars and insurgence. They would destabilize and rush in to grab as much of the interstellar material as they could. The strange occurrences would get stranger still. Lights in the sky, creatures undergoing rapid evolution, strange and bizarre life. Mental effects had begun to set in too with increases in supposed ghost sightings, nightmares and lucid dreams. By the late 1970's, anybody who had come into contact with the meteor material had started experiencing random onsets of mental fog, paranoia, depression and various other mental effects.

By the turn of the 90's, people who had been in the area of the rocks would develop and seem to even spread mental disorders. BDP, Schizophrenia, Insomnia, Anger Issues, and OCD were the most common. All around the world, leaders of countries would begin to make irrational decisions, and the entire geopolitical and social scene was being rapidly upheaved. Francisco Franco was now seemingly unable to age and just gave up on his falangist ideals, embracing hard left communism and distributism. Ronald Reagan would continue to be president as nobody seemingly cared to vote for another president. He converted religions, seemingly switching between Mormonism and being a Jehovah's Witness every week. He moved the Capital of the United States to Salt Lake City and renaming it New Zion.

China redeclared the Qing Dynasty, then the Ming, Han, Song, then Tianlong Dynasty. Japan re-established the Empire under an extreme form of Shinto, Africa and South America united as one then split apart 3 days later, and everyone forgot. As nobody seemed to care what anybody else did, scientists discovered around 32% of the population was not affected by the effects of the Meteors. A large amount of this 32% would decide to establish a new contact. Using resources from their respective governments, which they pretty much had just walked away with, large cryogenic vaults were built by taking advantage of the many effects that the meteors would provide. 62 vaults were constructed around the world, each holding thousands of people. Volunteers and sometimes very not volunteers would be put in these vaults.

These vaults would store people for around 10,000 years. Complete with massive amounts of supplies and resources, seeds, and vast stores of information to repopulate the world. Just as predicted, the apocalypse would come. However, not from a human cause, On January 23, 2029. Hundreds of thousands of lights would food the sky, circling the earth, scientists and soldiers retreated to the vaults before they closed, as they were designed to be nearly indestructible from the outside. The vaults would lock, and the timer began, they would open 10,000 years later.

After 10,000 years, the vaults opened. As they navigated the terrain, many realized something was wrong. The vaults had seemed to move. Not from plates shifting or being pushed up. But the terrain and biomes seemed to be completely different. They soon would realize that the entire topography of the earth changed, sea levels rose by an estimated 1400 meters. Society began to rebuild, as the vaults lost purpose and were abandoned, from the insides being exposed to the elements as some would suffer inevitable technical failures. Some never opened, and some would have failed cryogenics. Society forgot them and kingdoms would rise and fall.

The current year for the world is 1528, with a technological advancement similar to that of the 1880's. In a world of water and islands, a pirate age would continue way longer than in our world. Pirates fighting with steam, steel, shot and shell. The power of the meteors had never left either. Mutations to animals and people, fishmen and animal people had arisen in some places. Strange creatures and cryptids would roam; some places being completely overrun by them. Learnable magic to improve eyesight, reflexes, bone and skin hardness, or muscle power is a rare and hard to train, however useful power that some can develop with hard work. While alchemy is common, it is rather difficult to learn, with spells and rituals being main ways that magic is used by its practitioners.

I’ve been working on this fictional world map for our alternative world Cold War-era roleplay set around 1950. Every country is player-created, with its own government, history, borders, politics and international relations.

I’d love to hear what you think about the map so far, especially the shapes, borders and overall world layout.

Context:
Asterra is set around 1950, shortly after the end of the Second Great War. The Nationalist Government of Wirkany collapsed and a new era began between several competing political blocs. Many nations are rebuilding after the war, empires are losing influence and new republics and socialist states are emerging. The Asterra United Nations (AUN) has recently been founded in an attempt to prevent another global conflict, although tensions between East and West are already increasing. Every colored country on the map has its own history, government and international relations.

And if this kind of worldbuilding interests you: we’re still looking for new players to join the RP and create their own nation. It takes place on Discord, and there are still several important regions and major powers available.

If you’re interested, just join via the Discord link: https://discord.gg/QHF2p6dFz

How many gods do you guys have in your pantheons? I'm building out my dnd world and im up to 21 gods. Do you guys have a maximum you set for your self or do you just create more without worrying about the number?

I feel like as big as my setting is there should definitely be more unique slang and a bit of a more specialized vocabulary regarding certain aspects of it. How do you go about creating slang sayingings and idioms for your settings?

Dragon Stone Continent

To the northwest lies the kingdom of the red dragons.

To the south lies the kingdom of the blue dragons.

To the east lies the kingdom of the black dragons.

To the west, on the other continent, lies the kingdom of the purple dragons.

The four kingdoms vie for power, even for a single piece of gold. Powerful, but unable to fly like their ancestors, due to their lack of wings.

You know how we love to simplify topics into two cleanly opposing sides?

Often it feels that werewolves are thought of as either scientific or magical. Your language is either about viruses, mutations, silver allergies and researching wolf behaviour; or magic, curses, moon goddesses and psychic bonds. Discussions on lore are decided by which team you're on, flattening the creative possibilities and also misrepresenting how diverse extant representations are!

The role a werewolf plays in a story varies massively; quite a few work just fine without there actually being a shapeshifter. The obvious culprits here are those romantasy BDSM cults, but even in real life what difference does it make if only the social contagion is real? And if you have a tonally grounded movie like The Wolf of Snow Hollow, you can fold in the credibility of lycanthropy into the investigation.

Transhumanist rapid body modification gives near-future questions on identity. Infectious lycanthropy begs for medical or epidemic drama, like the somewhat tortured AIDs/leprosy/racism/extremism thing going on in Red Moon. Clan dynamics demands something hereditary, but if you want to pull the whole "we're different from humanity" mopey shtick you need something more substantial than a genetic condition. Crib from Earthsea if you want something a little more philosophical. Give the keys to another person entirely for a different take on the loss of your humanity.

That's also ample opportunity to pick one that's suitable for that allegory you're inevitably doing. You racism allegory will be a lot smoother if your lycanthropy itself actually has racial parallels. Please. Please?

There is of course nothing wrong with going for the ol' reliable - most of the time people choose a werewolf because they want what is typically offered by werewolves. But, it's nice to know when you're artificially restraining yourself when writing or analysing works, y'know? It also sometimes feels like a missed opportunity when the most afforded to typical traits - relating to things like silver and full moons - is "explaining away" the function, rather than playing with how they work in the first place. A given affect can be used to very different ends if you get creative.

And a final caveat: these obviously aren't supposed to be discrete categories - a cursed magical object can corrupt your true form and misalign it with your psyche. It's more...framing; rather than cataloguing mechanisms, it's the thing that "makes" the lycanthropy. A given werewolf is handled very differently if you're riffing on Freud, Werewolf the Apocalypse, or Van Helsing!

Appendix

Full disclosure, a lot of the examples are very surface level, serving more as inspiration; very few works examine werewolves beyond shallow allegory, or deviate from the type specimen.

BIOLOGY

• species - your body just does that. It's supposed to. Hell, there can be no shifting at all but people will still call you a werewolf if you look the part. See: Mongrels, Dogman

• infection - transmission and cures, medical drama and epidemic thriller, extremely detailed hard worldbuilding, and usually the first choice for something grounded. See: FVZA, Red Moon, Battledogs

• condition - an ancestor Did Something, maybe it skipped a generation, and now it's your problem. You parents probably didn't tell you and now there's family problems. Can also parallel chronic illnesses! See: Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, Namwolf, Uncaged, When Animals Dream

• mutation - spontaneous. Rapid. Cancerous. Your body enveloped by a pulsating mass with designs of its own.

• suppression - in times of old, before we got enraptured by the corrupting influence of technology and society, one could shift as freely as one could breath the untainted air. This natural state has been suppressed, forgotten in our decadence, until you rediscover life's enchantment... See: What Big Teeth, Werewolves (2024)

• de-evolution - the evolutionary tree is a path to be traversed. Species divergence is merely a phylogenetic fork in the road. Retrace your steps. See: Earthsea's dragons

• hybrid - when a man and a wolf love each other very much the result is neither, rejected by all, forever trying to find acceptance or carve out their own identity. See: Dire Wolf (2009)

• chrysalis - you ever wanted to dissolve into a pile of goo and emerge as a sublime being? Reform yourself, begin anew. See: Howling IV, Romasanta: The Werewolf Hunt

• symbiote - a parasite could be an infection, or it could be far more involved. A skin for two, a doubled set of opposing priorities to make life that much more difficult. Learn to love the voice in your head before it decides to take over completely.

PSYCHOLOGY

• hormonal - what if puberty's changes were a little more pronounced? Would that be fucked or what? See: Boobs

• alter-ego - dual personalities; give one of the personalities a freakier effect on the body. Mental fragility, morality, the self. It's a classic! See: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frostbite

• regression - stress. Anger. The more you pile on, the less you think clearly, the more you lean on instinct, the lower into your brain you go until you inevitably awaken the primal rage seated deep in your brain stem. It's still you, but not as you know it. See: Wolf Land, I Was a Teenage Werewolf

• awakening - humanity has many archetypes, a collective undercurrent to all our myths and stories. There is an animal bond to tap into and bring to light. See: Saint Peter's Wolf

• sheer will - adept meditators can do miraculous things with their bodies. Masters can do monstrous things.

• embodiment - the brain is the core of your being. Reform your identity, reshape your brain, and the effects cascade down effortlessly.

• introspection - inner knowledge - accessible to anyone who looks hard enough, or is lucky - will set your mind and body free. See: Animals (1993)

• cognitohazard - information itself has causal power; simply reading a dusty tome will do lovecraftian things to your being.

METAPHYSICS

• brute belief - one's true form is meant to be an unshakeable truth. Maybe it's wrong. Maybe, just maybe, if you believe - truly - in a different form, with ever fibre of your body, every second of your thoughts, every fragment of your soul, the universe will correct its error. See: modern Occultism

• manifestation - some Gods exist through the collective belief of their followers; popularity brings greater power. A lot of people believe you're a werewolf...despite your protestations.

• dehumanisation - cast aside one's humanity and all that's left is a hungry animal. Rationality, love, free will; don't peel back the layers and be surprised at what emerges. See: The Werewolf of Ponkert

• sympathetic form - your physical form is a reflection of your inner true being. Unfortunately, you've never had that stable grasp on what you are, and your body gets away from you.

• true renaming - names have power: knowing something's true name grants you unparalleled command. Changing something's true name...

• subtle body - everyone naturally has a second form; usually this is physically identical, and merely a more spiritual shift. Make some adjustments to your other self, and the rest is as effortless as ever. See: The Devourers

• elemental balance - all things are a mixture of simple elements. Tip the ratios to something more wolf-like, and make sure you can handle the imbalance. See: Astrology

• field traversal - life is excitations of a fundamental field, some primordial life-being; you simply(!) move along the possible space of manifestations, from human coordinates to wolf coordinates.

• simultaneity - two forms occupying the same space, switching out at will. Feels like cheating, but functionally, here's a human, here's a wolf.

SPIRITUAL

• animal soul - a damaged human soul incorporates into a wolf soul. The body merely goes along for the ride. See: Mother of Rome

• spirit double - there is a ghost out there that is a mirror image of you, and it is very clearly a wolf, you are the mirror image of your double, and you are very clearly a human.

• totem animal - your tutelary spirit reflects something more fundamental than the values of your people. See: Monster Wolf

• animal essence - close connection to a wolf - perhaps by saving a wolf, or being raised by a she-wolf - can have the wolf impart itself upon you.

• mental possession - as it turns out, ids can be transferred. Lucky you! Now you have to fight for control of your body, or make peace with the beast. See: High Moor, The Wolfman

• physical possession - your body puppeted by a higher power changing the shape of the vessel on a whim. You may have asked for this, without recognising the full consequences. See: Wolf Moon

• chosen forms - some entities take many forms, and may regularly flit between something human and something lupine - being neither.

• incarnation - a wolf given a second chance in a human body (or vice versa) is still, at heart, a wolf, and sometimes can't help but be, in body, a wolf. See: She-Wolf (1983)

MAGIC

• projection - fall unconscious and wander the world as the wolf inside - but make sure to return to your body unscathed; injuries have a habit of transferring themselves. See: Wolfwalkers, Darker Than You Think

• mind control - instead of using your own body to be or make a wolf, just find one ready-made! If you're in harmony with nature, they'll gladly let you use their senses. If not...

• curse - the circumstances of your birth, a god's offhand gesture; the universe has foist this upon you, and you must learn to make the most of what you had no part in earning. See: The Werewolf of Paris, Ladyhawke, King Lycaon

• magical object - a garter made from the skin of a hanged man; the pelt of a cannibal wolf; a salve proffered by a man in black at a crossroads. A layer impenetrable to bullets of iron or lead. A secret to regret. See: Skin Trade, Witch Hate Atelier, November

• shapeshifting - there's lots of spells out there. You learned the one to turn into a wolf! See: Fool Moon

• attunement - the world is teeming with magic, raw, chaotic. There's a forest - old, always - and if you can just remember the sounds, the essence, feel the forest become you, nature will find itself a new wolf. See: Night of 1,000 Wolves

• sympathetic - you don't need to alter yourself, merely alter a thing in correspondence with you. Make sure the changes are what you think they are.

• channelling - instead of figuring it all out yourself, just become a conduit and point yourself in the right dimension, become an open invitation for whatever will wolf you out. What could possibly go wrong?

• trait alteration - acquire the speed of a wolf, the courage of a wolf, the heart of a wolf, the aspect of a wolf: you shall find yourself a wolf.

ARTIFICIAL

• glamour - think yourself a wolf, see a wolf in a mirror - but it is only ever the devil tricking your senses. See: Demonology

• costume - fursuit technology has come a long way; now anyone can free themselves to be clad in fur and range in paws and bung it all in the washing machine when you're done. See: The Wolf of Snow Hollow, Hugues the Wer-Wolf

• enactment - go full thespian. Put on an act so convincing, so real, that you yourself forget it's an act, and all anyone can reasonably see is a werewolf, and all that you can do is the work of a werewolf. See: The Man-Wolf, She-Wolf of London

• mass hysteria - does the fact there isn't actually a werewolf alter the story? What is a werewolf, if not whispers round a campfire? See: A Story of a Weir-Wolf, Wolf Blood

• body modding - implants, prostheses, backroom surgeries, sketchy experimental tech. A hacker ethos to go far beyond what society deems acceptable. See: Magnet Raccoon Girl, Project Metalbeast

• transhumanism - release your body, reject your humanity, elevate beyond personhood - by any means necessary.

• nanomachines - a technological swarm, constantly rewriting, breaking, growing, forming into black adornments, feeding on your cells and empowering your brain and changing where you begin and the monster ends.

• gene splicing - do you enjoy technobabble? You want montages of glowy screens with 3D animations of DNA, questionably procured wolf DNA, questionably procured humans? Something will go wrong, and people in lab coats will die. See: Clean Sweep

So a few weeks ago i began creating a mostly realistic world, and now i got to the point where it would be awkward and impractical to continue without a map.

I want to keep the world as realistic as possible, and i enjoy building the setting slowly, so i decided to include proper geology to the map.

Do you have any advice? Do you usually include these details? Is there anything to look out for that could ruin the realistic feel?

Edit: I really want to stay as close to a realistic world as possible with this setting, it isn't really even a fantasy. It is set in an industrialized world, with its technology roughly equivalent to our 1870-1890

I'm trying to create some cool critters that affect the land around them. In nature different animals create different homes like birds having nests which are temporary and break easily, rabbits and other small burrowing creatures make semi permanent burrows and beavers that make dams that can last centuries and transform the land around them. My question is are there any other creatures you can think of that build/make cool "homes" or make one up yourself!

An updated version of the HCH-321 art with top and front views. As well as the Spec-ops flying ambulance and unarmed civilian version.

Description:

The HCH-321 Black Heron is a unique combination of medium cargo helicopter and front line combatant. Designed to provide direct front line logistics, transportation, and fire support to infantry in combat, the Heron carries a significant amount of armor as well as a powerful offensive weapons load. In its standard configuration the aircraft is capable of carrying 20 personnel across 5 rows. In practice however this payload is often de-rated to accommodate additional weapons, fuel, and performance. Used primarily by the Special Support Operations Division, this helicopter often receives a souped-up engine package and additional heavy armor. This additional armor makes the aircraft all over resistant to anything lighter than a 14.5x114 mm, with some areas rated to stop 23mm anti aircraft fire. In addition to supporting troops in combat, the HCH-321 serves as a multi-role special support helicopter, used to exfil casualties, POWs, and other high value assets as well as deliver engineering troops anywhere in the wasteland In practice the Heron is a guardian angle to most, a patty wagon for others, and all around respected by its crew. Every Heron pilot has seen combat and the aircraft's survivors often adorn their uniform with an embroidered Black Heron patch even after progressing onto other aircraft.

Worldbuilding Role:

The HCH-321 is a Hero Vehicle flown by the protagonist and narrator of my book series. It serves as a jumping off point for the character's military aviation career. The HCH has a unique crew structure which allows me to tell the story from the perspective of a young pilot on his first captain's role, without the character having to spend a decade working up to the right seat position. In universe the helicopter serves as the first fully modern aircraft the reader is exposed to, beginning development after the planet begins to fully recover its industrial capabilities in the aftermath of nuclear war. this shifts readers from a cold war mindset, to a more future, space age perspective.

Stats:
-Crew (Standard): 5 (Pilot, Co-pilot, Medic, Crew Chief, Door Gunner)
-Crew (SSOD CSAR): 7 (Pilot, Co-pilot, Chief Medical Flight Officer, Flight Surgeon, 2x Combat Medic, Junior Combat Medic)

Passengers: 20 Internal (Maximum)

Weight (empty): 12,200lbs
Weight (typical): 25,750lbs
Weight (max takeoff): 29,000lbs

Fuel (maximum): 4000lbs

payload (external): 3500lbs
payload (weapons): 3000lbs

Cruise Airspeed: 150kias
Never Exceed Airspeed: 170kias

Service ceiling: 17,500ft
Hover ceiling IGE: 15,000ft
Hover ceiling OGE: 10,800ft
Engine: 2x Coupled Turboshaft Engines @ 3000hp each (1500hp per core). 6000hp total

Fuel consumption (full throttle): 2000lb/h
Fuel consumption (typical OGE hover): 980lb/h
Fuel consumption (typical IGE hover): 812lb/h
Fuel consumption (typical en route): 720lb/h

Combat endurance: 5.0 hours
Range: 750nmi straight line, 320nmi radius

Armament: 6x pylons (4x hot pylons, 2x cold pylons)
1x NS-37 37mm revolver cannon
2x NS-338-6 Rotary Door Guns

-Or-

1x NS-37 37mm revolver cannon
1x NS-15 15mm UHMG
1x NS-338-6 Rotary Door Gun

I did my research, but most discussions are the other way around. I am working on a world that is similar to earth, but a cosmic phenomenon locks most heavenly bodies in place. The planet rotates in its place, without orbiting the sun. Of course, the minute the planet stopped, assume most of the crust didn't fracture and get flung into space lol.

Ecologically, I assume as seasons won't be a thing, most plants would start dying. There would be large scale droughts in equatorial regions, many lakes and rivers would dry up, especially in regions which are closer to the sun. The other side might have a forever Winter of sorts. Whatever civilization exists might move to temperate zones.

Is it possible for life to evolve, and stabilize around 1-2 thousand years from this? Assuming it's now locked in this scenario permanently?

Hello. Sorry for any mistakes i dont really post on reddit. In my story, the 8 fairies in the main court should almost act as gods, in the sense that they should have their own domain or represent something. However they are not gods, my world already have Gods.
Stellae, god of stars, guidance and divinity
Solis, god of the sun, light and magic
Luna, god of the moon, dreams and sleep
Terra, god of the earth, life and death
Awquor, god of the ocean, emotions and love
Caelum, god of the sky, karma and freedom

the main difference is that the gods are immortal and represent what they are. like solis IS the sun. However the fairies die, and when someone in the main court dies (the 8 im trying to figure out) someone new gets appointed.

Im just trying to figure out what the roles or what they should be in charge of. I dont want it to overlap to much with the gods. However i wouldnt mind if say they all had something do with one the gods. like if they were all moon related, and represented the 8 moon stages. however i dont really like that idea.

or something like love, war, time, wisdom, ect, that doesnt have anything to with the gods.

if you have idea for 7 fairies, thats ok, i cant make one of them the leader or something.

I hope i didnt break any rules!! i really like this sub

I hope it's within the rules, this is screenshots for my note app with all my brainstorming, almost every images and pictures are from pinterest to serve as an example/models except for the drawing in image 5 and 6 (the one with yellow and orange scribbles) which is my last commission (I shared it last time here) to the artist who's making this next one (aristotto on instagram).

I'm planning on commissioning them a lot of drawing of my species and I wanted to share the brainstorming I came up with so far !

So for context: this is about the Avkvaīaʀys

(/ˈav.kʰvaiːaʁʲs/ or "AHV-kvah-eeee-ars" with the r being pronounced like the french r (like in "rester") and same with the a which is the same as in french)

They are one of the two "groups" who populated the planet before the Cataclysme (both were the same species but there were some significant differences) .

To explain the screens a bit, the first 4 are about their skin colors. Avkvaī's skin is very thick with a leather-like texture. It consists of either a warm or cold shade of black which for the human eyes can look pretty much the same, but they see the nuance ! I tried making a "cloud" of all the shade their skin could be and it can be divided into 3 categories: two categories are both very common but depending on where you are on the continent, it'll be more common in some places, and the third category of skin tones is a specific ethnicity. They can also have blue, purple or green undertone even tho I'm a bit unsure of how it'd look.

Screen 5 6 and 7 are about Avkvaī's fur ! The inside of their ears is covered with short black fur and their face has shorter fur (more like a duvet). The duvet on their face is one of the things I'm still undecided about, I'm unsure if it should cover only the nose, cheeks and part of the ears or if it should also cover part of the front head on each side of their 5th eye. Is it only a matter of which design I like best ? Or could there be a more "scientific" reason ? If you saw the latter, would you wonder why it's this way or just appreciate the design ?

Anyway, still about the duvet, it's usually a shade of dark brown (or at least not light), dark grey or black and more rarely blue (except light blue) or iridescent black.

They also have longer fur on their head, pretty much like hair. They have a lot of cultural hairstyles and accessories to add on it. Most of it is made of silk and wood but I haven't put too much thought into it yet. I take a lot of inspiration from various native cultures, but especially from Mongolia, Tibet and also from Inuit cultures (their language has a lot of Inuktitut inspirations). Their "hair" can be different shades of brown, white, black and more rarely purple or beige (it's usually at most a softer lighter brown or full on white).

I don't know if I can give them different hair texture (like more textured hair) or if it could have a bad connotation since I'm white ? It might be a dumb question since it's fictional creatures and I'm already taking inspiration from other cultures by making a lot of research, but I'd prefer to avoid mistakes, if anyone has any advice or opinions about that I'm all ears.

The last 2 screens are about their eyes. They have 5, 2 on each side of their nose and one above it. They can't make facial expressions, and their skin is especially thick around the eyes where it looks like it has been simply cut open to put the eyes in. They do have eyelids, but it's very hard to see, they can blink but they don't need to do it as often as us humans (for example). Their sclera is black and the pupils have a light grey/white circle around it. Just like their skin and fur, their pupils can be different colors: yellow, gold, brown, black, purple, dark green and more rarely blue or light grey. It also has a lot of purple, blue and black/grey debris floating around the iris making it look like a tiny galaxy.

As for the pupils, I took inspiration from gecko's.

I'm still unsure about what to do with the eye above, idk if I should make it the same or not. Does anyone else have 5 eyed creatures ? How did you go about the eyes ?

I still have a lot to brainstorm about and lore to create, but I'd like to make a big reference sheet for them with all the drawings I'll have commissioned !

Any advice on what would be interesting to put on it ? I already planned a second drawing in colors but with an individual from the other group and with their mouth open, and a few close up of eyes, hands and feet.

And thank you to all the people who'll read this far :D

One of the societies I’m writing is a large city (about 5k square miles) that is unable to grow or utilize the land around it due to various threats outside of its walls. The population hovers somewhere a bit under 1 million and are limited to dense, apartment style living with no real ability to homestead. There is land allotted for city-run farming and greenhouses, but as I mentioned there is only so much.

Is the city doomed to fail at one point? Of course. But right now it is doing just fine.

What crops take up the least amount of land? Does anyone else have self-contained societies with the same issue?

Sorry if this is a bit wordy, please give feedback or ask questions!

The Migration Era was a period of profound political, demographic, and cultural upheaval across Eleska and western Assaia, conventionally dated from 395 to 550 C.Y. It began with a sudden climatic shift in the Western Assaian Steppe, where a period of unusually severe cooling disrupted the grasslands upon which the region's nomadic populations depended. The resulting migrations of high elvish peoples pushed numerous human tribes westward and southward, eventually bringing over a million people into contact with the increasingly weakened Saturnian Empire.

The Saturnian Empire had been dealing with the ramifications of the Century of Death (Aiónas tou Thanátou) which had only ended thirty years prior. In 382, the empire had been divided into North and South by Leonis II, who granted both halves to his sons. The Southern Empire was particularly well defended against any marauding tribes by the Colossus Mountains whilst also being considerably wealthier, with its capital of Leopolis being centered on trade routes that led straight to the southern trade republics and the far east. In comparison, the North was economically underdeveloped, with the wealthiest areas being centered around Saturnia and the Graitalic Peninsula, and having a wide open frontier which was becoming increasingly difficult to defend as the economic situation only got worse, leading to the army becoming increasingly weak.

In the late 300's, the temperature across the Western Assaian Steppe suddenly decreased, which dislodged the nomadic high elves from their usual pastures and tundras. In 395, the first contact between migrating Doriarish elves and the Frencish occured, marking the start of the period traditionally. The migration of the incredibly violent and xenophobic elvish horse lords forced the tribes just across the Saturnian frontier into crossing the border, who themselves needed land to settle in where they wouldn't be accosted by Imperial law. The weak Imperial army couldn't really stop the mass migration.

Throughout the early 400’s, the Northern Empire was forced to give more land to foreign tribes, which further weakened the state as the High Elvish hordes arrived. In 416, Saturnia itself was sacked by the Doriarish host led by Aranel the Maneater. Aranel’s death to emperor Varus X in single combat at the Battle of the Black Plain led to the Doriarish being forced back across the frontier, which in turn caused further displacement of human and low elvish tribes as the Doriarish ravaged the other side of the frontier. Imperial influence continued to wane in the next decade, especially after the Imperial defeat at the Battle of Chausia in 421, which saw the death of emperor Basilikus and the destruction of two Imperial legions. Foreign tribes continued to establish new states in the Northern Empire, up until the last emperor, Acestes Saturnias, was deposed in 432 by Othillian king Adalbert.

The rest of the period was marked by extremely violent wars among the barbarian kingdoms, as well as a demographic collapse among the high elves who had managed to settle in Imperial lands, as they continually interbred with the local human population, gradually resulting in their replacement by low elves.

In 525, the Southern Saturnian Empire under Leonis IV launched a reconquest of Graitalia, which led to multiple sackings of the city of Saturnia and a population collapse in the region. The Migration Era is traditionally thought to have ended in 550, when a Southern army destroyed an enormous Doriarish force at the Battle of the Callik River, also killing most of the Doriarish Kingdom's royal family. The kingdom across the frontier soon collapsed, which in turn ended their constant raids across the steppe that influenced the latter part of the Migration Era.

If earth is in your setting, wether it be an alternate history or set in the far future... how different are it's borders. Are there new countries? What about modern day disputed territories?

For me... I'll probably break it down by region. Foreshadowing... I'm leaving a lot ambiguous.

North America: a little undecided. There's a continental union, but it is more military/economic than it is nationalistic. The large nation will people be called America for continent sake... but it could also be different. Mine has a Native American/Hispanic population boom/new identity. Different flag and such. The Mexica people make a large part of the population. Some people will think I'm making a "political statement" I don't think so. Not intentionally at least.

South America: greater Peru. Sorry but I have bias for my second home. Don't worry there's enough of Brazil left to exist, and they're strong. Independent Patagonia, the Falklands/Malvinas belong to it. Sorry Argentina and Britain.

Europe: isolationist but not in a toxic way. Countries are pretty much the same, I'm vague with borders, but know there is plenty of overlap. East Germany has many Poles, west Poland has many Germans. The Balkans, gosh... ambiguous Kosovo. Can't decide. Maybe the rural areas have Albanians (no poverty) and urban has Serbs? No bad blood with Russia however.

Eurasia and Central Asia: good ol' Russland. Also ambiguous. Its one country but also many different countries. They probably all call themselves Rus. A quarter of them fly the Ukrainian colors and trident, the rest fly different flags. They do get along, so a plus. Especially Donbas, it is flourishing here. Siberia is majority East Asian, indigenous. Same with Central Asia.

Africa: rule of thumb, throw out the modern map. 90% different countries. I've been using historical maps and tribal lines to map it, no pun intended. Also vague borders. Historic names and cities remain however. North Africa has a flourish of Berber and Egyptian peoples, especially in rural areas. Cities tend to be more diverse, you'll find black Africans, Arabs, and some Europeans too.

West Asia: same as Africa, using historic names and places. And of course the Levant is going to come in. Specifically the historical land of Canaan which I know is a big can of worms today. So... vague again. But, rule of thumb, rural areas and farmlands are majority Mizrahi and Sephardic Jew. Cities are diverse, you'll find Arabs, Assyrians, Chaldeans, people from all over. The majority of Jerusalem's and Bethlehem's populations are pilgrims from all over the earth who come and go. As for what the people of the land call themselves... I don't even know. One day we'll know.

South Asia: historic Hindustan. Hindi, Punjab, Pashtun, Bangladeshi, and others all get along. Independent Kashmir.

East Asia: China right off the bat, still deciding on their flag. Might keep it red, since both the PRC and ROC have red flags, might change it. Japan and Korea are best friends, peninsula unified, they have their historic flag.

Southeast Asia and Oceania: Australia and New Zealand no longer fly the Union Jack on the upper left. Myanmar finally at peace. New Guinea is also united. Wether its independent or part of a union, wether that be Indonesia or not, still undecided. On one note, many of the islands on the Pacific have joint bases with China. Now today this topic is controversial. But I will say... the government of China in this universe is trustworthy. The bases' garrisons are from the local people. For example... if the island belongs to Vietnam or the Philippines, or a Polynesian island-nation. The base commander might outrank the garrison commander, a colonel vs two star admiral. But... their cooperation is cordial, they fly both flags on base, and both are seated at the table whenever important matters are discussed. Hawaii is independent, but hosts military personnel from North America. American and Chinese fleets are under a unified command, and while Hawaii hosts American bases, Chinese staff personnel is present.

Antarctica: most of the ice is melted, however evolution finds a way, ecological disasters have been avoided. The continent has been settled by Polynesian cultures who have adapted to the colder weather, resembling a mix of Polynesian and something akin to an Inuit people.

All in all... this is basically utopia earth. On the surface at least. Humanity has gotten along. Particularly because aliens can be a huge threat.

If you handled nations differently feel free to let me know. And if you're curious on how I handled other nations, fleel free to ask as well.

I’m currently rebuilding a fantasy world I originally created when I was much younger. I’m keeping some of the ideas I still like, but I’m trying to make the world much more mature, coherent, and politically/geographically believable.
Here’s what I have so far:
The world was originally one enormous landmass, divided roughly into northern, central, and southern regions. At some point in the distant past, a major catastrophe caused the land to break apart into several large landmasses. The exact cause is unknown. Different civilizations have developed their own theories, myths, and religious explanations for what happened.
A large meteorite fragment also fell in the region that would eventually become the location of Dominion Central. I haven’t decided exactly how (or whether) the meteorite is connected to the ancient catastrophe. I also don’t want it to simply become a cliché magical power source.
Before the catastrophe, the world was already inhabited by multiple peoples and powerful nations. It wasn’t a peaceful unified civilization: there were alliances, rivalries, wars, trade, different religions, and smaller peoples living between the major powers. The catastrophe disrupted this existing world rather than simply creating all the differences between civilizations.
Over the centuries, geography and isolation caused the surviving peoples to develop into different cultures, languages, religions, economies, and political systems. I’m aiming for a world where geography, resources, history, trade, and political interests actually shape civilizations, rather than having every nation simply represent one element or biome.
One idea I’m particularly interested in is sacred animals. Instead of having animal-human races, each civilization could have an animal totem that represents its culture and religion. The animal wouldn’t give people magical abilities; it would mainly influence symbolism, traditions, values, and possibly martial culture.
There will eventually be nine major modern nations, but they won’t necessarily correspond to nine continents or landmasses. Several nations can exist on the same continent, and neighboring civilizations may naturally share more cultural similarities than distant ones.
At some point in history, a major international crisis/war will eventually lead to the creation of Dominion Central, a neutral city where the nations meet. It becomes an important center for diplomacy and especially trade. The public justification is peace and cooperation, but economic interdependence is a major reason the system actually survives.
Each of the nine nations has its own ruler, who participates in the political system of Dominion Central. I’m currently exploring a system where influence is not necessarily equal: military strength, wealth, resources, strategic position, and economic power could all affect how much influence a nation has.
One idea I really like is that the nations eventually choose an official leader of Dominion Central, but that person may actually be manipulated by the more powerful nations behind the scenes — creating a difference between official authority and real political power.
I’m still at a very early stage. I haven’t created the detailed history, nations, cultures, religions, houses, or magic system yet.
I’m mainly looking for honest criticism: what feels interesting, what feels cliché, what seems unrealistic or overly complicated, and what ideas I should be careful with as I develop the world.
I’m taking inspiration from works like A Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, and Eragon, especially their approaches to history, politics, cultures, and worldbuilding — but I want the final world to have its own identity.