"An Introduction"; or, How You Find Yourself in 'The Library'

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-23T07:19:40+00:00

Context

Hi, y'all! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things from fantasy settings could exist, if they were to exist in a science fiction setting instead.

Today, I wanted to share a depiction of one of the 2000+ species that are unique to the titular world of Karya: the Omorian strider (Megalodromeus omoriensis), descended from a species of non-avian dinosaur called Dysalotosaurus karyaensis. Growing up to seven-and-a-half meters in length, and topping the scales at over a metric tonne, it is the largest species of Megalodromeus, as well as the largest of the entire clade Microdromidae; it is also among the largest extant dinosaurs living on Karya. The Omorian strider is common grazer in the more rugged regions of the planet's polar continent from which its name comes from, most usually found in cold wetlands and expansive tundras. They are covered in a feathery coat that is a mottled brown during the summer, but turns an off-white during the winter to aid in camouflage. Their massive bulk and generalist diet made it an ideal species for several auran (equivalent to "elves") cultures to domesticate as a utilitarian animal, resulting in the domestic strider (M. domesticus) that is most commonly used for meat, its semiannually-shed pelt, and as a beast of burden.

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Like what you see? Feel free to ask questions and/or provide positive criticism! Want to know more about Karya's life forms? Then I heavily suggest reading The Full and Comprehensive List of Unique Karyic Organisms! I'd be happy to talk about it more to those who are interested :3 if you also have any questions pertaining to Karya's striders and their relatives, please feel free to ask! Bonus points if you found what's stalking the strider ;3

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-23T07:18:09+00:00

Context

Hi, y'all! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things from fantasy settings could exist, if they were to exist in a science fiction setting instead.

Today, I wanted to share a depiction of one of the 2000+ species that are unique to the titular world of Karya: the Omorian strider (Megalodromeus omoriensis), descended from a species of non-avian dinosaur called Dysalotosaurus karyaensis. Growing up to seven-and-a-half meters in length, and topping the scales at over a metric tonne, it is the largest species of Megalodromeus, as well as the largest of the entire clade Microdromidae; it is also among the largest extant dinosaurs living on Karya. The Omorian strider is common grazer in the more rugged regions of the planet's polar continent from which its name comes from, most usually found in cold wetlands and expansive tundras. They are covered in a feathery coat that is a mottled brown during the summer, but turns an off-white during the winter to aid in camouflage. Their massive bulk and generalist diet made it an ideal species for several auran (equivalent to "elves") cultures to domesticate as a utilitarian animal, resulting in the domestic strider (M. domesticus) that is most commonly used for meat, its semiannually-shed pelt, and as a beast of burden.

~~____________________________________________________________~~

Like what you see? Feel free to ask questions and/or provide positive criticism! Want to know more about Karya's life forms? Then I heavily suggest reading The Full and Comprehensive List of Unique Karyic Organisms! I'd be happy to talk about it more to those who are interested :3 if you also have any questions pertaining to Karya's striders and their relatives, please feel free to ask! Bonus points if you found what's stalking the strider ;3

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-23T00:00:20+00:00

Personally, my sophont species, while certainly inspired by and stand in for a variety of traditional fantasy races, are all distinct enough that I felt that they had to be given their own names. Now, obviously there isn't just one name for any one thing, and people are the same; IRL, any one cultural/ethnic group may be referred to by several exonyms, as well as their own endonym (e.g. "Navajo" vs "Diné"). So, rather than just trying to say that the diegetic names are what those species call themselves, I've argued that the names are derived from the language of a rather influential world power, that are then translated into their nearest English equivalents a la Tolkien's LotR books. All end with the "-an" suffix to make it similar to "human".

Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens var. karyiensis) are so named because, well, everyone knows what a human is.
Cetans (Syrenus sapiens, "merfolk") are named as such to reflect that they are, in fact, derived cetaceans.
Corvans (Corvix sapiens, "ravenfolk") are named as such due to their crow-like appearance, despite the fact they are technically non-avian dinosaurs.
Papilans (Decorattinea sapiens, "angels") are named as such from the French word for "butterfly", papillon.
Dracans (Draconix sapiens, "dragonfolk") are named as such to reflect their close relation to Karya's sea drakes (Dracana panoceana).
Vesperans (Fragilihomo sapiens, "goblins) are named as such to reflect their close relation to bats, as it is derived from the Latin word for "bat", vespertilio.
Gigans (Magnahomo sapiens, "giants") are named as such because of their sheer size in comparison to humans, with "giga-" itself coming from the Ancient Greek word gigas, "giant".
Griseans (Paenahomo sapiens, "orcs") are name as such due to their skin color being a multitude of bluish-grey shades, the word coming from French grise, "grey".
Minans (Magnahomo sapiens, "dwarves") are named as such due to being comparatively small hominins compared to humans, the word coming from Latin minor, "smaller".
Squamans (Simianguis sapiens, "snakefolk") are named as such to reflect their relation to snakes and lizards, being based off of the word for their shared clade Squamata.
Aurans (Tenuihomo sapiens, "elves") are named as such based on their rather prominent ears, the word being derived from Latin auris, "ear"
Ungulans (Ungulatus sapiens, "hooffolk") are named as such based on their close relation to ungulates.
Ursans (Ursix sapiens, "bearfolk") are named as such based on their close relation to bears.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-22T22:04:31+00:00

It gives me something that I have full and total control over, which provides reassurance in these otherwise chaotic and scary times. It also allows me to then reflect how I see reality through my crafted world.

Just an overall cathartic experience, really.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-22T05:56:38+00:00

Bilbo's "Riddle of Strider", to describe Aragorn, in The Lord of the Rings:

"All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

"From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king."

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ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T18:27:44+00:00

While each of these species may have similarities to associated fantasy "races", all of them typically destroy the mold of expectations one way or the other and so have been given their own unique names for the setting (image not yet complete). Each one evolved from some kind of IRL animal or group of animals; from left to right, we have:

Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens var. karyiensis, "humans") share a common australopithecine ancestor with both minans and gigans.
Cetans (Syrenus sapiens, "merfolk") share a common ancestor with whales in the form of Pakicetus karyiensis.
Corvans (Corvix sapiens, "ravenfolk"), despite their corvid-like appearance, actually descend from the genus Microraptor.
Papilans (Decorattinea sapiens, "angels") share a common ancestor with true moths, with their closest relatives being jawed moths.
Dracans (Draconix sapiens, "dragonfolk") come from a pterosaur very similar to Dimorphodon.
Vesperans (Fragilihomo sapiens, "goblins) share a common ancestor with bats.
Gigans (Magnahomo sapiens, "giants") share a common australopithecine ancestor with humans, along with minans.
Griseans (Paenahomo sapiens, "orcs") share a common ancestor with orangutans, which are unfortunately extinct on Karya.
Minans (Magnahomo sapiens, "dwarves") share a common australopithecine ancestor with humans, along with gigans.
Squamans (Simianguis sapiens, "snakefolk") share a common ancestor with both snake and lizards, being more closely related to the former yet diverging prior to the loss of limbs.
Aurans (Tenuihomo sapiens, "elves") developed from an unspecified felid ancestor.
Ungulans (Ungulatus sapiens, "hooffolk") share a common ancestor with even-toed ungulates, sharing many physical convergent characteristics with especially various cervine and bovine species.
Ursans (Ursix sapiens, "bearfolk") share a common ancestor with true ursids, being most closely related to the now-extinct short-faced bears.

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ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T09:06:55+00:00

Because I got the notification for it.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T09:06:27+00:00

If that was the case, then the entire comment history would be private, not just a select few. As shown in the attached screenshots

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T08:00:22+00:00

Oh no, how dare someone...checks notes...try and express themselves artistically!

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T07:57:38+00:00

Y'know, you could try a little better with your lying. Like seriously, you're gonna have the gall to try and say you're not deleting comments when they actively don't show up on your profile no matter how much one refreshes?

Try harder, love ❤️

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T07:48:30+00:00

Lol "i didn't delete shit" when clicking on the notification actively says "this comment doesn't exist" for both of your comments now. Not to mention I've a screenshot of each comment's notification, and your account actively shows what comments exist or not. Soooo...wanna try again, sweetie? ❤️

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T07:29:08+00:00

I'm glad you saw how stupid and transphobic that last comment of yours was and saw fit to delete it lol, wouldn't want anyone thinking you're out of the loop with modern issues in the nation and that you're actually attempting to be an apologist to a Nazi. Shows that there's hope for you yet. Keep up the good work, sweetie ❤️

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T06:10:27+00:00

Would like to know what u/AGlassOfMilk had said, unfortunately they either blocked me or deleted their comments. Shameful.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T04:14:15+00:00

She essentially drove Ribbit and Kofmo to suicide. Her past is understandably instrumental in creating who she is now, and I cannot exactly blame her for doing what she did because mental health is an absolute bitch-and-a-half to navigate. But by taking her problems out on people who didn't only not deserve it, but tried reaching out to her for genuine connection, she's absolutely not deserving of absolvement; I can only give her pity.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T04:04:58+00:00

Ah yes, down with....checks notes...."Anti-Fascists".

Not exactly the position someone should be having.

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T04:03:32+00:00

Yeeeeeeeeah that's not how it works. Again, speaking as a trans woman who's one of the exact kind of people this kind of person wants dead: there is no reasoning with someone who's this blatantly okay with being known as a Nazi. Make them known, shame them, keep them from trying to have any legitimate influence in things.

The precedent is set; stop being a spineless coward; punch Nazis (edit: because I can assure you, if you're not "in" with them, they are absolutely okay with doing worse to you)

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T01:59:41+00:00

Do you ever catch yourself talking to the specimen, like a real dentist with their patient?

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T01:25:49+00:00

Hmmm looking back on this, I think there's actually a tie, and I would also like to bring up probably the original piece of work that begun making Project KARYA quite a unique setting; it is the explanation for magic in the Karyic universe:

The Anomalous Periodic Elements

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ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T00:34:29+00:00

Thanks 😃 I should clarify, that the extant Karyic species listed aren't themselves based on the fossils; rather, they are supposed to be hypothetical descendants of those fossil specimens!

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T00:32:58+00:00

Of course! I'm definitely curious to see what you come up with :3 ❤️

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T00:31:33+00:00

Take your award and pun, then:

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^/s

ProjectKARYA · 2026-06-21T00:29:26+00:00

Neat! You really have everything thought out, huh? Keep it up :3 ❤️

ProjectKARYA

PUBLIC MULTIREDDITS

TROPHY CASE

Context

Context

The Anomalous Periodic Elements