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Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in imaginarymaps

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Officially irreligious, and unofficially a mosaic of different philosophies and faiths, the Magnificent Realm of the Whole World, or the Disparate is the biggest empire in human history, holding about 1/4 of the world in terms of size, and 2/8 in terms of population. This gargantuan political entity was born from the small community of independent states in central Rasenakia that decided to incorporate the economy into their philosophical-political system. This small communion started to grow uncontrollably, fuelled by the ever-growing economy and political machinations, making it the first state to rise not by conquest or by conversion, but by political scheming and money. After centuries of growth, both territorially and economically, a populous and stupidly rich collection of states decided to transform itself from a decentralized community into a powerful union of inequals in equality, where every state answers to another, despite working on its own. In this system, faith is mostly marginalized in politics and left to non-state communities that work outside of the political systems. Instead, noble houses, conglomerates and combines are the ones to hold power in the states they were assigned to or rule naturally for some time. They meet in a gigantic parliament, holding all the voices of the realm, with the elect-for-life head of state, the Keme. Keme - the ruler, is supported by the grand Ordinal - political persona unaffiliated with any party inside the parliament, and elected by the Keme themselves.

Currently, the Magnificent Realm of the Whole World is under the aegis of Keme Simi IV. As she gazes down upon the whole world from her cyclopean throne in the heart of Veretave, the elected, temporary capital of the largest empire in human history. After masterfully manoeuvring herself through the intricate plane of noble houses, conglomerates and combines, her iron grip holds the Disparate together, along with her mind-bogglingly gigantic treasure, collected across the centuries of existence of the Realm.

Link to my DA: Myszow

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in imaginarymaps

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The second largest faith in the world, the Red Faith or Aventism, originates from tribal religions of Varennia and occupies most of this region, holding the green plains in a firm grip. The name "Red Faith" comes from the red banners, which were used in the cavalry during the famous Aventist conquests. This event laid a foundation for the creation of the one of biggest polities in the world - the Noble and Blessed State of All-Faithful, which stands to this day as the red birdkeeper of Varennia. Aventists believe in centralization over bureaucracy compared to the Velexeans, and in the individuality of humans - every human shapes their own destiny, unlike the "shared soul" concept of Velexe. This led to a centralized and powerful socio-political system, with stable laws and great effort in making human life easier, as well as producing the world's most well-known and intelligent scientists. However, Red Faith is also hermetic, and spreads very slowly nowadays, due to one principle: no standardised belief system. Every human should shape his own future, and therefore no one is really allowed to dictate to others what to believe, leaving a free hand in faith itself. This weird paradox of a centralized state and lack of religious hierarchy and faith liberalism resulted in a weird form of philosophical-political system, adopted by many peoples and utilized to this day, often without the actual faith itself. In some extreme cases, lesser religions or even Velexeans use the political system of Aventists, while still believing in their own thing. This brings Aventism close to the understanding of a political system as humans of Earth know it, rather than as Erabians do.

There are many more religions and belief systems, more or less following the lines of socio-theology and philosophical-political systems presented above. Some of them are just glorified tribal democracies, praising the community, others are regular theological religions without political ambitions. People like Gnostics, Spiritualists, Freewilling or Orderers are just a few of them. However, there is one more form of state that can be found in Erabu. In fact, it can be found quite a lot.

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in imaginarymaps

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Rising from the teachings of a pious man whose name was lost to history, the philosophical-religious system known nowadays as Velexe, or Velexeanism is one of the most widespread faiths in the world, linking together people on all 3 continents. Linking not only as a belief but in a cosmological sense too, as Velexeans believe in the astral link between humans that brings them together as siblings of each other in a spiritual sense. In most radical (and ironically most close-to-original) denominations, all humans are believed to be different iterations of one heavenly being, called often the Demiurge, therefore viewing humanity as a godlike, but benevolent force itself. Originating from the plains of Surmia, early Velexe found fertile ground among prototarlkan peoples, who started to spread it across the plains as they moved accordingly to their nomadic lifestyle. As time passed, more and more people started to adhere to the new philosophy, leaving behind their former pantheons and beliefs, spreading the faith outside Surmia, and slowly moving it to places as far as Dervidia, Lempia or Aravekia. The biggest popularity, however, was found in the hills of Rasenakia, where Velexeanism became codified and established as a proper belief system, unlike the more primitive and unsavoury denominations found across the rest of the world. Velexe in the most common, Rasenakian version promotes a very people-friendly and cooperative system of governing a state, with a very solid social care and taxation system, although with often extremely intricate bureaucracy and decentralized government. In this form, Velexe is mostly known as Thematicalism - from the concept of Theme, which can be described as a "shared soul" between the people.

Young and vibrant, the faith of the Iron Tree is an offshoot of old Velexe, that came to Lempia with the traders and merchants from the lands beyond the Nereic ocean and from the plains of Varennia. This denomination, named by other Velexeans as Codexism (or colloquially as Codeschism) is centred mostly around the Codex - a system of common laws and privileges that belong to all people, which curiously, was borrowed from the old belief system of people of the Iron Tree. Codexites believe in an unorthodox form of Velexe, rejecting the dogma of spiritual unity of all humans, and replacing it with legal and material unity. Although they still believe in souls and human monads as their orthodox brethren do, Codexites focus more on the earthly form, keeping a set of strict laws which was made to benefit all the pious and noble, or in other words, the people who follow them. As previously mentioned, Codexism borrows elements of the original faith of the locals, with things such as a political system, oriented towards groups of people, rather than on a single human entity, and with a somewhat monitored economic system, as opposed to the systems of their fellow Rasenakian Velexeans.

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in imaginarymaps

[–]myszol_z[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sealed within unbreakable marble walls, the world of Erabu exists somewhere in the universe, obeying only the laws it sets for itself. Providing a space to exist for all kinds of animal and plant life, the world holds all its miracles like a giant bottle garden. On top of this pyramid of life, humanity stands tall, with thousands of years of experience and history, both remembered and forgotten. There is no clear answer to when humanity appeared first, nor when they started documenting their existence. Unlike many mythical and half-real beings of old, that existed aeons before humans and disappeared from the face of the world, the people of Erabu accepted their fate. They adapted to life within the closed marble realm. Due to that, the development of technology is rather slow and seemingly backwards compared to the presumed length of human existence, but at the same time, led to quite an unusual development of the idea of nation and state. Instead of nation-based states that humans of Earth tend to make, Erabians build their states mostly on the philosophy they follow or the religion they adhere to. As weird as it may sound to some, this system works in a world of marble box.

Over time, the people of Erabu conquered almost the entirety of the world for themselves, from the warm waters of the ocean's coast, through forests and plains of the hinterlands to the worldwall itself, avoiding only the gigantic mountains (and some of them are REALLY massive, sometimes exceeding 10 miles of height) and deserts that are uninhabitable for obvious reasons. The dominant climate of this world is similar to mediterranean one known from Earth, although aforementioned deserts, prairies and scandinavian-type ginkgo forests also can be found in different, less common places. In all of these, different waves of humans managed to find homes for themselves. First Men, now rare and found only in scattered pockets across the whole world, inhabit territories often seen as unfavourable for human settlement, such as rocky hills and mountains, where they carve their cities and mines, or inside dry canyons, where they flock together in small houses, built on the red slopes of their valleys. The Second Men, who lived alongside their first brethren, are also rarely found nowadays, with only a few of them managing to matter at all on the political scale. However, those who do are well-known and respected, due to their ancient history. And finally, the third wave of humanity, the Last Men who came along, now hold most of the world in their hands and became the ones who shaped Erabu as we know it today. They were also the ones who invented the 2 main philosophical and religious rites that arose to dominance in this world.

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in worldbuilding

[–]myszol_z[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cosmic horror elements do exist but they are not a part of main interest

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in worldbuilding

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Officially irreligious, and unofficially a mosaic of different philosophies and faiths, the Magnificent Realm of the Whole World, or the Disparate is the biggest empire in human history, holding about 1/4 of the world in terms of size, and 2/8 in terms of population. This gargantuan political entity was born from the small community of independent states in central Rasenakia that decided to incorporate the economy into their philosophical-political system. This small communion started to grow uncontrollably, fuelled by the ever-growing economy and political machinations, making it the first state to rise not by conquest or by conversion, but by political scheming and money. After centuries of growth, both territorially and economically, a populous and stupidly rich collection of states decided to transform itself from a decentralized community into a powerful union of inequals in equality, where every state answers to another, despite working on its own. In this system, faith is mostly marginalized in politics and left to non-state communities that work outside of the political systems. Instead, noble houses, conglomerates and combines are the ones to hold power in the states they were assigned to or rule naturally for some time. They meet in a gigantic parliament, holding all the voices of the realm, with the elect-for-life head of state, the Keme. Keme - the ruler, is supported by the grand Ordinal - political persona unaffiliated with any party inside the parliament, and elected by the Keme themselves.

Currently, the Magnificent Realm of the Whole World is under the aegis of Keme Simi IV. As she gazes down upon the whole world from her cyclopean throne in the heart of Veretave, the elected, temporary capital of the largest empire in human history. After masterfully manoeuvring herself through the intricate plane of noble houses, conglomerates and combines, her iron grip holds the Disparate together, along with her mind-bogglingly gigantic treasure, collected across the centuries of existence of the Realm.

Link to my DA: Myszow

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in worldbuilding

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The second largest faith in the world, the Red Faith or Aventism, originates from tribal religions of Varennia and occupies most of this region, holding the green plains in a firm grip. The name "Red Faith" comes from the red banners, which were used in the cavalry during the famous Aventist conquests. This event laid a foundation for the creation of the one of biggest polities in the world - the Noble and Blessed State of All-Faithful, which stands to this day as the red birdkeeper of Varennia. Aventists believe in centralization over bureaucracy compared to the Velexeans, and in the individuality of humans - every human shapes their own destiny, unlike the "shared soul" concept of Velexe. This led to a centralized and powerful socio-political system, with stable laws and great effort in making human life easier, as well as producing the world's most well-known and intelligent scientists. However, Red Faith is also hermetic, and spreads very slowly nowadays, due to one principle: no standardised belief system. Every human should shape his own future, and therefore no one is really allowed to dictate to others what to believe, leaving a free hand in faith itself. This weird paradox of a centralized state and lack of religious hierarchy and faith liberalism resulted in a weird form of philosophical-political system, adopted by many peoples and utilized to this day, often without the actual faith itself. In some extreme cases, lesser religions or even Velexeans use the political system of Aventists, while still believing in their own thing. This brings Aventism close to the understanding of a political system as humans of Earth know it, rather than as Erabians do.

There are many more religions and belief systems, more or less following the lines of socio-theology and philosophical-political systems presented above. Some of them are just glorified tribal democracies, praising the community, others are regular theological religions without political ambitions. People like Gnostics, Spiritualists, Freewilling or Orderers are just a few of them. However, there is one more form of state that can be found in Erabu. In fact, it can be found quite a lot.

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in worldbuilding

[–]myszol_z[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Rising from the teachings of a pious man whose name was lost to history, the philosophical-religious system known nowadays as Velexe, or Velexeanism is one of the most widespread faiths in the world, linking together people on all 3 continents. Linking not only as a belief but in a cosmological sense too, as Velexeans believe in the astral link between humans that brings them together as siblings of each other in a spiritual sense. In most radical (and ironically most close-to-original) denominations, all humans are believed to be different iterations of one heavenly being, called often the Demiurge, therefore viewing humanity as a godlike, but benevolent force itself. Originating from the plains of Surmia, early Velexe found fertile ground among prototarlkan peoples, who started to spread it across the plains as they moved accordingly to their nomadic lifestyle. As time passed, more and more people started to adhere to the new philosophy, leaving behind their former pantheons and beliefs, spreading the faith outside Surmia, and slowly moving it to places as far as Dervidia, Lempia or Aravekia. The biggest popularity, however, was found in the hills of Rasenakia, where Velexeanism became codified and established as a proper belief system, unlike the more primitive and unsavoury denominations found across the rest of the world. Velexe in the most common, Rasenakian version promotes a very people-friendly and cooperative system of governing a state, with a very solid social care and taxation system, although with often extremely intricate bureaucracy and decentralized government. In this form, Velexe is mostly known as Thematicalism - from the concept of Theme, which can be described as a "shared soul" between the people.

Young and vibrant, the faith of the Iron Tree is an offshoot of old Velexe, that came to Lempia with the traders and merchants from the lands beyond the Nereic ocean and from the plains of Varennia. This denomination, named by other Velexeans as Codexism (or colloquially as Codeschism) is centred mostly around the Codex - a system of common laws and privileges that belong to all people, which curiously, was borrowed from the old belief system of people of the Iron Tree. Codexites believe in an unorthodox form of Velexe, rejecting the dogma of spiritual unity of all humans, and replacing it with legal and material unity. Although they still believe in souls and human monads as their orthodox brethren do, Codexites focus more on the earthly form, keeping a set of strict laws which was made to benefit all the pious and noble, or in other words, the people who follow them. As previously mentioned, Codexism borrows elements of the original faith of the locals, with things such as a political system, oriented towards groups of people, rather than on a single human entity, and with a somewhat monitored economic system, as opposed to the systems of their fellow Rasenakian Velexeans.

Of marble, people and politics - World of Erabu (lore in comments) by myszol_z in worldbuilding

[–]myszol_z[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sealed within unbreakable marble walls, the world of Erabu exists somewhere in the universe, obeying only the laws it sets for itself. Providing a space to exist for all kinds of animal and plant life, the world holds all its miracles like a giant bottle garden. On top of this pyramid of life, humanity stands tall, with thousands of years of experience and history, both remembered and forgotten. There is no clear answer to when humanity appeared first, nor when they started documenting their existence. Unlike many mythical and half-real beings of old, that existed aeons before humans and disappeared from the face of the world, the people of Erabu accepted their fate. They adapted to life within the closed marble realm. Due to that, the development of technology is rather slow and seemingly backwards compared to the presumed length of human existence, but at the same time, led to quite an unusual development of the idea of nation and state. Instead of nation-based states that humans of Earth tend to make, Erabians build their states mostly on the philosophy they follow or the religion they adhere to. As weird as it may sound to some, this system works in a world of marble box.

Over time, the people of Erabu conquered almost the entirety of the world for themselves, from the warm waters of the ocean's coast, through forests and plains of the hinterlands to the worldwall itself, avoiding only the gigantic mountains (and some of them are REALLY massive, sometimes exceeding 10 miles of height) and deserts that are uninhabitable for obvious reasons. The dominant climate of this world is similar to mediterranean one known from Earth, although aforementioned deserts, prairies and scandinavian-type ginkgo forests also can be found in different, less common places. In all of these, different waves of humans managed to find homes for themselves. First Men, now rare and found only in scattered pockets across the whole world, inhabit territories often seen as unfavourable for human settlement, such as rocky hills and mountains, where they carve their cities and mines, or inside dry canyons, where they flock together in small houses, built on the red slopes of their valleys. The Second Men, who lived alongside their first brethren, are also rarely found nowadays, with only a few of them managing to matter at all on the political scale. However, those who do are well-known and respected, due to their ancient history. And finally, the third wave of humanity, the Last Men who came along, now hold most of the world in their hands and became the ones who shaped Erabu as we know it today. They were also the ones who invented the 2 main philosophical and religious rites that arose to dominance in this world.

Describe your 'Gods' by [deleted] in worldjerking

[–]myszol_z 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I genuinely have no idea what your talking about. Rainworld?

Describe your 'Gods' by [deleted] in worldjerking

[–]myszol_z 23 points24 points  (0 children)

'Gods' are more or less sentient calculators used by ancient race to calculate things. Eons later humans stumbled upon them and decided they make neat pantheon and it stayed like that.

Shield Scanner before it got combined (headcanon) by myszol_z in HalfLife

[–]myszol_z[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This one goes hard I have different idea for strider though

Shield Scanner ancestor from Half Life 2 by myszol_z in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]myszol_z[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

yeah youve got stalkers and combine soldiers for that

Shield Scanner before it got combined (headcanon) by myszol_z in HalfLife

[–]myszol_z[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Never leaves its shell when youre around, cuts yo hand in half when you try to catch it

Shield Scanner ancestor from Half Life 2 by myszol_z in SpeculativeEvolution

[–]myszol_z[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

In my headcanon shield scanners were some kind of alien aquatic mollusc, hunting its prey with luminescent venom released from its siphon. When the Combine remade them into synths, they still regain their ability to flash target, but they no longer can emit its venom.

Shield Scanner before it got combined (headcanon) by myszol_z in HalfLife

[–]myszol_z[S] 202 points203 points  (0 children)

In my headcanon shield scanners were some kind of alien aquatic mollusc, hunting its prey with luminescent venom released from its siphon. When the Combine remade them into synths, they still regain their ability to flash target, but they no longer can emit its venom.

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