Zompist Bboard Again

Many legends tell of how Humans and Beastfolk became separate. The Foxfolk of the silver isles tell how two brothers were playing in the fields when they spotted a vixen who they mistook for a Beastfolk in her animal form. The younger of the two thought she was beautiful so returned to the same field each day sometimes seeing her, sometimes not until he grew to adulthood where he chastised the fox for never revealing its two legged form to him. It answered it had no two legged form but offered to take off his mask for him so they would live together as foxes in the wild. But she was mistaken because when he took off his mask he became a human no longer able to transform between animal and two legged forms.

The Catfolk of the Isles of Cats tell how those of them who were not as agile or clever often failed to find a place in Catfolk society. But one day one man and one woman decided to marry each other anyway. The children born to them didn’t have the features of cats or the ability to transform and when their house was burned by other Catfolk for being an abomination they developed human’s connection to fire. When it was discovered the family survived, the catfolk sent them off to live with others like them who became humans.

The truth is a long time ago all people were as the Beastfolk would say Beastfolk as they could transform into animals but they had the hairless bodies of humans in their two legged forms. But eventually the Beastfolk retreated into the forests guided by shamans while the humans lived closer and in harmony with their forges whose gentle flames marked every human child at birth in a form of fiery baptism.

One time (it was a time before the sun when the world was only lit by lamps which hung in trees) some time after the creation of the world the god of light sought disciples. One of them, the first was a woman who could take the form of a fox and she loved him in all his resplendent glory. So she sought to create a gift for him, a light which could glow forever and not fade like the other lights. However her powers were imperfect so she created fire which could only glow so long as it consumed and which consumed everything including water. She showed it to her god and for a time he was pleased until he found out about what price you had to pay for it. So he rejected her but she had grown to love her creation so she gathered many disciples and taught them how to make fire before retreating to a different part of the island. She used it to burn forests and create fields where she built villages each centered on a great foundry which she offered gifts to which eventually gentled its nature and made it accustomed to the feelings of spirits.

Eventually she discovered these flames were friendlier when a child, a young boy accidentally stepped into them and came out with his skin charred but unhurt now bearing the distinctive bronze colour most humans now bear. She decided each child from now on would be marked by the fire of the foundry and so each new child would bear the bronze skin and glowing green eyes common to humans of this world.

Eventually this woman would found a school which broke the laws of nature with words and trickery and brought about many great and terrible things. The woman taught many disciples here who would become the first wizards. Although her own creations were suitable for the world, some of her disciples were excessive in their alterations to the whims of the world. Seeing this and how it twisted the sensations and sounds of the world, the goddess of the sky brought it low with a spark of lightning which created a fire of its own which consumed the school. Our woman took this as a chance to be absolved so leapt into the fire and added her own to it. In that moment she ascended to heaven as the goddess of fire. Seeing the destruction of the school many resented their teacher and took up arms against those who remained loyal to their teacher the battle raged in the fire for 3 days until the goddess of the sky again intervened creating a great being which would turn the tides in favour of the side remaining loyal to their teacher.

After this battle which expended a great deal of fire the ground grew black. But over time life burst anew and the forests which grew there now would stand up to even the harshest of flames. So the remaining disciples burnt the ocean between them and a nearby smaller island christening this one the island of learning and the one they previously inhabited, the island of black land. The school was led by a new woman, one who had been marked by the flames of a foundry and who was christened Burnt Face. She dealt with many subjects of magic but her favourite was light and when she died she ascended to the sky as the first and brightest of the stars of the world. Under the next teacher the school once again grew more corrupt and decided to burn the seas around them permanently to do so, figuring out a way to do this by converting the fire into earth. Enraged by this the goddess of the seas flooded the school and made it so fire could no longer burn water but would forever be snuffed out by its presence. After doing so she called upon her own mother to see if her actions were valid and she ruled it was done with the best of intentions but rebuked her rage. However she let the school be rebuilt only after her son (the god of light) pleaded for her to do so. She relented but forbid those of the school from doing fire magic.

Beastfolk will tell you that in the ancient era all peoples were beastfolk. So naturally the title of the first leaders of the school of disciples would be beastfolk. And many of them would be beastfolk in later times when beastfolk and humans had split and a few would even be sunborn. But in time the school came to be dominated by humans who naturally wanted the age-old ban on Pyromancy: their own distinct magic to be taught there. The then steward, an aging female named Whispers Not was challenged by the leader of the faction a man named Wind’s Breath to allow Pyromancy but she objected saying it also didn’t teach Beastfolks own distinctive magic Shamanism. After much commotion and gossip amongst the upper ranks she named a Beastfolk named Fresh Dew who would have been the first man to ever hold the title of head of the school and the first Beastfolk in a thousand years. But he was assassinated under mysterious circumstances before she could pass onto the realm of death. She held a meeting where she asked whoever should name himself the killer of her successor to reveal themselves and if they did she would offer them the title of Understudy to the new steward. But no one came forth when she reiterated that Pyromancy would still not be studied at the school. So she banished all members of the scheming faction and asked any who held sympathies with them to leave. Fully half the school left and she provided them with many ships which took months to build to go on an island in the sea to the east. But they instead used their ships to travel to an archipelago then inhabited by some primitive human states without writing who had migrated from a peninsular to the west under Sabyrian (we’ll get to them later) pressure as well as a few scattered Beastfolk tribes particularly Catfolk, Foxfolk and Tanukifolk. They worshiped the sun as well as many other spirits of the land and were noted for their religiosity having many priestesses.

Wind’s Breath married the most powerful of them; a girl passed her youth but still fertile and here they would found the Court of Storms after the most powerful spirit of the land, a great storm dragon who had offered his blessing to the marriage. It was here they began to practice Pyromancy and began marking all newborn humans within the tribe with the mark of the sun. This family became the royal family of the budding nation which waged war for 500 years against outlying clans until they were brought under their fold gradually assimilating their language to the one the wizards learnt in school.

Soon the clans turned to burning the forests to expand their power except for a select few too heavily guarded by Beastfolk and protected by great magics to burn. This was done to expand their power as other avenues of expansion were tightly controlled by the royal family. As such clans near much virgin forest grew the most powerful, the most important non-imperial clans being those of the Crane, Wolf, Weasel, Crab, Bear and Star. In time the Beastfolk displaced by human expansion went into hiding only appearing at night or when humans weren’t watching, protected by magic which the humans could not break. They came to prey on humans and would often abduct young adults to be feasted on by their spirit guardians. Many humans in outlying villages began to offer blood sacrifices as well as firstborn sons (in later times firstborn daughters) and never dared tread in the few woods that remained.

The court continued the practice of Pyromancy and fire rites gradually morphing it into a practice centered around great central flames controlled by powerful clans in which would be burned copies of the clans' history. Any children of these great clans would be marked by the fire to learn the history of the clan. Commoners went unmarked and gradually developed lighter skin especially women and along the faces of commoner men as only the bodies of commoner men could be burnt in reward for their service.

Magic which is known in the Wizard’s Tongue as Speechcraft Alun Kani in contrast to divine power which is an unanalysable root Tana. Has existed as long as wizards have used words to shape the land and some say is even older. The first wizards of note (probably others existed) were those who formed the School of Magic on what would later become known as the Island of Black Land. The most powerful of these tongues descends from their speech with many additions from the Speech of Dragons as well as formations that would have been unfamiliar to the earliest wizards. The first wizards were also Pyromancers but later the schools became distinct due to differences as Wizards used magic of words while Pyromancers called upon their inner flame and did not need to speak to cast spells. Wizards use a little bit of the power of spirits in their spells but of course crafted with the Language of Forms Sawa an Kalan as any tongue of any humans, beastfolk or sunborn is known as in the Wizard Speech. Some say Speechcraft uses the speech of the Powers Below and wields their own tongue the Gnawing Speech which is like that of Spirits. While others say it is from the hidden realm of forms or a facet of the human mind and proof of their innate connection to spirits. Some even say it was a gift from the great mother, the mental extension of the physical hands which allow one to shape things to what is desired. All know it is powerful and not something to be taken likely.

Named so because of their supposed location under the earth and sea which whisper to those who get close or to those which beseech them. Their motives are inscrutable and they rarely interfere with anything that doesn’t concern them. Some say they were enemies of the great mother which is suggested by her epithet first dragon in some Dragon Poems who she threw off in a great battle before time. The blood that was spilled is known as the Stars Below forever destined to be covered by the land and sea until the world spills over. Others say that they are her doubts which gnaw at her about her choices. Others say they are great wizards who sought immortality and were cursed to live below the earth instead of up in the stars as those who had good hearts did.

The most famous of the Power’s Below is called the Lost Son after an apparent stylisation as the lost son of the Great Mother who was destined to bring creative power to men but was rejected in favour of the Son of Light because he did not seek it. He was to be raised from the World Below by a rogue cult of followers seeking power and a new god but these efforts were thwarted when others stopped the ritual which involved the sacrifice of someone pure of heart.

The events known as the First Night refer to the act of the first necromancer to send the Son of Light to the World Below in an attempt to achieve immortality. He did so but the world fell into darkness and would have been destroyed had his three sisters not devised a seal to prevent it. Meanwhile the necromancer ruled over his own realm with the power of god’s as the other islands lay dying. This was until four brave heroes, a warrior of strength unmatched, a rogue of shadow’s skulk, a priestess of the earth and a wizard of many names restored life to the dead god by finding his body in the World Below and ending the spell which parted him with his life. The necromancer was then defeated with the help of the god.

The Great Mother is known among the Isles of Cats as the First Cat who dreamt of the sea and sky in her dreams and raised up the islands of earth with a fishing spear. She (or sometimes he) spoke the name of everything in her own tongue and set those who wished to not be reborn when death first came among the stars. She took a husband from among her creations and with them gave birth to the sun who she set in the sky so all could see her light. She also granted her brother (or sister) the Great Light a place within this world so he could walk amongst those who worshiped him as his presence invoked holiness, healed wounds and left her children in awe.

She then took her fishing spear and marked the sky with the great milk an oasis of stars and left the world but not before teaching the people of the world her own language which had been forgotten by everyone except the catfolk of the Isles of Cats and even then they only spoke a corrupted version of it. She then told the best of them would join her in the stars in a realm above the world forever to watch over those who came after and to provide guidance. So the stars multiply as do the isles of the world.

Gradually the proto-humans found the lamps which lit the forest no longer grew in their lands. So one day a princess whose identity as human or beastfolk is long forgotten only that she could transform into a dog, the favoured companion of all peoples. She felt reverence for the great light and by his touch she developed great powers until her ability outshone all others and she was deemed only fit for the realm of heaven. There she romanced and eventually came to fall in love with the Son of Light and she wed him and their union was celebrated with light spilling over the world with no corner left unlit as she completed him. In later times this would be known as the first Summer Solstice and to this day nowhere escapes the light and all are exposed on this day. But at night she retreats into the west to make love to her husband. Meanwhile her dog was transformed in her presence into the first Sunborn and his many children and kin forever walk the earth to this day as the third race of the Many Islands.

Ghost Theater of the Court of Storms
The Nō Kamī or Ghost Theater is a seasonal performance usually performed during the winter to stave off the influence of spirits and beastfolk. Participants both humans and dogs wear masks and the dogs circle around the human performers while representing the beastfolk’s two legged form while the human performer steps into the background and the dog takes their place when they want to represent an animal form. The theater usually revolves around the change of seasons and the revival of spring as well as many tales of beastfolk concern although these matters are kept secret to humans. At the end of each performance blood is usually spilled and in that moment actually spirits are summoned, turning off all the lights and allowing them to make way with any of the performers or participants. If the spirits do not come a sacrifice is performed to appease them and in later times the spirits would simply select from among the performers if they deemed one worthy.

Ghost Pacts
Pacts formed with spirits usually beastfolk (who in the court of storms have become more spirit like) the term Nō Jirekana is literally translated as ghost soul debt and the second element is often used in secular society for pacts which fall out of the norm although these carry a lighter punishment if broken then say if a warrior betrays his lord. Regardless in the case Ghost Pacts if the pact is broken the spirit will often kill the offender. Ghost Pacts are usually not made and in later times they were only made by outsiders such as warriors who had lost their lord, younger sons of nobles who were not deemed fit to inherit and lords who craved more power then they had. Such pacts were always signed in blood and were often made on the full moon.

The Great Forest
One of the three largest forests in the territory of the Court of Storms. It divided the largest island nearly in two except for a passageway which was nearly as haunted. It was protected by the great Beastfolk known only by her title Forest Queen and she enacted tribute in blood on all who wanted to pass through her forest. She presided over the forest’s court which consisted of beastfolk and spirits as well as a few dogs and wolves. It wasn’t always so great but it grew in size after a human army lost a battle against Beastfolk led by a spirit of the earth. She pronounced her daughter queen after she won and ever since the forest has been ruled by its queen who is benevolent to all who seek her aid if they have not terrorised the earth.

During the Third Age long after such events as the death and resurrection of the god of light and the creation of the sun there came a time where Humans and Beastfolk were fully separated. In this time on the Isles of Meadows a woman of the Foxfolk gave birth to twin daughters who liked to play together as soon as they had two legged forms. Eventually it was discovered the older of the two had powers over water specifically to change its shape and form as well as its very nature. First she evaporated it much to the dismay of her villagers but then she solidified it. Eventually she grew cold and weary and her power greater so she fled the village but not before her power cursed the land with the first winter. Her sister followed and her friend did too when she didn’t return after a few days. She eventually found her on the Isles of the North and she begged her to stop the curse that she brought to the land but in doing so she accidentally awoke her fury and she froze her. Following her trail her friend found her frozen and with his own feelings for her he kissed her awakening her own powers and creating spring and eventually summer. He married her and came to dwell on the same island they were born on before ascending to the stars, the twins as the sisters of summer and winter and him as the caretaker of spring.

In time many humans on the Island of Black Land grew unsatisfied with their governance and so they set sail towards the Isles of the North. There they found the land abundant in the summer but filled with ice and snow in all other seasons. They begged the local Beastfolk for a cure but it was not until ten winters later when the people had been diminished that a woman decided to expose herself to the cold for a night. She emerged transformed her bronze skin and hair golden and yellow and her eyes no longer green but a light blue. She gave birth later blessed by the cold and her daughters enchanted those who married them into being the same colour as them. In time they practiced their own ritual of leaving out the babies in their first winter so they would be the same colour as them and resistant to the cold. And so they became the Sabiry although this was long before they gained their customary culture of raiding and pillaging led by the heads of clans.

The codex of the sky, a sacred book of the previous religious practices of the great Narie of the continent to the southeast of the Isles of Cats and Southwest of the Court of Storms tells of how the world came to be as revealed to them by the Daughter of the Sky. It tells of how long ago the great mother grew lonely so decided to create children. First she wished for a great child of expansive power and so came to be the daughter of the sky who was previously worshiped by the Narie. Her will was iron and with it she formed the bounds of the world although they were always constantly expanding. She did not like to play very shortly after her birth so she then created her next daughter the sea who she gave her secrets and desires and created a serene child who kept much close to her. She too grew unkind to her mothers desire to play with her too quickly so she created another, the fertile earth who was abundant and fertile and had many things to give. She played with her to her satisfaction but eventually she felt like she wasn’t enough for this world so lastly she created her son the light pure. He sang with pure voice and entertained his mothers desires for he was gifted with everlasting love. Together these four children created the world creating space and sea and raising the first islands among them the Isles of Jewels, the Isles of the North (where the Sabiry now dwell), the Isles of Meadows, the Island of Black Land and the Isles of Cats. Lastly the Son of Light filled the world with his power lighting the lamps on the trees. In the secret tongue she weaved the spirits and so began the first age when Humans and Beastfolk existed as one and light was ever present.

foxcatdog wrote: ↑Tue Jan 23, 2024 11:33 pm Soon the clans turned to burning the forests to expand their power except for a select few too heavily guarded by Beastfolk and protected by great magics to burn. This was done to expand their power as other avenues of expansion were tightly controlled by the royal family. As such clans near much virgin forest grew the most powerful, the most important non-imperial clans being those of the Crane, Wolf, Weasel, Crab, Bear and Star. In time the Beastfolk displaced by human expansion went into hiding only appearing at night or when humans weren’t watching, protected by magic which the humans could not break. They came to prey on humans and would often abduct young adults to be feasted on by their spirit guardians. Many humans in outlying villages began to offer blood sacrifices as well as firstborn sons (in later times firstborn daughters) and never dared tread in the few woods that remained.

I like the brittle balance here: the Beastfolk having been beaten into small pockets by ribald human expansion, but by consequence defending those pockets fiercely and making the forests too dangerous to set foot in for humans.

It’s a sad situation! Do each side feel grief over it? And what about the counterpoint to that ‒ are there examples of friendships or cooperation between human and Beastfolk?

In general in this thread, something that would help me lock into your worldbuilding more easily is to take it further into the specific, personal and vivid every now and again. For instance, each post generally mentions numerous characters, but few have names. Scaffolding your myths with that extra personal detail would really help me dive in.

Some of your other threads do this well, so I’m probably preaching to the converted. But to make a simple illustration of this point, we all probably have many pastel-coloured mythoses running around our heads that abound in terms like The Great Tree; until a reader can know it as The Great Deku Tree, in the village of Kokiri in the Kingdom of Hyrule, it doesn’t have much form (no matter how much you describe it) and it doesn’t really feel like it belongs to them. Naming something (as you’ve described yourself in your post about magic) is weirdly powerful; I suspect it is an organising force neurally that creates pockets of neurones that suddenly operate as a ‘thing’, which can then be connected to and reflectively fleshed out by other neural ‘things’.

This may not be your aim, but if you want to encourage comments here, I’d friendlily suggest giving it a go!

A type of spirit which exists in the forest and is bound to trees. Their forms are fair but otherwise quite alike those of humans and they are more closely related to humans and beastfolk although the split between them came before Humans and Beastfolk split and it's possible they never had Animal Forms. They chose to remain quite like other spirits to increase the gamut as well as character of their craft and to remain bound to the trees which when they die the Elf/Dryad which was bound to it dies. They appear in Male and Female forms although these aren’t genders in the Human or Beastfolk sense but rather different classes of them. Wizards and other Humans/Beastfolk usually interact with the Female ones as they are the ones which generally produce craft, tend to fruits and are more amiable whereas the Male ones are more inclined towards harsh weather, overgrown forests and the thrill of the hunt and their crafts are rarer and harder to wield. Males forms are also less humanlike and more like those of a more woody Dryad from other fantasy. Male ones are also generally rarer as there are less of them being born which usually happens when a Male Dryad woos a Female Dryad into creating another Male Dryad as they don’t really cultivate new trees but rather tend to old ones. The parts of a forest where Female Dryads lurk are usually more amiable to Humans and often shared by Beastfolk so it was notable that the Female Ones were all killed of in the Isles of the Court of Storms except for on one small island to the south where Beastfolk don’t lurk and the culture of the sun worshiping previous inhabitants is retained (although their are many other islands like this). Another island just to the northwest of the Court also had Dryads although they have begun to blend Male and Female traits under influence of the local Beastfolk who fiercely guard against human invasion.

The Great Mother is known in the myth of Dragons as the First Dragon who drove out the original Powers Below who sought to marr her creation. She then created her three daughters and later her son the first of which is who created Dragons to end the original conflict between Wizards. Dragons as such are creatures of violence although they can be restrained and only seek violence against those who do evil. Dragons are powerful and so will often not see humans as their equals even when friendly and they wield divine power like the gods and the most powerful and central spirits unlike through the mediums which Humans and Beastfolk use. Seeking time with a friendlier or more just Dragon is the task of great wizards and evil wizards often use more chaotic dragons to their whim although no human can truly dominate a dragon. Dragons think in terms of order and chaos rather than good vs evil as all can be somewhat just its just some are dominated by their violent or chaotic thoughts.

Beastfolk especially in isles and islands not predominantly Beastfolk tend to live in more wild areas close or in forests, mountains, valleys and springs. This brings them closer to the spirits of nature and to appease these spirits they uniquely wield a special type of magic based partly on interaction with nature spirits. It has many similar functions to pyromancy, divine magic and speechcraft like pyromancy it is central to the lives of Beastfolk as pyromancy is to humans. Like divine magic it is based on spiritual power but of lesser spirits not greater ones. Like both of these it can be used to heal although it relies often on the innate properties of herbs and is said to be the best at fully restoring one to a previous state as it often calls upon the spirits themselves to heal. It is also considered best at removing the charms of a spirit or alleviating the symptoms of a disease due to its usage of herbs. Shamans unique amongst beastfolk can transform into multiple animal forms and it is considered a skill amongst them to have many and choosing the right animal form to appear to a spirit or one seeking guidance is an exalted skill. Shamans also bless water like priests of the goddess of sea.Shamans can also bless those with the magical properties of animals or some more offensive shamans even practice the art of the Wild Hunt where they enhance their combat capabilities with these blessings. Finally Shamans interpret the will of spirits and can partially interpret the future through them as well as through observing the weather and the growth of plants or markings of animals. Shamans are often central figures in Beastfolk communities and more often leaders of them then Pyromancers are in human communities.

The Isles of Foxes is chiefly inhabited by foxfolk as its name suggests and other races are usually only found in its ports. It’s a lush island notable for its often perpetual spring and its abundance of flowers, fruits and beehives which are eaten as well as chickens and fish. Foxfolk
are often charismatic and can use glamour to make themselves appear like humans/other beastfolk or sunborn and the isles have developed a romantic reputation both from its residents and as a holiday destination amongst the privileged. During the earlier ages the islands lacked the cities of more human inhabited islands but in time the Beastfolk developed their own unique city culture comparable to the lost cities of the Isles of Cats and in these later ages the Isles of Foxes was more developed than its neighbouring Isles of Cats to the west and even the Isles of Meadows to the north. The Summer Solstice is the most celebrated holiday across much of the Isles and the most important religious ritual is the coming of age ritual which marks a man or woman's introduction to full adulthood.

The Isles of Jewels are located slightly to the northwest in the inner reaches of the world next to the Isles of Beasts to the west, the Isles of the North to the northeast and the Isles of Meadows to the southeast. They were originally home to a group of Proto Dryads as well as to a long extinct line of Spirits who formed the famed Skyforges at the top of mountains. These forges dedicated to the goddess of sky numbered five and were formed with not only the Sky’s blessing but also a gift from the sea, earth, light, stars and the beasts of nature respectively. The five forges were as such known in order of creation the Seaforge, Stoneforge, BrightforgeStarforge and Wolfforge. Each forge consists of a central forge consisting of a central anvil directly beneath the sky and when an item of great skill is forged within it lightning will come down to bless it upon the moment of its completion. These forges require no external fire or any other materials other than the ones which go into the crafting of the item. In early ages the Spirits who created these forges but gradually they died out as they were not immortal and had no ability to beget children. So the forges were at times shared by various human tribes before the Time of Fire and Rain when the people sought to forge five jewels for the purpose of obtaining mastery over the isles. When one greedy spirit stole all five of these jewels for themself they were marred and burned them, they took the form of a seagull to cast the five jewels into the sea which caused five new islands to arise from the sea. The goddess of the Sky was angry at her followers for creating these five jewels and as such banned any mortal from using the forge for five thousand years, washing away all mortal settlement with fire and rain which lasted for five years. By the end of this magical ban Skyforges had fallen into the territory of five groups of Beastfolk who inhabited the isles and they began to forge new jewels from the forges but not any weapons until a wandering Beastfolk Shaman forged the Skysword an artifact which was brightened by each of the five forges but mostly forged at the first the Seaforge. As such it has the power to abate the tides and also allows its user to call lightning, summon or scatter clouds and rain and also could be given to another to heal a mortal wound. He gave the weapon to a temple of the Sky Goddess before disappearing, asking for the sword to only be used when it would be needed most. It would first be used when the Sabiry of the Isles of North attempted to conquer the Isles of Jewels when its wielder used it to slay the Sabiry king and abate the summer snowstorm his witches called to enhance the Sabiry warfront. It has been used many times since then but not always for such epic actions.