Tag: tamkind

Language in Muunfel

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First and foremost, there is a lingua franca in fairly common usage throughout Muunfel. Not everyone knows it, but there are usually enough people around that have at least a basic understanding for communication to happen eventually.

For a general idea of the different languages found among the peoples of Muunfel, I have considered some real-world analogs for some of them.

Elfkind: There are several regional dialects, but the elfish language is smooth, sibilant, and rhythmic like some romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese).

Faekind: Many fae are able to use a very low-energy glamour to speak whatever language they need to, but the fae tongue contains many compound sounds where words are shortened or combined with others on the fly (like the style of German with the sound of really smooth French).

Tamkind: The Solians speak a rolling language with a lot of hard or fricative phonemes (Arabic, Farsi). In the west, this is the second most common language in use among humans, as many of the folk living in the deserts of Rutan are descended from groups that interacted directly with Solians.

There are also several communities here and there that have developed and spread signed languages (”handspeak”, colloquially). In Rutan, sign is one of the official languages of the nation. A Braille-like system is also in use in many scholarly places, though it is not as common in the wilder areas of the continent yet because of the difficulty in spreading any print media to such locales.

Who Lives in Muunfel

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As the Land of the Gods, the first answer to this is, of course, the gods. While they can and do manifest on other continents on the planet, they are most likely to appear on Muunfel, and no one has really found a reason for this (it being the first land created has been a theory for some time, but there’s little evidence even in the words of Vayla).

Other than the Godkind, beings of Time and Magic, however, Muunfel is also populated by

  • Mankind – any species created by one or more gods rather than one of the three energies that make up the universe. Includes humans, dwarves, and angels.
  • Darkind – any species created by the energy of Nature. Usually called monsters, it also includes several intelligent “beast folk” species.
  • Faekind – the fairies, created by Nature and Magic. They are many and varied.
  • Tamkind – beings of Magic. The most common example is the Solians, though this also includes shapeshifters and elementals.
  • Vaykind – elusive beings of Time. They are the rarest folk, but are most likely to be found in Synka.
  • Elfkind – the youngest of any species created by the three, they come from Time and Nature.

Double Feature Pt. 1: Scytheshadow College

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Like any world in which magic exists, there exist people who study its uses. In Muunfel, the first place that comes to mind as a major destination for magical scholars is Scytheshadow College.

On the far eastern coast of Synka, a peninsula juts out into the Kela Ocean. The peninsula has a unique scythe shape (for a real-world example, think Cape Cod). This shape is the reason the bay cradled in the curve of the peninsula is called “Scytheshadow Bay”, the namesake of a college built on the edge of the peninsula itself.

The college is a stronghold of information, with records dating back to the earliest humans to set foot on Muunfel. Experimentation and development of magical skills is encouraged there, and many young mages and sorcerers find themselves training with the scholars. It was built with a focus on those who don’t have inherent magic in their blood, but in recent years there have been Fae and Tam teachers to give their own insight on the workings of magic.

The top mage of the college is one of the younger wizards in its history to earn the title, rising to the top by his late thirties. As the leader of the college, he carries the Sytheshadow Staff, one of the most iconic magical foci in the world.

“It’s not easy, earning this spot. I didn’t get here by counting buttons or letting musty old books tell me what I can’t do.” – Valen, archmage of Scytheshadow

Korvasin Grey Metal

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Throughout history, the people of Muunfel have found reasons to fight one another and drive rifts between them. One of the most violent rifts is between the people who can channel magic directly (Tamkind, gods, and fairies) and those who must direct it some other way (wizards and sorcerers, etc).

This fighting saw a turning point when scholars of Korvasin discovered and developed what they simply dubbed “Grey Metal”. This material, created through alchemy, enchanting, and rigorous rituals, can be shaped into almost anything. It is an absolute bane on magic channellers.

When it comes into contact with someone with magic in their blood, it floods them with its own strange, false magic. The afflicted person cannot use this Grey Magic, and are rendered almost helpless because of it.

Grey Metal has been made into chains and manacles as well as weapons. In some regions, it is common for magic folk to be detained using Grey Metal, while in others there are those who lobby against its use at all. The ethics behind its use are often brought into discussion, and many of the naysayers cite some of its more catastrophic uses as reasons to ban it without considering its usefulness:

  1. Manacles made of Grey Metal were used on Trace, Biim, and Fiorebell in the incident that resulted in Fiorebell’s death. The land surrounding the village where this took place still cannot support any growth, and Biim himself received an incurable curse thanks to the way his and Trace’s godly magic fled.
  2. The previous Una of the Fae was shot through the spine with an arrow tipped in Grey Metal. Because she was unable to heal, she spent the rest of her days unable to walk. The Aubry placed a curse on the entire empire of Korvasin for this, and it has yet to recover from it.

Regardless of anyone’s stance on the subject, Grey Metal is dangerous and not to be used lightly in any scenario.

Notable Figures: The Cataclysm

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“The Cataclysm” is a name retroactively given to Malachai Sunem, a shapeshifter Tam of considerable ability. He is around 600 years old, and keeps away from most conflicts in order to stay alive longer and find some semblance of easy living. He is very good at reading people and thus imitating them, though most of his pranks are fairly harmless.

The only battle he’s known for fighting was over in minutes. Malachai’s meditation technique (reminder that Tam need to replenish their magic stores somehow) is to eat something; that’s it. He’s very lucky in this regard.

In a battle that he was dragged into, other solians helped enhance his ability for a short time, and he shapeshifted into the entire battlefield. Then, when the opposing army marched into place, he swallowed them all. It was both draining and empowering for him, and the result was a several-weeks-long coma for Malachai but ultimately a victory for his allies.

After that, he went into hiding to avoid being pushed into an overload like that again. He most often hides out as a plush or a doll, which is an easy way to get into a home to steal a little food to get by.

Tamkind

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Tamkind are beings born of the energy of Magic. There are not many varieties among the Tam, and the lines between them tend to be more blurred than among other groups. One of the most common and notable varieties are the Solians.

The Solians’ ancestral home is found in Meraev, across the Moondrop Sea south of Genfierz. At one time, they had an empire that extended over the western third of the Muunfel continent, and only when the empires of Mankind began to expand did they retreat back to Meraev.

However, ruins of their once great cities are dotted throughout the modern day countries of Genfierz and Rutan, and with minor maintenance their magically built feats of engineering are operational again. Notable among these cities are the capitols of both nations: The City of Exiles in Rutan, and the Silver Fortress in Genfierz.

Solians, as Tam, have a constant connection threading them to Magic. They utilize their magic in an infinite variety of ways, often unique to each individual. However, if they use more magic than their bodies contain, they will perish. For this reason, every Solian has a meditation technique to tap into their connection to Magic and replenish their stores.

The meditation techniques are as varied as the individuals. Dancing, singing, hunting, praying, running, or some other repetitive, meaningful activity can open the rear floodgate, allowing more magic to flow into the Solian and replenish them. Using their magic depletes the stores. Every Tam has their limit, and though a Solian could potentially meditate indefinitely and continue to restore their magic, they can die by other means.

Solians tend to have very tall, thin builds. Many of them have tufted tails. Their ears are pointed (more so than the elves) and are also tufted. They tend to have a variety of skintones, and usually have bright hair and eyes. Solians are more aggressive than humans at their baseline. They are more likely to react in a “feral” way to a threat.

Fun fact: If a solian smiles with their teeth, it is very much a threat display.

“The Lady Knight is smiling at me. I think she likes me.” – A Very Unfortunate Soul

Notable Solians:

Branwyn Damascus, “The Witch”, Lady Knight of the Damascus clan and Tamer of the Cataclysm

Fennelin Sieve, married into the Rutan royal family

The Winged, a Solian whose name has been struck from records, and who waits imprisoned underground somewhere in the deserts of Rutan

Muunfel: The Creation Mythos

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The world on which Muunfel resides holds a myth about the Three energies of the universe: Time, Nature, and Magic. Vayla, the goddess of time and steward to Time itself is the only being in all of existence who holds the full account of how the world came to be. This is what she has spoken:

In the beginning, there were the Three.

Time brought order and direction.

Magic formed the ever-stirring energies and the constant heartbeat of existence.

Nature brought change and renewal.

When Time and Magic reached out to each other, the First Union began. Into existence came Creation. Leleurya, mother of all things, took form. With the Lullaby of Creation, Leleurya sang the roiling energies of the Three into the universe, giving form to existence. Time provided rules and reason for the world, Nature the ever-changing vigor, and Magic the life and foundation.

When energies awoke from their slumber, there came Destruction. Diakon, partner and counter to Leleurya, took form to awaken the sleeping energies and destroy what had been created. Existence was brought into balance as they circled each other in the endless dance, voices intertwining in harmony.

Leleurya saw the universe as a place for something new. With the Song of Life, Leleurya created living beings with bodies, minds, and souls. The earliest race of mortals, the precursor to humanity, was born. As the First Union continued, Cel and Sarin were drawn into existence to watch over the death of Leleurya’s creations, and the cycle of mortality began.

Nature, not a part of the First Union, began forming its own creations. The Darkind, wild beasts and monstrous creatures, roamed the newly-sleeping land with unchecked abandon. Time and Magic created the Four to act as stewards for Nature and its Dar.

Finally, Vayla and the Twins Baota and Gem came into existence as the First Union ended, ensuring that among the First Gods each of the Three had a patron.

As Mankind, Leleurya’s first creations, expanded over the world, Magic created the Tamkind, beings of magic, and Time created the Vaykind, beings of time.

The Second Union began when Nature and Magic collided with one another. It was as fruitful as it was unexpected. The Fae, wild, diverse people, were created. The Rights of Singularity were formed, allowing the cycle of Fae Dominion and giving an otherwise chaotic people a sense of order and balance.

When the first Una and Aubry answered the call, the Second Union ended.

The Third Union and final partnership among the Three was between Nature and Time.

Polar opposites, their Union was difficult and fleeting. Elfkind, creatures of balance and chaos both, came to be. A number of varieties were created. The Ether elves, the last of all races to be created, were unfinished when the Third Union ended.