I'll be taking the lead on Coren's idea for a regional group focusing on a particular area. http://www.santharia.com/dev/index.php/topic,15600.msg199115.html#msg199115

The two options to start with will be Vardýnn or Cyhalloi, but others will come afterwards.

The poll will run just for a few days or until we can get a feeling of consensus around one of the options.

Coren, sounds like an awesome idea. I like the idea of Vardýnn, but Cyhalloi might be a good second option once Val gets done with the outline of the continent.

Would you like to decide the "essential readings" or would that been done collectively? I'm happy to delegate the picking to you, and I'm happy to help and write an entry or two.

Also, Artimidor's concerns about burn-out are really important. Human beings can't just run a site of this magnitude alone for any real length of time. You're very valuable, we wouldn't want to lose you. 

Comments in yellow.

OVERVIEW
This little butterfly brings a whole new literal meaning to someone saying "I've got the butterflies." They are immune to the effects of stomach acid and, for the first two months of its life, this insect lives quite comfortably in a person's belly. The GulletCramp is a bad thing to have calling your stomach home. It rudely eats a large portion of anything that you may consume, yet leaves you feeling full despite that the majority of your meal is now gone due to the butterfly's hefty appetite.

CATEGORIZATION
Animals, Smaller, Insects, Parasites

APPEARANCE
Considered large, once fully grown, for a parasite, it is certainly a tiny and very creepy butterfly. It usually only grows up to a maximum of three to four nailsbreadths in length, however larger ones are not out of the question unknown?. Though, a bug that needs to climb out via its host's throat can only become so large if it's going to actually manage to get out. The wingspan of the GulletCramp generally tends to be just below five nailsbreadths across and are not as hindered in size as the rest of the insect, due to its lack-there-of until after its outside of the body.

The head of this parasitic butterfly is a strange thing to behold. A soft triangle in shape, it is flat with one beady, black eye set in the middle of the top. Its mouth, readily equipt with many tiny sharp teeth, is on the underside of its head. And one frazzled-looking antennae protrudes from both of the points on either side of its broad forehead. The head is held out from its body by a skinny, stiff neck that doesn't move itself, but that the head swivels about on instead in pretty much any direction, the neck being connected at the middle of the underside of its forehead.

Its body looks like an old woman's gnarled pinky, with hunched bumpy shoulders and a thin, crooked rear. However, the body is pretty flat when looked at from the side, except for its shoulders. An ugly, dark yellow in hue with brown speckles, it does well to remind one of bile. The uneven lumps across its upper-back and shoulders are where its wings are, beneath a thick leathery layer of flesh. Down the middle of that is what looks like a seam, where the flesh splits apart and curls back to reveal the wings. Though, this only happens after it has escaped from its host's belly.

The front two legs are longer than the usual butterfly's and are tipped with nasty looking hooks, which presumably help them cling to the side of the stomach and, ultimately, are vital for pulling itself up the windpipe and out of the mouth. Its other four legs are particularly fat near the top and are completely covered in tiny hooked hairs. Instead of being oriented to be held below the body, as to hold the body up; the legs are oriented to be held out away from the sides of the body, as to lay the belly of the butterfly against whatever it is standing on.

Once free from its host and the wings have been dried and inflated, one can see exactly why this parasite is considered a butterfly. The wings themselves are quite striking and even, I daresay, beautiful. The appendages are oblong in shape, the forewings being longer than the back, and end with gracefully pointed tips. They are a pristine white colour with light dustings of peach and rusty orange swirls, which become more vibrant or pale depending on the angle at which they are viewed. The wings have a sparkling sheen to them that causes them to glitter in the light, thought to be due to the insect's nutrient-rich diet.


SPECIAL ABILITIES
The GulletCramp butterfly is immune to the corrosive acids of the stomach, where it spends the majority of its life. As such, it is mostly safe to assume that this parasite is also resistant to other mild acids as well.  Upon the death of the male butterfly, it will finally succumb to the stomach acid as it decays and will induce fever, diarrhea and vomiting which could possibly lead to death, though in most cases does not. Resistant to acid and then dies from it? Meanwhile, the female makes her great escape.

Boiling the water you drink beforehand is a surefire way of never being plagued with this most unpleasant butterfly in the first place.


TERRITORY
This insect can only be found in warmer, and particularly wetter climates as they lay their eggs in water and cannot survive in the cold.


HABITAT/BEHAVIOUR
Only two of these butterflies lives in a stomach at a time, being born in opposite gendered pairs. While someone may have more than one egg hatch inside of them, in the end there are only two. The twin egg that hatches first devours all of its unhatched kin. Their appetite is far too ravenous and space being too limited for there to be a number of these in one gut at a time. While the duet will live happily in the gut together, only the female makes the climb out. After mating, the female will decapitate and devour the head of the male. Leaving his body to begin to be digested by the stomach will cause the host to become feverish and begin vomiting, which will help her along her way should she become stuck at any point along the way out. Once free of the stomach and throat, she will find a safe and dark place to dry her wings. Then, it is only a matter of time before she is off to find a body of water to lay her eggs in. Shortly after laying her eggs, the female will also perish.


DIET
The food that the host animal, or person, devours is the only thing that this butterfly eats. Once it has exited the body, its only purpose is to find a place to lay its eggs, after which it dies.


MATING
Mate in the stomach with it's male twin. Lays its eggs in water. not complete sentencesThe eggs hibernate until the conditions are right for it, and hatch the moment they touch bile. bile is different from stomach acid The larvae then viciously attack and eat each other until there is only one left. It then latches to the side of the stomach and pupates. After two days of absorbing nutrients, a parasitic butterfly is born. Tiny at first, it takes anywhere from two to three months to grow to its full size. After which, it will pull climb its way out of its hosts stomach. How? Does it just fly out Once free, it will spend a week laying large clusters of clear eggs in different bodies of water, however small or large.


RESEARCHER
...

I thought that adding a language to an otherwise fairly underdeveloped tribe wouldn't be adding a whole lot. With your development of the Volkek-Oshra language, it fitted into your existing developmental plans.

If I move to the north more permanently, the Heath of Wilderon would be richer with a language.

Name.
Fang Julin

Overview.
Fang Julin is a medium-sized town of approximately a thousand inhabitants that lies in the southeastern portion of the Santharian province of Manthria. It is known by just "Fang" by many locals, but that abbreviation has been despised by the fiercely conservative locals for the past two thousand years, when it started to be used. The town is an old one, founded by Troi Ciosa’s son Thorgeir more than elven thousand years ago, but much has happened over the ensuing millennia, including the town’s near total destruction during the War of the Chosen, its role as stalwart of Avennorian independence in 749 b.S, and its pivotal position as bastion of conservatism in Santharian politics over the past fifteen hundred years.

Description.
Fang Julin is a truly ancient town, even by the standards of the region, and it has remained incredibly historical. Unlike Ciosa or Klinsor which have transformed themselves with immigration and change, Fang Julin has remained very conservative to its roots over the millennia, letting very little change its culture.
 
The appearance of the town fits its age. It lacks the showy taller buildings of the larger towns of Manthria, and most of the buildings of the town are short and sturdy, matching the short characteristically Avennorian Fang Julians. The streets are well-worn with the feet and wheels of tens of thousands of inhabitants who have trodden on the streets since the days of Thorgeir.
 
Most of the business of the town is in agricultural trade from the vicinity, though trade in minerals is vigorous from the rich veins in the Tantaryan Mountains. Those ores are processed in Fang Julin, using processes that have little changed since the ore began to flow so many years ago.

Location.
Fang Julin lies between the Caeytharian Mountains and the much smaller Tantaryans, in the southeastern corner of Manthria. The nearest sea, the Yanthian Gulf, lies no more than a hundred strals to the south, though the most direct route is impassable as a result of the Kaimum Marsh.
 
Fang Julin sits near the western foothills of the Tantaryans, rendering eastbound travel nigh-impossible to those who are not sufficiently equipped to cross over mountains. Thus, most trade from Fang Julin to Port Cael flows south along the Kaimum Marsh road and along the sea.

North of Fang Julin, the Dreeswek flows to the east to the Adanian Sea. The river is easily forded at many points, but the principal bridge lies just north of the town. Further north lies the town of Tynvrith, a major source of Fang Julian ore.

The Caeytharians rise dramatically from the Manthrian plain around twenty five strals west of Fang Julin. There, the burial mounds of many Avennorian heroes are situated in the foothills of the mountains, most prominently the grave of Troi Ciosa. In local legend, during the expedition to the west in which Ciosa died, he said that the land just west of the Tantaryans, the modern site of Fang Julin, would be the perfect place to build a town.

People.
The people of Fang Julin, known formally as Julians or more casually “Fangers” as a derogatory term by their neighbors, are mostly of traditional Avennorian stock. Most families of Fang Julin can accurately trace their lineage back thousands of years, at least to the times of the Glandorians. Most of the lineages are probably exaggerated, as the vast majority of Julian clans claim Troi Ciosa himself as their patriarch. If they are insufficiently bold to claim Ciosa as their patriarch, most of them claim hero of the Third Sarvonian War, Annils Norgerinth as one of their ancestors. The veracity of most of the lineages is doubted by this compendiumist, though their earnestness is not in question.

The inhabitants are widely mocked by Manthrians far and wide for excess pride, and supposed “ancestors” with the oldest of Glandorian settlements in Manthria more than ten centuries ago. “As proud as a Fanger” is the common Manthrian idiom for someone who tries to link themselves to people above their station. The stereotypically Julian response would be the role of the eyes and an insult about Darian blood. Despite that, they are happy to trade and make money from whoever, clearly showing their mercantile Avennorian ancestry, whether or not that includes Troi Ciosa.

Resources.
The resources of Fang Julin are abundant, though not immediately visible upon first glance as most of them lie underground. The soils are not particularly rich and were once rocky and infertile. However thousands of Avennorian farmers, with the help of local Darians, systematically reclaimed and fertilized the soil around Fang Julin. Now the soil is rich, though not as fertile as further inland.

The real valuable resource underground in Fang Julin is the rich veins of ore that lie to the east in the Tantaryans. There, mines like Ironwell have brought back countless piles of ore to be processed in Fang Julin. There was worry in the 11th century that the mines were running short, but new ones were opened much to the benefit of Julians.

History.
11321 b.S – Founding of Fang Julin – Fang Julin is founded by Troi Ciosa’s son Thorgeir, just after Ciosa’s death. The town was the first major inland settlement of the Glandorians in their new home.
~9100 b.S – Destruction in War of the Chosen – The town is left burning in the catastrophe of the War of the Chosen. Only the cobblestoned roads were left once the mages were done battling through the town. Fortunately, most Julians had fled into the mountains before the battle, letting them resettle the town.
1645 b.S – Participation in Great Exploration – As the Avennorians attempt to expand their trading networks, Fang Julin played a crucial role in the construction of ships needed for the journeys.
802 b.S – Participation in Avennorian Civil War – Fang Julin played a vital role in the Avennorian Civil War as the bastion of support for the pro-slavery faction.
749 b.S – The Battle of Pride against Pride – As Avennoria loses its indepencence to the forces of Erpheronia, the great cities generally submit to the superior armies of the Proudmen. That is, all save for Fang Julin. Even after the execution of the Avennorian king in late summer, Julians resist the invading forces as they pass through the region. They are ultimately defeated of course, but the proud stance of the Julians has been remembered over the millennia.

Not where I want it yet, but the main things are sketched out for Shabby and whoever else to read it

Name.
Verse Curse

Coven.
Rhyme

Level.
Spell Crafting

Overview.
Anyone who has accidentally spoken in rhyme, even for a sentence or two has realized how disconcerting it can be.

Imagine having a compulsion to speak like that all the time, with your thoughts divided into iamb every time you open your mouth. Every humdrum conversation about supper, every intimate word with your beloved, every anecdote of revelry shared with your friends comes in perfect rhythm and rhyme, quite without your knowledge or consent. That would be very disconcerting indeed. Even among the many quirky and inventive spells that are practiced by witches of all sorts, the Verse Curse is easily one of the most distinctive.

Spell Effect.
Simply said, Verse Curse gives the victim a compulsion to speak in poetry. The effect is frequently seen as amusing – for the first few days and weeks. Poets often delight in it, using their newfound talent to write sonnets from their heart. More ordinary people begin to sound witty and interesting without thought and without intent. A humdrum landscape of fields of grain becomes a beautiful scene of imagery and metaphor with the help of the Verse Curse. Beauty that was already there makes itself manifest with the help of the "curse." However, the curse does not render someone who can hardly string together a line of poetry into a master of the art. It simply gives those unable to write any poetry the overwhelming desire to share it.

Yet even for those who already enjoyed poetry, the effect soon grows less endearing after the fifteenth time that a dinnertime conversation about tuberoots turns into a lyric ode. The beautiful romantic spark that kindled a relationship soon turns into a thorn in the side, as the bedside poetry turns from endearing to infuriating. Fortunately, the curse wears off after a time, though it is often not soon enough for the victim. Conversely, people who have been afflicted a particularly long-lasting Verse Curse realize that all that attention they were getting for their quirky poetry under the spell was simply a result of the spell itself, and that they abandon the victim once they lose their "gift."

Procedure.
The casting of the Verse Curse is quite simple once the materials have been assembled. All that is necessary is the recitation of the victim’s words along with the poem written by the witch herself, along with a secret formula among witches. That poem will describe the style of poetry that the victim will be locked in for the duration of the spell’s effect. In addition to the words that are read, a formula must be read to bind the victim and the poem, if just for a time. The exact content of the formula is unknown to anyone but the Rhyme coven, as it is passed down from generation to generation of witches.

Materials.
A rhyme witch who wants to curse their victim with verse must first compose a poem of their own. This poem will determine the style of poetry that their victim will speak in for the duration of their suffering and is absolutely essential for the casting of the Verse Curse. In addition to the poem itself, the caster requires some of the words of the victim, the more personal and poetic the better. The witch could simply recite some of the words that the victim says ordinarily, but for the literate the written word is preferable. A formally written treatise would work less well than an angry letter which would work less well again than a love letter. Of course, the ideal subject of the spell would be a lovingly written poem written by the victim of the spell, which helps gives a touch of their own voice to the spell. It may take dozens of pages of terse prose to match the effect caused by just a few stanzas of tender poetry.

Crafting Time.
The casting time for the Verse Curse is minimal, taking no longer than the time it takes to recite the witch’s poem and the words of the victim.

Range and Power.
The most important variable in the power of the Verse Curse is the extent to which the victim’s words that are used in the spell are personal. A short, tersely written letter or simple words of greeting are unlikely to do more than make the victim sound a bit odd for a few hours. On the other hand, a delicate poem or powerful emotional words can make a properly cast Verse Curse last for months on end. When the spell is cast, the expected duration of the spell is unknown to even the witch who casts the spell as the extent to which a emotions that the victim's words represent emotions that are really genuine is unknown.

Like many other spells of witches, the power and range of the effect varies dramatically on the experience of the spell caster. A dream singer can cast the spell so it lasts weeks over strals, while a spell singer may only be able to make the effect last a matter of minutes.

Counterspells, Defenses and Immunities.
The Verse Curse has an effect on all who can speak; very small children and animals cannot, by definition, speak in verse. Other than that, all those who speak can be made to speak in verse by an interested witch. Of course the extent to which the experience is unpleasant varies greatly on the poetic skills of the victim. An esteemed poet might find the experience just a particularly creative period, while a very non-poetic victim might have a nightmarish experience of bad poetry flowing out of their mouth near constantly.

This topic has been moved to Organizational Schedules.

http://www.santharia.com/dev/index.php?topic=15599.0

Thanks, the changes that you suggested have been made. It's good to get something (closer to) finished.

Looking over it, I don't think they'll be an easy way to convert the current project into a more mobile friendly format. There could be a big effort to convert it, but I don't know how much there is worth there.

Also, I guess there are personal schisms among the "leaders" of the project. I'll leave you guys to that.

Thanks for a wonderful project.

Okay great.

You're absolutely right that I can't single-handedly push forward a project of this magnitude with any sustainability for even a few weeks. I'm no Artimidor!

I'll look into the technical side of things. I'll see if there's some nice way to scrape all the articles and put them into another form. Just to mention something really simple, all future entries could be done in Markdown and then converted into HTML at run-time à la Wikipedia. Of course, converting all the entries over would be a gargantuan task. Hopefully, they'll prove to be some way of doing that in a systematic way. Also, maybe a reassessing of the forum as method of developing entries might be in order.

I'll look into some things and report back soon.

Of course if nothing else works, I can prepare all the future entries if that makes your life any easier.

Again thanks.

Seagazer

Thank you so much for your feedback. I think I fixed all the things that you pointed out, so that the lovely seaside resort town of Barekmahr can get up on the site.

This is such a hauntingly beautiful entry about such a hauntingly beautiful place. I really loved the language that you used, but I just had a handful of little nitpicky things that are in green below. My BBCode is pretty terrible, so forgive the misplaced quotation marks. In general for the green parts, the italics are my suggestions for you, while the un-italicized bits are your words that I'm talking about.

-OVERVIEW-
Cyhalloi is Caereleth's northernmost archipelago continent it's not the northermost archipelago continent, it's the northermost contiment and can be found about a five to ten weeks voyage from the port of Carbrand, being no need for "being" here the closest and most commonly used port by the natives that make trade with Sarvonia. It relates is similar? in size to Akdor, also being one of the smaller continents of Caereleths, composed of an upwards of eight sets of islands and isles, and is roughly a third of the size of Nybelmar. The Kasumar'ii-Men, Cyhallrhim Elves, and Gharengukh-oc take up residency here, surviving the best they can with the limited resources that they are afforded. This land is a cold and seemingly desolate place to outsiders, where the moon dominates the sky and the Void seeps out into the dark seas lapping at the northern and eastern shores. Due to the constant snows and ice, and the unyielding winds ripping across the continent, most of the grounds here are barren and unsuitable for crops. It makes survival much more complicated in this frozen wasteland, yet life can be found even in the most severe conditions. Nowhere else is the moon larger, brighter, or more revered and hated than it is here, upon these islands. For this reason, it is believed that the mythical Ulvur stalk the forests of the northernmost mainland, Folasch, their secrets hidden deep within the forested canyon there.

-LOCATION-
On the map, Cyhalloi is can be found northeast of the motherland continent? it's not the motherland to most of the peoples of Cyhalloi of Sarvonia, and east of the Icelands. It takes about eight to twelve weeks to sail to Ludor Port from Remusiat and five to ten weeks from the port of Margith, depending upon the weather conditions and time of year.

-DESCRIPTION-
Cyhalloi is Caereleth's northernmost archipelago and is comprised of a number of small isles, with three mainland islands at its center; Guldor, Dorolak, and Folasch. The isles flow out and away from the corners of the mainlands, giving one a sense of a spiraling motion. Each island has its own unique geography, as if patch-worked together by the gods; from rolling dunes of snow and bedraggled beaches, to wintry marshlands and jagged mountains. The rather sizable bay, dubbed the Ice Plains, at the heart of the continent is frozen over and bridges the gap between the three larger islands, the waters beneath of which this is a run on. you need to break it up somehow, maybe with just a period. are a torrential clash of currents. The bay serves as a home to various seafaring creatures, and hunting grounds for animal and natives alike.

The land is eerily still half of the year and bitterly windy the other, but leaves one with the initial impression that it is a frostbitten waste wasteland? either way. As one approaches the two southern mainlands, the beaches seem surprisingly snowless for such a frigid climate and the nearly-constant snow trickling down from the skies. However, such is not the case. Black sands cover the expansive beaches here, muddying up the crisp whiteness of even virgin snow where ice has not taken hold. "The frost has bitten the color from the land,"the Kasumarii would say. The southern isles are rocky and very boggy, the smaller spats of land even being lost to the sea whenever a heavy storm rolls over. All of the isles are covered in at least a light dusting of snow year-round, with the weird notable? exception of the northeastern most set.

``It has been fortnight since we left the trading port of Ludor, and we are approaching Guldor now; the turbulence of the waters is only matched by the howling winds. It is a rough morning at sea, to be sure, but only by counting the hours would you know that the night had passed. Apparently at this time of year, the sun is reluctant to climb to its perch in the sky, and when it does finally do so it sits low and lazy in the clouds. Despite the light snows, which are constant so I'm told, the shores are black as far as I can see. The captain tells me that it will be a few days, perhaps even a week, before we reach Winking Moon Port. The sailors rush to man the sails as the winds kick up, and I have to grip the railing to not be knocked down by the sheer force of it. I take one long look at the shore before returning to the cabin and my simple sketches of these foreign lands.``

Guldor
The most prominent mainland landmass? is Guldor, with its rich and wide landscape that holds the majority of the few areas that life thrives in. Here, farming is possible in the bay along the southern coast, the rich fertile soils beneath the water producing and supporting all manner of sea-foliage and sea-dwelling creatures. Starting at the southern peninsula, however, one would not get such an impression from the island. The ground there is mostly flat and rocky, jagged stalagmites like teeth sparsely scattered across the landscape, stretching out to the north with no mountains or trees to protect from the winds. Halfway up the peninsula is Qu'prur's Pass, a dark valley between two jagged mountains with sheer cliffs. A lone standing mountain on the east coast, directly north of the pass, has been made into a city of sorts by the Kasumarii. The tundra here spans the entire midsection of the island, covering nearly a third of the island. It is protected by icy mountains, Dying Ice Ridge, on the east and Evathryón Ecúan, a mountain range stretching from the northwestern shore of the southern peninsula to the northernmost edge of the tundra along the western coast. The mountains here protect the island from the ices that threaten to creep up out of the bay. A wide forest, Sálen'Phýr, stretches out across the southern shores, shielding the belly of the land from the winds that sweep up the dark shoreline there. Black sands cover the shores here, as it is not sand at all I wouldn't say it sand, and then say it isn't in the next sentance but soil, and the turbulent currents sloshing across the shore prevents the ice from fully settling, and the heavy winds usually whip away the rest of the snow that might whiten the coast.The entirety of the northernmost peninsula is littered with a forest of icy stalagmites that loom over head, and cause the area to glow softly in varying degrees, echoing the light of the moon. Just past this one can see the occasional Cyhalrhim ice tower, which stands out amongst the stalagmites only due to their non-luminescent quality opaqueness?.

Dorolak
Upon On? the second largest island, Dorolak, the grounds are either frozen or extremely rocky and provides little in the way of edible foliage. The island is the equivalent of a snowy desert, resources scarce for the orcs that live there, whose pillage and plunder attitude evens out their lack-there-of. However, even in the desert life can be found. The tundra reaches across the northern tip of the island, but is nowhere near as protected from the bay as the part spanning Guldor. Low lying mountains are scattered haphazardly around the middle of the island, as if carelessly tossed to land where they may. Small, sparsely wooded forests are tucked in the shallow valleys between neighboring mountains, and against any other landmass that may shield from the gales of wind coming off the bay. Few animals make home here, as there is little for game such as Elk to dine upon and, by extension, little for predators to hunt. The tail of the island is filled with caves that flow toward the north, tucked into the crevices of the rocky landscape there. However, it one couldn't say that the island is completely barren, as yet very little is known about what may be residing in these caves. I think this sentence could do with a bit of a rephrasing.

Folasch
The smallest mainland island primary island? is Folasch, sitting at the northern end of the bay which has claimed the entire southern shore. Long tendrils of ice, like fingers, creep inland from the Ice Plain Bay, as if holding the island in the palm of its hand. Eventually the streams of ice, at least a dash wide, are lost beneath the hills beyond the southern beach. The western beach has not succumbed to the ices, but is long and shallow, slushy waters about a ped deep reaching inland for roughly 8 dashes. A small wooded area separates the beach from the Rolling Snows which is prime Troll territory in Cyhalloi. The huge powdery hills shift and move on a daily basis, much like dunes of sand in the desert. As the hills flow northwards, they very quickly gain altitude before dropping off, abruptly in some places, into a canyon. The deep and very eerie Shade Crest Canyon, set in the northern majority of the island, is thickly forested and is believed to be where the mythical Ulvur reside in secrecy. However, not many people would dare venture across the Rolling Snows, as packs of Snow Trolls can oft be found tolling around those parts, as if they were unofficial I would cut these words out sentinels of the forest in the canyon beyond.

Ice Plains
The bay between the three mainlands, called the Ice Plains, is a death trap just waiting for foolish ships to haphazardly sail into its midst. The surface of the bay is frozen, a mixture of varying degrees of ice. The southern most part of the bay's frozen surface is often crashed into by icebergs pulled in by the current, clearing away large amounts of thin ice and leaving the impression that a ship could perhaps sail through. Such is not the case. A little further north one might think the ice is thick enough cross on foot, as no cracks are apparent and the heavy snows often hide any fractures in the ice. This is called the "False Bridge" and, as its name would suggest, sure-footing is not something to be found. North of there, at the heart of the bay, is a huge gaping hole in the ice where torrential waters swirl and slosh, angrily splashing and frothing as if trying to reclaim its frozen surface. The Kasumarii call this place Nexus, and avoid visiting it altogether. Fishing here, they say, is a fruitless endeavour, presumably because the currents near the surface are too strong and quickly whisk away anything that may get caught up in it. Northwest of Nexus lay mountainous ice cliffs that rise up high above the sea level between Dorolak and Folasch, huge chunks of ice occasionally breaking off the face to float away in the waters below. Where the bay has latched onto the southern shores of Folasch with long icy fingers lays a hidden ice ravine, called "Qu'prur's Palm". Hidden away by mounds of snow, it is often the final resting place of those that do not take care in where they step. Just east of here, wedged between Guldor and Folasch, one can find the Ice Shelves where many fauna, such as the Nexus Wallub and the Spotted Pinnup, can be found throughout the summer and winter months.

Waning Island
The small island of Waning, also known as Winking Moon Cove, is directly to the east of Guldor and is a craggy little island that serves as one of the main cities of the Kasumar'ii-men, and has been found to not be open to outsiders. It was here that this particular tribe of humans initially began to flourish during the days of the Hiding, when the Gharenghukh-orcs had driven them from the tundra by relentlessly burning and plundering their villages following their arrival to the island continent. This port city sits at the middle of the island and spans about an eighth of its entirety. When they first arrived, surely the entire isle was thickly wooded I don't understand what you're getting at here. Now, the city that the Hiding built there is a maze of wooden walkways and docks along the crescent of the northern coast and southernmost point of the small Crescent Bay, which is cradled safely away from the cold sea. Rows of trees that have grown so close together that one could barely step through the gaps between have been left standing along the walkways, acting as natural walls. In the majority of this city's inner areas slanted canopies made of wood or leathers have been built above the walkway for further protection from the elements. Along the southern coast are jagged rocks that stand, in some places, as tall as the trees themselves. Here, usable plants and animals are scarce and are mainly found hidden in the crannies of the southern rocks in the form of algae and crustaceans.

Void Isles
The wintry climate only becomes more bitter-cold and nigh unbearable as one ventures further north and, ultimately, closer to the Void. The northeastern most isles are unique in geography from the others in that they are, surprisingly, not dominated by ice. Each isle, save for the largest in the middle, seems to be nothing more than mountains jutting up out of the sea. Deep caves dot the mountainsides, and the fierce winds of the region howl ominously through the openings there. Some seem to think that the islands connect to each other under the frigid waves by way of caverns. It is home to the Quasurhiim tribe, and surely to many cave dwelling creatures, not yet discovered as little is said about the mountain isles by those whom visit them. I would replace this with, "as those who visit these isles say little about them"

Deity Isles
Found just to the west of Folasch on the map not just on the map, in real life too., these isles are locked together by ice and generally have an unremarkable landscape. While mostly flat, heavy snowfall attributes to the hilly impression one gets of these isles upon approach by boat. Low areas in the land here tend to be heavily pitted, covered in slush and only giving the illusion of solid ground. The largest isle is covered in trees that sit so widely apart that one couldn't quite call it a forest. At the heart of the island sits what the Kasumarii call Deity's Grove, what the isles were ultimately named after. Sheltered from the winds by close-standing trees, tall craggy bushes and boulders that are uncharacteristic of this particular string of isles, it is a place filled with carvings of animals and various other offerings for a god or goddess unknown. It is said that when one spends almost any amount of time in the strangely quiet clearing, you'll be compelled to leave an offering of your very own before you can bring yourself to leave. It is assumed that it was once a place of worship for a people who lived here. However, all other remnants of anyone making home here have vanished into the ice and snow. Now, occasionally, Snow Trolls can be found mulling around eastern spits of lands in this string of isles, as they are connected to Folasch by the ice and ice shelves I would replace this with either ice or ice shelves not both there.

Qu'prur's Necklace
The southernmost string of isles, found just below the mainland islands on the map, are called Qu'prur's Necklace. Here, the beaches are lightly rocky, though not nearly as rocky as the southern shores of Dorolak. The largest of the isles, Lockette, is the westernmost and largest of the isles, and also the most dangerous to approach by ship. Here, huge rocks jutting up out of the waters and many treacherous reefs form a barrier around this island, making it impossible to approach by ship. The difficulty of reaching the island has left it nearly untouched by mer or man, and the large boulders lining the coasts protect the thicket of woods at its center from the chilly winds. Many land bound birds can be seen scoring the beaches for food and are believed to roost in the underbrush there. It is said that the Heart of Qu'prur herself is hidden in the woods, though what form it takes is unknown. Just northeast of Lockette, upon one of smallest "beads" of Qu'prur's Necklace is a small trade city that the Stormcloaks, a Kasumar'ii-men guild, have established quite recently called Ludor Port.


-CLIMATE-
In Cyhalloi, it seems that winter will never end; snows fall nearly every day, coating the land. Here, the winter never fully thaws away, and most of the northern half of the islands have fallen victim to the ice creeping out of the bay. Though the chilled winter mostly drowns out the other seasons that may come to pass, the snows become torrential and rarely stop in the spring as the weather warms just a little. However, summer is quick on spring's heels. Heavy, warm winds sweeps away and melts at least half of the snows that spring left in its wake, and steals away most seedlings that would try to take hold. During fall and winter, the land falls under such a stillness that it makes one want to hold their breath. There is not much, if any wind at all, and the snow, when it falls, trickles gently from the sky. It is claimed mainly by the Kasumarii, despite being the coldest time of the year, is the best time of year: "The land is eerie, and downright beautiful in its uncanny quiet. As if Qu'prur, Herself, stole breath from the very air. beautiful!"

Darkness prevails upon these islands, the sky often times shrouded with a heavy layer of clouds or short lived flurries blotting out the sun this is a bit of a run on. maybe break . At night the weather seems more calm, and when the moon is full it lights up the sky as if it were the sun, setting the snow drenched land aglow. When coming from anywhere else, one would swear that the days were shorter here than they ought to be, while the nighttime would seem to stretch on as if it would never end. The sun seems I would cut this out and just say "is" lazy to rise and early to set, giving the impression that it is hard pressed to cast its light on such a distant horizon.


-FLORA-
The variety of plants upon land that are usable resources are scarce, making survival particularly tricky, especially since faring the icy waters around the islands is such a risky affair. Trees such as the Cyhalloian Pine and Snow Firs stand tall in most of the wooded areas here, acting as homes to Squirm Moss and other such plants. Not very many bush type plants bushes? take up residency here, as the climate does not allow it, but the low-lying Craggy Tuft can be found in places shielded from the winds. Many of the plants found here that are abundant enough to be a reliable resource are found in the cold, fertile waters surrounding the islands. The most prominently depended upon plant would probably be the Tyrscaru, a sea lilly that grows in surprising abundance along the southern and eastern coasts of Guldor, but can be found all around the islands.


-FAUNA-
Few animals have the hardy constitution required for living in such a harsh climate as that of Cyhalloi. Herding animals are nonexistent domesticated animals? pastoral animals? I don't understand what you're getting at here, though there are a scant few species of game to be found. An offshoot of the Thunderfoot lives exclusively in the tundra sprawling across the waist of Guldor, named Íl’thróg by the Cyhalrhim elves. Animals such as the Cloaked Elk, Leveret Rabbit and the Cragdashlive throughout the islands, leaping through the snows and hiding in the forests, though the latter-most beast tends to keep to the steep mountainsides. There are, however, plenty of predatory animals calling this continent home, like the Cyhalloian Slinker, the Mithrilene Lingradau, or the fierce White Bear. Animals that live on the ice, such as the Spotted Pinnip and the Nexus Wallub, prey on the abundant supply of fish that live in the cold waters around the islands, along with any other crustaceans that they may find. The Verhon, a bird that lives sparsely across the Ice Plains, provides the occasional meal to a quick Wallub, generally tends to keep south of Nexus when pecking for food and is suspected to be the main cause in cracking the ice and making False Bridge even more treacherous than it already is. Fishing here is the easiest dinner to be caught, the SpearHead Trout being the most abundant, but is still quite the dangerous endeavor from encounters with the terrifying Krrroa'Haxpattl to simply falling into the frigid waters. Also, surprisingly, a good handful of many? land bound birds, such as the Snow Gynnia and the Pendant Hopper, can be found all across the continent. The Eagle, one of the largest predatory birds in Caelereth, calls home to many of the mountains particularly along the western coast of Guldor and the Shade Crest Canyon.


-RACES-
The tribes inhabiting Cyhalloi are few and far between, not many people would choose to live here- other than the elves, of course. However, once a place has become a people's home, no matter how harsh it is to live there, it tends to turn into a place of importance for them and the majority would not choose to live anywhere else.

Cyhalrhim Elves
These elves were the first to stumble across these arctic islands, hence the similarity between the names, but have since become feral, so to speak, and scattered themselves across the islands. They live in seclusion, keeping to themselves, the forest, and their ice towers that stand tall across the northern peninsula of Guldor. Having rarely interacted with their neighboring tribes, the elves are far from anyone's thoughts and a silent kill of a well-aimed arrow may be the only trace left behind by one of them, if any trace at all.

Gharengukh-oc
Unwanted by other tribes, and unknown if the elves bother living there I don't understand what you're getting out here, these orcs dominate the eastern and second largest mainland, Dorolak, which is an unfortunate and desolate place. So inbred with each other and the tribes around them, these orcs could hardly be considered orcs at all. Aggressive, but dumb, they do little more than attack and pillage all around them in hopes of acquiring usable resources and whatever else they can get their hands on. Mostly, they live in shoddily made ship-homes that are barely puddle-worthy, much less seaworthy, in order to get from island to island. They carry on an ongoing struggle with the other inhabitants of the region, trying their best to claim Guldor for themselves. Having been driven from the tundra, they also have the tip of the southern peninsula of Guldor under their control, but their attempts to push north into more fruitful lands are constantly squelched by the humans living there.

Kasumarii-Men
The Kasumarii men are a battle borne tribe, well learned in the arts of guerrilla warfare, stealth and the dark arts. In their first years upon the islands, they were met with many difficulties. Not only was the climate unforgiving and alien to them, but the Orcs of the region pillaged and plundered any settlements that they built. Once they learned to fend off these raiders and master the harsh land, they flourished and seized control of the majority of Guldor. They were also the first to establish trade with Sarvonia and have a port city, Winking Moon Port, located on Waning Island.
 
Quasurhiim
An offshoot of the Kasumarii-Men, this tribe was established shortly after the orcs had first begun driving the humans out of the tundra following their arrival to the islands. After many raids and skirmishes, a large group of Kar'ii fled to the north where the orcs never ventured due to the increasingly frigid climate, weary of the bloodshed that they had witnessed. They searched for a home where conflict with other peoples could be avoided, and where they could live peacefully with each other. It is said that upon finding an Ice Tower, the group pleaded with the elves residing there for shelter from the bitter-cold by offering them the frozen remains of two elk they had felled in the forest along the way. The Cyhalrhim elves took pity upon the downtrodden humans, allowing them to stay and learn how to survive by watching and participating in their everyday lives. Once sure of the knowledge they had gained, and that they would not perish should they journey out into the wilderness, they left the elves in search of a home that they could truly call their own. Something was calling to them from the north, it seemed, a lulling voice so beautiful that they could not refuse its beckoning nice idea. So it was north that they travelled, ever north, until they discovered the Void Isles, naked of snow, and they receded into the extensive caves and caverns throughout those mountains.

Snow Trolls
All across the northern half of the continent of Cyhalloi, one can find these Trolls trudging around through the snowy landscape. Not too much is known about this brutish tribe, as they tend to be particularly hostile towards anything that isn't a Troll as well. Oddly, despite their size, they have been known to be spotted from a distance and then seemingly just vanish into the snow, even when one doesn't look away. It is thought that they tend to keep mainly to Folasch island, but have been spotted briefly in the tundra of Guldor and the northern areas of Dorolak. While there are no reports of them across the southernmost areas of the continent, it does not mean that they are not there, though the notion seems unlikely. Because of their ferocity and their elusive nature, the Kasumarii use the hunt and defeat of one of these hulking beings as a final test to become a member of the Echilliianni Order; alone, they must track and kill and bring back the body of the troll as proof of their victory.

Ulvur
The Ulvur, thought to be merely creatures of myth by most, are said to reside in the northernmost forests tucked inside a surprisingly deep canyon in the northern island of Folasch. It is said that their song can be heard, howling with the winds on nights of the full moon. While no one has officially seen a member of this tribe in the remembered past officially? I would replace this with "While no one has reported seeing a member of this tribe,", Shade Crest Canyon is respected as their home and none dare to trespass on their land. That is, assuming that they make it past the Snow Trolls and survive the treacherous climb down the canyon wall first.


-MYTHOLOGY-
There is nowhere else in the world that the moon is larger, brighter, nor more revered and hated than it is here, upon these isles. Because of this, it is believed that the mythical Ulvur stalk the forests of the northernmost mainland, Folasch, their secrets hidden deep within the canyon nestled in the north majority of the island. This is, however, only the most prevalent and well known myth of the region and there are many others to be told; such as the Tundra Beast and the Lindorm.

The Pilgrimage
Long ago Qu'prur came unto the Kasumar'ii-men to show them the path through the darkness. "Need not the light," She said, "as it can be just as blinding as the darkness- but nothing else is as absolute." I don't understand whether you are saying here. Is the light absolute or is the dark? Then, with a wave of Her pallid hand, death swept the land and drove them into the dark.

Her children must face her, to love her, and like all those learning, must be pushed to do so with a firm but patient hand. The weak would fall and the strong would thrive, but she did not discriminate. She taught that all had strength, they had but to grasp and utilize that strength. In the eyes of Qu'prur, only the fearlessly strong are worthy of reaching the land that she gave birth to intended as paradise to her children. Her love is hard and earned, and that much more gratifying to receive because of it.

Great ships brought them to Cyhalloi, many along the journey perished and the deserving- the ones that fell fighting- were wrapped in night cloak and kept safe as to be reborn. They had followed Her voice through the turbulent seas, and by the time they stood once more upon still ground they had lost track of how long they had been wandering through the darkness. However, reaching the land wasn't the last of their trials. Further tribulations lay ahead.

The inhabitants of the region proved to be aggressive and ruthless in their assault on the Kasumarii, and they had to fight tooth and nail just to survive. It taught them that the strength of will they were born with was not enough, they must aspire to be more. It taught them patience, and it was down this arduous path that they would learn such patience. The Kasumarii became the Hiding then, using the shadows to their advantage in order to slip by their foes. This gave them the time to calculate, to learn, to grow. And once they were strong enough and brave enough, they conquered the orcs and drove them out of their paradise.

It was then that Qu'prur looked down upon her children with respect and provided them her favor- granting them power that only the Moon had to offer. For, while her love was hard, it was true and absolute; as deep as the Darkness, and endless as Life and Death.


Deity's Grove
Deity's Grove is said to be the final resting place of a long forgotten god, and it is certainly eerie to behold. Whether or not the celestial being is male or female, one may never know; but the strange primal magic and the huge totem looming in the middle of the clearing, thickens the very air. The grove itself is actually a breathtaking sight, seemingly unscathed by whatever the world may bring to pass and the crisp white snow appearing untouched by wind or animal or anything else, as though it has always just fallen. It seems too white, too virgin, and glitters in the sunlight in a way that doesn't seem quite right for snow, though it is impossible to say exactly why. Even compared to the Shade Crest Canyon, it takes the cake in giving one the heebie-jeebies a big change in tone..

The clearing itself is surrounded by huge boulders, as though put there by someone on purpose, however it would have taken incredible ingenuity or a giant to move such large rocks. Only a small gap between two of the boulders on the southeastern side of the grove allows admittance into the area. As stated before, a huge totem sits quietly in the midst of the clearing. A wide, oval base with all manner of carvings and drawings around its sides has bowls chipped right into the surface, presumably where offerings are to be placed.

The totem itself stands tall, reaching at least 5 peds in height, and is solid stone. Strange, swirling designs that glow much like LuneWeep stones are said to be traced all over the rock, however those whom had reported stumbling across this particular place all describe different designs. One particular Shade Cleric who claims to have seen the grove states that the designs played out a story; telling the birth, life, and death of Qu'prur. Others have said to have seen their own lives, and their own death, upon the stone. But all say the same, that the stone seemed to have gnarled black antlers growing out of its crown, like burnt jagged hands reaching up to grab the very sky.

Others, still, reported even stranger things:
"I could hear it, the big stone in the middle, like it was whispering to me- couldn't make out the words, though. But the sound of it buzzed around in the back of my head, barely noticeable. It wanted something, I could feel it. So I slit the throat of my leveret on the base and kneeled in the snow until the blood froze." -Shade Cleric

"It was so quiet there, like the air was holding its breath. It could have been peaceful, I suppose, except that it seemed that the silence itself was loud and screaming, drowning out the rest of the world." -Korenjaan

Qu'prur's Heart
It is told in stories that hidden deep in the woods, which thickly cover the entirety of Lockette island, is a sacred place where Qu'prur herself hid her heart after she was scorned by the sun.

Overview.
Barekmahr (pronounced bark-MAWR) is a seaside town in eastern Manthria, in the United Kingdom of Santharia. The so-called “arsehole” of Manthria, its primary industry is the processing of the flotsam that floats down the Mashdai down to the Adanian Sea. Every piece of rubbish thrown away by the various towns along the Mashdai finds its way to Barekmahr, as well as a plume of sewage. Its people too are human flotsam, and they are the rogues and scoundrels of Manthria that can find honest work nowhere else. Yet despite that, the hardscrabble inhabitants of Barekmahr have managed to find a place where they can survive, if not exactly thrive.

Description.
As the clear River Mashdai flows down from the mountain slopes, it gets somewhat less clear as it passes through the cities, particularly Marcogg. Trash of all kinds gets thrown into the Marshai, and at certain times of year, the river begins to resemble a moving dump more than a waterway.  But as the dump enters the sea, the people of Barekmahr are there to intercept it. Trash barges filter off the top layer of debris and bring it back to the beach, where the people of the town filter through it with their bare hands. Every piece of metal is meticulously cleaned and sold to the craftsmen of Marcogg to be made back into things of value. The organic matter is buried and used as fertilizer, helping feed the people of Barekmahr. What remains on the beach is then burned to form a cloud of greasy and foul-smelling smoke over the town.

The town itself does not look like very much. It is composed of a few hundred poorly constructed shacks that sit overlooking the sea and the river, made mostly of the characteristic eastern Manthrian whalebone. Most of the houses have gardens, where most of the town's food is produced. They are well fertilized from the waste of the river. The town's only real public building is the meeting house, a large building made of whalebone. There, the town's business and voting is conducted and town-wide meetings are held. Perhaps more important than the government of the town is the town's still which is also located in the meeting house. In that still, the much loved strong spirits of the town are produced, much to the disdain of the town's "upstanding citizens", as they are. Farther away, along the sea lies a great flat area of sand, covered in the concentrated waste of a huge portion of Manthria, where many of the working people of Barekmahrers spend most of their waking hours, searching for things of value in all the mess.

Sitting in a pile of human filth searching for the tiniest glint of a piece of metal does not seem like much of an escape to the elites of Marcogg or Ciosa, but for the people who call Barekmahr home, it is a vital escape from their previous lives. Only the most desperate call Barekmahr home, and there is a constant flow of people leaving the town for better work elsewhere. Yet for each upwardly mobile person parting the town, there is inevitably another down on their luck that enters it.

Location.
Barekmahr is located on the south side of the mouth of Mashdai River, the largest river in Manthria. It is located approximately 500 strals to the east of Marcogg, the nearest major city to the town. Very few towns of any noticeable size exist within a few dozen strals of Barekmahr, largely due to the cloud of fumes that hangs over the town and its vicinity. The nearest town to Barekmahr lies over the Marshai to the north, nearly 50 strals away.

Administratively, Barekmahr lies within the fief of Parthanul, part of the Duchy of Marcogg, though officials claiming to come from the Thane rarely are respected in such a den of villainy and trash as Barekmahr. The respect, or lack thereof, goes both ways, and as long as the goods and taxes continue to flow, Barekmahrers are generally left to their own business.

People.
If you are a thief or layabout without any productive skills and with the desire to stay away from the authorities, Barekmahr is the perfect destination. It is isolated and well away from any prying eyes that might recognize an outcast from their hometown. Because of that, Barekmahr is truly a melting pot of different ethnicities and backgrounds. Given the location, most Barekmahrers are Avennorians, though there are many immigrants down on their luck from elsewhere in Santharia or from farther away.

Given the base of the population as rogues, escaping from elsewhere, most Barekmaherers are men. This has led to harmful social dynamics with brutal competition among men for women, destroying any semblance of social order. However, in recent years, more and more women are escaping from prostitution and marriage in Marcogg and the countryside to the relative freedom of Barekmaher, helping rectify previous social ills. Barekmahrers might spend all their waking hours sifting through human waste, but they are free, now and forever from whatever obligations that they held in a previous life.

Many of those who are born in Barekmahr leave at some point during their lives, typically leaving to go to a bigger city like Ciosa or Marcogg. For instance the father of the noted Manthrian pirate Rekj Snivild was originally from Barekmahr, though the father later left for Ciosa. From the constant flow of emigrants and immigrants, Barekmahr is full of transient people, and it lacks the homogeneity that other towns of a similar size possess. Despite that, Barekmahrers possess a sense of solidarity unrivalled in the region, because they realize that a town built on nothing but trash cannot survive for long divided.

Resources.
The primary resource of Barekmahr is the same as its greatest curse: the trash. The trash that is so overpoweringly pungent that gives the town its uncharitable nickname is the very reason that the town exists at all. Inside the clumps and crowds of food-waste and sewage lies some valuable products that can be painstakingly filtered out of the trash and sewage by thousands of human hands. Every piece of metal and every shard of pottery can be used for something else, and Barekmahrers transform them into brand new things to trade.

Another valuable product that the river brings are formerly living materials, mostly food. That waste, already processed by the flow of the Mashdai and the natural capacities of yealm marshes is some of the most valuable and accessible fertilizers in the region and it is used with gusto by farmers nearby. Locals also use the waste to fertilize their home gardens, used to produce much of the food that the town consumes.

Climate.
Other than what has been created by humans, Barekmahr's climate is similar to all the other seaside towns that dot the eastern coast of Manthria. The temperatures are moderate, but it is frequently rainy. Less moderately, winter storms can come barreling down from the Adanian Sea, damaging the town.

Due to the cloud of pestilent fumes that hangs over the town and its vicinity, Barekmahr has no close neighbours. The nearest settlement, Parthanul, lies over the Mashdai to the North, nearly 50 strals away.

History.
1550 b.S   Founding of the Town. On the site of a tiny fishing hamlet, Barekmahr is founded by Avenorians trying to get rich quick by collecting things of value from the trash plume. They did not succeed in that mission, but the town they founded proved enduring.
210 a.S   Great Pestilence. A great wave of illness brought most of Barekmahr to Queprur, therefore ending the lineage of most of the original settlers of the town The town was mostly abandoned at that point, though by 235 a.S, escapees from the rest of Manthria repopulated the town.
850 a.S   Growth of Marcogg. As the city of Marcogg grows and grows, the quantity of the trash it produces grows as well, much to the benefit of Barekmahr. Barekmahr begins to expand in earnest about this time, reaching its current population around 900 a.S.
1025 a.S   The Storm of Three Nights.   This storm, though not as strong in Barekmahr as it was farther north, batters the town, destroying many homes. More dangerously, the barges that collect the trash from the river are damaged, requiring rapid repair.
1471 a.S   The Destruction of the Still. In this year, Barekmahr's still is shutdown by radicals who blame the spirits produced there for the town's ills of idleness and violence. The still is quickly repaired, and the drink continues to flow into the mouths of the town's drunks, much to the chagrin of those who had smashed the still in the first place. If anything, the unmet need for drink among the drunkards promoted violence, not reduced it.

Hey all!

I'm a relative debutante to the Dream, but I've been a lurker for far longer than I've posted. The slowdown in development recently has sparked me to start to actually do something to help out. Before we jump into emailing everyone, I think it is worth asking a few simple questions:

Why has the Dream slowed down?
Are the reasons personal feuds between members of the project? (I hope not)
Are the reasons technical?
Are the reasons internal to the project? Do people wish there were more empty spaces to develop? Do they want someone to develop with?

Before we hear the ever-present answer that real life has intruded, I doubt that real life has grown in importance over the past several years for all members. Perhaps the dream is just aging as a project and fewer people with lots of free time are participating.

As I said earlier, I'm just a beginner so, I really would be interested in hearing your answers. Please feel free to just write how ever much you want to. I just want to know what the general vibe is on this.

Thanks,
Seagazer