Post by Fishy on Jun 15, 2012 14:49:51 GMT -5
These are the threads posted on the subreddit dedicated to this in chronological order. This front post will be updated with more add-ons.
Bare bones development stage
Bare bones development stage
Introduction
I'm going to be doing the humans second, as they require less back story and the Eireneans will provide a basic layout as to how the 3 or 4 other alien races will be built up. I've only really done first drafts which are bare bones and cover very early history. It's not particularly well written because they are mostly all brain storming and points to further develop when going into more detail about them.
The Eirenean Republic will become what is a more technologically advanced but also peaceful Government which a highly decentralised and liberalised system of Government. The Republic will be the first faction of the Eireneans but not the only, as a more traditionalist and purely Eirenean faction will exist on the outskirts of their territory.
When I say more peaceful, I mean comparatively. Obviously there are plenty of things to fight over, and the history of a civilisation has to go beyond "they were all peaceful for their existence" or "they ll fought each other". Alien races should be as diverse as we expect the Humans to be in ideology and practice. What I want to do is describe overarching themes in their cultures without becoming "racist" in the way I describe the way they act. Themes in the way they act will be backed up through a thorough back-story of why they are the way they are.
My aim for the Eireneans is to create a highly advanced race who recruit from different races across the Galaxy but who have a more liberal approach to international relations (Look up Liberalism in International Relations). For example, they seek good justification for conflict to occur, conflict is usually defensive or intervention and they place an important focus on individual rights.
I've been looking for armies to try and compare them to, and the closest I could find is probably the Tau in Warhammer 40K. However, I'm not familiar with their lore and if drawn I'm sure they'd look different. I merely want to have something tactile I can use whn playing out scenarios with them.
Hope this all makes sense. If you have any questions regarding the Eireneans then post here!
*note: I'm no novelist. I'm used to writing academic essays. Don't expect it all to be a fun read. Expect them to be points of reference to take your own work from. I don't intend on making graphics of them as I'm not the best at drawing and I like the idea of people taking it in their own direction and imagining things in their heads.
I'm going to be doing the humans second, as they require less back story and the Eireneans will provide a basic layout as to how the 3 or 4 other alien races will be built up. I've only really done first drafts which are bare bones and cover very early history. It's not particularly well written because they are mostly all brain storming and points to further develop when going into more detail about them.
The Eirenean Republic will become what is a more technologically advanced but also peaceful Government which a highly decentralised and liberalised system of Government. The Republic will be the first faction of the Eireneans but not the only, as a more traditionalist and purely Eirenean faction will exist on the outskirts of their territory.
When I say more peaceful, I mean comparatively. Obviously there are plenty of things to fight over, and the history of a civilisation has to go beyond "they were all peaceful for their existence" or "they ll fought each other". Alien races should be as diverse as we expect the Humans to be in ideology and practice. What I want to do is describe overarching themes in their cultures without becoming "racist" in the way I describe the way they act. Themes in the way they act will be backed up through a thorough back-story of why they are the way they are.
My aim for the Eireneans is to create a highly advanced race who recruit from different races across the Galaxy but who have a more liberal approach to international relations (Look up Liberalism in International Relations). For example, they seek good justification for conflict to occur, conflict is usually defensive or intervention and they place an important focus on individual rights.
I've been looking for armies to try and compare them to, and the closest I could find is probably the Tau in Warhammer 40K. However, I'm not familiar with their lore and if drawn I'm sure they'd look different. I merely want to have something tactile I can use whn playing out scenarios with them.
Hope this all makes sense. If you have any questions regarding the Eireneans then post here!
*note: I'm no novelist. I'm used to writing academic essays. Don't expect it all to be a fun read. Expect them to be points of reference to take your own work from. I don't intend on making graphics of them as I'm not the best at drawing and I like the idea of people taking it in their own direction and imagining things in their heads.
Planetary background
The planet commonly known as Eirenia, or to the locals as Vaar-felite, is a temperate and diverse planet which has a surface which is 78% water. It is divided into four continents known commonly as; Maua, Uiro, Fel and Ioja.
Maua is the largest of the continents sitting in the northern
hemisphere with diverse regions such as the Northern Tundra, the temperate Eastern coast and islands as well as a large Mountain Range dividing the continent in three clear regions. In the south West of Maua lies the largest desert on the planet known as “An-Vyltona” (Great-Desert in English).
Uiro and Fel are connected by a narrow land bridge including several temperate Islands, home of the earliest Eireneans. Uiro sits in the South as a long slim continent touching the Southern Ice-cap and notably having the outline of a large ancient crater visible in its shape. Its North is warmer in climate and houses the temperate forests and grasslands on the coast surrounding the land bridge with Fel. This region is one of the most culturally significant for the Erineans, named “Gorul-Fon” (ancient lands) as it is where their ancestors come from, having moved southwards from the Northern Tropical rainforests (An-Falatayé – Great Rainforests) of Fel. These Rainforests on the North of Fel are colossal in size although greatly reduced over the period of Civilisation. To their south lies a grassland which diminishes into desert before becoming grassy and temperate the closer to the Land Bridge it gets. This Grassland, Ya Karulfoy (nomadic steppes), continues the length of the Desert on the East coast connecting the Jungle to Gorul Fon.
The fourth and smallest continent sits between these continents and is commonly known as Ioja. Ioja is large for an island and is comparable to a large crescent in its shape, with a large mountain ridge on its spine. It is a green an often rainy land which has been far enough away from other continents to allow for it to be culturally detached from the rest of the planet. At the centre of the crescent lies a natural bay which has become acknowledged as the centre of government on Eirenia.
These continents and the Geography of the planet partly explains the way in which the species has culturally developed over time. From Gorul Fon, the cradle of the modern species, their expansion on the two continents of Uiro and Fel was for a long time halted due to the distance between the continents. During a particularly cold period of the planet, the Northern tip of Fel was not tremendously distant from the Ice Cap due to the drop in Sea Level. This allowed for the first Eirenians to explore the short lived temperate lowlands and travel around the cap to Maua. When Sea Levels dropped again it would take thousands of years for the people of these continents to reuinte and when there were significant differences in the diets, social norms and even the biology of these people. Those who lived on Maua were descended from people who had adapted to having more meat in the diet as the mostly herbivorous people of the old world were unsuited to travelling so far North to reach Maua. As a result the people of northern Maua are much smaller and broader than their cousins in southern Maua, Fel and Uiro. The physical divergence of the species has become more mixed over the 3.5 thousand years since they both contacted each other once more, but has resulted in a broad and varied history and biology of the species.
Overall however, the species has grown on a diet of mainly plants and insects. They are descended from a line of mammal-like creatures used to eating leaves and digging for grubs. The planet notably has many large insects making it often unpopular with tourists from Earth. As well as this, there is a large number of predatory animals which have historically eaten the Eirenians on different continents. This has made them adept climbers, naturally good strategists, communitarian and is partly the reason why weapons were first created by the early ancestors.
At the beginning of the stone age, tools were developed for giving the Eirenians the ability to search deeper and in more difficult places for insects to eat as well as for trapping them in grass nets. The ability to make tools also gave them enough defence from predators so they could adequately defend themselves and move southwards towards the cradle where early civilisations developed. Another temptation was the diet of plants which they ate. This diet was of a wide range of plants and roots which were easier to harvest with the dawn of tools. The close relationship with agriculture explains the cultural significance of the environment and maintaining a peaceful balance with it.
The planet commonly known as Eirenia, or to the locals as Vaar-felite, is a temperate and diverse planet which has a surface which is 78% water. It is divided into four continents known commonly as; Maua, Uiro, Fel and Ioja.
Maua is the largest of the continents sitting in the northern
hemisphere with diverse regions such as the Northern Tundra, the temperate Eastern coast and islands as well as a large Mountain Range dividing the continent in three clear regions. In the south West of Maua lies the largest desert on the planet known as “An-Vyltona” (Great-Desert in English).
Uiro and Fel are connected by a narrow land bridge including several temperate Islands, home of the earliest Eireneans. Uiro sits in the South as a long slim continent touching the Southern Ice-cap and notably having the outline of a large ancient crater visible in its shape. Its North is warmer in climate and houses the temperate forests and grasslands on the coast surrounding the land bridge with Fel. This region is one of the most culturally significant for the Erineans, named “Gorul-Fon” (ancient lands) as it is where their ancestors come from, having moved southwards from the Northern Tropical rainforests (An-Falatayé – Great Rainforests) of Fel. These Rainforests on the North of Fel are colossal in size although greatly reduced over the period of Civilisation. To their south lies a grassland which diminishes into desert before becoming grassy and temperate the closer to the Land Bridge it gets. This Grassland, Ya Karulfoy (nomadic steppes), continues the length of the Desert on the East coast connecting the Jungle to Gorul Fon.
The fourth and smallest continent sits between these continents and is commonly known as Ioja. Ioja is large for an island and is comparable to a large crescent in its shape, with a large mountain ridge on its spine. It is a green an often rainy land which has been far enough away from other continents to allow for it to be culturally detached from the rest of the planet. At the centre of the crescent lies a natural bay which has become acknowledged as the centre of government on Eirenia.
These continents and the Geography of the planet partly explains the way in which the species has culturally developed over time. From Gorul Fon, the cradle of the modern species, their expansion on the two continents of Uiro and Fel was for a long time halted due to the distance between the continents. During a particularly cold period of the planet, the Northern tip of Fel was not tremendously distant from the Ice Cap due to the drop in Sea Level. This allowed for the first Eirenians to explore the short lived temperate lowlands and travel around the cap to Maua. When Sea Levels dropped again it would take thousands of years for the people of these continents to reuinte and when there were significant differences in the diets, social norms and even the biology of these people. Those who lived on Maua were descended from people who had adapted to having more meat in the diet as the mostly herbivorous people of the old world were unsuited to travelling so far North to reach Maua. As a result the people of northern Maua are much smaller and broader than their cousins in southern Maua, Fel and Uiro. The physical divergence of the species has become more mixed over the 3.5 thousand years since they both contacted each other once more, but has resulted in a broad and varied history and biology of the species.
Overall however, the species has grown on a diet of mainly plants and insects. They are descended from a line of mammal-like creatures used to eating leaves and digging for grubs. The planet notably has many large insects making it often unpopular with tourists from Earth. As well as this, there is a large number of predatory animals which have historically eaten the Eirenians on different continents. This has made them adept climbers, naturally good strategists, communitarian and is partly the reason why weapons were first created by the early ancestors.
At the beginning of the stone age, tools were developed for giving the Eirenians the ability to search deeper and in more difficult places for insects to eat as well as for trapping them in grass nets. The ability to make tools also gave them enough defence from predators so they could adequately defend themselves and move southwards towards the cradle where early civilisations developed. Another temptation was the diet of plants which they ate. This diet was of a wide range of plants and roots which were easier to harvest with the dawn of tools. The close relationship with agriculture explains the cultural significance of the environment and maintaining a peaceful balance with it.
Biology
Eirenians, as has been noted previously, is a race with several groups who have naturally diverged from the classical Eirenians. Those in the North have the biological ability to eat small amounts of meats other than insects as a result of the smaller number of insects and plants available in that Geographical Region.
However, these differences have been broken down considerably in the several thousand years which followed and these differences are often merely the butt of jokes or held in romantic notions attached to regions of Eirenea.
They are comparable to mammals in the manner that they give birth to babies which have developed inside the womb and also in the way which they have body hair and are covered in skin associated with mammals on earth. This skin is a lot thicker and not as soft as human skin, feeling almost cold and dry in comparison. Eireneans are taller than most humans standing at an average of 6 foot 3 for both men and women and being consistently slimmer than humans too because of their diet which requires them to eat larger amounts over the day. They also have small tails which serve no use in the modern Eirenean and in some cultures (mostly those on Maua) they are even docked at birth. These tails are only around 6 inches in length and in modern fashion they are often kept underneath the clothes.
They have long slim faces, with little head hair and large thick eyebrows. Male Eireneans have large amounts of body hair on the shoulders and torso as a result of a culture of not wearing shirts in Eirenean Society (due to their thick skin). Women do not have breasts like in human society as a baby's diet mostly consists of plants and insects which have been ground down. Instead they notably have more head hair and less body hair and have slimmer jaw lines than the men.
Eirenean eyes are large and black in colour. Their pupils are surrounded by a small thin circle of a bright colour such as pink, light blue or light green. The Skin is darker than human skin due to its thickness but becomes lighter in those who have ancestry in colder parts of Eirenea. Their long slim faces have small round nostrils showing the poor sense of smell in the race. Their history has instead given them large ears with long drooping lobes able to detect small sounds. It is due to this trait that Eireneans detest loud clubs and bars which are frequented by other races. They instead prefer quiet and peaceful discussion and will spend evenings drinking fine wines in relaxed atmospheres.
Eirenians, as has been noted previously, is a race with several groups who have naturally diverged from the classical Eirenians. Those in the North have the biological ability to eat small amounts of meats other than insects as a result of the smaller number of insects and plants available in that Geographical Region.
However, these differences have been broken down considerably in the several thousand years which followed and these differences are often merely the butt of jokes or held in romantic notions attached to regions of Eirenea.
They are comparable to mammals in the manner that they give birth to babies which have developed inside the womb and also in the way which they have body hair and are covered in skin associated with mammals on earth. This skin is a lot thicker and not as soft as human skin, feeling almost cold and dry in comparison. Eireneans are taller than most humans standing at an average of 6 foot 3 for both men and women and being consistently slimmer than humans too because of their diet which requires them to eat larger amounts over the day. They also have small tails which serve no use in the modern Eirenean and in some cultures (mostly those on Maua) they are even docked at birth. These tails are only around 6 inches in length and in modern fashion they are often kept underneath the clothes.
They have long slim faces, with little head hair and large thick eyebrows. Male Eireneans have large amounts of body hair on the shoulders and torso as a result of a culture of not wearing shirts in Eirenean Society (due to their thick skin). Women do not have breasts like in human society as a baby's diet mostly consists of plants and insects which have been ground down. Instead they notably have more head hair and less body hair and have slimmer jaw lines than the men.
Eirenean eyes are large and black in colour. Their pupils are surrounded by a small thin circle of a bright colour such as pink, light blue or light green. The Skin is darker than human skin due to its thickness but becomes lighter in those who have ancestry in colder parts of Eirenea. Their long slim faces have small round nostrils showing the poor sense of smell in the race. Their history has instead given them large ears with long drooping lobes able to detect small sounds. It is due to this trait that Eireneans detest loud clubs and bars which are frequented by other races. They instead prefer quiet and peaceful discussion and will spend evenings drinking fine wines in relaxed atmospheres.
Modern Eirenian Politics
The Eirenians formed themselves into states in a peaceful manner, with citizenship being decided from the individual perspective rather than the collective. This meant that states were organisations which would change in shape fairly quickly and that thy were more interconnected due to the constant changes in citizenship. Eirenean politics is therefore less based on conflicting interests of communities and instead upon the upholding of legal standards applicable to one or another community. For example, laws in Maua are more inclined to be harsher and place a greater focus on punishment in comparison to those in the Old World. This is due to the historical divergence of the Eirenians of these continents.
The Capital – Greshaar
The capital city of Eirenea is Greshaar sitting in the crescent shaped continent of Ioja. This continent is of historical significance because it was previously uninhabited by Eireneans of either Maua or the Old World and thus the cultures of the people who live here is less attached to the historical backgrounds of the different people of Eirenea.
Greshaar originally was one of many settlements sitting in the central bay of Ioja. As a focal point for trade, diplomacy and culture between the different peoples of Eirenea it has developed into the largest city of the planet and the central node of the planet's geopolitics. The city has approximately 80 million inhabitants, which has forced development into the sea where land has been reclaimed in order to increase the capacity of the city.
At the centre of the city sits the National Legislature surrounded by woodland, which pays homage to the close relationship between the Eireneans and their environment. The National Legislature is the seat of International Democracy and where decisions most effectively made at central government are made. The legislature has 800 representatives, each representing groups of the individual collectives which exist across the planet (both urban and rural). The executive branch of Government sits in a building at the far end of the woodland known as the Council of Elders. The Council is elected as an overall group with elections often going into details regarding the ministries which members of the executive have taken part in. Once elected, the Judiciary approves the new Council and invites them to take office in the Council Building. Each Council contains around 20 Elders with a Prime Elder who can be considered the de facto head of state. Although the Prime Elder's responsibility is the co-ordination and facilitation of the Council as a whole; decisions are taken as a group (for similar political theory see the “cabinet system of Government”).
The Republic has no flag, as the people of Eirenea have no history of using flags. Instead it is common for any collective or organisation to instead have a symbol representing them. The symbol of the Eirenean Republic is the Porak Flower. This red flower is found across the planet and is often admired for its beauty. It represents how a plant may seem common, but each individual flower is different and beautiful in its own way. In recent times the plant has become styalised and placed on a flag and emblems to standardise it as a symbol of he Eireneans. Soldiers of the Eirenean Republic have this emblem on their Uniforms.
This system of government is similar to what is used at lower levels, but developed over time in to a cabinet system due to the various interests which had to be understood for government at a global level to work efficiently. Below the Central Government lies many sub legislatures existing at continental, regional and collective level. Power tends to be as decentralised as possible, due to the nature of citizenship and the overall diplomatic demeanour of the Eireneans.
This has led for their colonies to have a great amount of power over their maintenance and administration with the Elder Council only having power over the rights, defence, regulation and overall standards of colonies. The markets of colonies are quite open, with a higher level of understanding and living being central aims of the Eirenean Government. These aims are the main reasons for why the Eireneans will often enter conflict. If the Galaxy will be destabilised, or the rights and freedoms of allied colonies are likely to be harmed then the Republic is likely to enter the conflict to bring peace and diplomatic resolution.
Armed forces
The armed forces of the Eirenean Republic is highly advanced and not regularly used. When conflict occurs it will often take a great amount of calculation before the Eireneans will get involved. The reasons are the diplomatic culture of the Republic which has been built upon solving problems through dialogue and discussion over armed conflict. When Armed conflict has occurred it has often been in defence or with a clear strategy for what will occur post-war.
Eireneans as a peaceful people are likely to enter the armed forces to preserve peace, and see it is a great privilege to honour their duty to the order and stability of all races of the galaxy. They will serve in the armed forces for much of their healthy lives and thus are greatly experienced and adept fighters who work most efficiently in groups. The arms which are available to the military are unmatched in their effectiveness but also in their simplicity for the user. The armour which the Eirenean soldiers use is also light and effective, allowing soldiers to have the advantage of speed and discipline over the enemy. As a race focussed primarily on the understanding, philosophy and strategy behind whatever they do; the armed forces reflect this through its focus on highly trained and technologically advanced soldiers being part of smaller battalions.
Most military missions will not be carried out by the regular army but instead by elite troops with access to the highest level of resources. Expected to act within strict guidelines, the Ifune-or (Peacekeepers) are highly trained to be able to complete a mission without leaving restrictions placed upon them. They have access to whatever vehicles, resources or weaponry they need for each mission and have been known to continually carry out missions for decades at a time.
Note: As everything else which has been written so far, these are merely bones and guidelines which are to be fleshed out later. There are a lot of bones to be created before we have a broad enough background which can later be developed. I'm doing a little every day to try and make sure that they are thoroughly developed.
The Eirenians formed themselves into states in a peaceful manner, with citizenship being decided from the individual perspective rather than the collective. This meant that states were organisations which would change in shape fairly quickly and that thy were more interconnected due to the constant changes in citizenship. Eirenean politics is therefore less based on conflicting interests of communities and instead upon the upholding of legal standards applicable to one or another community. For example, laws in Maua are more inclined to be harsher and place a greater focus on punishment in comparison to those in the Old World. This is due to the historical divergence of the Eirenians of these continents.
The Capital – Greshaar
The capital city of Eirenea is Greshaar sitting in the crescent shaped continent of Ioja. This continent is of historical significance because it was previously uninhabited by Eireneans of either Maua or the Old World and thus the cultures of the people who live here is less attached to the historical backgrounds of the different people of Eirenea.
Greshaar originally was one of many settlements sitting in the central bay of Ioja. As a focal point for trade, diplomacy and culture between the different peoples of Eirenea it has developed into the largest city of the planet and the central node of the planet's geopolitics. The city has approximately 80 million inhabitants, which has forced development into the sea where land has been reclaimed in order to increase the capacity of the city.
At the centre of the city sits the National Legislature surrounded by woodland, which pays homage to the close relationship between the Eireneans and their environment. The National Legislature is the seat of International Democracy and where decisions most effectively made at central government are made. The legislature has 800 representatives, each representing groups of the individual collectives which exist across the planet (both urban and rural). The executive branch of Government sits in a building at the far end of the woodland known as the Council of Elders. The Council is elected as an overall group with elections often going into details regarding the ministries which members of the executive have taken part in. Once elected, the Judiciary approves the new Council and invites them to take office in the Council Building. Each Council contains around 20 Elders with a Prime Elder who can be considered the de facto head of state. Although the Prime Elder's responsibility is the co-ordination and facilitation of the Council as a whole; decisions are taken as a group (for similar political theory see the “cabinet system of Government”).
The Republic has no flag, as the people of Eirenea have no history of using flags. Instead it is common for any collective or organisation to instead have a symbol representing them. The symbol of the Eirenean Republic is the Porak Flower. This red flower is found across the planet and is often admired for its beauty. It represents how a plant may seem common, but each individual flower is different and beautiful in its own way. In recent times the plant has become styalised and placed on a flag and emblems to standardise it as a symbol of he Eireneans. Soldiers of the Eirenean Republic have this emblem on their Uniforms.
This system of government is similar to what is used at lower levels, but developed over time in to a cabinet system due to the various interests which had to be understood for government at a global level to work efficiently. Below the Central Government lies many sub legislatures existing at continental, regional and collective level. Power tends to be as decentralised as possible, due to the nature of citizenship and the overall diplomatic demeanour of the Eireneans.
This has led for their colonies to have a great amount of power over their maintenance and administration with the Elder Council only having power over the rights, defence, regulation and overall standards of colonies. The markets of colonies are quite open, with a higher level of understanding and living being central aims of the Eirenean Government. These aims are the main reasons for why the Eireneans will often enter conflict. If the Galaxy will be destabilised, or the rights and freedoms of allied colonies are likely to be harmed then the Republic is likely to enter the conflict to bring peace and diplomatic resolution.
Armed forces
The armed forces of the Eirenean Republic is highly advanced and not regularly used. When conflict occurs it will often take a great amount of calculation before the Eireneans will get involved. The reasons are the diplomatic culture of the Republic which has been built upon solving problems through dialogue and discussion over armed conflict. When Armed conflict has occurred it has often been in defence or with a clear strategy for what will occur post-war.
Eireneans as a peaceful people are likely to enter the armed forces to preserve peace, and see it is a great privilege to honour their duty to the order and stability of all races of the galaxy. They will serve in the armed forces for much of their healthy lives and thus are greatly experienced and adept fighters who work most efficiently in groups. The arms which are available to the military are unmatched in their effectiveness but also in their simplicity for the user. The armour which the Eirenean soldiers use is also light and effective, allowing soldiers to have the advantage of speed and discipline over the enemy. As a race focussed primarily on the understanding, philosophy and strategy behind whatever they do; the armed forces reflect this through its focus on highly trained and technologically advanced soldiers being part of smaller battalions.
Most military missions will not be carried out by the regular army but instead by elite troops with access to the highest level of resources. Expected to act within strict guidelines, the Ifune-or (Peacekeepers) are highly trained to be able to complete a mission without leaving restrictions placed upon them. They have access to whatever vehicles, resources or weaponry they need for each mission and have been known to continually carry out missions for decades at a time.
Note: As everything else which has been written so far, these are merely bones and guidelines which are to be fleshed out later. There are a lot of bones to be created before we have a broad enough background which can later be developed. I'm doing a little every day to try and make sure that they are thoroughly developed.
