Ajjamah
Astronomy
When humans look to the heavens, they see six great sources of light—sources that make life considerably more complicated than the mere duality of the sun and moon on Earth do. Oh, yes, there is still fundamentally a day-night cycle, and the world has tides and a long year (about 300 local days long, 310 Earth days). But the devil is in the details.
The Sun, also called the Midday Sun (here referred to as Suran after the Salvian solar god) is the home-star of Ajjamah. A K-class star slightly dimmer than Sol, Suran is used to mark the cycle of day and night.
The Moon (here Tana, after the Salvian lunar goddess) is larger than that of Earth, but further away from the planet—a month on Ajjamah is about 45 local days long. Bright red from the high iron content, it shines bright in the night and day at different times of the month. But it is not the brightest thing to appear in the night sky.
The Midnight Sun (here Kasna, after the Salvian deity) is the other half of the S-binary system of which Suran is a part. Its orbit around a central point with Suran takes a little over a hundred and eighty years to complete, forming a addition to calendrical systems the world over. Like Suran, Kasna has planets of its own, one of which, the gas giant Gunavar, is in the goldilocks zone. There is as yet no evidence that the planet or its moons support life, however.
The Third Sun (here Matha, again after the Salvian deity) is the third member of the little solar bundle that Ajjamah sees in its night sky. Smaller than both Suran and Kasna, it nevertheless shines noticeably brighter than most other stars, although very few civilizations have recognized it as orbiting the suns at all. Matha's cycle is over fifty-seven thousand years long, and as such is used by the phoenixes, leviathans, and behemoths as a way of marking longer aeons, but it has seen little use by humans yet.
Ajjamah is the second-closest planet to Suran; the closest planet is Toksha, a mini-Neptune with a bright atmosphere. Its proximity and albedo means that it rivals the Moon in brightness, and alongside its period of roughly 66 days this has made it eminently useful for calendrical systems the world over.
The Nebula itself is the sixth-brightest object in the night sky, visible on clear nights and dotting the heavens with celestial clouds. The great galactic spiral and the billions of stars are somewhat clouded by the Nebula, but this matters not—they're still visible. The Nebula just makes the inky blackness of space just that bit less black.
Ajjamah is not alone in the Suran-Kasna system. Toksha orbits close by—as does Sanatha, a red, dusty planet 1.2AU from Suran. Between Sanatha and the next planet out is a fairly large asteroid belt, with a central orbit of roughly 1.82AU. That next planet is Vrani, a gas giant with a mass seven hundred and ninety-four times the size of Earth's (about two and a half Jupiters) at 1.32AU. Vrani possesses a fairly large number of moons, some of which were even noted in ancient times, and is itself a reddish-orange colour clearly visible in the night sky. It also has a very large and noticeable ring, even on very clear nights in high places. The list of planets stops closer than one might expect—Suran's binary orbit with Kasna limits planetary motion to about 4.64AU. Very close to this line is the last planet, Turnha, another gas giant, orange-gold and with if anything more moons than Vrani.
The Kasna system, too, has a number of planets; when it comes close enough in its orbit, some are even visible from Ajjamah itself. Of these, the most prominent is Guntha, likewise the second planet out from the sun and within its habitable zone. Phoenix records show that Guntha is itself a gas giant, a hot jupiter which migrated into the system. It also holds in its orbit a number of moons. Whether or not any of these support life is not something that has thus far been disclosed by either the phoenixes or the Miser Crabs.
Geography
Ajjamah is a warmer world than Earth, with a slightly higher axial tilt. This matters very little except to extend certain climate zones—like the grasslands of Quiram—well beyond what would be expected on a planet more like our own. The Northern Hemisphere is necessarily colder, although the habitable portions of Borealia make it easier to deal with. The Southern Hemisphere, on the other hand, is practically balmy by comparison, and the summer melting of ice allows even pre-modern sailors to make their way around the South Pole. Because of the larger and denser moon tides are somewhat bigger, on average reaching 1.35m in height along the coasts. This has led to a frankly enormous littoral zone, as well as a considerable number of unique ecosystems.
The world of Ajjamah is divided into four broad continents.
Hemeraea (a trio of smaller continents—Eudnophe in the west, Oria in the east, and Potamia in the north) in the southwest is the largest landmass by far, and the place of origin for two of the world's four sapient species as well as a host of other creatures. It is also home to three of the five Great Powers. Hercua, the religious powerhouse of the world, sits among the scrubland and Mediterranean coast on the southeastern edge of the continent. Zahng Kwen, a collection of city-states that between them control about 60% of global commerce in one way or another, lies on the two tropical peninsulas above. And Qoldishtar, largest land empire by far and the most militarily accomplished (often to the detriment of the locals), runs along the southern coast, encompassing tens of millions of kilometres of steppe, taiga forest, tundra, and (more recently) cities along the southwestern coast of the great Meotem Sea.
Pelia is the next-largest, the continent in the northwest holding the remaining two powers. From its triangular island to the northeast of the Shallow Sea, Irthiron has colonized much of the globe through its naval powers and absolute dismissal of anything non-scientific in origin. The jungle kingdoms of Salvi on the eastern coast, on the other hand, do the opposite—their junks have wandered far along the Ikkan Ocean, spreading the use and practice of magic wherever they may land.
Borealia occupies (as the name might suggest) the North Pole and immediate environs, but unlike our own Antarctica this continent has seen human habitation. The tundra, pine forests, and the Twin Seas (actually enormous lakes) make this a tough but not inhospitable climate to live in. The Irthironians—as well as their neighbours, the Kaali—have made much use of this, although the native Yamatsokoch have complained at length and with trees.
Eschatia is the smallest—although not by much—and most isolated continent; its position and swift course to the South Pole mean that Ballyre has been isolated from the mainlands for something approaching fifty million years. So isolated, in fact, that humans only reached and colonized the place less than half a century ago. It is currently divided between Irthiron in the west, Hercua in the northeast, and Qoldishtar in the southeast, but no single power is content with their lot and the borders are always a little shaky. And that's without getting into the ruins of the phoenix civilizations found there…
The "fifth continent" is Thalassia, a collection of the various islands across the Elephantine and Draconic Oceans.
Biology
Life on Ajjamah is fairly recognizable, but not completely, to the point of mild discomfort. For the sake of clarity, animals are referred to by Earth rather than Ajjamah terms.
There are vertebrates…but the ancestral fish-like creature had six limbs instead of four, and many modern clades—including various amphibians and all birds—still use this extra pair of limbs. In the ancestors of humans the back pair fused into a remade tail; the digits are still present on animals like the manticore.
There are lizards…lizards in two basic clades, the chromosaurs (with snake-like scales and the ability to change colour, from mild shading to squid-like camouflage) and the teratosaurs (with scutes and a tendency towards poikilothermy), neither of which quite resemble clades on Earth. Snakes and tortoises, meanwhile, come from completely separate ancestors; the Tortucaform clade once included the turtan, seismochelus inadomitus, by far the largest animal to exist on the Earth.
There are mammals…or rather there are lactiles, which had a slightly different evolutionary trajectory. Starting as small, warm-blooded milk-providers who laid their eggs in nests—a habit which platypuses and pangolins alike still retain—paralactiles eventually developed into collarvals, who bore their developing young in special pouches instead. In some species, like the kangaroo or the marraby, the mother guards the young in her pouch; in others, like the jumbuck, the father does this instead. It was only with a full move to the sea that lactiles were able to develop the ability to give birth to live young; all land-dwelling clades, from elephants to foxes to humans to ibexes, all descend from lactiles who decided to up and leave the water again, returning to land to avoid the press in the sea. Today, only the leviathans remain of that ancient clade—them and the Swan Lake Monster, but we don't talk about them. (Shouldn't even be around, how in the heck does a giant long-necked whale find itself in a highland lake?)
There are apes…well, close enough. Lemurs are the oldest primates, but across Zahng Kwen and Akotoya are others—phasms, cave-dwellers with eyes better adapted for infrared than colour vision, scavengers and occasional predators. Ground-dwellers like mandrills and mangrovers evolved next, but in Potamia, while homoforms—which we might call apes—evolved in Zahng Kwen but spread both north and west, and for that matter south as well.
There are humans. And then there are those who are not quite human, human but for a few tricks of the genome. Once there may have been half a dozen co-existing, but anthropus praeditus has swallowed most of them up or driven them to extinction (although with no direct intent). Today, humanity shares the planet with yetis (anthropus villosus) on the High Plateau, and with corrigans (anthropus nanus) in the east of Hemeraea and even into Thalassia. People who are not quite human, not quite as intelligent or as dextrous or as crafty. And yet people nonetheless, who can speak, craft tools, communicate…and work magic. A surprising amount of magic. But then, magic rewards those who bear it in their blood, and those who use it tend to survive on a world like Ajjamah.
There are other intelligences, too.
The Four Races
Intelligence is a difficult thing to quantify. One might include elements such as personhood (the recognition of oneself as a unique individual), judgement (the conscious act of making a decision, as opposed to this being a feeling or intuition), strategic perspective (being able to judge possibilities and predict potential futures), systems perspective (searching for patterns), and moral sentiment (empathy for others possibly derived from altruistic behaviour). In the Crayfish Nebula, often there is a seventh category: that of thaumic potential, the ability to merge with the wider world and alter it in accordance with the power therein.
On Ajjamah, by that logic, there are four "species" which have sufficiently achieved sapience.
The Phoenixes (caladrius ardens, "burning healing-bird") are the oldest of these, arising from the claw-winged birds of the jungles of Pelia some eleven million local years ago (roughly ten million Earth years). They resemble large parrots with raven-like beaks, four spectacular wings each with its own claw for holding things in, and golden, rainbow-coloured, or glistening black plumage. Already taking much delight in solving puzzles and having domesticated a number of the insects and fruit trees they enjoyed the bounty of, it wasn't long before the large brains crossed the gap to sapience. Phoenixes are hyper-intelligent beings, much of their brain matter becoming incredibly specialized over the aeons. They are said to draw power from the energy in the air, and to have mastered the currents of time and space so that they can travel across the void of space to other worlds faster than light could ever manage. The accuracy of that is yet to be determined by humans, although the firebirds' capabilities (as regards the parroting of human speech, their apparent instant recognition of faces, and the way they occasionally burst into flame and reconstitute themselves from the ashes) are certainly impressive regardless.
The Leviathans (melicetus lacrimabilis, "mournful song-whale") come next, developing intelligence nearly six million years ago. Actually a remnant of the earliest placental lactile clade, which took to the water concurrently with the development of a placenta, the Leviathans resemble nothing so much as a cross between a humpback whale and an orca, with two dorsal fins at a 30º angle to one another (plus a third a little way up the body for streamlining), large eyes, and colouration in black, white, gold, and grey in banded patterns. The Leviathans are predators, but have learned as time passed to domesticate animals within the sea instead of deliberately hunting down competition, and to use the power of the water cycle itself to weave spells for their use. Humans see them more frequently than one might presume, on account of the tendencies for young whales to show off and migrate using the water cycle in the atmosphere to power a magic that keeps them functioning at low pressures.
The Behemoths (gigas sapiens, "wise giant") are the third species, existing within a continuum. To a large degree they resemble elephants, down to the grey skin and baggy ears, except that their trunk has not one or two but three (slightly knobbly) protrusions at the end, allowing them a greater degree of flexibility when holding things. The Behemoth civilization is over three and a half million local years old (roughly three million standard years), evolving as they did on the plains of Potamia. The Behemoths, who draw their power from the earth itself, interact only occasionally with the four other pachyderm species in the world, encouraging the occasional flourish of sapience but not culling those without the spark. Humans recognize the behemoths for their exceptional memories, their gentle nature, their beautiful desert gardens, and the way they can turn dirt into gold.
Humanity (anthropus praeditus, "gifted person") comes last, although not least—there is really no such thing as "least" in this game, although they have had civilization for less than ten thousand years. A small but strong species of relatively hairless omnivorous ape, most developed of the pithecoids, they have hair ranging from black to brown to blonde to red to white, skin from black to brown to olive to red to gold to beige to white, and eyes from brown to hazel to amber to green to grey to blue. Humans do not draw from the world, not as they see it; certainly magic works better in wild spaces, where it's easier to get in touch with nature, but that doesn't mean too much. The other species see humans as quite extraordinary—quick to manipulate their environment, easily divided, and prone to shapeshifting when they let themselves go.
The Five Powers
As of the modern day there are five human powers—called the Bithwealdes in Irthironian, singular Bithweald—which control akin to 90% of the globe between them. (Of course, the behemoths control 30% of the globe, the leviathans control 95% of the actual globe, not just the dry bits, and the phoenixes are kind of bored by the whole concept of dominion anyway.) None of these powers is evil. None are even particularly nasty, most of the time. But they approach the world from such different perspectives, and have such different plans for the planet, that a clash is almost inevitable.
Salvi
In terms of continued civilization the Salvians are the oldest by far, with a calendar that extends back over 4,000 years. Divided into lordships and kingships beneath a High Council of five Great Monarchs ruling the mountains, jungles, plains, and scrublands, Salvi is nevertheless one of the more politically outspoken in the world. This is largely because of the influence that magic holds over their populace, allowing even the lowest-ranking individual to raise enough "social credit" to better themself and their family through correct practice of morals and ritual. Salvians live simple lives made extraordinary by magic, and worship a plethora of gods who grant them the powers they seek. Salvi has only one real "colony", the city of Suranji in Potamia, but temples to their gods—and access to their spells—have been set up all across the Ikkan Ocean and even into the heartland of Quiram, an even more ancient empire now on the brink of total collapse. The potential of the sorcerers to wreak havoc—and the zeal the Salvians have to "repair the mistakes of old" by establishing their sorcerers in far-off lands to monitor the magic of the world itself—has caused…a number of minor diplomatic issues with the other four Bithwealdes.
Some nations within Salvi's sphere of influence include:
Quiram, once one of the biggest empires in the world, along the Hlayosh and Minosh Rivers. Notable for its two genders—not masculine and feminine, but telepath and non-telepath—its long history of wandering assassin-bards, and its orange-clad emperors.
Akotoya, an archipelago with some of the largest islands in the world, stretching across the Ikkan Ocean and providing a link between Pelia and Hemeraea. Notable for its clone lords.
Kuchhaynuycha, a mountain kingdom still technically ruled by the Raven Reborn. The western province of Surta Puruncha broke away to become the nation of Jeboqhur, but the three remaining provinces are still united, although they now practice either Thauri or Moch'il depending on attitude.
Zahng Kwen
The next-oldest civilization is found in the monsoon jungles and city-states of Zahng Kwen, whose people worship no gods, only Paragons (Hēng-Kin) and whose choice of empire lies not in conquest but in commerce. Far better to have free trade—and to make ample wealth for oneself—than to have to deal with constant riots and rebellions, after all. The Zanguenese city-states are headed by elected officials, but the great Merchants' Senate (Loh-Mùh) acts as an international trade advisory regardless. Between them they handle over 60% of the world's international trade, a fact which greatly worries many nations.
Some nations within Zahng Kwen's sphere of influence include:
The Lauk-Pa islands, a long archipelago just off the western coast of Potamia. Actively colonized by the Dozanguese, an excellent spot for vacations.
The Ocúraçõ Basin, the largest river system on the planet, on the other side of the High Plateau. Again, much of the jungle was directly colonized, which is a rarity for the Zanguenese as a general rule. Known for lahk-haihn or ragsong, which sounds a lot like jazz but with Amerindian rhythms on brass drums, xylophones, and horns.
Mujara, an empire of its own accord, also on the far side of the world. Known for its alchemy, its six fairly large river systems, and its practice of Hojane, one of the world's major religions.
Symmush, a desert state that lies just south of Zahng Kwen proper. At one point home to the oldest continuous civilization in Eudnophe. Notable for its ancient trade in cotton, lapis lazuli, and cactus-based hallucinogens.
Kuzhek, a monsoon kingdom to the west of Mujara, ruled by a monarch whose absolute power extends roughly thirty metres outside the capital, at which point it becomes something of a political ideal. Notable for its
Hercua
Hercua lies immediately to the south of Zahng Kwen, on the great plains of Etrezia beneath the Chomu Mountains and in the forests of Parocel and Cazimir. The Hercuans are not, per se, a single people; they are divided into ten states, each proclaiming itself to be the legitimate heir to the empire of the ancient Hefragos. But where they are joined is in the following of the Proxy of Hio in the Holy City of Edoranco, and in the belief in the prophets Hio sends to complete His work. For the power of Hercua lies in religion—a zealous, monotheistic religion, split between four churches and yet committed to spreading the word of God and expanding the kingdoms of the faith. Uyerazo or "providence"—for such is the name of their faith—is now the largest single faith in the world, with over half the human population of the planet praying towards Edoranco come dawn and dusk even outside the colonies of the ten states of Hercua. For the other Bithwealdes, many of whom have citizens who have converted to the new faith and often vehemently denounce their native faiths as false or corrupt or both, this is becoming nigh intolerable.
Some nations within Hercua's sphere of influence include:
Chom, a nation of monks and nuns spanning most of the Chomu Mountains from which its name is derived. Conquered by the Doran Church after seven attempts, which suggests the Doran Church has a problem with listening to what Hio actually wants. Notable for its yetis, its one-pole skiing, and its inhabitants, some of whom are said to be centuries old, although that's probably just a myth…
The Empire of Lantar, a conglomerate empire at the border between the Chitem and Meotem Seas. Its sultan, although strictly of the meteoromantic tradition of his Teshmur ancestors, has permitted evangelization within the bounds of his empire after a punishing trade war. Notable for its miniatures, tolerance of "prophetic faiths", and the city of Betami, widely acclaimed as a wonder of the world. It also contains most of the modern Nio Civilizations, barring of course Reogal which is nobody's purview, posssibly not even their own.
Váremios, on the eastern side of the continent of Ballyre. Actually home to multiple colonies from different faiths, a failed revolution sparked greater interest in inter-church unity. Notable for its trade in exotic animals.
The Crusader States along the western coast of Potamia; there are twelve, each settled by one of the four churches and each hoping to successfully convert the natives to their own faith. To this end, they have not been terribly successful.
Acarios, a large desert nation that was once the northern portion of the old Hercuan Empire. Notable for its Sultan in the city of Sunurkhayam, its djinn captured from the desert in lamps and rings, and for its religion, Izfaism, which believes in a god with sixty-three recognizable aspects. (Amazingly, this religion is tolerated by the Hercuans; Izfaists, they say, are cades upiese, "among those who may yet be converted". It helps that they follow a prophet of sorts, and believe in only one God, however many forms that God may take.)
Qoldishtar
The Empire of Qoldishtar is the single biggest land empire in the world, taking up the whole of southern Oria and most of southern Eudnophe. Neither magic nor religion had much to do with this, although the native religion of Soborn is still strong. Nor is commerce their way, although they tolerate it. The Qolmur are built for war first and foremost, borrowing where they will the weapons and tactics of their foes, and constantly striving to mould themselves into the ultimate combatants, for all that Soborn preaches peace and tolerance. (The way a lot of them see it, they can afford to be peaceful and tolerant after people are no longer trying to shoot their heads off.) It is through war that they brought low the Gykkeni cities on the south coast of the Meotem Sea, and through war that they have made effective vassals of the vampire-infested republics of Lewidzia and Dodavia. And it is through war that they will expand again, when the time comes.
Some nations within Qoldishtar's sphere of influence include:
The Kingdom of Lewidzia just to the northwest, acting as something of a buffer state between Qoldishtar and Hercua. Famous for being the birthplace of the religion Soborn, for its elected kingship system and habit of granting noble titles, and for its vampires.
The city-states of Gykken, on the northeastern coast of the Meotem Sea. Notable for its excellent work in miniatures.
Zhalyah, Qoldishtar's only overseas colony, on the southeastern coast of Ballyre. Frigid weather, devout Sobornist population, and a number of highly superstitious whalers.
Irthiron
The Republic of Irthiron is the youngest of the Bithwealdes, and is hard to define. From the far northwest of the world, where time passes as in a dream and kangaroos and camels are better known that quaggas and saigas, the small island nation has managed, over the course of just over three hundred years, to amass the largest colonial empire of any nation on the planet—what they lose in population they make up for in geographic claims. Their weapons advance quickly, like the Qolmur; they are driven like the Hercuans; they worship many small gods like the Salvians; on their own they control a good 18% of global trade, besting even the largest of the Zanguenese city-states. But what worries the other nations is Irthiron's own lack of tolerance for different beliefs. Yes, they have Bithrael, a religion of their own, but they abhor magic in all its forms. The dark-skinned, golden-haired people of the island push for science before all else…and, most terrifying of all, people believe them, and somehow—somehow—the powers of gods, people, and Companions alike all fade before them.
Some nations within Irthiron's sphere of influence include:
The Second Republic of Rumhuwr across the Channel, a lifelong rival and ally and the only serious competitor in the colonial game (as played by Irthiron) for a long while. A nation of artists and soldiers alike, ruled by a President (thekem) and two Tribunes (atabij).
Chamowel, on the southwest end of the Shallow Sea, the oldest state in the region and the last remnant of the ancient Empire of Glass, ruled by Triarchs (one of whom changes every year). Known for its composers, silk, rigid caste system, and (of course) glassware.
Girazouw, just west of Rumhuwr. Particularly fond of chocolate, excellent confectioners.
Kewez, sitting on the southeast coast of the Shallow Sea between Chamowel and Girazouw, ruled by two consuls as well as representatives from all the major trades. Known for its metallurgy, alcohol, and for some strange reason astronomers.
Arumandjee, far to the west, bordering the Great Southern Desert. Known again for astronomers, but also for desert spices and absolutely useless sailors.
Dubal, the northernmost country on the continent of Potamia. Technically ruled by the king of the Gira people (isiGira), the de facto reality is Irthironian control. Known for its excellent warriors, deployed across the Irthironian Empire as crack troops, and for gold and diamond mines.
Ghellyre, basically the entire western half of the continent of Ballyre; technically a colony of Irthiron, it now boasts quadruple the population. Composed of seven states and nine provinces. The capital of Rhoaltyre is built on three islands off the coast of the State of Ossaw Mhicw, best known for its floating market and its City Hall (which looks like an enormous ship of marble and granite). Ghellyre is known for gold-mines, exotic plants and animals, and an awful lot of guns.
Goashyre, the entire drainage basin of the Thunderbolt River on Ballyre, mostly ancient coniferous and fern forests. Known for its fur trade, the creole language Sogua (mixed with Secruvios Hercuan), and a remarkably cheerful attitude to life given the circumstances.
Choya, the largest state on the island bearing the same name, which in turn holds a number of "native" states within its grasp. Notable for its large number of unique species, including manticores, and for its population of Coluegans, who colonized the island some five hundred years prior to Irthironian discovery.
Malehi, itself a major empire spanning the entire Elephantine Ocean, ruled by the Dragon Emperor on the island of Tehapu.
Jeboqhur, the western province of the old Qumor Empire. Notable, like Kuchhaynuycha, for its three thousand types of potato and considerably more ways to cook them, and for its use of quipus in addition to more modern scripts.
The Bamboo Islands, just off the northwestern coast of Quiram. Notable for, well, its bamboo. Also for its traders, who got quite far, and for its Governor, who claims to be a descendant of the Sixth Dynasty in Quiram some two thousand years ago.
* * *
The date is the 124th day of the year 4126 LC. It is also Two Bright Dragonfly, Cycle 375; Tenth Silent Balance in the Year of the Fish (2959 PL); Lencura 9, 1179 AR; the 22nd of Chido in the 714th Year of the Awakening; and May 4th, 1534 AU. Which of these will win out is anyone's guess.