AulCeles
AulCeles is a solitary planet that exists within a miniature universe. The planet itself contains the machinery responsible for stabilising the universe, which itself is rather dated and low quality.
The planet features a fair variety of lifeforms. See the AulCeles Bestiary article for more information.
Geography
The planet itself has very little land besides a large central continent, Azrea, and two smaller crescent continents that lay around one of its edges. The land mass covers roughly half of the planet leaving the other half a featureless ocean.
Sentient Tribes
Besides deity-like entities, AulCeles is home to 4 main sentient tribes.
Throan
The Throan (pronounced 'throw-ann') are a human-like race that mostly occupy the central land mass known as Azrea.
The history was one of empires and grandeur, however, actions that displeased their racial deity, Coriolis, lost them their kingdoms, airships, high-technology and rich lifestyles and set them back to farming and wind-powered machinery.
Kadican
Kadicans are an exceptionally succesful race, holding two prominent nations as well as secure relations with at least two of the other major kingdoms.
Their appearance is similar to Throans, with minor differences. They display a form of dimorphism that is typically linked to gender but may vary. Males generally have cat-like ears and small horns that curl as they age. Females generally have 'lop' ears that fall from the sides of the head and no horns.
The capital of the Kadican kingdom is the city of Tenfurrow, rooted deep in the South-East Azrean mountains. The second Kadican kindom is the metropolis, Atheria, home of the worlds leading high-techological advances. There is general rivalry between the two states due to the circumstance under which Atheria was founded.
Fire-Associated Nation
The volcanic yet densely forested crescent continent that wraps round the eastern side of Azrea is home to a hot-headed lion-like race who worship the tribal deity Hadmir. The continent is home to forest-dwelling folk, as well as mountain-dwellers who utilise the geothermal power of the main volcano.
Water-Associated Nation
To the North-East of Azrea lies an ocean mountain range. This region is populated by an otter-like race who mostly keep to themselves. They occupy artificial caves on the mountains, as well as underwater airpockets.
Others
It is believed that the crystal which acts as AulCeles' sun is manned by intelligent beings. There is also Lockley, a dimensional wanderer who has some relation to AulCeles' origins.
Deities
The planet is home to a few entities that can be described as deities. They are generally aligned to an individual 'tribe', with the exception of the Kadican deity who was split into two seperate entities.
The deities' power and 'self' are housed in huge crystal structures, though the are capable of appearing as seperate cooporeal forms outside of it.
These deities are generally regarded as the driving force behind AulCeles due to their influences in history and 'gifts' given at different stages in prehistoric life (such as the cossary organ in cossals) and the gift of speech to certain species. The Throan tribal deity, Coriolis, went far beyond this during the previous age, in which she (or more correctly, they) assumed the position of ruler and attempted to lead the Throans into an age of technological superiority. When it backfired into an age of war with other nations and attempted dominance of the world however, Coriolis withdrew from the world, taking her empire with her and leaving the remaining Throans to fend for themselves.
Crystals
In addition to the, now, five deity crystals, there are 3 other large crystal structures that manipulate energies in some manner.
The most visible of these crystals is the Sun. Since the universe is of limited size, a star would be an impractical source of light and heat. Instead, a large firey crystal orbits the planet, providing ample light and heat.
The second most visible of these is the Moon. It is smaller than the Sun and plays an important role as part of the system that generates mana.
The third is unknown to almost nobody. It sits at the heart of the planet providing power to the universe stabilisation system.
Seasons
The crystals are also part of a system that governs seasons. Each crystal has influence on the others' power, particularly between the five sentient crystals and the Sun and Moon.
As the Sun and Moon's orbits change, they come into contact with differing crystals, adjusting the amount of heat, light and mana generated by each of them. The four crystals themselves are also affected, producing various weather effects.
A regular year follows this season pattern:
- Cold season - strong winds, rain & snow are common
- Fertile season - rain and warm weather are common
- Hot season - sunlight is bright
- Dry season - sunny with dry winds
There is also an additional season that occurs between the Dry and the Cold seasons. For roughly two weeks, the world drops into an eerie silence as all natural light, heat, wind and mana cease. During this time, civilisations tend to huddle together in specialised shelters due to the presence of dangerous creatures that appear during this period.