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GEOGRAPHY-
Dec. 11th, 2014 10:11 pmWinding Archipelago-
Where Lernaean was raised and the birthplace of his grandfather, Lern.
Winding Archipelago is an island chain of seven islands with shallow water between them and much deeper off the shores. The name comes from their arrangement that resembles an S shape, thus a winding path must be taken to visit them all. The ocean around it has a coral reef named the Killer Curtain surrounding the islands. The reef reaches out of the ocean in piercing spikes that makes it difficult for boats to pass, especially considering their structure distorts waves in gaps large enough that whirlpools form to suck victims into them. Because of this it is extremely isolated, only fairly strong Adapted are able to enter and exit it easily by sea (via swimming). Flying in (by adaption or vehicle) is the least risky choice, as it has a relatively low flying beast population.
The islands themselves are mostly beaches around the edges, swamp inland and forests in the centre. Each island is roughly the size of Scilly, with a humid and tropical climate.
Each island has a village hidden in the forests at the centre, but only one is inhabited at a time. The villagers migrate from one to the other at various times of the year. This is to avoid the active seasons of various beasts and in particular to avoid the unique Hunting Hydra that is the most dangerous creature in the environment.
The flora and fauna of the Winding Archipelago are all Adapted, including the humans, possessing abilities far in excess of those in the normal world. There is a trend in the islands to be especially sensitive, a trait developed to compete with and avoid the Hunting Hydra that possesses phenomenal dangerous combative ability as well as distinctly sharp senses. It's said that in the over 18,000km that makes up the landmass of the Winding Archipelago, almost nothing goes unnoticed by the Hunting Hydra.
Because the humans and beasts on the archipelago have little to offer to the outside world, there are few visitors. However it is only considered to be a Class E danger zone, not a serious threat to well prepared and trained Adapted from a Fortress City. The natives, with their lesser resources and focus on survival, are instead in constant danger.
Where Lernaean was raised and the birthplace of his grandfather, Lern.
Winding Archipelago is an island chain of seven islands with shallow water between them and much deeper off the shores. The name comes from their arrangement that resembles an S shape, thus a winding path must be taken to visit them all. The ocean around it has a coral reef named the Killer Curtain surrounding the islands. The reef reaches out of the ocean in piercing spikes that makes it difficult for boats to pass, especially considering their structure distorts waves in gaps large enough that whirlpools form to suck victims into them. Because of this it is extremely isolated, only fairly strong Adapted are able to enter and exit it easily by sea (via swimming). Flying in (by adaption or vehicle) is the least risky choice, as it has a relatively low flying beast population.
The islands themselves are mostly beaches around the edges, swamp inland and forests in the centre. Each island is roughly the size of Scilly, with a humid and tropical climate.
Each island has a village hidden in the forests at the centre, but only one is inhabited at a time. The villagers migrate from one to the other at various times of the year. This is to avoid the active seasons of various beasts and in particular to avoid the unique Hunting Hydra that is the most dangerous creature in the environment.
The flora and fauna of the Winding Archipelago are all Adapted, including the humans, possessing abilities far in excess of those in the normal world. There is a trend in the islands to be especially sensitive, a trait developed to compete with and avoid the Hunting Hydra that possesses phenomenal dangerous combative ability as well as distinctly sharp senses. It's said that in the over 18,000km that makes up the landmass of the Winding Archipelago, almost nothing goes unnoticed by the Hunting Hydra.
Because the humans and beasts on the archipelago have little to offer to the outside world, there are few visitors. However it is only considered to be a Class E danger zone, not a serious threat to well prepared and trained Adapted from a Fortress City. The natives, with their lesser resources and focus on survival, are instead in constant danger.
Presence Control is a general ability held by all living beings, but very rarely to Lernaean's level. Presence is essentially a manifestation of a person's traits and intentions. The ability to detect Presence is innate, but usually it is subconscious- being able to recognise someone by small unique unseen actions, feeling uneasy around someone, getting a sense someone is lying etc. In advanced users, they can experience something of a form of synesthesia, being able to see a self-induced hallucination that forms a metaphor of a person's personality, intentions and mood. Lernaean, for example, shows his Presence as a hydra, representing his spiteful nature that refuses to die, grows more vicious when attacked and is willing to slowly poison its foes to death. A kindly, fussy person that cares for those around them but gets upset easily may have their Presence manifested as a literal 'mother hen', a reliable and person with an explosive temper under the right conditions might show a Presence that looks like a mountain, but erupts into a volcano when they are angry etc.
Lernaean was born with an especially strong Presence that caused those around him to hallucinate his Presence involuntarily, something generally learnt as a technique by advanced users. His grandfather, a master of Presence Suppression, taught him how to hide this almost completely. Because of this, it has the reverse effect of being able to tell something of him- the impression's people would normally get are reduced to nil and he becomes difficult to discern.
He can project general impressions of other Presences that he has observed deeply, a form of imitation used to avoid predatory creatures.
Permissions
Lernaean can usually see the visual metaphor for a person's personality, but those who are especially secretive can either have no visible Presence or even show a false one, that gives way to the true one only occasionally.
The best way to sum up creating a Presence is to complete the phrase 'My character's personality is like a...' but throwing in anything that seems cool is fine. Keep in mind it will not necessarily reveal much more than simply getting to know a person would and can in fact be misleading- someone who wishes to kill everyone in order to end their suffering might have a Presence which implies a kindly personality, for example.
Presences are usually on or around the person they represent, but some cover (as clothing for example) or combine with the person.
If you just don't want Lernaean to look, let me know!
Lernaean was born with an especially strong Presence that caused those around him to hallucinate his Presence involuntarily, something generally learnt as a technique by advanced users. His grandfather, a master of Presence Suppression, taught him how to hide this almost completely. Because of this, it has the reverse effect of being able to tell something of him- the impression's people would normally get are reduced to nil and he becomes difficult to discern.
He can project general impressions of other Presences that he has observed deeply, a form of imitation used to avoid predatory creatures.
Permissions
Lernaean can usually see the visual metaphor for a person's personality, but those who are especially secretive can either have no visible Presence or even show a false one, that gives way to the true one only occasionally.
The best way to sum up creating a Presence is to complete the phrase 'My character's personality is like a...' but throwing in anything that seems cool is fine. Keep in mind it will not necessarily reveal much more than simply getting to know a person would and can in fact be misleading- someone who wishes to kill everyone in order to end their suffering might have a Presence which implies a kindly personality, for example.
Presences are usually on or around the person they represent, but some cover (as clothing for example) or combine with the person.
If you just don't want Lernaean to look, let me know!
