Realist Guide

The Rumrunners have lived longer in the Velvet than most known societies. Of deep importance in their culture is the concept of the Shadow, the dark space left when the light is obscured. The wisest among them believe that the shadows themselves are covering things, and this place underneath is the domain of the Shadows Beneath The Shadows.

The parable of the Lake and the Fisherbird is used to explain the concept. A fish may swim along for its entire life, know every inch of the ponds and riverbeds, but it will know nothing of the sky before a fisherbird spears it with its beak and pulls it into the air. We are the fish in this parable, with the Shadows Beneath the Shadows being the birds.

Interestingly, Rimrunner folklore states that the Shadows aren’t beings of superior power than mortals, simply that they reside in a different kind of space than we do. Were one of us able to travel to this other-space, we too would have the near-divine powers that the Shadows possess.

There are simply too many religious and spiritual practices among the Myriad Worlds to describe with any level of accurate detail. That said, there are many religions that have either great political influence, cultural connections, or similar importance — greater than many other traditions. As such, a band of scholars created the book The Twenty-Seven Faiths, which is a suitable primer for understanding the religious and cultural underpinnings of the Myriad Worlds.

While The Twenty-Seven Faiths hides its section on the High on High in a sidebar, I feel — especially considering the High on High’s connection to the faith of the Tgahio — I will risk their irritation and place my section on the High on High first and foremost.

The Shadow-seas are not a location for casual travel, nor for relaxing vacations. Only the most dedicated explorers and scholars should consider journeying to its ink-tinted lands and sandy waters.

For those who are willing to take the risk, the Shadow-seas are a place of immense history and hidden secrets. Passage is allowed only on special dispensation; the travelers in question must each bear a Writ of Welcome, signed by one of the Netherthanes or their representatives, as well as one of the Netherthanes accepted foreign authorities or their representatives.

Finding a representative of the Netherthanes outside the Shadow-seas can be challenging in itself, never mind finding an authority that is acceptable to the Netherthanes. It is widely accepted that the High on High certainly applies, as does any noble of sufficient standing in the Belle Empire, but few other kingdoms are known to be regularly accepted.

It is difficult to describe the shear variety of insect-folk. It is thought that no less than seventy-nine separate species all fall under the heading of ‘insect-folk’, ranging from the tall and multi-limbed Aradonousi, to the short and carapaced Kkkki. The Xiaba, perhaps the most familiar people of insect-folk, have six subspecies, all distinct in minor ways, none of which are immediately recognizable to any but the most experienced observer of the Insect-Folk people.

As such, it will be incredibly difficult to explore the Insect-folk as a singular culture, though there are similarities and differences between the species that make a seperate section not only possible, but advised.

The Land of Och on the World of Tam is mainly famed for three things: its verdant peacefulness, its constant danger, and the ever-present struggle between the two.

It is a common saying in the Myriad Worlds that the Land of Och is trying to kill you, and it is easy to see where this sentiment comes from: the Land of Och possesses several hundred species of plant and animal that survive in a quite violent ecosystem. Even the small and passive keedee-flies that float lazily through the air have a virulent venom that can kill small animals and cause severe and lasting pain in larger ones.

This danger is shared by the weather: raging storms and sudden temperature changes are common in Och during the Hard Seasons, and many unprepared travelers have died to the antagonistic climate.

However, the Soft Seasons are the polar opposite, with temperate climes and mild precipitation. The Still season in particular is named so because even the more aggressive fauna become calmer and less territorial. Add to this the remarkably beautiful landscapes of Och, and you have a World that is both known for its relaxing atmosphere and its ever-present dangers.

The Kit are a thin avian race. Four-armed and therefore four-winged, their leathery lizard-like faces are sprinkled with feathers of varying shades of effervescent green, blue, and red. Skin is leathery and light.

The Kit are sometimes called the ‘underclass’ of the Myriad Worlds. While many presume this is due to a natural genetic failing on the part of the Kit, it is instead due to a great number of misunderstandings and ignorance of the civilized worlds, especially during the first contact with the Kit.

The Kit are a tribal species, living in small groups of no more than fifty. Impressively nomadic, they have little use for large tools, instead creating harnesses and belts to hold what they carry. Claimed ‘spots’ may have makeshift ovens or standing utilities, but such things are luxuries and generally ignored or overlooked by the average Kit.

According to accepted historical record, the ThestleBreak Shore was first discovered by Duchen Yungus, the Bringer of Silk, on his journey to the north. Primary sources place the Duchen on the southwest corner of the shore, traveling north from the Dabadui river. Little remains regarding this discovery, and it is possible little concern was given to this aquanautical marvel. The traveling sages likely were not given time to explore the Shore, as sources claim the Duchen was in a hurry to reach Envik Klain, and continue his campaign against the Marauder King of Red.

Local lore, of course, places the discovery of the ThestleBreak Shore with the colonization of the continent by primitive travelers washed ashore, yet protected by the Shore itself. There is no evidence of this method of colonization, and little concern may be given to this theory.

The Forest of Rainbow Regrets is a often overlooked Traveler’s destination. While any reputable tourist guide will reference the Halls of Flaya, the Tower Gardens of Ketchiil, or the Crystal Keep of Werrfulk; the Resplendent Foliage is a land of equal beauty, peacefulness, and cultural richness.

Rather than besmirch other guidebooks for this lapse in judgement, I will instead encourage any readers who wish to travel partake of the Forest of Rainbow Regrets before other Travelers discover the region and it becomes too crowded.

The Forest of Rainbow Regrets is found adjacent a rural region of small towns and hamlets on the eastern edge of Swittershak province on the world of Jorjin. Bright and verdant, the region was named by King Nutarid during the last years of his Expeditionary Crusade.

Also known as The Machine Oasis and The White Valley, Kynvynryn is one of the most technologically advanced lands across the Myriad Worlds. If you wish to see the wonders that the scientific and alchemical arts can create, there is no better location to visit.

If you have never visited Kynvynryn before, the first and most important place to stop on your journey simply must be Goldenhein City. The most cosmopolitan location in the region, you will find the City to be filled with people from all across the Velvet, from all walks of life.

Here too will you find the wide variety of unique peoples of Kynvynryn; the proud Thinking Children as they clop through the streets, arm in arm; the vibrant and raucous Merchants of Quartz Plaza, who will call out to you in their own mathematical codes; the street-performing students of the Halls of Progressive Numbers, where three can be four can be five; musicians that fill the air with jigs, reels, waltzes, and scientifically precise wombols, played on lightning-powered prototypes of their own making; walking-chefs that pull their kitchens behind them, ready and willing to craft a full-course meal for anyone on the streets who cares to pay…truly Goldenhein City is a marvel of the age.

To discuss the Myriad Worlds is too to discuss the Aeolam. While as a people they are far from the most populous, the Aeolam are more directly connected to the Worlds of the Velvet than any other folk.

As such, any discussion of the Aeolam as a people must include a frank discussion of the land in which they live, as the Aeolam possess an incredibly morphous physiology. Highly sensitive by nature, Aeolam are directly influenced by the climate, geology, and biosphere of their environment through a system as yet not understood by scholars. The process is gradual, but easily observable, taking less than a week for an Aeolam to completely restructure their behavior and biology, in accordance with the Aeolam’s “Resonance.” Resonance, which is a clumsy translation of the original Aeolam term ‘Waanii,’ is the natural influence an environment has on individual and collective Aeolam.