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Asantrea

"World Manual"

© 2014 - 2023 Bruno Hirschkoff

Introduction to Asantrea

Asantrea is a fictional world of my own creation, within which I write fantasy and science fiction stories occurring in a variety of historical settings, across a variety of fictional cultures and peoples, almost all of whom are anthropomorphic non-humans. Asantrea was initially conceived to be an almost direct Earth-analog, with comparable and familiar historical and cultural elements throughout. While that remains the case in some instances, on a macro level Asantrea has developed very much down its own unique pathways, including culture, languages, history, geopolitics and even astrophysics. My overarching goal with Asantrea has been to create a rich, immersive, fictional world which blends hard science fiction with fantasy elements near seamlessly, while maintaining just enough historical familiarity to allow readers to relate to Asantrean geopolitical events and better perceive the macro plot elements at play. This has been a deliberate literary strategy, since the peoples, cultures and concepts at play in Asantrea are fundamentally _un_familiar, so having a point of reference helps me as a writer to relate those events.

All of my stories, including the medieval-fantasy The Aethyr Machine and its erotic side-quest series Velvet & Bone occur somewhere (and some_when) _within Asantrea. Other completed stories include _The Princess' Heat, Bond of Brothers, Dads' Night In, The Perfect Storm, Bearly Decent _and others. There is also a novel series under very slow development simply called _Asantrea, _which aims to follow some of the world-changing events that have shaped Asantrea. Asantrea is a complex world which is designed to be overtly fictional, while incorporating elements of culture, geography and history which are familiar and relatable to our real world - for instance, the Heladian Empire can directly be compared to Classical Rome. It is an open world and not subject to a pre-determined set of rules or concepts (such as D&D rulesets). Its peoples are almost exclusively anthropomorphic animals derived from familiar Earth fauna, with broadly human posture, physiology and sentience.

What follows is a loose, working refinement of almost ten years of worldbuilding, conceptual development, disjointed note-taking and world development that has occurred organically as a function of story-writing. It is a sort of 'world manual,' covering a few of the key concepts that underpin Asantrea, and introducing some of its key characters.

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Orbital Mechanics, Planetary Chemistry and Climate

The planet Asantrea itself is fundamentally an Earth-like world in most ways. It is, as one might expect, a rocky and seismically active world with a dense, oxygen-rich biochemistry, extensive surface water and overall familiar geological processes. Asantrea is a slightly smaller planet than the Earth, with a gravity perhaps 80% of that which we experience here. Its atmosphere is thus slightly less dense at surface level, but has higher concentrations of both oxygen and carbon dioxide, meaning that its insulative and biological support properties are very similar to the Earth's. The balance of Asantrea's atmosphere is comprised of nitrogen, inert halogens, ozone, and trace gases similar to the Earth.

Asantrea orbits binary stars known as Kesh and Aror. Kesh is just like Earth's sun; Aror is a red dwarf more like Proxima Centauri. The stars orbit each other around a shared axis, in a state of equilibrium that most astrophysicists will point out is highly unlikely.

I am not an astrophysicist.

Asantrea itself is orbited by three moons; Seilyr, Saliel and Hadriel. Saliel is just like Earth's moon; a silvery, lifeless orb of pockmarked basalt. Hadriel is a captured asteroid and is rarely visible. Seilyr, however, is the single greatest driver of difference between Earth and Asantrea in terms of the cultural and spiritual underpinnings of its various societies. Seilyr is a living moon. It is a mirror of the host world in many ways, with a dense atmosphere, oceans, green continents, a molten core and the tectonic, seismic and volcanic activity that results.

On Earth, in our real world, the first time we collectively ever saw the entirety of our planet in all its bejewelled fragility was during the Apollo program. On Asantrea, the people have seen Seilyr in the sky every night since time immemorial. This has had far-reaching effects on almost every element of Asantrean history, culture and spirituality, when compared to Earth's history. Most notably, while Asantrea does develop 'modern' technologies, the wholesale destruction of the natural world in pursuit of profit never occurs. Industrialisation and mass-production are not considered, in favour of a modernisation of guild-based craftsmanship. Even in the modern Asantrea, the sacredness of the natural remains the defining characteristic of its peoples' relationship with their world.

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*Gods, Elementals and Mortals; Peoples of Asantrea *

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Aethyr & the Aethyrborn

Aethyr is a key concept of Asantrea, derived from the Greek word for 'light.' It is the spiritual energy that flows through all living things, and is considered to be the life-force of Ammunash, whose sacrifice created the balance between life and death, light and dark, and all things on the world.

Aethyr can also be a physical energy, able to be manipulated and used as a sort of magic by an Aethyrsmith. It is most akin to a sort of electromagnetism in this way; able to enhance certain physical substances and actions, but is not a generative force in itself. Physical matter cannot be created or destroyed by Aethyr.

Between Mortals and the Gods sit the Aethyrborn. The Aethyrborn are, in Asantrean mythology, a little like the demimortal spirits of our own world; nymphs, selkies, faeries, and the like. They can and often do exist for their entire lives in non-corporeal form, as eddies of consciousness on the Aethyr, which flows like a river in and around all living things. Many, however, choose to take a corporeal form and walk among mortals. In this instance, an Aethyrborn has a lifespan the same as a mortal, constrained by the physiology of the body they are born into. Aethyrborn have limited control over where they are born and to whom, but they always retain the memories of any previous incarnations, unlike mortals.

The Aethyrborn in mortal form are powerful and often dangerous individuals; the nature of who and what they are draws them towards events of great significance like moths to a flame. Their nature can make them fickle and fey, motivated by a desire to sow discord and chaos, although others can be constructive and benevolent, as well.

The Aethyrborn were relentlessly hunted during the Arahanic Crusades in the centuries following the martyring of the Prophet at Venium, as manifestations of the corruption that plagued the temples of the old gods. Those who were found were Sundered, their Aethyric souls bound with blood rituals to shards of obsidian.

At the time of The Aethyr Machine, the Crusades are some centuries in the past, but their legacy has plunged much of the world into an Aethyric dark age. Aethyrborn are reviled wherever they go, treated with fear and ostracised. They are exceptionally rare.

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Peoples

The peoples of Asantrea are described by a small number of broad taxa such as Cervid, Equid, Lupa, Urssa, Fel, Fajrahi (referring to Musteloidea, broadly), Corvid and Caprin, within which a large range of subspecies occur. Biological compatibility between taxa and even between subspecies is limited, although romance definitely is not. In addition to the taxa, other peoples have independently evolved on Asantrea, including Dragons, who are diminutive, mammalian anthropomorphic creatures.

Since the peoples of Asantrea are fundamentally human in their sentience and cognition, there is no element of 'predator-prey' dynamics between peoples of differing taxa, even where that relationship may occur among their non-sapient, quadrupedal equivalents. Certain animal traits do apply to Asantrean people, of course; tail-wagging, ear mobility and particular sounds as markers of expression and emotion; the use of pheromones and scent as a territorial device (or indeed as an aphrodisiac), and so on.

While some Asantreans are optionally carnivorous - the Lupa and Fel, predominantly - others are exclusively herbivorous. Diet tends to follow a character's real-world equivalent; for example, Cervidae are obligate herbivores, as are Equidae, while the Urssa, Corvid, and Fajrahi are omnivorous and versatile. Animals are kept as livestock the world over. In predominantly herbivorous societies they are kept for milk, wool, and so on, while in predominantly carnivorous societies they are raised for meat as well as all other parts. Given the social mix of Asantrea, with virtually all peoples to be found in most parts of the world, virtually any diet can be catered to virtually anywhere, although certain etiquettes do apply. It would be poor form for a Lupa to eat a venison steak in front of his Cervid companion, for instance.

There are no obligate carnivores among the people of Asantrea.

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Gods and Spirituality

Asantrean creation mythology is broadly animistic; the world itself is the manifestation of the creator deity, a formless and genderless entity known as Ammunash. The primary Gods, who are conceptually consistent worldwide but whose depiction changes according to regional demographics, usually to reflect the majority population, were created by Ammunash as the guardians of Creation. Broadly, the primary Gods (often known as the Seilyrian pantheon) evoke the ancient Greek Olympians of our own history. Each has a range of primary and secondary aspects and patronages, and there are a plethora of secondary and tertiary gods and demigods who are entirely regionally-specific and relate to the spiritual history of a particular people or locality. Many of those secondary gods are the product of the Fourth Form of Ammunash, before the creator's spirit became entirely suffused with Asantrea. During this tumultuous period, it is said that the Seilyrian Gods walked Asantrea, where their incredible powers fundamentally altered reality and resulted in thousands of demi-mortal offspring, whose offspring would later become the Aethyrborn.

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The Seilyrian Pantheon

Ysion

Sun God

God of Light

God of Wisdom and Learning

About

Usually depicted as a white-robed, mature male of varying taxa (usually Lupa), usually with Kesh behind him or above his head, represented by a gold or yellow disc. In some ways Ysion is the 'father' of the gods, although he is not any older or more mature than any other; rather, he is worshipped by rulers and leaders the world over, and is thought of as an all-seeing god, although often too aloof to intervene in the affairs of mortals. Ysion is a god of plenty, with offerings of copper made during hard times, and gold in good times. The Ysionic priesthood and their Orders are fabulously wealthy, with temples gilt in precious metals, glass and stone; for this reason Ysionic worship is often seen as the preserve of the wealthy and elite. Ribald expressions and curses often feature reference to Ysion, knowing that the god is too high above them to react. As the god of wisdom and learning, Ysionic temples are often adjoined by universities, libraries, scriptoria and other institutions of academic thought and intellectual pursuit.

Primary Aspects

Kesh - the Summer Sun

Prosperity

Science and invention

Medicine and healing

Philosophy, Knowledge and Learning

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Summer

Ageing and Wisdom

Teachers and Academics

Written Word, Books and Contemplation

Kingship and Queenship

Forgiveness, Belevolence and Peace

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Bezar

God of the Forge

God of Stone and Fire

About

Usually depicted as a volatile and aggressive male of varying taxa, with a smith's hammer and anvil and fiery eyes, Bezar is nonetheless a rational god, whose fits of anger manifest as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions - which often bless the land with increased fertility afterwards, as Bezar is calmed by Amel. Thus, during seismic events, worship and offerings are made to Amel, not to Bezar. A god of craftspeople, artisans and industry, Bezar also has a civil order and justice aspect, and is seen as an often tough, but fair judge. Priests of Bezar are often called upon to bless armies, forges and workshops.

Primary Aspects

Aror - the Winter Sun

Fire and the Forge

Craftsmanship

Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Metals, Precious Stones and Mineral Wealth

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Artisans and Craftspeople - Blacksmiths, Carpenters, Masons, Weavers and Jewellers

Logic and Rationality

Winter

Warfare and Weaponry

Courage and Order

Civilisation, Justice and Law

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Amel

River Goddess

Goddess of the Harvest

About

Usually depicted as a gentle, slender and elegant female of varying taxa, often with a child, a musical instrument or a sheaf of wheat in her arms. Often seen as a protector of children in opposition to Dytaea, whose aspect is more wild and untamed; Amel's protection aspect is civilised and doting. The patron goddess of art, music and literature, shrines to Amel are seen in a wide variety of settings. As the patron goddess of transgender and folk of other non-binary gender, Amel's seasonal change aspect extends to acceptance of change within people, often symbolised by creatures which undergo transformational change, like butterflies or similar. Amel's role as a goddess of culture, renewal and purity makes her a popular domestic goddess, as well as a mediator of conflicts.

Primary Aspects

Fertility (Land)

Rivers, Floods and Drought

Agriculture, Horticulture and Arboriculture

The Harvest

Music

Art

Literature

Inspiration

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Turning of the Seasons

Farmers, Bakers, Potters

Agricultural Produce - Fruits, Vegetables and Grain

Virginity, Innocence, Purity

Change, Transition and Folk of Other Gender

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Lakesh

The Navigator

Storm Goddess

Goddess of the Sea

About

Usually depicted as a roguishly handsome, volatile and charismatic female of varying taxa, wearing a cloak woven from the tumultuous ocean, lined with beads of amber which glow red. She is often shown as having a tongue of silver or mercury, a symbol of her eloquence and diplomatic skill. Offerings of olive oil, wine or red-dyed cloth are thought to appease her; thus, ships are often seen bearing red sails, and red cloth is often symbolic of a courtesan's trade, in Lakesh's role as a protector and guardian of sex workers. Lakesh's terrestrial aspect extends to all forms of social communication, whether honest or otherwise, and as such she is also the patron god of thieves and politicians. Lakesh is principally worshipped as a goddess of trade, mercantilism, navigation, shipping and is the most common patron god of all who spend their lives at sea. She is a sapphic goddess and is never depicted as having sexual relations with men.

Primary Aspects

Fertility (Sea)

Storms, Weather, Winds, Rains and the Tides

The Oceans

Trade and Travel

Exploration, Cartography and Navigation

Military Strategy

Diplomacy and Politics

Persuasion, Trickery and Insight

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Commerce and Merchants

Sailors, Travellers and Explorers

Fate and Destiny

Strength and Determination

Jealousy and Sacrifice

Eloquence and Communication

Sapphic Lovers

Sex Workers and Courtesans

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Dytaea

Bringer of Dreams

Goddess of the Forest

Goddess of Wilderness

About

Thought to be the closest deity to Ammunash the Creator, usually depicted as a tall, powerful and somewhat androgynous entity of varying taxa wearing flowing white robes, always glowing with a bright white inner light, like the moon Saliel. Symbology is varied, including the bow, stars and comets, or any variety of wild forest animals. Dytaea often carries a harp made from woven twigs, with which she is able to lull a listener to sleep and impart dreams to them, often laced with deeper meaning. Temples to Dytaea are usually in the deep forest. Trees in Dytaean woodlands are sacred and sometimes worshipped as a proxy for the goddess. Widely seen as a protector of children and keeper of orphans, who if not adopted are raised by Dytaea herself or her Aethyrborn servants, to live as wild animals.

Primary Aspects

Forests, Woodlands and Trees

Wilderness

Archery

Bounty of the Natural World

Beauty

Archery

Protection, Luck and Fortune

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Darkness and the Night

Stars, Comets and heavenly bodies

Dreams and Subconscious Thought

Astronomy and the Heavens

Hunters and Foragers

Orphans and Adoption

Achillean Lovers

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Aktis

The Farseer of Hadriel / Keeper of Souls

God of the Void

God of Death and Rebirth

About

Usually depicted as a deathly apparition wielding a broken blade and a clay amphora with a hole in the base, from which flows pure Aethyr. Aktis is a much maligned and feared deity, representing the darkness of the soul and the flaws of mortality. He is a cold and unsympathetic deity, who revels in conflict and decay. However just as fungi in the forest feast on decay and return fallen trees to the soil, Aktis also plays a critical role in reincarnation and the immortality of souls, a key aspect of Asantrean mythology; his role is to 'purify' souls upon death, and then to release their energies into the Aethyr to be reborn. In this way, Aktis is sometimes seen as a god who controls childbirth, by controlling the flow of Aethyr from his amphora. Shrines to Aktis are often present, hidden behind or within shrines to Mido and Kasdall, the gods of fertility and childbirth, and often take the form of a bone, a phial of blood, or a small amphora with a hole in its base, from which oil or wine is allowed to flow.

Primary Aspects

The Void (the space between death and rebirth)

Death and Rebirth / Reincarnation of the Soul

Prophecy

Truth

Time

Purification

Disease and Entropy

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Violence and Destruction

Argument and Conflict

Battle Lust

Murder, Madness, Hatred and Frenzy

Narcissism, Arrogance and Greed

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Mido

The Passionate One

Goddess of Birth and Motherhood

Goddess of Domesticity, the Household and Family

About

Often depicted alongside Kasdall, either as a partner or a twin, or alongside a female partner. Usually depicted as a young woman or girl, either nude or clad in a robe of vine leaves, from which Kasdall is often seen harvesting grapes to make his wine. A powerful symbol of feminine erogeneity and passion, Mido is also associated with marriage, domesticity and the family; although what exactly a _family _looks like varies regionally. As a domestic goddess, Mido is associated with rest and sanctuary, but also has a wild and free aspect, in which she is often depicted partaking of sapphic orgies. She is a goddess of passion, desire and lust, but also of the calmer aspects of the household, including motherhood, the care of children and the wonder of the creation of new life.

Primary Aspects

Family, Motherhood and Childbirth

Fertility (female, reproductive)

Conception and Pregnancy

Domesticity and the Household

Love, Romance, Passion and Marriage

Rest and Sanctuary

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Mothers, Wives, Daughters

Surrogacy (Female)

Polyamory

Desire, Arousal and Pleasure (female)

Midwifery

Sapphic Lust and Frenzy

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Kasdall

God of Family, Fatherhood and the Hearth

God of Fertility and Pleasure

God of Wine

About

Either depicted alongside Mido, either as a partner or a twin, or alongside a male partner. Usually depicted as a virile young man or youth, sometimes in a toga or loincloth but often nude and displaying an erect phallus. Kasdall represents the carnal urges and lusts of masculinity, often through a lens of protection of the family, honour, commitment or fatherhood. He is often portrayed as a patron god of brotherhood and community, as well as the hearth and home. However his domestic aspects are countered by his wilder side, wherein Kasdall is also a god of wine, hedonism and festivity, whose offerings often take the form of orgasms.

Mido and Kasdall's relationship is often fiery; where Mido has a crucial role which she takes very seriously, Kasdall is often seen as fickle and self-interested.

Primary Aspects

Fatherhood and Conception

Fertility (male, reproductive)

Household - the Hearth

Chaos

Wisdom

Madness (romantic)

Wine and Drunkenness

Celebration and Festivity

Fellowship / Fraternity

Secondary Aspects / Patronage

Marriage, Commitment and Honour (familial)

Arousal, Desire and Pleasure (male)

Lust, Sex and Climax

Surrogacy (male)

Polygamy

Achillean Lust and Frenzy

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Arahan

The Prophet (died 72AD (Arahanus Domini))

About

A mortal Lupa man (grey wolf), usually depicted as such, wearing a simple linen robe and one single Heladian sandal - the other is usually held up in his hand, as the primary symbol of the Arahanic faith. Arahan is often depicted as an Ysionic priest, an intermediary between the aloof Ysion and the poor usually overlooked by his clergies.

Arahan was martyred at Venium for his teachings, which ran against those of the Ysionic clergy. While Arahan himself never claimed to be a worshipper of Ysion, it was widely thought among his followers that he was the reincarnated Aethyrborn son of the god. Arahan's teachings gave rise to the Arahanic faith after his death. Arahanism spread rapidly through word and warfare across Valasea and Doregal. Arahanism worships the prophet as a risen deity, a mortal Son of Ysion, crafted from the very blood of Ammunash. Worship of the old gods is therefore directed through Arahan - in theory. The Arahanic church was the most powerful entity on the face of Asantrea for many centuries, giving rise to theocratic empires and instigating an Aethyric dark age.

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The Aethyr Machine - Characters

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Magpie

Taxa: Other - Dragon (Aethyrborn)

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Fluid

Age: Indeterminate; appears prematurely aged

Body type / posture: Slender / slight

Height: 4'6"

Sexuality: Pansexual

As a Dragon, Magpie already stands out in a world of predominantly furred, horned and hooved people. Dragons on Asantrea are something of an anomaly; they belong not to any of the dominant taxa of the world, but somewhere slightly beyond it - far older and not clearly connected to any other living people. The Dragons of Asantrea are bipedal, roughly humanoid placental mammals, closer in form and physiology to an anthropomorphic pangolin than to a classical reptilian wyrm. They are naturally skilled at manipulating Aethyr, and primarily inhabit the mythology-shrouded ancient city of Tahamasset.

But Magpie has another aspect, even beyond being a dragon. He is also Aethyrborn.

Magpie is thus a social outcast almost anywhere he goes. But he is rarely open about his nature.

He takes the form of a demure and eccentric little dragon, standing around 4'6" with the slightly hunched posture of an elderly pangolin, although he is comparatively young. He has the golden-ochre hide of most of his kind, plays the lute, never stays in one place for long and never travels alone.

His ambition is to end the Aethyric dark age that has consumed Doregal and potentially save the whole world from a destruction none but another Aethyrborn can discern.

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Dieter & Kristian Hirschkoff

Taxa: Cervid - Cervus Doregallus - Elk

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 20 years

Body type / posture: Lean / toned; strong and fit but not excessively muscular

Height: Both 5'10"

Sexuality: Dieter: bisexual (feminine-leaning) - Kristian: Achillean (non biologically-specific)

Twin brothers of the Cervid taxa, and specifically Cervus Doregallus - elk - Dieter and Kristian are young adults twenty years of age. The precise circumstances surrounding their birth is something of a mystery to them. They were raised by their uncle, Bruno Hirschkoff, a Level 9 Artisan in the Doregallian Institute of Carpenters, in the coastal town of Stillwater Cove, on the western coast of Rhocarn. Rhocarn is the most westerly region on the continent of Doregal, and has long been a stronghold of fierce independence, surviving the rise and fall of Empires, the Arahanic Crusades and various lesser attempts to control it.

As fawns, the twins were almost indistinguishable; even their father used to confuse them at times, much to their amusement. But as they grew up, their personalities developed and diverged.

Dieter is a brooding, stoic, often cold and aloof personality type with a sharp tongue and acid wit. He can be withdrawn and reserved. He wears his hair long and tied at the nape of his neck, has a goatee beard and dyes his antlers blue with woad, a nod to his Scordomnan heritage. His slightly aquiline muzzle - the result of an injury in his mid teens - gives him a rakish appearance that sets him apart from his twin.

Kristian, by contrast, is a fruitcake; extravagant, extroverted and hedonistic. Kris is almost exclusively Achillean, and not shy about it in the slightest (this is a feature of Asantrea; homophobia, transphobia and systemic gender disparity largely do not occur as they historically have on Earth - it is not a perfect society however, just different). Kris projects himself with an overt sexuality, having a preference for either close-fitting or almost sheer clothing, and has been known on many occasions to wear and enjoy women's clothing gifted to him by friends met at the Hairy Fig, the canal bridge tavern, inn and bawdyhouse which is one of the most popular adult-oriented gathering spots in Stillwater Cove. Kristian wears his hair loose, and shorter than Dieter. He habitually adorns his antlers with fine gold or silver rings, linked by chains. He has numerous rings and studs in his ears, with a black pearl pendant in his right ear.

Dieter and Kristian banter flawlessly between themselves and give rise to some toe-curlingly ribald exchanges, to which there is often an ulterior motive.

Dieter and Kristian are both musicians. Dieter's specialty is keyed instruments; at the beginning of The Aethyr Machine he plays a concertina, but is able to pivot to other instruments like the hurdy-gurdy with relative ease. He also has a powerful singing voice. His twin brother Kristian is skilled with woodwind instruments and has a preference for the Sabarinian smallpipes.

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Trygve

Taxa: Lupa - Canis Lupus Ithenorius - Black Wolf

Biology: Feminine

Gender: Female

Age: Approx. 35 - 40 years

Body type / posture: Tall & slender

Height: 6'-

Sexuality: Romantically sapphic; carnally bisexual.

Trygve is a dark and mysterious woman of the Lupa taxa - a wolf - Lupus Ithenorius. Ithenorian wolves are a distinct subspecies from those found in Valasea, Enothrond or Zhohai. Trygve is tall and slender and of ambiguous age, although she is substantially older than Dieter and Kristian. She has inky black fur with a white blaze that extends from her throat to her groin, and mahogany-auburn hair. She carries a small crossbow at her hip, typically wears close-fitting and dark clothing, as befitting her occupation as a sort of jack-of-all-trades rogue. A woman of the night, a thief and assassin, Trygve is a morally-grey (at best) woman driven by survival.

Magpie first came across Trygve in a stinking tavern called the Busty Barrel in the smugglers' stronghold of Vigo, where she was keeping the patrons entertained by performing vulgar sea shanties, as an alternative to other means of paying her way. Trygve is a spectacular vocalist when she chooses; she has a powerful and husky growl which captures the attention of most who hear it. She plays the taglharp and rebec, and this gives her musical performance a weighty darkness that matches her physical appearance.

Her past is equally dark; Trygve spent a number of years as a streetgirl and cutpurse, barely surviving as she travelled around the rim of the Mare Internum from her homeland. She refuses to answer questions about why she left Varskifell to begin with. Magpie knows, but is equally tight-lipped. Regardless, Trygve is a streetwise and cynical woman, willing to use any means at her disposal to achieve her goals. Her rough and icy exterior guards a spark of empathy, however, and she is capable of warmth and compassion if she chooses to show it.

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Dagmar

Taxa: Other - Dragon (Natural)

Biology: Feminine

Gender: Female

Age: 19 years

Body type / posture: Lean / muscular

Height: 4'10"

Sexuality: Sapphic (non biologically specific)

Dagmar is a natural-born Dragon (as distinct from Magpie, who is Aethyrborn). Born to desperately poor farmers outside of the city of Norstane, in Bryctam Brynn, her life has been defined by her struggle against greed, corrupt authorities and slavers. Dagmar is diminutive, standing less than five feet tall, and has blazing auburn hair that she habitually wears in a single, heavy braid. Her skin is the rich ochre typical of her people, and she bears a pattern of stripes along her back, arms, thighs and tail. Her weapon of choice is a Heladian gladius, although she also carries a beautifully weighted throwing dagger retrieved from a slaver who no longer required it.

Dagmar's parents were sentenced to servitude to pay their debts to the Duke of Norstane when Dagmar was very young, and ultimately on-sold to slavers. After she was caught attempting to steal coins from the city treasury to buy back her parents, Dagmar too was bound for slavery. Her salvation came at the hand of a sailor, merchant and vigilante named Aelfrad - who is also Cael's father. He purchased and then freed her, but with nowhere to go, she once again fell upon his mercy. He agreed to take her in and raise her, and under his tutelage Dagmar sailed the Mare Internum for a time, while she learned all she knows of seamanship and navigation, and of the networks of pirates and slavers plying their trade around the Mare Internum, while she and Aelfrad worked to bring them down one by one.

After Aelfrad's death in an ambush and her recapture, sale, and eventual escape from yet more slavers linked to the Duke of Norstane, Dagmar resolved to continue his work dismantling the networks of slavers - although with more finality than Aelfrad had used.

At the time of The Aethyr Machine, Dagmar is a young woman in her late teens or early 20s, and has already garnered a fearsome reputation as a vigilante who frees slaves, and rarely leaves survivors among the captors. She captains a small, swift vessel called Sybelle, whose crew she has built around herself typically from those she has freed from the shackles of the smugglers. Her path crosses with Trygve's at the beginning of The Aethyr Machine, entwining their threads for the foreseeable future.

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Rhell

Taxa: Caprin - Capra Nythica - Markhor

Biology: Feminine

Gender: Female

Age: 29 years

Body type / posture: Hourglass / curvaceous

Height: 6'2"

Sexuality: Heterosexual (non-exclusive)

Born to a wealthy family in Viania, Rhell is a woman of the Caprin taxa - a markhor - Capra Nythica. Tall and solidly built, Rhell is a very sexually liberated character who emigrated to Rhocarn - so she claims - after being was implicated in the untimely death of a high-ranking nobleman in the city of Ucion. She is confident and effortlessly sensual in quite a forward and irreverent way, which means she gets along very well with Kristian. Rhell's russet pelt, darker brown head and neck, and paler abdomen and groin are a marker of her social status in Viania; like the Lupa of southern Valasea, a russet pelt is a sign of nobility over the more monochromatic common people.

Rhell's and Kristian's paths first crossed at the Hairy Fig. Rhell quickly became part of the furniture, presenting herself as a courtesan to the wealthy elites, nobility and clergy of Rhocarn, both Arahanic and traditional. But she isn't actually a prostitute, and has never accepted coin for sex. She is independently wealthy and has no need of the income; when someone insists on paying her, she passes the coin on to those who need it more than she. In that way, she's become a sort of philanthropist, assisting to elevate the less fortunate, those who have been forced by circumstance or otherwise against their wishes into a life of prostitution.

Like Trygve, Rhell has the capacity to use sex to achieve loftier ambitions, and it also serves as a useful distraction for those who might otherwise recognise her ulterior motives.

In reality, Rhell is minor Vianian royalty. Her emigration is a form of exile, a means of preserving the peace between the Duchies of Uciar and Vián against an ascendent Tironia. An Aethyrsmith of some skill - a skill that would see her imprisoned in her homeland if she were a commoner - Rhell is a complex and ambiguously-motivated character, who projects herself as a similarly hedonistic and sensual creature as Kristian.

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Cael

Taxa: Equid - Equus Rhocarnii - Aethyrfiodh pony

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 19 years

Body type / posture: Slim / slender

Height: 5'6"

Sexuality: Bisexual (masculine lean)

The son of the merchant Aelfrad, Cael is of the Equid taxa - specifically Equus Rhocarnii - an Aethyrfiodh (magic forest) pony. Slender, flighty and fine-boned, the Aethyrfiodh are excellent runners, while also being hardy and robust. Cael's pelt markings are that of a palomino, with a faint blanket over his rump which displays golden speckles over grey. His mane and tail are a golden straw colour and he has darker stockings and a white coronet around his fetlocks. He is a fiercely intelligent, but anxious and shy character, very subservient to those he perceives as more powerful - which is virtually everyone.

Cael has previously been in the employ of the Fràwic, Yrigante and Norstane chapters of the Doregallian Merchants' Guild, which is headquartered in Habury, Scordomna. Cael can read, write and speak in multiple languages, including Rhocarni, Sabarinian, Scordomnan and Heladian (Loosely equivalent to Old English, Old Norse, High German and Latin in the Earth context).

At the time of The Aethyr Machine, Cael is in the employ of Waldrein Burr, the Stillwater Cove customs official; a substantial backward step in his career occasioned by the death of his father a few years previously.

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Reyan Delanye

Taxa: Cervid - Cervus Capreolus Capreolus - Scordomnan Roe

Biology: Feminine

Gender: Female

Age: 18 years

Body type / posture: Slender, finely-built

Height: 5'2"

Sexuality: Heterosexual

The daughter of Thorri and Livina Delanye, the proprietors of a tavern and inn called the Three Moons Rest in Amelsbörg, Sabarin, Reyan is a young and naïve doe of the Cervus Capreolus Capreolus taxa - roe deer. She is eighteen years of age and filled with notions of kings and queens, handsome princes and beautiful princesses, castles and chivalrous knights, from the stories told to her by her mother. By contrast, the Three Moons Rest can be a rough and violent place, frequented by dockers and river bargemen transporting goods up and down the River Temer.

Slender and slight, Reyan is a pretty young woman. To 'toughen her up,' her father Thorri has insisted that she work with him at the tavern on occasion, an attempt to expose her to the real world outside of the stories and legends she has grown up hearing. It's a tough lesson to learn, but Reyan rises to the challenge and can hold her own against the patrons before long - although her father being the proprietor almost certainly helps.

Reyan develops a strong desire for Dieter and Kristian upon meeting them one evening, when they enter and play their instruments for the tavern.

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Waldrein Burr

Taxa: Caprin - Capra Valaseii - Valasean Goat

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 33 years

Body type / posture: Skinny, slightly pot-bellied

Height: 5'2"

Sexuality: Pansexual

A secondary/minor character, Waldrein appears in the first chapters of The Aethyr Machine as a Stillwater Cove customs official. An unscrupulous and corrupt individual, Waldrein has built his reputation on his ability to facilitate the importation of almost anything into Rhocarn through either the Stillwater Cove docks, or his connections with other equally corrupt officials.

He is also a man of dubious proclivities, who is implicated as having taken advantage of Cael's naivete while the Equid was in his employ.

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Bruno Hirschkoff

Taxa: Cervid - Cervus Doregallus - Elk

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 47 years

Body type / posture: Tall, strong, muscular, with slight softness around the midriff

Height: 6'7" (not including antlers)

Sexuality: Demisexual / Aromantic

Born in an Arahanic abbey hospital (formerly an Ysionic temple) outside of Habury, Scordomna, to Evie and Ulrich Hirschkoff. The elder of two brothers by ten years, Bruno and his parents emigrated from Scordomna to Rhocarn just before the outbreak of war between Scordomna and its eastern neighbour, Heladia. The shadow of the last Arahanic Crusade was still within living memory at the time of Bruno's birth; Ulrich's grandfather had lived through it as a fawn, and passed the story down. The Hirschkoff family is well known for their artisans. Like his father, Bruno trained to be a carpenter, and apprenticed to a Master of the Rhocarni chapter of the Doregallian Institute of Carpenters. Bruno achieved his Level 1 Artisan's certification at the age of 16, one of the youngest apprentices to do so in the Rhocarni chapter's history. By his mid-20s, he'd advanced to Level 5.

When he was 26, a Matron of the Dytaean temple north of Stillwater Cove arrived on Bruno's doorstep, with two acolytes, each carrying an elk fawn of perhaps nine months' age. They were Dieter and Kristian, the sons of Bruno's younger brother, Gerald, whom Bruno had not seen in years. Precisely how the twins came to be at a Dytaean temple in an orphanage, remains something of a mystery. But the twins came with a record of their birth, from a Midoan house east of Fràwic, which listed Gerald Hirschkoff as their father.

Bruno adopted them as his own without a second thought, and hired the services of a local Midoan priestess - a wet nurse and surrogate - to assist him in the early months, until the twins were weaned and somewhat able to fend for themselves.

After a leave of absence from the Institute of Carpenters, Bruno applied for his Level 6 accreditation, which would advance him to a position of oversight and allow him to directly hire and manage labour on building and work sites. He was denied twice, but eventually found success following his contribution to the conversion of the old Stillwater Cove military stockade into a Market Square, lined with row houses, workshops and vendors' stalls.

By the age of 47, at the time of _The Aethyr Machine, _Bruno is a Level 9 Artisan, the highest level attainable in the Rhocarni chapter of the Institute. He is well paid and independently wealthy, but still remains a common man. He is a wise father, a kindly tutor, well known and well liked by his neighbours and community, and a rambunctious, cheeky old man whose frankness and ribald honesty occasionally get him into trouble.

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Sammael

Taxa: Cervid - Cervus Odocoilues Asantreus - Whitetail Stag

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 20 years

Body type / posture: Average build; short in stature and softly toned, somewhat effeminate.

Height: 5'4"

Sexuality: Achillean (exclusive)

Sammael is a close friend of Kristian's. The two crossed paths in their early adolescence, and developed a strong friendship that remains in their adulthood. Sammael was an orphan, raised by the same Dytaean temple that brought Dieter and Kristian to Bruno. Unlike the twins, Sammael was not adopted out, since he bears a pelt marking that was interpreted to be the symbol of the goddess. Sammael was educated by the Dytaean priesthood and as a young teenager became an important part of temple life, foraging for food in the Aethyrfiodh - the great forest - preparing meals for the residents and maintaining the temple.

That Sammael is also emphatically homosexual was taken to be further confirmation of the stag's belonging with the temple - Dytaea is the patron goddess of Achillean lovers, as well as orphans and the wilderness. Sammael became a sort of symbol of the goddess' patronage, and to further this alignment began to practice archery and study astronomy, under the tutelage of the Caprin astronomer Breckner Finch in the temple's observatory.

At the time of _The Aethyr Machine, _Sammael's studies are continuing, and he earns coin as a fletcher's assistant, sourcing shafts and manufacturing arrows and bolts.

Sammael is a highly sexually energetic young man, with few inhibitions and what many might call a loose moral compass - he is shamelessly promiscuous. He displays himself somewhat effeminately, and spends much of his spare time at the Hairy Fig - a bawdyhouse in Stillwater Cove - instead of at the Dytaean temple.

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Lukyan

Taxa: Lupa - Canis Lupus Lupus - Forlassean Grey Wolf

Biology: Masculine

Gender: Male

Age: 26 years

Body type / posture: Tall, very slender, elegant and dignified.

Height: 6'2"

Sexuality: Pansexual

Lukyan is a quietly spoken, effortlessly elegant and softly charismatic wolf. Born in the convent at Sparrowforge Abbey, the son of an Arahanic Bishop and a nun, Lukyan's very existence is a deep and complex taboo both in the Arahanic church, and in his native Lupa culture. He had a challenging and very strictly controlled childhood, and was not allowed to leave the Abbey lest his existence as the son of the Bishop become known. Lukyan had a deeply troubled relationship with his father, who was impulsive, corrupt, violent and cruel. His solace was his faith, which he continues to observe in his own way as an adult, despite the Arahanic faith being the whole reason behind the complexity of his birth.

Lukyan attempted to escape from the Abbey on a number of occasions as a teenager, but was usually recaptured at the order of his father. When he was seventeen, Lukyan's father was called away to Venium, the Arahanic Holy City, and was absent for several months. Lukyan, with the assistance of his mother, made good his escape.

Alone and lost in a strange and foreign world, Lukyan found himself on the streets of Fràwic, where to survive the winter he was forced to the city's red light district. Despite the less savoury aspects of the work, Lukyan found a community there; alley girls and street boys and their networks of underground contacts became a safety net of the most unlikely variety for Lukyan, and he found himself immersed in a dark, velvet-lined world of prostitution and vice. It was there, in a (relatively) safe space, that Lukyan began to explore kink; specifically, his own closeness to the Arahanic church as a source of an identity as a courtesan.

Soon, Lukyan began to present himself as an Arahanic priest. His posture, his genuine faith and his demeanour suited the role well, albeit a corruption of the real thing. But then, Lukyan's experience of the church was one of corruption, taboo, greed and cruelty, so he felt no remorse at imitating a priest if his client so desired.

Several years thereafter, Lukyan found himself on the road back towards the Rhocarni coast. In Stillwater Cove, he'd heard, was a bawdyhouse like no other; an open house, which protected and housed its sex workers like a temple to Lakesh. In time, Lukyan crossed paths with Rhell. Rhell, at the time of _The Aethyr Machine, _pays Lukyan's retainer to the Hairy Fig, enabling the Lupa man to focus on finding his feet and coming to terms with his difficult past.

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