Cultures of Dinyoran

[Micamo]

Inspired by Veris's thread I've decided to finally post up my own conworld. I've been meaning to do this for a long time but looks like I finally got around to it! Unfortunately I don't think I'm as creative as Veris but I'll try my best!

First up, the Agyon.

The Agyon have 2 body-forms which they can switch between freely: The Voranor and the Agyonor. The Voranor is (somewhat) humanoid while the Agyonor is dragon-like. For simplicity's sake I'll call these human-form and dragon-form, though this description by itself is not completely accurate.

Agyon reach a maximum height of around 5 feet tall in their human-form for both sexes. In dragon-form, males reach a standing height of around 15 feet while females can be as huge as 60 feet tall. However bipedal movement in dragon-form is inconvenient and thus they are mostly slouched over at an angle supporting themselves with their forelimbs.

Agyon in human-form have slender bodies, long arms (reaching down to their knees without bending over), and delicate frames. Their skin is usually white. And by white, I don't mean white as in a white person, I mean bleached-white. No color to their skin at all. Alternatively their skin can be shades of gray, but darker colors aren't as common. Dragon-form colors are the same, though their scales can vary by luster and scale color can be much darker or even a full black, although black-scaling is technically a genetic disorder. Interestingly, skin and scale color are controlled by separate genes, so a light-skinned agyon can have dark scales and vice-versa. This is known as Patyuzyani, the "Conflicted Vision." Hair colors are similarly white and silvery. All of this lightness is to blend in with the abundant snow in their habitat.

Eyes are more varied. They use the "slit" model of felines and reptiles rather than circular pupils like ours. Also their eyes don't have whites: The iris takes up the entire visible portion of the eye. Eye colors are commonly yellows and oranges but can also be blues, purples, or even grays (which is considered the most exotic, desirable eye color).

Completely carnivorous, all of their teeth are incredibly sharp, even in human-form. They require a large daily intake of meat which varies depending on their activity and how much time they spend in either form (it takes far more energy to support dragon-form than human-form, so understandably they only change forms when necessary). To make matters worse their metabolisms are rather inefficient and much of what is burned is wasted as heat. Average body temperature is 117F (47.2 C), and they run a great risk of overheating if they do not take care to keep cool. This is not a problem in their incredibly cold native habitat but it prevents Agyon from living in more temperate areas.

As a culture the Agyon are female-dominant, for much the same reasons male-dominance is prevalent in human cultures. Females grow to be much bigger and stronger than the males. They practice polyandry. Females can have as many as 10 male mates at once. They have no formal concept of marriage and relationships can break up and re-form, though more permanent and stable ones are the only ones seen as productive. It is important to note that these relationships are formed on the basis of a need for companionship, not sex; Agyon females have a very slow reproductive cycle, only able to get pregnant for the span of a few hours every 7 years or so. Anyone reading this who sees that as a positive will be very disappointed: They have slow libidos to match.

As far as attitude Agyon are incredibly pacifistic and peace-loving, but terrifying when provoked and not afraid to fight back against an assailant. As far as political organization very decentralized and anarchistic. The Agyon would laugh at the idea of a agyo-military.


This post has gotten way too long for now: I'll include the rest of the Agyon's info as well as hopefully some on the other races sometime later on.

[xijlwya]

Hey Micamo.

I'm happy to read from your conworld here. Your conlang unrevealed a creative and educated spirit and I hope your world will apply the same standard.

I think the basic idea of people being able to transofrm into dragonlike creatures has something of an anime. It's definitely something already heard of. Nevertheless, the not-so-human carnivours with their white skin, their serpent eyes and their sharp teeth give the setting a fresh twist. I think that the Voranor would look scaring for normal humans.

The biology has a somewhat strange ring to it: Why does a furless creature living in such a cold habitat have such a high body temperature? Isn't it easier in a evolutionary sense to have a lower body temperature and have furs or scales to keep the body warmth inside?

Do they have huge matriarchic families, or do they live mostly on their own (which is often seen with predators)? How would you descirbe a transformation of a Voranor into a Agyonor, how does it look like, what happens when they do it?

[Ossicone]

Now I can question you! Bwhahahaha! (jk)

Since they can transform freely, is there any specific reason why they do? travel, hunting, fun?
Where do they live? Do they have houses sized to human proportions or dragon proportions or both?

I assume you intend to have a small population. It would be very difficult to feed a large population of pure carnivores. And along with their low fertility rate this would make large numbers very difficult.

What is their life expectancy?

Is either the human or dragon form considered a primary form?

[Micamo]

Hey Micamo.

Hey!

I'm happy to read from your conworld here. Your conlang unrevealed a creative and educated spirit and I hope your world will apply the same standard.

Why thank you! I certainly hope I can meet up with your expectations.

I think the basic idea of people being able to transofrm into dragonlike creatures has something of an anime. It's definitely something already heard of.

In truth I was inspired to make the human-dragons from a lot of different sources, and I'm a very big fan of dragons overall. What inspired me to get into conworlding period was the Dragon-tribe Laguz from the Fire Emblem series. Laguz are a race of people who can transform into animals and their human forms share traits with their animal forms. (Catgirls! </shameless>) There's a race of Laguz that can transform into dragons but you interact with them so rarely they might as well not even exist at all. Plus their human forms' only thing to differentiate them is pointed elf ears! I knew I could do better.

Honestly now that I have some conworlding experience I probably wouldn't make the Agyon now, a priori. But now it's just too welded into my mind to let go. So I'm trying my best to differentiate it as much as possible from the standard "humans with superpowers" of anime-like incarnations.

Nevertheless, the not-so-human carnivours with their white skin, their serpent eyes and their sharp teeth give the setting a fresh twist. I think that the Voranor would look scaring for normal humans.

The Agyon have scarce interactions with the other intelligent races, both because of their somewhat isolated homeland and their contempt for creatures other than themselves. Because the interactions are so rare, misunderstandings abound on both sides. Most humans (Vozon) do not even know anything like the Voranor exists, and consider the Agyon as man-eating, city-razing, fire-breathing monsters. (None of those 3 things are true by the way.) If they saw an Agyon in their human-form they probably wouldn't know what to think of it, perhaps see it as a diseased human child.

The biology has a somewhat strange ring to it: Why does a furless creature living in such a cold habitat have such a high body temperature? Isn't it easier in a evolutionary sense to have a lower body temperature and have furs or scales to keep the body warmth inside?

The Agyon didn't evolve (at least, not at first). They were created by the Goddess (Dhaio) Gyorozi, who made them as friends to keep her company (hence, the Agyon's strong need for companionship). Needless to say her design wasn't perfect. And no this is not a cop-out!

Do they have huge matriarchic families, or do they live mostly on their own (which is often seen with predators)?

The situation here is actually rather complicated. The Agyon have both a solitary instinct and a desire for independence, but also have a very strong emotional need for companionship. Close friends and mates often live together to keep each other company but families do not: Agyon mothers have only a temporary maternal instinct. After a few years Agyon mothers begin to regard their children as no different from any other and the normal conflicted desire for independence and companionship kicks in. Sometimes the child and their mother will be compatible and enjoy each other's company and in that case the child will stay, but in most cases after the instinct wears off the child must leave home and find somewhere else to live.

How would you descirbe a transformation of a Voranor into a Agyonor, how does it look like, what happens when they do it?

It's difficult to explain, but what it looks like from the outside is their body is enveloped in glowing white particles which swirl around and expand outward. When the transformation is complete the particles fade away, revealing the new form. The other way is quite similar, the ball of "fuzzies" just shrinks.

Obviously this description isn't realistic but there really is no way to provide a believable biological explanation for this. (And this is why I wouldn't create something like the Agyon now if I wasn't already in love with the idea.)

Now I can question you! Bwhahahaha! (jk)

Bring it on!

Since they can transform freely, is there any specific reason why they do? travel, hunting, fun?

Human-form requires much less energy to maintain than dragon-form. However in human-form they're quite fragile, so they change forms when they need to fight. They can also fly in dragon-form. Basically, they use dragon-form for hunting and traveling and human-form for everything else.

Where do they live? Do they have houses sized to human proportions or dragon proportions or both?

They live on mountain-peaks in very cold (I'm tempted to say arctic but this is not strictly correct) climates, and their favored form of shelter is caves carved into the mountains. Note these aren't damp natural caves, but specifically carved ones that are nicely decorated.

Both. While they do not necessarily need to transform while indoors it is certainly nice to have the option. Houses of wealth are characterized by hundred-foot high ceilings, strains of silver artfully crafted into the walls and floors, and some very oversized furniture. The standard room layout is cylindrical with a large hearth in the center, doors leading to hallways to other cylinders on any side. For safety reasons entrances are hidden and only accessible from the air.

I assume you intend to have a small population. It would be very difficult to feed a large population of pure carnivores. And along with their low fertility rate this would make large numbers very difficult.

Yep yep yep. There are only a few thousand Agyon in total. Though they have quite efficient large-scale animal husbandry operations so food is not that big of a problem. Though hunting is still considered good sport.

What is their life expectancy?

1500 Dinyoran years, or 2865 Earth years. Though they can potentially live much, much longer.

Is either the human or dragon form considered a primary form?

Though most adult Agyon spend most of their time in human form, dragon form is considered primary as it is what comes out of the eggs when they hatch. Children have to learn to transform just like they have to learn how to walk, talk, and fly.

[Ossicone]

The Agyon have scarce interactions with the other intelligent races, both because of their somewhat isolated homeland and their contempt for creatures other than themselves. Because the interactions are so rare, misunderstandings abound on both sides.

Is this because they are divine creations?

Most humans (Vozon) do not even know anything like the Voranor exists, and consider the Agyon as man-eating, city-razing, fire-breathing monsters. (None of those 3 things are true by the way.)

I kinda wish they did eat people... :(

[If they saw an Agyon in their human-form they probably wouldn't know what to think of it, perhaps see it as a diseased human child.

I'm 5'1" as a fully grown adult... :-(

Yep yep yep. There are only a few thousand Agyon in total. Though they have quite efficient large-scale animal husbandry operations so food is not that big of a problem. Though hunting is still considered good sport.

Just remember how many snakes, rabbits etc it takes to feed an eagle.

Though most adult Agyon spend most of their time in human form, dragon form is considered primary as it is what comes out of the eggs when they hatch. Children have to learn to transform just like they have to learn how to walk, talk, and fly.

So they are conceived and born as dragons?
That is a nice twist - I do get tired of humans turn into animals, but not dragons turning into humanoids.

[Micamo]

Is this because they are divine creations?

Technically all the intelligent races in my conworld are divine creations. Remember Eamina from the religion thread? He could not take the Agyon as his own, so he made his own people in the shape of the Voranor to mock them. So technically the Agyon don't look human, the humans look Agyon.

I kinda wish they did eat people... :(

o.o

If you've a taste for monstrous conpeople then you may be interested in the Gbon (name possibly temporary), whenever I get them written up that is...

I'm 5'1" as a fully grown adult... :-(

Notice 5 feet is the maximum. Most are three and a half to four feet. Their human forms are not very muscular, and the females also don't grow breasts (they feed their young by regurgitating) so that only adds to the child-like appearance.

So they are conceived and born as dragons?
That is a nice twist - I do get tired of humans turn into animals, but not dragons turning into humanoids.

Actually Agyon can mate and lay eggs in either form. (There's a thought to help you sleep at night!) But when they hatch they do come out as dragons.

[Ossicone]

If you've a taste for monstrous conpeople then you may be interested in the Gbon (name possibly temporary), whenever I get them written up that is...

People are monstrous. Sometimes I feel conpeople lack the flaws that real people have.

Notice 5 feet is the maximum. Most are three and a half to four feet. Their human forms are not very muscular, and the females also don't grow breasts (they feed their young by regurgitating) so that only adds to the child-like appearance.

They are (Emperor) penguin sized. :D


Merry Christmas, it's a dragon house! Why? Because I can't sleep. (Yeah, I know it's all wrong. And the dragon lounger is totally stolen from Dinotopia.)

[Micamo]

People are monstrous. Sometimes I feel conpeople lack the flaws that real people have.

Individual people can be monstrous indeed, though I do have to ask what your working definition of "monstrous" is. Agyon can be monstrous as well:

When she heard the news she immediately flew down there to find her worst fears had been realized: They executed him. She flew into a rage. His executioners were the first. When the soldiers came she slaughtered all of them too. She tore into the place and ripped the royal family to shreds.

With this done she went out onto the streets and unleashed her anger on anyone she could find. Women, children, the elderly, they all begged for their lives as they fleed; None were spared.

Once all the people there had been killed or had fled, she channeled her wrath into demolishing all the buildings, one by one. Once she broke the dam the streets flooded with water. This went on for 3 days with no rest or slowing down on her part.

4 days prior Roacuianu was a thriving city-state of over 400,000 souls. She downshifted (turned into human-form) and began to slowly walk toward the palace where she had started. The streets and houses all had a 2-foot deep layer of water on them. The water almost reached up to her chest. Already the streets had become home to a variety of aquatic life; The corpses made good meals for them. As she came close to them they fled, unknowingly fleeing from their great benefactor.

The palace was in ruin, as could be expected. Beneath the water and the blood one could still make out the great design on the floor of the throne room; A holy knight slaying a fierce white dragon. She made her way to the throne, suspended high on a staircase and coated completely with dried blood, and hoisted herself onto it.

She sat there and cried for some hours: Leveling an entire city had made her feel no better.

They are (Emperor) penguin sized. :D

Oh god I don't think I've ever wanted artistic skills more than I do now ;-;

Here's the image I'm getting: An Agyon girl (In human form) and an emperor penguin giving each other the stare-down.

It must be done.

Merry Christmas, it's a dragon house! Why? Because I can't sleep. (Yeah, I know it's all wrong. And the dragon lounger is totally stolen from Dinotopia.)

That's actually really cool. Thanks!

[xijlwya]

The Agyon didn't evolve (at least, not at first). They were created by the Goddess (Dhaio) Gyorozi, who made them as friends to keep her company (hence, the Agyon's strong need for companionship). Needless to say her design wasn't perfect. And no this is not a cop-out!

No worries about the cop out. I got things about my conworld in my head, I'm not even near capable of explaining in words :).

It's difficult to explain, but what it looks like from the outside is their body is enveloped in glowing white particles which swirl around and expand outward. When the transformation is complete the particles fade away, revealing the new form. The other way is quite similar, the ball of "fuzzies" just shrinks.

Obviously this description isn't realistic but there really is no way to provide a believable biological explanation for this. (And this is why I wouldn't create something like the Agyon now if I wasn't already in love with the idea.)

It's actually the same problem I faced when I wanted to include teleportation in my conworld. There is no good explanation for it - so I just leave it out. It just happens, because I can think of it. Same here, I guess.
Intrestingly, I had a totally other way of transformation in mind. For me, the transformation was intuitively a painful process to go through, because the body parts just grown heavily and the old skin tears apart, etc. I guess Ossicone and I just wanted to see some fearsome beasts - but you render them more ... accostable (had to look that one up =D).

Also, I'd say it's all about the image in the mind when it comes to conworlding. I also tend to think about realism. But then again I say to myself: it's your imagination - you are free to include anything you want. Although, I prefer a way in between realism and fantasy.

[Micamo]

Intrestingly, I had a totally other way of transformation in mind. For me, the transformation was intuitively a painful process to go through, because the body parts just grown heavily and the old skin tears apart, etc. I guess Ossicone and I just wanted to see some fearsome beasts - but you render them more ... accostable (had to look that one up =D).

At the risk of imitating Tolkien's Catholic Elves, I always did like the image of "Gentle Giants" better than the image of terrible monsters. A disgusting, graphic transformation process simply wouldn't do; In the end I still want them to be cuddly :3

The Gbon as a culture are fairly well developed, however their conlang is not. Major revisions abound, even the phonology is very unstable. Here is a sample of the current iteration:

/ǃkʼɐ̌ɴ.dʏ̌ɴ.dʟɞn.ɢʟʏ̌ɐn.gʊm.ǃqʼɐ̂ː!ŋ/

(bless-IMP 2.sg serpent-GEN child)

"Blessings upon you, child of the serpent."

Though before I can explain the Gbon, I need to explain how "magic" works as it plays a role in a very important part of their society:

Spirit Pacts

In the world of Dinyoran, the natural forces are controlled by what are called "spirits." It is possible to make contracts with these spirits to have them do your bidding, at a price. This is referred to as a Spirit Pact (Agy: Ithor Azune, Song of Memories). To the untrained eye it looks something like magic, so I will refer to the process of spirit-contracting as magic for simplicity.

In truth the spirits are not self-aware, so "contracting" with them is pretty different from how making a pact with another human being works. To make a pact, get a container of gold (only the part that touches the offering needs to be gold, so gold-plating will work), insert your offering inside, and pour in mercury. As you do this feel in your heart what it is you want the spirits to do. If the spirits accept your offering, then the offering will vanish in a puff of smoke and your wish will be granted. If not, then the mercury probably ruined whatever you offered anyway. Really the spirits don't care what it is they actually get. All things are made up of various essences. It is the correct amount of the different essences in the offering that determines whether the spirits are satisfied or not.

Determining what the spirits will accept can be an extremely difficult task, as not necessarily the same thing will work every time.

When one successfully makes a spirit pact for the first time, they are permanently given a black mark somewhere on their body. Certain cultures despise spirit-pacters, and having their mark discovered is a death sentence.

[MrKrov]

/ǃkʼɐ̌ɴ.dʏ̌ɴ.dʟɞn.ɢʟʏ̌ɐn.gʊm.ǃqʼɐ̂ː!ŋ/

Got vowels?

[Micamo]

/ǃkʼɐ̌ɴ.dʏ̌ɴ.dʟɞn.ɢʟʏ̌ɐn.gʊm.ǃqʼɐ̂ː!ŋ/

Got vowels?

Nope!

[Micamo]

I wanted to avoid a double post, but oh well.

The Qz'lxealk

Qz'lxealk (/ʛʟɜkǁ/) is their new name, as over the past week their conlang has seen tremendous progress and stability. Still subject to possible changes but now I feel confident enough to declare some names.

The Qz'lxealk humans make their home in the dense jungles near the equator. The Qz'lxealk do not have a centralized state (though they have had them in the past). Instead the Qz'lxealk are made up of loose collections of city-states, each one ruled by a monarch. Borders change constantly as in-fighting amongst the city-states is common.

More than any other culture the Qz'lxealk have tamed magic for their ends. The backbone of their economy is built on slave labor. These slaves are controlled by devices called Nzaqo (/ŋǃɐ.qɵ/). The Nzaqo is a long metal spine which screws into the spine of the victim. At the bottom end of the spine is a tail, and at the top of the spine is a metal plate with a needle which plugs directly into the victim's brain. The magical Nzaqo forces the victim to follow their owner's commands. Of course this does not happen for free. Their power must be carefully maintained by diligent spirit pacting. Furthermore it only holds control over them if they are within the pacter's radius. If the process stops or they are taken outside the limits of the pact's power, they are free.

A few clarifications. First, the Nzaqo can only control the victim's body. Never their mind. Furthermore, the commands which can be given only specify goals, not the means used to carry them out. One can be told to build a house, but exactly how that house is built is up to them. That said if they don't know how to do something then they can't do it. Thus you cannot make them do impossible things. The Nzaqo only guarantees obedience. Nothing more.

The Nzaqo's origins are dubious as there is nothing else anywhere near as sophisticated in the world. Thus one has to doubt if the Qz'lxealk really invented it. Though they themselves admit they do not: As the story goes they were given the knowledge on how to build and use the Nzaqo by their god, Qzan (the Serpent). Qzan is most commonly held by scholars to be another name for what the Agyon call Eamina.

The nzaqo also nourishes the body so long as it is under control: The victims do not need to eat or sleep. Because of these cheap requirements over 80% of the population wears it, with about 7 million free men.

It is a tradition that when marriage is performed, the parents of both each give half of their wealth and estate to the new bride and groom. Obviously, the wealthy stand to lose much more from this than the commoners do. So, to avoid losing their fortunes, it is common for brothers an sisters to be made to marry. The results of this after many generations are to be expected. The upper classes are, to put it bluntly, nuts.

No finer example of this is Empress X'etamkva (/χʼɘmkʘa/) of the 7th Dynasty. (Several families have conquered all of the Qz'lxealk city-states effectively making them a single state. All of their rules eventually crumbled and local rulers once again took over.)

X'etamkva was born the youngest of 4 siblings. Her mother died giving birth to her and she was abused daily by her father and her three brothers. At the age of 8 she decided she had had enough. She tied them all in chains and slowly tortured them to death, chopping off and removing various parts of their body and eating them. Being the only heir left once the deed was done, she inherited the throne. Acts such as this would characterize the entire length of her 50-year rule.

[Micamo]

Filled out Zahar's questionarre section I. Made a few changes to the specifics of their habitat though.

Describe the geography of where your society calls home.

On the island of Meradion, to the north of the continent of Nyeltore. The island is approximately 70,000 square miles in size, covered by mountains, forests of firs, and glaciers.

Describe the climate your society deals with. How severe are their seasons?

Cold. In the summers it raises to a lovely 15 F where in winters it can drop as low as -70 F. Average temperatures are between -30 and -10 F. It snows year-round on the southern half, while the northern edge is actually too dry for snow to occur.

What kinds of natural disasters has this society gotten used to?

Blizzards, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes. The regular earthquakes and eruptions often reach their nearest neighbors, the Coarghydh. Thus they call the island of Meradion "Dreoghendr" - The Door to Hell.

What are the most commonly-grown foods?

A fruit called Burode. It's soft like a peach but it grows to the size of your head. It only grows natively in the tropics (native name Bhoqa). The Agyon grow it by incubation, though not for their own consumption.

What are the most commonly-eaten meats?

The Agyon are obligate carnivores, so the plants grown and harvested are not for their own consumption. Instead they are used to feed the Rondetsunda (Coarghydh: Ygmakl) which is a giant polar-bear like creature that terrorizes human settlements on the main continent, but the variant kept by the Agyon has been bred into more of a giant digestion machine. Sea food is also common, as well as the occasional whale or seal.

What foods are considered exotic or expensive?

Peppers used for seasoning. The Agyon's incubation methods do not grow them well so the good ones have to be imported.

What forms of alcohol are common? Rare?

Agyon do not generally drink alcohol. More common are teas. The most popular is Damodhen, rich with an earthy, fiery flavor. Sugary cocoa from the south is rarer but also generally enjoyed, while the most expensive drink available is called Somen, similar to Absinthe.

Is there usually enough food and water for the population?

Yes. The Agyon's food industry is the most sophisticated and capital-rich on Dinyoran.

What is this place's most abundant resource?

Gold, Silver, and Iron. The crust is also especially aluminum-rich however there are problems with extracting it.

What is its most valuable resource?

A black, lustrous metal they call Zande. It is popular for decorative uses and it also is important catalyst in the incubation process.

What resource is it most lacking?

Usable land. The Agyon's population is very small but even so it is pretty crowded. The majority of their homeland is covered in ice sheets. They also have problems with regulating their body temperature as their internal metabolisms produce too much heat: They need to be in a cold environment to cool off. This makes it a problem to expand southward.

How do people travel from one place to another?

Flying. Average Agyon can fly at a top speed of 150 mph. Strong fliers can do up to 180.

Are the borders secure? In what way?

Cold climate + Treacherous waters separating it from the mainland = Natural defenses. There's also the fact that the Agyon are huge (but quite peaceful and gentle unless provoked) "beasts" who could rip you in half quite easily, To top it all off, the neighbors believe the place is the entrance to the underworld so they're scared shitless of it. To sum it all up, you'd have to be completely insane, if not outright suicidal, to try to invade this place.

Not to say nobody has ever tried: General Dozenuioc Imacthua Gareth, having accomplished no major military victories and on the eve of being rotated out of office, decided that launching a successful attack on hell itself would win him a favorable spot in the history books. After (understandably) having problems with getting troops on board with this, he managed to fill up 5 ships and set off. One hit an iceberg. One went down in a storm. The remaining 3 all wrecked upon the rocks of the southern coast (Meradion has no suitable harbors) and were stranded. Two days later the wreckage was found by a small group of 3 Agyon. Gareth and a small group of men decided to attack the "demons." They were slaughtered within minutes. Some others fled for their lives and dove into the water (where they presumably froze to death). The rest surrendered and expected the worst. They were forgiven and taken home.

About 20 years later, one of Gareth's successors and subordinates (who was smart enough not to come along the first time), General Zuantykh Moakteang Reaost, decided he'd try again. (Where his previous good judgment went I guess we'll never know!) This time he brought 20 ships and lost not a single one in the journey over. Unfortunately due to a navigation problem they landed on the North side of the island and all froze to death. *sigh*

How many people live here?

'Bout 60,000.

Where in this place to they congregate?

Several population centers (though they aren't quite "cities") are centered on the southern coastline.

What part of this place do they avoid? Why?

The northern ice sheets for obvious reasons as there's really nothing out there. The volcanoes and hot earthquake zones are rarely built on but are popularly traveled to for the hot springs.

What are the most common domesticated animals here? And what are they domesticated for?

Rondetsunda for food, as well as small penguins and snow leopards (Tsandaion and Tyosone) as pets.

What are the most common wild animals?

Not many animals out there on the tundra. You see elk, wild horses, as well as wild variants of the Rondetsunda, penguins, snow leopards, and arctic foxes kept as pets. You also see walruses come up onto the beaches from time to time. There are also wild Drakes out and about though not as many as there are on the mainland. The Agyon consider drakes pests.

(Drakes are basically smaller dragons, though aside from the basic shape their physical forms hold a lot of differences between the Agyon, such as frills and odd colors and designs the Agyon lack. Drakes are also non-sentient and lack the ability to transform.)

Which animals are likely to be pets? Which ones won't be?

Penguins, Snow Leopards, and occasionally Arctic Foxes. Also, once in a great while an Agyon may keep a "pet" human. The designation of "pet" isn't how the human or the "owner" view it but it is how the relationship is viewed by the other Agyon.

[Ossicone]

More than any other culture the Qz'lxealk have tamed magic for their ends. The backbone of their economy is built on slave labor. These slaves are controlled by devices called Nzaqo (/ŋǃɐ.qɵ/). The Nzaqo is a long metal spine which screws into the spine of the victim. At the bottom end of the spine is a tail, and at the top of the spine is a metal plate with a needle which plugs directly into the victim's brain. The magical Nzaqo forces the victim to follow their owner's commands. Of course this does not happen for free. Their power must be carefully maintained by diligent spirit pacting. Furthermore it only holds control over them if they are within the pacter's radius. If the process stops or they are taken outside the limits of the pact's power, they are free.

I don't really see why the Nzaqo is necessary. Slavery has been a long held human tradition without the use of such magical devices. It is however an intriguing idea. How long can a spirit pact last? An hour? Day? Week? Anything less than a day or week would make this incredibly tedious. And what is a typical radius? A meter? Five meters? 100 meters? Again less than a 100 meters would be very confining.

If a slaver to be free of the magic influence, would they be capable of removing the Nzaqo? Perhaps because of the spine needle removing it would be highly dangerous or lethal.

With the metal needle based in the spine, it would also be difficult to reach any higher brain function, let alone the motor cortex. But I am willing to accept 'magic' as a means here. (That psychology degree does come in handy sometimes!)

A few clarifications. First, the Nzaqo can only control the victim's body. Never their mind. Furthermore, the commands which can be given only specify goals, not the means used to carry them out. One can be told to build a house, but exactly how that house is built is up to them. That said if they don't know how to do something then they can't do it. Thus you cannot make them do impossible things. The Nzaqo only guarantees obedience. Nothing more.

Slaves are best used for simple labor intensive work. Since it is not their will they will not be good for anything that requires workmanship. Your limitations fit nicely with that principle.

The Nzaqo's origins are dubious as there is nothing else anywhere near as sophisticated in the world. Thus one has to doubt if the Qz'lxealk really invented it. Though they themselves admit they do not: As the story goes they were given the knowledge on how to build and use the Nzaqo by their god, Qzan (the Serpent). Qzan is most commonly held by scholars to be another name for what the Agyon call Eamina.

So what is the origin? And if it is a divine tool, was enslavement it's original intent?

The nzaqo also nourishes the body so long as it is under control: The victims do not need to eat or sleep. Because of these cheap requirements over 80% of the population wears it, with about 7 million free men.

Does that 80% include 7 million free men who wear it as a magical equivalent of 5-Hour Energy?
Or are there 7 million free men who control that 80%?

I assume this effect wears off with the spirit pact. If does then when a slave leaves the pact's influence to the days without food or sleep 'catch up' with them? For instance, if slave John has been controlled for a year with the Nzaqo. He hasn't eaten or slept in that time. If his owner fails to engage a spirit pact will he die of hunger? Will he pass out from lack of sleep?

[Ossicone]

Describe the geography of where your society calls home.
On the island of Meradion, to the north of the continent of Nyeltore. The island is approximately 70,000 square miles in size, covered by mountains, forests of firs, and glaciers.

I assume these are the Agyon.

Describe the climate your society deals with. How severe are their seasons?
Cold. In the summers it raises to a lovely 15 F where in winters it can drop as low as -70 F. Average temperatures are between -30 and -10 F. It snows year-round on the southern half, while the northern edge is actually too dry for snow to occur.

I don't know how realistic you wish to make this world. Or if it should even be based on Earth standards. However, I will assume this island is located near a pole in order to cause such extreme temperatures. Are these the temps. up in the mountains? Or down in a valley? Or both?

What kinds of natural disasters has this society gotten used to?
Blizzards, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes. The regular earthquakes and eruptions often reach their nearest neighbors, the Coarghydh. Thus they call the island of Meradion "Dreoghendr" - The Door to Hell.

Does this effect their mountain homes? Have there ever been cave ins?

What are the most commonly-grown foods?
A fruit called Burode. It's soft like a peach but it grows to the size of your head. It only grows natively in the tropics (native name Bhoqa). The Agyon grow it by incubation, though not for their own consumption.

For whose consumption then? That seems like a lot of effort to go through to not be used.

What are the most commonly-eaten meats?
The Agyon are obligate carnivores, so the plants grown and harvested are not for their own consumption. Instead they are used to feed the Rondetsunda (Coarghydh: Ygmakl) which is a giant polar-bear like creature that terrorizes human settlements on the main continent, but the variant kept by the Agyon has been bred into more of a giant digestion machine. Sea food is also common, as well as the occasional whale or seal.

Why do they breed the Rondetsunda to this purpose? Do they feed on them?

What foods are considered exotic or expensive?
Peppers used for seasoning. The Agyon's incubation methods do not grow them well so the good ones have to be imported.

I assume this means spicy peppers and not like bell peppers.

What forms of alcohol are common? Rare?
Agyon do not generally drink alcohol. More common are teas. The most popular is Damodhen, rich with an earthy, fiery flavor. Sugary cocoa from the south is rarer but also generally enjoyed, while the most expensive drink available is called Somen, similar to Absinthe.

lol. Do they have little fancy dragon spoons?

What is its most valuable resource?
A black, lustrous metal they call Zande. It is popular for decorative uses and it also is important catalyst in the incubation process.

Is this incubation used only agriculturally? Or do they have to incubate their own eggs?

Where in this place to they congregate?
Several population centers (though they aren't quite "cities") are centered on the southern coastline.

Are there any structure made for the gathering of a large number of dragons? Or would they have to revert to human form to meet in mass?

What are the most common domesticated animals here? And what are they domesticated for?
Rondetsunda for food, as well as small penguins and snow leopards (Tsandaion and Tyosone) as pets.

You answered my previous question, but I'm too lazy to go back.
Drakes out and about though not as many as there are on the mainland. The Agyon consider drakes pests.

Which animals are likely to be pets? Which ones won't be?
Penguins, Snow Leopards, and occasionally Arctic Foxes. Also, once in a great while an Agyon may keep a "pet" human. The designation of "pet" isn't how the human or the "owner" view it but it is how the relationship is viewed by the other Agyon.

lol. Does this imply a more intimate human-agyon relation?

[Micamo]

I don't really see why the Nzaqo is necessary. Slavery has been a long held human tradition without the use of such magical devices. It is however an intriguing idea. How long can a spirit pact last? An hour? Day? Week? Anything less than a day or week would make this incredibly tedious. And what is a typical radius? A meter? Five meters? 100 meters? Again less than a 100 meters would be very confining.

As I hope I explained before, the pacting itself is actually a purely mechanistic process. Nothing about souls or anything like that involved. Best of thinking of it like a quirk of the laws of physics. As such the pacts for the slave-control is done by a big machine at the center of the radius (G'loqtak) which needs constant maintenance. The knowledge needed for this maintenance (as well as the Nzaqo construction) is a very highly-kept secret of the priests. The bigger the machine, the bigger the radius, but also the more priests needed to keep it up and running.

The purpose of the Nzaqo is to make slavery a lot easier and more stable: Those under its power can't revolt, so long as the G'loqtak is kept running.

Since I know this will be the next question, if slaves need to be transported between radii they need to be restrained using less elegant methods.

If a slaver to be free of the magic influence, would they be capable of removing the Nzaqo? Perhaps because of the spine needle removing it would be highly dangerous or lethal.

It's incredibly dangerous to remove, but possible. Attempting to pry it off is certain death, it must be removed delicately. Those who have the knowledge to do so are among the priests and you will not find many eager to help you. Furthermore, straying back into a radius will entrap you once again, and the spine itself was designed to make you stick out as much as possible. (How many average joes do you see around with a big metal tail?)

So what is the origin? And if it is a divine tool, was enslavement it's original intent?

Not everyone believes the story that it was given to them by the Gods. However, the Qz'lxealk don't have any other forms of technology anywhere close to the sophistication of the Nzaqo (and all attempts at reverse-engineering have failed) so it is very plausible they received it from an outside source rather than invented it themselves.

And, at least according to their version of the story, yes. Qzon gave them the gift so they would have the power to conquer their enemies.

Does that 80% include 7 million free men who wear it as a magical equivalent of 5-Hour Energy?
Or are there 7 million free men who control that 80%?

7 million who control 80%. Though it should be stressed the number of slave owners is much smaller than 7 million; Pretty much all of them are members of the noble families. There are 74 city-states, each ruled by one royal family. Only the first born son and his bride continue to be nobles; The other siblings are cast out unless the older sibling dies before he can produce any heirs. Murdering your way into the position is encouraged: People who earned their things are considered better than those who just inherit them by virtue of being first.

You cannot have the nourishment effect without also having the controlling effect. In theory it is possible to get a Nzaqo, submit yourself to an owner you trust, and that owner just lets you do whatever you want. But this is a rather precarious position and one that can backfire quite easily.

I assume this effect wears off with the spirit pact. If does then when a slave leaves the pact's influence to the days without food or sleep 'catch up' with them? For instance, if slave John has been controlled for a year with the Nzaqo. He hasn't eaten or slept in that time. If his owner fails to engage a spirit pact will he die of hunger? Will he pass out from lack of sleep?

The nourishment is chemical so no. However he will have to eat and sleep normally from now on. As most of the slaves have been slaves all their lives he will probably have trouble surviving on his own.

[Micamo]

I don't know how realistic you wish to make this world. Or if it should even be based on Earth standards. However, I will assume this island is located near a pole in order to cause such extreme temperatures. Are these the temps. up in the mountains? Or down in a valley? Or both?

Honestly I don't know that much about climates, these numbers are just the ones I came up with that "felt right" after looking through temperature ranges of various arctic and antarctic areas on Wikipedia. I more or less have a specific idea of where the island is, I just need to sit down one day and run through all the math to get some more accurate numbers.

But yes it is up near the north pole, and the described temperature ranges describe the whole island (including the mountain tops and the northern ice sheets).

Does this effect their mountain homes? Have there ever been cave ins?

I should have been more clear on this one: I ditched the whole carved-out cave idea after I decided to put them in a more geologically active zone. Their old home was welded to the main continent (which had mountains up near the top for some reason) with no geological activity, and also no real fleshing-out. Once I started doing some fleshing out of where they lived and realized it'd be more realistic to put them on the edge of a tectonic plate... Caves are just too dangerous to build in what with all the earthquakes.

Also on my to-do list: Look up earthquake-proofing methods and work this into a new architectural style, still (hopefully) keeping the circular rooms and high ceilings.

For whose consumption then? That seems like a lot of effort to go through to not be used.

Why do they breed the Rondetsunda to this purpose? Do they feed on them?

The Burode are used to feed the domesticated animals, including the Rondetsunda. And yes they feed on them: I thought putting them under the heading "most commonly eaten meats" would make this obvious.

lol. Do they have little fancy dragon spoons?

...Yes.

Is this incubation used only agriculturally? Or do they have to incubate their own eggs?

Eggs don't have to be incubated, indeed the incubators are too hot for them.

Are there any structure made for the gathering of a large number of dragons? Or would they have to revert to human form to meet in mass?

Depends on what you mean by "in mass." There are plenty of places big enough for about 50 dragons to all meet at once without downshifting, but for hundreds or thousands? Just not possible. There is also an architectural problem with designing places for dragons to be, a they can vary in size widely: The largest dragons can be as huge as six times the size of the smallest. So when you want to design a place it has to be big enough to accommodate the largest of them comfortably, but most of this space winds up getting wasted. This is why land is at a premium even though the population is very small compared to the size of the land.

lol. Does this imply a more intimate human-agyon relation?

Yes, though this is very rare. I believe earlier in this topic I told part of a story. This was a human-agyon relationship that went wrong; He was a conscript who fled from his duty. The penalty for this is (and was) death. When he was found he, predictably, was executed. When his lover slaughtered them all in her anger and grief.

(Because the Agyon have such long lifespans, death is not a thing they have to deal with very often. When a loved one dies the Agyon really don't know how to react to it.)

[Micamo]

Bow chika wow wow...

How many spouses may a man or woman have?

A female may have as many males as she likes, but a man cannot technically in this sense. A man can be with more than one woman at a time but in this case it is viewed as the two women "sharing" him.

Who decides on a marriage?

Whoever wants to be together. There really isn't a concept of "marriage." Relationships freely are made and broken apart, but only lasting ones are desired.

Can a marriage end in divorce? How?

Two mates can simply break up whenever they want, though this is considered a negative thing. If they don't like each other enough to stay together they showed poor judgment in being together in the first place.

Who usually takes custody of children if a marriage ends for some reason?

The mother.

How is adultery defined? What (if any) is the punishment? Who decides?

Sex with someone who is not your mate. The mate may choose to end the relationship if they wish but other than that there is no punishment.

How are families named?(g) What happens to orphans?

An Agyon has their own name (given by their mother) as well as the name of their mother, and their mother's mother, for as far back as the genealogies can trace. For practical reasons usually the given name is the only one used, with possibly the mother's name for disambiguation, and not even having the full name memorized is a normal thing.

Orphans basically never happen, but I guess if it did happen the child would be expected to take care of themselves.

How are boy and girl children treated differently?

Girls are the ones who are invested in. The boys are kinda just there.

Are premarital relations allowed?

All relations are premarital in a sense.

How does your society define incest? Rape? How do people react to these?

Incest is generally defined as anyone who shares 2 mothers up the chain (that is, siblings and first cousins, as well as parents and children), but 3 is a little iffy. Practicing incest gets you funny looks but it won't get you stoned or anything. Male on female rape just doesn't happen for physiological reasons, as females grow to be up to 6 times the size of the males. If an Agyon woman claimed it happened nobody would probably believe her. Female on male rape does happen, and the male is expected to appreciate it.

What, if anything, is considered a good marriage gift?

No marriage.

What secret vice is believed to be widely practiced?

None. A Lady doesn't do such things!

What secret vice actually is practiced?

Agyon women have insane expectations of modesty and behavior for each other. As such these feelings get kindof... repressed. I'll just leave it at that.

What sexual habits are widely believed common among foreigners?

A Lady doesn't make assumptions about other people's personal lives.

How do people react to homosexuality?

F<->F? Acceptable. M<->M? Depends on what their mates think about it. If the males don't have mates then they're seen as worthless. A woman can be judged by her own merits, men don't have that luxury. Quite hypocritical.

How do the genders dress?

As previously stated, the women have very odd standards. It's not acceptable for a woman to show any part of her skin other than her head to anyone other than one of her mates. Even her neck and hands. Leathers and furs are standard attire, but those more well-to-do may have silks for formal occasions as well. But nothing revealing.

Men's attire is more relaxed, as long as they don't embarrass their mate.

Is prostitution legal? How are prostitutes viewed? Is this accurate?

A Lady doesn't do such things. Male prostitution however is just fine.

What professions or activities are considered masculine?

Anything the females don't want to do.

What professions or activities are viewed as feminine?

Pretty much anything fun, desirable, or intensive like building construction, architecture, and art. Leave the necessary but menial tasks to the men. They'd screw up anything important.

What inanimate or sexless things are considered male or female?

Inanimate things are generally female.

What is the biggest sexual taboo?

A Lady doesn't think about such things.

Does this society connect the ideas of marriage with love?

Yep. A Lady who keeps around men she doesn't love? That's just a slave driver.

What does this society mean by the word "virgin" and how important it it?

A female who cannot yet produce eggs.

[Ossicone]

What is the biggest sexual taboo?

A Lady doesn't think about such things.

Apparently it's thinking about sex. :)