Namei System

Namei (IPA: /nəˈme/; Eremoran: ril ril) is a system in the Namei converse. It is notable in its area for simultaneously harboring several intelligent race-bearing planets that know little to nothing of each other.

The primary subject of discussion is the continent of Pankair on Oneia. It is an exciting time: the birth of diplomacy, long-distance trade, science, and philosophy. In the northeast come a group of invaders, threatening to tip the precarious balance of the continent. The southern and eastern parts of the continent have been largely brought under civilization, but much of the north is untamed wilds. Of interest here is the nation of Eremor, the red folk.

There is also Oneia's moon, Nikki, a one-state world with technology mere decades behind our own.

Further out in the system is Eisen's moon Maia, home of a race with exotic biology. Their technology is about a couple centuries behind ours, and it is in the midst of industrialization.

On the dark reaches of Neuve V lie the Pitang-Ra, a spacefaring race of conquerors who have recently colonized the system.

A rough technological comparison of civilizations.
A rough technological comparison of civilizations.

Akkapa

The Akkapa river basin.
The Akkapa river basin.

The Akkapa (Eremoran: akkapa Akkapa) is a major Pankairian river. It is 2344 km long, just longer than the Colorado. Its Hausdorff dimension is approximately 1.18. On its mouth is situated Eremor. It empties into the Akaban, part of the Southern Sea.

Doppelspace

Doppelspace is a critical concept and tool used by the advanced civilizations of the Namei universe. Our universe consists of six doppelspaces, which are realizations of matter in the universe independent of each other in all forces except gravitation. Each doppelspace, like our own, is composed primarily of baryonic matter, but also contains photons, electrons, etc. These are, however, not parallel universes - each doppelspace encompasses approximately the exact same region. Matter within a doppelspace interacts through all forces normally, but matter between doppelspaces can only interact gravitationally.

Because of this gravitational interaction, each doppelspace tends to have a similar but non-identical distribution of matter. Most of the Milky Way's doppelspace complements (aka doppelgalaxies), including Namei's galaxy, are ring-shaped, hence why there appears to be an even distribution of mass throughout.

While most galaxies have dopplegalaxies, some do not, and while most doppelgalaxies tend to have similar mass, this is not always the case. This is even more applicable to stars; while some stars have doppelspace complements (doppelstars), many do not. In addition, while the overall, large-scale 1:1 spatial correspondence is true, at smaller scales the scale can be substantially larger or smaller, and these spatial correspondence constants can vary over time, moving like waves.

The Pitang-Ra were the first to develop doppelspace traversal; this discovery served as confirmation of the theory that dark matter was actually the echo of matter from doppelspaces. However, the history of doppelspace theory actually dates centuries prior. In the past, it competed with now-disproven theories on dark matter.

Doppelspace Traversal

Doppelspace traversal is the process of changing matter's doppelstate to allow it to interact with other doppelspaces. Despite its name, it generally does not involve any actual movement of matter. Doppelspace traversal can be dangerous with inadequate sensor equipment or experience, as the existence, or lack thereof, of doppelspace complements is often uncertain. In addition, some doppelspaces are antimatter-dominant, meaning any traversal comes with a high risk of annihilation. Despite this uncertainty, doppelspace traversal is a widely used mechanism to exploit resources found in doppelsystems, evade hostile fleets, bypass dangerous or inconvenient obstructions within a doppelspace, among countless other uses.

Mechanism

As dopplespaces occupy discrete intervals of the doppelspace-facing dimension, simply "walking" along that plane, as you can with the spatial dimensions, is an impossibility. Thus, we need to create an analytic continuation between the source and destination doppelspace allowing continuous travel between them. Creating the continuum involves the decomposition of the quantum state of the source, determination and selection of the desired quantum state, and creation of a lower-dimension space with continuous mapping between those quantum states, finally allowing one to simply "walk" between doppelspaces.

In recent years, doppelspace theory has been shown to have some overlap with quantum decoherence, although the exact nature of the overlap is a subject undergoing present study.

Eisen

Eisen system, to scale.
(The Eisen system, to scale)
Eisen, Uto, Seter, and Maia.
Eisen, Uto, Seter, and Maia.
Orbital Elements
Apoapsis 2.7325 au
Periapsis 2.2675 au
Semimajor Axis 2.5 au
Eccentricity 0.093
Orbital Period 4.84142 yr
Synodic Period 93.37 d
Mean Orbital Speed 15.381 km/s
Mean Anomaly 257°
Inclination 0.636°
Longitude of the
Ascending Node
18°
Argument of Perihelion 352°
Physical Characteristics
Mean Radius 76912 km
Mass 9.0586 MJ
Mean Density 9022 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 19.79 g
Escape Velocity 172.77 km/s
Rotation Period 7.784 h
Equatorial Rotation 17.245 km/s
Axial Tilt 10.38°
Albedo 0.504936
Surface Temperature 261 K
Appearance From Oneia
Apparent Magnitude -3.0 to -4.0
Angular Diameter 1' 9" to 1' 50"

Eisen is a large gas giant, the sixth planet from Namei. It is slightly more than nine times the mass of Jupiter, and thus it is the second-largest body in the system, comprising just over 1% the total mass. It has many cloud bands, most of which alternate between dark khaki and olive, except one band in the northern hemisphere, which is decidedly khaki. There exist numerous temporary light-colored storms, but no permanent storms like our own Jupiter. The planet has a faint ring system, only visible from Maia during an eclipse of Namei from Eisen. Its rotation period is just over seven hours. It is nearly in a 7:30 resonance with Neuve. Gravitational contraction from its extreme mass causes its temperature to be substantially above what would be expected from stellar irradiance alone (261 K versus 87 K)

It has four major moons, one of which is an ice giant (Seter), and hundreds of minor moons, mostly captured asteroids in temporary orbits. The four major moons, in order, are:

The inner three major moons are in a 1:2:4 resonance, just like the Galilean moons. Seter and Maia are additionally in a 5:3 resonance, meaning the whole system is in a 20:10:5:3 resonance. No moons lie within the rings, but there are four small asteroid moons just outside the ring system.

Eremor

The Eremoran Knot, symbol of Eremor.

Eremor (IPA: /'er.ə.mor/; Eremoran: eremor Eremor) is the cradle of Pankairian civilization, and the capital of Eremora. It contains 15,000 people and spans about 12 square kilometers. Much of it sits on the mouth of the Akkapa, safe and secure on almost all sides. Despite its great power, the capital province itself is quite small - about one-third the area of Hong Kong. The king's castle and administrative center lie on a large, heavily fortified island (Victory Island) at the river's mouth. Much of the remaining city is protected by the Great Wall of Eremor, which is just over ten kilometers long. From Eremor, totality of solar eclipses can last over 14 minutes, causing the temperature to drop as much as 6 °C.

A surface map of Eremor bay (Also called Akaban). Red - City Center.
Light Red - Capital territory. Dotted brown line - Great Wall of Eremor.

Written history began about ten thousand Nameian years ago, when a culture with an unknown name (Proto-Eremorans) first constructed cities in the area. These cities engaged in trade with each other and other neighboring cultures, including the Eremorans. About nine millennia after the first written records, the Eremorans, a local culture, conquered Eremor. Soon after, they also conquered much of the lower river basin. Within a few centuries, all Proto-Eremorans were assimilated into Eremoran culture, and all that remains of their mother culture is a handful of loans and myths. The hydronyms Akkapa and Akaban are widely believed to be such loans.

The city has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), with three main seasons: summer, monsoon, and winter. The bay area itself receives much less precipitation during the monsoon than the areas east. The city and surrounding province are located in plant hardiness zone 12a.

Due to the width of the Akkapa and significant seismic activity, there is no bridge between the banks. This side is mostly populated by fishers and farmers who use reed boats to cross the river. These small boats are the property of the community and may be used by anyone.

Eremora

A map of Eremora and surrounding peoples.

Eremora is the kingdom controlled by Eremor. It spans an area of roughly 30000 km² and contains about 750,000 people. They speak Eremorôm (Eremoran). Eremorans themselves call Eremor and Eremora Eremor, but here they are separated for clarity.

Zoom on Central Eremora.

Geography

At the mouth of the Akkapa lies a substantial mangrove ecoregion, one of the world's largest. In the southeast, there is a large area of salt marshes. Along the eastern border lies a subtropical desert. Along the western border lies hilly arid woodlands. Much of the rest of the country is arid shrubland, including the capital of Eremor.

History

Pre-Eremorans

The kingdom of Eremora is about 1000 years old. The ethnonym 'Eremor' comes from the Eremoran for 'red people'. This is in reference to the revolution which established the new kingdom.

There is a guild of sorts, of travellers, called the Enklár, sworn to protect each other. In recent times, Inoran raiders have been threatening the positive relationship between Eremora and the Simur. Perhaps it is time to hire some mercenaries to deal with this issue...?

The old royal house of Eremor is still extant, and all living members trace their lineage through Temêr's son Ker, and call themselves the Kesu. Enatic descendants from Temêr's only childbearing daughter Easur are also extant, through her daughter Netar, forming the Enatic house Netasu. Members of the house are thus also matrilineal descendants of Siokar, queen consort of Temêr the Great. Combined, many thousands claim membership.

The Invasion

Much of pre-Eremoran history was lost during the Eremoran invasion/revolts, which forms the basis for the modern datekeeping system (AT/BT). What is known is that, in BT Eremora, the population's ethnicity was approximately two parts Eremoran, one part pre-Eremoran, and one part other. After the revolution much of the pre-Eremoran lesser nobility was chased out of the country, or executed, and were replaced with Eremoran officers from the war. The greater houses, including the old imperial house, were kept to help maintain influence. There was a cyclical pattern of rulers persecuting Pre-Eremorans and letting them be in an effort to extinguish their political influence, and these policies had varying degrees of effectiveness. It would take a few centuries AT for the culture to effectively merge with modern Eremoran culture.

The Republic

Despite the massive changes to the overall power structure during the invasion, one thing remained the same - the kingdom. Although nominally wielding absolute control over the state, the monarchs of Eremor largely took a back seat to powerful advisors (hanumor). This continued until the reign of fifth Eremoran king, Heksur "cursed", whose original name was ordered stricken from all records. Not content to let his advisors control his realm, over his reign he took increasingly bold actions without consultation, much to the chagrin of the hanumor, ultimately leading to his deposition and the establishment of the republic in 550 AT.

The republic had a very peculiar structure. While to most it might conjure images of democratically elected leaders, The republic of Eremor was formed from the ker (masters), who came from three sources: the endur (old aristocracy), aramabokusar (local clique leaders), and to a much lesser extent the baliêr (merchants). The kemam (senate) composition was carefully balanced by elites to keep powers in line, but over the years the baliêr gradually grew in power.

After several centuries (1650 AT) the baliêr class grew so powerful they posed a serious threat to the other two factions, and if no action were taken the baliêr would have taken complete control over the country. Realizing this, the idisur ("first man", the senate leader) attempted to make a backroom deal with the most influential leader of the subir (soldier) class - Inorasur Hislenar "Idsuror" Kur (lit. "Hislenar one-eye the great of Inora"). By conquering large tracts of neighboring land, and appointing members of the ker and aramabokusar classes, the old power balance could be retained. This plan, however, was incredibly risky - Failure not only meant losing the control of the kemam, but also the support of their own people, leaving them especially vulnerable.

Hislenar already had different plans from the start. He made sure every one of his victories was very known to both the new cities under his control, and to the 'folks back home'. Conquering town after town, clan after clan of Taika land made him very popular, and suddenly the old elites had a new threat - Hislenar.

Some of the old elites, realizing what was going on, attempted to have Hislenar stripped of his position, but he was simply too popular by this point, and the senate fell into the complete control of the baliêr in a coup, and Hislenar was the first 'new king' of Eremor.

The Great Power of the South

Rising from poverty on his merits alone, Hislenar recognized the importance of surrounding oneself with experts. He took a highly meritocratic approach to appointments, surrounding himself with military experts and the intelligentsia. Today he continues his crusade on the nations of the south, in hopes of uniting the entire region, and perhaps, the continent as a whole...

Appearance

Eremoran males have an average height of 165 cm height, and females an average height of 160 cm height. Their complexion ranges from fair to light brown. Hair color is typically black, but browns are also common. Eye color is invariably brown. For clothing, please see the fashion section.

Signing

In addition to its rich system of paralinguistic clicks, Eremoran contains many hand gestures carrying meaning. Their use is so common among Eremorans that many of the more common gestures are even understood in neighboring cultures. Since they originated among traders, many of the signs concern commerce.

Finger-counting is done starting with the dominant thumb, and extending left, as in much of Europe. Humans are pointed at with all fingers, not just one, as for non-humans.

Culture

Eremor town square
A local intersection in an Eremoran city.

Economy

Haggling for everything is common in cities, but uncommon in the country, except for only the most expensive goods, or if you have no coin and expect to barter. City folk expect to be paid in coin, but in the country paying for things with essentials like rice or bread is common. In small towns where everyone knows everyone, credit is common. No such leniency exists in cities.

Cloth and clothing account for two thirds of Eremor's exports, and rice one tenth. Spices and copper are minor exports. In terms of export destinations, exports are distributed fairly equally. Iron accounts for a third of Eremor's imports, cotton a further third, tea and spices one sixth, and palm oil one tenth. Paper and ceramics are minor imports. In contrast to exports, import sources heavily skew towards eastern Pankair - nearly four fifths comes from the east, half of which coming from Važcudic lands specifically.

The agricultural sector primarily produces wool, rice, and more recently, tea. The tea sector has grown rapidly in the past century, going from almost nothing to being a major supplier for western Pankair. Eremor's primary raw export, however, has always been wool, and it is the primary supplier for much of eastern Pankair. Minor exports include timber, fruit, and silk.

Family

No institution is considered more important than the family. There is no greater sin than one committed against one's own family, and no greater insult than to insult one's family.

Death

Funerals are held as soon as possible after death in shrines, and buried immediately afterwards. Often, the entire process from death to burial is just a few hours.

In the upper class, it is the norm that only the eldest male inherits, but among the lower class it is common to evenly share the inheritance among the surviving sons, or daughters, if there are none.

Marriage

Eremoran marriage is strictly monogamous. Priests commonly bless marriages, but they are considered a family matter, not a legal or religious institution, so the ultimate authority of marriages is considered to be the family elders. If they do not recognize a marriage, it is not considered valid. Daughters are expected to marry into richer families, and despite how unrealistic it is to expect every daughter to do so, failure inevitably results in disappointment. No such expectation is held for sons, but such marriages are of course welcome.

Once daughters are married off, they are considered part of the husband's family, and their welfare is their responsibility.

Arranged marriages are common among the lower class and universal among the upper class. Usually, it is the family elders that make arrangements, rather than parents or immediate family, as they are considered the most knowledgeable in these endeavors.

Same-sex relationships are not crimes, but are frowned on. Marriage between such couples would be totally inconceivable, even by the couples themselves, and would never be approved by the elders at any rate.

Food

Compared to other Pankairan cultures, little meat is consumed, and few meats are considered fit for consumption. Consuming chickens and wild fowl is the most common. Lamb and fish are also widely consumed, depending on the region. Pork is rarely consumed, and considered exotic foreign food. To consume work-animals like cattle or horses is an unthinkable affront to the gods. Many people are entirely vegetarian. Lower-class Eremorans living in the big city eat shellfish, but its consumption is unheard of elsewhere - lobster, crab, and shrimp are considered food for the utterly destitute, and barbarians. The upper class eats insect larvae as a delicacy.

There are three meals, the largest and most important of which being breakfast. Lunches and dinners are light. Rice is considered a given for meals, and there are usually vegetables and meat too. Flatbread is common, too. Meals are generally eaten with hands or spoons, but in recent years it has become popular among the upper class to import chopsticks from the east.

Meals are usually consumed with tea, but in the evening, alcoholic drinks like sake and berry wines are common too. Water can be consumed in a pinch, but that is no one's first choice. Milk is only consumed by infants, and never cow's milk. Eremorans are aware of the existence of coffee, but it is considered a weird, foreign herbal tea.

Tea

Tea-drinking is an ancient practice taken from Važcudic cultures, having been practiced for over two millennia. Native to the eastern slopes of the lowlands of Nadnekis, the crop has since spread to half the continent. Eastern Pankair has a rather rich and intricate tea-drinking culture, which was brought into Eremor in the Pre-Eremoran era. Thus, many terms pertaining to tea are loans from Važcud that have passed through Pre-Eremoran.

Tea is typically prepared in a chawan if serving one person, or a cauldron if serving many, but some, especially nobles and northerners, use a teapot or gaiwan instead. The most popular variety is tasut tekkat (green tea), due to ease of production.

Fashion

Women dress rather conservatively, usually with dresses light in color and weight that go an inch or two above the ground. Among women of the upper class, simple makeup is common, and done with various minerals and plant dyes.

Men of upper class dress similarly to women, even down to the makeup. Men of lower class often wear not much more than a tunic, and perhaps sandals or boots, while men of the lowest class wear nothing more than a loincloth.

Men tend to have shoulder-length hair, or sometimes a bit shorter, but not by much. Women's hair always goes down to at least their shoulders. Some upper-class women can have very long hair.

Everyone bathes in the local stream or pond at least once a week. Some nobles can afford to build their own private baths.

Law and Order

Bribes are an expectation if one expects the government to do anything. The only job of the police is to stop crimes being committed. They do not investigate crimes (that is the job of the local magistrate) or hand out punishments (that is the job of the community), although it is typical of them to beat criminals who waste their time on something silly like a chase. Attempted crimes are not considered crimes at all, and are mostly met with just a scolding.

The courts are slow, but generally just and free of corruption. Nevertheless, they are a last resort - it is generally in both parties' best interests to come up with some kind of agreement, however imperfect. In court, the two parties present their argument in front of the local magistrate, who either rules immediately or takes their time to carefully collect and review evidence. Sentences typically involve payment in the form of currency or food, or community service. Imprisonment is a foreign concept - for serious enough crimes, it would be an execution instead. Impatient family of the victims often take this execution into their own hands rather than waiting for the courts - magistrates do not typically mind. It is considered justice, and after all, it is less work for them to deal with. The law only gets involved if this ends up becoming a blood feud.

Local officials are elected by the community elders, or nobility, if there is any. In smaller towns, the two are often the same to begin with. Higher-level officials are exclusively nominated by the king. Government officials are expected to be unwaveringly faithful to their wives, and the rare instances of unfaithfulness are highly scandalous and swiftly dealt with.

Recreation

Festivals are common and plentiful, and always involve singing and dancing. Opera and ballet do not exist, but plays are commonplace, especially around festivals.

Children play games with each other, but sometimes play with simple toys like hoops or marbles.

Stereotypes

It is a cultural stereotype that eastern Eremorans are all primitives, and southern Eremorans are all stingy cowards. But no stereotype is stronger than that of northern Eremorans, who are often portrayed as simpleminded and warlike, though with a hint of naive cleverness. All Eremorans make fun of northerners, including northerners themselves.

In terms of international stereotypes, the (comparatively primitive) nations to the west are well-known to be distantly related, and treated as 'lost sheep', so to speak. Eremora's other neighbors are all thought of as quirky folk who eat literally anything, especially the Takuan group.

The ancient Važcud are thought of as hedonistic, although their contemporary descendants (especially the mountain-dwellers) are considered more levelheaded. In recent times the language has been used in politics and high society as a status symbol, completely displacing Old Eremoran. Most people have mixed feelings on that, mourning the loss but considering it unimportant either way.

Religion

Eremorans practice their own polytheistic religion, with a dozen (give or take) major deities and countless minor ones. Each town has its own patron deity, with its own shrine. Larger towns and cities instead have great temples, and shrines to other deities. Almost every town in the north worships Marnamêr, the god of war.

Eremorans consider the concepts of religion, culture, and language to be one and the same. Foreigners are not expected to convert to Eremoran religion, but they will find their religious quirks will not receive any accommodation.

Pre-Eremoran religion is still practiced, but only practiced by a few nobles who trace their roots to the old kingdom. Although, even then, those who practice it usually do not even know what they are talking about, and ceremonies (provided they are even being done properly anymore, which is a huge assumption) are held just for appearances.

While for the most part there is separation between church and state, religious leaders are often consulted by government officials on important decisions. Religious structures are considered public services are therefore not taxed, unless they are of a foreign religion.

Unlike in government, women play a large part in religious leadership, and it is largely egalitarian.

List of Deities

An abridged history of the divines (Hanskek) is as follows: The Idkek ("first gods") came into existence and created their children (Nasukek, "second gods"). The Nasukek then overthrew the Idkek, and banished them to Ukuarsêm (a spaceless and timeless void where only knowledge exists). This stripped them of their divinity, but not their immortality. The Nasukek then bore children of their own (Kumkek, "third gods"). The Nasukek took several steps to ensure they would not meet the same fate as their creators. Firstly, they engaged divided themselves into sexes, and followed a division of labor, so that each god could master a specific skill rather than being merely mediocre at all of them. Instead of sculpting their children from clay, they created sexual intercourse, which gave their children a sense of loyalty to their kin.

(INCOMPLETE)
Nasukek (Second Generation; Major deities): Kumkek (Third Generation; Minor deities):

Krizar ('witches') are semi-mortal beings, the only divines with physical form, exiles from the realm of the divines. They roam the world, obeying no law but their own. Their customs are foreign to all but themselves. Some do good, some do evil - but they are all powerful and wise, and certainly not to be trifled with. Some are the creators of minor fundamental forces, others have influenced the trajectory of history in other ways.

Idkek (Proto-deities - sexless):

First came Huk, then Sebak, Zênk, Muk, and Ardok - the enduk idkek. From pieces of Huk were formed Daktark and Tuk - the nuk idkek.

Siraur was the first Nasukek, and was created by Daktark. Daktark later created Afêsir. Husisir and Midarir were created by Ardok. Marnamêr was created by Tuk. Tianar was created by Ardok.

Zikrômbor was born of Siraur and Afêsir. Balusir and Libôr were the children of Tianar. Balusir attempted to kill Libôr, but Libôr cast a spell that caused her soul to possess Balusir's body at the moment of her death; casting Balusir's soul into his hunting dog. It is for this reason Balusir is generally depicted as a hunting dog, and Libôr as a man.

Ethics

At the heart of the concept of Eremoran ethics is the distinction between light (siu) and dark (ulu) actions. First, an important point of clarification. The precept of light and dark in Eremoran culture is not one of good versus evil - or, in other words, the ends of actions - but rather, the very nature of the action itself - the means.

To try to give a concrete example understandable to the average person from a western cultural background - Imagine a situation in which you and two friends are walking alone down a street at night. From the darkness, a stranger runs at your group from the darkness, brandishing a knife and an unsettling grin. One of your friends immediately turns tail, inviting the attacker to lunge at them with a knife, gravely wounding them. Your other friend immediately tries to perform first aid, as you pull out your own knife and try to fend off the attacker.

Your friends have acted in a manner consistent with the state of siu, while you and the attacker have acted in a manner consistent with the state of ulu. The nature of your action is considered one of darkness, even though your intentions are, of course, to defend yourself and your friends.

This is the primary dimension in which Eremoran ethics characterizes actions, personalities, souls, even works of literature - by its siu or ulu nature.

The secondary dimension in which Eremoran ethics characterizes actions is batlam - honor. And, in this same situation, you and the friend providing aid would generally be considered as acting kubatalk (honorably), and the assailant and your fearful friend ukubatalk (dishonorably) - although this second dimension is much more up for discussion, the first dimension is simply taken as an indisputable given.

Work

Employment is considered a sacred and important lifetime bond. Workers are rarely fired unless grossly negligent, and rarely quit unless there is no other option. Accordingly, hiring someone is not taken lightly, and it is a common expectation that you work at least a few weeks with minimal compensation, as a trial period.

Currency

Relative scale of Eremoran coins.

Eremora uses five coins, each four times as valuable as the one prior (except the aramat, worth one-sixteenth the next coin). Some of the denominations have colloquial shortenings. Eremoran currency is base-16, with a base-4 subbase, despite the Eremoran language being a hybrid base-5/base-100 system, due to its historic origins from a base-4 culture.

In the past, a quarter aramat used to be minted, called an aramaelat, but due to its decreasing value it dropped out of use. Despite this, the name of the coin is still used idiomatically to refer to something of little or no worth.

Due to their great value, the gold coins are rarely used in everyday transactions. They are generally only used by governments and organizations.

Traditionally, the obverse bears a profile of the current monarch, circumscribed by the name of the monarch with additional information:

KER TEMÊS: ERE: ÔBAZ: MOS: MARA
KER TEMÊS: ERE: ÔBAZ: MOS: MARA

short for:

KER TEMÊSUR EREMOSUR ÔBAZÊR MOSU MARA SU
KER TEMÊSUR EREMOSUR ÔBAZÊR MOSU MARA SU

"Ker, son of Temêr, King of Eremor, of the blood of [our] folk". Often in stamps, art, etc., the abbreviations for the last four are arranged into a square, so that reading in another direction could also yield "Eremor's King is kin".

The design of the reverse greatly varies. Sometimes, plants are depicted; other times, mythological figures are. Depending on the era, a mint mark, presser's mark, or other information is inscribed. The face value of coins is rarely marked; they are generally distinguished by size.

When writing prices, Eremorans typically use A for the aramat, Z for the nelat, and D for the daret. Single coins typically do not include the "1" since it is implied. Thus, $175 dollars equivalent could be written dz1aa — "d z 30 a". In accounting tabulations, the units are omitted, and their presence or absence determined by whether the space is filled with a digit or not.

Name Composition Diameter Thickness Mass Value (rel.) Appx. Value ($)
Aramat
Aramat
Bronze 8SE
8 se
1 se ½ edzam 1
1
30¢
Arzênelat
Arzênelat
Zênelt
"Nelat"
Sterling Silver 7SE
7 se
⅝ se ⅓ edzam g
16
$5
Arzênt
Arzênt
aSE
11 se
1 se 1⅓ edzam 34
64
$20
Daret
Daret
Gold 7SE
7 se
⅝ se ⅝ edzam cg
256
$75
Darekut
Darekut
Drekut
"Drekut"
aSE
11 se
1 se 2½ edzam 514
1024
$300

Measurement

Common Units

(This section is currently in the midst of a major overhaul) The most important units are in bold.

Length
Name Meaning Value in
other units
Metric Usage
se "grain" - 2.792 mm -
habin "finger" 6 se 1.675 cm
babzelam "breadth of four fingers" 4 habin 6.7 cm
hanum "hand" 5 habin 8.375 cm
hambi "fist" 6 habin 10.05 cm
tifambim "shaftment" 9 habin 15.075 cm
helam "little span" 10 habin 16.75 cm
ham "stretch[ed] hand" (span) 12 habin 20.1 cm
ki "foot" 15 habin 25.125 cm
azmum "forearm" (cubit) 2 ki 50.25 cm
kram "step" 3⅔ ki
(55 habin)
92.125 cm only distance
endum "[person]-height/[arm]span" 6¾ ki 1.696 m only and width, height, and depth
sokum "pace" 2 kram 1.843 m only distance
epet "surveyor's rod" 1⅔ sokum 3.071 m
kanat "[surveyor's] chain" 6 epet 18.43 m
bintim "thousand [paces]" 1000 sokum
(100 kanat)
1.843 km
Mass
Name Meaning Value in
other units
Metric
se "grain" - 53.88 mg
aramam (a) "~pennyweight" 100 se 5.388 g
kumkanisam (kfs) "one-fifteenth" 5 aramam 26.94 g
kuril (k) "onion" 15 kumkanisam 404.1 g
hananum (hf) "~quarter" 25 kuril 10.1025 kg
sesum "~hundredweight" 100 kuril 40.41 kg
Volume

The base unit is the kret "bushel". It was originally defined as the volume of the container needed to contain a sesum of rice.

Name Meaning Value in
other units
Metric
akara "drop" - 56.775 µL
rizit "spoon" 240 akara 13.626 mL
kumkanisam "kumkanisam [of water]" 2 rizit 27.252 mL
keret "bottle" 80 rizit 1.090 L
kinat "jug" 4 keret 4.360 L
kret "basket" 16 kinat 69.765 L
Time

In contrast to the rather chaotic systems of length, weight, and volume, time is fairly consistently decimal in Eremoran. The basic unit of time is the rilm "day", 29.32 Earth hours, which is subdivided into 10 'first divisions' (2.932h) of 10 'second divisions' (17.592min) of 10 'third divisions' (1.7593min). Although this basic pattern continues to infinity, units smaller than third divisions are rarely used. This is a practice taken from Važcudic timekeeping.

Name Meaning Value in
other units
Metric
berim / nulum "blink / wink" - 1.056 s
babzisum (edzam) "fourth (part)" 10 berim 10.56 s
kumkisum (edzam) "third (part)" 10 babzisum 1.76 min
nasisum (edzam) "second (part)" 10 kumkisum 17.6 min
idisum (edzam) "first (part)" 10 nasisum 2.933 h
rilm "day" 10 idisum 29.33 h
bêm "week" 6 rilm 7.33 d
neurm "season" ⅓ nem 29.54 d
nem "year" 72.52 rilm 88.63 d
bikêm "bikê orbit" 20 nem 3.97 yr
rilupiabêm "~dominical cycle" 90 nem 21.8 yr
Area

The sarm (sarm) is used for measuring the area of flooring a house possesses, and is equivalent to 50 square labnim, or about 1.452 m². The sedam (sedam) is used for property area measurement, and is equal to an area 10 by 1 abakêum labnium sesum, or about 0.3084 ha.

Name Meaning Value in
other units
Metric
kibabzimôm "squared foot" - 0.05832 m²
sarm "mat" 32 kibabzimôm 1.866 m²
sokubabzimôm "squared pace" 2 sarm 3.733 m²
tanasisam "one-twelfth" 90 sokubabzimôm 335.9 m²
sedam "field" 1080 sokubabzimôm 40.31 a
bintibabzimôm "squared thousand-paces" 25000 / 27 seda 3.733 km²
Other

Not many other dimensions are attested in Eremoran, although travel speed is often quoted in bintim per rilm. For example, walking speed is about 60 bintim per rilm (3.95 km/h), and a galloping horse travels about 700 bintim per rilm (46.11 km/h).

Density of grains, produce, and the like are often quoted in kuril per kret (5.792 g/L). Recall that the definition of the kret itself implies rice has a density of 100 kuril per kret (579.2 g/L).

Calendar

The Eremoran calendar is divided into three seasons, Stum (sowing), Reram (harvest), and Kokum (flood), of four weeks of six days, totalling seventy-two days. A leap day, located at the end of the year, outside any season, is added when the year is odd or divisible by 30. The calendar begins in Stum, which begins the day after Skum (the winter solstice). It is common to count one's age in winters.

Common holidays include Abubisêm (Reram 11 - the day before the summer solstice), a celebration of transformation and change.

The days of the week repeat every 90 years, in a cycle called the rilupiabêm.

Sample dates for sowing crops in Eremor:

Crop Sowing Harvest
Carrot 8-11 Stum 4-7 Reram
Celery 1-4 Stum 11-14 Reram
Coriander 15-18 Stum 15-18 Reram
Eggplant 4-7 Stum 20-23 Stum
Lettuce 6-9 Stum 19-22 Stum
Onion 9-14 Stum 10-15 Reram

The first, and sometimes the last days of the week are considered rest days.

Astrology

Seven planets and one dwarf planet are known to all Oneian civilizations, including Eremor. These planets have important astrological ramifications. The presence of a planet in a certain part of the sky is said to be auspicious. For the sake of astrology, Nikki, Namei, and Tata are considered planets. The friends of a planet are helped, and its enemies hurt, by its presence in the sky. In opposition with Namei, the effects are greatly increased; in conjunction, greatly diminished.

They are ordered by their periods, which also determines which day of the week each is associated with, although Tata does not have a day in the traditional 8-day week. Each planet greatly strengthens the next planet in its order, moderately strengthens the planet two away, slightly diminishes the planet three away, and greatly diminishes the planet four away.

Planet Eremoran (abbr.) Governs Day Sex
Nikki nod
(Nod)
n Intrigue. nodrilm
(Nodrilm)
Namei ril
(Ril)
r Heat, Light, Fire. rilrilm
(Rilrilm)
Ara rasum
(Rasum)
rs Commerce. samarrilm
(Samarrilm)
Falto kopkê
(Kopkê)
kk Love. kopkêrilm
(Kopkêrilm)
Tata semasum
(Semasum)
s Harvest. samarrilm
(Samarrilm)
Bau kosum
(Kosum)
ks Death kosurilm
(Kosurilm)
Don barsum
(Barsum)
bs War. samarrilm
(Samarrilm)
Eisen bikê
(Bikê)
bk Wisdom, self-improvement. bikêrilm
(Bikêrilm)
Neuve sizensum
(Sizensum)
ss Rain, sea, water, magic. samarrilm
(Samarrilm)

In Eremoran skyculture, there are thirty-two constellations. Twelve are of the Eremoran Zodiac:

Falto

Falto system, to scale.
(The Falto system, to scale)

Falto is a tan tidally-locked hot Neptune orbiting Namei with a period of ten Earth days. Its mass is a little under twice that of Neptune. It has one major moon the size and appearance of Tethys, and five asteroid moons.

Greater Pankairan Languages

Greater Pankairan is a family comprising the Muran languages, Važcudic languages, Nizhindic languages, and Iwëmelrë, among many others. They have several distinguishing features:

Although all the families are important to its reconstruction, some are particularly useful. The Muran family is the only to preserve *x, although Plains languages sometimes register a vowel change. The Plains family tends to preserve distinctions between several complex consonant clusters that were simplified in most families. Iwemälre tends to do a good job of preserving the original vowel system. Važcud morphology and syntax are generally seen as the closest to the proto-language, including preserving the distinct base and oblique numeral roots and verbal categories.

Kaznuk

Map of Kaznuk.

Kaznuk is an Oneian continent.

Map of Neko (west) and Miwa (east).

Neko and Miwa are islands northeast of Kaznuk.

Maia

Orbital Elements
Apoapsis 1.9023 Gm
Periapsis 1.7419 Gm
Semimajor Axis 1.8221 Gm
Eccentricity 0.089
Orbital Period 5 d 6 h 40 min
Mean Orbital Speed 25.3 km/s
Mean Anomaly 310°
Inclination 36.88"
Longitude of the
Ascending Node
311°
Argument of Perihelion 224°
Physical Characteristics
Mean Radius 7120 km
Mass 1.039 M
Mean Density 4119 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 0.8338 g
Escape Velocity 7.630 km/s
Rotation Period 126.72 h
Solar Day 127.10 h
Equatorial Rotation 98 m/s
Axial Tilt 2.1453°
Albedo 0.24
Surface Temperature 96 K
Appearance From Oneia
Apparent Magnitude 3.2 to 2.2
Angular Diameter 6" to 10"

For more information on Maia, please see the dedicated Maia page. (WIP)

Maia is a major moon of Eisen. It is slightly more massive and slightly larger than Earth. Its orbital and rotation periods are just over five and one-quarter Earth days. Its surface pressure is a little over two and a half that of Earth's, and its surface temperature is 96 K. Its atmosphere is almost entirely nitrogen, but up to 3% of the atmosphere comprises methane, varying by region. Argon (1%), Neon (100ppm), and Ethane (50ppm) respectively are significant trace components. Because of these conditions which are clearly ideal for life, it too contains intelligent civilizations.

From Maia, when Eisen is in its full phase, it appears four times brighter than the full moon. Uto appears 32 times dimmer, Bolt 17 times, and Seter 3 times dimmer. All major moons are visible during day, if they are above the horizon. The minor moons are never brighter than Regulus, and thus can only be seen when neither Eisen nor Namei can be seen. The four inner minor moons have a maximum apparent magnitude that of bright Procyon, but can dive to ninth magnitude in poor conditions. Thus, they can all be easily seen for about half a local day. For the near side, this is the two hours Maia is eclipsed by Eisen during the eclipsing seasons. For the far side, it is the half of the local day these are below the horizon. Even in the worst positions, they are never dimmer than sixth magnitude, and are thus easily viewable away from major cities. It is occasionally eclipsed by the other three inferior major moons, especially Seter. Seter can appear very large from Maia, up to eight times the apparent diameter of the moon, but never larger than Eisen. Since Eisen appears so bright when it is full, the entire moon is essentially in perpetual day for several hours.

Calendar

The Maian calendar has 334 days in normal years, and 333 days in short years (once every 11 years). The year is divided further into "weeks" of 3 local days (when Eisen's moons realign), and 19 "months" (roughly the Eisen-Oneia synodic period) of 17 or 18 local days (17 120/209 days average).

Within a day, there are seven Utos (just over 18 h). This is subdivided into sixteen divisions of about 1.13 h (Maian uses hexadecimal numerals), and further into another sixteen divisions of about 4.24 min, 15.9 s, and 994 ms.

Name Maian Units Terran Units
~"Second" - 994 ms
~"Minute" 16 s 15.9 s
~"Moment" 16 min 4.24 min
~"Hour" 16 mom 1.13 h
Uto 16 h 18.1 h
Day 7 utos 5.28 d
~"Week" 3 days 15.9 d
~"Month" 17 or 18 days 89.8 or 95.0 d
Year 333 or 334 days 4.81 or 4.83 yr
Calendrical Cycle 3673 days 53.1 yr
Dominical Cycle 3 cal. cycles 159 yr

Ecology

Maian "plants" produce energy via anoxygenic photosynthesis, using bacteriochlorophylls, which primarily absorb near IR and red light, resulting in foliage appearing black to teal to human eyes. Some species store oxygen from trace compounds in the atmosphere and consequently burn readily in its atmosphere.

Maians

Maians are the second-most advanced species of the unusually fortunate Namei system. Their advancement is comparable to mid-19th century Earth. They know of all the planets but Dicito and Mannu, the furthest out.

Maians are a bipedal humanoid life form. They have pale skin covered in a thin layer of dark green fur. They have two black eyes which lack pupils, and their mouth is filled with sharp teeth.

According to their top scientists, other bodies in the Namei system are unable to harbor life, due to their atmospheres containing an excess of the toxic molecules sulfur dioxide and molecular oxygen. Some theorize exotic "water-based" life could exist on Oneia or its recently discovered moon, using hypothetical "lipids" instead of the normal acrylonitrile cell membranes all known life uses. Of course, these so-called "lipids" not only do not occur naturally, but have also failed to be synthesized in a laboratory! Such "water-based" life would also have to deal with the damaging effects of using such a chemically reactive substance, a struggle methane-based life does not face. Even if somehow such life could exist, it is unlikely to have developed metalworking, due to the strong corrosive effects of water, damaging any tools made beyond repair. Thus, even if intelligent water-based life existed, it could not develop the tools necessary to approach glorious Maian intelligence.

Namei

Namei System Chart.
The inner Namei system, to scale.
Namei System Chart.
The outer Namei system, to scale.
Physical Characteristics
Spectral Type K6.5V
Absolute Magnitude +7.9
B-V color index +1.29
Metallicity -0.34 dex
(Z = 0.0061)
C/O = 0.35
Age 4.144 Gyr
Mean Radius 0.65 R
Mass 0.667 M
Luminosity 0.118 L
Mean Density 3423 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 44.1 g
Escape Velocity 625.6 km/s
Surface Temperature 4200 K
Rotation Period 22.6 h
Equatorial Rotation 1455 m/s
Appearance From Oneia
Apparent Magnitude -25.97 to -26.06
Angular Diameter 60′ to 62′

Namei is the star of the system. Its spectral class is K6V, and the star is about four billion years old. The planets Oneia and Eisen orbit this star, along with:

All the planets inferior to Dicito have been known since antiquity to all Nameian civilizations. Tata has also been known to all, but its status of a dwarf planet has only been just realized by the Nikki and Maians. Neuve was known since antiquity for all civilizations; its maximum brightness is 23% higher than that of Uranus from Earth. Dicito is only 85% brighter than Pluto at best, and was only just recently discovered by the Nikki. Mannu is 28% dimmer than Neptune, and was also only just recently discovered by the Nikki and Maians. Both are unknown to other Nameian Civilizations.

The known planets play an important role in Eremoran astrology.

Nikki

Nikki (IPA: /ˈnɪ.ki/; Eremoran: nod nod) is a tidally locked moon of Oneia. Like Oneia, Nikki is also inhabited. Nikki is about one-third water by area. The entire world is controlled by the Nikki Empire. The technology is roughly that of 1950s Earth.

Nikki's apparent diameter from Oneia varies depending on location, varying from about 5.5 (horizon appearance, like in eastern Pankair) to 6.5 (directly underneath) times the apparent size of our own moon. This makes it appear about three times as wide as Namei.

Nikki Empire

Nikki military parade
A Nikki imperial general surveying troops during the war to end all wars.

The Nikki Empire has, in various, sometimes fractured forms, controlled Nikki for most of recorded history. In the earliest recovered fragments of text, it seems they only stretched for a small fraction of the world. A few hundred years after the recorded history, emperor Ntusint the Great conquered most of the remaining world, save for a few sparsely populated regions. It was not until contemporary times the empire was able to extend its reach to these remotest of places. The Empire is 800 million people strong. While the moon once spoke many languages, all these have since been supplanted by the Nikki Language.

Oneia

Oneia system, to scale.
The Oneia system, excluding small moonlets, to scale.
Orbital Elements
Apoapsis 0.3468 au
Periapsis 0.3332 au
Semimajor Axis 0.34 au
Eccentricity 0.02
Orbital Period
(Sideral)
88.6875 d
72.5741 d
Orbital Period
(Tropical)
88.6361 d
72.5321 d
Mean Orbital Speed 41.7 km/s
Physical Characteristics
Mean Radius 6850 km
Mass 1.28 M
Mean Density 5679 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 1.107 g
Escape Velocity 12.12 km/s
Rotation Period 28.93 h
Solar Day 29.33 h
Equatorial Rotation 413 m/s
Axial Tilt 22°
Axial Precession 1.123° / yr
Albedo 0.3
Surface Temperature 292 K
Appearance From Maia
Apparent Magnitude 9.9 to -2.6
Angular Diameter 6" to 10"

Oneia (IPA: /o'ne.ə/; Eremoran: da da) is a planet orbiting Namei. It orbits 0.32 au away and has a period of 89 Earth days, or just over 72 Oneian days. Oneia has one major moon, Nikki, along with some minor moons and a planetary ring.

Oneia's axial precession is far more rapid than Earth's. The axis precesses about once every 414 earth years, or about once every 1703 Oneian years. Oneia experiences stronger tidal forces from Namei than the Earth to the Sun, and much stronger tidal forces from Nikki than the Earth to the Moon. And the composition of the precession forces is far more lopsided than the Earth - while for the earth about two thirds of the force comes from the moon, and one from the sun, for Oneia, about 93% comes from its moon Nikki and only 7% from its star Namei.

From Oneia, the brightest planets are Falto, Ara, and Eisen, all brighter than Venus at its peak. These are followed by Bau, Tata, Don, Neuve, and Mannu. Dimmer than Uranus or Neptune is Dicito, comparable in brightness to Ceres near its peak.

Oneia known to the Pankairans.
Pankair, Ora, and surrounding region.

The planet is visually quite like Earth. However, Oneia's surface is covered by a much higher fraction of land; over two-fifths of the surface is land. The planet and moon are tidally locked, with a period of just under 29 Earth hours. Since the moon is tidally locked, there is no Oneian equivalent to the terran concept of a 'month'. The planet is much warmer and wetter than Earth, so snow and aridity is rare and restricted to the extremes.

Pankair has a stunning diversity of climates, biomes, flora, and fauna, although the continent primarily spans tropical and subtropical zones. The southern and eastern coasts are prone to tropical cyclones. Weak tornados are possible in the north, albeit rare. Blizzards are common in the north. As the continent was formed by the collision of three plates, earthquakes are frequent at plate boundaries - the two major mountain ranges, but particularly the western range. There is a dearth of volcanism, however, although there are a handful of active volcanos in the northeast.

The entire world is controlled by various factions and races. The technological development of the most advanced part of the planet is that of Earth's early iron age. However, it is not hard to find cultures still using bronze or stone tools. The two continents containing iron-age civilizations are Pankair and Ora.

To Oneia, the appearance of the night side of Nikki is much like the night side of Earth. To Oneians though, it appears as if the moon shimmers in the dark. Since this is a recent phenomenon, there are few myths, and the great philosophers of the time argue over what causes the shimmering. These theories range from the rational, great endless fires or noctilucent minerals, to the more paranormal, such as the spirits of the deceased.

Pitang-Ra

The Pitang-Ra are a race from outside the system, exploring and experimenting using even less care than one would consider possible. They are well-despised throughout the galaxy for their perceived imperialism, autocracy, and genocidal treatment of local populations. Nonetheless, for better or for worse, they are generally recognized by the other spacefarers of the galaxy as the sole owner of the system.

The Pitang-Ra are even capable of doppelspace traversal, an incredibly powerful technology which allows star systems to effectively sextuple their resources. This discovery served as confirmation of the theory that dark matter was actually the echo of matter from doppelspaces.

The Pitang-Ra treatment of Nameian ecosystems has been nothing short of brutal, as is standard practice for them. The Pitang-Ra government, as a virtual puppet of its capitalist class, appropriates state funds to terraform and genetically modify the races of the Namei system, turning the system into the ultimate group of theme parks, over the course of several decades, each being de facto owned by its own corporation.

Pankair, for instance, has been transformed into a fantasy-themed realm, unbeknownst to its denizens, who, as far as they are aware, have simply been uplifted by the magic of the gods.

There are small factions within the Pitang-Ra who oppose this behavior, of course, but serious contenders always seem to be cursed by endless scandals and suspicious vote tallies. The vast majority of the Pitang-Ra are simply indoctrinated by their propaganda; as simplistic as it may be, it is equally effective. All the government needs to do is just say their target for invasion is a 'threat to security', and in a few words they have already justified their war of aggression.

Ora

A map of Ora.

Ora is an island of Oneia, north of Pankair. It covers 0.4% of the planet's surface, and has an oceanic climate throughout. It is home to the Orans, a civilization notable for the invasion of Pankair. While it is rich in coal and metals, the economy is primarily based around textiles.

Pankair

A climatological map of Pankair.

Pankair is the most advanced continent of Oneia, and one of the only two to have iron-age civilizations. The continent is so large it covers nearly 1% of the entire planetary surface. Its mountainous terrain was the perfect spot for small city-states to crop up, and in the past few centuries, large empires formed. The oldest of these city-states is Eremor, an arid city at the mouth of a river. Due to a variety of factors, the current state of the once-prosperous continent is now chaos and instability.

See also: Namei Exploration Experience: Pankair

Pankairan History

Overview

The history of Pankair is one of cycles. After a new era begins, the magic, hope, and spirit of the world gradually fade until all are grey, dull, and ugly, and all the races lose their magical qualities and become one. Then every few thousand years the region falls to a new era under a new element, cycling from fire to earth, air, water, plant, and back again. It is the rediscovery of The Book that triggers the era, its discoverers being so consumed and blinded by the lust for power they flood their world with death and darkness, only to be repopulated by the few modest folk left at the end of the era. These folk then hide the book in its shrine once again, and try in vain to bring up the children of the next era to avoid the mistakes of the past. But it seems the continent has been forever cursed by some slighted power above to stay locked in this perpetual cycle.

At the end of the last era, known as the blue era, much of the continent was controlled by a few great empires. In the east, there was great Važcud, now scattered into a dozen daughter languages. Once again, in the current era, the red era, great empires are beginning to rise, and the Eremor seem to head the south.

Over the past few decades and continuing still is the Oran invasion of the continent. The Oran kingdoms, facing mass crop failures, began to look southward for more fertile land. Having spent centuries fighting among themselves, the kingdoms had strong, advanced, well-founded militaries. The north of Pankair, in contrast, was technologically inferior, and the gentle slopes in the northern steppes seemed ripe for the taking. The Orans thus easily conquered much of the north, although there do remain scattered holdouts deep in the taiga, and the occasional uprising in conquered lands. The fallen, divided remnants of the old Važcud empire are the apparent next targets of the Orans, and wars between the kingdoms are constant and ceaseless.

A Brief History of the Current Eon

The dawn of written records begins in the Green Era. Early written records tell of a culture of horseriding invaders from northern Nadnekis who conquered the entirety of Nadnekis and much of the central plains. In addition, it also seems they attempted to invade many other regions, but were mostly repelled. Civilized Pankair at this time was ruled by a handful of powerful kingdoms. Towards the end of the era, most of these kingdoms were conquered and controlled by the Golden Empire, situated at the center of the plains. The first half of the Yellow Era was uneventful, but in the latter half of the era harsh winters drove a second wave of the aforementioned conquerors out from Nadnekis, but unlike last time, this group successfully conquered the plains, including the Golden Empire, which was now under their control. It was not long, however, before the empire split into dozens of successor states, and thus began the Blue Era. One of these successor states in the east, Važcud, eventually conquered fully half the continent. However, this too was ephemeral, and at the end of the era, the Važcud empire collapsed. This leads us to the Red Era, where rapidly growing southern kingdoms once again appear perfectly poised to seize the continent whole.

Eras

Pankairan cyclical history is broken up into eons, composed of eras, composed of ages, composed of generations. In addition, generations can be broken into stages which are further broken down into years. Currently, we are in the Green Eon (aka 'the Book eon'), Red Era, Blue Age, Red Generation. In other words, we are at the tail end of the Green eon, looking towards the Yellow eon.

In addition, there is also a minor hot-cold global climactic cycle that has an extra minor influence on civilization. It repeats roughly every eight ages, with four cold ages and four warm ages. The current cycle, a cold cycle, began in the green age of the current era.

Many important events occur at the boundaries of color periods and hot-cold cycles. Proto-Pankairan, for example, came about nearly four eras ago, at the beginning of a new cold cycle and the green era. Proto-Eremo-Numoran split off from the Muran languages at the beginning of the current era, and all the Muran languages had a secondary wave of spread at the beginning of the current cold period. The beginning of the previous cold period is what originally drove the growth of the Važcud, and the end of the blue era is what drove their demise. Countries need not form immediately at the beginning of an era, however. Eremor, for example, came about at the beginning of the Yellow age of the current era. The beginning of the next eon will unusually coincide with the beginning of a hot period.

Here is a table of the eras and their approximate technological levels, in comparison to Earth's, for the current (top) and next (bottom) eons:

The White Era The Green Era The Yellow Era The Blue Era The Red Era
(4100 - 3350 BCE) (3350 - 2600 BCE) (2600 - 1850 BCE (1850 - 1100 BCE) (1100 - 350 BCE)
(350 BCE - 400 CE) (400 - 1150 CE) (1150 - 1900 CE) (1900 - 2650 CE) (2650 - 3400 CE)

Interpretations of the colors:

White Green Yellow Blue Red
Air Plant Metal Water Fire
Nikki, Namei Tata Eisen, Ara Neuve, Bau Don, Falto
Birth Growth The Golden Apex The Storm Dusk
Reorganization and consolidation of power left over from the last period Unrestricted growth Prosperity, but stagnation Cracks begin to form in the wall The wall comes tumbling down

Elements

In recent years, the elements have become increasingly associated with a specific solid:

Fire creates air and water, water and fire precipitate from air as rain and lightning, and air and fire can be extracted from water as mist and steam. Therefore, it is reasoned, all these elements must be made of the same face in different arrangements. Furthermore, since air is lighter than fire, and fire is lighter than water, air must have the fewest faces, followed by fire and water.

Metal is immovable and structurally rigid - it must therefore be the cube. The remaining element, plant, is the most complex of the five, and must therefore have the most complex faces.

Pankairan Culture

Map of drinks of choice in Pankair. Dark: producing regions. Light: consuming regions. Red and Brown: Tea and Coffee. Gold and Purple: Beer and Wine. White: other/none.
Map of staple crop producing regions. Red: Yams. Gold: Wheat and Barley. Deep Gold: ... and Oats and Rye. Green: Rice and Soybeans. Deep Green: ... and Millet. Purple: Sorghum.

Pankairan Languages

Writing has existed in Pankair for millennia now, but alphabets are a new and rapidly spreading phenomenon, being just a couple hundred terran years old. The old Važcud logosyllabary has evolved in its descendants into several families of abjads, abugidas, and alphabets.

Below are some samples of the various languages of Pankair, with approximate tech level:

Language Tech Level Era Sample
Modern English c. 1500 - 2000 CE n/a The fox tried to reach the grapes, but could not, so he cursed them.
Eremoran c. 800 - 500 BCE c. 200 BT - 1000 AT Badmak i dir annama bakakkraz tômz uid kubatu zurkrôz hofoz
Badmak i dir annama bakakkraz, tômz uid kubatu, zurkrôz hofoz.
Važcud c. 2500 - 1500 BCE c. 6200 - 2100 BT Chinšwe esokhuol o' inj ezla ul, mas maguwaol, thefo lessojol.
Pre-Eremoran c. 1100 - 600 BCE c. 1500 BT - 500 AT Win[try to reach]i ā [fox] ā [grape]tin, [but] pu'[can]i, [so] win[curse]i.
Połtaś (todo)
Porön
Nekaŋ
Language 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Modern Languages
Eremoran id nasu kumku babzu hanu elmnu klimu triksu talsu nasanu
Numoran ído nácho kúnko bóso dácho xáyo sáyo kwe gábo xáyo
Nekaŋ hi pumul umul mul dai xud sa gax vax ku
Porön hinc hác hanc shepap sarap hánc pekí shepúk nimanc shec
Połtaś (todo)
Ancient Languages
Pre-Eremoran chi akalī chik tal nus ēlmenus akalīnus chiknus talnus nuslī
PEN *id *natiu *kumku *babsu *dakiu *xagu *saiu *kau *gaβu *xaiu
Važcud yig pamol amol mol daj khud ša gak vak cun

Połtaś

A map of the major Połtaś settlements.

The Połtaś are a large group of city-states in northern Pankair sharing similar culture. They all speak dialects of the Połtaś language.

They are an offshoot of a nomadic people inhabiting the central mountains. In recent centuries, they have expanded westward.

Porön

Porön is a region north of Połtaś where Porön is spoken. It is bounded by two major rivers and the Połtaś realms. They are a people said to be distantly related to the Połtaś.

Seter

Orbital Elements
Apoapsis 1.30636 Gm
Periapsis 1.28820 Gm
Semimajor Axis 1.29728 Gm
Eccentricity 0.007
Orbital Period 3 d 4 h
Synodic Period 7 d 22 h
Mean Orbital Speed 29.6 km/s
Mean Anomaly 27°
Inclination 1.085°
Longitude of the
Ascending Node
163°
Argument of Perihelion 177°
Physical Characteristics
Mean Radius 16676 km
Mass 8.1536 M
Mean Density 2508 kg/m3
Surface Gravity 11.70 g
Escape Velocity 19.75 km/s
Rotation Period 76 h
Equatorial Rotation 383 m/s
Axial Tilt 2.1453°
Albedo 0.507827
Surface Temperature 99.58 K
Appearance From Oneia
Apparent Magnitude 0.4 to -0.7
Angular Diameter 15" to 24"
Seter's cloud bands.

Seter is a major moon of Eisen. It is just over eight Earth masses, about the size of Planet Nine. Its orbital and rotation periods are three and one-sixth Earth days. It is identical in composition and extremely similar in appearance to Eisen, but the banding is much less developed. The temperate light bands are by far the largest, taking as much as three-quarters the surface. An interesting "chrome" effect happens in the darker bands when one views the outer limb of the atmosphere. The effect is visible on Eisen too, but is far more subtle. It is thought to be caused by clouds of ice in the upper atmosphere.

Važcud

Važcud was an ancient empire in the east of Pankair. Contemporary nations note them for their hedonism. They spoke Važcud.

Važcud Language

The language Važcud has many modern descendants. The language also enjoys the status of being the de facto lingua franca of much of the east continent; laws are written in Važcud, education is done in Važcud, virtually every publication is done in Važcud, and even diplomacy and trading are often performed in Važcud, even in countries with no historical ties. In recent centuries, the use of Važcud as such has expanded into the central plain, and even the south coast, through contact with its descendants Nekaŋ (Važcud Nikweng) and Nuzdexax (Važcud Nosdaychak), spoken high in the eastern mountain range (Eremoran Nadnekis Nadnekis, Važcud Niknik Již).

Victory Island

A map of Victory Island.

Victory Island (Eremoran: kahlabahi kaflabafi) is located at the mouth of the Akkapa, in Eremor. About 760 people live on the island, in about 150 households. At its longest, it is about 1 km long, and its area is about 2.46 square kilometers. It is notable for being the site of Castle Eremor, Chiefs' Convenience, and the Eremor College. People travel to and from the island in boats, most of which are located at the northern docks. The island itself is not as populous as the mainland city, since the island primarily houses administrators, the upper class, and apartments for their servants.

Zothceng

Zothceng (Zothceng in Važcud; Ruthkang in Nekngang and Nuzdexax, Ruskank in Eremoran) are large, semi-intelligent, symbiotic beings with a fungal bone endoskeleton, and a swaming, hivelike exterior, and can be heard by their horrible buzzing noise. When one spots prey, they let out a blood-curdling shriek to let the others know of its quarry. They ingest via a chest cavity, where they digest their prey, and constantly ooze a thick, black, tarlike substance as waste.

They tend to roam mountainous regions in small packs, riding giant hyenas. Intelligent races know to avoid them. They are admired for their organization, industry, dour demeanor, and blood-curdling shrieks.