Currency
The inhabitants of Terran often rely on bartering to exchange material goods or services, but Drops may also be used to purchase certain goods and services. Drops are small semi-transparent blue stones - so called because of their resemblance to drops of water or aether. The stones are rarely found while mining for other ores in the Sorcas Islands and are used as a reliable currency anywhere in Terran.
When Drops will not do for a particular business exchange, bartering or trading is the next step. Some people simply find a service or favor more valuable than a handful of stones. |
Technology
- Wireless technology has not developed in Terran. Large generators must be transported to provide power on the go.
- Certain magics can be used to generate power for a limited time.
- Technology brought from more advanced worlds generally fails to work in Terran - the Aether Pools' energy disrupts its function.
- A good rule of thumb for artwork is to keep it as a low-tech fantasy world.
Trade
Travel
Those living in Sarthia, Grandiaga, or Inor, however, may experience the most modern form of transport Terran can offer: an intricate network of railways connects the nations, allowing for easy and relatively comfortable travel between them. And while the cozy carts and bandit-free journeys may be wondrous enough for many a passenger, the true pinnacle of Terran's technology lies in what propels the train.
'Steamheart Striders' , a brilliant fusion of magic and technology, are massive beasts of metal and arcane bindings. Each Strider contains a steam engine powered not by coal, but by magic-infused materials – recent imports from the Galterel Archipelago have made this fuel much more accessible, as the islands' plants contain plenty of energy and can be grown in large quantities. The engine is ignited through a singular pulse of energy magic, which usually means that the presence of a Niravar mage is required for the locomotive to leave the station. This same Niravar, commonly referred to as the 'Engine Master', is likewise responsible for the machine's safe operation during the entire journey, which includes semi-frequent trips on a narrow ramp connecting the Strider to the train to monitor the engine's state. The harness/ramp fusion providing this connection is likewise responsible for stabilising the train as well as forcing the locomotive to not leave the tracks the train is meant to follow. |
Due to their engines running on arcane materials, the Striders' fumes cause no pollution but instead lead to increased amounts of magic incandescence in any area they frequent. As a result, the flora around Terran's railways often grows a little too tall.
The Languages of Terran
Common Tongue
The Common Tongue is the language spoken by the humans of Terran and, as of now, most Niravar as well. It is used in transactions, official communication, and education alike. Its structure is similar to modern-day Germanic languages. Due to this, humans that find themselves in Terran do not have an extremely hard time picking up the language that their peers had brought to the planet. In spite of its rapid takeover of Terran, the Common Tongue isn't spoken everywhere – Niravar living in Drakhan frown upon it, leading human(oids) living in the nation to struggle to communicate with their neighbors, and Niravar in Urus have grown too isolated from the world to keep up with this linguistic development. In short, the Common Tongue is useful, but fickle to rely on when traveling abroad.
Native Tongue
The Native Tongue is the language of post-Cataclysm Niravar. It is based on common feline vocalizations such as chirps, growls, or purrs, and is therefore much more limited in vocabulary. Most Niravar no longer use the Native Tongue, be it due to the extended grammar and lexicon the Common Tongue offers, or due to them wishing to communicate with their human friends, but Urus and Drakhan still utilize and teach the language as their official means of communication.
The Native Tongue is likewise the origin of the so-called 'Niravarian Script' - a writing system used by Niravar across Terran, perfectly suited for their large paws and dewclaws. Even though many have switched to using the Common Tongue, the script remains, and is still taught in schools across the entire planet.
Click on the image on the right to download the .OTF file of this font!
Native Ancient
Long thought to be a dead language, Native Ancient vanished with the pre-Cataclysm civilization of Niravar. Since then, it has been studied extensively at Terran's schools, but perhaps the greatest breakthrough in analysing this language has been the discovery of the Lucent Caverns. Due to their isolated development, the residents of the Caverns still speak Native Ancient, and though this means the vast majority of surface-dwelling Niravar do not understand them, it provides the scholars of Terran with an immeasurable amount of information about Native Ancient. And it is through these scholars that the citizens of Lucent Caverns communicate with the rest of the world while those who are interested in the Common Tongue work on learning it.