| Miscellany |
Various facts and facets of Aylasia.
Other miscellaneous subjects have been added in their own entries on this tag |
| Acronyms |
Not that we've made up a whole lot, but we have a few acronyms in game to shorten titles that would be impossible otherwise.
ASP: Aylasian Secret Police
BP: The Blanket Plague
CLDF: Cadogan Lake Detention Facility
LEOS: Law Enforcement Officials
VEFS: Volunteer Elemental Fire Squad |
| Age |
Age is a funny thing in Aylasia. Mages have been known to live up until 400 years old (it's not entirely common, but is possible) and sometimes beyond. The average lifespan is 320. A mage doesn't begin to look very old until they've reached the age of 200. Fertility for mages is typically between the ages of 25 and 175, though this changed in the course of the game, which lowered the minimum fertility age to 18. There are four known immortals in all of Aylasia (part of their magic is that they can remain youthful and can fix their age at will).
Faeries typically live longer than mages, though they are mum about how old they can in fact get. Other magical creatures have various life-spans which are negotiable upon character creation.
Mages have longer life spans because they use magic. It extends their years, makes them younger than they should be. When a mage is not allowed to use magic (ie: at the Detention Facility, or due to the Blanket Plague) they start to age more normally and grow haggard. It lowers their overall lifespan. |
| Blanket Plague |
| A strange illness that has spread with alarming frequency. It masks ones abilities and slowly eats away at magic casting skills. The Fixities were under investigation for suspicion that they may have been causing it. Nothing was proven and they have since been apologized to profusely. As yet there is no cure, but the Scholars and Inventors are working at it furiously. The plague attacks in pockets (several people from the same area). Faeries are immune to its affects (and partial faeries may be as well); it is unknown why, and whether or not they may be a secret to a cure or a preventative measure. There have been no new cases since the disappearance of Elliot Waldemar. |
| Calendar Year |
| It follows the Roman Calendar to make things simpler, however the years are not stated in numbers. At the beginning of the year one of the prophets decides the title for the new year (they take turns so it would be every five years for each prophet). It is usually a two word title and typically nonsensical. The current year (2009) is Determined Exploration. 2008 was Interesting Times. 2007 was Burning Mountain. Previous years include Fearsome Invention (1902) and Breaking Drought (1839). The months and days have the same names as those in our world, for simplicity's sake. |
| Class |
| Social standing, not school. There are various social classes in the world of Aylasia. The upper crust is generally wealthy and well connected. They usually have their head up their asses about things (such as homosexuality and mixed marriages (fae and mages)). Middle crust is a little less concerned with these things. Lower crust is possibly the freest of all. The upper levels of society are usually the only ones concerned with their social standing, though some lower and middle class folks like to grasp at the coattails and pull themselves up for a variety of reasons. |
| Currency |
| There is no regulated currency in Aylasia. Most every town has some system of coin or barter in place. Many people trade services for goods and the like. The town of Hamlin typically barters in new inventions. Salem accepts New Meridian coinage, though most trade magic for goods or services (usually someone who can't work a spell will trade goods for someone else to do the spell for them). New Meridian has its own coinage. There are two coins, the geld and the munt. Geld is worth more, though a standardized system of worth has never been established (and to my knowledge there's no such thing as change). |
| Daemons and Demons |
These two tribes, or what remains of them, have serious tensions.
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| Government |
Aylasia is governed by a monarchy mixed with an form of parliamentary office. There is a King (regardless of gender, this office is always called King. His or her spouse is not involved in the decision making process, at least not officially or unless they take up an office themselves). The King is put into place by a group of Prophets that meet once every 10 years to foretell. Occasionally (and this is a rare occasion) they will meet before the 10 years is up and depose a King who is not fit. The King is not just a figurehead, he or she makes important decisions regarding laws and life every day. Often the Office of the King sends out official papers regarding new laws on a regular enough basis that some citizens have a hard time keeping up.
The parliament portion of government votes on which laws should be passed to the King for approval or disapproval; they also argue over laws the King made himself. Mostly they're a group of people who like to argue. A lot.
The rest of the governing body sets out to collecting taxes and ensure that citizens abide by the laws. |
| Holidays |
| Holidays are a unique concept in Aylasia. |
| Inventions |
| With the growth of modern society and industry came the mages fascination with invention. Some were developed to make life easier, others developed for amusement. Most were and are developed with magic in mind. A great many devices are built to focus magic power, or increase it (and conversely negate it when used as weaponry). There are any number of patents available and most mages will concoct some sort of device specific to their abilities. Shifters are dreadfully famous for their ridiculous amount of invention in regard to controlling Pan-Magic (with varied success, of course). |
| The Kingship |
| Our previous king was decided in game: Thongchai "Chai" Saenamuang. However the king has since disappeared. Jackon Willis was named as the new king by the prophets just before October 1st, 2009 (this character is an NPC which any player may use). |
| Marriage |
| Marriage is a different sort of concept in Aylasia. |
| Oddly Enough |
| There are no dragons in Aylasia. For whatever reason they simply don't exist in this world. However there are legends and myths about them. |
| The Quest for the Book of Daemonica |
| The quest has ended. The book was found hidden in Graves Hall by Enki Chance. Enki then donated the book to the Salem Academy library. |
| Religion |
| Mages, unlike humans, are self-reliant in terms of their destiny. They do not understand the concept of god(s) and the phrase "oh god" would be like screaming "butter" in a crowded room; it wouldn't make any sense to them. As there is no religion there are no churches. Oddly enough most mages have a decent sense of morality, some stronger than others. |
| Sex and Pregnancy |
| For the most part we were handling pregnancies on a case by case basis, but people asked about the mechanics of sex between faeries and mages, what happens when a werewolf has a baby, is there any such thing as condoms in Aylasia? So: the baby boom and sex and pregnancy. |
| Technology |
| At best technology has grown into a rather steam punk type of situation. There is some electricity and some things run by steam. Some archaic things you'd see in medieval or Victorian times are present, as well as things developed in the 1920's and 30's. Really modern invention hasn't yet reached the creative minds, so nothing digital, no computers or tvs. Magic is also used as a daily sort of thing, so mages could use witchlight to keep their houses bright at night along side candles or gas lanterns (it's a big personal preference thing). The city has electricity (among other amenities such as the classic saloon and brothel combo drive-thru), though outlying areas are generally more rural. |
| Time Travel |
| Is a sticky concept. It can be done, but when it isn't done properly one risks becoming unstuck in time. |
| Travel |
| There are some spells that make travel in Aylasia easy, mostly teleporting spells though mages at Salem Academy aren't permitted to use them (for reasons which Hamlin will go on about at length if asked). Most transport takes place on foot, though bicycles are the mod fashion of the day. There are steam trains used for mass transit and some other strange patents for vehicles that have not taken on in popularity (such as the motor car). Flying carpets are a mode, but not used in great frequency since they are difficult to make. |
| Weather |
| However is more unpredictable. There are hot seasons and cold, but these are entirely at the whims of the elementals. More frequent weather upheavals happen so often as to be common place when someone with a strong wind, water, or lightning element is in a mood. The few elementals in Aylasia try to balance the weather, but they do not often succeed (considering there are so many with the elements to foster constant change with the forecast). August is the hottest month. January is the coldest. It is most often like spring time/autumn weather (mild temperatures, sunny and cloudy days interspersed with occassional rainstorms). There is only one day every year in which it snows: Snow Day (see: holidays). |
| Other Plots and Things to Know |
| This section will be added to if any player plots affect the world and game. |
