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The World of Kaiross (A Kobold's Tale)

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The World
   In the beginning the world was shapeless. And then the gods reached out and gave it form. They created large oceans, lakes, and rivers. They created continents and islands filled with forests, mountains, plains, tundras, deserts, and all sort of terrains. Then they rested. But soon they found the world to be a desolate place. So the gods again reached out to the world and life sprung up. Again the gods rested. Once again they found something was lacking. The creatures were basic and had no idea about the beings that created them. So the gods reached out one last time and gave some of these creatures intelligence. These intelligent creatures grew and thrived, but one god felt there was still something missing. Abrka, the god of trickery and magic, fooled the other gods into looking away. While they were distracted he breathed onto the world, and those who felt his breath were granted the gift of magic. When the gods turned back they were angered. Infighting began, and the world was torn asunder. Their fight raged from countless years until Ceechep, the god of healing and peace, managed to calm the other gods. The gods all agreed to take less of an interest in mortal affairs. Kaiross was allowed to develop on its own, and the races that had been imbued with intelligence and magic spread. Empires rose and fell, heroes and villains came and went, and the world changed.

Magic:
   Scholars debate whether the story of Abrka breathing on the world is literal or not. Afterall, gods do not seem to have the forms of mortal beings. Regardless, there exist two forms of magic on Kaiross; there is holy magic and then there is arcane magic. Holy magic takes its power directly from the heavens. Arcane magic is from the mortal world. Every living being possesses at least a little magic, but most do not possess enough for anything to come of it. Even some that do never study or hone it, and thus never even know they have the gift. Those that do find that through study they can become very powerful. For whatever reason one can not practice both kinds of magic. Those that try find that they are locked into one type. Magic seems to run in  families, but some who have magic parents do not get the gift, and vice versa.

Geography:
   The world of Kaiross is a super continent world. While once there were several continents, but during the time the gods fought all the continents merged into one. Throughout the great ocean lie many large and small islands. On the main continent itself, called Dyne after the god of land and war, is a large diversity of land, much of it untamed. The inner part of the continent is largely uninhabited, excepting terrible monsters and horrific creations of the mage wars that once rocked it. Most intelligent beings live along the coasts of the continent, or not too far from them. If one knows what they are doing, then one can quickly travel around the coasts. The weather varies by region, but has a reputation for being unpredictable. It may be sunny and bright for months before a major rain storm hits and drowns the land for a week. Then the very next year the weather is more evenly mixed.

   The ocean, called Illio after the god of water and storms, is dotted with islands. The ones closer to Dyne tend to be inhabited, but the ones further out are devoid of intelligent life. The sea has less monsters in it than the land, and yet is less forgiving. The outer part of the sea is constantly wracked with terrible storms that makes sailing a dangerous proposition indeed.

The Races of Kaiross:
   There are six intelligent races of Kaiross, who possess the gift of magic and knowledge of the gods. They are the halflings, the elves, the humans, the dwarves, the kobolds, and the orcs. Each race tends to live within its own area, all together. That’s not to say every member of that race is in of that country though. Many live outside, or live in a smaller country.


The Halfling Empire:
   Halflings are the second smallest of the races. They stand a little over a foot and half and tend to be thin. They have skin that is various shades of vibrant purple and thick, almost fur-like hair of a similar color that covers most of their bodies, except for their faces, and the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet. Their eyes come in a multitude of colors, from green to red, and resemble human eyes in shape. Male halflings tend to be taller and hairier than females. Halflings live a little longer than humans, to about 90 years of age.

   Halflings used to be one of the downtrodden. During the last mage war however, they formed into one nation and rose. They gained power and currently the halfling empire (simply The Empire to its members) is the largest and most powerful nation in the world. It mostly owns the coasts and some inland areas. The emperor is ruler, and below the emperor are various feudal lords and knights who each control their own part of the land. The empire is very cosmopolitan; while officially only humans and halflings are part of it, many races live in the large cities of the empire.

   Halfling culture is heavily class based, and yet there is a focus on mobility. In theory anyone can attain any rank other than emperor, although in practice this is much harder than it sounds. Still, many halflings strive to climb the social ladder, and many find success in the military, attaining knighthoods based on their deeds and skills, regardless of their birth. Halfling names are made up of a first, middle, and last name, although generally only the first and last are used, and the first only by those close to the halfling. Halflings respect hard work and healthy ambition, but power hungriness is seen as extremely distasteful. Halflings are very close to their human allies/vassals, and maintain surprisingly good relation with orcs. Their relationship with elves is much more strained, and they rarely come into contact with kobolds. Dwarves are viewed neutrally. Halflings are adept at arcane magic, but it is much rarer to see a halfling adept at holy magic.

The Human Vassal State:
   Humans are the largest and strongest race on Kaiross. They stand close to six feet tall and are often brawny. Their skin color ranges greatly from extremely pale to very dark brown. Their eye colors are less expansive than halflings, but their hair colors vary from blond, to brown, to black to red. Male humans tend to be taller and larger than female humans. Humans are one of the shorter lived races, living to 70 years on average.

   Humans were once very spread out and rarely united. This changed during the mage wars. The humans were particularly devastated, and had to band together for safety. Of particular to the humans threat were the undead. After the last mage war the Halfling Empire was expanding. It found that most of the humans had banded together to form a republic. There was talk of conquering them or leaving them alone, when the humans surprised the Empire by approaching them. The humans volunteered to become a vassal state to the empire, following its lead and serving it, while maintaining some freedom in exchange for help against the undead scourge. The Empire agreed and the humans joined as a vassal state. Today humans and halflings work side by side for the good of the empire, with humans valued for their military support, and halfling valued for their fair leadership and aid against the undead.

   Humans value the ideas of democracy and freedom. While largely united today, there is large independence streak in humans. Humans enjoy throwing their weight around, both physically and verbally. Debate is considered the cornerstone of human culture. A halfling joke is that if two humans are put alone in a room there will be three opinions. Humans have taken some cultural ideas from halflings, such as the importance of hygiene and public baths. In turn halflings have taken some human ideas, such as cremating the dead. In this vein human names are like halfling names, although they do not have middle names. Humans enjoy good relations with halflings, and also with dwarves, as they feel dwarves understand the undead plight better than any of the other races besides themselves. They are wary of orcs, but are generally civil. Kobolds are rarely met so humans rely more on rumor than actual feeling. Human and elven relations are still poor after the mage war. Humans produce few arcane casters, some think as a side effect of the mage wars, but many humans are devout and holy casters are much more common among humans.

The Dwarven Clans
   Dwarves are stocky figures that stand a little over four feet tall on average. Their skin is milky to paper white and their eyes are also dull in color with square pupils. Dwarven hair color tends to be black or a dark blue. The most striking feature of dwarves are the small horns that protrude from their heads. Female dwarves are larger than male dwarves on average, but have smaller horns. Dwarves are the second longest lived race and live to be about 110 on average.

   The dwarves had a large empire until the last mage war. It fell during the course of the war (although it was already decaying) and the dwarves scattered across the northern steppes. The dwarves are organized into clans. These clans are the life of any dwarf, and those that live outside the clans are rare. While no longer officially unified, the clans do often meet together and will unite against an outside threat, such a large undead attack. During this time a temporary government is formed with the leaders of each clan being on a  council that acts together. Each clan selects its leader in different ways; some clans have a hereditary leader while other have a trial by combat.

   The word to describe dwarves is communal. Each dwarf is expected to put their clan and the needs of others before themselves. Dwarves dislike owing a debt to someone and try to pay it back quickly and generously. Dwarves are also known for their superstition and good luck charms. Riding drakes originally come from the steppes and the dwarves are very adept riders. Dwarven names are hyphenated. First comes the clan name; the fact that it is first symbolizes how important the clan is. Then comes the given name of the dwarf. Dwarves are solid allies of humans, especially when it comes to undead. Halflings are treated with suspicion by dwarves, as they see them as replacing their old empire. Orcs are rarely seen by dwarves and so they have few opinions on them. Kobolds are seen a bit more charitably than some races see them, but are still rarely encountered. Elves have long been allies of dwarves, and they share a happy trade connection. Dwarves are not particularly adept with magic and much prefer to rely on their own skill.

The Elven Nation:
   Elves stand at about five feet tall and are generally very thin and bony. Their skin colors are similar to that of humans, but their eye and hair colors are much more diverse. Additionally their eyes have pupils like that of cats. Their ears a very pointy and they have thicker bones that almost protrude from their skin. Male and female elves tend to be about the same size and height. Elves are the longest lived race, living to about 150 on average.

   The elves have long been united as one. Their legends say they were in fact the first to band together in the early days of the world. Since then elves have worked together to achieve a common goal. The elves have no permanent system of civilian government. It changes as the need arises (or on their whims according to their detractors). The longest standing organization, by far, is the military. There is a small standing army, but all elves are trained in combat as part of local militias and are called to join when the need arises. The military is the de facto ruler in times of peace, and explicitly so in times of war. The generals form a military junta. Every adult is considered an equal, though elders are generally looked to for their wisdom.

   Elves are expected to work towards the common good of their people. They tend to be mistrusting of outsiders, including elves from outside the Elven Nation. After all, what right thinking elf would want to live outside the nation? Inside the nation elves see it as important to never elevate oneself too far above one's fellows. Even leaders are expected to acknowledge that they are just one of of the common people who has temporarily been placed in a position of leadership, even those in the military. These leaders are expected to eventually step down and follow other pursuits.

   If there is one thing elves value above all it is experience. One of the few times outsiders may actually find themselves trusted is if they prove to be an expert. Elves avoid traveling outside their borders when they can. When they do it is generally to venture into dwarven lands, as they find the dwarves’ sense of community similar to their own. Orcs and Kobolds are mistrusted as outsiders, but are treated with a  cold courtesy. Elves are not friendly to halflings, particularly since humans joined with them. Elves are the most magical of the races, possessing many arcane and divine spellcasters.

The Orcs of the Broken Coast:
   The first important thing to note about orcs is that they were magically created by the great mage council during the Mage Wars. Thus there are several unique features about them. They are not born from eggs or born live, but spawned from special pools, that they maintain to this day. Orcs are monosex, and for easy communication with other races use masculine pronouns. Orcs have a wide variety of skin tones ranging from ashen grey to muddy brown to sickly green. Their cat like eyes are less diverse, being some shade of either yellow or orange. Orcs have pointed ears and spare white hair. They tend to be stocky and stand a little taller than elves on average. Orcs heal quickly, but also have a tendency to scar, and it is rare to see an orc without at least one visible scar. Orcs, even leaving aside their hard life styles, are the shortest lived of the races, rarely making it past the age of fifty.

   Orcs are most commonly found along the Broken Coast. This northern coast of Dyne has many islands near it; the orcs inhabit many of the islands. Orcs are ruled over by a local lord or jarl. These jarls all serve a king. The king is decided by vote among the jarls. Occasionally this results in a fight between the two leading candidates, but there are more peaceful accessions than rumor would have one believe. Most of the jarls are relatively independent, except in times of war and their taxes owed.

   Orcs value independence. Orcs grow quickly, and so are expected to fend for themselves somewhat. Since orcs don’t have traditional families a few orcs are assigned by the jarl to the task of child rearing. Those an orc is reared with are considered his first family. An orc’s concept of family is fluid, and is based around whoever you work with right now. Family ties are strong for the duration, but it is rare those ties remain once orcs go their separate ways. Keeping those ties is, in fact, seen by many orcs to be a sign of immaturity common in young orcs. Orcs are natural sailors and seem to have a sense of wanderlust, perhaps due to their short life span, that makes them seek out new experiences. It is a rare orc who lives his whole life in one place. Orcs respect the halfling and their large empire. Human and orc relations are civil, but decidedly formal, and the relationship to elves is much the same, albeit somewhat colder. Orcs rarely come into contact with dwarves. Orcs are the only race to have a really close relationship with kobolds. Orcs are perhaps the least magical race, and as such casters of either the arcane or divine persuasion are valued.

Kobolds:
   Kobolds are small reptilian creatures. There are many, many jokes (even among kobolds) about the gods getting drunk and then waking up to discover that they accidentally created kobolds. Kobolds have long snouts, beady yellow eyes, and thick scales. Their scales are generally a shade of red, and more rarely pink. Some truly rare kobolds have white scales, and these are seen as a good omen. Kobolds are slightly shorter than halflings. They have small fins on the side of their heads and sharp teeth. Kobolds have long tails, and clawed feet and hands. Kobolds are the second shortest lived race, living about sixty years, though this time is not as short as it is to some races, as kobolds grow to adulthood very quickly.

   Kobolds are by far the least united race. Kobolds generally live in small tribes scattered about Dyne, but often live more towards the north. Kobolds reside in underground caves that they can keep nice and warm. The tribes are generally lead by either the strongest or cleverest individual until their death (often times at the hands of an individual who turns out to be cleverer or stronger). This chief has several overseers below him or her that make sure the tribe is running as it should be. The rest of the tribe members go about their work in order to keep everyone alive.

   Kobolds rarely interact with the world, and when they do it is often the ones who are greedy and seek power and riches - specifically someone else’s riches. This has lead to many negative stereotypes of kobolds. As such kobolds tend to be suspicious and very defensive. Kobolds seem to possess a nervous disposition, and are sometimes viewed as cowards. This largely due to having a large abundance of natural predators. Kobolds are very hardworking and once they set their mind to a task it’s generally difficult to get them to stop. One of the few positive stereotypes is that they have a good sense of humor, even about themselves (as long as it’s a kobold making fun of another kobold). Kobolds are also extremely loyal. First to their tribes, but if unable to be in their tribe for whatever reason, then a kobold will likely gather a close group of friends. This loyalty makes kobolds very affectionate to the ones they are close to. Kobolds are usually avoided by elves, humans, and halflings. Dwarves are a bit more favored by kobolds for their shared sense of community. Orcs are the only race that kobolds by and large get along with, seeing them as another of the downtrodden. Divine magic is extremely rare and mistrusted by kobolds, but arcane magic is more common and trusted.

Denizens of Dyne:
   Of course not everyone lives with their race. Many different races live in the halfling empire and other nations. Many are those who live in none of the above nations. These Denizens of Dyne are located more inland and are composed of every race. Most live alone or in small villages. There are a few city states, most ruled by warlords. They tend to have a dim view of the larger nations, who in turn view them as backwards.
Well, it's later than I wanted, but here it is! The setting stuff for a Kobold's Tale. I tried to limit the information to things that are interesting, but aren't essential to the story. Things that are (such as the mage war that keeps getting referenced) will all be unveiled in due time in the stories themselves. That's not to say none of the information in here will be referenced. Much of it will, but in passing. I believe important parts of the setting should come organically in the story. This is just a fun, extra thing, like those visual guides for Star Wars. Except, you know, less visual.
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Special thanks to :iconfireblazedragon5: for helping out with the editing.
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