Darkhearts

Maybe three in a generation have the dark mark above their heart, only two were ever unlucky enough to be born with it. It is a bad omen, its bearers often venture on difficult quests to be rid of it. Some say it can be acquired by coming too close to a placespirit, or refusing to become a voice, or travelling the Area.
Darkhearts hold speechcraft power rivaled only by elementarians and the Four. The minds of the dark mark's bearers quickly shatter. They become paranoid, vain, and cruel, all the while impressing an almost inescapable lure on their swiftly growing mass of followers, which they badly mistreat. Almost all darkhearts had to be brought down violently and usually called a placespirit into existence while dying, which laid further waste to the land.

"We loved our adventurous life. When Astinoi, who had always been gloomy and sensitive, discovered the dark mark on himself, that life shattered like glass. We searched feverishly for help, but when it covered his heart fully, he flung himself down the cliffs into the lake."
— Tirakanfar, traveller

That darkhearts are both dangerous and rare make them a scarcely researched subject; on the bright side, darkhearts can't be made on purpose, unlike spirit possession. The cause for their coming and probable cures are largely unknown, and they can't be anticipated or avoided. Until the mark covers the entire heart, there's hope; it doesn't grow by any known rules. Voices will help, by sending darkhearts-to-be on dangerous quests, which often claim their lives; but if successful, they die unblemished.

"Artifacts are hard enough to understand; if made by darkhearts, I wish there was a bottomless pit we could throw them into. Kanmarra's collar alone destroyed half the standing stones in Suyemor in only a day."
— Hinukaya aht Kanamm, whisperer

Artists' notes
Darkhearts put a firmly black spot on Genius Loci's bright and hopeful map. But I like the poor fellows somehow; and there aren't as many as the article may make it sound, mind you: only three per generation, in the entire world. Except that they will be known throughout it if they fully bloom.

Spirit of place - genius loci

"The city of Hammerfall only exists because of a spleen by the mountain spirits in the first place. More and more signs have arisen that it may, and soon, become the host of a placespirit - an event that, in regard of the city's size, must be averted at all costs."
— Counselor Tshiako Sagamiu

Where a mood becomes defining for a place, be it a festival place, city, or battlefield, a genius loci may come into existence. It is an entity of almost limitless power that borders on conscious intelligence - on which side of it is unknown. They rarely appear physically, but fill the horizon when they do, and almost never speak. If they do, they command.
The placespirit will possess anyone in its domain. The victims may dance until they drop dead, start erecting uninhabitable palaces, or dig a shaft. As unreasonable as all placespirits' commands seem, time and again the results have been part of turning points in history.

"It is the Violet Order's belief that the placespirits must be thoroughly researched, seeing as the survivors carry an uncanny wisdom out of their service to them."
— Headless Nakani, to Queen Jamora

An unchallenged genius loci can stay indefinitely, and must be driven out. This difficult task can only be performed by highly skilled speakers or collectors; there are very, very few who ever drove out a placespirit alone, among them the famous voice Asa and the collector Numkrichtahn.
The saved victims will, in any case, not be the same and may act irrationally on a whim years into the future, but to allow them the appearance of normality, they are often brought elsewhere to pick up their lives.

Artists' notes
The name-giving spirit of place (Latin: genius loci, German: Ortsgeist) is an important part of the setting, of course. It's more or less my remedy for not having dragons or orcs handy to devastate a land - instead the population will be mentally enslaved by a terrible willpower... uh-oh.
Since they are so hard to research, many strange folk have obsessed over them, and suffered horrible fates - different every time, there just seems to be no rule to placespirits.

Dustships

Dustships are called so because the main element of the airships' workings is the famous floating dust. Rocks lift a hull like a naval vessel, sideway sails provide thrust, the dust is the main adjustment tool. Aside from those general workings, little is known; dustsailors are a secretive lot and guard their ship's secrets with their lives. Regiment aboard is liberal, but closed to outsiders; dustsailors not even have darlings on land. It's a great honour to be accepted into the crew of a dustship. While many sailors are skilled fighters, the ships follow a code on nonviolence and are all unarmed.

"We are proud to have played part in the construction of some of today's greatest structures. I could do without all the spying engineers we have to pluck from the dustworks before they've figured everything out, though."
— Appandanurast, captain of the Upwards

Dustships transport all kinds of things; easily spoiled goods or passengers, or they offer messenger services. The "grounders" regard them with a mixture of joy and wariness - exotic goods for moderate prices, but the feeling of still being conned somehow.
Widely known dustships include the strong Upwards, and the great Gral-én'tach.

"The trip would take us fifteen days, unless we travel by dustship. I'll rather pay to be behind lock and key in luxurious quarters than make my way through the Red Desert this time of year. The view's nicer, too."
— Gutria, traveler

Artists' notes
I like flying ships as much as the next fantasy artist, and I am very fond of this particular idea. It's fun to figure out the engineering, how the crew handles the ship, what the captain is like and so on. It also provides nice storytelling devices for fast transportation, secrecy, and power. I play in a roleplaying group with half-magical wooden spaceships that are just awesome, and which made me bold in my choices of airships.
I have invented several ships so far which I am eager to employ, their captains and specialties, and plot ideas to use them for. 

The calendar

The kitaian calendar relies on multiples of four and five. A week has five days. Four weeks make a month (20 days). Twenty months form a year (400 days). One hundred years are a century; four hundred years a Great Circle, in which the Four come and go. Portions have own names, like a Lesser Quarter (5 months), or a Great Quarter (25 years).

"Sawrana has a theory that Great Quarters also have meaning, and is currently looking for an elven apprentice to live long enough to prove it, in case you're looking for a job."

— Malimai Gjadruun, to his friend

Furthermore, five subsequent years (a Great Fifth) are assigned to the five principles: fire, water, earth and air, life, and spirit.

• In the year of the east, fundaments are made or destroyed; willpower is high, plots go slow, mines produce better material. People are loyal and confident; it's the Year of Crafts.
• The year of the south sees the outbreak of conflicts and new beginnings. People fall in love, start living their dreams; it's not a good year to finish something. This is the Year of the Brave.
• In the year of the north, peace is made; reforms and improvements come easy now. The Year of All is a good year to marry.
• During the year of the west, everything seems possible. Visions are declared, children born; harvests are good and illnesses light. People are in high spirits in the Year of Moving.
• The spirit year sees many supernatural events; speakers and spirits gain more power, but everyone's mind seems at its best. Master works are created, discoveries made, and art and philosophy are at their best. In the Star Year, mental influence is easy.

Artists' notes
I knew that simply keeping our Earth calendar would never do but didn't care about it until recently, and was surprised how nicely it all fitted together with multiples of four and five. There are no holidays yet - they will be largely regional and it makes more sense to invent them when it comes up. Although year's end and beginning are very likely spots, and there are some related to the moons.

The burrmo princes

Burrmos, huge predators of the Great Forest, are known man-eaters. Less known is the fact that not all their prey dies - sometimes, people who were believed to be long lost reappear, now servants of the beasts, devoted to their protection. Darous and Darem were stolen decades ago; legend has it that the burrmo king and his wife could not have children of their own, and the twins were his gift to her to dry her tears. They have made some gruesome appearances as the "princes of the burrmo", as they are now called. Elven twins are only one person in two bodies, and the edge this gives them over trespassers in their territory frightens off most who might try - the traveller meeting just one of them should be wary.

"Do not enter our lands, traveller. The path will snap at your feet."
— Darous, the burrmo prince

The brothers live on the motto "an eye for an eye", and are less than friendly with the wild tribes of humans in the lower branches of the Great Forest.
On occassion, however, Darous and Darem appear not as frightening guards of their pack's territory, but lonely wanderers caught between two worlds, longing for company. But their coldness always gets the better of them; they have never made any friends among the peoples of the Great Forest. It is a mystery how they were introduced into their pack, and whether or not they must be regarded as cursed.

"And we will be the teeth. Turn back."
— Darem, the burrmo prince

Artists' notes
I love elven twins. So scary. I also love the idea of animal princes, either of animal or human origin, since they add so much folklore mysticism to the world of Genius Loci. I usually invent things in groups, so there are several more animal kings to tell of.

Racial subtypes

"The dancers were hennaj who almost floated, and amo, who were coloured in such a way that, when they stood together, they could form different Wild Signs. And the main character was played by an almost black suu who overtowered them all, it was quite a sight."
— Zambosa, opera guest

Artists' notes
I decided late in development to create subtypes for races other than humans. At first I thought it would be too much, but then I found it too human-centristic to make small differences into subtypes for them, but not others. So, there are now more appearances for the major races. Don't forget that there are many changes in the colours of the colourful peoples dwarves, naj, and garren, while humans always have dark hair and brown eyes in various shades, and beja are always black haired with blue or black eyes. In a way, it was almost more fun to develop the subtypes later than alongside the races, because I had all the hard work done of creating them and fitting them into the world. Naturally, since neither shankeh nor elves have any different subtypes, they do not appear here.
I also worked out halfbloods. I think it will be arbitrary to some extent which of their parents' features they inherit, and there really are only three kinds of halfbloods since only dwarves, humans, and beja mix - elves' children are all elves themselves and don't cause me any work, and raganaj, shankeh, and garren don't interbreed.

The Singing Ryaq

The vast ocean at Gdera's west coast is regarded as the continent of water, the fourth "landmass". The myriad of islands are home to most peculiar tribes and cultures, and the less reachable shores harbour many secrets. Among the largest islands are Gat-Gat, the main island of the Gat archipelago; cold, northern Tuulmenhan; and Asfilass, off Gdera's coast.
The flying raganaj have an advantage here, and many seafolk live with the tribes. Beja, who much enjoy water, are happy here as well. There are, however, no more fleeters here than elsewhere; it seems that they prefer sweetwater.

"To the fifth grade, my line of masters has tried to map the Ryaq, and I have followed. We never managed it, and my apprentice chose a less hopeless task - mapping ley lines."
— Naniwat, mapper

Because some of the tiny islands are so remote - some barely more than a rock that happens to support a little vegetation and some tents - cultures are more separate in the Ryaq than elsewhere. Some peoples openly welcome strangers who bring news and wares, others attack without warning. Few maps exist of the Ryaq. Notable places include the Summerstar Islands that rose after a meteor hit, the Fleeterstep Islands towards the Gat archipelago, and the Burning Islands and Firehome off Sawa's coast, where allegedly many plasmats live.

"Sanskanar's eternal storm makes it damn near impossible to sail there. If you make it, though, and out again, you'll live like a prince."
— Fanana Balshirom, captain

Artists' notes
I only made the map to the Ryaq recently. There are more islands than I first expected, some very remote, but there's not quite so much space as in the Pacific. Still, islands are always hard to get to, so there will be space for stories about lost treasure, hidden kingdoms and whatnot. And pirates, too. Harr!