Artifacts

Artifacts are commonly objects which have a spell or spell-like effect on them, but living creatures can also be enchanted, and being cursed or blessed is - scientifically - being enchanted or bewhispered (the terms are interchangeable). Not all artifacts are made on purpose, but by the times or circumstances. Indeed, exposing a thing to the same situations can turn it into an artifact; using a sword in honourable duels repeatedly might make it demand chivalric behaviour of its bearer and support her greatly while she does so, but refuse to obey if not. Some powerful artifacts will not be wielded by everyone.

"I created many artifacts when I was still a whisperer. I never thought they would take a liking to me - that damned dagger nearly killed the guard for me."
— Shirozuk, wizard

The most famous artifacts are of course the Four Weapons, the bow Gajtualih, the axe Khachgallah, the sword Rwannakah, and the spear Lefenned, which allegedly have limitless control over their elements and principles. They cannot be held by others than the Four unless they allow it.

Other widely known artifacts include the Whiteblade, the Bloodcollar, Blightfang, the Heavenspear, and Krinsar's Dowry.

"You cannot really predict an artifact's outcome, much like a child's character cannot be determined; you'd be a fool to try. But nurture it, guide it, and it will lend its power to a worthy bearer, and with luck, help them make a better tomorrow."
— Fanigla, pendulum-maker

Artists' notes
Everyone loves artifacts, as do I. Ged in Tales from Earthsea by Studio Ghibli said "I doubt you're powerful enough to wield it [the sword] yet", and that set how I wanted to have my artifacts - just like Mjolnir can only be wielded by Thor. I also like the fact that artifacts can create themselves without any magic involved. I suppose the greater artifacts will be like having a companion, with their demands. And of course computer games had their influence in artifact sets, like Krinsar's Dowry, which consists of five pieces.

Art on deviantArt: The White Night

A new piece of art can be found on deviantArt, showing the white forest: The White Night.
You can also find out more about the white forest here in the blog, here: http://starmakersgaze.blogspot.de/2013/11/the-white-forest.html

The Empty Lands

When Lozirians mean to say something's lost for good, then "it's gone to the Empty Lands". Most of Lozir is dry to say the least, but the Lozirians consider only the inner lands to really be a desert, with no known water sources or inland seas like Sawa and Gdera have. It is notoriously difficult to map and so, unknown indeed.

"A map of the Empty Lands would be either very useful or very useless. If it turns out you can't go there anyway the effort is wasted; so for now it's in our best interest to leave news of inner Lozir to the Areal travellers."
— Gramegar, Mappers' Guild spokesman

Some orders deliberately placed their strongholds or secret headquarters in the Empty Lands. That way their secrets are well protected, and they can always be sure that visitors are serious when it's so hard to reach their bases.

"The Knights of the East have their stronghold in the Empty Lands, but one can hardly ever see anyone come and go, and they remain silent when asked if they travel by Area. I wonder."
— Nelre dun Ruikin, citizen

Several tribes have vanished after crossing the imaginary border where the desert begins, the most famous being the rhu'khach after leaving the thrones of the Diamond Age - or so scholars assume.
Stone giants and plasmats roam the lands, and it's said the plasmats had a city, built of metals and precious stones they burned inside themselves, that's a sight to behold, and where no humans are welcome. It is one of the more colourful legends; many stories tell of the slow death, of halluzinations and mirages, and of travels that only happenend in the mind. Lost travellers are found clutching at air, holding their ears shut and having died screaming, many have died eating sand until choking on it.


Artists' notes
One of my favourite books ever was a gigantic, lushly illustrated two-part edition of the Tales of 1001 Nights that I had as a child - when stacked they were big enough to serve as a coffee table - and of course bits of that went into building Lozir. Other continents are not actually safer or easier to travel, but the meme of the mysterious desert remains alive in my imagination. I think part of that fascination is that an open desert invokes the feeling of being alone, while the forests of old have an air of beng watchful, and both are intriguing to have in a fantasy world.

Art on deviantArt: A Drastic Opinion

When I publish Genius Loci artwork on my main online gallery, deviantArt, there are other artworks, other quotes, and other descriptions, that I will link to as well in the future.

We'll start with a piece for the Area, A Drastic Opinion.

Radseri Spiritfriend

Radseri is the foremost expert on nature spirits. The Sawan elf has been studying them from early childhood and learned at the renowned School of Magic in Gamahan. Today, he travels to learn more about spirits; everyone agrees he has a special connection to spirits, but nobody can really say what that is.

"Radseri is known to us. He told the people of the town on my home mountain my wishes and made them understand when I could not. He is as good as a fleeter and wants less, we wish him well."
— Molmorur, the spirit of the Nonobur volcano

Radseri has human parentage and a quiet character, and is regarded as sitting in the ivory tower, but is undisputably a genius in his field. He can be seen playing with spirits all the time, splashing through rivers and running across meadows, but he is serene, well-spoken, and a good advisor to those seeking his counsel, and very undiscriminating. It is sometimes matter of concern to the same leaders who ask his help, that Radseri always hears both parties and may decide in favour of the spirits.

"And here we thought we understood our spirits just fine. The entire elven population of the city might have been killed by that unfortunate business with the collector's chest, had Radseri not intervened."
— Onitsor, councilman

Artists' notes
Radseri first appeared in a quote for a nature spirits concept where he said they made him become a mage, and he later received his own painting. I was long undecided if he was an elf or a human, but finally settled on elf because they are attuned to nature and spirits anyway.

Moochs

Moochs are peaceful flying animals found mostly in and around Lozir, but also wherever the air is favourable. Moochs aren't fast and glide slowly around in small flocks or sometimes singledly. They are held up by gaseous bags in their bodies, and it's said that larger moochs don't touch the ground at all. They are covered in eye-like spots and vary greatly in size, from the Pillar Street mooch spanning almost six meters, to the pocketsized arrowmooch. While peaceful, they can defend against attacking birds of prey well enough. Moochs are not hunted by humans.
Although they are docile and come to be fed and get attention, they don't bond and show no interest in the affairs of people, and there are no domesticated moochs. What they eat when they don't get vegetable treats is unknown; some think they don't eat at all.
Moochs are the only known creatures to go to the seraph cities, but scholars are puzzled as to why and how.

"Our hallromm tribe showed the moochs what they thought of them getting all the attention from smut Fresian. We had to patch up half of them, but the moochs didn't come back. Which made our cargo hold goldfairy cry. The disorder of the cargo is unbelievable, and I'll need to fix the fairy's mood somehow."
— Sefinama, dustship captain

Artists' notes
The German original, "Much", is a difficult phonetic translation; speak "mooch" with the same ending as Scottish "loch". So, yeah, flying rays, I couldn't stop myself, although it's a bit of a fantasy/sci-fi trope, but I love the shapes so much. There are places (in Africa, I think) where actual rays come to the shore to play with children and be petted, which is very, very cute, and I brought some of that into moochs' behaviour.

Shapeshifting

Following the disastrous worldwide conflict of the Splinter War in the 48th and 49th century, shapeshifting was outlawed by any country that considered itself civilized. It was agreed that shapeshifting changed one's heart; how should one be unaffected by turning into beasts or monsters?
About three centuries ago, however, evidence was unearthed that indeed the mind remains untouched by the change. Of course, even if news travel fast, not everyone today knows or accepts this. It might take shapeshifters centuries to regain acceptance.

"Naturally, the shapeshifters fulfilled a role in society that, when left empty, created a hole that we only now slowly begin to understand."
— Vatarna, mage, in a lecture

Shapeshifters are spell users, whisperers, or were born with the ability. Whisperers can only change slightly. Spells are powerful, but don't last very long. Born shifters, depending on skill, can change their appearance or physiology indefinitely, and turn into creatures or even things. These are still feared today even by openminded experts.
Although it's hereditary, few shapeshifters are born. It's more likely to have shifter children when the parents shifted much, but most shapeshifting is done with spells. Much spellcasting in turn means the children are likely to be speakers, and speakers are never shapeshifters.

"The elves were the first to jump at the chance of changing their outsides. I suppose it was to be expected - if regular twins want to be different, how must it be to look like everyone in town?"
— Blinai Namtoneh, historian

Artists' notes
I had created a huge war with shapeshifters early on. The logical conclusion was that shapeshifters would fall victim to genocide; prejudice and paranoia would bring anyone to the gallows who was suspected to have the gift. I then found that I robbed myself of a charming magical feature of fantasy worlds and thought hard how to get it back. I finally decided that the relentless effort and insatiable curiosity of the mages could rediscover the truth, and here we are.