Ym

Ym (pronounced /ɪm/) is a roughly rectangular thedy world in the cosmos of Crii. A network of cities and roads stretches across most of its continents, but areas in between remain dark and unexplored. In Ym, pursuant to the power of belief pervasive in Crii, areas of interest tend to be subject to a multum in parvo effect, larger on the inside than on the outside. This includes many architectural works, but also notable areas of wilderness.

The usual adjective used to refer to Ym, as well as the noun to refer to its inhabitants, is "Ymian" (pronounced /ˈɪmi.ən/).

Geography

Ym is shaped roughly like a stretched-out rectangle, about twice as long as it is wide, surrounded by the inchoate indefinition of Chaos. It is roughly bisected by a large body of water called the Central Sea; other major bodies of water include the Devil Sea that takes up the southwest corner of the world, the Shoreless Sea in the northeast, the Dry Sea that feeds south into the Devil Sea, and the Dark Sea and the Silver Sea in the world's southeast corner. Some geographers add the Northern Sea that spans the world's northern border, but this is often considered just part of the Central Sea and the Shoreless Sea and not a separate body.

Conventionally, Ym is considered to be divided into seven continents—though some of these continents adjoin with each other, their borders somewhat arbitrary. Basodiland, the northern peninsula of Chululu, is sometimes considered an eighth continent, though if so it's the smallest of the eight. (Without Basodiland, the smallest continent is Ghon.) The island of Olalla, home of the Shom people, is likewise sometimes considered an eighth continent (or ninth, if one counts Basodiland).

Climate

Three "hot spots" stretch diagonally across Ym, one centered in the Devil sea, one in the Central Sea, and one in eastern Satchmark. The climate around each of these is tropical, with the eastern hot spot, the only one over land, surrounded by Ym's largest jungle. The corners most distant from these spots, namely the northwest and the southeast, are the coldest areas on Ym, their far reaches covered with ice and inhabited only by the hardiest of creatures.

Races

Though a number of other noetic speciess exist, the dominant race of Ym is humanity. Humans on Ym, however, are divided into a number of theeds. The word "theed" is not generally used on Ym; Ymians are generally called "races" there, contrary to interplanar etorical convention, and the other noetic species are referred to as different peoples. The "races" of Ymian humanity, of course, have no correlation to the "races" of Earth, and any resemblances are purely superficial.

There are thirteen major races of Ym—twelve, if the Ar aren't counted, as they often aren't—, though a few minor races also exist. The thirteen major races are:

• Aagi - Associated with air, the Aagi are capable of developing a magical ability of flight.
• Ar - Due to their diminutive size and feral nature, the Ar are often considered not a true race on par with the others at all.
• Basodi - The sallow Basodi are known as master manufacturers, and some of their skill with machinery is truly supernatural.
• Garrong - The Garrong have a particular affinity with plants, so much so that some whisper they are part plant themselves.
• Ini - Small, quick, and stealthy, the Ini are noted for their abilities at observation and espionage.
• Kander - The Kander are extraordinarily flexible, able to twist their bodies into odd contortions. They also have some command over fire.
• Lagasa - The chimerical Lagasa love chaos, and can exercise power over it to make it, to some degree, conform to their whims.
• Olkhan - Huge and strong, the Olkhan are, on average, the most physically powerful race. Highly resistant to cold, they may develop ice powers.
• Qalili - The hirsute Qalili are unmatched in agility, and can make formidable fighters. Many of them enjoy special powers over stone and rock.
• Shom - The blue-skinned Shom are a mystical people whose complex beliefs and social structure are poorly understood by outsiders.
• Ta'at - The forest-dwelling Ta'at revere nature, and do their best to protect it, and in return are able to call upon its powers.
• Vali - The doughty Vali are known for their extraordinary constitutions; they recover quickly from illness and injury, and have superb stamina.
• Zynir - The Zynir make an art of body modification, altering themselves in elaborate ways. They have some link with water.

The races, of course, are not monolithic, and there is wide variation from these general types. In fact, there are many ethnicities within each theed, which may or may not be on their ways to developing into separate new theeds themselves. The theeds remain mutually interfertile, but the children of such a mating will conform principally to the theed of one parent, rather than having some intermediate form... though they may have some subtle characteristics or abilities of the other parent's theed. Which theed a child takes after seems random, and children of the same parents may pertain to two different theeds.

Culture

Technology on Ym still relies primarily on manpower and animal power, though limited use is now made of some fuels, particularly ginstone. The fastest means of travel, aside from magic, are by ship or by cart. Though there has been some mixture between the races, they still each maintain their own cultures to a large extent, though one inevitably colored by the local area and customs. The dominant governments are feudal, though other government forms do exist.

Among the two most respected vocations on Ym are those of peregrine and dramatist. The former are adventurers who foray into the untamed lands of Ym to open up new territory for settlement and in search of treasure and ancient secrets. Peregrines are admired because they bring much of their bounty back to civilization and help the local economies, and because they fight back the monsters and perils of the wilds that could otherwise endanger other areas. Dramatists, on the other hand, put on plays recounting past events of moment and illustrating important principles. In doing this, they influence beliefs and therefore indirectly alter reality. While neither the dramatists nor the general populace of Ym, for the most part, are consciously aware of the power of belief, they are at some level cognizant that the dramatists are helping to mold the world, and this is enough to earn them considerable esteem. In fact, there are many groups who combine both these professions, noted troupes that put on plays between their other ventures.

Gods

Most people on Ym pay considerable heed to gods, with devotion to the gods making up an important part of their lives. Which gods they worship, however, is a more open matter; there are hundreds of gods with significant worship on the world. Most of the gods worshipped are racial gods, associated with one of the world's theeds, and still worshipped primarily, though not necessarily exclusively, by people of their corresponding theed. The majority of other gods on Ym pertain to one of two groups: Old Gods who predate the division of humanity into theeds, and New Gods who arose since the theeds came into close contact.

The details of the devotion to the gods can take many forms. Some gods demand sacrifice; others prescribe detailed rituals and ceremonies; still others want only occasional prayer. Most, however, do have temples that serve as centers of worship. Many gods have some worshippers who dedicate themselves to their deities beyond what most of the faithful do, entering monastic orders or similarly single-minded employments.

Magic

Magic is a common force on Ym, and while the average Ymian may not be able to cast any spells himself, he is likely to at least have seen many applications of sympathetic magic. The theeds have racial abilities, too, that are magical in nature, even if they don't refer to them as such.

There are, however, some mages on Ym who do have the ability to use magic in more obvious ways. A few free mages do develop spellcasting abilities on their own, without recourse to particular systems or teachers. Most mages on Ym, however, follow particular schools, with shared methods and collections of abilities. There are at least two dozen schools in existence, but most are fairly small; the four largest are the Silver Knot, the Pentacle, Magnum Opus, and the Weavers of Worlds.