Sekiyan Medicine, day 2

How accurate is the diagnostic process? Do healers have ways of telling two diseases apart if they have similar symptoms? Do healers depend on standard physical medical tests -- reflexes, temperature, contracted pupils -- or do they normally use spells for diagnosis?

The diagnostic process--casting the spell Sapphire Light--is very accurate in the hands of a skilled healer. It can tell two diseases apart even if both maladies have similar symptoms. However, if the healer is untrained, misdiagnoses are more likely

Sekiyan Medicine, Day 1

What customs surround death and burial? Is there a special class of people (doctors, priests, funeral directors, untouchables) who deal with dead bodies?

The dead are prayed over in a private ceremony with the family, with the funeral and burial happening a day or so later. Corpses are handled by specially trained priests that prepare them for burial.

The funeral proper is not much different than an Earth funeral--only a Sekiyan funeral has a more celebratory tone.

Episode 2 of The Video Game

Bradlin appears in this episode: Episode 2

Sekiyan Manners, Day 3

Last question on this topic:

How important are "good manners" in this society? How do "good manners" differ from race to race? How do people/dwarves/elves/dragons react when someone has just been, by their standards, rude?

Good manners are encouraged on Sekiya, but the difference between races are very minor--for example, elves, unlike humans, do not shake hands with an unfamiliar person, because doing so implies familiarity.

If you do commit a faux pas, you may get everything from a gentle warning to being booted from the gathering, depending on what you did

Sekiyan Manners, Day 2

•Is there a distinction between "formal" good manners and informal, everyday manners? When and where are people expected to be on their best behavior?

Yes, there is a sort of distinction--Superiors demand more respect than equals and inferiors, and this is reflected in the manners.

People are expected to behave when a ruler or other important figure is present, and during a public performance/event

Sekiyan Manners, Day 1

•What are the rules of precedence--who gets to go through doors first? Who gets introduced first?

"Ladies first" is the rule on Sekiya, even moreso than on Earth. For introductions, superiors go first

The Language of Sekiya, Day 10

Last question on this topic...

Do wizards have a special language that is used for magic? If so, where do they learn it? Is it safe to chat in this language, or is everything said in it automatically a spell?

There is no set language to name spells, usually spell names come from the Alweld, but sometimes a spell will have a different name in the elven or dwarven tongue

The Language of Sekiya, Day 9

Are there different languages for different races (dwarves, elves, etc.), or is language based more on geography than race/species? Is there a special language you need to learn in order to talk to dragons or other magical beasts?

The dwarves and elves have their own tongue, while avris and fairies don't. Likewise, magical beasts do speak their own language, but it is heard by the listener as their own language

The Language of Sekiya, Day 8

•How many languages are there? Which ones are related (e.g., the Romance languages of Europe) and why? Which languages borrow words or phrases from other languages? Which are likely to be most widely spoken?

There are three main languages (the Alweld, Ruhar, and the dwarven tongue, which I need to name) and many different dialects of all three. Ruhar and the dwarven tongue frquently borrow words from each other, and a few words from each enter the Alweld, such as "tysal"

The Language of Sekiya, Day 7

What will people swear a binding oath by? What do people use as curse words?

Two common oaths you may hear in Sekiya are "By the Goddess Meikon" or "By the Twelve Stones", or some derivative therein. By contrast, "By Meikon's (body part)!" is a common swear, often shortened to "Meikon's (body part)!"

The Gemsinger Chronicles: The Video Game!

Over the last few months, I've been in contact with a YouTube buddy that makes RPGs using the program RPG Maker. I pitched the idea of making a game based on the world I have been building for almost a year.

This video is the first episode of said game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=743SIZhX93k

My friend has inspired me--and I have said that some game incidents may make their way into the story if I like them enough

The Language of Sekiya, Day 6

What things in this culture would their language have many specific words for (e.g., the Inuit languages that have 14+ words for different kinds of snow)? What do the people in this culture consider important enough to name?

There are a number of different words in the elven tongue for magia, which inevitably got absorbed into the Alweld. For example, each elemental has its own unique word in Ruhar, comprised of the elemental and the suffix -tia (meaning 'magic', so Vontia, the Ruhar word for ice, literally means "ice magic")

So the twelve elementals to an elf are:

Shetia-time
Firtia-darkness
Sumtia-water
Fistia-light
Koehtia-earth
Laftia-moon
Shatia-fire
Kethtia-wind
Caltia-holy
Thotia-spirit
Zaratia-lightning
Vontia-ice

The Language of Sekiya, Day 5

What areas do local slang phrases come out of? (Example: In a fishing town, referring to good luck as "a good catch"; in a farming town, as "a good harvest", etc.) What kinds of colorful turns of phrase do people use?

Since magia is an important part of Sekiyan life, this shows up in the language too:

"Have you had your power locked?"--Are you out of practice at something you used to be able to do well?

"The spirits are talkitive"--warning against giving away crucial information (similar to the Spanish proverb "The walls have eyes")

"Can you control dark magia?"--Are you sure you know what you're doing? (so created because of the twelve elements, darkness is the hardest to learn to control)

"Like THAT's a Stone of Power!"--said when you don't believe something

The Language of Sekiya, Day 4

•What are the variations in speech patterns, syntax, and slang from one social class to another? One occupation to another? One region to another?

The use of contractions lessens the further up you go on the social ladder (eg. upper class people will say do not, cannot, or will not as opposed to don't, can't, or won't)

The Language of Sekiya, Day 3

•Are there "secret" languages or codes known only by priests, soldiers, guild members, etc.? If so, why were they developed?

Most codes were built to protect those in power (for example, the code that the human queen is in danger is Shining Bastion)

The Language of Sekiya, Day 2

•Are some or all people bilingual? Is there a common second language many people know?

Elves and dwarves have their own language in addition to speaking the Alweld (the Sekiyan name for English), but of the two, the elven tongue or Ruhar (meaning "dream wisdom") is the more widely spoken. If a human is friends with an elf, or can find an elf willing to teach them, they can learn Ruhar.

Ruhar is based on a mixture of Spanish, Japanese, and Gaelic, and is fairly easy to learn, so it's not unheard of for humans to know the elven language

The Language of Sekiya, Day 1

•Is there a "trade language" that facilitates commerce between countries that don't speak the same tongue? Is there a "universal language" spoken by educated or noble persons, as Latin was in the Middle Ages?

What we know as English in our world is known as the All Wielder's Tongue, or Alweld, on Sekiya--this is commonly used as the main language for trading and daily communication.

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 8

Last question on this topic:

Are there customs involving the way in which someone is named when being introduced?

If the person has not very many titles, they are all listed at the first meeting. If the person has many titles, only the most important titles are listed. Either way, the person is referred by their first name from then on.

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 7

Are "true names" significant, and if so, under what circumstances would someone be given someone else's true name?

Demons' and angels' true names are never spoken before mortals, except when the Seer is speaking about them.

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 6

•Are there people or beings who are never introduced to each other?

Traditionally, demons and other dark beings are never named, so on the rare occasion you have to introduce a friendly demon, it will usually disguise itself as another being and take an assumed name, which you use for the introduction. Introducing a demon by its real name is seen as bad luck

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 5

How are two people who have not met before introduced to each other? What is the order of precedence when there are several people of differing sex, social status, or race/species present who must all be introduced to each other?

An intermediary will usually introduce the receiver ("Miresa, this is X) But in the occasion people of varying races, genders, and statuses are all together, the introductions start from the top and go down.

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 4

When meeting someone for the first time, how are they greeted--wave, handshake, bow, some other gesture? Does this differ if one already knows the person? If you see someone you like on the far side of the street, how do you acknowledge them?

When two Sekiyans meet for the first time, they will first state their name and offer a handshake to prove they come in peace. If they have a companion, the companion will introduce the person (eg. "This is X")

If two Sekiyans know each other, they will greet each other by name and embrace

If you see someone you know on the opposite side of the street, you call their name to get their attention, then flash a V sign (the peace sign) The V sign is said to symbolize a growing tree, and that the giver of the gesture hopes his/her relationship with the one that sees it grows strong

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 3

Is there a way of changing a greeting gesture to make it insulting?

Not neccesarily--some Sekiyans have protested unpopular officials by addressing them as an inferior, however

Meeting and Greeting in Sekiya, Day 2

Is there a difference between the greeting offered to an equal and that offered to a superior or inferior? Between that offered a man or a woman? (cf. the various levels of curtsey) Between that offered a human vs. a non-human?

When greeting an equal or inferior, you use the person's name if you know it (or just "Sir" or "Lady" if you don't) When greeting a superior, you usually greet them using their title (eg. Galia would be greeted with "Lady Seer", for example) If you know a superior very well, then using their title and name is okay (so Miresa, Bradlin, and Arune will call her "Lady Galia")

There are no differences between greeting genders or races

Meeting and Greeting on Sekiya, Day 1

How did the greeting gesture originate (example: shaking hands to prove one's weapon hand was empty)? Is there a special I-am-not-armed gesture for wizards?

Sekiyans also shake hands, but Singers and others dedicated to magia have special handshakes

Sekiyan Government, Day 14

Last question on this topic:

Do relations between countries depend mainly on the relations between the heads of state, or can two kings hate each others' guts without being able to just declare war and drag their countries into it?

There are times when the leaders of the different races don't get along, but work is usually done behind the scenes to resolve the conflict.

Sekiyan Government, Day 13

Who can call up men for an army, and how? Does the king ask his lords for men, who in turn draft their peasants, or can the king go straight to the bottom?

All the guards of all the world's cities and towns combined to make an army, so the ruler only summons enough guards to make the size of army s/he needs (the royal guards combined make 500,000 men and women)

Sekiyan Government: Day 12

•Is there an organized system of education? If so, who provides it: government, temples, private persons? How is it supported?

The government works with the local branch of the scholar's guild to erect a school building, which is then supported by the local scholar's guild and taxpayer money (which makes it free for most schools and provides financial aid for the magia academies)

In the case of the more rural areas, the scholar's guild will send the local Seer supplies to teach with

Taking a break....

The worldbuilding is on vacation for the Fourth of July weekend, so from one American to the rest of my American fans: Happy 4th of July.

Sekiyan Goverment: Day 11

Who is responsible for coinage: the king, local barons, merchant guilds, someone else? Are there generally acceptable standards for coins? How easy/common is counterfeiting?

Every race has their own mint, which is run with a partership beteen the merchant's guilds and the ruler. Every race has their own set of designs for different denominations, but the coins can be used anywhere. The coins have an invisible magia glyph on them that is different for each race, and can only be seen by those that have Spirit magia (or a lot of enchanted opals), so counterfeiting if difficult, but on the rare chance someone manages to erase or manipulate the glyph, a long prison term awaits

Sekiyan Government, Day 10

Who can give orders (to military, to tax collectors, to servants, to ordinary folks on the street)? How are such people chosen?

Military, tax collectors, and servants get orders from those above them, but if order needs to be spread among the people, heralds usually do this. They are usually appointed by the high chamberlain, and are charged with announcing visitors and spreading the word among the people, so enthusiasm, riding ability, and a strong voice are must haves.

Sekiyan Goverment, Day 9

Who is responsible for protecting the king or head of state? His personal guard, the Secret Service, an elite group affiliated with the regular military? What safeguards have they got against assassins, poisoning, direct assault, magical attack?

Each ruler has their own royal guard that is seperate from the normal military. While the Royal Guard is about the same size as the normal military, one company (about 100 people) is enough to protect the ruler while traveling. Most of the magia wielders in the Royal Guard have either Holy (to buff against/heal poison and other wounds) or Spirit magia (to buff against attacks of any kind)