Travel and Communication in Shokiyu, Day 8

◦What is the fastest means of traveling long distances over land? Over water? Which methods are safest?

Deerback is the fastest way to travel on land, while wyvern rides are the fastest way across water. Carriages and ships are the safest

Travel and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 7

◦How common is travel (for any reason)? Does the concept of travel “to see the world” or for fun, even exist? How dangerous is travel?

Shokiyans love to travel, and many have often left on journeys to see the world. Most routes are relatively safe, but people do take precautions against bandits just in case

Travel and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 6

◦How available is water transportation? How reliable? How dangerous? How expensive?

Ships are plentiful, but very pricey when carrying people. (ships are generally used to carry items) They are reliable and reasonably safe (the main worry is the weather, not pirates--the crew does practice what to do if pirates attack just in case)

Travel and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 5

Is there a public/private postal system, or does everyone of importance have to send messengers? How fast can news get from A to B?

There is a very reliable postal system, but very important messages are hand delivered. Letters get from Point A to Point B in two to five days if conditions are good

Travel and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 4

◦How are messages sent when necessary?

Most of the time, messengers or messenger animals are sent to deliver messages, but some mages and Seers can send messages telepathically

Travel and Communication in Shokiyu, Day 3

◦For traveling short distances within a city, what are the alternatives? Can people hire a cab, a litter, a rickshaw, or do they have to walk or rely on their own servants or horses?

Most Shokiyans prefer to walk, but taxi carriages are offered if your destination is nowhere near any teleport crystals

Traveling and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 2

◦Are there magical means of transportation (teleport spells, magic carpets, dragon-riding)?

Teleportation and dragon riding are the most common magical means of transport. Teleportation is usually used for shipping items, but is occassionally used on people. However, the spell becomes more likely to fail the more people you try to teleport. A clever mage got around this by confining the spell inside a crystal, allowing large groups to be teleported without the risk of the spell failing (since they are in essence, touching the spell itself rather than trying to cast it themselves) Large cities will often have a network of teleportation crystals (so Crystal A at the entrance takes you to Crystal B in the town square which takes you to Crystal C by the marketplace, etc.)

Dragon and wyvern rides are the more common way to transport people, but it can get pricey, as each dragon master/mistress charges their own rate

Travel and Communication on Shokiyu, Day 1

◦What are the common domesticated animals used for transportation at various levels of society — e.g., oxen, horses, donkeys, camels, etc.?


Horses and oxen are most often seen in the valley, camels in the desert, and rams and deer in the mountains

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 8

◦What kinds of treatments are available — herbal brews, vaccinations, acupuncture, spells, etc.? How effective are they?

There are spells and potions for preventative measures (eg. vitamins), vaccinations, and treatment--some will cure maladies completely, while others just help the healing process along.

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 7

◦How much do the physical differences between humans and non-humans affect their medical treatment?

While there are a few noticable differences between non-humans and humans (eg. dwarves being more sensitive to the sun, for example), the biggest difference is in the avris--since their anatomy is a blend of a bird's and a humans, they are also suspectable to some diseases birds can catch.

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 6

◦Is it possible to resurrect/resuscitate someone who has died? If so, how long does it take before this becomes impossible? Before serious brain damage sets in?

There is a revive spell, but you need to cast it quickly (no later than 20 minutes after death for the best chance of it working. Even then, it still may not work

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 5

◦How much training does a healer normally get? Where? From whom?

Aspiring healers train under a master healer at a young age (around age 12 or 13), and can practice on their own by age 18

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 4

◦How much is known about anatomy, physiology, pathology, etc.? Are treatments based on purely practical experience (“We know this works but we don’t know why”), or do healers understand at least some of what they are doing?

Healers have an idea about how the different bodies of the five races and their processes work, which is quite helpful in determining what Sapphire Light shows. However, they are not as detailed or advanced as we are

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 3

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

Illnesses are diagnosed by both observation of symptoms and the spell Sapphire Light, which can tel two maladies with similar symptoms apart. For those sensitive to magical power, there is a diagnostic potion that can be drank to diagnose the problem

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 2

◦What kinds of treatments are available — herbal brews, vaccinations, acupuncture, spells, etc.? How effective are they?

Potions and healing spells are the most common kinds of treatments (for both healing and vaccination purposes. Usually, they have little risk of side effects, but potions made by untrained healers are more likely to not work/cause side effects

Shokiyan Medicine, Day 1

◦How expensive is a healer? How available are such services to ordinary people?

Shokiyan healers are common, and much cheaper than doctors on Earth. Seers even heal for free in the rural areas

What next?

What topic would you like to discuss next?

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 16

◦Who can make or repeal laws — a group (an elected Senate, an appointed Council, or an hereditary House of Lords), or only the ruler or head of state? How much can the nobility, middle class tradesmen, etc. influence the laws that are made?

Each race has its own lawmaking council in their capital city that are appointed by the rulers. People can come before the council and make their case for and against laws, but swaying the council is relatively rare

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 15

◦Are highwaymen, muggers, and pirates common or rare?

Bandits and pirates are uncommon, but large enough of a threat to be watched. The average Shokiyan does take precautionary steps against them.

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 14

◦Are wizards above or below the law — i.e., do they have full rights as citizens, no rights, or can they do as they like without regard to anyone else’s rights?

Mages have the same rights as any other Shokiyan, plus the promise to protect and guard the magic

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 13

◦Are there sumptuary laws regulating what different classes/races may wear? Do judges and lawyers wear special clothes (robes, wigs) to indicate their calling?

There are no laws dictating what people can and cannot wear, BUT judges do wear robes as they do on Earth

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 12

◦Are people guilty until proven innocent, innocent until proven guilty, or does it depend on the mood the lord is in when they bring the case before him?

All suspects are assumed innocent before being proven guilty to prevent a lords knee jerk reaction

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 11

Are there lawyers or advocates? Who can afford them? Who trains/certifies them?

There are advocates on Shokiyu, and unlike lawyers on Earth, they are trained via apprenticeship rather than taking a bar exam. Their prices are fairly reasonable compared to lawyers on Earth, and some will even accept food as payment if the person they are defending is poor

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 10

◦Who is responsible for catching criminals? Who pays the crook-catchers — the ruler, the city government, a consortium of merchants, somebody else? How are they organized — into independent police precincts, or into overlapping districts, or just according to whoever wants to hire them? Are they full-time, part-time, or volunteers? Private or public? What sort of facilities do they have? What arms are they allowed to carry?

Each town has its own guard--in rural areas, this may just be townsfolk that happen to be good with a weapon, while in most places it is its own job. They are usually paid in pearls, which can be supplemented or replaced with food if the town leaders don't have much in the way of pearls. The guard is further divided into units, and each unit watches over a specific area of town. Usually, there is a guard's quarters, where off duty guards can relax and all guards can train. Most guards typically wield a sword, but all forms of polearms, axes, and bows are not unheard of.

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 9

◦What are the normal punishments for serious vs. minor crimes? Are there prisons, or are people punished and released? Are there degrees of punishment — branding vs. cutting off ears vs. cutting off a hand vs. decapitation — or do they just hang everybody?

Retribution or prison time await you for the majority of crimes--torture and/or death are saved for the most serious cases.

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 8

◦What things are considered truly serious crimes and why?

--Murder, torture, rape, and the like (Shokiyans believe life is precious)
--Mishandling of money (because honesty and humilty are valued)
--Abuse of magic (out of respect for magic)

Law and Order in Shokiyu, Day 7

Is evidence obtained by magic acceptable in court?

Magically obtained evidence by divination spells (eg. a spell showing a victim's last moments) is fine, but anything obtained by a truth telling spell (a form of coercion) or by zapping with condition/offensive spells (as a form of torture) is not

Vive le blog!

Wonder where all these hits from France are coming from? (or if they're even legit?)

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 6

Are judges or other court officials required/forbidden to know magic?

Judges and court officials don't HAVE to know magic, but knowing time/divination magic does help

Law and Order on Shokiyu, Day 5

◦Are there separate civil and criminal courts? Human and non-human courts? Is there a separate court or procedure for magical crimes?

Magical and non-magical crimes are tried under the same system. Non-humans do have their own courts, but they are tried in the realm where the crime took place (so an elf accused of a crime in the human lands would be tried in the human realm.

While magical crimes are subject to the same rules as non-magical crimes, they are often tried in temples in a place known as the Room of Trials