Sodalite
2012-07-28, 11:35 PM
Given I've just recently edited my setting again for the first time in nearly two months, the freeform has slowed to less than a crawl, and there was absolutely no interest in further recruits, I've decided to repost my setting, in it's entirety. I thank again those who contributed before, and though I feel now that the setting far more complete than it once was, I am wholly and eagerly receptive to suggestions, ideas, and questions.
Once again, spoilered for length.
Cultures
The Antecendents (hwin G'winiata, Handed People): The first race of the first sapient species, predecessor to many of the following. They were on average relatively tall, only shorter than the Islanders, and had about the same proportions as them as well.
The Islanders (hwin G'wina Aoku, Hands of Life): The remnants of the Antecendents after the first Sundering, their society is tribal, lead by the eldest member of their Living Tradition. They are a tall and lithe people, and their skin is a crimson bronze color.
The Hedonists (hwin Bahlizdatuuiata, Far-Flung People): The people who were flung from Near to Far by the first Sundering, they are a decadent culture, though more intelligent in their decadence than the Antecendents were. They fairly short, with stocky bodies and skin with a pale gold color.
The Carvers (hwin Kihlanuuata, People who Carve): The people left behind on Far after the second Sundering, they are a society divided between two groups, the Practice and the Artisans. They are akin to the Hedonists in their appearance, being short and stocky and of similar skin color.
The Bloom-Towners (hwin Ghleturuua Aioina, Followers of Flowers): Carver colonists, the Bloom-Towners live around the massive flowers which occasionally bloom near the peaks of the living mountains. Their more open environment has caused many second or third generation Bloom-Towners to be taller than their parents.
The Footers (hwin Ruanuuata, People who Walk): Those who left the Carvers to walk the deserts. They split into three large tribes, based around the color of the sand within in their territories. Their bodies are fairly square, taller than Carvers and being about far across as they are tall.
Gold Feet (Tirahlozmupi Ruanuuata, Golden-Footed People who Walk): The Footers who on the gold sands, located on the equator, between the Green and the Red.
Two-Colors (Hlukozmemidi Ruanuuata, Two-Colored People who Walk): Sometimes, one from the other clans will come into the Gold Feet after being exiled, and sire a child. This child's colors are mixed, and for that they are often ostracized.
Green Feet (Siyenozmupi Ruanuuata, Green-Footed People who Walk): Those Footers who walk the northern sands, their feet and legs are strongly colored green. Generally, they are warlike, and infighting is common.
Red Feet (Sansadozmupi Ruanuuata, Red-Footed People who Walk): The Footer who walk the southern sands, with red feet and legs. The majority of pearlescent tablets and Sandpainters lie in the south, and so their position within the Red Feet is clearer than in the Green Feet.
The Returned (hwin Iuhl'wiata, Returned People): Some Bahliata were returned to Near when the second Sundering occurred. They are largely akin to their Far counterparts, though their cultures has come to accept Cachers and those who have undergone the cosmic mutation to a greater than those on Far.
The Many-Bodied (hwin Dthutozpacuti, the Many-Bodied): Strange and alien minds in control of dozens upon dozens of individual bodies.
Essence Manipulator Groups and Forms
The Emanators (hwin Janinuua Abuyeme, the Projectors of Soul): Those possessed of a voluminous soull.
The Lineages (hwin Buyemezhlutaona, the Soul-Families): A series of individuals who've all had the same soul, and all been Emanators.
The Manifestors (hwin Janinuua Atyufe, the Projectors of Essence): Persons with essential machinery embedded in their souls.
The Rare Manifestations (hwin Vopina, the Rare): Manifestors who's machinery is especially rare. Their power often exceeds what the nature of their machinery might imply.
The Mutators (hwin Cahlinizbuyema, the Changed-Souls): Persons who's souls have been replaced by a unique microcosm.
The Cachers (hwin Fok'wizbuyema, the Emptied-Souls): Persons with an essential void instead of a soul.
The Ascendants (hwin Co'womozsimisho, the On-High): Persons who's souls have overtaken their bodies after an epic series of achievements.
The Practice (hwin Tagene, the Practice): A religious organization who venerate the use of rituals and the Bahliata.
The Heretics (hwin Yirunuua ahwin Tagene, the Heretics of the Practice): Heretics of the Practice, who use rituals and arts for profit rather than out of devotion.
The Esotericists (hwin Hlatonuua Adenda, the Keepers of Secrets): Heretics who specialize in binding essence.
The Sandpainters (hwin Mu'lusezmankahlacuua, the Sand-Picturers): Prophets who paint scenes in sand on massive pearlescent tablets lying in the desert of Far.
The Artisans (hwin Kahlacuu, the Artists): Master craftsmen, each in search of their ideal of true art.
The Living Tradition (hwin Mahwana Aoku, the Tradition of Life): A tradition developed after the first Sundering by the Islanders, in order to protect their environment from another sundering.
The Diabolicals (hwin Fyuthezlantu, the Essence-Gluttons): Former members of the Living Tradition who consume essence rampantly.
History of Near, and the Sunderings
The setting is, in large part, composed of two planets. They are called Near and Far, based around how the one star in the setting appears from the surface of each, appearing close when on Near, and distant while on Far. The surface of Near is dominated by a single massive ocean, and, in fact, the only actual landmass is composed of gigantic xenoliths, rather any native form of stone or earth. Nearly all of the biomass on Near is either contained or lies upon the living plant-islands which float in the ocean.
On these living islands, ages ago, a cunning ape was checking its fish-trap when it fell in, and discovered it the trap was so thick, it could float even with them inside it. This lead to that ape and its cohorts to discover other living island besides their own, to further development of further technology, complicated language based in trade but evolved to do more, to the discovery of some of the basic principles of their universe, and even to some techniques to manipulate the universe. These beings will eventually come to be known as the Antecendents, though they called themselves the G'winiata, or Handed People. They were one of the two species to ever create civilization, and the first to do so. They invented the manipulation of essence-forms, a basal form of the future Islanders' binding of essence and the future Hedonists' ceremonies.
However, like the Bahliata who will follow them, the Antecendents will abuse their ability to manipulate the world. After centuries of use, the strings and sheets of essence tore under the stress, leaving gaping holes, connecting the lush Near to the, at the time, nearly dead Far. These holes swallowed some living islands, depositing them on Far, and replacing them with pillars of stone, each of which contained some of the bodies of a single Many-Bodied.
These transported Antecendents began to call themselves the Bahlizdatuuiata, or far-flung people. The Islanders that were left behind would eventually come to call there brethren the Hedonists, for their repetition of the abuse of essence manipulation. The Islanders themselves vowed to never again threaten their world in such a way. They developed the Living Tradition, a tradition which allowed them bind essence into a physical form, but also trained them the skill of recycling that binding back into the environment, preserving what little balance was left.
Within the Living Tradition, though, there are some who shirk their responsibilities. Their indoctrination is too strong for them create permanent bindings like the the Hedonists or Returned, but they instead abuse their skill at dismantling such bindings. They undo bindings before they've been put to use, or while still in use, and siphon the essence into themselves, granting their bodies and souls extraordinary qualities related to the essence being unbound, but also instilling in them a sort of addiction for such consumption of essence. These rogues within the Living Tradition are exiled soon after discovery, outlawed and then hunted down. They are rarely caught, though, and many meet their end in a fashion more gruesome than the Living Tradition could ever inflict, eventually exploding into fonts of essence as the capabilities of their body and soul to store as much essence as they take in fail them.
The Bahlizdatuuiata, now calling themselves the Bahliata, or Far People, did follow in their forebearers' steps and began abusing there own skills at manipulating essence, constructing massive walking fortresses from sand, the crushed remains of the planet after the living islands took root. The Bahliata, though, remembered the first catastrophe, and prepared themselves. With an escalating series of ceremonies, they raised their fortresses into the sky, evading many of the holes in the world. Many of these rituals failed, though, with the fortress crashing and its entire population dying. Even among those that succeeded, some still were swallowed by holes in the world. When they exited the holes and found themselves above Near, and when they did, began to search for their lost cousins. They found them.
There meeting was less than amicable, though the Bahliata came out on top. They plundered the secret of binding from the Islanders, though they either missed or ignored the secrets of the Living Tradition that the Islanders had developed. After gaining knowledge of binding, the Returned began to and successfully created an array of gigantic bindings, designed to generate massive ripples in the fabric of essence, strong enough to be detectable on Far, yet not so strong as to cause another catastrophic sundering of essence. They turned it on, and indeed, the Bahliata of Far detected slight but consistent ripples in the fabric of essence. At first, the Far People attempted to create a ceremony to decipher the ripples, but the ceremony only lasted long enough to decipher a miniscule portion of the code within the ripples, nothing meaningful. Next, they built a machine to take in the essence ripples and decode them. However, they couldn't afford to run it for long, but just long enough to understand the transmission, which held descriptions of how to bind essence. The Bahliata, then, created arrays to receive and to send signals as well. They communicated, and the secrets of binding are passed on to the Bahliata of Far, from whom it then leaks to the Carvers.
Souls or facsimiles of such aren't needed for a person to be born, though, or even for them to exceptional. Persons born without a soul are known as Cachers among the city-folk and bloom-towners, and by myriad other names in other cultures. Without a soul, a Cacher can store essence within that cavity, making them effectively immune such essence effects until that cavity is filled. After storing essence, the Cacher may release it, often in an uncontrolled torrent if they are unskilled. As the Cacher grows in power, their void grows as well, and should a Cacher achieve ascendance, they instead are consumed by their void, absorbing everything near them, not simply raw essence, becoming rather dangerous if they do focus on not disturbing their surroundings. All of those Cachers who have achieved such void-apotheosis have felt an uncontrollable urge to leave the world find their way to the void between Near and Far, though none have succeeded in going there.
That does not, however, mean that no one has tried. Indeed, seven years ago, the Bahliata of Far constructed a vehicle, similar in design to their flying fortresses, but built to withstand the rigors of the interplanetary void. No Cachers, let alone living voids, were aware of this program, so none were among the crew. The crew relatively ordinary in terms of souls, only a few Emanators and Manifestors, though they were selected for their exceptional intelligence, loyalty, strength, endurance, and talent in a variety of useful skills. They've stopped being so ordinary since they've left, having been trapped in a sort hell by extracosmic forces, similar to those present during the sunderings, which are nearly omnipresent in the interplanetary void. Their souls have been stripped away, and replaced with the torture chamber which their ship has become. There is hope yet, if they were to master their ability to change the world they've entered, but even then, they will never be the same.
In the wake of both sunderings of essence, the holes in the world allowed not only being from within the universe to travel. Extracosmic forces acted on all of those who were in the vicinity of or passed through such a hole, stripping them of their soul, and replacing it with a microcosm, a small universe representing the consciousness left behind without the soul. With only a cosmic facsimile, these Mutators cannot perform most any other sort of essence manipulation, but can impose, to varying degrees, their inner world on the world around them, or even themselves. Eventually, should their inner world grow too larger, they are shunted from this one, and eventually grow to become fully their own universe.
History of Far
Away on Far, remnants of the earthbound, the low or unworthy of the Bahliata, were left on the surface of Far. They found the sands were stained by the powerful essence rituals to lift the fortresses in to the sky, the sands to the north colored green, red to south, and gold in between.
Many, unsatisfied with wandering the deserts, took what few tools they had left, and headed for the living mountains, the descendant structures of the living islands which were transported there generations ago. They carved open the moist flesh of the living mountains and made a home for themselves. These people who carved into the mountains came to be known as the Carvers, and soon after the founding of many of their cities, two factions rose up to take control. First was the Practice, a religious organization who worship the Bahliata and their excellent control of essence. Second, the Artisans, master crafters, capable of creating items that can automatically manipulate essence themselves, and who hope to attain the creation of true art. In between the Practice and the Artisans are the Heretics, former Practicers or artisans who were more skilled than they were devoted to the causes of their organizations. They left their former groups, and came together for the purpose of profit, commissioning rituals and art where the Practice and Artisans refuse to.
Within the Heretics are those who came upon the secret of binding essence, accidentally left behind by a Bahliata diplomat. This subsect calls themselves the Esotericists, and sell their skills at a high price, calling on their monopoly of the field.
Still wandering the deserts were those who came to be called Footers, since the essence of the sands bled into their feet and changed their color, and this change in color eventually grew to be a dividing line between groups of clans, creating the tribes. Sometimes, in gold sands around the equator of Far, tribes will intermarry, producing children with a mixture of colors. These children are often abandoned, and few clans have rules to protect them, so they often grow up on their own, learning to endure the harshness of the world at full force, physically and mentally.
The Sandpainters are a tradition among Footers, a group of ascetics who forgo their clan ties or even their color, and travel between the sands, collecting samples of the sand as they go. These Sandpainters will occasionally feel a pull to gather together at specific location, unknown to other groups. Where they arrive, there is a massive, pearlescent tablet raised above the sand. They then begin to do as their name implies, painting a scene with the sands they've collected over their travels. The scenes painted on this tablet have been observed to be effectively prophetic, successfully predicting, or causing, the event depicted to occur before the next gathering of the Sandpainters at a statistically significant rate.
These pearlescent tablets were in fact create by the Many-Bodied millenia ago, and the pull they feel is the former souls of thousands of bodies, each one connected into a network, creating the single mind of a single Many-Bodied, who produced that specific tablet in their life. The Many-Bodied, themselves, pioneered this technique of excellent prophecy millenia ago, around the same time the Antecendents discovered the manipulation of essence-forms. However the abilities of this technique are radically incompatible to most current theories describing essence-forms, which are thought to be probabilistic and thus not so perfectly predictable.
Some bodies were transplanted when the original Bahlizdatuuiata arrived, and reconstructed their mind on the xenoliths currently standing in Near's ocean. They have not regained enough intelligence to be communicated with, but instinct on the part of the bodies has lead them to already begin the decades long processes constructing new tablets.
Every few years, the living mountains enter bloom, producing massive flowers and fruit, each of which contain many useful materials. These blooms attract settlers from within, and even from the Footers, and those who do settle around these flowers come to be known as Bloom-towners. There's quite a difference between Bloom-town life and City life, mostly on the case of scale. Within the mountain, the feud between the Practice and the Artisans can almost reach physical combat, where as it limited to the local Practicer and Artisan in Bloom-towns.
Descriptions of Essence Manipulation
Sometimes when the essence-forms which facilitate consciousness, often called a soul, is traveling from one incarnation to another, some part of the natural essence machinery of the world will embed itself in it, enabling the receiver of that consciousness to channel essence they find into that machinery, replicating the effect it would have produced in nature. More rarely, essence machines of uncommon occurrences can slip their way into a soul, something like the blooming of mountain-flowers, which only happens once every few years and last for a comparatively short time, or the refraction of sunlight into a rainbow, which due to the nature of the star's light, rarely happens at all. These rare manifestations of nature often hold more power than their respective phenomena would imply.
Sometimes souls possess a physical size beyond the higher dimensions in which essence exists. In such cases, the person possessed of such a soul is often called an Emanator, and if they are struck by essence, naturally or artificially, they may conduct its effects to those within the volume of their soul, dividing it among them. Often time these Emanators are part of a Lineage, a procession of persons each possessed of the same voluminous soul, which is tracked by following the soul physically.
Ordinarily, an emanator's soul takes a form akin to a cohesive, vaporous cloud, centered on the emanator. The vapor is virtually invisible, and lacks a smell or taste, but it is noticeably heavier feeling, though usually not enough to to significantly effect movement through it. However, an interesting interaction occurs when an emanator also possesses manifestations. Sometimes, in this already rare case, the machinery of the manifestation becomes material. This has two effects, the first being the presence of a halo, a object of material essence that can take of variety forms and from which the emanator manifests. The second effect, which originates from the halo, is that the entire emanation changes in shape, echoing the manifestation. An example might the manifestation of an electric current, when being echoed by an emanation, would cause the emanation to become charged, possibly even visibly discharging when a conductive object entered the emanation. The halo itself would likely take a form of a constant electric current, jumping from place to place in the emanation.
Very rarely, often after a scene depicted by the Sandpainters, a soul will begin to take in exceedingly large amounts of essence, growing quickly and eventually overtaking the body. The person possessed of that soul becomes ascendant, extremely powerful, and one of the only lightsources for the world of Far. Ascendants naturally shed illuminating essence, revealing to them anything they shine upon, as well as to anyone within the light. Along with this light, essence of their deeds, especially that of the one preceding their ascendance, is shed, effecting everything happening within their light, strengthening the impact of the actions they took in their former life.
Depending on the condition of their soul, this may be all, but if they were an Emanator, not only are they significantly larger, but the actions of their forebearers, of the ones before them in their Lineage, are also amplified. Should the person be a manifestor and ascend, the essence embedded in their soul also shed upon the world, magnifying its presence where-ever they shine, not to mention cosmetically effecting the color fo their light.
It is unknown what happens to those who ascend on Near, since they disappear. But it is known that there is nothing lighting the sky of Near but the star.
Cosmology
A year, within this small universe, is the time it takes for the center of the star to pass through the same point a second time in its orbit around Near. This is longer than a single revolution because the angle of the orbit changes every time it passes around Near. On average this process takes about 100.3 revolutions, often rounded too 100 revolutions, plus one every fourth year, except for every ninth fourth year.
Curiosities of this setting, from our perspective of course, include the fact that the cosmology includes only two planets, and the one star is miniscule in comparison to either, and actually orbits Near. Of course, the nature of the star is also not at all similar to our own. It is, in fact, a recursive image of the universe, blurred by the overlapping images, each slightly different from the previous iteration. One possible explanation for what happens to those who ascend on Near is that their soul is absorbed into the star itself, a consciousness overlooking all the myriad pasts, presents, and futures. Few people know of this fact about the star in-universe, but those that do theorize that pearlescent tablets function by reflecting starlight in such a way as to conjure an image of the future, though it may be incorrect if it conjures the image of something which is different in the next iteration. These theories are ignored by their peers, if only for the apparent absurdity.
The ultimate destiny of each iteration is similar. The number of Mutators is proportional to the relative age of that iteration. As the number of Mutators increases, the pressure of their inner cosmoses pushes the physical boundary of their iteration of universe outwards, causing it to expand at an exponentially increasing rate. Eventually, this expansion effectively destroys the current iteration and draws the next out of the star, after which, since all the former iteration's mutators have either died or escaped the universe, the expansion ceases and the next iteration begins.
Despite the fact that the only true sources in this universe are the ascendants and the star, it is not uncommon to see glimmering in the sky above either planet, when it is dark. Significant amounts of light are reflected from the surface of both planets, yet there is almost no light in the void between. This discrepancy is caused by the interaction between the essence present in the upper atmospheres of the planets and the weak extracosmic forces which act just beyond the atmosphere. Where these forces meet essence, they coalesce into a material form, a thin vapor, though sometimes quite quite large in diameter, which is also highly reflective, shining light from the surface back down, also causing the glimmering sometimes seen when the sky is dark.
Physiology and Philosophy of the Races
The races of Near and Far, the Islanders, the Bahliata, the Carvers, the Bloom-towners, and the Footers are relatively humanoid, though their arms are lengthier on average than ours, and their facial features are often flatter. Like humans, they differ mostly in terms of body and hair color, though body shape is more variant than in humans. The Carvers, Bloom-towners, and Bahliata are all fairly stocky, short compared to the other races, and have skin of pale gold, though somewhat deeper a color for the Bloom-towners. The Footers have skin with the look of tarnished copper, dull and almost a green brown, and have larger and more muscled bodies than the Carvers. The skin of Islanders is a crimson-bronze color, a reddish-brown with a noticeable luster, and they have tall, lean bodies, fit for their island environment. The shape of the Many-Bodied is alien, a network of orbs, tubes, other structures, and isn't known to many individuals of the other species.
The Antecendents, the first race so to speak, were relatively religious compared to their successors. They worshiped the star, believing it to be shining god, conceptually similar, to a startling degree, to the ascendants which will come to be on Far in the future. Early in civilization, they believed that the star god would rise out of the deep on one side of the world, trace a semi-circle through the sky, and sink into the deep at not quite the opposite side of the world. Eventually they learned that the star orbits their world, technically above the sky, and that their world was spheroidal. Towards the end of their civilization, as the sundering approached and their arrogance began to grow exponentially, worship of the star dropped dramatically.
The Islanders after the Antecendents were similar in their reverence, though lessened, of the star. However, after the first sundering, an element of ancestor vilifications entered their mythology, not to mention their religious diligence in following the Living Tradition. Aside from the occasional hunt for Essence-Gluttons, the Islanders dutifully bind tools as they need them, perform whatever task they have received, and then recycle the essence within the bound tool, equally dutifully. On the night before the new year, they often tell stories comparing the myths of their ancestors' failures to the achievements they've made that year, celebrating the progress they've made and that they've not regressed to the behavior of their ancestors.
The Bahliata were significantly less religious. For the first few years after their arrival on Far, there was simply no time for them to consider things like philosophy, and once they achieved stability, their philosophies were often related to heroes or great persons, though that hero reverence was strengthened upon the appearance of the first two Ascendants, who happened to ascend simultaneously. Unlike most other cultures, the Bahliata also contain a significant percentage of non-religious individuals, often persons who's research into the nature of the universe and in the nature of people has lead them to believe no beings, ascendant or otherwise, can ever deserve more than respect, though many have the power to demand more. A small percentage of Bahliata converted back to sun reverence when they returned to Near, but it was a negligible amount.
The Carvers are nearly evenly split between the philosophies of the Practice and the Artisans, with some in the middle ground like the Heretics.
The Practice believes that Bahliata were right in their use of ceremonies, and that those who use them should use them in emulation of the Bahliata. Practicers frequently perform mock ceremonies in their day-to-day lives, and celebrate the anniversaries of important discoveries such as the discovery of flowers. On the rare occasion where a Bahliata descends from their flying fortress, Practicers are required to show the utmost respect, and to meet any requests which the Bahliata gives them. They see the ascendants as 'cheaters,' leaving their bodies behind to reach the skies that the Bahliata reached only through their own work.
The Artisans are group of crafters and entertainers who strive, with religious fervor, to create a nebulous concept they call True Art. They create singular pieces, collaborate with a few peers, or even come together in massive gatherings and create communal artwork. No matter who and how, though, as many moments of their lives as possible are devoted to creating art, increasing their skill, and hopefully moving towards the creation of True Art. A few, some even within the Artisans, believe there may be a connection between True Art of the visual kind and the scenes depicted by the Sandpainters, but these theorists are often dismissed by the majority of Artisans.
The Heretics, to contrast, are a secular organization, with the sole purpose of selling skillfully performed ceremonies or crafted arts for a profit.
The Bloom-towners are often layman Practicers, not truly practicing but still following the local ordained Practicer, who often leads the community in daily, or sometimes less often, ceremonies. There is also often a single Artisan, either a Journeyman on their lonesome, or an Expert with an Apprentice in tail. The Artisan of a Bloom-town often does not try to convert others, but does suggest that people come to them when need something done, rather than performing a ritual with the Practicer, often mentioning how the use of art is more convenient, more efficient, and more permanent.
The Sandpainters, given that they renounce their clan, are held with the same respect among all clans, and are seen as trusted sources for important decisions where an opinion unbiased by clan is needed, such as determining on how to punish a criminal or whether to take in a two-colored child they've stumbled upon. When a Sandpainter who has recently been in a gathering passes through a clan's caravan, they often questioned extensively about what the scene was, and how they think it might come to be. Aside from this respect and reliance on objective decision making, Sandpainters are not given special treatment by many clans' laws.
The Many-Bodied do not a hold a concept similar to religion, though it is a common belief that there is some higher pattern which might be discerned through the careful observation of the scenes on their pearlescent tablets. However, there are none as of now who remain capable of such high thought, so the point is moot.
Economics
Of all the races, the Bahliata are only to use a unified currency, backed by small amounts of essence, contained in chips of softened, elastic glass, made so by the essence stored inside, though the physical currency is rarely used. The currency comes in two denominations, the smaller being the Lune (Dthaarniaar, Fractional), and the larger being the Square (Dthaniaar, Whole). The former is shaped like a Lune of Hippocrates about an inch and a half in diameter, while the latter is a square of four times the area, and four times the value, of the former. Each is about a quarter inch in thickness. Why exactly this pair of shapes was picked isn't known, and is in fact a noticeable gap in the Bahliata's knowledge of their own history. The value of the square is farely high, a single square often fetching a modest day's worth of food and drink in places where it's accepted, though the mark-ups for curiosities like Artisan crafts can often get somewhat unreasonable. Payments are usually made through credit, with the vast majority of actual lunes and squares being held in the bank vaults of the Peers.
The variety of currencies used by the equally various Carver cities form a byzantine network of numerous denominations and conversion rates, though many are ultimately backed by the same essence as lunes and squares. Lunes and squares are also accepted in virtually every city, though Heretics, especially Esotericists, are prone to raise their prices if they're paid in them.
The Footers, of all tribes, as well the Islanders, use barter almost exclusively, with the value of goods or services based more or less on how much you need or want them. Given their being made of glass, an object made from sand, the most common substance on Far, squares and lunes are usually not of significant value, perhaps as jewelry, or as something to buy things with when a Carver caravan or Bahliata envoy comes to sell.
The Many-Bodied don't use money of any kind, since between bodies of a single individual there is no purpose, and between individuals, there is always a give and take, resources given where resources were taken, leaving neither worse for wear.
There are a variety of ways essence manipulation can interfer with most currencies, namely those backed by essence. Ceremonies can effectively counterfeit, though it usually costly to do so, cachers can potentially destroy the value of any given physical essence-storage by absorbing the essence into themselves, which is in fact a favored technique of some cachers to whom money is no object. Powerful mutators, should they see a reason to do so, can potentially draw any form of currency from their microcosm, though if they possess the skill to do so, money is ordinarily not of significant problem anyway.
Changelog
2012/5/19, 6:28 PM: Created thread.
2012/5/19, 8:26 PM: Parsing change.
2012/5/19, 10:06 PM: Addition of content.
2012/5/20, 8:30 PM: Addition of content: Appearances of the races.
2012/5/23, 6:31 PM: Addition of content: Religions and Myths of Near and Far.
2012/6/4, 6:00 AM: Removal of duplicate paragraph.
2012/6/4, 8:51 PM: Addition of Content: Short descriptions.
2012/6/5, 7:38 PM: Reformatting. Format provided by the infinitely generous ArcaneStomper.
2012/7/28, 11:27 PM: Grammar edits, and addition of Sky Glimmers.
2012/8/2 3:52 AM: Spelling changes. Instances of Bahle- have been changed to Bahli-.
2012/8/2, 4:28 AM: Addition of Economics section.
2012/8/6, 6:37 PM: Addition of Halos paragraph.
Thank you all again, and I hope that I've been able to at least entertain you, if not inspire interest.
Once again, spoilered for length.
Cultures
The Antecendents (hwin G'winiata, Handed People): The first race of the first sapient species, predecessor to many of the following. They were on average relatively tall, only shorter than the Islanders, and had about the same proportions as them as well.
The Islanders (hwin G'wina Aoku, Hands of Life): The remnants of the Antecendents after the first Sundering, their society is tribal, lead by the eldest member of their Living Tradition. They are a tall and lithe people, and their skin is a crimson bronze color.
The Hedonists (hwin Bahlizdatuuiata, Far-Flung People): The people who were flung from Near to Far by the first Sundering, they are a decadent culture, though more intelligent in their decadence than the Antecendents were. They fairly short, with stocky bodies and skin with a pale gold color.
The Carvers (hwin Kihlanuuata, People who Carve): The people left behind on Far after the second Sundering, they are a society divided between two groups, the Practice and the Artisans. They are akin to the Hedonists in their appearance, being short and stocky and of similar skin color.
The Bloom-Towners (hwin Ghleturuua Aioina, Followers of Flowers): Carver colonists, the Bloom-Towners live around the massive flowers which occasionally bloom near the peaks of the living mountains. Their more open environment has caused many second or third generation Bloom-Towners to be taller than their parents.
The Footers (hwin Ruanuuata, People who Walk): Those who left the Carvers to walk the deserts. They split into three large tribes, based around the color of the sand within in their territories. Their bodies are fairly square, taller than Carvers and being about far across as they are tall.
Gold Feet (Tirahlozmupi Ruanuuata, Golden-Footed People who Walk): The Footers who on the gold sands, located on the equator, between the Green and the Red.
Two-Colors (Hlukozmemidi Ruanuuata, Two-Colored People who Walk): Sometimes, one from the other clans will come into the Gold Feet after being exiled, and sire a child. This child's colors are mixed, and for that they are often ostracized.
Green Feet (Siyenozmupi Ruanuuata, Green-Footed People who Walk): Those Footers who walk the northern sands, their feet and legs are strongly colored green. Generally, they are warlike, and infighting is common.
Red Feet (Sansadozmupi Ruanuuata, Red-Footed People who Walk): The Footer who walk the southern sands, with red feet and legs. The majority of pearlescent tablets and Sandpainters lie in the south, and so their position within the Red Feet is clearer than in the Green Feet.
The Returned (hwin Iuhl'wiata, Returned People): Some Bahliata were returned to Near when the second Sundering occurred. They are largely akin to their Far counterparts, though their cultures has come to accept Cachers and those who have undergone the cosmic mutation to a greater than those on Far.
The Many-Bodied (hwin Dthutozpacuti, the Many-Bodied): Strange and alien minds in control of dozens upon dozens of individual bodies.
Essence Manipulator Groups and Forms
The Emanators (hwin Janinuua Abuyeme, the Projectors of Soul): Those possessed of a voluminous soull.
The Lineages (hwin Buyemezhlutaona, the Soul-Families): A series of individuals who've all had the same soul, and all been Emanators.
The Manifestors (hwin Janinuua Atyufe, the Projectors of Essence): Persons with essential machinery embedded in their souls.
The Rare Manifestations (hwin Vopina, the Rare): Manifestors who's machinery is especially rare. Their power often exceeds what the nature of their machinery might imply.
The Mutators (hwin Cahlinizbuyema, the Changed-Souls): Persons who's souls have been replaced by a unique microcosm.
The Cachers (hwin Fok'wizbuyema, the Emptied-Souls): Persons with an essential void instead of a soul.
The Ascendants (hwin Co'womozsimisho, the On-High): Persons who's souls have overtaken their bodies after an epic series of achievements.
The Practice (hwin Tagene, the Practice): A religious organization who venerate the use of rituals and the Bahliata.
The Heretics (hwin Yirunuua ahwin Tagene, the Heretics of the Practice): Heretics of the Practice, who use rituals and arts for profit rather than out of devotion.
The Esotericists (hwin Hlatonuua Adenda, the Keepers of Secrets): Heretics who specialize in binding essence.
The Sandpainters (hwin Mu'lusezmankahlacuua, the Sand-Picturers): Prophets who paint scenes in sand on massive pearlescent tablets lying in the desert of Far.
The Artisans (hwin Kahlacuu, the Artists): Master craftsmen, each in search of their ideal of true art.
The Living Tradition (hwin Mahwana Aoku, the Tradition of Life): A tradition developed after the first Sundering by the Islanders, in order to protect their environment from another sundering.
The Diabolicals (hwin Fyuthezlantu, the Essence-Gluttons): Former members of the Living Tradition who consume essence rampantly.
History of Near, and the Sunderings
The setting is, in large part, composed of two planets. They are called Near and Far, based around how the one star in the setting appears from the surface of each, appearing close when on Near, and distant while on Far. The surface of Near is dominated by a single massive ocean, and, in fact, the only actual landmass is composed of gigantic xenoliths, rather any native form of stone or earth. Nearly all of the biomass on Near is either contained or lies upon the living plant-islands which float in the ocean.
On these living islands, ages ago, a cunning ape was checking its fish-trap when it fell in, and discovered it the trap was so thick, it could float even with them inside it. This lead to that ape and its cohorts to discover other living island besides their own, to further development of further technology, complicated language based in trade but evolved to do more, to the discovery of some of the basic principles of their universe, and even to some techniques to manipulate the universe. These beings will eventually come to be known as the Antecendents, though they called themselves the G'winiata, or Handed People. They were one of the two species to ever create civilization, and the first to do so. They invented the manipulation of essence-forms, a basal form of the future Islanders' binding of essence and the future Hedonists' ceremonies.
However, like the Bahliata who will follow them, the Antecendents will abuse their ability to manipulate the world. After centuries of use, the strings and sheets of essence tore under the stress, leaving gaping holes, connecting the lush Near to the, at the time, nearly dead Far. These holes swallowed some living islands, depositing them on Far, and replacing them with pillars of stone, each of which contained some of the bodies of a single Many-Bodied.
These transported Antecendents began to call themselves the Bahlizdatuuiata, or far-flung people. The Islanders that were left behind would eventually come to call there brethren the Hedonists, for their repetition of the abuse of essence manipulation. The Islanders themselves vowed to never again threaten their world in such a way. They developed the Living Tradition, a tradition which allowed them bind essence into a physical form, but also trained them the skill of recycling that binding back into the environment, preserving what little balance was left.
Within the Living Tradition, though, there are some who shirk their responsibilities. Their indoctrination is too strong for them create permanent bindings like the the Hedonists or Returned, but they instead abuse their skill at dismantling such bindings. They undo bindings before they've been put to use, or while still in use, and siphon the essence into themselves, granting their bodies and souls extraordinary qualities related to the essence being unbound, but also instilling in them a sort of addiction for such consumption of essence. These rogues within the Living Tradition are exiled soon after discovery, outlawed and then hunted down. They are rarely caught, though, and many meet their end in a fashion more gruesome than the Living Tradition could ever inflict, eventually exploding into fonts of essence as the capabilities of their body and soul to store as much essence as they take in fail them.
The Bahlizdatuuiata, now calling themselves the Bahliata, or Far People, did follow in their forebearers' steps and began abusing there own skills at manipulating essence, constructing massive walking fortresses from sand, the crushed remains of the planet after the living islands took root. The Bahliata, though, remembered the first catastrophe, and prepared themselves. With an escalating series of ceremonies, they raised their fortresses into the sky, evading many of the holes in the world. Many of these rituals failed, though, with the fortress crashing and its entire population dying. Even among those that succeeded, some still were swallowed by holes in the world. When they exited the holes and found themselves above Near, and when they did, began to search for their lost cousins. They found them.
There meeting was less than amicable, though the Bahliata came out on top. They plundered the secret of binding from the Islanders, though they either missed or ignored the secrets of the Living Tradition that the Islanders had developed. After gaining knowledge of binding, the Returned began to and successfully created an array of gigantic bindings, designed to generate massive ripples in the fabric of essence, strong enough to be detectable on Far, yet not so strong as to cause another catastrophic sundering of essence. They turned it on, and indeed, the Bahliata of Far detected slight but consistent ripples in the fabric of essence. At first, the Far People attempted to create a ceremony to decipher the ripples, but the ceremony only lasted long enough to decipher a miniscule portion of the code within the ripples, nothing meaningful. Next, they built a machine to take in the essence ripples and decode them. However, they couldn't afford to run it for long, but just long enough to understand the transmission, which held descriptions of how to bind essence. The Bahliata, then, created arrays to receive and to send signals as well. They communicated, and the secrets of binding are passed on to the Bahliata of Far, from whom it then leaks to the Carvers.
Souls or facsimiles of such aren't needed for a person to be born, though, or even for them to exceptional. Persons born without a soul are known as Cachers among the city-folk and bloom-towners, and by myriad other names in other cultures. Without a soul, a Cacher can store essence within that cavity, making them effectively immune such essence effects until that cavity is filled. After storing essence, the Cacher may release it, often in an uncontrolled torrent if they are unskilled. As the Cacher grows in power, their void grows as well, and should a Cacher achieve ascendance, they instead are consumed by their void, absorbing everything near them, not simply raw essence, becoming rather dangerous if they do focus on not disturbing their surroundings. All of those Cachers who have achieved such void-apotheosis have felt an uncontrollable urge to leave the world find their way to the void between Near and Far, though none have succeeded in going there.
That does not, however, mean that no one has tried. Indeed, seven years ago, the Bahliata of Far constructed a vehicle, similar in design to their flying fortresses, but built to withstand the rigors of the interplanetary void. No Cachers, let alone living voids, were aware of this program, so none were among the crew. The crew relatively ordinary in terms of souls, only a few Emanators and Manifestors, though they were selected for their exceptional intelligence, loyalty, strength, endurance, and talent in a variety of useful skills. They've stopped being so ordinary since they've left, having been trapped in a sort hell by extracosmic forces, similar to those present during the sunderings, which are nearly omnipresent in the interplanetary void. Their souls have been stripped away, and replaced with the torture chamber which their ship has become. There is hope yet, if they were to master their ability to change the world they've entered, but even then, they will never be the same.
In the wake of both sunderings of essence, the holes in the world allowed not only being from within the universe to travel. Extracosmic forces acted on all of those who were in the vicinity of or passed through such a hole, stripping them of their soul, and replacing it with a microcosm, a small universe representing the consciousness left behind without the soul. With only a cosmic facsimile, these Mutators cannot perform most any other sort of essence manipulation, but can impose, to varying degrees, their inner world on the world around them, or even themselves. Eventually, should their inner world grow too larger, they are shunted from this one, and eventually grow to become fully their own universe.
History of Far
Away on Far, remnants of the earthbound, the low or unworthy of the Bahliata, were left on the surface of Far. They found the sands were stained by the powerful essence rituals to lift the fortresses in to the sky, the sands to the north colored green, red to south, and gold in between.
Many, unsatisfied with wandering the deserts, took what few tools they had left, and headed for the living mountains, the descendant structures of the living islands which were transported there generations ago. They carved open the moist flesh of the living mountains and made a home for themselves. These people who carved into the mountains came to be known as the Carvers, and soon after the founding of many of their cities, two factions rose up to take control. First was the Practice, a religious organization who worship the Bahliata and their excellent control of essence. Second, the Artisans, master crafters, capable of creating items that can automatically manipulate essence themselves, and who hope to attain the creation of true art. In between the Practice and the Artisans are the Heretics, former Practicers or artisans who were more skilled than they were devoted to the causes of their organizations. They left their former groups, and came together for the purpose of profit, commissioning rituals and art where the Practice and Artisans refuse to.
Within the Heretics are those who came upon the secret of binding essence, accidentally left behind by a Bahliata diplomat. This subsect calls themselves the Esotericists, and sell their skills at a high price, calling on their monopoly of the field.
Still wandering the deserts were those who came to be called Footers, since the essence of the sands bled into their feet and changed their color, and this change in color eventually grew to be a dividing line between groups of clans, creating the tribes. Sometimes, in gold sands around the equator of Far, tribes will intermarry, producing children with a mixture of colors. These children are often abandoned, and few clans have rules to protect them, so they often grow up on their own, learning to endure the harshness of the world at full force, physically and mentally.
The Sandpainters are a tradition among Footers, a group of ascetics who forgo their clan ties or even their color, and travel between the sands, collecting samples of the sand as they go. These Sandpainters will occasionally feel a pull to gather together at specific location, unknown to other groups. Where they arrive, there is a massive, pearlescent tablet raised above the sand. They then begin to do as their name implies, painting a scene with the sands they've collected over their travels. The scenes painted on this tablet have been observed to be effectively prophetic, successfully predicting, or causing, the event depicted to occur before the next gathering of the Sandpainters at a statistically significant rate.
These pearlescent tablets were in fact create by the Many-Bodied millenia ago, and the pull they feel is the former souls of thousands of bodies, each one connected into a network, creating the single mind of a single Many-Bodied, who produced that specific tablet in their life. The Many-Bodied, themselves, pioneered this technique of excellent prophecy millenia ago, around the same time the Antecendents discovered the manipulation of essence-forms. However the abilities of this technique are radically incompatible to most current theories describing essence-forms, which are thought to be probabilistic and thus not so perfectly predictable.
Some bodies were transplanted when the original Bahlizdatuuiata arrived, and reconstructed their mind on the xenoliths currently standing in Near's ocean. They have not regained enough intelligence to be communicated with, but instinct on the part of the bodies has lead them to already begin the decades long processes constructing new tablets.
Every few years, the living mountains enter bloom, producing massive flowers and fruit, each of which contain many useful materials. These blooms attract settlers from within, and even from the Footers, and those who do settle around these flowers come to be known as Bloom-towners. There's quite a difference between Bloom-town life and City life, mostly on the case of scale. Within the mountain, the feud between the Practice and the Artisans can almost reach physical combat, where as it limited to the local Practicer and Artisan in Bloom-towns.
Descriptions of Essence Manipulation
Sometimes when the essence-forms which facilitate consciousness, often called a soul, is traveling from one incarnation to another, some part of the natural essence machinery of the world will embed itself in it, enabling the receiver of that consciousness to channel essence they find into that machinery, replicating the effect it would have produced in nature. More rarely, essence machines of uncommon occurrences can slip their way into a soul, something like the blooming of mountain-flowers, which only happens once every few years and last for a comparatively short time, or the refraction of sunlight into a rainbow, which due to the nature of the star's light, rarely happens at all. These rare manifestations of nature often hold more power than their respective phenomena would imply.
Sometimes souls possess a physical size beyond the higher dimensions in which essence exists. In such cases, the person possessed of such a soul is often called an Emanator, and if they are struck by essence, naturally or artificially, they may conduct its effects to those within the volume of their soul, dividing it among them. Often time these Emanators are part of a Lineage, a procession of persons each possessed of the same voluminous soul, which is tracked by following the soul physically.
Ordinarily, an emanator's soul takes a form akin to a cohesive, vaporous cloud, centered on the emanator. The vapor is virtually invisible, and lacks a smell or taste, but it is noticeably heavier feeling, though usually not enough to to significantly effect movement through it. However, an interesting interaction occurs when an emanator also possesses manifestations. Sometimes, in this already rare case, the machinery of the manifestation becomes material. This has two effects, the first being the presence of a halo, a object of material essence that can take of variety forms and from which the emanator manifests. The second effect, which originates from the halo, is that the entire emanation changes in shape, echoing the manifestation. An example might the manifestation of an electric current, when being echoed by an emanation, would cause the emanation to become charged, possibly even visibly discharging when a conductive object entered the emanation. The halo itself would likely take a form of a constant electric current, jumping from place to place in the emanation.
Very rarely, often after a scene depicted by the Sandpainters, a soul will begin to take in exceedingly large amounts of essence, growing quickly and eventually overtaking the body. The person possessed of that soul becomes ascendant, extremely powerful, and one of the only lightsources for the world of Far. Ascendants naturally shed illuminating essence, revealing to them anything they shine upon, as well as to anyone within the light. Along with this light, essence of their deeds, especially that of the one preceding their ascendance, is shed, effecting everything happening within their light, strengthening the impact of the actions they took in their former life.
Depending on the condition of their soul, this may be all, but if they were an Emanator, not only are they significantly larger, but the actions of their forebearers, of the ones before them in their Lineage, are also amplified. Should the person be a manifestor and ascend, the essence embedded in their soul also shed upon the world, magnifying its presence where-ever they shine, not to mention cosmetically effecting the color fo their light.
It is unknown what happens to those who ascend on Near, since they disappear. But it is known that there is nothing lighting the sky of Near but the star.
Cosmology
A year, within this small universe, is the time it takes for the center of the star to pass through the same point a second time in its orbit around Near. This is longer than a single revolution because the angle of the orbit changes every time it passes around Near. On average this process takes about 100.3 revolutions, often rounded too 100 revolutions, plus one every fourth year, except for every ninth fourth year.
Curiosities of this setting, from our perspective of course, include the fact that the cosmology includes only two planets, and the one star is miniscule in comparison to either, and actually orbits Near. Of course, the nature of the star is also not at all similar to our own. It is, in fact, a recursive image of the universe, blurred by the overlapping images, each slightly different from the previous iteration. One possible explanation for what happens to those who ascend on Near is that their soul is absorbed into the star itself, a consciousness overlooking all the myriad pasts, presents, and futures. Few people know of this fact about the star in-universe, but those that do theorize that pearlescent tablets function by reflecting starlight in such a way as to conjure an image of the future, though it may be incorrect if it conjures the image of something which is different in the next iteration. These theories are ignored by their peers, if only for the apparent absurdity.
The ultimate destiny of each iteration is similar. The number of Mutators is proportional to the relative age of that iteration. As the number of Mutators increases, the pressure of their inner cosmoses pushes the physical boundary of their iteration of universe outwards, causing it to expand at an exponentially increasing rate. Eventually, this expansion effectively destroys the current iteration and draws the next out of the star, after which, since all the former iteration's mutators have either died or escaped the universe, the expansion ceases and the next iteration begins.
Despite the fact that the only true sources in this universe are the ascendants and the star, it is not uncommon to see glimmering in the sky above either planet, when it is dark. Significant amounts of light are reflected from the surface of both planets, yet there is almost no light in the void between. This discrepancy is caused by the interaction between the essence present in the upper atmospheres of the planets and the weak extracosmic forces which act just beyond the atmosphere. Where these forces meet essence, they coalesce into a material form, a thin vapor, though sometimes quite quite large in diameter, which is also highly reflective, shining light from the surface back down, also causing the glimmering sometimes seen when the sky is dark.
Physiology and Philosophy of the Races
The races of Near and Far, the Islanders, the Bahliata, the Carvers, the Bloom-towners, and the Footers are relatively humanoid, though their arms are lengthier on average than ours, and their facial features are often flatter. Like humans, they differ mostly in terms of body and hair color, though body shape is more variant than in humans. The Carvers, Bloom-towners, and Bahliata are all fairly stocky, short compared to the other races, and have skin of pale gold, though somewhat deeper a color for the Bloom-towners. The Footers have skin with the look of tarnished copper, dull and almost a green brown, and have larger and more muscled bodies than the Carvers. The skin of Islanders is a crimson-bronze color, a reddish-brown with a noticeable luster, and they have tall, lean bodies, fit for their island environment. The shape of the Many-Bodied is alien, a network of orbs, tubes, other structures, and isn't known to many individuals of the other species.
The Antecendents, the first race so to speak, were relatively religious compared to their successors. They worshiped the star, believing it to be shining god, conceptually similar, to a startling degree, to the ascendants which will come to be on Far in the future. Early in civilization, they believed that the star god would rise out of the deep on one side of the world, trace a semi-circle through the sky, and sink into the deep at not quite the opposite side of the world. Eventually they learned that the star orbits their world, technically above the sky, and that their world was spheroidal. Towards the end of their civilization, as the sundering approached and their arrogance began to grow exponentially, worship of the star dropped dramatically.
The Islanders after the Antecendents were similar in their reverence, though lessened, of the star. However, after the first sundering, an element of ancestor vilifications entered their mythology, not to mention their religious diligence in following the Living Tradition. Aside from the occasional hunt for Essence-Gluttons, the Islanders dutifully bind tools as they need them, perform whatever task they have received, and then recycle the essence within the bound tool, equally dutifully. On the night before the new year, they often tell stories comparing the myths of their ancestors' failures to the achievements they've made that year, celebrating the progress they've made and that they've not regressed to the behavior of their ancestors.
The Bahliata were significantly less religious. For the first few years after their arrival on Far, there was simply no time for them to consider things like philosophy, and once they achieved stability, their philosophies were often related to heroes or great persons, though that hero reverence was strengthened upon the appearance of the first two Ascendants, who happened to ascend simultaneously. Unlike most other cultures, the Bahliata also contain a significant percentage of non-religious individuals, often persons who's research into the nature of the universe and in the nature of people has lead them to believe no beings, ascendant or otherwise, can ever deserve more than respect, though many have the power to demand more. A small percentage of Bahliata converted back to sun reverence when they returned to Near, but it was a negligible amount.
The Carvers are nearly evenly split between the philosophies of the Practice and the Artisans, with some in the middle ground like the Heretics.
The Practice believes that Bahliata were right in their use of ceremonies, and that those who use them should use them in emulation of the Bahliata. Practicers frequently perform mock ceremonies in their day-to-day lives, and celebrate the anniversaries of important discoveries such as the discovery of flowers. On the rare occasion where a Bahliata descends from their flying fortress, Practicers are required to show the utmost respect, and to meet any requests which the Bahliata gives them. They see the ascendants as 'cheaters,' leaving their bodies behind to reach the skies that the Bahliata reached only through their own work.
The Artisans are group of crafters and entertainers who strive, with religious fervor, to create a nebulous concept they call True Art. They create singular pieces, collaborate with a few peers, or even come together in massive gatherings and create communal artwork. No matter who and how, though, as many moments of their lives as possible are devoted to creating art, increasing their skill, and hopefully moving towards the creation of True Art. A few, some even within the Artisans, believe there may be a connection between True Art of the visual kind and the scenes depicted by the Sandpainters, but these theorists are often dismissed by the majority of Artisans.
The Heretics, to contrast, are a secular organization, with the sole purpose of selling skillfully performed ceremonies or crafted arts for a profit.
The Bloom-towners are often layman Practicers, not truly practicing but still following the local ordained Practicer, who often leads the community in daily, or sometimes less often, ceremonies. There is also often a single Artisan, either a Journeyman on their lonesome, or an Expert with an Apprentice in tail. The Artisan of a Bloom-town often does not try to convert others, but does suggest that people come to them when need something done, rather than performing a ritual with the Practicer, often mentioning how the use of art is more convenient, more efficient, and more permanent.
The Sandpainters, given that they renounce their clan, are held with the same respect among all clans, and are seen as trusted sources for important decisions where an opinion unbiased by clan is needed, such as determining on how to punish a criminal or whether to take in a two-colored child they've stumbled upon. When a Sandpainter who has recently been in a gathering passes through a clan's caravan, they often questioned extensively about what the scene was, and how they think it might come to be. Aside from this respect and reliance on objective decision making, Sandpainters are not given special treatment by many clans' laws.
The Many-Bodied do not a hold a concept similar to religion, though it is a common belief that there is some higher pattern which might be discerned through the careful observation of the scenes on their pearlescent tablets. However, there are none as of now who remain capable of such high thought, so the point is moot.
Economics
Of all the races, the Bahliata are only to use a unified currency, backed by small amounts of essence, contained in chips of softened, elastic glass, made so by the essence stored inside, though the physical currency is rarely used. The currency comes in two denominations, the smaller being the Lune (Dthaarniaar, Fractional), and the larger being the Square (Dthaniaar, Whole). The former is shaped like a Lune of Hippocrates about an inch and a half in diameter, while the latter is a square of four times the area, and four times the value, of the former. Each is about a quarter inch in thickness. Why exactly this pair of shapes was picked isn't known, and is in fact a noticeable gap in the Bahliata's knowledge of their own history. The value of the square is farely high, a single square often fetching a modest day's worth of food and drink in places where it's accepted, though the mark-ups for curiosities like Artisan crafts can often get somewhat unreasonable. Payments are usually made through credit, with the vast majority of actual lunes and squares being held in the bank vaults of the Peers.
The variety of currencies used by the equally various Carver cities form a byzantine network of numerous denominations and conversion rates, though many are ultimately backed by the same essence as lunes and squares. Lunes and squares are also accepted in virtually every city, though Heretics, especially Esotericists, are prone to raise their prices if they're paid in them.
The Footers, of all tribes, as well the Islanders, use barter almost exclusively, with the value of goods or services based more or less on how much you need or want them. Given their being made of glass, an object made from sand, the most common substance on Far, squares and lunes are usually not of significant value, perhaps as jewelry, or as something to buy things with when a Carver caravan or Bahliata envoy comes to sell.
The Many-Bodied don't use money of any kind, since between bodies of a single individual there is no purpose, and between individuals, there is always a give and take, resources given where resources were taken, leaving neither worse for wear.
There are a variety of ways essence manipulation can interfer with most currencies, namely those backed by essence. Ceremonies can effectively counterfeit, though it usually costly to do so, cachers can potentially destroy the value of any given physical essence-storage by absorbing the essence into themselves, which is in fact a favored technique of some cachers to whom money is no object. Powerful mutators, should they see a reason to do so, can potentially draw any form of currency from their microcosm, though if they possess the skill to do so, money is ordinarily not of significant problem anyway.
Changelog
2012/5/19, 6:28 PM: Created thread.
2012/5/19, 8:26 PM: Parsing change.
2012/5/19, 10:06 PM: Addition of content.
2012/5/20, 8:30 PM: Addition of content: Appearances of the races.
2012/5/23, 6:31 PM: Addition of content: Religions and Myths of Near and Far.
2012/6/4, 6:00 AM: Removal of duplicate paragraph.
2012/6/4, 8:51 PM: Addition of Content: Short descriptions.
2012/6/5, 7:38 PM: Reformatting. Format provided by the infinitely generous ArcaneStomper.
2012/7/28, 11:27 PM: Grammar edits, and addition of Sky Glimmers.
2012/8/2 3:52 AM: Spelling changes. Instances of Bahle- have been changed to Bahli-.
2012/8/2, 4:28 AM: Addition of Economics section.
2012/8/6, 6:37 PM: Addition of Halos paragraph.
Thank you all again, and I hope that I've been able to at least entertain you, if not inspire interest.