Yesternight
This carrd is currently being reworked into something actually useful. At the moment I'm focusing on the worldbuilding of overmorrow; many links will be blank or broken until I'm done. thanks for your patience!
Here's a link to the Yesternight discord server
Overmorrow was the name of the story that was gonna take place in my worldbuilding project, but I keep changing my mind on what that story's gonna be, so this page (and subsequent links) is currently dedicated only to the worldbuilding side of things. It's like.. a kind of lazy proto-wiki, I guess. Information is subject to change and may become out of date, but I'll try not to let things collect dust for too long!
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locations
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Serosikei Star System
The Serosikei star system is where most of Overmorrow takes place (or will take place, when I eventually write it...)The name Serosikei comes from the name of the central star - Ko-Seros - and 'kei', a word which in Paneiakei roughly means of, or like, or from. The only naturally life-bearing planet in the system is Paneia, home to the Benko people.
Paneia
Paneia is a planet in the Serosikei star system; it is the homeworld of the Benko, a sapient species capable of shapeshifting.Paneia is tidally locked to its sun, Ko-Seros, and therefore does not experience seasons quite the same as a planet with a more earth-like rotation would. The regions surrounding the part of the planet with the most exposure to the sun are referred to as Sunward, or Starward; the regions on the other side of the planet, or which are facing away from the sun, are Voidward, or Shadeward; literally 'facing the light' or 'facing the dark'.Sunward regions of Paneia are the warmest parts of the planet, although, with the exception of the
sunward zenith, temperatures still do not generally reach over 30°C; 40°C would be an unusual high-point. Shaded regions can range from temperate to tundra-like to well below freezing, depending on proximity to the shadeward zenith/planetary nadir. There are settlements within the fully dark regions of Paneia, however they are generally inhabited only by travellers or by people who spend their entire lives practicing self-alteration for the purposes of being able to withstand the extreme temperatures and difficult lifestyle. The furthest shadeward settlement before total darkness is Vielle, a small town located in one of Paneia's Northern regions; Vielle is also Möti's hometown.
Vielle
The trading town of Vielle, located at the far North of the planet, on the barest edges of the sun’s reach and bracketed half by twilight, half by perpetual gold-lined horizon, was named such with a literalism typical of the people who live there; from Vi, meaning ice, and -Elle, the suffix denoting smallness or, in certain contexts, isolation, Vielle is, indeed, small, isolated, and freezing. Days on Paneia are marked by the passage of one of its moons, and as such the difference in light as it moves is minimal at best. The seasons of the planet are dictated only by its orbit, how far it is from Ko-Seros - and in Vielle, where it snows all year save for one short, negligible month out of eighteen, that orbit only matters when it brings the sunlight close enough to stain the sky brilliant shades of pink. It’s an aesthetic change, more than anything. The light doesn’t stay long enough to give life to any but the most short-lived of plants and insects - or, as the case may be, to the most persistent of festivities.
(- From the retrospective travel journal of Ko-Hïro Möti)
Vielle is a small town in the Northern-Voidward region of Paneia. It has a small number of permanent residents, but is mostly kept alive by the travellers and merchants who pass through it.The land around Vielle is primarily tundra, although there is a wooded area nearby, as well as a dormant caldera, the cliffs and walls of which have had various structures built into them.Vielle also borders, and is partially built from the ruins of Vilothe, a much older city which was destroyed and abandoned long ago. Much of the city remains abandoned despite the structural integrity of some of the ruins pointing towards salvagable buildings - it's known for being incredibly haunted, and the ghosts aren't very interested in leaving.
etherics & ecology
vague explanation copied from discord until i think of better phrasing:"cliffnotes version of how Benko shapeshifting works... So “ether” is my stand in for a magic system, basically, but in-canon it gets treated like any other principle of science, because i think that’s neat. Benko, as a species, all have “cores”, which are basically just like. Balls of ether somewhere in their body. They have various functions, but one of them is to allow the to change the shape of their body, which is done through [this concept is unfinished and unpolished] some kind of conversation of physical matter into ether and back again.
So what that basically means is like... you have a LOT of applications of ether that aren’t strictly to do with biological functions. Because if you’re made of ether, and “eat” ether, and can change how you look using ether, it also tracks that most of your technology will also function through the use of ether"
The Benko are the sapient species native to Paneia. They are generally capable of changing the appearance and physiology of their physical bodies, to theoretically limitless ends; however, the majority of benko will only ever make minor changes to themselves, usually in pursuit of self-actualisation or comfort. Not all benko are able to transform, for example if there is something different about their core which would prevent etheric transmutation; some benko also simply chose not to transform, for a variety of personal reasons.
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Leilop (Etheric Lamps)
An Etheric Lamp is a light source made by trapping or binding condensed ether in a clear medium such as glass; they are most commonly made using bottles or jars with sealable lids. In Paneiakei they are referred to as leilop; translations of this word could be 'witchlight' or 'spirit lamp'.Making witchlights is one of the easiest forms of etheric manipulation, as it does not require a specific shape to be created and then held for a period of time, nor does it rely on the transmutation of ether into a physical medium; the greatest difficulty in pulling the process off lies in the severing of the condensed ether from the maker’s own core. If done incorrectly, the light might react violently and break or melt its container. After a successful severing, though, it can sustain itself safely for so long as it is kept in an ether-rich environment.Witchlights created with low levels of ether are naturally dimmer, but they can also have a utility other than providing a lightsource: individuals travelling to particularly high- or low-ether environments might keep a dim witchlight on their person to keep track of the local etheric pressure. In low-ether environments, a dim lamp would simply go out; in high-ether environments, it would get brighter. Reasons for doing this could vary from personal safety, to measuring and recording for scientific purposes.It is inadvisable to take an already bright witchlight into an area with very high etheric pressure. The light could end up growing too big too fast, breaking or melting its container.
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culture
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Yenbei’ä’Möjhiko / Yenbei Möjhiko / Dream of the Glass Moon
A time of festivity generally celebrated in the regions surrounding vielle, along the dusky Northern-Voidward regions of Paneia. Based on the alignment of the planet’s secondary moon, Ko-Möjhi, which orbits incredibly slowly; when it is in alignment over this region (Vielle at the centre), it causes the sky to appear to change colour slightly, as light and ether from Ko-Seros is refracted through the translucent moon.From a folklore standpoint, there is a belief among some that the colour change in the sky is a literal reflection of Möjhiko’s dreams, from where they sleep on the moon.
Möjhiko
Möjhiko is the name of the Paneiakei deity essociated with Ko-Möjhi, the larger of Paneia's moons. Ko-Möjhi is made up primarily of a transparent, crystalline material, which is where its name comes from - literally 'glass moon' or 'clear moon'.Möjhiko is presented as a wingless and featureless Benko, with no visible horns, ears, tail adornments, fur, scales or feathers, or any other typical features that a Benko might usually possess. They are most often depicted as being light in colouration, generally white, grey, or a cool pastel tone. In some depictions, they have the appearance of being made of some form of transparent or translucent material such as glass or crystal, much like the celestial body they share their name with. In some depictions, they have no eyes, while in others their eyes are wide, pupiless, and glow brightly. Many depictions will also include a lack of paws; how this is presented also varies. Sometimes it’s implied that the paws have been cut off, with the appearance of fresh wounds; other times, they just aren’t there, with no wounds or scars at all. They may also simply be obscured in some way, such as with fog or other motifs.Their other consistent defining feature is the split between their upper and lower body, the two halves being connected by highly concentrated ether; they have two cores, one in each half of their body, but these are not always depicted in artworks directly unless they are a focal point of the piece. Sometimes they are depicted as being skeletal or extremely lean.Möjhiko is associated with cores, time-keeping, and instinct. Stories involving them often include morals about being who you want to be, or otherwise being true to yourself; they abhor lies of the heart, but enjoy harmless pranks and mischief.They are also associated with silence; Möjhiko doesn’t have a mouth with which to speak, ears with which to hear, or paws with which to sign or write. Most depictions of their face will make it mask-like or otherwise immoveable, so they also do not not communicated through facial expression. Instead, Möjhiko communicates almost exclusively through etheric manipulation; generally, this is interpreted by artists and writers to mean exoempathy, or the method of projecting emotion or meaning into the ether.
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Paneiakei
The primary language spoken on Paneia is referred to as Paneiakei. I've only made progress on a singular, base dialect at the moment, but eventually I'd like to create regional variants, and potentially one day create at least one other entirely different language for the planet. That being said, standard paneiakei is widespread, and is also likely to be the root I use for the creation of other related conlangs in the future.