DC Lore AMA

[TJ09]

Is alchemy a thing in Valkemare?

 

If so, would dragons be capable of performing alchemy?

Alchemy is basically just a fancy medieval word for chemistry (or some primitive precursor to it). The basic rules of physics are largely the same, so chemistry does indeed exist.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "capable of." As a higher-order intelligence, they are certainly able to understand the same intellectual concepts humans are, so...

[TJ09]

Then would it be too much trouble to make cheese sprites to look like that?

That's out of the scope of this thread.

 

And would it be possible to have dragons named after our solar system planets? Like the name would just be something like the Pyralspites? Like it wouldn't really affect the dragon that much.

I don't know what you mean, especially with the reference to Pyralspites.

[shadowfighter]

Okay, so we know Halloween is more or less a thing, does Valkmare have stuff like werewolves and such?

 

Do they have lore regarding Ciron and Aurax, the moons?

 

[TCA]

And would it be possible to have dragons named after our solar system planets? Like the name would just be something like the Pyralspites? Like it wouldn't really affect the dragon that much.

Dude, Pyralspites are named after types of garnets. Which they actually hoard and visually resemble.

 

Chemistry exists, therefore garnets can exist in the same chemical structures, therefore dragons can be named after them.

 

I'm not a Super Official Lore Source or anything, you'll need to double-check with TJ, but I'm pretty sure the planet DC is set on isn't in a solar system with the same configuration of planets with the same names as Earth's. So why would anyone name dragons after Earth's configuration?

 

(please don't use Pyralspites to justify real-world references unless they're geology references, thanks~)

 

Related question, TJ, what configuration of planets DOES the game world's solar system have, and what do the people call the other planets, if they're aware of them?

Edited May 28, 2015 by TheCompleteAnimorph

[RecycledHeart]

Dude, Pyralspites are named after types of garnets. Which they actually hoard and visually resemble.

 

Chemistry exists, therefore garnets can exist in the same chemical structures, therefore dragons can be named after them.

 

I'm not a Super Official Lore Source or anything, you'll need to double-check with TJ, but I'm pretty sure the planet DC is set on isn't in a solar system with the same configuration of planets with the same names as Earth's. So why would anyone name dragons after Earth's configuration?

 

(please don't use Pyralspites to justify real-world references unless they're geology references, thanks~)

 

Related question, TJ, what configuration of planets DOES the game world's solar system have, and what do the people call the other planets, if they're aware of them?

oh no I wasn't using them to justify. I thought they were just named after something in homestuck and that the name didn't really have to do anything to do with the sprite itself. I am so so sorry for getting it wrong and I didn't mean to offend you. please don't be mad at me I'm really really sorry

[TJ09]

Okay, so we know Halloween is more or less a thing, does Valkmare have stuff like werewolves and such?

 

Do they have lore regarding Ciron and Aurax, the moons?

Were-beings would probably be the result of magic, but I don't see why they couldn't exist. How would that work with two moons though? Would it only follow the cycle of one of them?

 

Your second question is pretty vague, so I'll say...yes. I mean, superstition and folklore tend to flow from any thing that isn't very well understood, and space + the two moons certainly fall under that category.

[Nerei]

Is there an explanation for how wingless Easterns can fly? Like, is there some sort of science to it, or can they just levitate into the air? Is it physically/magically draining? Could other dragon types possibly do this?

[TJ09]

Is there an explanation for how wingless Easterns can fly? Like, is there some sort of science to it, or can they just levitate into the air? Is it physically/magically draining? Could other dragon types possibly do this?

They levitate by way of innate magic to levitate and propel themselves. That is, there's two ways to utilize magic--consciously, in a freeform manner, or innately, but with a specific purpose. Flying easterns would be using this second type of magic (which doesn't necessarily preclude spellcasting). So sure, there's nothing preventing other dragons from also having the ability to fly without using their wings (or perhaps using innate magic to make flying easier), but they probably have no need to, because they have wings for that.

 

I'm not sure what sort of science there could be in place of "magic" for this, really.

[Marrionetta]

Do the humans of Valkemare ever hit a technological age or something akin to an industrial revolution? Living in a world with mana seems like it'd present both alternative solutions to common problems and challenges that would have definite impacts on the march of human progress. I guess I'm curious if Valkemarans ever have human megacities or chain emails involving cute dragon memes to look forward to.

[Sylph264]

Regarding the Leetle Tree discussion from several pages back... Perhaps Leetle Trees are highly intelligent. I mean, think about it- they are so adorable that humans cannot help but pick them up and care for them. They're so lovable, humans cannot bear to abandon them. They are so cute that humans are incapable of killing them- meaning the moment a human sees a Leetle Tree, they are doomed to care for it for eternity.

My view on them- Leetle Trees have enslaved the human race! > *really wishing that Leetle Trees could be described so my Leetle Tree could be a malevolent mastermind plotting the overthrow of humanity*

So... I clearly had too much fun with that. Anyway, my questions:

Does Valkmere have a creation story, and if not, have you considered writing one or having somebody else write one? Also (these aren't really lore questions, so feel free not to answer) why did you first decide to create Dragon Cave, and did you expect it to last this long?

Edited June 1, 2015 by Sylph264

[TJ09]

Do the humans of Valkemare ever hit a technological age or something akin to an industrial revolution? Living in a world with mana seems like it'd present both alternative solutions to common problems and challenges that would have definite impacts on the march of human progress. I guess I'm curious if Valkemarans ever have human megacities or chain emails involving cute dragon memes to look forward to.

The thing I've said somewhere else was that having access to a more-or-less free energy source means there was no need for the entire branch of research that lead to water/steam power, both of which played a large part in the industrial revolution and the developments that followed.

 

What would follow technologically from a society like the one I've built is perhaps beyond what I've been able to think up so far. Some of the more common health problems of the analogous time period of earth would be "solved" by healing magic, densification isn't an issue with low populations, etc.

 

Perhaps I've screwed up by making a society with too few flaws. Though they probably are strongly biased against mana-altered humans, and, well, there is the whole "hunting certain dragons because they're shiny" thing. Maybe it's just the replacement challenges humanity faces have yet to be described.

[TJ09]

Does Valkmere have a creation story, and if not, have you considered writing one or having somebody else write one? Also (these aren't really lore questions, so feel free not to answer) why did you first decide to create Dragon Cave, and did you expect it to last this long?

I haven't fleshed out the "present" enough to be confident in defining a "past," so I'm not sure if I want Valkemare's lifeforms to have evolved organically over a long period of time (like earth), or if there is some sort of actual creation story.

 

I certainly wouldn't be opposed to such a story being part of folklore.

[TJ09]

An open question that I'm going to throw some thoughts out on: Do mana-transformed humans have transformed babies?

 

To answer yes, I'd have to come up with a satisfactory biological explanation. The best I've come up with would be that mana transformation happens by means of mana being present in most/all of the beings cells, affecting how the cell behaves. In this way, it makes sense for a mother to then pass this on to her offspring (speaking in the general sense for all mana-transformed creatures). But something about that seems like it's stretching logic further than usual.

 

On the other hand, if they don't pass on the traits, it's because mana transforms the creature without having a permanent biological effect. It also means that communities of people would be exposing their babies to raw mana and "altering" them before they even know what's what, which is...unsettling, but not uncharacteristic.

 

...hm. Time to continue over-thinking things.

[Nerei]

Wouldn't mana-transformed humans be able to have transformed babies if their reproductive system was altered by the same mana? That leads me to wonder what would happen if to people were transformed by two different types of mana and had children. Would their offspring be some sort of hybrid of the elemental types? Can multiple mana kinds separately mutate humans, or would they somehow be restricted to only one kind?

[TJ09]

Wouldn't mana-transformed humans be able to have transformed babies if their reproductive system was altered by the same mana? That leads me to wonder what would happen if to people were transformed by two different types of mana and had children. Would their offspring be some sort of hybrid of the elemental types? Can multiple mana kinds separately mutate humans, or would they somehow be restricted to only one kind?

Based on the "mana entering cells" stuff I described, two beings of different types of mana would produce offspring of the mother's type, because mana would get transferred similar to mitochondria do.

 

I haven't decided if mixing two types of mana is "possible," though I've been leaning towards yes.

[angelicdragonpuppy]

Well, humans who have been affected by magic are in turn sort of "magical" themselves, yes? So the child would be affected by the magic within their mother while developing. Maybe not as strong an effect as direct exposure to raw mana, though, since it's a second hand source.

[Nerei]

So would humans become less and less humanlike as generations progressed and mana alterations increased? Could normal humans even last in Valkemare? How long do you think it would take before distinct subspecies of human were developed, and became unrecognizable to us?

Edited June 9, 2015 by Niyaka

[Obscure_Trash]

I would also lean towards, if mana-transformed humans (humanans? =p ) reproduce, having at least slightly transformed babies due to mana altering their cells. I 'unno, makes sense to me. =p

[shadowfighter]

I'm not sure if this has been asked already, but in Valkmare, would their be religions? Like, cults worshiping dragons or the sun? Maybe the moons? Would there be cults worshipping a different moon, and would they be rivals? I'm super curious. :3

[Dirtytabs]

My current leading idea is that there's three churches, that each follow the Avatars. Or maybe three factions of a unified Church of the GoN.

That's about the most of it. Worship of most "everyday" breeds is unlikely, given that interactions between dragons and humans aren't scarce.

Churches/factions following the Avatars was mentioned a few pages ago. I reckon TJ wouldn't say no to worshiping the sun/moons since we have had that on Earth.

[Nerei]

How much of the modern vampire mythos is applicable to Vampire dragons? For example, an aversion to garlic or holy ground, not wishing to cross running water, et cetera. Are human vampires rumored to exist in Valkemare? I suppose that mana could transform humans into humanoid cryptids or mythological creatures. Do you have any specific creatures in mind that you think they would be most comparable to?

[TJ09]

So would humans become less and less humanlike as generations progressed and mana alterations increased? Could normal humans even last in Valkemare? How long do you think it would take before distinct subspecies of human were developed, and became unrecognizable to us?

That depends on a lot of factors. There's nothing /stopping/ natural selection and random mutation from, over time, diverging species. There's also nothing stopping the same thing from happening to normal humans, though. Also: This takes a long period of time, from a human perspective--on the order of thousands or tens of thousands of years for these things to become apparent. Compared to the scale of human history on Earth, that's a really really long time.

 

I don't think mana alterations would "increase" as you suggest, though. I'm pretty sure that once transformed, that's as mana-altered as one will get.

 

There's also the part where there's some amount of "flow" between altered and non-altered states of being. New, normal humans can alter themselves, contributing to the pool of "un-evolved" mana-altered people, and altered people can (with great effort) reverse the effects.

[TJ09]

I would also lean towards, if mana-transformed humans (humanans? =p ) reproduce, having at least slightly transformed babies due to mana altering their cells. I 'unno, makes sense to me. =p

With my current headcanon of the biology of mana-transformation, I think it makes sense to me as well.

 

I think.

[TJ09]

I'm not sure if this has been asked already, but in Valkmare, would their be religions? Like, cults worshiping dragons or the sun? Maybe the moons? Would there be cults worshipping a different moon, and would they be rivals? I'm super curious. :3

As someone already quoted, there's definitely a "Church of the GoN," in which different (semi-conflicting) factions worship each of the avatars.

 

I'm thinking there's also several human gods, but I haven't fleshed out that train of thought much--perhaps one god to represent each of the elements?

[TJ09]

How much of the modern vampire mythos is applicable to Vampire dragons? For example, an aversion to garlic or holy ground, not wishing to cross running water, et cetera. Are human vampires rumored to exist in Valkemare? I suppose that mana could transform humans into humanoid cryptids or mythological creatures. Do you have any specific creatures in mind that you think they would be most comparable to?

Not much. Vampirism in Vampire dragons has a biological explanation (a virus injected in an egg that allows for a means of asexual reproduction), so none of the strange behaviors that arose mostly from superstition are needed. Vampire dragons are probably actually sterile, though, regardless of their on-site behavior.