Subject: Re: [MO] Non-human MOriental civilizations Date: Thu, 20 Feb 1997 07:43:43 -0600 (CST) From: Scott Johnson On Thu, 20 Feb 1997, Gabriele Ferri wrote: > > the 'little' civilization (halflings or leprechauns or ewoks) shouldn't have many contacts with other people. They should be, in fact, like a legend for other people. Actually, one thing in regard to this - I was thinking of using the halflings elsewhere in the MOrient - namely, as the MOrient equivalent to the Ainu, the aboriginal residents of Japan. It would be a slightly different and novel role for them to play, and the real Ainu have at least sufficient points of similarity to the Hin (Hinu?) that they'd be interesting and plausible. Also, while I'm actually writing this, I'd like to suggest a narrative device to help with the description of the societies. I recall reading, at one time, perhaps in one of the fan-written 'net.Almanacs', about an explorer (possibly Thyatian?) who was going to try to circumnavigate the world. It seems to me that a ship and crew such as this would be the perfect opportunity for the Known World to first discover the lands we'll be creating. We could do Princess Ark-style overviews of the countries, then flesh out the details the crew wouldn't have seen. It's still nothing definite, as an idea, but it's a thought. And one final thing: it occurs to me that, even with MKorea as a stepping stone, there's a fair distance between Cheung-Eun and Jikushiru (which I *will* find a good translation for if it kills me!), possibly enough to make them not really prone to interaction or cultural influences. Therefore, might I make a suggestion: along the southern and southeastern coast of Skothar, various factors have come into play and created an extremely fast current and accompanying winds. They're treacherous to sail, but if you read the currents right and navigate skillfully, travel time moving along it (say, from Cheung-Eun to Jikushiru, or, at night when the current reverses, vice-versa) is greatly reduced. This might also be another factor in Cheung-Eun's isolation - travelling perpendicular to the current is not easy, and if there's a treacherous barrier reef on the south side of the current to channel it appropriately, it might be quite hazardous to navigate past it...