Welcome to Gaia! ::

The plane of Orbisalis is a vast and expansive one, perhaps one whose borders are even perpetually growing. The game will be taking place on the sunken continent of Auxis-- once a series of beautiful peaks and plateaus and canyons, all of which were riddled with complex cave systems that defy transcription to graph paper, some unknown geological upheaval in the far-flung past submerged the majority of its landmass and buried it in ocean sands.

Now Auxis is a series of sub-tropical islands. The islands are gigantic, and situated very close to one another, such that from the shore (or even further up the cliffs and hillsides) you can generally see at least two other coasts in the distance. Small vessels can make the journey at little risk, and a prime athelete could even swim the intervening channels. The environments range from full-blown lush and fertile tropics at the southern end and cooler coniferous forests situated in volcanic calderas towards the north.

Auxis is situated in the world in such a way that it is of value as a trade resource on the national stage, but just slightly too remote to be much shaken by the political turmoil of the global stage. Nevertheless, the dominant cultures are well-established, sixth-eighth generation colonists. The two native cultures have been more or less subdued entirely.

The primary nation of interest is the Joinder Empire. A mercantile naval state of incredible martial and diplomatic prowess, the Joinders have assembled a vast and powerful civilization, and are certainly the leaders on the world stage. They are humans with mixed ancestry-- their ancient predecessors forged close alliances with three elven nations, and then culturally subsumed those allies, interbreeding until there were hardly any elves left. Likewise, they cozied up to the ancient orcish vikings won victory by cultural diffusion, one princess at a time. There are a few high elves left, who abandoned the empire as a reactionary, isolationist philosophy emerged among them, and they left to found a new refuge. They are, generally, radical extremists and terrifically uncooperative politically. As for the purebred orcs, they are no more.

The Joinders largely control Auxis, where they work to maintain control over the natives, traders and pirates that inhabit the islands. Several small pockets are controlled by the Sultanate of Wom (halflings in turbans and vests, and latecomers to the colonial era who are only able to compete thanks to their access to unique goods like silk and porcelain), where Califs rule over fiefs situated strategically on top of vital resources-- gold deposites, jewels, spices and incense (which their court magicians use in place of most material components).

Finally, the oft-mentioned natives: Tall and fanged, it is clear that the ancient seafaring orcs left progeny here-- whether they interbred with a prior aboriginal group or were simply shipwrecked and shifted in appearance over time, they eventually became the Auber.

The Auber have rich, clay-red skin, pointed ears, small tusks, upturned noses and tall, lanky builds. The prior masters of Auxis, they have a culture very well-tuned to the islands-- most of their settlements were coastal, and they travelled via canoe from island to island. They had a highly sophisticated druidic society, with a very animistic stint, much of which is now lost or fading. The most notable thing that can be said about their culture is that, though they were comprised of many competing tribes, war was a concept totally unknown to them.

This is because almost all of their disputes were resolved through a means of single-warrior combat steeped heavily in tradition, honor, and mysticism. Each tribe had a totemic animal, which represented the strength of their spirit and their communion with the land. And each Auber tribe had at least one "Carna," or champion-- someone who had undertaken ritual guidance over the course of years to represent the tribe. The Carna undertook rigorous training under their shamans, eating only their tribe's totem animal and lots of it, in the belief that consuming the flesh of a creature made the consumer and creature one. And, purportedly, the Carna were capable of great feats of supernatural strength, agility and resilience when in harmony with their spirits, making for some spectacular duels now immortalized on crumbling temple walls.

The Auber are now a broken people. The first wave of Joinder sailors, upon arriving, toppled the high queen of the islands from her throne and rolled her down the hill, mocking her weight and claiming the land in the name of the throne. Today, most Auber live as noncitizen serfs who have forgotten the majority of their heritage, working on sugar plantations for the Joinder or Wom... although there are still wild places where a few tribes yet hide.

Social Views on Weight:

The Joinder empire looks down on the overweight. As a military nation, it is somewhat obsessed with fitness... and as a "proper" people they find gluttony distasteful. Obviously, there are exceptions, but the general social climate is opposed to obesity, seeing it as indicative of character flaws.

The Sultanate of Wom... well, the Sultanate is more lax in its views on weight. Halflings around the globe are quite fond of food, and the Sultanate is no exception. The excessively overweight may be subject to friendly ribbing, but among the upper classes hedonism is a prolific pass-time.

The Auber have a foreign view on the subject-- they associate fatness not with selfishness and but with wisdom and prosperity. Their religious views play into this, with consumption of nature's bounty being the ultimate form of communion with the land.