Overall: Culture in the collaborative world may seem rigid, but it's actually pretty loose when you get down to it. Ideas are always appreciated and again, I'd love to see people play with things.

Years last [number not decided] and months are lunar, making them a consistent [number not decided]. There are twelve months, earth named after a magical element people are sometimes able to manipulate (save for two): Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Darkness, Storms, Heavens, Moon, Metal, Blood, Poison, Pestilence.

The first four tend to be very hot, worldwide. The next four are either also hot seasons--with heavy rains or mild storms in the Month of Storms and sometimes Heavens--or cool seasons with similar weather patterns. The last four are of the bad seasons, the first two are times of extreme winter with heavy snowfall, the Month of Poison a month of lack of fresh meat and an increase in predators, some with acidic saliva, and The Month of pestilence a time of thaw and the return of vermin and insects (such as mosquitoes with malaria).

The months also correspond with schools of magic (moon corresponding to light, heavens corresponding manipulating the senses, to pestilence corresponding to healing, and poison to a rare and cultural school of suppressing magical abilities of others nearby, which has been forgotten for the most part, save for a certain region).

Magic is not genetic; it depends on saturation (eat a lot of food grown in a spot where the dirt contains magic and you get it into your system. A woman has a better chance of passing on magical saturation to a child, as the baby is soaked in her body for nine months, as opposed to a few days from a man. As much as people want children with magical abilities (more on that later), incest is a huge taboo no one wants to break.

There are three islands, with varying cultures:

The Island of the Sun: Instead of The Month of the Moon, they call it the Month of the Sun (which begins to go away). The island was inhabited by barians (culture based on Native Americans) who were nomadic. They didn't care for magic, and it is the only region where suppressing or 'breaking' magic. They are fairly gender balanced, letting women be warriors and men cook and raise children, though they expect each individual to take a mate and raise a kid. They have a council of elders, wear tattoos, and some take animal guides as a right of passage.

A generation ago, a small group of settlers asked to occupy some land on the island. Seeing they were peaceful, the natives allowed them to build a small village. While the natives didn't understand land ownership, the two cultures mixed easily, the settlers not bringing magic or ruining the land and the natives bringing them food and resources. Mixed children who move between the two cultures are common.

The Island of the Moon: The barbarians call this place The Island of the Moon, but it's called [insert name here] by the family that owns it. The island is volcanic and nearly identical to Hawaii (boring info about how that happened not written, but available upon request). Magic is pretty much recycled here. Anything not consumed in some way is chucked into the volcano (including the dead), and the volcano now and then covers the land with lava, renewing magic. One family owns the land, specializing in trading and gambling.

The Island of Red: The barbarians call the main continent The Island of Red for the occasional red dirt, wars, hunting feasts, flowers, and abundance of iron. People who live on the continent call it [insert name here]. Here and on the Island of the Moon, there is a complicated hierarchy that has recently united (conquered) all the major cities.

Bearing children with magical abilities is important. Children who show magical abilities (the exception being considered useless or healers) are taken away. Men are raised to lead armies and women disappear altogether, their lives secret from all but the commanders and other magic-users. They are taught magic and reared as gods who look after lower people.

Those without magic are encouraged to try and gather magic within them so their children can be so 'lucky', but for the most part, they are expected to run the family business (carving, pottery, farming, etc). Firstborn girls inherit the family name and property (as opposed to boys). Second girls are conscripted for the army or trained as doctors. Boys and men either work for the family until married into a new one, or leave to become entertainers (academic occupations are considered the same as this), and are expected to wander from place to place. Since the army is made of women, children they bear that don't have magic powers are given to families having trouble conceiving, can't keep up the business due to lack of help, or to replace the firstborn girl if she has magic and is taken away (the exception is on The Island of the Moon, where firstborn women with magic get to stay and raise the family as part of a trade agreement).

Not everywhere has been taken over, as tribes or small villages or towns weren't considered worth conquering and the army fights them and rebels who don't like having been conquered. But they're considered nuisances.

Weather: Weather varies. The Island of The Sun gets snow, but most of it is blocked off by mountains. The volcano keeps The Island of the Moon warm and winter is long periods of rain. The Island of Red gets lots of snow, feet of it, in most areas during the winter.

Travel from the islands is common; boats are in every culture and the glaciers of ice can be traveled with good timing.