Lore

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BASICS

Shrimpshifters (or "Shifters," as they are often referred to) are a race of an inhuman species that have the oddly specific ability to transform at will into a giant shrimp. Their continent, Aqualis, is primarily dominated by this species, although there are born some powerless humans unable to do so.

ANATOMY

Shifters can revert their bodies between a shrimp for, (which range from about the size of a small cat to a large dog—they are not tiny) and a humanoid form, which in general is not perfect and will leave some shrimp aspects behind. In very rare cases, Shifters are born without the ability to transform into their shrimp form.

They always have "scales," which are thought by scientists to prevent scrapes as a sort of “body armour” for the knees and elbows. Rarely, Shifters will have so many scales they cover their arms and legs, or even are on their face or torso. They feel tough, almost like cartilage.

In a shrimp form, Shifters are often missing sex organs and cannot reproduce. Pregnant Shifters cannot shift into shrimps during their second trimester onwards, which is a generalized sign of pregnancy. (However, contrarily, Siren Shifters can only reproduce in Shrimp form.)

Breathing

Shifters can have either land-breathing, water-breathing, or generalized (both) breathing. While sometimes this is external (with external gills), “gills” are more often located within the body if a Shifter has water-breathing abilities. This is genetic (see the punnet squares below). As a shrimp, all Shifters are able to water-breathe. (see also: “World Development Standards: Accessibility”)

SOCIAL CLASS SYSTEM

There are three main class systems, based on the physical traits of shifters. Two are divided:
- the 'Society' class is divided into Society Commons and Society Dignity.
- the 'Elite' class is the middle class, made up of Elite Renowned and Elite Esteemed.
- the 'Divine Prestige' is the entitled class.

Cities tend to be comprised of one class and its divisions, although big cities and capitals may have several "rungs" in a city comprising each class.

Societies (with a few nomadic exceptions) tend to be very, very classist.

A few hundred years ago, being able to shapeshift near perfectly was considered an elite ability. However, as time has passed, the roles have practically swapped. Embracing a person's shrimp qualities are highly valued, and portraying them casually is praised. 

Anyone without a shrimp-shifting ability is often times shunned. They reside in the lower class if they don’t have high class families, and even Commons take their mere existence as an opportunity to feel mildly superior.

The Divine Prestige tends to run political aspects of the Shifter world. Each country has their own method of ruling. Please do not make your Shifter a ruler, president, council member, etc.; we will have actual designs for these as they come up in RP campaigns!

MAPS of AQUALIS

Aqualis is the continent most of the lore will take place on. There are other continents on the planet, but we haven’t revealed those yet…

Below is a Political Map and Geographical Map, respectively.

The continent is estimated around 3 million square miles, including Cae Realm and surrounding islands, as well as the underwater territory in the center.

Pronunciation: ah-quall-iss

Total population: 343 million

Total landmass (including Cae Realm): 3 million mi²

PROMINENT LOCATIONS

National Institute of Medical Research Facilities in Listtin, Genora (Underwater correspondence) and Cadance, Genora (Land correspondence) — The research facilities responsible for the discovery and creation of Ancient Shifters. The Revival Machine is held in the Cadance location, where Dr. Theodosius Allea is in charge.

Müsaya Library Northeast of Poures, Viradise. — (mue-say-ya) The most complete museum and library across all of Aqualis. The lonely location is far spread from any potential danger, as it is set in the deserts of Viradise, away from society and typically quite difficult to navigate to. Two of the three original copies of the Elin (see "Spirituality (Religion)") are kept here.

COUNTRIES 

Murbura
Pronunciation: murr-burr-ah
Government: Empire run by officials in each district. The Emperor or Empress (firstborn) picks officials to run, and the public picks from those officials of who is fit to rule their district. The district with the highest population picks first, and so forth. After a certain number of appeals the Emperor or Empress may overturn the official; if nobody is complaining and the Emperor or Empress is happy then the official may stay in charge. This efficiently gets new laws into place, as the Emperor or Empress usually picks people that agree with them; however, there is not a system for checks and balances. This usually means a revolution occurs every time a particularly terrible Emperor or Empress is in charge.
Population: 100 million; abt 115 residents per mi²
Total Landmass: 870,000 mi²

Genora
Pronunciation: gen-nor-ah
Government: Constitutional Monarchy with an elected parliament/advisory. The lineage is continued by a person of the royal family that is elected into position of power (the children of the current ruler are considered first, then cousins)--the firstborn is not always the ruler. The ruler cannot pick their advisory parliament; instead, the public votes on members to represent them as an advisor to the ruler every five years. There is a constitution restricting the monarch from doing as they please.
Population: 70 million; about 105 residents per mi²
Total Landmass: 670,000 mi²

Fulavasee
Pronunciation: foo-lah-vah-see
Government: Democracy with a checks and balances system (similar to the States). There is two houses, the Ruling and the Council. The Ruling is run by leaders that are elected by the people, and the Council is a representative house to advise the leader that is also elected by the people. Both the Ruling and the Council is re-elected in four year terms, but they take turns every two years (for example, 2018 would be a year they elect to the Ruling, 2020 would be the Council, 2022 would be the Ruling again, 2024 would be the Council, cont). This way, if the people aren't happy with their leaders, they can exchange advisors that can veto laws the leader puts in place. The Ruling is made of 3 people--a domestic leader, in charge of domestic polices; a foreign leader, in charge of foreign affairs; and a defense leader, in charge of defense and military (although there are less skirmishes now so it's not as needed, more of a tradition). The Ruling can appoint other members to their house in terms of what they need, called their cabinet, that may be regulating specific events or tasks they may not have time for (for example, a commerce member, head of navy, etc). The Council reviews any laws that the leaders may try to make and can veto them, so long as they have constitutional proof. The Council works a lot with the domestic affairs and may be reprimanded by the Ruling to keep them from overstepping their power. There are currently 70 Council members, so there is about 1 to every million+ people.
Population: 78 million; about 98 residents per mi²
Total Landmass: around 800,000 mi²

Viradise
Pronunciation: veer-ah-dice, similar to paradise
Government: Theocracy that is ‘constitutional’ via religious texts. The main religion in this area is said to guide the ruler; the ruler is picked from the heavens. The limits of what the ruler can do are given in the religious text they lean towards; the people elect officials to dutifully watch those in charge and ensure they are following the texts. However, this system is not perfect, and slightly corrupt--while some officials are honest, others take the side of whoever will pay them the most.
Population: 70 million; abt 180 residents per mi²
Total Landmass: around 390,000 mi²

Cae Relm
Pronunciation: cay relm
Government: a pure democracy (similar to the Greeks). Run by councils of elected members; to do anything they must all come to a conclusion. They are governed by a declaration that restricts their power as a council. The country is divided into 20 districts that elect their council members (about 10 to a district, some more or less), with two council members serving as “representative members.” These members meet as a federal council when federal decisions must be made. Because of this system, district laws are often changed or altered according to the popular wants or needs of the people (usually the majority).
Population: 25 million; abt 96 residents per mi²
Total Landmass: around 270,000 mi²

SPIRITUALITY (RELIGION)

Spirituality is a very important part of most Shifter's lives. Even though some don't involve themselves with it to a large extent, they often still pray or participate in yearly festivals or rituals. Most classifications recognize devotees to the religion that keep themselves pure for life and serve the temple under the guidence of a priest.

The uniting themes across all classifications are the presence of a singular god, Uma (Oo-muh), and the following of a Holy book, the Elin (Ee-lyn).

Classifications and Differences

Although some nomadic groups and cultures have differing views or smaller religion, most of Aqualis follows the same basic religion, which is simply termed a person’s spirituality. The type of spirituality (classification) is defined by the basic ruleset a Shifter follows, and these classifications have caused multiple disputes among spiritual communities for their differences.

Usually, differing opinion comes with interpretation of the book. These views are the most disputed:
- whether "good works" are necessary to move on to the afterlife;
- the necessity of rituals—if they are required, to show remembrance, or to show symbolism.

The most recognized classifications are:
- Burom (burr-om): Most prominent in Murbura and Cae Relm, this classification is known for its relaxed outlook on requirements during one’s life. It is a guiding force for good, but does not seek intense dedication. It focuses on internal peace and love, and loving others.
- Silvaion (sil-vy-ee-on): Considered the strictest classification, it is most prominent in Viradise, and is what rules the Viradise government. It contains an additional religious text (the Loporah Uma) and has rigid, black and white rules regarding the passage into the afterlife.
- Omora (oh-more-ah): Stated to be only the basics of one’s spirituality, the classification present mainly in Genora and Fulavasee focuses on a steadfast relationship with Uma and spreading good works and love. In this classification, rituals are intended to be a public showcase of dedication and festivals should be thought of as public adherance to Uma, but are not required for admittance into the afterlife.

Temple Structure

In Viradise, there is the most complex system of a temple. Other countries would usually have looser or simplified versions of these.

Typically, there will be a head priest/priestess (just saying priest for now to make it simple, but any gender could be a priest), and then a “lower” council of priests beneath him. The head priest will be in charge of a main sermon or temple session, usually one or two days a week, for worship, instruction, interpretation, and advice. He will also be in charge of speaking at festivals and representing the temple. Depending on the size of the temple, there are more in the council—a small one might just have one or two, and large ones have as many as ten. These smaller priests hold smaller or daily services, prayer, and worship throughout the week and keep the highest priest in check. Some temples rotate head priests, and others elect, while others are there for life or until retirement—it just depends on location.

There is also a system of elders that lead prayer and worship, and are often “retired” priests that still want to continue serving. They have a multitude of jobs, depending on the temple’s needs, and can also be in charge of giving advice, running studies, raising money, contributing to missionaries, you name it. But they are primarily revered for their wisdom and prayer.

Typically, large temples are open all throughout the week, and smaller temples may just be open one or two days a week. 

Many temples have choirs or ensembles that lead musical worship on main session days (where the priest speaks), and in larger temples, members often rotate throughout the week to lead smaller musical worship sessions (especially if smaller priests are leading a session).

In Viradise or stricter temples, there may be sacrifices of animals made on special days. 

Spiritual Figures

Saint Laurel — The life of the fondly known Saint Laurel is celebrated in temples all across Aqualis. He is known for his charitable lifestyle, giving all he owned to his temple and those around him, and serving selflessly. Depictions of him are easily recognizable due to his stark white hair. He is thought to have been given a place among the saints in the afterlife.

WORLD DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS AND ADVANCEMENTS

The lore of Aqualis, and the subsequent Roleplays of this World, are set in a time period around 1800-1950 as far as advancements go.

Medicine

Medicine is better established than other areas, as science as a concept is more ahead than not when it comes to research, especially when it comes to the body. Much of this research was sponsored trying to determine why they can shapeshift, where traits come from, and generally what heals a broken body.

Proper and established doctors are required to go to school for their area of advancement, but that doesn't mean some don't and choose to practice alternative or more archaic forms of medicine, especially for those skeptical of the new age of medicine.

Technology

Technology, on the other hand, is only beginning to step up. Shifters still primarily use boats, horses, or walking to transport themselves, although the first train does exist in Genora.

The motor and machine is beginning to set itself in industry as mechanized tools, such as the sewing machine, are becoming available, but mass production does not exist yet.

Many machines or devices have been made once before, maybe several times by different people, but are not able to be produced en masse, which is one of the reasons technology is not accessible yet.

Agriculture

tba

Accessibility

Accessibility is an important part of nearly every Shifter’s lives, and is a prominent concern in nearly every community. Concerns primarily include water- or on land-breathing (for visiting underwater or above-land cities), which is a big staple in technological development. While there are many different options for these technologies, most often are oxygen- and water-tank solutions which is worn on the face or held to the face to breathe. Oxygen or water solutions can be refilled for free in city stations, which are typically operated by the makers of the masks.

Established walkways are often large, foremost present the potential for different sized traits, but also creating accessibility for wheelchairs. Wheelchairs are not only used for those with disabilities, but also by those that have Mermaid-Style Shrimp Tails. 

OTHER CREATURES

Almost all creatures in the world have some connection to the water, and either live wholly in it or live in both water and on land.

Humanoid Creatures
Aqualis is mostly comprised of Shrimpshifters, but there are some other humanoid creatures that wander about, all half of another creature (save the occasional, vanilla humans).

Medumorphas
Medumorphas are half-jellyfish, and live exclusively underwater. They can shift between a jellyfish and humanoid form, but they will always have their lower half as a jellyfish as humans. They can vary in size, some more giant than others. They live long, upwards of 80 years on average.

Medumorphas stay rather far away from Shrimpshifters, preferring not to engage in their ever-moving culture. Shrimpshifters regard seeing them as good luck when sailing or swimming because their presence generally means that the area is safe.

Animals
Many animals are half fish, or are underwater animals altogether.

Horses
The Eiplekoh (or Eiplekoh Horse) is a horse that can live both underwater and above land. Their fur is waterproof, and they have large tails for swimming. They don't usually go incredibly deep underwater.

The Sumacoi (or Sumacoi Horse), on the other hand, is exclusively underwater and could be compared to a hippocampus. Their bodies are made entirely of scales, with a horse half on the front, and a fish tail in the back. They are usually the size of ponies, and they have fins instead of hooves. They can be found all over the underwater space, even in the Deep End.