I wanted a place to brainstorm ideas. A lot of the concepts I touch on here are partially developed and will be part of a site I plan on opening. This is just barely scratching the surface, but hopefully it's an ok introduction with commentary!

Iluciya

I call it surreal, but mostly because the world functions very, very differently from our own.

Iluciya is a world concealed by The Barrier, locked away and ignorant of the forces beyond it. It is about half the size of earth, and due to the barrier holds some scientific concepts that wouldn't translate perfectly into the real world. A celestial ring made of aether that's bisected by the Barrier surrounds the globe. There is a thin layer of stardust in the atmosphere, causing a glittering appearance in the sky no matter the time of day or location. 

The planet is climate-controlled by the barrier, with sections of large clusters of aether acting as the "sunlight" and "moonlight" of the world. Because of the large concentration of aether in these areas, they appear similarly as our sun and moon on earth do. The actual satellites orbiting on either side of the aether ring are Anetia and Lusria, rumored to be moons from the days before the barrier's existence.

Due to the unreliable nature of written history, and how most books and media relating to the world before the barrier were lost, there's many beliefs spread throughout the continents regarding the origin of the barrier. I'll tell you OOC, that it was probably a Supernova of some sort, and that a witch (or 10) created the barrier to protect their home. In doing this, they were still only able to save a small section of the population. It's believed that all of the races come from one of the three most common races, and that everyone originates from an island referred to as Home.

This world was made to encourage users to work together to develop new and old concepts. We're currently also making an STG-Game, which was the primary reason for bringing the RP back to life. People started wanting to develop their own characters within the world I built for the game, but I also want to encourage long-time members to contribute their own lore and OCs. 

I think I'll start the board with the bare-bones of information on the races and locations and encourage users to build up the world together during the soft-opening. I have about 23 locations plotted out among the continents, but I'm going to publish them as if I were a member as well, to kind of set an example and encourage open dialogue. 

My only issue is... My member base is almost all entirely only interested in either 1. drawing their characters and developing them outside of RP or 2. developing the world outside of RP! This isn't too much of a roadblock, since we'll have an active OOC community actively contributing to the world, but I'll probably need to gather a few role-players outside of my current member base! 😄 (I think I know just the place~)

With IPS, I want to use the Clubs feature as a way for users to create storylines and characters are accepted/rejected on a per-member basis. This is kind of how I ran a Touhou forum back in the day, and I think with these extra features it'll be a lot more streamlined! I hesitate to step away from the normal location-board formula, but it might be nice to try something new!

Magic

Magic is the name given to any set of skills or processes that utilize or consume aether in order to change or advance the usual laws of physics. Most believe that magic is tied to the state of being, while others believe that it is a gift from divine entities. Magic is such an integral part of life that it's hard to believe that the world even functioned without it as a whole before World's End happened and the barrier was created. 

Aether is the medium in which magic seems to materialize.  It is generally believed that aether comes from the ring surrounding the planet and that the barrier is made from a grid of elemental aether, converging at one brightest and darkest point meant to emulate sunshine and moonlight. It's believed that a person utilizes their life force to interact with aether, commonly referred to as soul or aura.

Aether can crystallize and become Stars, a material believed to come from the clouds. Stars are used in just about every piece of technology and weaponry- From light bulbs to magic staves.

Races

I debate on Races vs Species. In the Adoptables community, even humanoid races are considered "species". Since everyone that's sentient in this world is essentially humanoid, I started out calling them "races". Not sure how to go about that but I'll probably figure something out! Iluciya is affectionately called Cantankerous Elf Club, due to the fact that most of the races have pointed ears. (Evolutionary reasons)

The races are...
Mundane - Must use an outside source of Aether, because they cannot store it in their body.

• Fiaca: The most human of races, their unique healing factor makes up for the lack of magical ability.
• 'Yin: A race with animalistic features. They are noted to have physical traits aligning with their animal features, such as frail bones for birds and night vision in cats.
• Nikino: Evolutionary mutation in an environment drenched in magic gave birth to a new type of Tabe'yin, named Nikino. They are normally born without vocal cords and communicate via bell-like chimes from their tail appendages. Fluffy antennae jut from their ears, allowing them to evaluate intangible aspects of items just by sensing them. This established the trading Nikino town of Gelisia.
• Keyitmi: Enigmatic creatures that feed on the blood of Magicals, they cannot use spell items but are categorized as "mundane" due to their inability to use any magic without first feeding on a magical being. They adapt to whatever magical talent and abilities of the blood in their system. When they absorb enough, they can materialize a set of wings made of aether and even fly. They are very rare.

Magical - Absorbs aether from their environment passively. Can store aether in their body. Commonly have markings on their skin called aether circuits. They're infamous for dying of shock after breaking bones, likely due to the presence of aether circuits.

• Siiday: They hold a unique trait in their magic circuits that adapts to the type of aether surrounding them for long periods of time, making them the only race that can switch out their elemental affinity. However, this change takes about 1/4 of their lifespan in a consistent environment. Siiday are not commonly nomadic, as the change in their magic circuits can be painful and hinder their casting ability.
• Lanmei: It's said that even their blood acts as magical circuits, holding a high aether content no matter how long it has been separated from the body. A favorite snack for Keyitmi, but the most magically talented of mortal races, most powerful magicians are of Lanmei descent. They have small antennae on their head, usually in pairs on each side, that allow them more absorption of aether from the air.
• Luxa: Said to be evolutionary decendants of both Siiday and 'Yin, Luxa tend to have digitrigrade legs and absorb aether from the ground through the tough pads on their feet. Luxa tend to focus on magic that enhances their bodies or physical weapons, making them effective spellswords. 

Celestial - Passively expels aether from the body in small amounts, usually has a huge supply of aether to begin with, or are made of aether.

• Eilura: Elemental beings said to originate from the Barrier. They are usually found in large, crystalline structures buried deep beneath Iluciya's crust. Some retain memories of the area surrounding them, so Eilura are valuable for the progress of history-keeping. However, eilura tend to have a low morality standard and are known to trick mortals, magical or mundane. To recharge their aether supply, Eilura must eat the same type of Star that they are made from.
• Melnir: Doll-like androids originally made by Nikino and can be found in Companion, Combat, and Work models. They are usually powered by an item with a high concentration of aether. Their sentience is debated, but some Melnir report having memories they didn't experience and shifts in personality if the item at their Core is changed out.

Anyway, I have some doodles of the races up here on the Initiative! The album should be connected to this Blog Entry. 🙂 I'll probably do more down the line.