Worldbuilding wank (how did this take me a month and a half to finish?)

OMG wank- further Rothcar blather. I should come up with a name for the continent, and maybe draw a map or three. Until then, have some discourse on the planes, the Shrive, Malestri, and various other non-human races. (WTF, brain. Seriously. Why the hell are we drawing planar-torque diagrams and why is vector multiplication even vaguely applicable? AUGH.)

This world has a triplane reality system comprised of a binary system and a separate plane: the upper and middle planes overlap each other at every angle, and the lower plane intersects them at a ninety degree angle. Because of this arrangement, travel between the planes is virtually impossible. It is far, far easier to travel to a completely different system than to move vertically along the plane system. (In other words, lateral movement is actually good stuff.) (Also: Brain, what the hell? AUGH.)

Most things live on the middle plane- it's where all your action takes place. The aetherial plane sits on top of the middle plan and extends further in every direction. The barrier between these two planes is semi-permeable, so mages and priests can draw out aetherial energy for use in spells.

The aetherial plane is incredibly inhospitable, being essentially a plane of pure spirit energy. (It's a little like the Lifestream, only without a physical manifestation.) Specialized magic users called Mystics can ascend to the aetherial plane, but once they move off the physical plane, they can't go back. Deities and ghosts also live in the aetherial plane. Eventually, ghosts and mystics get recycled into free floating spirit matter, which either gets used to create new souls or gets pulled through the semi-permeable plane barrier to be used by spell casters. (Magic use needs a separate post all on its own, because I'm too much of a wannabe science major to keep things bloody simple.)

The lower plane is sort of like hell; assorted nasties and evils live there, and any non-humans that accepted banishment in the earlier Eras. It was actually created by the giant bird-thing that hung out in the First Era as a deus ex plot device, but that's beside the point.

The only creatures capable of vertical planewalking are the Shrive and high caliber gods like Drazhene and Razhia. None of the members of the Fourth Era's pantheon are capable of planewalking; they can, however, turn creatures or objects on the middle plane into vessels and use them as Avatars. (Avatarization gets filed under magic use.)

Nobody really knows why the Shrive get to travel freely between the lower and middle planes, but they do it with impunity. The ease with which they travel depends on the type of Shrive; there's a Shrivish counterpart to most domestic animals. Cats are the most common in the Fourth Era, but there are a good number of birds and canines. Not many cattle, but there are Shrive-horses. The Shrive are all carnivorous, regardless of their shape, so cattle and sheep types are rare. It's difficult to blend in with the rest of the herd when you've got pointy teeth and smoldering eyes, after all.

They speak telepathically and have an aura of intense magical power about them. Some races are friendlier than others; Cats and some Birds are fond of humans, but Horses and most Dogs despise them. It's possible to summon a Shrive creature from the lower plane, but most mages underestimate the power of the thing they summon- and the Shrive can walk through magical barriers as easily as they can the border between planes. It's considered a bad career move to summon one against its will.

The Assassins' Guild has a retinue of Shrive Cats. They don't do much- like normal cats, they aren't interested in being constructive. They like the smell of blood and they like being scratched behind the ears, and the Guild has no problems with supplying them with these things. Since Blaine joined the staff, many of them hang around the Healers' Ward, making nuisances of themselves. They occasionally provide backup to the healers when it suits them, and a select few of them can be convinced to mediate between Silverlock and Blaine's holy allergies. Most of Blaine's closest friends are Shrive, because he has issues dealing with people after Nagendra banishes him from the Temple.

They keep an eye on him because he's responsible for Foxbird, who is, unbeknownst to most, one of the last surviving Malestri. Malestri are demons but, unlike the Shrive, they are native to the middle plane. They're nature spirits, but the spread of humanity into the forests and mountains has killed most of them. To survive, they need to adapt. A number of Malestri children were left in Shaivhen, so that future generations might learn to live in cities, beside humans. (When I say "humans," I mean "humanoid races." Shaivhen's population is at least a quarter fae, and most of the city dwellers have no connection to their native forests.)

Foxbird is, creatively enough, a fox-type Malestri. (Shut up, I came up with her when I was twelve.) She's the only survivor of her race that she knows of, though she hasn't spent much time outside of Shaivhen. No reason to- it's a big city, and there are plenty of things to do within its borders. If any of her family members are still alive, they've made no attempt to contact her; she can't remember anything of her life before Blaine adopted her, anyway.

Malestri are lycanthropic shape shifters. They gain some degree of control over their forms, but there are times when they involuntarily take on an animal shape. This isn't an issue for Malestri in their native habitat; many of them live their entire lives without taking a human form. Foxbird was raised human, so she has greater control over her shape- but when she was young, she still spent a great deal of time as a fox. This was a bit disconcerting for Blaine, who had no clue how to raise a human child, never mind a fox. As an adult, she still tends to sleep in her animal form when she's alone or on a job, just because it's easier on her mind and body.

The only other really important non-humans in the Fourth Era are the half-elves, dragons, naga, and to a much, much lesser extent, the elves and Gathare. The Gathare live in the desert in the south of Radrezaria, and look vaguely like giant, humanoid, winged lizard things. They have a nomadic, tribal culture, and they worshiped the Elemental of Fire before the sundering of the Six. In the Fourth Era, they're mostly extinct. Theron lives with them for a few months when he's a kid, and Silverlock works with a few after Blaine's death. Otherwise, they're not overly important to the plots of any of the Fourth Era stories.

Most of the elves planewalked it out of Rothcar after putting up with years and years of racial prejudice. Nobody likes elves. There are still a few wandering around the country, but there are hardly any in Shaivhen- the city has historically been a bastion of anti-elven sentiment. The northern parts of Rothcar, which border elvish territories, tend to be less hostile, and most elves hang out there, if anywhere.

There are, however, enough elves in Shaivhen to maintain a fairly steady half-elf population. There are a number of slave houses in Shaivhen that pay quite well for stud service, and the slave trade is one of the pillars of Shaivhen's economy. All citizens and non-human travelers register with the House of Customs; the city then turns this information over to the slave houses, so the slavers know exactly whom to harass to breed more slaves. It's a dirty, amoral business, but it pays amazingly well- and Shaivhen, for all its beauty and wonder, is a dirty, amoral city at heart.

Half-elven culture is one of my favorite things in Rothcar, because I've got such a ridiculous body mod fetish. Half-elves are slaves for the first third of their lives- generally around fifty years or so. They age very slowly and are bred for looks, so most of them end up in brothels (another booming industry in Shaivhen). Silverlock served the first half of his indenture in a very, very high class brothel before getting bought by a mage- his world view is appropriately skewed because of this.

Half-elves are sterile, so their "culture" is a made up thing- but they have the backing of a decently powerful god, so their traditions endure. The reason body art is so integral to their identities is because they spend so much of their lives as slaves. The only thing they are allowed to own is their skin. Everything else belongs to their owners, but their skin is theirs to do with as they please. Even the brothel slaves get to decorate themselves as they see fit; those that disfigure themselves to the point of no longer being marketable are sold off as laborers or shadow-servants.

Dragons are your standard reclusive, super-powerful giant monster things. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they're still nearly extinct, even after several thousand years of isolation. Both Rothcar and Radrezaria have deep historical connections to them, but the only place they've been seen in the Fourth Era is Luthra (Bren's home town). The rest planewalked to other systems, or hitched a ride with some Shrive to the lower plane.

Naga also have great historical significance in Rothcar, but by the Fourth Era, nobody really remembers or cares. Several very old family lines still live in Shaivhen, under Varun's protection; they are all highly respected scholars. Varun chooses one of them to be His Avatar and the head of His Church in Shaivhen. Normally, he chooses ones that are sane, unlike Nagendra. (Naga are of Hindu origin, which is why Varun's Avatars all get Hindi names. "Varun" is actually Hindi for "Lord of Water.")

AUGH. There are so many details that still don't make sense, and I just make it worse by throwing in pseudoscientific wankery at every turn. Wait until I try to explain magic. That's going to be a headache, believe you me.