Post by Kurosaki on Jan 7, 2011 21:04:50 GMT -5
Created by Mimic.
Name of Island: Orichal Hollow
Size of Island: Slightly larger than Drum Isand
Location: Reflection Route
Flora and Fauna:
The island is a winter island, constantly snowy and all plants and applicable animals are stuck in their winter stage. The island seems very normal above water, mostly covered in large, deciduous trees with several clearings where there isn't any civilization. During the typical summer season, the island experiences a quasi-spring like phase in it's forestation. Trees grow flowers and the land becomes covered in beautiful colors of the flowers and vegetation that have been hidden under the snow all year. Near the end of summer, the spring ends abruptly, skips the summer season of other islands completely, speeds through an autumn phase within at most two weeks, and then returns to winter for the rest of the year. There is not much remarkable about the vegetation other than special plants can grow food comparable to other islands in much harsher conditions, but the result is that being frozen over makes the fruit much more compact. Some people use these small fruits and vegetables to cram lots of flavor into a small dish. The most agriculturally abundant fruit is oranges and the abundant vegetable is potatoes.
The animals on the island are not particularly special, but they all share a common trait of white (or off-white) fur. Both prey and and predator use this as visual camoflage, prompting both prey and predator animals to become excellent with the senses of hearing and smell (respectively). Prey animals include deer, rabbit, elk, bison, squirrels and various other rodent animals. In such harsh environments, they have learned to find plentiful food sources even underneath the snow and have exceptionally strong teeth to bite through the layer of ise that usually coats it. Predator animals include bears, eagles, and wolves. With the difficulty in finding most prey in the snow, all predators (with the exception of the eagle which developed even stronger sight) have developed a heightend sense of smell, able to track something even if it has had its scent masked by snowfall.
The island also has a wide variety of arctic and antarctic fish, but they do not often venture out as far as shore (will be explained below). They can mostly be found in the salt water lakes that are scattered around the island.
Inhabitants:
Upon the first day, there are only two races sharing the island, fishman of arctic varieties and humans. It is noteworthy that the fishmen are not antagonistic towards the humans living on the island, but show typical fishman treatment of humans to humans who are visiting. An observant visitor would also eventually realize that there are no human children or young human's for that matter. They all appear to be of middle age or older. This is because the humans are actually mermaids with split tails on the surface of the island.
In the middle of the island at the base of a series of mountains is a large Salt Water Lake with a stone castle rising out of the center of it. In this lake are the younger mermaids and some of the older mermaids and fishmen. They live under the lake until their tails split out of fear of kidnapper pirates. Most of the salt water lakes freeze over in the heaviest colds of the winter, but there are several flooded tunnels that lead to the lakes around the shore and in the forests as a means for the older mermaids to return to their families at night.
NPCS:
Jyuigo - The strongest fishman on the island. He's a squid type fishman, having 8 arms, two legs, and the characteristic triangular head. He wears his dark hair in a militaristic manner and seems to have a beak like mouth as opposed to the long mouths that the octopus fishmen have. His skin is a pale and he is typically wearing a mixture of scale and fur armor. His weapons of choice are 8 chains, two of which have large, spiked, metal balls on the end, the rest having only weights with single spikes on each. He is very defensive of the island and is generally distrusting, but he will always do his best to make sure the inhabitants remain safe. He acts as a military leader for the guerilla like militia of the island. Jyuigo is 55 years old.
Olivian - The level-headed, very generous political leader of the island. She is one step above Jyuigo as far as island wide power goes, providing morale and strategic support to the people. When the island is not under attack by pirates she is very hospitible to visitors. Jyuigo doesn't like her hospitality as it makes her seem too trusting, but as long as they are in a position to observe the outsiders carefully, she believes all will be fine. She has a favoritism for outside music and wears modest winter coats normally. She is 43 years old and is backed by an array of advisors with a large age range.
Nilrem - An old merman who lives in the stone castle in the middle of the largest lake of the island. He seems slow in his age but he is quite clever. He enjoys the company of visitors and loves to play games with humans and visiting children to pass the time. He is in charge of keeping track of all mermaids who are allowed to leave the lakes because of their tails splitting. He's basically a gate keeper to the lake and the city of mermaids and fishmen below. Sometimes, he allows humans to visit part of the city, but only if they can be trusted with the secret, and proving this can be incredibly difficult. In times of emergency, he is more easily pressed into letting humans hide from pursuers if they are kind. He wears white robes and appears to be in his 70s or 80s.
Ruhtra - Another merman who lives in the lower, flooded parts of the castle. He was chosen by Nilrem to take his place when he comes of age, though his tail still has not split yet. He assists Nilrem in his duties and runs errands under the island, sometimes taking humans to the city under the lake whenever Nilrem is too busy or tired to deal with it, but ONLY when Nilrem personally allows it. He operates the castle elevator and is 20 years old.
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities:
Norma Town: The one town on the island. It is located into the island somewhat, not attached to the ocean directly, but found along a large river from the mountains leading to the ocean. The river freezes over sometimes, but it never freezes completely. The architecture of the rural looking town is similar to real life Russian and German aesthetics. The fishmen and "humans" that live here generally lead lives similar to humans, having trades established for crops and supplies, but the true intent is for the mermaids to help those in need, and the fishmen are there to protect them.
Palace of the Lake: The castle at the center of the largest lake on the island. It looks like a real life German castle, completely made of stone. But it is frozen over on the outside, making it appear rather pale and old. The inside is modestly decorated for a castle, nothing really extravagant. The lower part of the castle is under water and houses many different fish as well as Nilrem and Ruhtra. Right above the water line inside the castle is a manually operated elevator that can withstand pressure at several fathoms, but was only made to reach the bottom of the lake at which there is a hollow ice berg frozen to the lake ground.
Hollow: The underwater town for the fishmen and mermaids of the island. Humans can access a small part of it by using the elevator in the Palace of the Lake, which takes them into a hollow iceberg where some of the inhabitants live, but it's mostly used as a station for mermaids to go directly to the palace where they can register with Nilrem that their tails have split. The iceberg is large and contains what a human would consider a medium sized town. Mermaids and fishmen can access it through special water holes in the ground of the iceberg, and the town extends throughout the island which is full of underground water pockets and tunnels. The density of the town is thickest around and in the underwater iceberg but reaches as far as the outer most lakes which contain maybe 2 or 3 homes for fishmen and mermaids. The tunnels reach out as far as the shore, but the mermaids and fish under the island rare travel this far. Fishmen use these tunnels frequently though.
Missions:
#-- : Marines are investigating the dissappearance of a Vessel in the area and are holding a group of innocent fishmen and people in custody on suspicion. Someone must prove that they are innocent with their own investigation. Available to anyone (including Marines).
#-- : A fishman bountyhead is hiding out on the island. Some of the fishmen and most of the people do not know where he is. But some of his fishmen friends may be assisting in his hideaway. One thing is for sure though, he is definately hiding on the surface of the island so that he won't be seen by the fishmen that live in the lakes. Apprehend the suspect. Available to Marines and Bountyhunters.
Island History:
The island's history was never found to explain the presence of the castle. However the arrival of the fishmen and mermaids can be explained easily. A noble who had purchased his own island owned many of the fishmen and merfolk who live on the Oricha Hollow now. Due to an accident with a band of revolutionaries, most of them were able to escape their captivity from the noble. The slaves split into two groups, one group that wanted to return to their own homes, and one that believed they would be intercepted and were prepared to leave their old lives behind to avoid captivity again.
The latter was the group that eventually found the island and built a home for themselves. When a human ship was beached on the island and the crew couldn't place it back into the ocean, the merfolk desired to help them on their way. The fishmen refused to help the merfolk in their endeavor at first but were persuaded into watching them from the ocean in case anything went wrong. The older merfolk, posing as monks, talked to the humans and learned that they were also revolutionaries, similar to those that had rescued the merfolk and fishmen. The merfolk then offered to help them.
Using their fish communcative abilities, with secret help from the watching fishmen, the ship was moved back into the water and the merfolk decided to set up a top-side town to help travelers on their way. Norma Town was established as a "Human/Fishman" colony and the young merfolk were kept hidden in the hollow tunnels, pockets, and lakes of the island.
Name of Island: Orichal Hollow
Size of Island: Slightly larger than Drum Isand
Location: Reflection Route
Flora and Fauna:
The island is a winter island, constantly snowy and all plants and applicable animals are stuck in their winter stage. The island seems very normal above water, mostly covered in large, deciduous trees with several clearings where there isn't any civilization. During the typical summer season, the island experiences a quasi-spring like phase in it's forestation. Trees grow flowers and the land becomes covered in beautiful colors of the flowers and vegetation that have been hidden under the snow all year. Near the end of summer, the spring ends abruptly, skips the summer season of other islands completely, speeds through an autumn phase within at most two weeks, and then returns to winter for the rest of the year. There is not much remarkable about the vegetation other than special plants can grow food comparable to other islands in much harsher conditions, but the result is that being frozen over makes the fruit much more compact. Some people use these small fruits and vegetables to cram lots of flavor into a small dish. The most agriculturally abundant fruit is oranges and the abundant vegetable is potatoes.
The animals on the island are not particularly special, but they all share a common trait of white (or off-white) fur. Both prey and and predator use this as visual camoflage, prompting both prey and predator animals to become excellent with the senses of hearing and smell (respectively). Prey animals include deer, rabbit, elk, bison, squirrels and various other rodent animals. In such harsh environments, they have learned to find plentiful food sources even underneath the snow and have exceptionally strong teeth to bite through the layer of ise that usually coats it. Predator animals include bears, eagles, and wolves. With the difficulty in finding most prey in the snow, all predators (with the exception of the eagle which developed even stronger sight) have developed a heightend sense of smell, able to track something even if it has had its scent masked by snowfall.
The island also has a wide variety of arctic and antarctic fish, but they do not often venture out as far as shore (will be explained below). They can mostly be found in the salt water lakes that are scattered around the island.
Inhabitants:
Upon the first day, there are only two races sharing the island, fishman of arctic varieties and humans. It is noteworthy that the fishmen are not antagonistic towards the humans living on the island, but show typical fishman treatment of humans to humans who are visiting. An observant visitor would also eventually realize that there are no human children or young human's for that matter. They all appear to be of middle age or older. This is because the humans are actually mermaids with split tails on the surface of the island.
In the middle of the island at the base of a series of mountains is a large Salt Water Lake with a stone castle rising out of the center of it. In this lake are the younger mermaids and some of the older mermaids and fishmen. They live under the lake until their tails split out of fear of kidnapper pirates. Most of the salt water lakes freeze over in the heaviest colds of the winter, but there are several flooded tunnels that lead to the lakes around the shore and in the forests as a means for the older mermaids to return to their families at night.
NPCS:
Jyuigo - The strongest fishman on the island. He's a squid type fishman, having 8 arms, two legs, and the characteristic triangular head. He wears his dark hair in a militaristic manner and seems to have a beak like mouth as opposed to the long mouths that the octopus fishmen have. His skin is a pale and he is typically wearing a mixture of scale and fur armor. His weapons of choice are 8 chains, two of which have large, spiked, metal balls on the end, the rest having only weights with single spikes on each. He is very defensive of the island and is generally distrusting, but he will always do his best to make sure the inhabitants remain safe. He acts as a military leader for the guerilla like militia of the island. Jyuigo is 55 years old.
Olivian - The level-headed, very generous political leader of the island. She is one step above Jyuigo as far as island wide power goes, providing morale and strategic support to the people. When the island is not under attack by pirates she is very hospitible to visitors. Jyuigo doesn't like her hospitality as it makes her seem too trusting, but as long as they are in a position to observe the outsiders carefully, she believes all will be fine. She has a favoritism for outside music and wears modest winter coats normally. She is 43 years old and is backed by an array of advisors with a large age range.
Nilrem - An old merman who lives in the stone castle in the middle of the largest lake of the island. He seems slow in his age but he is quite clever. He enjoys the company of visitors and loves to play games with humans and visiting children to pass the time. He is in charge of keeping track of all mermaids who are allowed to leave the lakes because of their tails splitting. He's basically a gate keeper to the lake and the city of mermaids and fishmen below. Sometimes, he allows humans to visit part of the city, but only if they can be trusted with the secret, and proving this can be incredibly difficult. In times of emergency, he is more easily pressed into letting humans hide from pursuers if they are kind. He wears white robes and appears to be in his 70s or 80s.
Ruhtra - Another merman who lives in the lower, flooded parts of the castle. He was chosen by Nilrem to take his place when he comes of age, though his tail still has not split yet. He assists Nilrem in his duties and runs errands under the island, sometimes taking humans to the city under the lake whenever Nilrem is too busy or tired to deal with it, but ONLY when Nilrem personally allows it. He operates the castle elevator and is 20 years old.
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities:
Norma Town: The one town on the island. It is located into the island somewhat, not attached to the ocean directly, but found along a large river from the mountains leading to the ocean. The river freezes over sometimes, but it never freezes completely. The architecture of the rural looking town is similar to real life Russian and German aesthetics. The fishmen and "humans" that live here generally lead lives similar to humans, having trades established for crops and supplies, but the true intent is for the mermaids to help those in need, and the fishmen are there to protect them.
Palace of the Lake: The castle at the center of the largest lake on the island. It looks like a real life German castle, completely made of stone. But it is frozen over on the outside, making it appear rather pale and old. The inside is modestly decorated for a castle, nothing really extravagant. The lower part of the castle is under water and houses many different fish as well as Nilrem and Ruhtra. Right above the water line inside the castle is a manually operated elevator that can withstand pressure at several fathoms, but was only made to reach the bottom of the lake at which there is a hollow ice berg frozen to the lake ground.
Hollow: The underwater town for the fishmen and mermaids of the island. Humans can access a small part of it by using the elevator in the Palace of the Lake, which takes them into a hollow iceberg where some of the inhabitants live, but it's mostly used as a station for mermaids to go directly to the palace where they can register with Nilrem that their tails have split. The iceberg is large and contains what a human would consider a medium sized town. Mermaids and fishmen can access it through special water holes in the ground of the iceberg, and the town extends throughout the island which is full of underground water pockets and tunnels. The density of the town is thickest around and in the underwater iceberg but reaches as far as the outer most lakes which contain maybe 2 or 3 homes for fishmen and mermaids. The tunnels reach out as far as the shore, but the mermaids and fish under the island rare travel this far. Fishmen use these tunnels frequently though.
Missions:
#-- : Marines are investigating the dissappearance of a Vessel in the area and are holding a group of innocent fishmen and people in custody on suspicion. Someone must prove that they are innocent with their own investigation. Available to anyone (including Marines).
#-- : A fishman bountyhead is hiding out on the island. Some of the fishmen and most of the people do not know where he is. But some of his fishmen friends may be assisting in his hideaway. One thing is for sure though, he is definately hiding on the surface of the island so that he won't be seen by the fishmen that live in the lakes. Apprehend the suspect. Available to Marines and Bountyhunters.
Island History:
The island's history was never found to explain the presence of the castle. However the arrival of the fishmen and mermaids can be explained easily. A noble who had purchased his own island owned many of the fishmen and merfolk who live on the Oricha Hollow now. Due to an accident with a band of revolutionaries, most of them were able to escape their captivity from the noble. The slaves split into two groups, one group that wanted to return to their own homes, and one that believed they would be intercepted and were prepared to leave their old lives behind to avoid captivity again.
The latter was the group that eventually found the island and built a home for themselves. When a human ship was beached on the island and the crew couldn't place it back into the ocean, the merfolk desired to help them on their way. The fishmen refused to help the merfolk in their endeavor at first but were persuaded into watching them from the ocean in case anything went wrong. The older merfolk, posing as monks, talked to the humans and learned that they were also revolutionaries, similar to those that had rescued the merfolk and fishmen. The merfolk then offered to help them.
Using their fish communcative abilities, with secret help from the watching fishmen, the ship was moved back into the water and the merfolk decided to set up a top-side town to help travelers on their way. Norma Town was established as a "Human/Fishman" colony and the young merfolk were kept hidden in the hollow tunnels, pockets, and lakes of the island.