Race Application
Race Name: Svanians, demonym: Svanian
Location: Planet Heer
Race Appearance: Probably something like this. Though don't take it for granted - basically blue skin, white hair, more or less human sized and of humanoid shape. Obviously, features can change greatly depending on each individual - some might have facial hair, some can be bald, some can have a slightly different skin color. The hair can be dyed to be of different colors, too.
Culture/World: The Svanian race is native to the world of Heer, though each of the different states and languages that inhabit it have different names for it. Heer is a small planet, about the size of Mars, and orbits it's star Vikonti on the outer edge of it's habitable zone, making the climate cold and windy, with most of the planet being covered by tundra or dense forests. Water is somewhat abundant, though it only covers 40 percent of the planet's surface and does not form a continuous ocean. Heer is tectonically active, and volcanoes, valleys and long and wide mountain ranges are a common sight. The planet also has an unnaturally strong magnetic field, which often jams and breaks electronic equipment nearby. There is only a single small moon - Zuna.
The planet is inhabited, and wildlife vastly differs based on latitude. The flora in the deep north and south is mostly limited to mosses and lichens, and the fauna consists of toughened creatures capable of surviving the harsh winters. The wide strip of land around the equator was once covered in deep lush forests, but most of them are now gone to make room for bustling cities, railways and towns. This is the most densely inhabited and most contested land of the entire planet - here is where the largest deposits of fuel and oil are, most located around the seas and lakes of the land. The tundra is rich is minerals, precious metals and a rare liquid substance named Schmeer Water - an odd hallucinogen when digested and a very effective explosive. It is no surprise that many of the great nations of this planet constantly go to war for dominance over both the Tundra and the Equator. The former Prime General of the Kingdom of Valdaria, Admar hen Speer, famously commented on this division of resources:
"We are like little children - fighting over two pieces of candy, when we are only allowed to have one at a time."
The Svanian race is the only intelligent species on this planet, inhabiting the singular planet-spanning continent of Heer, and they live in the equivalent technological and social level of the early 20th century. The entire planet, minus the unreachable ice poles, has been divided between many sprawling nations. The Industrial Revolution and the age of steel are in full speed, and the society of the species is changing. Previously, the average Svanian was limited to his farm or village, but now, with the advent of steam power, the automobile, the aeroplane, the assembly line, more and more people are becoming increasingly connected, and far wealthier. The society has reorganized itself along lines of class - the workers, the middle class and the landowners and capitalists. That doesn't mean that everyone is content with this, though. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to ideas of equality and a "xierocratic" society (xiero being "people" in Scardian. We'll get to them), and the ancient regime of absolute rule might be coming to an end...
Nevertheless, Svanians are not united and haven't been such for thousands of years. Ever since the days of antiquity, thousands of nations, empires and other states rose and fell, but the situation today seems to have stabilized on a few dominant powers and many small states dominated by them, always in high tension between each other. Military technology is at it's peak - machine guns, weaponized automobiles, military aircraft and many, many other tools of war are ready to descend upon the enemy. Railroads and industrialization can feed and equip millions of soldiers, and new war strategies are being hatched to use such massive armies more effectively. Any possible war would be bloody.
Biography/Lore: The Svanians first rose to prominence about a hundred thousand years ago, when their primitive ancestors left the valleys of Ezemuth in the East and began to spread around the Equator, yearning to discover this untouched brave new world. These people were hunters and gatherers, living in the plans and dense forests of the central strip of land around the planet and living off the massive fauna that inhabited it for thousands of years. Soon enough, these cavemen discovered fire and stonework. Not too long after, they began their first experiments in agriculture. The first towns and more dense collections of people started forming. Everything could only go even faster from there. Bread making. Pottery. Masonry. Writing. Education. Territorialism and changes in land ownership, and finally... The first nation. Along the flood plains of Sham, the first city state formed, with it's own laws, system of government and upper class.
And it could only get faster from there. That was over 5000 years ago from now, and through all those millennia hundreds, no, thousands of nations, empires and countries cropped up and vanished, leaving room for others to rise. Bronze working, then iron. Animal husbandry. Seafaring. Universities. The printing press. Gunpowder and cannons. Many religions were founded to explain the world as the people saw it, bring meaning to it. And many, many wars plagued the land. All of this happened within a rather narrow belt around the planet's equator, about two thousand kilometers wide. For centuries, the Svanians dreamt of colonizing the vast masses of tundra to the north and the south - they were inhabited, but very sparsely and only by nomads and tribesmen. But the untapped resources awaiting there were so enticing! The Early Modern Era were the time when the modern nations of the world formed and took shape - the massive and sparsely populated Victarian Empire, the mercantile island nation of Scardia, the vestigial and crumbling Empire of Ezemuth in the far east, the divided and infighting principalities of Valdaria, Scardia's land rival Kingdom of Myceka and many others.
And then, on the year 1779 of the Standard Zunar Calendar, 100 years before today, a Scardian engineer and famous public figure Ardian Briam invented and patented the first practical steam engine. The age of steam and iron had begun. The first factories began to spring up and change the landscape of the society. The first railroads and trains rolled out. Cities began to grow immensely, and so did advances in medicine and military technology. For the first time in forever, the Svanian civilization could advance to the Tundra and exploit it's riches, and so the Race to the Poles began. Empires and nations colonized the virgin lands by the millions, fertilizer and heating allowed the people to settle and keep up with the industrialized center and improved medicine allowed to thwart local diseases. Not everyone benefited from the Race, though. Scardia, the Victarian Empire and Myceka annexed vast swathes of land across the Tundra, but the recently reunified Kingdom of Valdaria was too late. The Tundra was also so distant and so vast that the local colonists, most of them poor and fleeing from rampant industrialization, felt little connection to the metropolis. After a bloody independence war, the first xierocracy and the first post-colonial state on the planet - the United Southern States, controlling most of the vast Southern Tundra - was formed.
Today is the year 1891 by the Zunar Calendar, and the surface of Heer is a precarious place. Tensions between the great powers of the world are at an all time high, and so is patriotism - the extreme kind, wishing to wipe the enemy off the map! Valdaria, the most industrialized nation on the planet, yet a small one without many natural resources, is in a constant blood feud with the neighbouring Myceka, but the latter has support from the gargantuan Victarian Empire. Victaria has uneasy relations with Ezemuth to the east. Ezemuth, on the other hand, enjoys somewhat friendly relations with both Myceka and Valdaria, and is desperately trying to acquire their technology to keep up with the West - but this kneeling down to foreign pigs does not bode well with the many small dukes, warlords and other large landowners who hold the de facto control of the Empire's land, and it could explode into thousands of warring states at any second. Scardia follows the path of pragmatism, but both Myceka and Valdaria aren't in their list of "potential allies". The massive USS holds the planet's largest supplies of vital resources like iron, copper and the precious Schmeer Water, and has so far declared neutrality - their allegiance will determine the tide of a possible war. Besides these major nations, there are quite literally hundreds of other smaller countries, each one with their own policies, their own goals and their own interests. The world is covered in a thick web of alliances, guarantees, pacts and allegiances, and even a minor spark could get the world to descend to a deadly flame...
Inherent Powers/Abilities:
Weaknesses
Additional information: I will put a map of Heer here for reference.
Race Name: Svanians, demonym: Svanian
Location: Planet Heer
Race Appearance: Probably something like this. Though don't take it for granted - basically blue skin, white hair, more or less human sized and of humanoid shape. Obviously, features can change greatly depending on each individual - some might have facial hair, some can be bald, some can have a slightly different skin color. The hair can be dyed to be of different colors, too.
Culture/World: The Svanian race is native to the world of Heer, though each of the different states and languages that inhabit it have different names for it. Heer is a small planet, about the size of Mars, and orbits it's star Vikonti on the outer edge of it's habitable zone, making the climate cold and windy, with most of the planet being covered by tundra or dense forests. Water is somewhat abundant, though it only covers 40 percent of the planet's surface and does not form a continuous ocean. Heer is tectonically active, and volcanoes, valleys and long and wide mountain ranges are a common sight. The planet also has an unnaturally strong magnetic field, which often jams and breaks electronic equipment nearby. There is only a single small moon - Zuna.
The planet is inhabited, and wildlife vastly differs based on latitude. The flora in the deep north and south is mostly limited to mosses and lichens, and the fauna consists of toughened creatures capable of surviving the harsh winters. The wide strip of land around the equator was once covered in deep lush forests, but most of them are now gone to make room for bustling cities, railways and towns. This is the most densely inhabited and most contested land of the entire planet - here is where the largest deposits of fuel and oil are, most located around the seas and lakes of the land. The tundra is rich is minerals, precious metals and a rare liquid substance named Schmeer Water - an odd hallucinogen when digested and a very effective explosive. It is no surprise that many of the great nations of this planet constantly go to war for dominance over both the Tundra and the Equator. The former Prime General of the Kingdom of Valdaria, Admar hen Speer, famously commented on this division of resources:
"We are like little children - fighting over two pieces of candy, when we are only allowed to have one at a time."
The Svanian race is the only intelligent species on this planet, inhabiting the singular planet-spanning continent of Heer, and they live in the equivalent technological and social level of the early 20th century. The entire planet, minus the unreachable ice poles, has been divided between many sprawling nations. The Industrial Revolution and the age of steel are in full speed, and the society of the species is changing. Previously, the average Svanian was limited to his farm or village, but now, with the advent of steam power, the automobile, the aeroplane, the assembly line, more and more people are becoming increasingly connected, and far wealthier. The society has reorganized itself along lines of class - the workers, the middle class and the landowners and capitalists. That doesn't mean that everyone is content with this, though. The Industrial Revolution gave rise to ideas of equality and a "xierocratic" society (xiero being "people" in Scardian. We'll get to them), and the ancient regime of absolute rule might be coming to an end...
Nevertheless, Svanians are not united and haven't been such for thousands of years. Ever since the days of antiquity, thousands of nations, empires and other states rose and fell, but the situation today seems to have stabilized on a few dominant powers and many small states dominated by them, always in high tension between each other. Military technology is at it's peak - machine guns, weaponized automobiles, military aircraft and many, many other tools of war are ready to descend upon the enemy. Railroads and industrialization can feed and equip millions of soldiers, and new war strategies are being hatched to use such massive armies more effectively. Any possible war would be bloody.
Biography/Lore: The Svanians first rose to prominence about a hundred thousand years ago, when their primitive ancestors left the valleys of Ezemuth in the East and began to spread around the Equator, yearning to discover this untouched brave new world. These people were hunters and gatherers, living in the plans and dense forests of the central strip of land around the planet and living off the massive fauna that inhabited it for thousands of years. Soon enough, these cavemen discovered fire and stonework. Not too long after, they began their first experiments in agriculture. The first towns and more dense collections of people started forming. Everything could only go even faster from there. Bread making. Pottery. Masonry. Writing. Education. Territorialism and changes in land ownership, and finally... The first nation. Along the flood plains of Sham, the first city state formed, with it's own laws, system of government and upper class.
And it could only get faster from there. That was over 5000 years ago from now, and through all those millennia hundreds, no, thousands of nations, empires and countries cropped up and vanished, leaving room for others to rise. Bronze working, then iron. Animal husbandry. Seafaring. Universities. The printing press. Gunpowder and cannons. Many religions were founded to explain the world as the people saw it, bring meaning to it. And many, many wars plagued the land. All of this happened within a rather narrow belt around the planet's equator, about two thousand kilometers wide. For centuries, the Svanians dreamt of colonizing the vast masses of tundra to the north and the south - they were inhabited, but very sparsely and only by nomads and tribesmen. But the untapped resources awaiting there were so enticing! The Early Modern Era were the time when the modern nations of the world formed and took shape - the massive and sparsely populated Victarian Empire, the mercantile island nation of Scardia, the vestigial and crumbling Empire of Ezemuth in the far east, the divided and infighting principalities of Valdaria, Scardia's land rival Kingdom of Myceka and many others.
And then, on the year 1779 of the Standard Zunar Calendar, 100 years before today, a Scardian engineer and famous public figure Ardian Briam invented and patented the first practical steam engine. The age of steam and iron had begun. The first factories began to spring up and change the landscape of the society. The first railroads and trains rolled out. Cities began to grow immensely, and so did advances in medicine and military technology. For the first time in forever, the Svanian civilization could advance to the Tundra and exploit it's riches, and so the Race to the Poles began. Empires and nations colonized the virgin lands by the millions, fertilizer and heating allowed the people to settle and keep up with the industrialized center and improved medicine allowed to thwart local diseases. Not everyone benefited from the Race, though. Scardia, the Victarian Empire and Myceka annexed vast swathes of land across the Tundra, but the recently reunified Kingdom of Valdaria was too late. The Tundra was also so distant and so vast that the local colonists, most of them poor and fleeing from rampant industrialization, felt little connection to the metropolis. After a bloody independence war, the first xierocracy and the first post-colonial state on the planet - the United Southern States, controlling most of the vast Southern Tundra - was formed.
Today is the year 1891 by the Zunar Calendar, and the surface of Heer is a precarious place. Tensions between the great powers of the world are at an all time high, and so is patriotism - the extreme kind, wishing to wipe the enemy off the map! Valdaria, the most industrialized nation on the planet, yet a small one without many natural resources, is in a constant blood feud with the neighbouring Myceka, but the latter has support from the gargantuan Victarian Empire. Victaria has uneasy relations with Ezemuth to the east. Ezemuth, on the other hand, enjoys somewhat friendly relations with both Myceka and Valdaria, and is desperately trying to acquire their technology to keep up with the West - but this kneeling down to foreign pigs does not bode well with the many small dukes, warlords and other large landowners who hold the de facto control of the Empire's land, and it could explode into thousands of warring states at any second. Scardia follows the path of pragmatism, but both Myceka and Valdaria aren't in their list of "potential allies". The massive USS holds the planet's largest supplies of vital resources like iron, copper and the precious Schmeer Water, and has so far declared neutrality - their allegiance will determine the tide of a possible war. Besides these major nations, there are quite literally hundreds of other smaller countries, each one with their own policies, their own goals and their own interests. The world is covered in a thick web of alliances, guarantees, pacts and allegiances, and even a minor spark could get the world to descend to a deadly flame...
Inherent Powers/Abilities:
- Fragmented DNA: The Svanians are as strong or fast as a normal Earthling, but they have a very odd ability that can work both as a boon and as a curse - their DNA is oddly configured, fragmented and weak to any foreign interference, which makes mutations many, many, many times more likely in their body. On one hand, it rapidly speeds up evolution and allows mutating superpowers within a few generations - in fact, over 15% of the Svanian population has some sort of major mutation. On the other hand, this makes carvus - the Svanian equivalent of cancer, more or less the same thing - epidemically widespread and a major cause of death within the population. Recent discoveries have shown that the aforementioned Schmeer Water is an effective treatment for most cases of carvus if injected to the blood stream directly, making it even more of a contested resource for the planet's empires.
Weaknesses
- Fragmented DNA: I think I described the weaknesses fairly well. Carvus, carvus, carvus.
Additional information: I will put a map of Heer here for reference.
Phew, this app took a forever to make. I tried to add as much detail as I could. And I still have to make faction AND character apps, wow...
Basically, I think I watched too much material about World War I.
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