The following is an outline of those basic facts about the World which are common knowledge amongst the civilized peoples living around the Great Ocean. None of them is necessarily true.
Mount Anar can be seen from everywhere. It extends from Hell to Heaven, and the extensive labyrinth within it that is known as the Dungeons is a constant battleground. Beneath the World is said to lie the Underworld, where Hell is and whence orcs come. By way of distinction, the World is therefore sometimes termed the Overworld. If one were to travel far enough in any direction one would reach the Edge of the World, beyond which lies pure Chaos. At night this Chaos can be seen far up in the sky, in the form of the stars.
Alignment is reckoned on two axes: Good / Neutral / Evil, and Law / Neutral / Chaos. The resultant nine Alignments, as represented by the Gods, Their Followers and Faithful, are, and always have been, engaged in a constant worldwide nine-way power struggle.
Good may be seen as standing for altruism, Evil for selfishness, Law for order, and Chaos for arbitrariness, with Neutrality seeking a balance between these disparate concepts.
The full list of the known Gods, and former Gods, of Anarea is as follows:
|
Symbol |
Name |
Alignment |
Aspect |
Sex |
Comments |
 |
N/N |
Life and Death, The Karmic Order, Neutrality |
m/f (hermaphrodite) |
Cl, El, THE, exTPE |
|
 |
N/L |
Law |
f |
Cl, THE |
|
 |
G/N |
Good |
m |
Cl, THE, exTPE |
|
 |
G/N |
Love |
f |
Cl, THE, exTPE |
|
 |
G/L |
Creation |
m |
ex Cl, THE, son of ESCUS and SARAN, died 24 XIII 2500 |
|
 |
G/L |
Peace |
f |
Cl, THE, New Tri, TPE, daughter of BUDIF and SHELDA |
|
 |
G/L |
Harmony |
m |
Cl, New Tri, TPE, promoted to Godhead 24 XIII 2500 |
|
 |
G/L |
Music |
m |
Cl, THE, New Tri, TPE, son of BUDIF and SHELDA |
|
 |
G/C |
The Harvest, Fertility |
f |
ex Cl, exTPE, daughter of DALA and SHELDA, died 7 VI 2501 |
|
|
G/C |
Hope |
m |
Cl, TPE, promoted to Godhead 8 VI 2501 |
||
|
G/C |
Luck |
f |
Cl, TPE, promoted to Godhead 8 VI 2501 |
||
 |
N/C |
Chaos, Mistress of Rumour |
f |
||
 |
N/L |
m |
Cl, TPE |
||
|
N/C |
f |
Cl, THE, TPE |
|||
 |
N/N |
EvenStar, Elf-friend |
m |
Cl, TPE, son of CAERULAS and MIRIMI |
|
|
RAVAR |
claims to be "unaligned" |
Change |
m |
sends out Apostles of Change |
|
Symbol |
Name |
Alignment |
Aspect |
Sex |
Comments |
 |
E/N |
Evil |
m |
||
 |
E/N |
Hate |
m |
||
 |
E/L |
Destruction |
f |
(ex?) Cl, daughter of ALTIS and SARAN, died 2297, returned IX 2501 |
|
 |
E/L |
Destruction |
m |
Cl, Old Tri, promoted to Godhead 2297 |
|
 |
E/L |
Undead |
m |
ex Cl, Old Tri, died 24 XIII 2500, now Undead |
|
 |
E/L |
Theft |
m |
Old Tri |
|
 |
E/C |
Waste |
m |
Cl, twin son of ALTIS and DALA |
|
 |
E/C |
War |
m |
Cl, twin son of ALTIS and DALA |
|
|
|
N/N |
Life and Death, The Karmic Order,Neutrality |
m/f (hermaphrodite) |
Cl, El, THE, exTPE |
|
Symbol |
Name |
Alignment |
Aspect |
Sex |
Comments |
 |
TERRANA |
N/N |
Earth |
f |
El |
 |
GORRO |
N/N |
Water |
m |
El |
 |
AERIEL |
N/N |
Air |
m |
El |
 |
IGNE |
N/N |
Fire |
f |
El |
 |
N/L |
Gravity |
m |
El |
|
 |
N/L |
The Planes |
m |
El |
|
Symbol |
Name |
Alignment |
Aspect |
Sex |
Comments |
|
JAPAL |
N/N |
Mammals |
f |
Nt |
|
|
VIXEW |
N/N |
Reptiles |
m |
Nt |
|
|
YELLIP |
N/N |
Birds |
f |
Nt |
|
|
LLYWELLA |
N/N |
Fishes |
f |
Nt |
|
|
XAXIX |
N/N |
Insects |
m |
Nt |
|
|
NORRID |
N/N |
Trees |
m |
Nt |
|
|
UMBOR |
N/N |
Plants |
f |
Nt |
|
|
QUAYAG |
N/N |
Organisms |
m |
Nt |
Key to Comments:
| Intelligent, Aligned Life: | Gods | |
| Demigods | ||
| Demons | ||
| Spirits | ||
| Monsters | ||
| People | ||
| Nature: | Animal Life: | Mammals |
| Reptiles | ||
| Birds | ||
| Fish | ||
| Insects | ||
| Vegetable Life: | Trees | |
| Plants | ||
| Animal Life: | Organisms | |
The Karmic Order is run by KOROS, from the House of Karma. There is a Scale of Life (shown above), and when a Being dies its soul goes to KOROS, Who decides its next position on the Scale depending upon how well or badly it has performed in its previous life. Promotion or relegation is usually within the same class, except at the borders or in extreme cases. For Nature these Karmic functions are performed by the Gods of Nature.
The reincarnated soul has no recollection of its previous life. Exactly how one builds up positive or negative karma (performs well or badly in KOROS' judgment) is a matter of religious and moral controversy; KOROS being unable to pronounce on the subject in His/Her Clerical Aspect.
"People" is a term which encompasses all humanoid species; being humans, elves, dwarves, orcs and goblins, each of which is subdivided into a number of races (see map for their habitats).
The World is composed of the four Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, each of which has its own Elemental God. These Gods are concerned with the maintenance and running of the World, and have numerous Elementals under Them, who aid Them in the performance of Their tasks. Certain other Gods Who also have Elementals to assist Them are sometimes also classified as Elemental (and are shown as such in the list of Gods).
Elementals are very shy, and are invisible to human eyes. They are therefore rarely encountered by people. The Elemental's task is Lawfully defined, and He is rigidly obliged to perform it, but His true nature is Chaotic. Hence the unpredictability of the weather, for example.
CAERULAS spends the Night amidst the fires of Hell. Before He is due to Rise He leaps into His flying chariot, which is pulled by the Eight Golden Horses of the Sun, and accelerates up the great Shaft from Hell to Heaven. First light occurs as His sunbeams become visible, shining out from Heaven. As Dawn approaches they quickly grow in brightness, and illuminate a larger area of the sky. At Sunrise CAERULAS bursts into the sky from the top of Mt. Anar, and light sweeps over the land as He hurtles higher into the heavens. He slows as He goes, so as to become stationary on His reaching perihelion, high up above the World. The time from Sunrise to perihelion is about three-quarters of an hour.
About the same amount of time before Sunset CAERULAS drops again towards the Mountain, accelerating as He falls, and re-entering the Shaft at Sunset, after which His sunbeams soon die away in red and gold in the skies above Heaven, whilst the Sun God heads for Hell; there to spend another Night.
The full cycle of one Day followed by one Night is known as a Caeriad.
CAERULAS is at His brightest at Midsummer, average in Autumn and Spring, and dimmest at Midwinter. The Year is based upon one such Solar Cycle.
The tides are daily, High Water sweeping widdershins around the Ocean from the South in twelve hours.
MIRIMI is a Chaotic cursed with a Lawful cycle. She goes from New Moon to Full Moon to Old Moon to New Moon again in a period of 25 Caeriads. This period is a Lunar Month, and it corresponds to the menstrual period of Her fellow women.
Follow these links for Phases of the Moon in:
MIRIMI frequently dwells in Heaven, and often takes to random flight across the night sky (and occasionally by day) in the form of a huge sphere, or in the Lunar Chariot, which is pulled by the Silver Unicorns of the Moon. Sometimes She does not even bother to appear at all. It is said She may only walk the surface of the World at New Moon.
The brightness of RAYLIT is half dependent upon that of His father, the Sun, and half dependent upon that of His mother, the Moon. He usually appears as a bright light or shooting star in the South Western sky around Sunset and in the evening (First Watch of the Night), illuminating the forests of His Elven friends.
Most races use the Imperial Calendar, also known as the Valdresian Calendar (after its inventor, the ancient Valdrean sage, Valdrys). There are six Caeriads in a week. They are named Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
I Aval II Destri/y III Kemel IV Varech
S 1 7 13 19 25 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21
M 2 8 14 20 26 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22
T 3 9 15 21 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23
W 4 10 16 22 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24
Th 5 11 17 23 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25
F 6 12 18 24 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20
V Sarm VI Jerem VII Oscow VIII Estender
S 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 4 10 16 22
M 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 5 11 17 23
T 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 26 6 12 18 24
W 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21 1 7 13 19 25
Th 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 2 8 14 20 26
F 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 3 9 15 21
IX Lastra X Numist XI Garrack XII Tekrim
S 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23
M 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24
T 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25
W 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20
Th 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21
F 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22
XIII Weven XIV Yarom / Iarom
S 4 10 16 22 3 9 15 21
M 5 11 17 23 4 10 16 22 All even-numbered Years not
T 6 12 18 24 5 11 17 23 divisible by 20 are leap
W 1 7 13 19 25 6 12 18 24 years, in which the month of
Th 2 8 14 20 1 7 13 19 25 Yarom has only 25 days, the
F 3 9 15 21 2 8 14 20 (26) 26th being "leaped".
The Years are numbered consecutively, starting with the Year 1, which was the first Solar Cycle. The indefinite period prior to then, during which the World was created, is sometimes known as the Year 0. There is no generally accepted creation myth.
Dates are expressed as e.g. 1 Numist 2501 or 1 X 2501.
Spring begins 19 Destri. 1 Aval is New Year's Day. Summer begins 7 Jerem. Midsummer's Day is 26 Oscow. Autumn begins 19 Lastra. 24 Weven is Empire Day. Winter begins 7 Weven. Midwinter's Day is 25/26 Yarom.
The Caeriad consists of a Day and a Night of 12 hours each. The Night is subdivided into 3 Watches of 4 hours each. These periods are constant throughout the Year, CAERULAS being Lawful.
One hour is made up of 60 minutes, of 60 seconds each.
The Day begins at Sunrise (One o'clock: 01.00), and ends just before Sunset (12.59).
The Night begins at Sunset (One o' clock o' First Watch: 1.1.00), and ends just before Sunrise (3.4.59).
Midday, or Noon, is at 07.00, and Midnight at 2.3.00. The first 6 hours of the Day are morning (a.m.), the last 6 afternoon (p.m.).
This counting of the hours is known as the Imperial Clock, or Imperial Time.
Imperial measurements are as follows:
Most races of people have their own language, but the "lingua franca" is Valdrean, which has been the Imperial Tongue since the proclamation of the Second Valdrean Empire in the Year 1000, prior to when Ancient Valdrean (now a dead language) was spoken in Valdrea.
The Temples speak the appropriate Alignment Tongues (the languages associated with their respective Alignments), which are as follows:
| White Law | White Speech | White Chaos |
| Law Speech | Neutral Tongue | Chaos Speech |
| Black Law | Black Speech | Black Chaos |
Old Speech is the magical language of power, and is incredibly complex, and difficult to learn.
Civilized peoples have a written form of their language, (although only the educated few can read and write). They are interested in art and knowledge; the Clerics in spiritual knowledge, the Sages in material knowledge).
The most advanced form of armour is platemail, the most advanced missile weapon the crossbow. Dual-masted sailing ships with stern rudder and mizzen are built by the shipwrights of Kuntax, Hapral and Barrakkizdìn. Horse-drawn wheeled caravans ply the trade routes from Bjarmigen in the North to Iklaron in the South. The dwarves prefer oxen as motive power.
Glass is produced in affluent areas, but is of poor quality except amongst the Dwarves. The Dwarves also make the finest steels. Power is generated by watermills and windmills, or by animal muscle.
Books and scrolls are copied by hand, by scribes or Clerics. Magic-Using is widespread, though Magic-Users are relatively few in number. The Valdrean Empire is engaged in a long-term programme to train Elemental Magic-Users, and a licence is required to practice Elementalism within its borders. Demon-Summoning is forbidden on pain of death within the Empire, but other countries are more tolerant. Magic in inanimate objects is rare, but Alchemy is well-developed, and there is a standard list of Potions which can be purchased (at exorbitant prices) in most major towns.
Coinage is based upon an Imperial Silver Standard. Coins are of a standard weight of one Imperial ounce (one-tenth of an Imperial Pound), except for the copper halfpenny, which weighs half an ounce. Weight is usually reckoned in Imperial ounces.
The Imperial Silver Standard is as follows:
The term "pound" for a gold coin refers to a pound of silver: the weight of its value in silver.
The most precious metal is mithril, which is too rare to have a fixed value. Otherwise, the above values of precious metals are constant all over the World. Coins are of approximately the same weight, but some have been known to be debased with lesser metals. The origin of a coin does not affect its acceptability, and even uncoined precious metals can readily be traded at the above values.
For a brief history of the Overworld, see The Tale of Years.
© P.R. Wild, 1979
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