The World Of Twilight

Here's another rambling from the old Forum of Doom. It prompted lots of discussion, so it is worth going and having a read (http://forum-of-doom.com/index.php?topic=11544.0)!

Some particularly rambling ramblings this evening, covering the Devanu as requested, as well as some of the biology of the world...

I think I had better cover some of the basics about the world of Twilight. One of the most fundamental basics is the lifecycle of most of the creatures on Bakahn. Most creatures that you’ve seen so far are of the Trivitaetasa Phylum. These creatures share a fairly distinctive lifecycle that is quite rare on Earth. The first thing is that they do not have male and female as we do. Instead all creatures go through a series of lifestages. They usually start life in an egg structure. The egg mass is laid by a Sempa, and usually fertilised externally by a Kopa. The egg mass rapidly hardens to form a protective shell in which the young grow. Some species will have one young per egg, while others will have several within the same egg. The young will eventually break out of their egg, at that point entering the immature ‘Jenta’ lifestage. The Jenta will develop into a ‘Sempa’, at which stage it will start producing egg mass and become capable of reproducing. I have adopted the principle of using female terms to describe Sempa, although that is not really accurate. Depending on many internal and external factors the Sempa may develop into the ‘Kopa’ lifestage. Some individuals develop quickly, while others may remain as a Sempa for many years. Kopa tend to be larger than Sempa due to age, and there may be visible physical differences due to the change, but the changes are not that obvious for either Fubarnii or Devanu. As the creatures age further they may develop into a final lifestage. In Fubarnii this tends to result in the elderly Kopa becoming much more frail and insular, with eccentricities often becoming more apparent.
 
Fubarnii tend to live for about 25 years, maturing from being Jenta after 10 to 12 years, and tending towards the eccentric lifestage at around 20 years. Development from Sempa to Kopa is often a matter of choice, with Sempa ingesting suitable chemicals to slow down or speed up the process.

Devanu are longer lived, even if far fewer tend to die from old age. Jenta are expected to look after themselves from 5 or 6 years of age, but will only become Sempa after 15 years or so. Development after that is governed very much by the tribe hierarchy, with the Kopa ensuring that none of his Sempa develop any further. If a Sempa does start to develop this will be seen as an act of defiance, and result in a leadership dispute. The developing Kopa will often be driven from the tribe, but may sometimes take over leadership and kill or drive out her Kopa. If the Kopa is killed then the dominant Sempa will tend to rapidly develop into a Kopa.

The lifecycle of the Fubarnii and Devanu has a huge impact on the different cultures. The creation myths and the stories of the Fubarnii gods often tell of the young gods developing between stages and lovers cycling through the stages – wives of the same husband later ‘marrying’ and so on. Different cultures have developed different rules for what is acceptable within society.

To expand a bit more on the Devanu. The Devanu tribes once ruled vast swathes of land, with powerful Devanu masters hunting and enslaving the primitive Fubarnii. The Fubarnii crafted great towers for the Devanu such that they might see the extent of their lands.
After the formation of the Empire the Devanu were driven out. Those that live within the borders of the Empire are forced to be nomadic, hunting where they can, but often attacked by the local Fubarnii population. Their dwellings are crude. Some use tents that can be carried easily, but usually the will nest in shallow caves, hidden as far as possible.

There are some more settled tribes within the Argoran wastes, but life there is a harsh battle for survival. There is some collaboration between tribes in these areas, but that is fairly minimal. Devanu settlements in these regions are generally more permanent tent structures, with some crudely constructed towers. A few tribes keep Fubarnii slaves, but the Empire’s knights will always seek to eradicate any tribe that is seen with slaves, even if the cost is great. For normal tribes the knights generally act to simply limit their growth, and move them on if they choose to attack travellers or herds.

A normal tribe consists of a Kopa, 4 to 6 Sempa and a number of Jenta of various ages.

As well as the Devanu tribes I've normally described there are often small tribes of rogue jenta. As jenta age they are eventually sent from the tribe to either join another tribe, or to fend for themselves. This is sometimes a trade of sorts with another tribe, but when times are hard the jenta may simply be left to themselves. These rogue jenta will often gather into small tribes for protection. Most of the young die before they form a tribe, and many of these tribes fail, but occasionally they will survive and mature into a new fully fledged tribe, carving themselves a territory and learning how to survive around the Fubarnii.

This explains a lot! I was a bit confused when I read your post about how Danakan grew from a sempa too a kopa in the comments section of the KS :).
You should put some of this in the new book I think (but perhaps you were already planning too). The botany section I found on this forum would also be a nice addition.
As the world is so vastly different from ours it would be nice to get some more information.
This also means most Fubarnii are sempa if I'm correct.

I would like to include more fluff in the book - there will be more space now that I'm doing the big book, so I'm hopeful I can get more done and in there!
For Fubarnii the transition from Sempa to Kopa is more of a decision, although once the transition is made it can't be reversed. I think the majority of Fubarnii in most clans would be Sempa, but it's not a huge imbalance between the two.