Archmonarch

These two parts sound somewhat similar to my own imaginings. Originally, humans had three spiritual aspects fused into one soul: the mono (animal or beast soul), the human soul, and the kami (ethereal soul). In this time, there were no Bar Shai, Ellarun, or Kamijin. Such a division of parts would have seemed monstrous to the people of that time. Anyway, civilization flourished, etc, etc. Then eventually, one mage discovered a way to, how should I say this, "transcend," to intiate apotheosis (the process by which a human becomes a god or god-like being.) When this discovery became known, greed entered the hearts of the populace and they plotted to steal the secret for themselves. Wars erupted everywhere, and much was destroyed or lost in the aftermath. However, no one succeeded in gaining the method, as the founder had, inadvertently used it on himself while discovering it. Thus, with the power of a god (though not the omniscience or omnivigilance), none could openly oppose him. The discoverer's greatest friend eventually persuaded him to share the secret with him, so that they could rule together. Once he had attained the mantle of godhood, the friend, instead, used his power to fight his erstwhile companion, who had been consumed by pride and power. The friend sought to save the people from the conqueror. Yet, new to his abilities, the friend failed and was defeated, presumably killed. Thus, the original god ruled over all and shaped the world in his image. However, in the process of banishing his rival, the god accidentally sundered the souls of his people into four parts. Most are now simply human, some are what comes to be called Bar Shai, humans with the ability to tap into aspects of the world-soul through leylines, others are the Ellarun who retain their connection to the mono, and finally the Kamijin. The majority of the severed soul parts form into spirit creatures, such as mystical animals, kami, etc. Fast forward several thousand years. A youth named Galael Delune, the son of a blacksmith, travels to town with his father to deliver goods for the upcoming festival. There, he meets a friend who draws Gale away and tells him of an unusual change coming over him. Gale recognizes the symptoms, as he possesses the same abilities. However, Gale has been trained by his father in their use, though so far with little practical success, i.e. he has great potential but cannot seem to use his power. Gale promises to ask his father (without telling of his own abilities), as Ferris Delune is viewed as both a great craftsman and wise counsel. When the Delunes return to the town the next day for the festival, Gale discovers his friend has been murdered. Determined to find the perpetrator and cause, he investigates and eventually learns he must leave the town, the only home he has ever known. Along with a friendly traveler who says she can help and her two companions, Gale leaves the town for the nearest large city. Here he discovers the wonder of technology. His village had been so rural that they had known neither of magic nor the Industrial Revolution. Well to make a long story short, he is enamored by the steamtech, and researches it as he continues to invesigate. Eventually, the group is led to the site of the Alma Mundi, the soul of the world, the spring from which all life flows. By this time, a member of his group, already jealous of Gale, has been corrupted by a messenger from god, who promises him power in return for Gale's death. In attempting to kill Gale, this companion accidentally pushes him into the Alma Mundi which awakens Gale's abilities. And then he is introduced to the world of magic, coming to Bar Shai headquarters at the very end. The second book would detail his training, and introduction into a secret society called the Exalted, dedicated to overthrowing the god. At the end, he is discovered and must flee to find a new teacher. The third book would entail the research of the developing nations into recapitulation and eugenics. Recapitulation is a late 19th century theory put forward by Ernst Haeckel that proposed "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny." Basically, as embryos develop they pass through the forms of their ancestors. The practical application would involve stopping wholly or partially development at these stages such that superhumans could be born: people with the strength of apes, the agility of a cat, the gills of a fish, etc. The only power source that could be discovered sufficient enough to sustain such research was Anima Mundi. However, the scientists, unaware of magic and believing Anima Mundi to simply be a natural power source, did not take into consideration the planet's sentience. Thus, in the process of creating such individuals, the nations recreated a new race, determined to halt the expansion of humanity as it damaged the environment.

This is what I meant.

Well, my basic premise is as follows: The Industrial Revolution is a fairly recent arrival, but technology has progressed fairly quickly, leading to the Age of Steam. Excepting the main god, his servants, and various elemental spirits (which I call kami), magic is fairly unknown, being reduced to secretive survivors of an earlier anti-magic crusade. Three groups collectively known as The Remnant remain in the hilterlands of human civilization: the Bar Shai (elemental mages modeled after early Middle Eastern civilization), the Ellarun (humans who meld with animal spirits (mono) to gain shapeshifting abilities, probably modelled after Celts or Norse), and the Kamijin (a race born with two souls. There are three variants: those born as the children of other kamijin or between kami and humans who are born with both a human and a kami soul, those who share their body with a kami spirit which acted to either save their lives or gain a physical form from a dying human, and objects which are infused with the soul of a kami). The kamijin (basically means "god people" or "people of the gods") are modelled after shintoist principles). Im trying to do a multifaceted view on many issues, such as: familiarity vs. innovation, magic vs. technology, human interests vs. piety, nature vs. humanity, etc.

Must make for an awkward conversation... Correction: What we need is a good non-religious crusade which eliminates said idiots, extended to all creeds. In that we agree.

To be honest, thats the reason I started this poll. I am currently writing a novel which I decided would be set in either a fantasy steampunk universe or an historical fantasy steampunk universe. The difference being, the first would be steampunk with magic and such, the second would be steampunk with magic and historical figures (scientists whose ideas/inventions proved to be true, etc.). I was wondering which would garner more interest.

Just trying to get a feel for the various fan bases. I am aware many of these often overlap, but they are the principle subgenres. Any not included here I am either unaware of (unlikely) or they fall into one or more of the above categories. For instance, Space Opera could be General or High Tech. If you find yourself debating over which option to choose, decide upon which one you feel best suits the subgenre, and then post it below.

I tend to prefer Arby's in terms of fast food when I do eat it at all. You are surely a mutant. No other answer serves to explain your hard-headedness, lack of reason, ability to describe McDonald's as good, and accelerated metabolism united in one organism.

We've all seen it Jodo, there is no point in lying.

Borg are the copper spheres in the upper left. Dominion are the red spheres in the upper right. Cardassian are the gold spheres in the bottom left. Ferenghi are the yellow spheres above the Cardassian. Federation are the blue spheres in the middle. Klingon are the purplish-pink spheres in the bottom right. Romulan are the green spheres above the Federation and Klingon. Also, what do the icons on a black background with an 's' in the bottom right corner signify? I assume the Ferenghi have it to distinguish between military and trade ships. But what of the others? Perhaps Borg assimilated ships? But I still cant thing of a reason for the Dominion to have them. The point of infiltrating enemy units is that the others dont know.

I apologize for not being there last night. My sister had a great deal of homework and basically forced me off, with the approval of my parents.

EDIT: It should now be correct.

Kitty Cthulu was not freaky! He was cute and loveable! Also, welcome back, Ludo.

As do I. You are like the anti-stereotype for policemen. Live action or animated? (This is not to imply I have watched either. It is simply to say I know of both.) My Secret: I had to get a GED after leaving High School for medical reasons.

I assume you mean Animal Farm by George Orwell? This is a request for no more books written by Kevin J. Anderson. Ill have my own list later.

Ill be there, though I might have to leave early.

It would seem you are correct. Apologies.

Sorry for the errors. I was in rather a hurry, and someone (Meta) sent in three sets of orders this morning. Thus, I was forced to redo Italy several times, and thereby began to wonder if I had made mistakes in other locations. I suppose I went a little overboard.

I have again adjudicated about an hour early, due to my schedule. Should there be any protests, which I doubt, post, PM, or email me, and Ill have it worked out by later this afternoon. For now, check the first post. Remember, F02 is due Monday at 1200 UTC.

Ah. I had thought there was a special BBCode for it. Since it is that easy, I will update it tomorrow along with S02. In addition, this will be my final warning. I have still not received orders from 2 players. I wont name any names, but in order to give them a heads up, their nations begin the letters 'G' and 'T' respectively. "

Surely. If I knew the code for it... Also, the deadline for S02 is 22.5 hours from now. If you have not yet sent in orders, I suggest you do so soon.

Let it go. It hasnt disadvantaged any other player. There is no need to make as big a deal of it as you are.

Stop being such a stickler. Sometimes circumstances are beyond our control. I trust him that he did no look at other orders before deciding where to build, especially as it is the only viable option.

After conversing with SoE, I have decided to accept his belated build order due to his situation. This will be the one and only time I allow late entries, beyond any extensions I might or might not give.

More humorous than anything else, but I recently read a report on some scientific site (cant remember exactly which one) that said seeing a sexually suggestive image does create an almost nonexistent moment of blindness and for that reason, some governments were trying to ban them from road signs so as to prevent auto accidents.

To be honest, neither does it hold any promise for myself. I simply remembered seeing mention of it somewhere, and sought out a link for Eldar's consumption.