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The Borderlands
I think before I go onto the topic I planned to blog about today, I should explicitly state what the Borderlands are.
Purely and simply, they are the lands between the Borders. The "empty space" or "no-man's lands" that lie between the realms of Faerie and Mortal lands. In terms of definition - Faerie has realms, "Earth" has lands. In Borderlands, what we call Earth they call Mortal.
Every fantasy story implies that there are Gates, or Doorways ... passages or tunnels ... which lead from here - where there is little magic - to Faerie, where magic abounds. I propose the Borderlands as a place of passage from here to there or there to here.
The Borderlands are a no-man's land; neutral ground where goblins, elves, and dwarves of different Realms can meet and none have an inherent tactical advantage. I'm not defining the racial characteristics or racial personalities of the different races of Borderlands because what people look like and how they act depends entirely on where their ancestors originated and where they live in Borderlands. So what I call an "elf" could be a duende from the Iberian penisula or an Alfar from Scandanavia or a demigod from Arcadia. A "goblin" could be a boggart or a yokai or a troll or ogre.
In basic terms, the intelligent races most likely to be encountered in a Borderland settlement are (in order of most common to least) :--
These are the races encountered in settlements. Outside of cities and towns, there would be nature spirits and nymphs of various types; magical beasts - both intelligent and not; theriomorphs, werebeasts, weremen. I'm hand-waving here because I'm more interested in seeing what is happening at the Academy and the University town than exploring terra incognita.
I should mention something about governance in Borderlands. There is no king. The mortal communities owe allegiance to the nearest Lord of Faerie ... except in the case of those closest to the more violent goblin realms.
Mortals towns and cities are governed by a council elected by the guilds, presided over by a Mayor selected from their number.
The Border Guard serves as protection against raiders from the various realms. A number of tribes of Faerie find Mortals attractive as slaves or meat - they may die more easily than fey, but they also breed more readily and mature more quickly.
The Border Guard is led by a dux bellorum (war leader) who is called (big surprise) - Duke.
Purely and simply, they are the lands between the Borders. The "empty space" or "no-man's lands" that lie between the realms of Faerie and Mortal lands. In terms of definition - Faerie has realms, "Earth" has lands. In Borderlands, what we call Earth they call Mortal.
Every fantasy story implies that there are Gates, or Doorways ... passages or tunnels ... which lead from here - where there is little magic - to Faerie, where magic abounds. I propose the Borderlands as a place of passage from here to there or there to here.
The Borderlands are a no-man's land; neutral ground where goblins, elves, and dwarves of different Realms can meet and none have an inherent tactical advantage. I'm not defining the racial characteristics or racial personalities of the different races of Borderlands because what people look like and how they act depends entirely on where their ancestors originated and where they live in Borderlands. So what I call an "elf" could be a duende from the Iberian penisula or an Alfar from Scandanavia or a demigod from Arcadia. A "goblin" could be a boggart or a yokai or a troll or ogre.
In basic terms, the intelligent races most likely to be encountered in a Borderland settlement are (in order of most common to least) :--
Mortals - 5 to 6 feet in height
Dwarves - 3 to 5 feet in height, stocky build (as broad as they are wide, large head
Hobs/ Gnomes - 2 to 4 feet in height, similar proportions to mortals but shorter
Pixies - under 2 feet in height, similar proportions to mortals or elves, attractively ugly
Sprites - under 2 feet in height, winged flying bi-peds, proportioned like elves, usually beautiful
Elves - 5 to 7 feet in height, gracile in build, astonishingly beautiful
Goblins - 4 to 7 feet in height, twisted in build, usually hideous but that may be expression
Giants - greater than 7 feet tall
Dragons - you know what they look like
Bi-morph dragons - VERY rarely encountered - a humanoid dragon, often mistaken for a very elegant, very aloof and arrogant elf
These are the races encountered in settlements. Outside of cities and towns, there would be nature spirits and nymphs of various types; magical beasts - both intelligent and not; theriomorphs, werebeasts, weremen. I'm hand-waving here because I'm more interested in seeing what is happening at the Academy and the University town than exploring terra incognita.
I should mention something about governance in Borderlands. There is no king. The mortal communities owe allegiance to the nearest Lord of Faerie ... except in the case of those closest to the more violent goblin realms.
Mortals towns and cities are governed by a council elected by the guilds, presided over by a Mayor selected from their number.
The Border Guard serves as protection against raiders from the various realms. A number of tribes of Faerie find Mortals attractive as slaves or meat - they may die more easily than fey, but they also breed more readily and mature more quickly.
The Border Guard is led by a dux bellorum (war leader) who is called (big surprise) - Duke.