Oscqr: Created page with "'''Ranthis''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈræn.θᵻs/}}) is a world in the layer (Oocada)| of Tutun in the cosmos of Oocada. Among its most distinctive features are the canals that permeate its land and its extensive underfold. The usual gentilic adjective is "Ranthine" ({{IPA0|/ˈræn.θaɪn/}} or {{IPA0|/ˈræn.θin/}}). ==Geography== The [[surface (æalogy)|]..."

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Created page with "'''Ranthis''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈræn.θᵻs/}}) is a world in the layer (Oocada) of Tutun in the cosmos of Oocada. Among its most distinctive features are the canals that permeate its land and its extensive underfold. The usual gentilic adjective is "Ranthine" ({{IPA0|/ˈræn.θaɪn/}} or {{IPA0|/ˈræn.θin/}}). ==Geography== The [[surface (æalogy)|]..."

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'''Ranthis''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈræn.θᵻs/}}) is a [[world]] in the [[layer (Oocada)|layer]] of [[Tutun]] in the [[cosmos]] of [[Oocada]]. Among its most distinctive features are the [[canals of Ranthis|canals]] that permeate its land and its extensive [[underfold]].

The usual [[gentilic adjective]] is "Ranthine" ({{IPA0|/ˈræn.θaɪn/}} or {{IPA0|/ˈræn.θin/}}).

==Geography==
The [[surface (æalogy)|surface]] of Ranthis is [[topology|topologically]] equivalent to a 3-[[fougasse]]. Most of the [[land]] surface of Ranthis is connected into one [[supercontinent]], though it's still customarily divided into seven separate [[continent]]s by [[mountain range]]s, [[isthmus|isthmi]], and other prominent [[geography|geographical]] features. Ranthis's second largest [[land mass]], [[Yanther]], is much smaller than the supercontinent but still large enough to be usually considered an eighth continent.

Discounting inland [[body of water|bodies of water]] the size of the [[Sea of Reeds]] or smaller, the supercontinent is topologically equivalent to a 3-[[lace]]. (It is [[planar surface|nonplanar]], however, so a [[bedunic map]] is not possible without overlaps.) The same is true of the [[ocean]]—ignoring Yanther and smaller [[island]]s, the oceans of Ranthis are collectively topologically equivalent to a 3-lace (but not a 3-[[avalone]]) as well. In fact, the supercontinent and the [[superocean]] are each 2-3-laces, which means that there are two separate [[boundary|boundaries]] between them—two discrete [[coastline]]s. These two coasts are sometimes called the [[Red Coast]] and the [[Great Coast]], the former being much shorter than the latter.

The largest of Ranthis's conventional continents (and the one with the greatest [[curvature]]) is [[Qendis]], though it's also the most sparsely populated, being mostly [[jungle]], [[desert]], and [[swamp]], the last of these primarily surrounding [[Calabaya Bay]]. The two continents that occupy central places in most Ranthine maps are [[Zumbyn]] and [[Guldal]], both smaller than Qendis but more densely populated. Zumbyn has earned its cartographical centricality by dint of its being home to some of the most powerful modern [[sovereign state|nation]]s, Guldal primarily by the fact that it was the birthplace of the famous [[Anra Empire]]. Connected to all three of Guldal, Qendis, and Zumbyn is the [[mountain]]ous continent of [[Kare]]. Guldal also connects to Zumbyn through the continent of [[Jinthi]], and Qendis, Kare, and Zumbyn all border the continent of [[Ao]]. The last continent, [[Hiagal]], is a peninsula connected only to Qendis.

The boundaries of the oceans are as arbitrary as those of the continents, but there are five main oceans by most reckonings, most of their maritime marches held to lie along the [[mean]] paths of the suns. The sea with the most obvious borders is the [[Green Sea]], defined by the extent of the almost unbroken [[brown algae|algous]] matting that covers it—which, despite the name, is as much [[brown]] or [[yellow]] as it is [[green]]. Terrestrial varieties of these reets collectively called [[drywrack]] even spread over adject parts of the continents the tardle touches, Hiagal, Qendis, and Yanther; those areas are sometimes accordingly, despite their nonmarine nature, considered to pertain to the Green Sea. Alternatively, or in addition to being thought of as part of the Green Sea, these regions may be [[oxymoron]]ically called the [[Landsea]].

While it touches fewer continents than any other oceans, the Green Sea is unique in bordering every other ocean. Of the other oceans, the largest is the [[Old Sea]], which borders every continent but Jinthi, and the smallest of the five is the [[Risnar|Risnar Ocean]], which touches five of the eight continents, missing Guldal, Hiagal, and Qendis. The Old Sea is one of only two oceans to border the Red Coast, the other being the [[Tomesaga Ocean|Tomesaga]], which also borders every continent but Ao and Kare. (Neither of these oceans, however, touches ''only'' the Red Coast; they each bound with both coasts.) The fifth ocean, the [[Alyyn Ocean|Alyyn]], is the only one not to touch Yanther; it does, however, touch every continent ''except'' Yanther.

The [[underfold of Ranthis]] is vast and anfractuous, and its full extent is unknown. Like the world's [[surface (æalogy)|surface]], it is locally close to [[flatness|flat]], but its passages and chambers join up in ways that demonstrate that on the large scale it cannot be [[realm]]ar, though the details of its topology remain unclear. There have been rumors of people delving into the underfold and emerging to find themselves on the surface of another world entirely. While it's not impossible that the underfold does connect multiple worlds, most [[hadologist]]s regard this as unproven.

===Maps and directions===
Like most worlds of Oocada, Ranthis is typically [[map]]ped using a [[tononic projection]]. While this projection does inevitably [[distortion|distort]] the [[areas]], the most common map of Ranthis, the [[Ulin map]], is arranged so that the largest distortions occur in the oceans and most of the land is roughly [[homalography|isographic]]—the most disproportionate land areas being the sparsely populated Qendis and the most alpestrious parts of Kare.

Because the Ulin map places the oceans on most of the boundaries and makes it difficult to see how they connect, [[sailor]]s and seafarers prefer to use a [[maritime map]] that shows the oceans as connected and breaks up the continents. The most commonly used maritime map is the [[reaver's map]], after a perhaps apocryphal notion that it was first developed by [[pirate (Ranthis)|pirate]]s; it places the [[island continent]] of Yanther in a central position.

Directions on Ranthis are usually given in terms of [[nonglobal coordinates]]. Specifically, a [[polar coordinates|polar coordinate system]] is usually used, but with a different origin and polar axis for each continent. The center of the coordinate system is not necessarily the [[geographical center]] of the continent, but some notable landmark or point of [[history|historical]] significance. There are in fact multiple [[point]]s on each continent that are used as the origins of the coordinates by different [[culture]]s and organizations, but on every continent except Ao there is one that clearly predominates. Locations in the oceans are usually specified using the [[coordinate system]] of the nearest continent, though some tarpaulians use other systems, the most common being a simple [[rectangular coordinates|rectangular coordinate system]] superimposed on the reaver's map, with the origin at the center of Yanther.

==Astronomy==
Given the [[geometry]] of the [[space (æalogy)|space]] within which Ranthis lies, each of its [[sun (Tutun)|sun]]s is visible only from a relatively small [[area]] at a time. Nevertheless, any given point in most of Ranthis does experience roughly equal amounts of [[daytime|day]] and [[night]], due to the fact that the suns move not singly, but in long trains called [[sungang]]s, each containing a few dozen suns that proceed in sequence along the same path. While any given sun may therefore illuminate a particular area for only a relatively short amount of time, the sungang as a whole is in the sky over the area for roughly half the time.

There are three sungangs that move above the surface of Ranthis, between them passing over every continent. [[Arbis Dagi]] transects Guldal before crossing over the Alyyn Ocean to Jirithi; it then follows (and indeed defines) the frontier between the Alyyn and the Risnar before crossing over Ao and Qendis, passing briefly over the Alyyn again, and then crossing Hiagal. It finally overtraces the border between the Old Sea and the Tomesaga before completing its circuit. [[Arbis Felny]] traverses Zumbyn, then skirts between the Old Sea and the Tomesaga to Yanther, then between the Old Sea and the Risnar before overspanning Kare and returning to Zumbyn after a brief passage over an embayment of the Alyyn. Finally, the [[Green Suns]] are so called not because of their own hue but because most of their path lies over the Green Sea. The sungangs of Ranthis are close enough together that it lacks the extensive [[intersolar zone]]s of many other worlds of Tutun, though there are a few places far enough from the suns—notably the [[Fields of Frost]] between Ao and Zumbyn, the [[White Coast]] on the Tomesagan shore of Hiagal, and the centers of the oceans—to approach or attain a [[pagerics|pageric]] [[climate]].

In addition to the sungangs, there are four [[solitary sun]]s. Three of these, [[Gargis]], [[Yulji]], and [[Iryal]], follow fixed paths over Ranthis's surface. The fourth, [[Athi]], is a [[wandering sun]] with a path that appears to be entirely unpredictable.

Along with many [[local moon]]s and [[star (Tutun)|star]]s, Ranthis has two [[broad moon]]s visible over many parts of the world (though not at the same time): the large [[red]] moon [[Ulis]] and the smaller [[blue]] [[Beho]].

===Time===
Both the [[day]] and the [[year]] on Ranthis are defined by the sungangs—the day by the [[time]] it takes for the sungang to make a complete circuit around its path, and the year by the [[period]] of its [[circumition]]. This is complicated, however, by the fact that each sungang has different periods. Fortuitously, each continent except unpopulous Qendis has exactly one sungang passing over it, so the inhabitants of that continent base their [[calendar]]s and [[clock]]s on that sungang. This means there are two systems of timekeeping in common use: most people of Guldal, Ao, Jirithi, and Hiagal use [[Imperial time]], based on Arbis Dagi, and most people of Zumbyn, Kare, and Yanther use [[Colonial time]], based on Arbis Felny. There is a third time system based on the Green Suns, the [[Tunukudia]], but it is much less widespread and less important on the global scale, though it is used by those living in or near Calabaya Bay.

==Social structure==
Although Ranthis has gone through several imperial ages in the past, today it has no large [[empire (politics)|empire]]s, but hundreds of independent [[sovereign state]]s. The largest of these states, [[Juiestan]], does retain a few [[colony|colonies]] and is the closest thing to an empire to currently exist. A few areas, including most of Qendis and large parts of Kare, remain unclaimed by any nation.

Divers forms of [[government]] are represented among Ranthis's nations, from [[democracy|democracies]] like [[Hohalle]] and [[Zilasia]] to [[autocracy|despotisms]] like [[Roseland]] and [[Aarch]]. The states with the most unusual systems of government are perhaps [[Ailomar]], a [[necrocracy]] ruled by a [[desis|detic]] [[cone]] of [[skull]]s; [[Zex]], a nominal [[lestarchy]], ruled by pirates; and [[Hygon]], where the ruler is [[election|elected]] but the results of the election—and the ruler's identity—are kept secret.

One of Ranthis's most unusual features is its [[canals of Ranthis|preponderance of canals]]. [[Canal]]s filled with flowing [[water]] mostly take the place of [[road]]s on this world, connecting the [[city|cities]] and serving as the chief conduits for long-distance [[travel]]. That travel is done not with [[wagon]]s, but with [[barge]]s and other [[boat]]s, some [[magic]]ally propelled, some powered by [[sail]]s or [[oar]]s, but most [[towing|towed]] by [[jowlworm]]s, [[hippocamp (Ranthis)|hippocamp]]s, or other aquatic [[life form|creatures]]. Even within most of the [[city|cities]] and other [[settlement]]s, canals run between the [[building]]s and [[square (place)|square]]s, and townspeople get about in low [[batelle]]s, passing beneath the frequent [[bridge]]s that facilitate pedestrian traffic. While some areas had made use of canals long before, it was the Anra Empire that really popularized and standardized them, and it was through the [[empire (politics)|empire]]'s influence that they became as widespread as they are today.

Ranthis is also home to a prevailant and pervasive [[monk|monial]] tradition, with at least a dozen powerful [[monastic orders of Ranthis|monastic orders]] having significant sway there. This was apparently precipitated by the establishment of a single [[monastery]] in the [[Lurlon Mountains]], the [[Temple of the Hand]], which by its works inspired others to form similar organizations. Since that beginning, however, the various orders have diverged and developed along different lines, and in some cases formed amarulent rivalries. While only in the nations of [[Zi]] and [[Olecho]] do the monastic orders have any official [[politics|political]] power, they do in many places exert considerable unofficial influence.

==Life==
In addition to the expected complement of [[panasteric]] [[life form]]s, Ranthis has an unusual diversity of [[land|terrestrial]] [[ctenophore]]s, as well as of [[habeliid]]s, a [[clade]] of [[arthropod]]s long [[extinction|extinct]] on [[Earth]]. Some notable groups of Ranthine creatures that were never found on Earth include the [[larph]]s, a diverse [[order (etory)|order]] of mostly terrestrial, [[trunk]]ed [[Holostei|holosteans]]; the [[uqa]]s, a [[phylum]] of [[protostome]]s distinguished, among other factors, by their fibrous, flattened [[endoskeleton]]s; and the [[jomar]], [[flight|flying]] creatures with [[eye]]s on their bellies. There are also, of course, many noteworthy creatures of Ranthis not associated with these groups, such as the [[slime stork]], the saltigrade [[squiss]], the amadelphous [[levinkine]], and the diaphanous [[melucrane]].

The [[oceans of Ranthis|oceans]], of course, have their own complement of [[marine life]], of which maybe the most notable monosteric or [[oligostere|oligosteric]] creatures include the [[orcbird]]s, the [[elren]]s, and the [[schneck]]s. Perhaps more surprisingly, the extensive canals have life and [[ecosystem]]s of their own, the extreme [[fersion]] of many of the canals allowing them to harbor much larger creatures than their external [[width]]s would seem to indicate. Among these solenian hydrobiota are the [[squid|teuthidoid]] [[larlar]]s; the [[plesiosaur]]oid [[harwick]]s; and the intangible, glowing [[allawig]]s. Given the relatively short amount of time the canals have been in existence, it's unclear for most of these [[organism]]s whether they were [[artificial organism|artificially created]], whether they are the result of [[magic]]ally accelerated [[biological evolution|evolution]], or whether they originated elsewhere and adventitiously spread through the canal systems.

Ranthis is also notable for having a much more extensive and densely populated [[underfold]] than most worlds of Tutun. Some of the best known of the [[faunum|fauna]] of the Ranthine underfold are the (superficially) spiderlike [[tistin]], the [[dorid]]ine [[zeurl]], and the [[snake|serpentine]] [[ribwalker]]. The underfold also has its own [[florum|flora]], some deriving their [[sustenance]] in this [[light]]less environment by absorbing [[energy]] from the [[radiation]] of [[crackstone]]s, others from [[nutrient]]s carried from the surface by [[chthonic current]]s. One unusual but significant [[trophic source]] of Ranthis's underfold is the [[exemox]], immense torpulent [[undead]] beings of unknown origin whose continually [[regeneration|regenerating]] [[flesh]] feeds legions of [[detrivore]]s that in turn provide energy to other [[organism]]s. In any case, all these sources support myriad [[fungus|fungi]] and [[lichen]]s and even some true [[plant]]s despite the lack of [[sunlight]] in the subterrany.

===Ellogous folk===
The dominant [[folk]] of Ranthis's surface is the [[human]], though several other [[ellogy|ellogous]] [[species]] exist. Next to humans, the best known of the terrestrial folks of Ranthis are the [[lemur]]like [[mocock]], the [[termite|isopterous]] [[garamute]], and the [[monops|monoculate]] [[thech]]. Few communities on Ranthis, however, are well integrated between folks. Most [[settlement]]s are populated mostly if not entirely by a single folk; if there are any individuals of other folks present, they usually make up only one [[percent]] or less of the population, and are typically scattered around the settlement trying to fit in as best they can, though a few of the larger [[city|cities]] do have enclaves where folks otherwise in the minority dominate and form their own communities.

Though there are some humans who eke out a subterranean existence, the dominant folk of the underfold is the [[kyik]], a [[species]] of strange, [[segment (etory)|segment]]ed beings made up of large, ellogous [[colony (etory)|colonies]] of [[archaean]]s enclosed in a stony [[exoskeleton]]. Other subterranean folk include the tusked [[lorlen]], the sinuous [[eleen]], and the [[fungus|fungoid]] [[kalj]]. The oceans are inhabited by folks such as the [[crustacean]] [[heelah]], the [[lepsis|leptic]] [[moril]], and the [[daletate]] [[quith]]. Even the canals have their own ellogous life, including [[algae|algal]] [[towudi]] and blue-green [[barasia (Ranthis)|barasia]]s.

==History==
{{main|History of Ranthis}}
There are at least three places on Ranthis where [[city|cities]] and [[civilization]] seem to have arisen independently. These [[cradle of civilization|cradles of civilization]] include the [[Shell River]] [[watershed]] near the Tomesaga coast of Jirithi, where the ancient civilization of [[Tsu]] arose; the [[north]]ern shore of the Sea of Reeds in Ao, birthplace of the [[city-state]]s of [[Dukumi]]; and the edge of Qendis between Kare and Calabaya Bay, where the culture of [[Ixiojo]] first formed. Each of these three ancient civilizations, or their descendants, left their marks. Tsu and its inheritors are notable for their innovations in [[mathematics]] and [[technology]]. The successors of Dukumi created the first canals that would be the precursors of and inspiration for the far more extensive modern canal system. Ixiojo made remarkable achievements in [[magic]], especially [[fersion]], and the hidden mysteries of their fersive [[Hideaway Islands|island]]s in the Calabaya Bay are still being explored today.

Though many other civilizations rose and fell in the following [[millennium|millennia]], it was about three thousand years ago that arguably the most famous empire of Ranthis's [[history]] came onto the scene. The [[Anra Empire]] was not the largest empire ever to exist on Ranthis—both the earlier [[Uphadi]] and the later [[Ze&ncaron;ýa]] exceeded it in [[area]]—but it was perhaps the most influential, with many later cultures appropriating Anran customs and [[philosophy|philosophies]], and borrowing many words from [[Yala]], the Anran empire's [[official language]]. Even today, in most languages many placenames are [[cognate]] to the Yala names used in Anra, including the modern names of all the continents except Hiagal. As mentioned above, it was the Anra Empire, too, that expanded the limited canal transportation system pioneered by Dukumi, and constructed canals over most of the world.

The Temple of the Hand was founded two thousand years ago, though there are contradictory accounts of the nationalities of its founders, and some [[historian]]s believe those founders may have been of extramundane origin. The monks of the Temple of the Hand developed a reputation as champions of justice and reform, and inspired others to found similar organizations. The rise of the monastic traditions coincided with a worldwide decline in [[imperialism]], though there's some debate as to whether these two trends had any causal relationship.

==Magic==
{{main|Magic on Ranthis}}
The use of [[magic]] is common enough on Ranthis that nearly everyone knows at least a few simple [[spell]]s. Historically, the [[arcanum|form of magic]] most widely and consistently practiced on Ranthis has been [[shincraft]], to the extent that when an inhabitant of Ranthis speaks of magic without further specification, it is generally shincraft that is meant. In earlier times, various [[entailment]]s were in customary use, including [[galder|song]], [[tripudium|dance]], and [[sigil]]s; nowadays, most [[shinner]]s eschew any such entailments. [[Poppetry]] is also well known on Ranthis, but nowadays is usually seen as an isagogical [[arcanum]], suitable primarily for young [[child]]ren first learning magic—somewhat unjustly so, since a skilled [[poppeter]] can be a match for any other sort of [[mage]]. Formerly, [[agriurgy]] was also commonplace in Ranthis, but its use has declined over time; conversely, since the Anran era the practice of [[channeling]] has grown more frequent, perhaps metaphorically inspired by the motion of the canals.

The ubiquitous canals serve a purpose beyond facilitating transportation—the constant flow of water through the canals sets up a [[sympathy|sympathetic]] [[resonance (magic)|resonance]] that makes [[alchory on Ranthis|alchory]] especially potent on Ranthis, and gives rise to many new [[frike]]s that mimic the canals' paths. The practice of alchory is accordingly very common on this world, both [[gest]]ically and through [[chamulcy|chamulcar]] devices of intricate [[clockwork]] that moves components in the proper paths. [[Alchemy on Ranthis|Alchemy]] is another form of [[paracarminical magic]] widely practiced on Ranthis, perhaps also inspired by the presence of the [[liquid]]-filled canals, but it's not nearly as omnipresent as alchory. Even a poor commoner on Ranthis is likely to know a few simple gests, but alchemy remains the province of specialists.
[[Category:Worlds of Tutun]][[Category:Worlds with large underfolds]][[Category:Worlds with seven pages]]

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