#askfolkvar

[loominggaia]

darkwingphoenix As an autistic person (Also the one who looked at Skylie for 2 seconds and said Me), I'd say Sygbarne fits low functioning autism pretty well! (Hedge says High Maintenance, me says Low Functioning... I guess we just learned different terminology? Still, Sygbarne fits) Also, she specifically seems like my cousin, who's actually Low Functioning as well! Autism seems to run on my dad's side of the family. Although luckily for him, my cousin wasn't locked in a tower while quacks strung my aunt and uncle on. I should also mention I have two cousins like this. Both on my dad's side, and both are cousins to each other. Both are pretty low IQ (I don't know how low, but definitely less than a 5th grader. Maybe)

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Thank you for your experienced input, this stuff is so valuable to me! If the shoe fits, then I will go ahead and say low functioning/high maintenance autism is officially Sygbarne's condition.

Story-wise, I need a condition that impairs her ability to learn language (so that she can't call for help or explain herself effectively) but still allows her to yell (to pique Blomi's curiosity). I need her to have poor control over her own behavior, so even once she's free from her tower, her rescuers have a hard time keeping her safe as they transport her somewhere where she can be taken care of properly (the main adventure of the story involves chasing after her as she gets into all kinds of trouble).

Sygbarne is not a bad person and she's not trying to be "difficult", she's just literally never been outside her tower before. She was born there and her parents intend for her to grow old and die there. I imagine the open world is equally overwhelming and exciting for her. I think seeing the world of Looming Gaia through her eyes would be super interesting, so I want her story to be focused around that concept.

Some form of autism with intellectual disability seems to fit the bill. If she has autism-related sensory issues, it may explain why she frequently runs away or attacks people. She's not malicious at all, she's just struggling with a health condition and never got the proper help to manage it.

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[delphiniumblu]

Link and Folkvar

After a few weeks of going back and forth over whether or not I should do this, I finally made a blog for my fan fiction of Skyrim and Legend of Zelda.

http://asklinkandfolkvar.tumblr.com/

Huzzah!

[loominggaia]

kast's situation is rather depressing... does he have any fond memories of his mother before her untimely death? for that matter, what kind of person was she?

Kast was too young to remember her. But that's probably for the best, because the way he imagines her is more flattering than reality. His family bends the truth about her to rewrite history and spare his feelings.

They say his mother was a high class theatre actress who loved Hestal deeply. But in reality, she was a lowly prostitute Hestal picked up at a strip club. It wasn't her personality that attracted him, but her looks and sexual prowess. She was actually a drunken mess of a woman. Hestal was willing to tolerate her raging alcoholism so long as she kept pleasing him in the bedroom. But eventually, the public disapproval of her became too much for his ego to bear, and he hired a hitman to poison her. Her official cause of death was attributed to alcohol, and no one really questioned it.

Did she love Hestal? Well, probably not...I mean, it's Hestal. He's an insufferable douchebag. I'd hate to meet the type of woman who could fall in love with him...

She probably saw him as her ticket out of poverty, and who could blame her for jumping on an opportunity like that? Going from prostitute to princess is a hell of a leap! Unfortunately her prince charming wasn't so charming after all.

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[loominggaia]

Folkvaran Territories: Meme Edition

Dumb memes under the cut!

CLYDERA

ULSENVIK

FOLKVAR CAPITAL

NORTH HAZE

VIDKOST

TONSBORG

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[loominggaia]

Folkvar Kingdom

OVERVIEW

Current Leader: High King Gultopp Folkvar

Color: Red

Symbol: Broken Chains

Also known as the “Warrior Kingdom”. In the 4th Age, Evangeline Kingdom became a theocracy and imposed the Lindist religion onto its people. But many citizens opposed this change, particularly those in the northeast territories. This disagreement escalated into a civil war which tore Evangeline into two separate kingdoms. Folkvar Kingdom was founded by rebels who opposed the new religious order.

Folkvar has been at war with Evangeline Kingdom since its conception. Evangeline refuses to stop attacking until Folkvar surrenders or collapses, wishing to reclaim its old territories, but the Folkvaran people fought hard for their independence and will not give it up so easily. They hold values like freedom and honor close to their hearts.

Most of Folkvar’s territory is located along Noalen’s eastern coast, where the terrain is as harsh as the cold, stormy climate. Life here is not easy, but Folkvarans pride themselves on their resilience. The kingdom is currently bound by the Nymph Pact, though it has flip-flopped on this issue many times throughout its history.

Folkvar Kingdom is best known for its robust military, particularly its naval force. Its mountainous territories make it very hard for foreign invaders to get the upper hand, so most of Folkvar’s squabbles are fought on the sea. It is Gaia’s largest exporter of seafood and wooden ships, and one of the largest exporters of timber.

Folkvar invests so much money into its soldiers, it does not have much left over for civilians. There is no welfare system, very few citizens have access to electricity or plumbing, and civic services are spotty. Unfortunately it must be this way, as Folkvarans are still under constant threat by their Evangelite neighbors.

DIPLOMACY

HISTORY

ECONOMY

POLITICS

CULTURE

MILITARY

LAW

DEMOGRAPHICS

TRIVIA

-Folkvar’s banner depicts broken chains, symbolizing its rebellion against Evangeline Kingdom’s oppressive slavery laws.

-Its official color, red, represents the neverending bloodshed from its constant state of warfare.

SEE ALSO

High King Folkvar

Folkvaran Territories

Folkvaran Cuisine

Folkvaran Hairstyles

Ask - Folkvar

Ask - Gultopp

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[loominggaia]

The everyday life of a folkvarian family man

You are an average Folkvaran family man. You wake up before sunrise and see your breath in the air. Horrified, you realize that you slept in for way too long. So, you jump out of bed and scramble to throw more wood in the fireplace before the fire goes out. Whew! Crisis averted. Now your children will not freeze to death or fall sick with plague.

This kingdom is too damn cold to rest!

Speaking of your children, you wake them up and help them get ready for school. There is "only" 6ft of snow outside, so off they go to the bus stop, where they board a covered wagon drawn by yaks. Normally they walk to school, but not in these temperatures.

It's -40f, so you don many layers of your thickest snow gear and head to work at the wood mill. You spend the next 10 hours cutting planks, and then you return home, cold and exhausted with lungs full of wood dust. Your chronic cough is getting worse and you suspect you might have lung disease, but you know your kingdom has signed the Nymph Pact, and so its primitive medical science can do little for you. You sip herbal tea and hope for the best.

One of your kids caught a rabbit on the way home from school. You cook it and eat together as a family. You burn a little piece of the meat to send it up to the stars, because you are a proud Sylvanist.

Right after you put the kids to bed, there is a knock on the door. You see a Folkvaran military officer, who solemnly informs you that your wife died honorably defending her kingdom from the Evangelite menace. Your stomach twists, but you show no emotion. You shed only a single tear, because it isn't proper for Folkvaran men to cry. You must stay strong for your children. They will need you now more than ever.

Your wife was once an Evangelite slave, who escaped her shackles and fled to Folkvar Kingdom to be free. But in order to gain citizenship, she had to either marry a soldier or become one herself for at least 5 years. You offered to quit your job at the mill and take up the sword so she wouldn't have to, but she insisted that she be the one to fight. She wasn't just fighting for Folkvar, she said...she was fighting for herself and everyone in Evangeline's shackles. She had bravely died for what she believed in, and though your heart swells with pride, it also breaks with grief, for she was just a few months shy of earning her citizenship. All your future plans have come crashing down.

You break the news to the children the next day. The little ones cry, but like you, your oldest son refuses to shed tears in front of others. He instead channels his grief into courage, grabs one of his mother's swords, and tells you he will slay a thousand Evangelites in her honor.

You know you cannot stop him, and you don't wish to. Years later he signs up for the military, and you watch him march away towards the setting sun. You cough into your hand. There is blood on your glove.

This kingdom is too damn cold to rest.

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[loominggaia]

How much of Sygbarne's delays are from her condition and how much from her isolation? I can't help but wonder if she could have turned out much more independent had she not been isolated.

That's a darn good question...I think she would definitely be in much better shape if she wasn't isolated. As it is, there have been no attempts to socialize or educate her, because her parents assumed there was no point in trying until her delays were "cured". Their understanding of her condition is very poor.

Sygbarne communicates mostly in grunts and shrieks, maybe with a word here and there, but she can't string words together to form sentences. If her parents bothered to educate her, I think she would be speaking much better. Not as articulately as an adult, but perhaps a small child.

Being able to speak would lessen her frustration overall, which would probably improve her behavior. In her current state, she often freaks out and attacks people because they do things to upset her, but she's unable to tell them what those things are. All she can do is hit them and hope they get the point.

Sygbarne's social life is a joke. She only gets brief visits from her parents and quack treatments from doctors. She has never had the chance to form meaningful relationships with anyone, so she has no idea how to behave around people. I assume she also has sensory issues from being locked in the same damn room her whole life, which has lowered her tolerance for any kind of stimulus. Anyone would lose their mind in this environment and start to act out.

With all this in mind, it's safe to say she would see massive improvements if her parents simply treated her with basic decency. I'm going to say her condition is probably 50% genetic and 50% environmental.

However, I don't think it's too late for Sygbarne. Even if she escapes that room and gets proper care in her 20s, I believe she can still make huge leaps of progress, both socially and intellectually. She's a very strong-willed person.

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[loominggaia]

Juvella buying clothes for her children:

Blomi:

Sygbarne:

Hestal:

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[loominggaia]

darkwingphoenix I wanna give Sygbarne a hug And punch Maris AND Hestal in the face I'd likely just vibe with Blomi or Kast

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Sygbarne could really use a hug! The only affection she gets is from infrequent visits from her parents. Otherwise she's just getting prodded and restrained by quack doctors, and that's the extent of her social life in that tower.

If anyone deserves to be locked away in a tower, it's Hestal and Maris! I'd punch them in the face too. They're just vile.

No one loves poor Kast, literally no one. He's a sad, angry boy who doesn't have anyone to vibe with...frankly, because his vibes are terrible. Vicious cycle.

Blomi starts off as an immature, manipulative girl who doesn't give a damn about her kingdom or its people--she just wants power. But as the situation with Sygbarne unfolds, I imagine it forces her to grow a lot and she becomes a kind, empathetic person worth vibin' with.

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[loominggaia]

Why don't Nymphs attack Kingdoms that have materials whose production harms the environment exported to them? Isn't it still harming the environment indirectly by encouraging non Nymph Pact kingdoms to continue?

Good question! I think the way nymphs see it, the industrial kingdoms are ultimately guilty of the pollution, regardless of who's behalf they're polluting on.

For example: Folkvar Kingdom commissions swords from Zareen Empire. Zareen Empire pollutes Gaia to manufacture the swords, then ships them to Folkvar. Zareen could have refused to manufacture the swords and abide by the Nymph Pact, but it didn't. So at the end of the day, they are responsible for their own decisions, and they are guilty of the pollutive behaviors.

Let me put it this way...

Your friend says he'll give you 5 bucks to punch a guy in the head. You decide to do it. Who is going to jail--your friend or you? You are, because you had a choice and you chose violence.

In this case, your friend is Folkvar Kingdom, you are Zareen Empire, and the police are the nymphs.

Nymphs ask Zareen, "If Folkvar told you to jump off a bridge, would you?!"

And Zareen's like, "For the right price? Hell yeah, I believe I can fly 😎"

Zareen is going to pollute for their own purposes regardless if other kingdoms do business with them. So, it's more efficient for nymphs to just attack the source of the pollution directly.

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[loominggaia]

Folkvar Kingdom has 11 major territories (also called cities or holds). This article contains some information about each of them.

Realistically, I imagine there are a lot of little small towns and villages between these cities, but they are just too insignificant to map.

FOLKVARAN TERRITORIES

Farod Helog - Located in the Shrieking Mountains region. Due to its extreme weather and challenging terrain, this area was only populated by nymphs until the middle of the 4th Age, when a group of slaves escaped Evangeline Kingdom and settled here. They chose the location specifically because it was so difficult to traverse, and slavers did not find it worth their time and resources to follow. As time went on, more and more slave refugees followed the same difficult route and settled in a place that would later be known as Farod Helog, one of Folkvar Kingdom’s oldest territories. Even today, it is one of the most popular routes for Evangelite slaves to enter Folkvar Kingdom. Most sign up for the military shortly after they arrive in order to gain citizenship, so Farod Helog has become an important military city for Folkvar Kingdom. Its name translates to “Faraway Haven” in Grenlish. The Grenil ogres of the Blue Valley are known to escort slaves to this supposed promised land, usually in exchange for a fee.

Clydera - Located in the treacherous Shrieking Mountains region. Clydera was once an Evangelite territory, but it is currently under Folkvaran control. Its whole existence is justified by a single gemstone mine. The mine offers a bounty of riches to whoever controls it, but it seems neither kingdom can hold on to it for very long. Folkvar wrestled it away from Evangeline originally, Evangeline has retaken it several times throughout history, and on occasion local nymphs have tired of the fighting and reclaimed it from both kingdoms. Though it’s under Folkvar’s rule now, it suffers frequent raids from Evangelite forces and bandit gangs alike, all looking to plunder the gems for themselves.

Stonebirch - Located in the Everwatch Forest region. As its name suggests, Stonebirch’s biggest industries are lumber and stone. Originally an Evangelite territory, it was taken over during a large slave revolt in the 4th Age. Gaining control of these industries was vital in the formation of Folkvar Kingdom, as Clydera was able to easily float resources down the Refuge River on barges, quickly supplying future Folkvaran territories and cutting off Evangeline’s supply all at once. The city’s high elevation makes it easy to defend from invaders, and Evangeline has not been able to retake it ever since. Today, most Clyderans still work in forestry or stonecutting.

Ulsenvik - Located in the northern Shrieking Mountains region. Evangelites never saw value in this cold, vast tundra, and so it remained uncolonized for a long time. But out of desperation for food, Folkvar Kingdom decided to take a risk and invest in a satellite base here, hoping to take advantage of migratory mammoth herds. Their investment paid off in gobs of meat, wool, and ivory, and the little base quickly grew into a prosperous city. In modern times, Ulsenviki people have shifted away from hunting and leaned more into sustainable ranching practices. This is only made possible by the extensive use of magic and strong supply lines, as the area’s short growing season cannot naturally sustain such a large population of animals. Through courage and determination, the Ulsenviki have turned a barren tundra into a bountiful ranching operation. Its isolated location and barely-hospitable environment turned out to be a boon, for they make the city very difficult for Evangeline to raid.

Folkvar Capital - Located around Frostbite Crag, Noalen. Strangely enough, Folkvar Capital is not the kingdom’s oldest or largest city. It is actually newer and on the smaller side, but it was chosen as the capital because of its unique location. The city crawls up the steep crags of a well-forested mountain. It is a difficult city to traverse with all its stairs and elevators, but its citizens take pride in the inconvenience, for it’s difficult for their enemies to traverse too. Every attempt to invade Folkvar Capital has ended miserably for Evangeline Kingdom, whether by land or sky. Like most Great Kingdom capitals, Folkvar Capital acts as an important commercial, cultural, and bureaucratic hub for its kingdom.

Woodborne - Located in the southern Forest of Refuge region. Woodborne is the first Folkvaran city that most Morite refugees encounter, and so it has developed a large Morite community. It is Folkvar Kingdom’s warmest territory, with a temperate climate that features all four seasons–as opposed to a year-round winter. It was once a small Evangelite fishing town, but quickly expanded after it was conquered by Folkvar Kingdom. Now it is a well-defended city with a wide variety of industries, particularly skilled crafts like soapmaking, candlemaking, and pottery. These specialized skills were brought to Woodborne by early migrants, who passed on their crafts to generation after generation.

North Haze - Located at the northeast edge of Noalen. North Haze is Folkvar Kingdom’s coldest, smallest, most impoverished, and most inhospitable territory. Its whaling industry just barely justifies its existence, for it has nothing else to keep its economy afloat. The land it sits upon is too frozen and uneven to farm crops, with or without magic. There is no plumbing or electricity. The air is so cold and the coastal wind so intense that ranching is simply not viable. There are no ores to mine and supply lines to this city are weak due to its remote location and extreme weather. Its only exports are whale meat, fat, and bone, and the processing factories make the whole city stink of dead fish year-round. Most of those who live here were simply born here, and those few who manage to scrape together enough gold leave as soon as possible.

Vidkost - Located on Noalen’s eastern coast. Fishing is what Vidkost does best, and it does this so successfully that nearly all seafood in the Empire of Damijana is imported from this one city. Vidkost does not suffer the same troubles as its neighbor, North Haze, as its supply lines are stronger and its seas are calmer and less littered with dangerous glaciers. It is also slightly warmer, and unlike North Haze, Vidkost sees an occasional clear sky. Though it is still not a city for the faint of heart, Vidkost is the best place for aspiring fishermen to find employment. Aside from fish and whales, its coast is also rich in other sea life like mussels, crabs, and seals. All fishing operations here are overseen by local hydriads, ensuring that they abide by the Nymph Pact. Some parts of this city even enjoy electricity, which is provided by wind turbines along the coast.

Sodergen - Located on Noalen’s eastern coast. Sodergen provides many raw resources for Folkvar Kingdom, but its main one is crops, particularly berries and greens. The city sprawls along the Refuge River, where the soil is particularly fertile. As one of the few temperate cities in Folkvar Kingdom, it has become the most popular place for the kingdom’s wealthy to settle. Mansions line its scenic coast while peasants work their fields along the river. Sodergen is the most populated territory in Folkvar Kingdom, but only its upper classes have access to plumbing and electricity, which is provided by wind turbines and water wheels.

Tonsborg - Located on Noalen’s southeastern coast. Once an Evangelite port city, Tonsborg was conquered by Folkvarans in the 4th Age. Now it is the largest port city in Folkvar Kingdom, and also contains its largest naval base. Tonsborg has a diverse population of sailors, fishermen, sex workers, Evangelite and Morite refugees, and opportunistic criminals. It’s an industrious–if slightly grungy–city with abundant character. A great deal of black market goods are known to sneak through its ports, supplying all of Noalen with forbidden items like plastics, illicit drugs, and synthetic chemicals.

Odens - Located on Halostira’s western coast. Odens is the only Folkvaran territory outside Noalen. It is a small port city that enabled faster, easier trade with the tribes of Halostira when it was constructed. As the Evangeline-Folkvar war dragged on, Folkvar Kingdom became desperate for more allies and resources, but it had already hit the edge of its home continent. It was unable to stake a claim to more colonized lands, but it managed to get a foothold on the shores of Halostira. This move proved to be a great boon to both Folkvar and the Halostiran natives. The natives finally had a reliable way to export their goods and leave their homeland, and Folkvar gained an untapped trade line. Odens is still a relatively young city, but there is already talk of building satellite bases deeper into Halostira. However, the more Folkvar pushes this expansion, the more their friendly relations with the natives sours. One wrong move could cost them many valuable alliances–and possibly the whole war.

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[loominggaia]

Alternate history idea: What if Lindism never became widespread and Evangeline never enslaved Gaians and Fae? What would the kingdom look like today if that were the case? Would Folkvar no longer exist?

That's a great question. Believe it or not, there was a time when Evangeline Kingdom wasn't the bigoted, fanatically religious Hell-hole it is today. Up until the Fourth Age, most of the proto-Evangelite cultures were actually quite diverse. Many different species and religions lived peacefully side by side for a long time.

Around the year 4000 is when the House of Humanity started pushing Modern Lindism, and with this religious reform came big changes to Evangelite culture. The most obvious change was the enslavement of fae and gaians, but also male supremacy, nationalism, and focus on nature preservation.

Here is a map of the ancient cultures that began in Noalen. As you can see, it was a very busy place. There were a lot of conflicts between peoples, but also a lot of alliances and trading going on. Proto-Evangelite territory extended from the center of Noalen (in the Blue Valley) to the eastern coast. The cold mountain regions were largely ignored (which helped the Folkvarans rise to power over there later).

If the House of Humanity never pushed Modern Lindism, I think Evangeline Kingdom would be a much less culturally homogenous place. Today, its cultures are pretty similar no matter what region of the kingdom you're in. That's due to the same religion being pushed on everyone so hard. But it used to be much more diverse, as it was made up of many different species as shown on the map I linked to above. Instead of feeling like one cohesive kingdom, Evangeline would feel more like a bunch of smaller kingdoms stitched together, much like Matuzu Kingdom.

Traditional Lindism would probably still dominate, but it wouldn't completely take over Evangelite culture the way Modern Lindism has. Because of this, there would still be a focus on preserving nature and respecting nymphs. The kingdom would still sign the Nymph Pact. While its mechanical technology would remain medieval, I think Evangeline would make big strides in magical studies. With no laws against magic, its fae and gaian population would be free to craft new spells that can help Allkind and open new possibilities for the kingdom.

Traditional Lindism isn't as misogynistic as Modern Lindism, but it does dictate clear gender roles that push women into domestic roles. Because of this, I think women would still face some oppression here.

In this universe, Folkvar Kingdom would not exist. That's because Folkvar Kingdom was founded by Evangelite slaves and citizens who opposed the slavery laws. These rebels left the comfortable temperate regions and fled into the continent's harsher, colder mountains. They began building a civilization there, which Evangeline initially didn't care about because that area was a frozen shit-hole they weren't using anyway...but maybe they should have cared, because the Folkvarans quickly advanced and expanded with the help of Etios Nation, and soon became an enemy force to be reckoned with.

In this alternate universe, Evangeline Kingdom would dominate all regions of Noalen, including Southriver Wood and perhaps the Noso Peninsula. In the canon universe, Evangeline purposefully does not expand south of the Bluerock River because they use that area as a slave-generator. Migrants and refugees are born there, who must cross Evangelite territory to get to Folkvar Kingdom. Evangelite slavers snatch them on the way through and make money off them.

But in a universe where Evangeline doesn't need slaves, they would not do this. Instead, they would colonize these areas with normal settlements. But as a result, I think this would open the possibility of territory disputes with Yerim-Mor Kingdom.

They would basically trade their war with Folkvar for a war with Yerim-Mor. In the canon universe, Evangeline Kingdom acts as the world's bread basket due to its fertile soil and free labor through slavery. Other kingdoms are able to buy food from Evangeline for cheap prices.

Without all the free labor, I can't say how Evangeline would fill that economic niche. Maybe by picking on Yerim-Mor and exploiting them instead? There are many possibilities.

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[loominggaia]

are there any folkvar subcultare

I don't have anything fleshed out yet, but I do have some vague ideas about subcultures that might arise in Folkvar Kingdom.

Extreme sport enthusiasts (this region is perfect for mountain climbers, snowboarders, face jumpers, survivalists, etc.)

Slave liberators/allies

Fur coat enthusiasts

Sailors/fishermen/marine enthusiasts

Dworfen traditionalists (dworfs who want to "return to the motherland" and do everything in an ancient, traditional way)

These are still just rough ideas for now, but I'd like to revisit them in the future.

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[loominggaia]

I didn't expect you to give me such a good and emotionally charged answer to my folkvarin family man question

I'm glad you liked it! Life in Folkvar Kingdom can be harsh. There are many gut wrenching stories to be told in such a cold and unforgiving land. (But that's what makes the warm moments extra warm!)

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[loominggaia]

DiamondWaltz Hey love the Lore and not to sound rude but does Sygbarne always wail even during the day and I have another question, which is, is Prince Hestal child still at the Boarding School in Clydera and does he suspect/know that his father had his mother killed?

I don't think Sygbarne wails non-stop all day long, but she does scream quite a lot during her waking hours. This is partly due to her mental condition, as she can't express herself as articulately as most people, so she just resorts to making lots of noise when she's upset.

But to be honest, I think anyone in her situation would be screaming their heads off, disabled or not. She suffers pointless medical treatments, she is neglected and lonely, confined to a small space her entire life, and desperately just wants love and affection from her family, which she is denied.

She can see the outdoors, but she can't go there. She wants out of that room. She wants her parents to stay, to play with her and treat her like a normal daughter rather than a broken thing to be fixed. She wants the annoying doctors to leave her alone. She is incredibly frustrated by the way she's treated, and her own inability to advocate for herself. It's no wonder poor Sygbarne screams...she wishes that someone would hear her cries and come rescue her! She truly is a princess locked up in a tower, just waiting for a knight in shining armor to set her free.

As for Prince Hestal's son, yes, he is currently still at boarding school. He will remain there through his college years, and then Hestal will have to find somewhere else to send him to keep the boy out of his hair. Probably the military. Hestal just doesn't want anything to do with fatherhood, he's middle aged but still acts like a frat boy. It's pathetic...I think his son is probably better off being distanced from him anyway.

The whole assassination thing was pretty hush-hush. Hestal only admitted it to his parents because he freaked out and needed their help to keep the law off his butt. Mommy Juvella and Daddy Gultopp paid a lot of money to keep people quiet, but warned Hestal that if this ever happens again, he's on his own. So, he is extra protective of his new wife, even though he hates her even more than his ex. She's super snotty and high-maintenance, but he knows if anything bad happens to her, everyone will suspect him and he'll be screwed, so he keeps her surrounded by security at all times. (Hilariously enough, she's boinking her entire security team but refuses to touch her husband. Karma, lol.)

Hestal's son doesn't know how his mom really died. His grandparents told him that she died of some illness and refuse to discuss it further. But he was quite young when she passed and doesn't remember much of her anyway. He's aware that his dad is a neglectful scumbag and doesn't really want anything to do with his stupid family. He also doesn't like boarding school, so I think it's possible that one day he will get sick of it all and just run off to a faraway land. It's not like anyone will miss him, right?

There are many adventures to be had outside of his kingdom! Hopefully he will meet people out there who appreciate him for who he is, rather than treating him like an unwanted burden.

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[loominggaia]

......what the hell does Centaur furniture look like?? You mentioned the trough toilet thingy, but what about normal sitting chairs or couches? Or beds. I assume Olof and the other Drifters Hollow Centaurs sleep on hair or something, but what about rich Centaurs like the Folkvaren Royal Family? (Ten bucks says Sygbarne has straps on her bed.)

That's a very good question, but the answer may disappoint you...centaurs actually don't use furniture! Well, they do, but not in the way that most other peoples do.

Chairs are not really a "thing" in centaur households. Some may own a few chairs or even a couch for their non-centaur guests, but the centaurs themselves just sit on the floor. When they go to restaurants, centaurs move the chairs aside to sit or lay down in front of the table.

The average centaur's couch is called a "sitting area", and it usually consists of pelts, rugs, and pillows arranged into a nest on the floor. Wealthier centaurs might have a large mattress to lounge on, while poor centaurs just use a pile of hay. The same principle applies to their beds.

I imagine the Folkvaran royal family sleeps on nothing less than the finest fur pelts and Morite silks. Due to this species' weight, bedframes are not very practical so they're rarely used. Instead, mattresses may be stacked on top of eachother for extra height.

A centaur's weight also means they can't just get any random mattress. They need one made specifically for heavyweight species, so it won't sag and go flat after a week. These are made out of tougher materials and are a lot more expensive. They also buy special tables that can withstand their weight when they lean on them, and that may be a taller height than standard tables.

Centaur dwellings in general have taller furnishings like cabinets and door handles. Doorways are taller, and so are the ceilings. Rooms tend to be spacious and open without much furniture, so they're not constantly bumping their big horse-asses into things. A standard human house would feel claustrophobic to a centaur.

As for Sygbarne...yeah, I can imagine her family strapping her down "for her own safety" (in reality, for their own convenience...). But since she would not have a bed frame, I think she would be strapped to the floor instead. I think her room would be sparsely-furnished, even by centaur standards. Her family's logic being: the less things she has, the less things she can destroy. She probably has a mattress and some toys, and not much else. Her other possessions like clothing would be kept away from her until she needed them.

Sygbarne's room would be pretty abnormal, but the rest of her family would have exactly what you'd expect from rich centaurs.

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