#sonhara: liheros

[captain-kraken]

5 & 10 for the worldbuilding asks? 🌊🧜

Thank you for the asks!!

5. Sanpala: the sea religion

Oh man, I have SO much I can say about this one. I'll keep it to a minimum though!

The followers of Sanpala believe that water is the greatest source of Heiros and abide by the saying "reishi merath siresh". This translates to “all (every) water forgives”.

The motto is part of the reason why so many sailors are attracted to this religion (other than their general love of the sea). Most of them have been cast out by society and it reassures the belief that they belong somewhere – there is something that doesn’t give a damn what they did, unlike the harshness of Heirosa.

It’s possible that they were the ones who actually started this saying, as the original sailors were all criminals. They could have coined the phrase as a way of forgiving themselves (and each other) of their sins.

They don’t have a sacred text, as the religion is primarily passed through word-of-mouth between those at sea. They are less strict about what makes someone a "true" follower - as long as you respect the sea and its inhabitants.

Many believe in the existence of a god named Tura, a giant tentacled being that lives in the deepest parts of the sea. Some even claim to have seen him, though without proof these stories are brushed off as just that - stories.

Unlike those that follow Heirosa, all Sanpavir are buried at sea and believe that they will be reincarnated as a part of it. Whether that be as part of the sea itself or as a sea creature, or even a plant.

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10. Liheros (Sonharian mermaids)

I've talked a little about the here but here's some more stuff!

Liheros are arguably the most dangerous beings in Sonhara, if you get on their bad side. But if you are in favour with one of them, you have a very powerful ally.

They have a historical feud with the gishars, dating back centuries, though they generally refuse to talk about it and will get very angry if you bring it up unprompted.

Whilst gishars rule the lands, you could say that the liheros rule the sea. They don't usually have leaders, with the exception of those that live in and around Jurin, which is ruled by Erozah Malior (from the 1980s onwards).

Even the humans of Jurin would rather turn against the gishars than turn against Erozah, as he has done far more for their town than anyone else. If you manage to piss off Erozah, it's in your best interest to never step foot in Jurin again, or he might eat you. Literally.

The Jurinian liheros have a bit of a reputation for scamming people (though that's just what all Jurin locals do), which they've fully leaned into by offering "scam insurance" to newcomers. You pay them a fee up front and they'll spread the word to other Jurinians so you "don't get scammed". It's surprising how many people actually buy into this lol

[captain-kraken]

There's so many liheros in Jurin because it's the only place that has connected water ways throughout all of the streets, so they can actually get around and fully participate in society

[captain-kraken]

Lihero: Info Dump

The liheros are basically mermaids and are one of (if not the) most dangerous predators in Sonhara.

(493 words)

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Anatomy

Their upper body is very similar to that of a human in terms of the main anatomy. They have a few minor differences, such as their fins and barbs. They have lungs which require them to have a blowhole, which is located on the back of their head.

Their lower half is more adapted to living in the water and is completely covered with scales. Instead of legs, they have a tail, evolved to be more alluring and are usually considered their main feature.

They have the appearance of hair, which are actually barbs that act as protection for their blowhole. Some liheros have stingers in their ‘hair’, whilst others don’t – it’s a matter of genetics. It’s generally very colourful and the barbs come in various thicknesses.

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Homes

They reside near the surface, usually around the villages that are close to the shores. They may also be found near ports, having found that they provide an everlasting crowd of people to prank / scam.

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Social & Daily Activities

They usually live with their families until they’re around 15 years old, when they’ll most likely separate and go off on their own. Lihero are very adventurous and dislike being limited to one place, so take advantage as soon as they can.

Like humans, liheros are so varied in personality it's hard to say what they're like. One thing that most of them share is a deep dislike of the gishars, as they were betrayed deeply by them in the past and the pain is very rooted in lihero communities.

Teen liheros, especially in groups, love playing pranks on humans. One of their favourite games is to pick up a bone-thief crab and throw it aboard passing ships, watching the ensuing panic.

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Hunting & Diet

They are carnivores and eat mostly other sea creatures.

Parents will provide for their children until they’re around 8 years old, when they’re then taught to hunt for themselves. Young liheros are usually very impatient for this stage and will attempt to copy their parents hunting moves.

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Communication

They speak to each other in their own language, which consists of wails, squeaking, clicking, and other noises. Those that grew up around humans tend to pick up their language too, allowing them to engage in full conversations with them.

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Heiros Manipulation

Their ability to manipulate heiros comes in the form of their vocals, and not all liheros are as capable as others.

One thing for sure is that everyone underestimates them, forgetting that their main power is the ability to manipulate the minds of other living beings.

This can be from something as simple as calming them down when they're angry, to convincing them to kill themselves. Which is exactly what makes the liheros so dangerous.

A rare few are capable of these powers with only a word, whilst most need to single a full song in order to have an effect.

[captain-kraken]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! What kinds of dark or evil creatures haunt your WIP? Are they commonplace, or merely caught in whispers and legends?

Thanks for the ask :)

I don't think there's any inherently evil creatures in Sonhara. I think the closest thing would probably be the liheros, considering they eat people lol

It's a bit of a controversial thing in Sonhara, about whether or not it's considered okay for them to do that. After all, it's technically not cannibalism. And the Sonharians hate waste, and if someone isn't using their body anymore... Bonus points if that person was a bad person, which considering the areas that the liheros loiter it's mostly likely that they were.

People have arguments for and against it, but at the end of the day the liheros don't give a damn and eat anyone who pisses them off lol

[captain-kraken]

Lihero: Short Version

The liheros are essentially Sonharian mermaids!

carnivorous and mostly eat other sea creatures, though they have been known to eat any meat

can manipulate other living beings with their vocals

speak their own language as well as that of the land races

do not like the gishars

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Info Dump version here!

[captain-kraken]

Happy WBW! Are there any types of foods that are unique to your worlds?

Happy WBW! I'm sorry for the delay in this one!

I talked about some types of food here but here's some more! :D

Silvergrass is a herb grown on iceblood islands that is commonly used in their holiday recipes. It tastes like wet rocks on its own or if too much is used, but when mixed with moonberries it makes your tongue glow blue!

The stormbloods have a flower called palsanta. It has a strong scent and large red petals, and can be dried up and ground into a powder that the stormbloods add to many of their recipes. They taste a little like perfume and it's not a flavour popular to any of the other blood types lol

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Also, for my carnivorous liheros:

There's a small species of sea creatures called jibla. They look like blobs of clear jelly and they're found stuck to rocks in the sea, where they slowly move around eat algae.

Humans and most gishars think they taste awful and dislike the slimy texture, but liheros love them and will just pluck them off the rocks and eat them.

(Also young liheros will sometimes throw them at humans and then hide back under the water)

[captain-kraken]

❤️️

Thank you!

The Unburdened

In Sonhara, one of the most important things you own is your name. Names are inherited based on the Value of your parents, with the most valuable being the most dominant.

The human/safoh Values work in the same spirit as that of the gishars, but theirs isn’t actually calculated, just estimated in a general sense. Most people have an average Value, but those that have “extra benefits” are considered higher Value, such as those that are wealthier, own businesses, etc.

Having a scandal in the family will affect the perceived Value of everyone who shares that surname, which can lead to someone becoming "unburdened".

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So, names work where all siblings share the same middle names, with the most Valuable parent first, followed by the most Valuable surname.

Example: Tafgen Jalor Eseren Vorreh

If only one of your parents is known, their name is replaced by Vanba and the remaining name is always dominant.

Example: Mefi Shessei Vanba Dakaan

If neither of your parents are known, all names are replaced by Vanki.

Example: Lafir Vanki

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Then there’s the unburdened. These are people who have been stripped of their names and cannot legally use it anymore.

They are only allowed to keep their first name, but must remove all the inherited ones, as they can no longer claim that Value. This effectively reduces their own Value to zero, which makes everything much harder for them.

It’s difficult for them to apply for jobs, or build relationships with people, as they are considered worthless to society. A lot of them turn to places like Kiwo and Jurin, as these are the only places that will accept them.

One of Jurin’s best kept secrets is that there is a whole underground market based around creating and selling fraudulent documents that gives the unburdened new names, allowing them to go on to have better lives. A lot of the more obvious crimes in Jurin (such as the liheros scamming people) are to pull people’s attention away from what their main operations are, such as this.

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[OC Trivia: One of Tafgen’s older brothers is an unburdened. He was disowned by their father after being caught selling fraudulent documents in Orukfell.]

Blue Blood Taglist: @rhikasa @noblebs @theskeletonprior @writernopal

(let me know if you want to be added/removed)

[captain-kraken]

💞💟🤝👗 for romance & love asks, whoever you feel like talking about!

Thanks for the ask! I'll answer for both Erozah and Ladro <3

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💞How many times have they been in love?

Ladro has been in real love twice - once with their ex and once with their now-husband.

Erozah has only ever fallen in love once, and vowed never to do it again.

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💟What is the dating culture in their society like? Do they participate in it?

Dating culture varies a lot in Sonhara, depending on a number of factors.

Gishars are not allowed to date at all, and legally are only supposed to have relationships with whoever they are arranged to be married with. (Not that this stops any of them lol). The higher your Value, the more options you'll have. (e.g. Deivi was very Valuable and was able to pick anybody he wanted.)

Liheros have their own dating culture and the majority are polyamorous. They are biologically genderfluid and for a lot of them (not all) their attraction is also fluid.

The Ganewa are also different, as they are completely separated from the rest of Sonhara. Although they do have some similarities to the Gishars. The strongest are the most desirable, and your rank in the Family has a big impact on your options.

For Humans and Safoh, there's a lot more freedom. The only thing that can make things difficult is if you're one of the "unburdened", as they legally cannot get married (unless they have forged documentation).

Erozah has a lot of casual relationships but refuses to enter anything serious. He makes this very clear up front and there's plenty of people happy to keep things casual with him.

Ladro has never really participated in dating culture. They kind of fell into a relationship with their ex, and they were friends with their husband for many years before they started a romantic relationship.

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🤝Are they still friends with any of their ex-partners?

Neither Erozah nor Ladro have seen their exs since their respective relationships ended. They both have different reasons for this - Erozah is too ashamed, whilst Ladro is too afraid.

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👗What sorts of clothes do married couples wear in their culture? Do they plan on wearing the traditional clothes, or doing something different?

Another that really depends on a few things! I won't go into everything or this post would be huge lol

Generally people wear the traditional styles of the island that they're getting married on, though sometimes they incorporate elements of the ones they were born on. There aren't any traditional colours, except for gishars who always wear their island's colours.

When Ladro and Antar got married they had a Sanpala wedding aboard their ship, which doesn't have any specific clothing. They do both wear the traditional shell necklace to show that they're married, although they both also wear traditional Heirosa headbands.

[captain-kraken]

Hi Kraken!

If it's not a spoiler, can you tell me why Pocha collects bones, please?👀

Thank you!

Hi! Thank you for the ask :D

Pocha is very sentimental, and his own memory is not the best due to a combination of age, corruption, and brain damage from an incident when he was a child.

However, he has a very significant power. Through touch, he is able to read the memories of things, and see all that they have experienced. This applies to non-living objects too, and bones tend to have really strong memories.

Most of the ones he keeps are ones that he has a personal attachment too. He keeps all the ones from the animals he cares for, and turns his favourites into wearable items so he can keep them close and re-watch the memories whenever he likes.

He really likes the ones from other sapient species, like the humans and liheros, since they allow him to "experience" things that he otherwise wouldn't be able to. He likes teeth the best because they're small and he can just attach them to his necklaces.

It's why he knows so much about Sonhara, despite never leaving De'aba.

[captain-kraken]

Sonhara Asks

Ok, I very much enjoy talking about my world building but I never know exactly what to talk about because I just wanna talk about EVERYTHING.

So here’s a few things that I really like talking about or have mentioned in passing, send me a number if you’re interested in knowing more!

The language of Heitha

What is the Sinni bond?

Blood types and their importance

Heirosa: oldest and most common religion

Sanpala: the sea religion

Are the gods real?

Ganewas (Sonharian “werewolves”)

Safohs (Sonharia "magic" users)

Gishars (the "important" ones)

Liheros (Sonharian mermaids)

Kalta’an: The Godless Days

Vokaes Festivals: Celebrating the Patrons

Laeka: infection of the soul

What is “zako ranna”?

Crime and Punishment

Why are there four islands in each tesinaj?

Differences between a “tesinaj” and a “sinajen”

Importance of names in society

Auren (Li Hei’s sunblood island)

Bahavi (Li Hei’s seablood island)

Elohia (Li Hei’s iceblood island)

Kazete (Li Hei’s stormblood island)

Zotho: neighbouring tesinaj

Parafar: neighbouring tesinaj

Wildlife

Or if you have anything else, feel free to ask!

[captain-kraken]

Happy WBW!! Are there any cultural misconceptions, stereotypes etc. about magic in your world? For example stereotypes about people who do magic or certain kind of magic? Or some unrelated trait is associated with magic? Or it's believed that something is not possible to do with magic, even though it is? Or something else?

Happy WBW! Thanks for the ask!

So, magic in Sonhara is basically the heiros energy, and only certain races are able to manipulate this. A lot of their knowledge of the heiros has been lost over the centuries and these days there are lots of misconceptions.

The gishars believe that having children with anyone other than another gishar would weaken their powers.

It's believed that nobody is able to cleanse corruption from heiros, other than the god Marakoth.

That only one gishar can be tethered to the island core at a time.

That only one human can be tethered to a gishar at the same time and that only humans can do this.

That liheros are not really able to manipulate heiros.

Basically, the gishars have seriously limited not only their own powers, but also those of the others in Sonhara. However, this all does start to finally change in Blue Blood #2!

[captain-kraken]

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! I hope your week has been good so far and has granted you some moments of joy.

What is the history of your world? Like what happened before your story begins, how did the landscapes change over time?

Happy WBW! Oof you shouldn’t have asked me that XD sorry for the infodump

Long, long ago, the islands were connected as one. So, Auren, Bahavi, Elohia, and Kazete (the islands of Li Hei) were all originally one island, instead of four.

At that point, the gishar hierarchy had not been established, but one by one they began to take over their islands. This was the trigger for the first set of wars, which caused the major divide between the gishars and the lihero. To this day, they are generally not fond of each other.

During the war, when things were the most dire, the island began to crack. It actually happened pretty fast, only taking less than a Heitha week to fracture into four.

It took some more time for the islands to drift as far apart as they have, and they have reached their limit as to how far apart they can get. That’s because the heiros connection that held the island together is still a part of them, and is basically holding them together like string.

The theory at the time was that the gods were made upset by the war and sought to separate the species completely, to protect them from each other.

It’s been thousands of years since then, so nobody remembers the days when the islands were one. And as the islands spent more time separated, they began to become more distinct and become what they are today.

As of the start of the main series, Sonhara is still recovering from their recent war which happened about 30 years before, but there were some major effects left over. The generation that is in rule during BB1 are the ones that had to rebuild their islands and they’re all pretty bitter about it.

Bahavi is struggling the most, considering they have no gishar anymore and lost their largest city. This has had a knock-on effect onto the rest of Li Hei, as they lost a quarter of their exports, as well as the extra heiros burden the rest of the gishars have had to take on.

There’s also a lot of concern about how long Li Hei has been without a seablood heir, as they have no idea what the long term effects are going to be.

I'm gonna stop there before this gets TOO long lol. Thank you for the ask!

[captain-kraken]

Does you wip also have some unique/special places

Thank you for the ask!!

There are so many locations in Sonhara so I’m gonna pick my top three.

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Jurin: sin city, aka the shame of Auren. It’s an open secret that there are a lot of illegal happenings going on here, but since all the locals are extremely loyal to each other and use secret codes, it’s difficult to get information on anything that’s happening unless you can prove yourself as one of them.

It’s a pretty run-down city, despite being on the main docks for Auren. They never really recovered from the war and they’re pretty pissed at the gishars for forgetting about them.

Also home to The Whisperer, a charming lihero who unofficially runs the town. Generous and cheerful to the locals, he is extremely dangerous to those who threaten his town. Nothing happens in Jurin without him knowing about it.

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De’aba: a tiny island off the coast of Bahavi that was heavily corrupted when they lost their gishar bond. Everything here became a little off somehow, more dangerous. The animals got bigger, turned venomous and angry. Most of the plants also became poisonous or developed defence techniques that they’d never had before. Nobody has ever lived on there, and now definitely nobody wants to… except for the Gods’ Eyes.

There are rumours of a monstrous beast deep within the rainforest here. Nobody has ever seen it, but there have been numerous reports from those that have made deals with the Gods’ Eyes of a angry, thunderous roars in the distance.

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Jasho: ok, technically not a favourite but it has the most lore behind it lol. Jasho was the capital city of Bahavi but is now completely abandoned, as the atmosphere is too toxic for anything to live there. The entire city and the surrounding areas have now been blocked off by a huge wall to prevent anyone from accidentally wandering there.

It was home to the Daju family, the gishars of Bahavi. Their last bond was the one who corrupted the island and is infamous across the whole of Sonhara for his final years.

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Thanks for asking and giving me the opportunity to ramble lol

[captain-kraken]

I mainly did the Sonhara masterpost for myself so i can keep track of what i've already posted about it and turns out i NEVER talk about the liheros

i really should because they're in every single book lol

[captain-kraken]

HAPPY WBW late in the day but better late than never xD

Is religion significant in your story's world, and if so tell me about the religions that you've developed.

I really want to have interesting religions in my story because I feel like they do so much to make fictional cultures feel really *real* and fleshed out and engaging, but I'm having a heckin lot of trouble building them out

Happy WBW! Thank you for the ask!

OOH you have no idea how excited I am to answer this question!! If you ever wanna talk about building religions, I am your guy!!

I’m gonna give you the “short” version because I could seriously write 10k words about this, it’s one of the most developed aspects of my world-building because theology is one of my interests.

Religion is very significant in Blue Blood and is heavily involved in the main arc of the series. There are a few different ones, but the main two are Heirosa and Sanpala.

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Heirosa

Heirosa is centred around the existence of heiros, the natural magic that resides within every living thing. The main branch of Heirovir believe that everything is governed.by ten deities, who are split into three different categories: death, creation, and patron.

Some branches believe in different things. For example, the Sahde Heirovir (“pure” Heirovir) do not worship the patron gods, as they are not the same as the others in their creation. Whilst some people believe that only Eira is the one true god who controls everything.

Those who follow Heirosa have a number of things that they do. They visit the Solsun regularly to visit the god’s altars and pay their respects, as well as talk to them about anything that’s on their mind. Heirovir’s also regularly perform blessings, which is said to help keep the corruption levels down.

Anybody under the age of 15 is not considered responsible for their own contributions to the heiros corruption. Shortly after their 15th birthday they undergo a ceremony called Dilenu, where they receive a specific pendant called a “detloran” which is the symbol of an eye. It’s supposed to be a reminder that the gods are watching what you do.

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Sanpala

Sanpala is the religion mostly worshipped by seabloods and those who work at sea. It’s the belief that water is the most powerful body of heiros and that it has the power to wash away all corruption, if it so chooses.

They also believe in the existence of Tura, a deep-sea god that is said to be so huge he can swallow a fleet of ships hole. They believe he is a lihero with tentacles, instead of a tail, and thousands of sharp teeth.

This is a word-of-mouth religion and has no written texts, only passed through stories and songs. There are no holy places to worship at and no major holidays. The only requirement to this religion is that you undergo a ceremony called Patharsi which is performed by anyone who has had the ceremony done themselves.

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All my characters have different levels of faith in their religion, if they follow one at all. You cannot deny the existence of heiros, but you can deny the existence of gods.

Unfortunately though, the gods are very real in Sonhara. They’re just very flawed and are slowly being affected by the corruption that’s taking over the islands.

The main arc of Blue Blood involves the characters eventually finding the gods to find out why they aren’t saving the islands, only to find out that they can’t save the islands and that they have a lot of problems going on. So they all gotta figure out a new plan and work together.

(And yes, this was the short version XD)

[captain-kraken]

Okay :D

So, the books are set around an area of the world called Sonhara.

The way that Sonhara works is that the islands are grouped together into something they called a tesinaj. Each tesinaj has four islands – one each of sunblood, iceblood, seablood, and a stormblood. These islands are all connected to each other through the heiros force, so if one of them gets corrupted, it will seep through to the rest.

Each island has their own ruling gishar family, but then each tesinaj is also ruled by one of these leaders, depending on who has the current highest Value. For Li Hei (where most of Blue Blood is set) that is the sunblood family, the Solarks. This means they get final say over major decisions that affect their tesinaj and can over-rule the rest of the leaders.

The islands in Li Hei (in Value order) are:

Auren - the sunblood island, ruled by the Solark family

Elohia - the iceblood island, ruled by the Kontemno family

Kazete - the stormblood island, ruled by the Somena family

Bahavi - the seablood island, once ruled by the Daju family

The gishars and the humans tend to be very "patriotic" for a lack of a better word. Every species is born with a bond to their island type, but these two are much more personally connected to their specific islands.

The safoh are generally not too attached to locations, whilst the lihero generally care only for sea. The ganewa are a separate matter entirely, as nobody knows where they have gone.

depositing monopoly money for info dump pls 🤲

is there anything in particular you wanna know about? :D i have many potential infodumps about blue blood lol