Syka Submissions - NPCs, Locations, Ideas, Etc

[Jehu]

Jehu's Tent

The land given to Jehu sits south of the stream that flows into the bay south of Uta's Place. The stream marks the northern border of his claim, which runs from the surf into the jungle. The stream ideally provides fresh water, a ready draw for jungle game and a spot to offer devotions to the goddess Makutsi.

While the strip of beach along the claim is not particularly wide, there is a spot of open sand above the beach's berm crest that presses into the palm-lined margin of the jungle. The alcove-like clearing, dotted with patches of short, hearty beach grass is vaguely reminiscent of a Burning Lands oasis, so offers an ideal place for Jehu's dwelling. The cobblestone path running from the Commons to Treasure Point runs behind the site just a bit further into the palm fringe.

The dwelling itself is a Chaktawe tent facing the sea, approximately 400 square feet in area and rectangular in shape. Made of animal hide and woven goat hair, the sides of the tent can be rolled up in fair weather or lowered and staked if necessary. There is also a fabric wall that can be hung to separate the tent into two chambers. The tent is true to the Chaktawe people, the interior decorated with feathers and bones and appointed with with red clay and mica pottery.

Currently there are no furnishings. A colorful Chaktawe blanket lies on the sand with Jehu's bedroll on it. Eventually, he will build a wooden pallet floor for the tent and procure additional furniture. A fire pit has been dug out in front of the tent.

[Gossamer]

Kam and Jehu - You are both approved so long as the IC work is done on the land. Post up your locations please when the threads are done. Don't wait for grades! I'll add them to the link map when you nudge me they are up.

[Kamilla]

So I came up with a fun idea for a plant to discover and ran it by Sophia who just made it so much better... hence the name being a mixture of both.

Hope it's okay.

Name: Kamia Algae

Type: Bioluminescent Algae

Frequency: Common

Location: Grows along the reef surrounding Syka at various depths.

Description: Resembling a thick odorless slimy substance, the Kamia Algae grows along the reefs surrounding Syka. During the day the algae is hardly worth noticing while at night, or in the dark, it emits a beautiful glow. The algae can be found in many colors, each glows with a different intensity ranging from a bright luminous glow to soft and gentle. The algae is bioluminescent and spends the daylight hours absorbing sunlight which then enables it to glow in the dark. The duration of the glow depends on both the amount of light absorbed as well as conditions such as humidity or moisture availability. In ideal conditions, the algae can glow for an entire season outside of the ocean and for as little as a few days, if only exposed to a day's worth of daylight before being placed in complete darkness. The algae requires some form of moisture to survive for periods longer than a few days and will die quickly in drier climates. It is safe to touch but will cause an upset stomach if ingested.

Uses: Due to its bioluminescence, the Kamia Algae has many uses from practical to purely decorative. It can be smeared on a surface to provide short term light or contained in a glass bottle for a longer lasting light source, essentially acting as flameless lanterns. The smeared form can be maintained for longer if provided with moisture regularly. It can be used to mark pathways, camps, light areas both above and below water as well as anything else one can think of.

[Known Colors:] (From most to least bright)
1.Green - very bright
2.Yellow - medium glow
3.Purple - soft glow

(While anyone capable of reaching its depths can collect, it requires a botany skill of Competent or higher to grow.)

[Gossamer]

Hi there!

I take writeups really seriously, including those for even local flora and fauna.

If you're talking about this kind of bioluminescent plankton or algae in your write up above that is seen in the video, you'll need to do a bit more than showing a picture of simple aquarium sea anemonies under blacklight and a vague description including a color list?

Most creatures that get approval - even if they are simple algae - need a life cycle written up and some actual definition, not a vague generic description. I won't approve this as it is above. It doesn't make a lot of sense and I'm not a fan of the bright garish coloring either.

You also need to state, if you are labeling something a certain skill level to grow, why it is that way and what that skill does to help grow it.

Goss

[Ines]

Bala's Bowl

About one and a half days away from Syka lies a steep indentation in the region. A lush area surrounded by cliffs on all sides, it seems to be comprised of lighter density foliage. An ancient switchback trail leads down into the Bowl. It is seemingly absent of any animals larger than a bird.

The first part of the Bowl, visible when one begins to descend the trail, is the waterfall. It empties into a sizeable lake that takes up about a quarter of the jungle recess. Next to the rocky shore is a large, overgrown grove of trees, most of them hanging with edible fruits. More sunlight than usual reaches the bowl because of the open lake. Close to shore is a cave, hidden by other facets of the cliff and nearby vines. This cave leads to an opening behind the waterfall at the opposite end of the lake.


Growing into the grove are many flowers that attract different species of butterflies, hummingbirds, bats, and bees. There are many varieties of orchids, mosses, and colorful shrubs. Around the center of this garden is a cobbled path. The stones are ancient and the pathway is falling apart. The trail disappears before it reaches the lake.

The Tower :

If one follows the trail the opposite direction, however, they come across a dark tangle of jungle. Small amounts of stonework are visible in the right light. With some effort, one can see that there is a tall, abandoned tower hidden in the growth.

The Dangers of Bala's Bowl

Not everything is perfect, and Bala's Bowl is no exception. Despite the lack of very large predators like tigers, the Bowl is home to a large variety of insects and spiders, both beautiful and lethal. Wasps, bees, fire ants, tarantulas, and giant bird-eating spiders make their home in the gardens and groves. Many snakes, too, make their home here, preying on nesting bird-eggs, bats, and anything else they can fit their mouths around. Not all of the fish in the lake are benign, either - leeches and parasites are buried in the muck.

NPC

Cres :

Name: Cres

The secret resident of the tower. She is very shy, ancient Kelvic that seems to break all of the rules of a baseline Kelvic.
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Notes :

With C+ Gardening, Botany, or Agriculture one may notice that the fruit grove and garden were cultivated. Upkeep on these ended long ago.

Anyone initiated in Architectrix may notice that the tower is an Arch building.

[Elias Frostfawn]

Submitting this Domain NPC to be used by anyone:

Name : An'un Dui

Race: Inarta
DoB: 490 A.V. (30)
Pob: Wind Reach
Skills: Wilderness Survival 52(Biomes: Arctic, Jungle), Foraging 35, Weapon: Shortbow 31, Fishing 27, Medicine 26, Morphing 30,
Length of stay in Syka: at least a few seasons( at least 2).

An'un Dui is a Wind Reach born Inarta who left to wander the wilderness as she was always had an adventurous and curious heart. She decided to wander the wilds of Kalea, Taldera and Falyndar for adventure and exploration while she lived in Wind Reach and eventually got skilled enough she didn’t need civilization at all. She has befriended a number of people in these domains and regularly trades with them for money in exchange for pelts, resources she collects from the wilderness, and stories she has collected. She uses this money on trinkets and baubles made by people like the inarta and the vantha. She can't resist a beautifully crafted ornament to adorn her antlers or hair. Ever an animal lover, one of the primary people she interacted with was the Vantha of the Frostfawn hold who gave her the very antlers she so cherishes. Because of her long standing friendship with the Vantha, she was utterly appalled at the killing of the very people she once sat around hearth fires and shared stories with. She has recently come to Syka after caring for one of the Vantha she rescued from the horrors of that winter of 516 A.V. She now resides in one of Syka's bungalows and when she isn't traversing the dangerous wilds, which she can be out for days at a time, she offers her services as a wilderness guide to the people of Syka. After all, the jungle can be treacherous.

[Gossamer]

Bala's Bowl has long since been added as a location.

An'un Dui is approved as a guest NPC and I will add her to a new section on the masterlist that has guest NPCs in it since Lhavit graciously sent three and there's a poisoncrafter who kicked around, left, and is returning.

[Naadiya]

PC Home Location Submission
-Still working on resizing/swapping images-

Just a little to the East of the Community Pools, a short walk into the jungle will reveal a clearing where Naadiya chose to set down her roots. Artik found a spot where an old tree had fallen. Unsure of what had caused the death of the tree, they quickly set to work on clearing the area, later raising the cabin where the tree once stood and using as much of the scavenged material as creativity allowed. Then, with magical aid from local verusk mages, most if not all of the the dangerous Gympie-gympie plant, often called "Suicide Plant", was removed with all care to not disturb the rest of the ecosystem. More numerous than the gympie and much more easy to spot, were the lilies. From pale scarlet to vibrant tangerine petals, all speckled with the characteristic spots. Unable to escape the flowers, Naadiya adopted the name given to the residence by the locals, calling it 'The Tigerlily Loft'.

Despite it's name, the tiger lilies are not the only flora to crowd the area. Vanilla orchids droop down from above in the areas where narrow streams ran to the northern edge and the ground had foxglove and catnip pop up inovergrown patches here and there, among a variety of fruit trees and bushes the bounty of Syka has to offer.

Naadiya’s Place hides up amongst the trees, partly hidden from below by the ever-shifting growth. White and grey river stones magically melded together into a narrow path running to Naadiya's loft on one side and joining the Cobbled Pathway gradually and seamlessly on the other.

Raised a full story up off the ground, the small house is built in the usual Sykan style, with large windows for ventilation and shutters to ward off both uninvited wildlife and stormy winds, though located as far inland as she was, Naadiya rarely felt the brunt of the coastal gusts. At the urging of Talivindra, a local Verusk with a particular eye for design, Naadiya accepted the idea of carved columns and beams, as well as woven rattan treatments on some outside walls. Details one might miss from further off, but that often catch the eye upon closer inspection.

On the forest floor below her home, Naadiya will sometimes have large vats of dye, or bulk supplies of yarns of all kinds being stored in sealed trunks to block moisture and insects from getting to her raw material, if ever the attic ran out of space or if she was in the process of dying yarns and fabrics. A layer of gravel was laid out, some of the stones already stained with blues, reds or purples.

Up the staircase on the front porch, is the entrance to the residence, but it too is sometimes partially hidden as Naadiya will often have rugs, tapestries, towels even blankets hanging down or rolled up and leaning against the front door or its adjacent walls. Having the fabrics splayed out makes it easier to look at and sometimes she needs time to decide if a color combination is just right or far beyond insane.

Passed the double doors at the entrance is a small room with large windows on either side and a wide archway at the back, all of them framed with white isuas curtains. To the left is the main sitting area, a collection of leather and fabric poufs and highly decorative floor cushions surrounding a wooden chest that usually bears candles to illuminate the room with gentle flickers and fragrant plants hang from tables, reach up in corners or crawl in from the windows. Almost every surface in her place doubles as storage with trunks and chests of drawers scattered over intricately woven carpets, even the patterned cushions are often overstuffed, being used to store the occasional errant piece of clothing or towel that has no other place to be stashed away from a visitor's view.

Beyond the curtained archway, is the kitchen. Simple but organized and clean, Naadiya's kitchen has all the basics as well as a constant breeze when the windows and left un-shuttered. Small pots holding a few of the herbs she used most frequently occupied the surfaces near the windows, drawing in Syna's rays as often as possible. At the back corner, to the right side of the kitchen is a winding staircase leading up to the second floor.

As soon as you reach the next story, you'd find yourself inside Naadiya's workroom. A couple of looms can usually be found already set up with her latest projects to one side of the room. On the opposite wall, are storage shelves and closets hiding yarn, fabrics and tools and in middle of the room was a table, smooth, long and usually displaying something that had needed to be mended or more closely inspected for flaws.

The wall of shelves, bore a door in left-most corner that lead to the bedroom. To the immediate right of that door is another one, where a small but airy privy is nestled. A tub of beaten copper is rimmed with potted plants and lanterns in case she wished to bath at night. Near her wash basin, Naadiya usually leaves a good deal of cosmetics cluttering the area and waiting to be used and a large square mirror hanging on the wall.

The bedroom itself, is less ornamented than the rest of the house. Carpets still cover the wooden floors, and the occasional tapestry is hung, but With windows on almost every inch of outer wall, Naadiya usually just marvels at nature's mural.

While the windows at both sides of the stilted house are mostly blocked with foliage, the front of the home has an open view of the area between the river and the community pools. Most of it is entirely obscured by the rapidly growing jungle, but occasionally you can get a glimpse of the glittering blue and the music of running water never stops day or night. Standing on the balcony, smells of vanilla and lilies can be wafted while one listens to the music of the Sykan birds.

Layout :

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Goss Note: Approved and Added

[Gossamer]

Naadyia, your location is approved pending the removal of this:

"By the time the spot was found, it was already been partially cleared, likely from a lightning-related fire." Syka has never nor will probably ever have a lightening-related fire.

There would be no forest in and around Syka 'already cleared'. The land would have to be cleared deliberately by someone actively doing it in thread... plus you say the house is partially obscured from the ground by vegetation. You can't have it both ways.

Some quotes from the internet...

Wildfires are in fact quite rare in tropical rainforests, due to the high humidity. Even in the dry season, the flora is usually too wet for lightning to spark a blaze or for accidental fires (from a burning campfire or cigarette) to take hold.

All fire-related activities in rainforests are generally due to deforestation and set fires by man as a deliberate attempt to clear land and farm rainforest soils that are absolutely horrible for farming.

Fires are not a natural part of the Amazon ecosystem. They are often set by people to expand soy farms or rangelands for cattle. If enough trees are lost, the forest could lose its ability to generate rainfall — making the region drier and more likely to catch fire.

Once you clear rainforest and burn slash left after said clearing, it changes the ecosystem forever and is often unable to recover washing off precious topsoils. It's a horrific thing and no one would allow it in and around Syka.

Please correct. Then you are free to post your location which i will add to the Linkmap.

Goss

[Tazrae]

Submission for Quintet

Azure Quintet

• Gracelin (Doyen)
• Tazrae
• Shiress (Medic Reserve)
• Jaelis
• Open Slot

Goss Note: Approved and Added