Sktæria (Sktaeria)

# Sktaeria

## Contents

* 1 Sktaeria
* 2 Language
* 3 Politics
* 4 Religion and Culture
	+ 4.1 Moral values and principles
	+ 4.2 Traditions
	+ 4.3 Religion
	+ 4.4 Art

## Sktaeria

Sktaeria is home to the Araen (sg: Aras), among many others. The Araen are spider people, with spider legs on their backs and mandibles around their mouths. They worship a goddess made of water.

Basic Statistics

## Languages

The official national language of Sktaeria is Araen, here explained, and most commonly spoken in the nation, with around 50% of the country speaking this language as their first language. Sektrician is the second most commonly spoken language, with over 30% of the country speaking it as their first language.

### Phonology

Diphthongs: ai /aɪ/ and oi /ɔɪ/

The language also features the voiceless labio-velar fricative: ʍ

### Pronunciation guide

These are often romanized. The roman script however lacks enough letters to accomodate for the amount of letters, especially vowels, in Araen. Therefore, a pronunciation guide is provided:

a: a is the phoneme /a/ if the only other vowels present in the word are /a/ and/or /æ/. If other vowels are present, including diphthongs, the sound changes to /ɐ/. If it is followed up in the *romanization* by 2 consonants, or 1 consonants but that consonant is the last of the word, it becomes /ɑ/. Unless the romanized version has a line over it, then the vowel is pronounced like either /a/ or /ɐ/ depending on the other vowels in the word.

e: e is the phoneme /e/. If it is followed up in the romanization by 2 consonants, or 1 consonants but that consonant is the last of the word, it becomes /æ/ or /ɛ/, depending on the surrounding vowels and the speaker's preference. If the romanized version has a line over it, then the vowel is pronounced like /e:/.

i: i is the phoneme /i/. If it is followed up in the romanization by 2 consonants, or 1 consonants but that consonant is the last of the word, it turns into /ɪ/. If the romanized version has a line over it, then the vowel is pronounced like /i:/.

o: o is the phoneme /o/.If it is followed up in the romanization by 2 consonants, or 1 consonants but that consonant is the last of the word, it turns into /ɔ/. If the romanized version has a line over it, then the vowel is pronounced like /o:/.

Diphthongs: ai /aɪ/, oi /ɔɪ/. Both of these also have a separate letter in the conscript.

The easy ones: /p/, /t/, /k/, /l/, /f/, /n/, /m/, /s/, all have their own glyphs and are written like the IPA.

These romanized digraphs are all a single letter in the conscript:

sh: ʃ

ch: x

hw: ʍ

rr: ʀ

Other phonemes:

r: /ɾ/

': /ʔ/

y: /j/

### Grammar

Araen is an agglutinative language. It makes heavy use of noun declensions to give its sentences meaning:

Verbs are conjugated to two numbers and three person markings, as well as the three verb times the language uses:

Verbs often lengthen a vowel. In the following situations the vowel is *not* lengthened: All 2nd person conjugations, all 1rst person plural conjugations, 3rd plural past and future conjugations, 3rd singular future conjugations. The vowels /i/ is never lengthened in verb conjugation.

Adjectives:

Adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in number and case:

 Nominative
 Genitive
 Dative
 Accusative
 Nominative
 Genitive
 Dative
 Accusative

Whenever Araen features an adjective, it likely doesn't feature its opposite (e.g. if it features "good", there is no word for "bad"). An adjective is made its counterpart by putting the prefix na- in front of it. This is also how comparatives and superlatives work: they have a positive and negative form:

 Comparative
 Superlative

The locative form of nouns is made by adding the prefix te- to a noun.

### Numbers

Araen features a base 8 numbering system:

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8

The numbering system uses multiplication, addition, and subtraction to express high numbers.

Grammatical features:

ʍ cannot preceed a consonant, nor can it be preceded by a consonant in the same word. It can be preceded by a consonant if ʍ occurs at the beginning of its word.

The classification of nouns is mostly left to common sense, but there are exeptions: gender specific bodily fluids are classified in the corresponding declination. Water is also feminine.

Body parts of any kind are classified Natural, not masculine or feminine, even the gender-specific body parts.

When used in a “be” construction “I **am** happy”, adjectives don't need to be marked. These constructions, however, use “have”, not “be”. (~~I am happy~~ -> I have happy)

If an adjective says something about a verb, it agrees with the agent of the verb.

/n/ + /k/ = /ŋk/

The /ə/ of the locative prefix is changed to /e/ when it modifies a single syllable word.

Imperaitve forms are made by stating the subjects and immediately following it up with the infinitive of the verb.

It also has an extensive lexicon, but due to me being an idiot I don't know how to add a word document and you can't see it here. DM me on discord (@Inflatable\_Bridge [Skt**æ**ria]) if you want it.

### Other languages of Sktaeria

There are many other langauges spoken in Sktaeria apart from Araen though. An alphabetical list is provided:

* Angelic, primarily spoken by Angels (yet to start)
* Darlzjakken (Angel dialect), primarily spoken by Angels (yet to start)
* Dar'Talum, primarily spoken by Humans (complete)
* Ermani, primarily spoken by Earthmen (yet to start)
* Herundish/Kredzeda, primarily spoken by Herunds (yet to start)
* Krngzuga, primarily spoken by Hellians (yet to start)
* Sektrician, primarily spoken by Humans (complete)
* Skaelit, primarily spoken by Skaelir (complete)
* Theran, primarily spoken by Humans (yet to start)
* Varzjnaki, primarily spoken by Humans (yet to start)

## Sktaerian Politics

The nation Sktaeria is highly focused on getting the most out of every individual. This means that every person gets the chance for an education, and can get one at any moment. This also means it's easy for even the lowest of peasants to rise the ranks. Many great generals and scholars were once lowly peasants.

The country is also highly religious. The priests are granted a social status equal to royal guards, meaning that if they tell someone to do something, they'll likely do it.

The nation is ruled over by a queen. She can be referred to by many names, like kaimsana, kaimessana, kaimesana, kaimassana, kaimasana. The kaimsana (lit: she who rules) is responsible for making and maintaining diplomatic relations with other nations, as well as direct governance of the capital city of Karrmela. She legally isn't allowed to own any more land than her own home. The kaimsana has access to a small group of elite warriors: her kailemmas. The kailemmas essentially function as bodyguards.

The kaimsana is chosen in elections in wich anyone can participate (as long as you're a woman). She appoints governors to certain cities. She, however, can't decide on the position of generals and other military positions. That is left up to the soldiers' vote.

Every city has an appointed governor, often chosen from the local population. These governors, or apekipas, are responsible for the governance of their city and the surrounding area. They, too, legally can't possess any more land than a house. The apekipas are also given a personal guard or two to protect them.

Then there are the generals, or the aokis. Every city has its own aoki. Aokis train their own soldiers, or sorpeses. This allows them to have highly specialised divisions capable of doing a few things really well. This has given rise to the idea of having a separate aoki for different situations becoming the norm.

## Araen Religion and Culture

### Moral values and principles

Sktaeria values freedom, and therefore very much opposes slavery and other such practises. Sktaeria will likely have problems with every nation that participates in slavery.

War is also very much opposed, though the Araen don't shy away if threatened. If they think they can win, they'll do anything in their power to do so.

Equality is very important in Sktaeria. This can be seen in things like education being available for anyone and everyone. There is also an upper limit on the wealth a single individual can own. Any excess money goes to the government and is redistributed. As one kaimsana once said (translated): "Money should be given to those who need it, not to those who already wipe their butt with it." She actually said that (alledgedly)

Family isn't a very big deal in Sktaeria. Usually, around 10 to 30 people live in a single house. Such a group of Araen is generally referred to as a "family".

### Traditions

In the beginning of spring [exact date will be added later once I finish custom calendar] the Araen celebrate new year, as new life blossoms around them.

A sign of respect is putting one arm in front of your stomach and another behind your back. This shows personal strength, while also being a respectful greeting.

The Araen don't have specific meal times. Rather, they just eat whenever they're hungry. This excludes formal dinners. It is customary for the Araen to eat exclusively with their hands, exlcluding spoons for soup. This is because forks and knives are considered weapons, and one doesn't just bring a weapon to a dinner, right?

Every Aras carries a badge. This badge contains a gemstone the same colour as the person's eyes. It is inscribed with the name of the person it belongs to, as well as their job. The badges essentially function as passports, though they also hold cultural value. When an Aras dies, the gemstone in the badge is thrown into a body of *fresh* water, to reunite the person with Sāmor.

### Religion

The Araen worship a goddess made of water they call Sāmor. According to myths, Sāmor supplied the mountains with water, forming the small creeks and rivers flowing from them. She also created lakes. According to the myths, the ocean was once a huge salt flat, but with the introduction of water it became the ocean. The Araen think salt is impure, and they will avoid eating it wherever possible.

The Araen believe the soul is made up of 8 parts wich are divided into sub-categories:

* **The Orpās Fastarrai, or 3 base emotions:**
* Saima, responsible for feelings of happiness and joy.
* Pona, responsible for feelings of sadness.
* Īra, responsible for feelings of anger and rage.
* **The Hwās Laitamai, or variable attributes:**
* Serrta decides a person's honesty.
* Terrtem decides how kind a person is.
* **The Hwās Laitasai, or determining attributes:**
* Yasha, conciousness.
* Haila, the mind.
* **Hwa Troia Mētāsan, or "the part a person needs":**
* Ēleō, the ability to feel love, compassion, empathy, and sympathy

### Art

The Araen like to read and write fiction stories of heroes and legends. They create novels as well as short stories.

Paintings often depict Sāmor making water, or they are portraits, or buildings, or landscapes. Landscapes are especially popular among the poorer citizens of Sktaeria.

### Architecture

The Araen build extravagant temples, with canals and waterways flowing through them. The great temple in Kaimet, the country's capital, contains an entire lake with a statue of their goddess in the middle.

Their cities are also more focused on vertical construction. The eight spider legs the Araen have allow them to travel vertically far more easily than humans. This has led to their cities being built for vertical movement. Cities are also often underground in caverns, since that allows for buildings to be easily built on the side of the cave.

## Araen Biology

### Appearance

The Araen are like humans in many ways. They have 2 arms, a torso, 2 genders, and 2 legs. But, they actually have 10 legs. 2 the same as humans, and also an additional 8 on their back. They also have mandibles sprouting from their jaw joints, going around their cheeks and joining in front of their mouth. The Araen can have any colour iris. Recorded eye colours range from navy blue, to crimson red, to pure white, to pitch black, to purple, to even neon pink. Nobody knows why this is or how this is possible.

### Life cycle

The Araen have an average life span of 30-35 years. At around the age of 20, their bodies become too heavy for their spider legs to carry. This has led to a society where teenagers mostly are the soldiers, scouts, and other such jobs, while adults do work around the house.

### Birth cycle

The Araen reproduce sexually like humans do, though after the initial fertilization it works quite differently.

After 6 months of pregnancy, an Aras gives birth to an "egg", a baby surrounded in a blob of a jelly-like substance. This jelly supplies the baby with food for the first 6 months of its life. After that, the jelly just starts to fall off, and the baby then requires breast feeding untill it can eat and drink by itself.

At birth, an Aras is covered in scales that protect it from harm and damage. These scales should fall off over the first few years of its life. If they don't, the skin around the leftover scales starts stretching and tearing painfully. New skin also builds up under the scales, wich then has nowhere to go, and starts to either tear off the scale painfully or push into the body, possibly damaging blood vessels. The longest any Aras has gone with a scale still on her body is untill the age of 16, according to records.

### The anomaly

Scientists have long speculated what kind of creature the Araen are. They aren't reptiles, since they aren't cold-blooded. But they also aren't mammals, since they have scales and lay "eggs". They also aren't amphibians, since their babies require breast feeding to survive. So, for now, they are classified separately from everything else.

## Other species of Sktaeria

When the portal to the new world opened, many creatures stepped through. They originate in different places, but come together to live in Sktaeria with other from their universe:

### Skaelir

The Skaelir are insectoid humanoids. They have dark blue scales, four legs, and two arms. They have no lips, and their language is widely considered unintelligible by other species. The Skaelir molt every half year, they enjoy sports, especially races, and they are excellent for hard or dangerous work. The Skaelir population of Sktaeria mostly speaks Skaelit.

### Hellians

Hellians are Humans that adapted to harsher living conditions. Their skin is rough, their eyes adjusted for seeing in the dark. They tend to be up during the night rather than during the day. Hellians have thicker eyebrows, but are otherwise covered in much less body hair than Humans. Hellians are, on average, stronger than humans too. They speak a language that is often misunderstood for random muttering: Krngzuga.

### Humans

Humans are descendants from a species of ape long extinct in Sktaeria. They make up a lot of the farmer population, and their persistence and adaptivity are renowed amongst all in Sktaeria. Humans primarily speak Dar'Talum, but also languages like Sektrician, Varzjnaki, and Theran.

### Earthmen

Earthmen are small humanoids. They have ash-grey skin, large foreheads and wide mouths. Adults reach a height of 1 meter on average. Their ower arms are an average of 60 cm long. They are often feared for their strange appearance. The Earthmen tend to work jobs in maintenance and repair, since they can fit in small crawling spaces. The Earthmen of Sktaeria speak Ermani.

### Herunds

Herunds are large strong humanoids. They tend to reach 2,10 meters on average, towering over both the Araen and Human people (also over the Earthmen, but that's not surprising). Herund culture values strength in every individual, with both boys and girls only reaching what they call "maturity" when they win their first official duel. Interestingly, Herunds have an underbite, where most other creatures have an overbite. Herunds in Sktaeria speak Kredzeda.

### Angels

Angels are Humans that adapted for living in different environments. Specifically, more polluted ones. Angels lack a sense of smell, instead using their nose as a filter for air. Their throat and airpipe are separated, making them unable to pronounce nasals. Amongst the Angel population of Sktaeria, the languages Angelic and Darlzjakken (Angel dialect) have been observed.