Half Star Bay

Work in Progress

The author of this work has not yet completed it and is still working on it. Please be patient and wait for the next update.

Half Star Bay is a historical fantasy universe created by Starshine(alias Morningstar), who works on this when he’s not in the mood for science fiction. Also, he really needs to create a more light-hearted fiction world where not everyone dies in the end. Noted.

This article is about the Half Star Bay universe. A list of completed works under this universe will be compiled when there are any.

*Note: The information wiki page is considered out of universe, since much of it is based on external knowledge.*

Collaboration is welcome ;) please message me… somehow

## World Setting

The universe of Half Star Bay consists of a star system which contains a star usually known as the Sun, a planet called simply the Planet(subject to change), and another planet, the Companion Planet or Companion. Every five hundred and seventy-two years the two planets in their very similar orbits coincide and they meet together. Massive tidal effects take place and their shared moon is passed along to the other planet, and earthquakes and other catastrophes rip through much of the land. There is only life on the Planet, and Companion is lifeless as far as humans know.

The Planet rotates around a significantly tilted axis, which for reasons yet incomprehensible, always faces towards the Sun. Therefore, temperatures across the Continent always increase from north to south. The same pattern goes for the Far Ocean, up to a line about two-thirds the way to the south pole, known as the Heat Line. Temperatures can reach a sweltering 40 degrees Celsius(placeholder until temperature system is devised) along this line before lowering as more southerly latitudes are reached. Meanwhile, the appearance of seasons are caused by the orbit of the Planet and Companion being noticeably elliptical. When the Planet is furthest from the star, that’s a winter; when it’s closest, it’s a summer. Spring and Autumn appear accordingly. Tides are primarily caused by Companion in moonless eras, and they are the least apparent when Companion is on the other side of the star, and most apparent near the coming of a new Era. Summers also have more variable tides, evidenced in the proverb *Summers have high tides*. In eras with the Moon, it is the greatest factor of tides until Companion gets close.

The surface of the Planet is comprised of a vast ocean known as the Far Waters, extending beyond any horizon, and a single great landmass, the Continent. To the Continent’s westerly side Half Star Bay is the sole safe haven for ships that venture along the shore when storms arrive from the horizon, despite the treacherous Sword Shoals guarding its inlet. The Ancient Lighthouse on Lighthouse Island is the only way ships can safely navigate the Shoals, but the lighthouse itself can only be accessed every time the orbits of the planets coincide, when the tide subsides and the passage to Lighthouse Island is dry at low tide. Hence, each of these periods between when the Lighthouse Island can be accessed again is known as a *Lighthouse Era*, or sea cycle, abbreviated as L, and often shortened to simply Era, and it is also known to some as the Passing of the Moon. The first human kingdom, the Kingdom of Enerven, is recorded to have been founded in 1L 480, and its Lighthouse Era is known as the first in the Era of Humanity.

The Sixteenth Lighthouse Era is moonless.

### Prophesies of the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse’s isolation saved it from the Era of Chaos, and the many wars between the peoples of the Continent. The ancient Lighthouse would be repainted every sea cycle, and the men of the Continent would know the year and era by the colour and pattern of the Lighthouse at the tip of the Bay. And so the history of inhabitance grew longer and longer, and the layers of paint grew thicker and thicker. Each colour is said to represent a prophecy, many colours, many prophecies. In the end it will never be known whether the prophecies decided the fates of the men of the Continent, or the men of the Continent followed the path that the prophecies foretold. Perhaps, it is both.

## Geography

The Continent is very large, such that it would take “over half a year’s walk”(*Atlas of the Continent*) to go from the shores of Half Star Bay to Cape Point on the other side of it. However, it is hardly as simple as just walking in a given direction. The Continent’s interior is covered by lush forests and jungles, while mountain ranges crisscross the land. The only relatively flat ground suitable for city-building and agriculture is in the Kingdom Heartlands within Half Star Bay, and the coastline with its shallow plains that extend several miles inland. After the devastation of the Era of Chaos, the Kingdom Heartlands lost their status as the sole centre of the world both economically and politically, and the various city-states on the coast of the Continent became prosperous in their own right. The further inland, the less hospitable the land is, and the opening of an on-land trade route requires decades of planning, extensive surveying and a virtually infinite pool of funds, which serves to explain the utter lack of such trade routes.

## History

### Creation Legend

It is said that a group of powerful deities created the universe as we know it. However, the details given are incredibly scant, and the sway the deities still hold over us mainly exists in the form of euphemisms.

### Known Reality

Many, many years ago, a civilisation burgeoned on the countless isles of this planet. Known as the Ancients, through many thousands, perhaps millions of years of prosperity they constructed many landmarks, such as the Ancient Lighthouse, and also allowed the continent to rise from the dark waters below, the former islands becoming the tips of its mountains. Hence, many of the major relics of the Ancients are found on the highest snow-capped peaks, some still inaccessible to man.

Eventually after countless years, in which their civilisation flourished, a mysterious event compelled them to leave the planet in their magnificent Island Ships, which “rose high above the land”, for good. Eons passed, and one of the species of the land, which we now know as humans, rose from ignorance and instinct, to build a civilisation in their own right. Among other things, speech and writing were invented, and the roots of civilisation began to germinate upon the land.

Known human history begins with the Kingdom of Enerven’s founding, and extends to the modern Sixteenth Lighthouse Era.

The period between the founding of the Kingdom of Enerven and the collapse of its successor, the Eternal Kingdom is usually referred to as the Golden Age. During this period, trade and commerce flourished, the Kingdom Heartlands were fully developed, and the Five Wonders of the Golden Age were constructed. These included the Shining City of Enerven, the capital of the kingdoms with its great spires of steel coated with bronze, the Great Library, which represented the sum of human knowledge, the High Mountain Observatory, credited with the publication of the first accurate solar calendar and the mapping of the distant suns, the Monument to Prosperity, towering two hundred and sixty yards over the surrounding landscape, and the Follower of Companion, a mechanical marvel which automatically gave the direction towards Companion.

There was a protracted period of stagnation and chaos, known as the Era of Chaos, which extended from the early years of the Fourth Lighthouse Era all the way to the Eleventh Era, when order and peace was finally restored. Devastation was widespread, countless wars erupted, and during this period the Kingdom Heartland were embroiled in conflict and rife with disaster. Of some periods during this time there are no historical records left. Much of the best of Golden Age civilisation was destroyed in the process, including but not limited to three of the Five Wonders: the Shining City of Enerven, the Great Library, and the Follower of Companion. The Monument to Prosperity was partially ruined in the Wars of the Monument in the Seventh Era, but survived further damage and survived to see the Eleventh Era; The High Mountain Observatory was abandoned for over one thousand years before a secluded group of astronomers rediscovered it and dedicated themselves to restoring it to its former glory in the Eighth Era, and they have not stopped gazing at the stars since.

By the Eleventh Lighthouse Era and the Declaration of Peace and End of Chaos, the Kingdom Heartlands inland of Half Star Bay had practically become a wasteland due to the constant wars and the sheer devastation. As a consequence, the coastal settlements to which many thousands had fled to during the Era of Chaos acquired increasing importance, and due to the relative weakness of the Kingdom of Aranea, which unified the Kingdom Heartlands, they were able to maintain a high degree of autonomy in return for offering titular loyalty and paying a negligible tribute to the Kingdom. These became collectively known as the City-States, and they formed a loose league which centred on nautical trade. Each city-state was governed by a Committee of Navigators, who were usually the leading merchants, mariners, and craftsmen of said city-state.

This relationship was fundamentally unstable though, and in the Sixteenth Era, the fires of war enveloped the Continent once more. But that’s a story for another time.

The Kingdom of Aranea was destroyed by a destructive uprising in its capital in 12L 59, an event which is known as the First Sack of Aranea.

## Economy

The primary cereal of the Continent is husk-wheat, also sometimes known as wheat. It can be brewed into husk-beer, and is widely grown, especially in the Kingdom Heartlands.

Nautical trade is prevalent on the coast, spearheaded by the City-States, while on-land trade is mostly limited to within the Kingdom Heartlands.

## Technology

The technology of the Half Star Bay Universe is quite varied. There is a notable lacking in certain fields, which is made up for by irregular advancements in others.

Metallurgy suffered a great regression during the Era of Chaos which the world never quite recovered from, and the Spires of Enerven became a forlorn legend.

Early gunpowder weapons began to be used in the Third Lighthouse Era, such as the cast-iron cannons which felled the Spires, but their practical use came after the Era of Chaos. Due to their somewhat haphazard nature, they are considered unrefined by many. Naval artillery is a favoured weapon of sailing ships, which tend to mount them belowdecks on the broadsides. Muskets exist, but appear infrequently due to their poor reliability. However, they can be used to great effect by certain characters.

Many complex machines have been devised, such as the Follower of Companion. This is considered one of the traditions of human civilisation, and the art of designing and constructing intricate contraptions survived the Era of Chaos remarkably well. So well, in fact, that a replica of the Follower of Companion was commissioned for the Declaration of Peace and End of Chaos, and it survived for several hundred years, before being destroyed in the First Sack of Aranea.

## Culture

The culture of the world varies greatly throughout the eras and the areas(no pun intended).

In terms of aesthetics in architecture, the buildings of the Ancients(what’s left of them) tend to be dull and blank, and less vibrant themes are used. However, they exhibit an unusual obsession for geometrical beauty and symmetry. The Island Ships seem to be a notable exception, though all evidence of them comes from the single ship that flew over the Continent in 16L 88(*In Search of Other Skies*). Despite being artificial, they have a certain natural haphazardness to their construction, and are best described as floating islands. They are also coloured a brilliant white or blue, in stark contrast with the obelisks which were left behind, the Lighthouse’s original state, and the few ruins remaining of their cities on the highest peaks of the Continent. Thus, some archeologists believe that there was a split between the Ancients, and some left the planet in their Island Ships, while the others, who remained, died out eventually.

The Golden Age is characterised by simple yet elegant curves on their structures, with a glamorous golden or silver touch. This is most likely where the name of Shining City of Enerven originated. The legend that the cities of the Golden Age were built of gold was dispelled by the finding of Spire Twenty-One, a toppled Spire found after having been buried in the ground beneath Enerven for over ten Eras, five thousand years.

The Era of Chaos is best represented by… well, chaos. There was no fixed pattern, as one might expect, and while there were some isolated works later considered to be masterpieces, such as the Grave of Vesollyn, above all it was a period of experimentation, with some building styles creative and visionary, others… questionable at best. Regardless of their quality, these works of art which have survived typically only existed within the major nation-states with enough strength to maintain a regional peace for a reasonable period.

##### References:

The Shining City alludes to modern cities, while the layout cities of the Kingdom Heartlands during the Resurrection Period are based off Chinese and in general East Asian metropolises of the ancient era. However, since Half Star Bay’s setting is western, apart from the walls and street layouts, the buildings are in typical early modern European style. The city-states are modelled after seventeenth and eighteenth century major ports, such as Amsterdam, and some also have canals(like Amsterdam, even though I envisioned them to be like Venice).

## Notable Flora

#### Aolx

Aolx are a rare type of herbaceous plant found in the jungles of the Redoubt Peninsula. They have large, fleshy leaves and a large, fleshy flower, which grows from the stalk, same as the leaves. Their flowers have a single petal which is almost the exact shape, size and colour of the regular leaves, and Aolx only have one flower at any given time, and when the flower bears a fruit, a new flower emerges at some other location.

Their petals are noted to be a delicacy to both humans and animals. However, visually the petal of the flower is identical to the leaves, with a minor difference being that the leaves are not only sharp-edged, but also poisonous to most known living life. Ironically, this makes Aolxes even more prized, as a wide variety of poisons and medicines can be synthesised from their leaves’ toxins. Their fruit is also poisonous. While their hermaphrodite flowers have yellow stamen and pistils, these are small and stick to the flower’s petal, and are compensated for on the leaves by a very similar yellow patch.

They cannot grow anywhere other than on the Redoubt Peninsula, and all attempts to domesticate them have failed.

## Notable Fauna

#### Isokrakon

A *very* large predatory bird with high intelligence. One of Half Star Bay’s apex predators, primarily found amid the mountains far inland. Some populations are rumoured to be sentient.

King Enerven the Great had an isokrakon, Javonern, as his companion during his travels, and it is featured on the Enervan coat of arms.

Isokrakon tend to have wingspans upwards of fifteen feet, and some even have twenty-five-foot wingspans. A feather of a random colour grows from the back of their heads with every passing winter, until a plume of feathers is formed. These plumes are highly prized, though entire villages have been wiped out by isokrakon for hunting them. They can spot prey from over two miles away. Isokrakon each have a unique ‘cardinal colour’, which is the colour of their plumage. At hatching, their feathers are entirely of this cardinal colour, but through time the coloured feathers are shed and become white ones. When all of their feathers become white, isokrakon die.

They tend to lead solitary lives, though some also form communities. Isokrakon are famously frugal, only taking on prey that are sufficient for their needs, and always completely devour their prey, not letting anything go to waste. They are passive and sometimes even docile towards humans, though they will retaliate in an *aggressive* way if provoked. When a member of their species dies, all isokrakon in the area fly towards its final resting place, and enact vengeance on anything which disturbs it.

They are self-fertilising, which is highly curious.

A number of phrases have been derived from isokrakon: to have the eye of an isokrakon, meaning to have excellent vision, and to be born of an isokrakon, meaning to be adopted, due to their strange method of reproduction.

There have been sightings of isokrakons with human riders…

will probably write animal fantasy of isokrakons, because all of them are actually sentient…

## Stories

###### Canon:

In Search of Other Skies(wip, by Starshine)

Heroes of War(wip, by Starshine)

###### Non-canon:

A Quest for Companionship(wip, by Starshine)

## Timeline

### Era of the Deities

*Creation of the Stellar World*

*Creation of the Continent and Far Waters*

### Era of the Ancients

-Roughly chronological-

*Departure of the Ancients in Island Ships*

### Era of Humanity

**First Lighthouse Era - Black**

**Second Lighthouse Era - White**

**Third Lighthouse Era -** **Yellow**

**Era of Chaos**

**Eleventh Lighthouse Era - Aquamarine**

**Twelfth Lighthouse Era -**

**Thirteenth Lighthouse Era -**

wip

**Fourteenth Lighthouse Era -**

wip

**Fifteenth Lighthouse Era -**

wip

**Sixteenth Lighthouse Era - Light Blue, Extant**

## Storytelling

The Sixteenth Lighthouse Era is considered “contemporary” for storytelling purposes, and any story or text from a long time ago should have a plausible method of being passed down, whether through oral legend(an inclination towards informal speech in the text is appreciated) or an ancient text(here the usage of terms and writing style does not need to be archaic, as a translation is assumed to have occurred). If you are contributing to this universe, please use an original manuscript name to distinguish between your works and those of others. Also, please inform me :D