Ellynia

!! IMPORTANT !! This is about a location that is not common knowledge. Do not assume that your character knows anything from this page.

Ellynia is the third planet from Shyllaria and occasionally considered to be the sister planet of Lorynthia.

## Ellynian Magic

While the magic of dreamscapes is inherent in most Ellynians, it has long been common practice for those with weaker capabilities to enhance themselves with spores native to their home world. These spores, unsurprisingly, allow individuals from other planets to acquire these dream magics as well.

Individuals with access to dream magic are able to explore the dream realm and have full control of themselves when doing so. They may interact with any sleeping, sentient creature while here, as long as they know where they are going. The DC for survival checks to find direction here is doubled unless the character has the correct training (given to most Draenar as adolescents).

Dying in the dream does not mean dying in real life, but some peculiar effects may occur…

## Magic-Using Species of Ellynia

Xerans are varied in appearance, having hooves, antlers, horns, spines, tails, and more. They may use
either the Aasimar or the Tiefling stat blocks.

Minar are tiny and therefore frequently go unnoticed. They resemble halflings or half-elves with mouse-like noses and tails, and can use the stat blocks of halflings, half-elves, elves, gnomes, or humans, with the modification that they must be fine or diminutive.

Maeren appear to be made of black sinew and can be disturbing to some members of other species.  They cannot truly die, re-forming themselves partway through the putrefaction process (though this has significant effects on their personalities). They tend to tower over most Xeran. They cannot be played by players because of their near-immortality. Maeren use a stat block that will be determined at a later date, and fit into the large size category.

### Factions

The best-known Ellynian faction are the Draenar, who represent Ellynia (Draena to the other planets' denizens) in interplanetary matters.

### Technology

While modern technology is much the same across the system, there are some historical aspects of Ellynian technology, specifically Maeren technology, that are of particular interest.

The Maeren Scythe was, as Lorynthian scythes, designed as a tool for harvesting crops. It was designed with a larger area in mind and allows the wielder to pull inward to cut down vines and the like. The blade has a minimal surface area to compensate for the weight that this adds.

The Maeren pole arm was designed to be able to hook, slice, or stab from a distance and allow for weaker attacks on back-swings. Sunderers used to generally aim for where the pole meets the head due to a weakness caused by the desire to reduce the weapon's weight. Another, heavier version was later designed with a more stable base for military use.

#### Mathematical Notation

Maeren mathematics was the first mathematical system which used base four. This paved the way for modern computing, which uses complex quantum states to have four possible results for any given bit.

While the notation itself has fallen out of use -- largely due to its reliance on handwriting -- the base four system had significant historical impact and is therefore still taught to some historians to this day. One through three are represented by a quarter-stroke, half-stroke, and full-stroke, respectively, all beginning at the top being drawn downward. Zero is represented by a dot at the bottom of the digit's location. Many historians believe this system was developed by depicting a Maeren hand, given that the full, half, and quarter-strokes correspond to the sections of each of their fingers. Numbers were traditionally read from right to left, but later in history switch to being read left to right to match other writing systems found on Ellynia. Typically, new numbers are designated by beginning a new line.

The Maeren tally mark system is still in common use across Ellynia, grouping in sets of 3 and larger sets of nine. The first mark is written on the right, one through three are written for the first set of three, and then two more sets of three are written before starting a new line.

## Other Ellynian Species

Ellynia is home to a wide range of non-magical species as well.

### Shimmershroom

While the shimmershroom appears at first glance to be a vine covered in mushrooms, this "vine" is actually part of the fungus. The caps are coated in a potent neurotoxin which quickly makes its way through the skin upon physical contact but is easily stopped by clothing. Many Ellynian species, most notably the Xeran, are naturally immune.  It is named for its flourescent glow; the Lorynthian glowshroom shares a common ancestor with this fungus.

### Shrillshroom

    The shrillshroom, named for the shrieking sounds it makes if ruptured, is capable of consuming the shimmershroom's poison and spores, allowing Maeren who use it frequently to develop immunity to the more hostile fungus. It starts growing on the surface of the water, climbing up trees toward the canopy. They seldom get past the lowest branches of the larger trees, but if left undisturbed for a century or so, they can overtake one entirely.

### Asylai

The asylai is a massive, man-eating plant, generally considered to be Rank V. What appears to be a stem at the center is actually a prehensile limb used to grab prey. The limb, colloquially referred to as a "tongue" (though it seems to provide no sense of taste), retracts into the stomach once prey is secured. The plant is large enough that several Xeran could walk on one of its petals, and strong enough that it would not be damaged in the process. Minar are small enough so as not to trigger its reflexes. This gives them a symbiotic relationship with the plant; they build their villages here for safety and the plant in return is given food whenever something chases them down.

### Bobbun

Bobbuns are cat-sized canines with rabbit-like
tails and ears and a singular horn on their foreheads. They are commonly kept as pets and are excellent at catching or scaring off pests.

### Portarra

The portarra is a reptilian creature which resembles a pig with a lizard's tail. They do have external ears, but they are
quite small and weak. They are also blind, lacking eyes completely -- instead, they rely on a combination of their powerful scent, heat-sensing through their snake-like tongues, and sensing vibrations traveling through the ground. Domestic subspecies do not develop tusks, but most breeds of wild portarra do.