Cultures of Kaimere | Sci Fi/Fantasy Worldbuilding Culture Design
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 июл 2021
- One of the more common questions in my Q&A's on Instagram is related to the cultures of Kaimere and how I develop them. In this video, I offer a brief overview of each culture groups and the major nations, such as the Cha'Khati Empire, the Qajarith Republic, and the Pakardiant Tribal Confederacy. At the end I also discuss the basic process by which I go about designing speculative cultures, using similar steps and concepts as I do when designing speculative life forms and ecosystems.
Each of these cultures gets their moment in the spotlight in one of the short stories and novellas of my literary debut, Tales of Kaimere! You can order it through Barnes and Noble here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tale..., through Amazon (if you must), but the best way to do it is to support your local bookstore! Call them up and ask them to order ISBN: 9781087927442
Patreon: / illustratedmenagerie
Instagram: / illustrated_menagerie
Twitter: / talesofkaimere
DeviantArt: www.deviantart.com/illustrate...
All art (aside from the Egyptian art reconstruction), concepts, and cultures discussed are copyright of Keenan Taylor.
![Finesse2Tymes - Pretty Ricky [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xIoP_mhYRT0/mqdefault.jpg)
Slight amendment: at 0:38-0:56 it says full maturation is at 200 years of age for Kaimerans. Should say 150.
Being a Kaimeran of the Free States sounds like a vibe, you get to travel the entire Known World and not worry about time because you live for centuries.
They do live pretty good lives lol
Great job! as always. Question: If Kaimerean ceased trade thousand of years ago, how are they aware of Earth history?
Thanks! Great question, and one I should have definitely addressed in the video.
Although regular trade ceased, the Free States still opened the portal now and then (since it can be controlled via a device on the Kaimere side) to basically keep tabs on what was going on. After world war 1 the portal now is only opened once a year. Some think it should be closed permanently, given how fast human population has grown and the sheer devastation we have done to our planet in the span of a generation for them, others fear that ignorance could give us time to figure out how to open the portal on the Earth side, and they are super nervous about that. There are also beings in Earth influenced by Kaimeran 'magic (i.e. witches and demons) that work hard to keep their own world a secret and work with Kaimeran spies to keep them informed.
This is good enough to be a tv show or a animated series
Thank you!
This is amazing. I love the last part. I was thinking the whole time how well you avoided that pitfall, which makes each of these cultures infinitely more interesting than they could have otherwise been. Not just your execution, but even just the potential of what else can be added
I'm surprised the Kaimerans are short, looking 4'11" to 5' 2" compared to most humans but are muscular for their size. But they are really interesting given their different cultures and I notice you draw them with pointed ears, I'm guessing so they can be tell apart from humans especially since they have long lifespans being compared to elves in fantasy settings
Irl that’s a nod to their origins as elves in the first draft of Kaimere. In universe I say it’s because of a connection the trait has to a separate mutation. Pointed ears aren’t necessarily beneficial or not, but the immune system boost that happens to be linked is, so the trait is retained even though there isn’t a direct benefit and since it doesn’t cause any issues, it is kept in the population.
@@TalesofKaimere I figured the Kaimerans having pointed ears would be a good way to tell them apart from humans aside from their size and lifespans, but I can imagine that they would have different shape teeth so they won't be mistaken for humans that are short in stature.
5:00 yo how did Jason Mamoa get through the portal
Out of curiosity, would the massive insects from the Carboniferous be able to live and survive in kaimere or is the oxygen level more similar of the level today so they wouldn’t be able to maintain such large sizes?
As the oxygen levels are slightly higher than Earth today, insects and arthropods can attain larger size than average for our standards, but not on the titanic level of the Carboniferous icons.
Man, your work is awesome. A funny thing about it: I am spanish, and activate the substittle for understanding more and better - you know, a second lenguege always made a. Little hard the job of learning thing-, the thing is, tha auto substittle translate kaimere as "chimera" and that reciently understand the name. Of the world, hahaha. Greeeting from chile my dude
Great work on the cultures in this video.
Thanks!
Excellent work! Also a quick question: What would the population Kaimeran of the known world be?
In The Lost Hellfighter (novel I'm working on now) the Kaimeran population of the known world is established to be 34-38 million people (with the discrepancy accounting for estimated numbers of Khalin, outlander Serid, Dolani, and Pakardiant outside the Confederacy, none of whom have official censuses like the Republic, Confederacy, Empire, and Free States)
Very awesomely awesome and very interesting video, I definitely absolutely loved and enjoyed it. I totally got a ton of inspiration for the sci-fi world I’m creating for my book series, chronicles of the futymystic galaxy. That takes place in the far distant post post apocalyptic future during the year 8588 of the 86th century on the far distant alien planet of Archaeiya.
This is amazing, my friend. Though I have a question about the cultures of Kaimere; which people are considered the tallest/ largest within the Known World? Also, I might consider making a homebrew Dungeons & Dragons game solely based within your world (with your permission of course).
The southern Khalin are the largest, although Shu are probably the tallest. You are free to make some fun homebrew stuff! Someday I’m planning an RPG system for Kaimere but I’m totally down with folks making their own thing if they are so inspired
@@TalesofKaimere Thank you for the information. Keep up the great work on further development of Kaimere!!
Khalin guy's rocking that polearm and Kite shield.
Hell yeah! He's the main character in my 7th short story of the Tales of Kaimere anthology
This is excellent
Thank you!
Realy interesting video, well done :)
Thank you!
You know, It would be amazing to hear like a tale that is monster hunter like.
I have a character who specializes in hunting man-eaters and his stories have been a lot of fun to work on!
Are the Kaimerans aware of the fact that they are related to Humans? Or how nearly all life on Kaimere came are descended from earth species (with the exception of the indigenous Portals and Purple Algae)?
Yup! The degree of awareness varies by culture but most creation myths include some elements of coming from the stars. Little is known about Earth aside from those in the portal city but most know of humans as fast living disease ridden cousins
@@TalesofKaimere I can’t help but compare this piece of info to Horizon Zero Dawn.
Where tribal communities in the 31st century are mostly ignorant of their 21st century ancestors (or as they call them, the Old Ones) and the ruins of their cities, with one tribe, the Nora, demonising them
I'm curious as to who are the Maku? The Kaimerans are a sister taxa to the Anatomically Modern Humans of Earth, but are the Maku; or are they more akin the the 'ergaster-georgicus-erectus' (?) descended First Children? Did they come from different harvests and if they did what Earthen species did they derive from? And in general are there other Hominins beyond Humans, Kaimerans, Maku, and the First Children which currently or have previously called the planet home? Love all this world-building and these stories make me want to learn more about this setting, keep it up and can't wait for Hellfighter!
The Maku are one of many beings descended from H. erectus that came to Kaimere via a southeast Asian portal around 2 million years ago. There are dozens of species and subspecies descended from these beings throughout Kaimere. The Maku are just the only ones that most Kaimerans know about (the To Katon have met archaic humans on the polar continent and the Tsu Henjin have met the peoples of the Permian Island). These ancient hominids are generally near or at our level of intelligence, but cannot make our range of vocalizations. As their Earthly kin could, they are proficient seafarers, hence their wide range. They also reproduce and grow faster than H. sapiens, along with having long legs and astonishing endurance, making them better suited to enduring the dangers of Kaimere.
@@TalesofKaimere That's really cool, especially the idea that there are dozens of other lineages throughout Kaimere beyond the Known World. Cheers!
Children of the Forest is also the name of a non-human race in Game of Thrones.
Sounds cool !
Thanks! So much fun to work on
@@TalesofKaimere I see that ! I love looking at other people's paracosm
If I may ask, why do they reproduce so slow in a world full of large predators? Would they not have a faster rate of reproduction and in turn a shorter life span. The reson I bring this up is that groups that live in areas with low resources and high predator populations, like central Africa and southeast Asia, often undergo a form of dwarfism that leads to pigme peoples. Trading size for less demand for food, and long lifespans for higher rates of reproductive out put at a younger age. In the opposite end of the scale you have creatures like elephants that can afford to have long reproductive periods do to having no predator able to harm them as adults, and very few as adolescents.
I am not bashing your work, it is great and has definitely inspired my own. But this just strikes me as odd, you most likely have a good reason like with the rest of your world building. I am just curious as to what evolutionarily pressures would drive humanity to live for hundreds of years and reproduce so painfully slow in a environment where you would mostly expect a village to have a few dozen people a year die to predation by draks, mud bears, whale lizards, (and hippo attacks).
Ps. Forgot to ask that since the swine flu (I am guessing from earth but I am not sure) killed a fourth of this sister species, how hardy is their immune system? They must be exposed to all kinds of viruses and bacteria that we simply wouldn't naturally be exposed to in our evolution. Like a new highly infectious strain of salmonella from a parksosaur or a dreadfully form of anthrax carried by land cetaceans. Do they have high inherited immunity at birth from a form of crispr, or do they just have high infant mortality like late antiquity?
Good point.
Excellent questions! I won't get too much into the how since it's an important plot point of the novel series, but it is not a natural adaptation. Basically their life cycles were slowed to make their lives longer, granting them not immortality but something closer to it. The 'magic' that extended their life cycles does greatly improve their immune system and injury recovery, most notably they are born with a pretty hardy immune system which does make infant mortality low, but some diseases still hit them hard. Their caution with Earth is partly because they really can't afford to let any diseases through since it takes the better part of a century to reach reproductive age.
This pseudo-immortality is seen as a gift/blessing by some, but in the context of Kaimere, especially in places like Pakardia, it is a pretty rubbish adaptation. In safer places like Qajar, the Free-States, and some parts of the Empire, it means people live long, happy, and healthy lives, able to hone many crafts and talents. Artwork from these regions is breathtaking. Generally speaking their appliances are incredibly durable since they must be built to last. In these places it is definitely highly regarded. In places like Pakardia, their population is quite low because they struggle to keep up with mortality rates. Women do have many centuries of child bearing, and communities are all highly invested in care for their children, but this sort of extreme K-selection isn't ecologically ideal, and is a factor in why Kaimerans have such a limited range. When plague does strike, it defines a generation. Sickness is handled very carefully on Kaimere.
The reasons you give for the advantages of smaller size is why Kaimerans tend to be smaller than humans (in broad terms). Before their lifetimes were slowed, kaimerans had a life cycle consistent with what you mentioned, reaching early maturity. Killing of other kaimerans is universally taboo since their populations are so low, and executions are only done in extreme circumstances. Even without the diplomatic intervention of the Free-States, wars were infrequent and didn't have the high death tolls of post-industrial wars on Earth, assisted by Kaimerans high fortitude and accelerated healing (not supernatural regeneration levels just highly likely to shrug off infection and recover from physical trauma).
@@TalesofKaimere Ah, diseases. Of course.
Terry Newsome Simply put short, the immune systems you described and prolonged lifespans of Kaimerans aren’t a result of natural evolution and instead a result of the portals messing with their genetics.
Did the Kaimerans cause the Bronze Age Collapse or take the role as The Sea People in Earth's history?
A faction of kaimerans from the Free States worked with Hittite/Greek mercenaries as the notorious Sea Peoples. Most of the kaimerans during that time were merchants who didn't want any conflict, but a few got overzealous and greedy. The following collapse and number of kaimerans slaughtered by the Egyptians under Ramesses II, combined with the plagues they brought back to Kaimere from domesticated livestock, is ultimately why Kaimerans initially decided to restrict involvement in Earth affairs.
5:26
So they were the Sea Peoples of the Bronze Age Collapse?
Sure were! The 'Sea Peoples' were either kaimerans from the Free States or Greek/Hittite mercenaries working for/with them.
@@TalesofKaimere Ah man I love that. Did any of the Greek or Hittite mercs come back to Kaimere with them?
@@thelegate8636 If they did, they wouldn't have been allowed to leave the gate area. This was at the initial height of kaimeran fear about plagues from Earth, since a few centuries before, a particularly nasty strain of swine flu (which was blamed on Earth humans) killed almost a quarter of the people in the Free States. Considering it takes over a century to reach full adulthood, that sort of population loss is taken extremely seriously.
Is the Pakardiant claim that they were the first humans in Kaimere supported by the worldbuilding or just a callback to you developing Pakardia first?
While there is some truth to it, that's mostly just their folklore. The truth is that most kaimerans can trace a common ancestor to Pakardia, because there was a prehistoric mass emigration, and these voyagers did mix with other populations of kaimerans. Scholars think this emigration event is what spread the virus that slows their growth, a virus that they think may be somehow linked to the First Children, although there's a lot of conflicting opinions on the matter. As in our own history, the genealogy of kaimerans is messy, with admixture events being a regularity between not only archaic human populations, but also the various H. erectus descendants that lived in the known world prior to the rise and fall of the First Children civilization, where now 'kaimerans' are the only human subspecies of the known world.
There is also substantial admixture from the Free States merchants during the height of their trade empire, and aside from the Dolani and southernmost Khalin, most kaimerans also have a decent amount of qadanith blood because of this.
How does the portal work? If you answered it in a qna, just point me there, I'm new to this. The portal the Free Staters use doesn't sound like the portal organism which seeded life on Kaimere. Also, do you have any conlangs?
I realize I haven’t really broken it down yet. The Free-States portal is a device built around the hive that harvested Earth life for Kaimere. It was made by the First Children and controls when it opens and closes, and also allows the portal to go both ways (although is only controlled from the Kaimere side).
And I do have around a dozen conlangs, but none are developed enough to speak, with Pakardiant being an exception in that there’s enough for some basic conversations
@@TalesofKaimere So that means when they use the portal, everything on either side is offset by about 100 years?
@@parmaxolotl It used to be, but the device also dramatically accelerated the process. Don't have it exact but I'm imagining between a few hours and a few days for the data to get from Earth to Kaimere and vice versa
@@TalesofKaimere So the portal can bend spacetime itself?
Well with megraptors and giant cat roaming the wilderness i guess war not popular activity
Between the dangers of Kaimere and their long lives meaning it takes a century to raise soldiers, war is not done lightly.
So with their connection to magic and their expanded lifespans, these people are basically elves? Also, are their any other fantasy races like giants or merfolk?
They are indeed quite analogous to elves. In my series on magic in Kaimere I mention merfolk and giants as some of the Homunculi created by the First Children (basically a race of tiny magitech users)
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
So when are you going to do the megaraptorans
After the cetaceans. I need to do some more art before I can make the megaraptoran video. Probably in September.
@@TalesofKaimere ok it’s just I like the kurujaku because it looks like a spinosaurus ( my favourite) and are you gonna add any true spinosaurids to kaimere ( sorry if this is too much )
@@seanessdragon4142 Not too much at all! I like the kurajaku a lot. One of my favorites. I may have some relict spinosaurs on the Eastern continent but nothing canon yet.
@@TalesofKaimere oooohhhh ok I just wanted to know if there is spinosaurs In kaimere
So how much do the people of Kaimere know about earth ? When did contact between them and earthlings stopped ?
Great question! So at this point, most kaimerans don't know much about Earth. It is translated as 'the plague lands' in the common tongue of the Free States, because the plagues that the Free States merchants brought with livestock were blamed on Earth and it is assumed that we are all heavily diseased. That our lives are so much shorter is also a source of differentiation.
Regular contact was stopped when, after a particularly brutal battle against the ancient Egyptians near the end of the Bronze Age, hundreds of kaimerans were killed. This, combined with the plagues brought from Earth, meant that the oligarchs of the Free States decided that their main trade routes would cease. There was some black market trade for a while, since it was quite lucrative and padded the pockets of oligarchs and enforcers who looked the other way, but it mostly ended then.
At this point, the Free States keep a close watch on Earth, especially after the first world war. I need to do a bit more digging into the plausibility of this, but I might have them utilize the internet and computers in their contemporary espionage. As it is the city built around the portal, Kabarahar has a lot of modern tech to enhance their monitoring of Earth, and weapons to keep invaders in check.
@@TalesofKaimere Wow that's amazing. Thanks
@@TalesofKaimere If they have modern technology akin to our 21st century in that city. Why hasn’t it spread to the other states around the known world? Surely the advantages of gunpowder, modern ship building, advancements in metal working, electricity, and better medicines would be adapted and used if they’re keeping tabs on earth by a year basis?
@@theluftwaffle1 Combination of access to resources and limited trade access. The gatekeepers of the portal city have access to some of the tech, but it's not being shipped in on an industrial scale. All of it in the portal city are imported, not manufactured in Kaimere. They also don't want a lot of the technology to be brought to Kaimere on a wide scale, having seen the devastating consequences of global industrialization. Also they are generally wary of too much trade because of the plagues that have been brought from Earth. Medicine is a slight exception, and the Republic and Empire in particular import vaccines and antibiotics from the portal city.
We need a video for the first children
Agreed!
@@TalesofKaimere BTW I'm North African (specifically Amazigh), when you mentioned North African I went "WHAT!". Until you mentioned 300k to 400kya then I went "oh...". I was kinda expecting Humans and their Cultures to be descended from known and extinct groups (like Basal Eurasians, Jomons, Khoisan, Ainu, etc). But its really unique you made them descend from Para-Humans. I've been watching your videos non stop for hours, and I have subscribed. I can't wait for more content!
@@rohacha9iin40 Thank you so much! I have moved the date up a bit (now is 250k years ago) but it was still intentional to be so far back that the cultures are all entirely independent. However, I do look at cultures in similar environments for elements of inspiration!
@@TalesofKaimere I see! But it still would be interesting if some other genus of Homo were transported like Neanderthals, Denisovans and/or the archaic ghost populations (found in our genomes, but not in the fossil record).
But also other cultures/ethnicities of Humans who managed to sneak in to the other side during the Bronze age before its closure like the Libu, Sherden, Shasu, Egyptians, etc.
Edit/Fun fact: Did you know that the Sea peoples allied with the Libu to invade Egypt? The Libu were Amazigh who were in frequent in raiding the Western Egyptian delta. The annals also mentioned they had a great friendship with the Sea peoples, even intermarrying to solidify the alliance. It means some must have went to Kaimere! (I believe so..)
Does kaimere have any species related to humans in the known world?
Not in the known world (although traces of other archaic humans can be found in the Kaimeran populations) but the Eastern, northern, and southern continents and Permian islands all have populations of descendants of H. erectus
5:24 how
interesting, if you want I can help with designs for Dragons, or any creature or clan not made to help with Mythology if you like!
Wait, were the sea peoples that attacked ancient Egypt potentially kaimeran??
It’s possible!
700 year long lives, cool
2:39 not too far off because they are from the stars
How do Kaimerans and Terrans trade with each other, but Terrans are unaware of the true nature of Kaimeran countries? Furthermore, how do Kaimerans and Terrans even have regular trade with each other in the first place?
Also, aren't there any parties or groups on Kaimere who somehow notice the advanced technology of Terrans and thus seek similar advancements in Kaimeran technology? Perhaps there would be conflicts among the Kaimerans similar to conflicts that occurred in China and Japan after being introduced to Western technology, with traditionalists versus progressives?
Trade with Earth cultures was exclusively Kaimerans from what are now the Free States bringing goods to the Mediterranean and Central America, getting goods in return, and going back to Kaimere. After this trade brought many diseases into Kaimere, they cut off trade. Although there were some efforts to keep themselves a secret, mostly the effort was put in by witches and skin changers wanting to keep themselves a secret especially at the height of Roman influence through until during the colonial era and industrial revolution, when rising concerns of Terran invasion lead to a lot of effort by Kaimerans to remain a secret.
The kaimerans in the portal city use a lot of modern technology to surveil Earth. At the moment traditionalists/conservatives hold power in the portal city, and do not want earth tech in Kaimere in large part because they have witnessed a lot of the long term consequences of our technology and they aren't as short sighted as us. There are some who see sustainable efforts now and are considering incorporating those, but for the most part Kaimeran civilizations are doing quite well as they are and those who know what tech we have see it as a net negative, preferring to keep things the way they are. Their medicine and knowledge/experience of their physicians are generally superior to ours and living so long, that's most of their concern.
There are some who want to 'go public', adapt modern tech, and trade again, but these aren't people in positions of power in the portal city.
I have seven races, including humans, in my own fantasy world. They're extremely adept in magic and are highly connected to nature. They have no empires or kingdoms, living in harmony with the plants and animals in just 500 settlements, positively mild considering how many towns and cities exist on Earth. These races, called the Intellects, evolved from different animals and, like Kaimerans, can live lives lasting centuries. They are Humans, Avions, Sapiraptors, Cave Stalkers, Dracons, Mysties, and Tengu.
So no space travel?
Correct, at least for Kaimerans. The First Children had forms of space travel, at the very least were capable of controlling portals to other planets.
Who in the heck are the first kids tho? Also lol, they're all against war yet holding weapons in the drawings 😉
Well, they like to avoid war, but still pack. Just because they don’t want to fight doesn’t mean they can’t, and with all the dangers of the world, a wise traveler is an armed traveler
Are there populations of Earth Humans living on Kaimere?
Yes but uh not in a good way. They are pretty much all descended from enslaved people taken during the Bronze Age and most are still in servitude.
@@TalesofKaimere Can they interbreed with Kaimere humans?
@@suggiethames9870 Kaimerans and Earth humans are close relatives, but mixed kids are super rare. For reasons unknown, a human mother and kaimeran father are very rarely able to reproduce (although it has happened), while human fathers and kaimeran mothers can have kids a lot more readily. However, the discrepancy in pregnancy length (9 months vs 3 years) means that of the few pregnancies that do occur, most are miscarried as the fetus needs a more medium development than either mother's body is inclined to give.
Damn! Leonardo DiCaprio could have the same girlfriend for 120 years!
(Or 70 years, going by the pinned correction)
If they spoke English what would their accents sound like?
Distinct from any Earth accent. Pakardiant would probably sound kinda slavic as they speak more in the back of the throat, I expect the sharp consonants of Qadanith peoples might sound somewhat Spanish maybe? Shu speak in the front of the mouth, so might sound close to Arabic or Irish. Again not directly using those accents, but could give you a basic idea.
@@TalesofKaimere thanks
Rip to Kaimeran mothers with 3 year long pregnancies
Yeah it ain't easy that's for sure