PQ - General Knowledge of the Ribcage (Needs Update)

Island-Turtles:

Each "Island" of the Ribcage is actually a gigantic sea turtle, with all habitable land being on the top of its shell, the only part of the turtle which usually breaks the surface of the water. The habitable land of each island is often coated with a diverse variety of plant and animal species due to the turtles' migratory nature. The turtles swim in a circular pattern within the Ribcage, with each rotation taking about one year to complete. They are organized in a series of concentric rings, with each ring running counter to the adjacent ones. The outer ring is known as the First Ring, and the number increases the closer each ring is to the center. Nobody knows how many Rings there are for sure, but it is generally believed that there are nine. The movement of the turtles is usually slow enough that the inhabitants of each island have become accustomed and don't notice it.

Most turtles' shells are so massive that they can carry entire ecosystems and are deep enough to contain rivers and lakes. The "ground" (ie, the sediment and sand that collects on their shells) is often many miles deep, and the turtles don't seem to notice anything that happens on the ground itself. However, the cultures and religions that flourish on each island generally frown on excess environmental damage and development out of respect for being able to live on the turtle's back.

Although most islands are separate, sometimes island-turtles will come into contact with one another for various reasons. Because the interactions of the turtles are deep underwater, the islands on their backs don't crash into one another, but are close enough for inhabitants to swim across and visit the other island. Such events are called island meetups, and occur at least once per year for the average island.

Nobody is sure where these Island-Turtles come from or how they reproduce, and they are believed to live for thousands of years.

Though there are countless islands in the Ribcage, some noteworthy islands include the following:

-Semetyer Island - An island inhabited by skeletons and ghosts who use Aura to make themselves tangible and experience physical delights such as food and drink.
-Kaco Island - The war-wracked island of the beeponies, ruled by the three crime-lord Families, who drove out the Bee Queens.
-Horshu Island - An island where near fanatical worship of the moon has led to the development of a powerful branch of water-based magic, and where the population has domesticated many creatures of the sea.
-Nichee Archipelago - A group of relatively small islands where the Vola people, a race of sapient birds, hail from. Their most powerful shamans can control the weather to great degrees, and are called upon by other islands to soothe storms, hurricanes and other disasters.
-Agyl Island - An artificial island, home to the Krikral races, who are large insects and arachnids.
-The Isle of Fog - A mysterious island abounding with many species of monsters, appearing and disappearing without trace on a monthly basis.
-The Frying Pan - An island dominated by a large shield volcano that periodically spew lava from its throat. The locals use a combination of magic and Aura to shape the volcano's crater in advance, so as to direct the lava flow into whatever area they desire for expansion. The island turtle upon which this island rests is of a different subspecies, and thus is unharmed by the flow of its lava, which its body naturally produces.



The Haku:

The Haku are the official leaders of each island. Haku is not used as an honorific, but a general title, and is more often used for referring to the Haku as a whole. The Haku have the freedom to determine how their island is governed, so there is a wide variety of political systems within the Ribcage, ranging from oligarchies and monarchies to direct democracy, with all manner of variants between. Also, an island does not necessarily have a single Haku; many people may share the title for a given island if it is appropriate for their system of government. The Haku meet twice per year, during each solstice, to discuss relations between the islands, and the significant things that have happened since the last meeting.



Languages:

Most islands have their own language, but these languages often have much overlap because of the large amount of inter-island travel and trade. Also, Equish has come into vogue as a common language for trade and inter-island politics for a few hundred years, having been introduced by foreign pirates.



Flora and Fauna:

Noteworthy flora and fauna are described in further detail in this paste: https://pastebin.com/h1urQKPw

Many islands have overlap in the types of plants and animal they have, as a result of various factors which include island meetups, trade, the flight patterns of birds, and the species being brought from island to island by pirates and trading ships.

Something currently unknown about the island turtles causes the hbitable land on their backs to speed up the adaptation process of the plants and animals that live on them. Evolutionary processes that take millions of years outside of the Ribcage may only take a few thousand or even a few hundred years inside of it. In the most extreme cases, new species have developed from old ones within only a few generations. This phenomenon is regarded with much amazement and is the source of many superstitions.

In general, the species of the Ribcage are more durable and adaptable than outside species, making them coveted by many, which has inspired countless attempted expeditions to the inside. Islands that are deeper inside the Ribcage, closer to the center, are believed to contain plants and animals with miraculous properties, bestow great power to those who find them, or be worth more money than one could ever spend. They are the subject of legend, myth and fantasy, and have led not a few explorers to their deaths in their searches.



Piracy:

Piracy is a commonly accepted fact of life in the Ribcage. Many islands will establish deals with capable pirate crews in order to keep them from raiding that island. Some Haku may even employ pirates to attack rival islands or disrupt their trading and expedition routes. A slave trade is alive and well in the Ribcage, so most pirate crews will seek to capture, rather than kill, those they attack. Most pirates abide by strict codes of conduct - never deny an earnest offer to negotiate, never attack an enemy who has dropped his weapon and fled, never kill females or children, never destroy an enemy's food or water, never harm those who can't defend themselves.

Other crews will break these codes to gain an advantage in battle, but to do so is to poison one's reputation as a pirate, and many pirates, being very superstitious, believe that breaking these codes brings ancient curses of the sea upon one's ship. On that note, every crew has its own idiosyncratic good luck rituals, such as playing a song every time they set out from an island, playing games in certain spots of the ship, pouring offerings of food and drink to the ship, and so on. Following these practices sets pirates' minds at ease, and indeed, they seem to work for many crews who abide by them faithfully.



Religions and Spiritualities:

As with the flora and fauna, the religions, folklores and spirirtual and occultic practices of the islands have much overlap, most notably with the islands nearest to themselves. There are idiosyncracies in practice and belief according to each island, but they are more similar than different - for example, a god may be known by one name and title on one island, and several others on other islands, but they are still fundamentally the same being. For this reason, these spiritualities can be grouped into four general traditions based on theme and cosmology:

Lassa: These belief systems conceive of the world as being as spiritual and magical as it is material. They see the afterlife not as being in a separate plane or heavenly realm, but a more literal "life" in that each part of their being, from their soul to their body to their mind, will become part of another entity in the world after they die. Their current consciousness may dissolve, but they believe they will experience the world in a new form. They believe their gods reside in the ocean, the great giver of life, and to this end, they carefully protect the ocean from pollution and exploitation across the Ribcage.
Associated Gods:
-Chilotop (Pronounced Key-lo-top): Patron god of fishers, warriors of the sea, and of the cycles of rain and drought.
-Pasathar: Also known as the Lord of the Trench, it is his duty to keep the sea-monsters of legend and myth locked away in deep underwater labyrinths, so they may not disrupt the islands above.
-Irechac: Often depicted as a terrifying sea dragon, Irechac is a hermaphroditic deity, representing the contradictory natures present in water -- its capacity to drown sailors and flood regions, contrasted with its role as the source of all life. Their patrons offer mixtures of salt and fresh water as tribute at their shrines.

Fos: These belief systems regard the world as a work in progress, a project that one generation hands down to the next. They believe in a paradisial heaven, but that said heaven will only come about if it is built on Earth, literally and metaphorically; it is the culmination of conscious benevolence and excellence in one's intellect and work. To this end, they push the creation of technology as a cure to the woes of the world. They believe their gods reside in the objects and machines they create.
Associated Gods:
-Otchillani (Pronounced Otch-ee-an-ee): Revered as the "Mother of Necessity," Otchillani is a muse for tinkerers and inventors who are frustrated by a lack of inspiration. Offerings and prayers are not to be given to her lightly, as she is known to bestow inspiration through sending many hardships one's way.
-Niathion: Also known as the Old Stallion of the Mountain, Niathion is associated with ores, and protects smiths from being injured by the fires of their own forges. He is depicted as a hermit who is illuminated by fire that does not harm, but refines, all that it touches.
-Hidatug: A grinning trickster, Hidatug is not quite worshipped, but he is certainly blamed whenever an inventor's constructs break or malfunction. Offerings are only given to him when an inventor needs a project to go perfectly. "Hidatug, I will give you this, if you just leave me alone for the day," is the usual formula for prayers to this god.

Dessus: These belief systems assert the existence of many spiritual realms that exist in the sky, and attach much significance to the movement of heavenly bodies, particularly the moon. In attempting to understand the will of the spirits and gods that reside there, they have produced great strides in the fields of astronomy and divination through the study of the skies. To them, death means ascension to a spiritual realm, but they know not where they go, and so attempt to learn more about these realms, and perhaps to control which one they reach.
Associated Gods:
-Lotelope (Pronounced Low-tee-lope): Called "The Keeper of Winds," Lotelope is believed to have carried all the world's air in a horn prior to its creation. When she blew the horn, she gave rise to the first wind currents. Musicians carry icons of her for good luck.
-Bagimago: A god of light, darkness and vanity, Bagimago is said to have gotten very angry when the world was created, as it was more beautiful than he. He covered it in a heavy blanket, casting darkness over the world, so that nobody could see it and forget him. The other gods were annoyed with this, and threw fruit at him until he relented... somewhat. He poked holes in the blanket, giving rise to the stars and the sun, so that the gods could look in on the world during the day, until they went back to admiring him during the night. They reluctantly accepted this deal to avoid another hissy fit.
-Tawiay: The goddess of time, schedules and fortune. Her followers believe that she assigned a a mixture of fortune and misfortune to each day of the calendar, and that whoever is born on a given day inherets that mixture, which governs their luck in life. She also assists fortune-tellers of all stripes in divining the signs of the future.

Aigne: Overall smaller than the other traditions, the Aigne are driven by the accumulation of magical knowledge and the desire to bend the world to one's will through alchemy, the conjuring and taming of spirits, and the study of the elements. They treat the state of the current world as an illusion, but rather than dismiss it, they try to master and shape that illusion through occultic ritual and philosophy. Their cosmologies are eclectic, and they are more than willing to pick and choose beliefs and ideas from other traditions if it helps them in their personal quest for gnosis. They are often secretive, dwelling in covens and secret societies, but will keep their own personal occultic secrets even from their closest allies.
Associated Gods:
-Thaneandun: A god who protects all outcasts -- solitary wanderers, untouchables, and those condemned to interminable exile. Though he is not believed to directly intervene in the misfortunes of those whom the world has rejected, it is said he puts an unspeakable curse upon those who wrongfully mistreat these outcasts, whom he loves.
-Baile Dúchais: The goddess of the home, whatever that may be. She bolsters those who seek to return home after their adventures, as well as those who seek to protect their home from those who would invade and destroy it. A lantern is the most common icon used to represent her, as families on certain islands will leave lanterns outside their homes at night, so that those they love will know the way back home.
-Asarlaíochta: The goddess of all magic, regardless of what school it belongs to - even those deemed forbidden by government and religious authorities. A soft-spoken, wandering goddess, she is not revered in a traditional sense, and stories about her reject the notion that she desires worship. The pursuit of magic power and knowledge, regarldess of notions of good or evil, is believed to be her only request of those who would claim to be her devotees.