Verse:Calémere

Calémere ([kaˈreːmere] in Cerian, [kaˈleːmere] in Íscégon; Kalêmer [kaˈlemɛr] in Nordulaki; Kalémeri [kaˈlɛmeri] in modern Nivarese; Liloejāṃrya [ɴ̆ʲiɴ̆ɔə̯ˈɟ͡ʑãːʀja] in Chlouvānem, Szosylvok [sɔˈʃuːwok] in Skyrdagor, C'yuweƛiłp'eɂ [ts'juwetɬ'iɬˈp'ɛʔ] in Spocian) is an earthlike planet orbiting the star known with names such as Rénon (Cerian) or Hånna (Chlouvānem).

Planetary data

[TBA]

Tropics: 24° 14′ 38.4″ (24.244°)
Polar circles: 65° 45′ 21.6″ (65.756°)

Human population: about 8,200,000,000
(Chlouvānem people are about 17,8%)

Continents

The continents of Calémere (according to the Cerian definition of Evandor and Márusúturon).

Calémere has, depending on definition, five to seven continental masses, which do not coincide with the culturally defined continents (from a Western Calemerian (Evandorian) prospective; other languages as e.g. Chlouvānem do not express the concept of "continent", even though they have adopted names for the same lands as the Evandorians). Most Calemerians, thus, recognize seven or nine different continents:

• Evandor (Cer. Evandó [ɛvanˈdoː]) is the cradle continent of Western Calemerian civilizations. From a geographical point of view, it is only a part of a greater landmass together with Márusúturon [maːruˈsuːturon] and Védren (Cer. Véduren [ˈveːduren]; Chl. Holmenas). While Védren has a single pretty large connection with the other parts and the border is only undecided in where in this large area should be put (the isthmus of Tabal is considered the geographical border, but many countries to the east of it, while geographically in Márusúturon, are often grouped with Védren for cultural, historical, political, and economical reasons), for Evandor and Márusúturon there is no real divide, as even Evandorian countries have their own definition. A large part lying between the two major mediterranean seas of the Evandor-Márusúturon-Védren landmass is considered completely as part of Evandor by a few Evandorian nations such as Nivaren, Kalo, or Gathuráni, while for others, such as Ceria or Nordulik, the geographical border of the Síluren Mountains, which splits the area roughly in half, is the eastern limit of Evandor; with this definition, Evandor is the second-smallest of the seven continents. The Chlouvānem Inquisition, which occupies (according to the broader definition of Evandor) most of Márusúturon, recognizes Evandor and Márusúturon as a single continent called Mārṣūtram (an adaptation of the Cerian name), even if this is mostly limited to scientific circles, with different, cultural-based definitions, which are popularly used in different areas.
• Púríton [puːˈriːton] (Chl. Destėna) and lies in the western hemisphere, mostly in the northern hemisphere but stretching up to about 18ºS; it and Márusúturon are the only continents which have all major biomes and climates (though Púríton has only marginal areas of tundra and, unlike Márusúturon, has no polar ice cap).
• Ceránento [kɛˈraːnento] (Chl.: Bėpata) is a continent in the western hemisphere, the smallest of the seven commonly accepted continents, completely in the southern hemisphere and mostly temperate.
• Fárásen [faːˈraːsen] (Chl.: Kūdrivas) is almost a twin continent of Ceránento, about 20º east of it and some 10 degrees of latitude south of southwestern Védren. It stretches more to the south and is larger than Ceránento (and the Cerian definition of Evandor), and it is also the southernmost continental landmass, reaching about 74ºS.
• Ogúviutón [oguːvjuˈtoːn] (Chl.: Hagvītas), completely in the southern hemisphere, is the largest continent (if Evandor, Márusúturon, and Védren are counted separately), with a distinctive elongated shape extending mostly longitudinally. Its climate is roughly divided by a mountain chain running all its width in a temperate north side and a more subpolar taiga on the south side. Some islands south of its main continental landmass are the southernmost continent-bound islands on Calémere, nearing 78ºS.

There are, furthermore, two "special" continents:

Quéaten [ˈkweːaten] (Chl.: naleiyutei lanāye "Eastern Islands") lies mostly in the northern hemisphere, between Púríton and Márusúturon, but it is not a single continental landmass, being a large island with lots of smaller ones around it.

Gurdugal (Cer. Gúrodogáro [guːrodoˈgaːro]; Chl. Gudarghāla) lies mostly on the same continental plate as Evandor/Márusúturon, from which it is divided by skerry-filled straits, but it is usually considered a different continent first of all for its sheer size - even if more than half of it is tundra or, most commonly, ice cap - and also because it is the only "continent" which is not populated by humans (apart from really small settlements on some coasts) but by orcs. Its northern coast is also the northernmost land on the planet, reaching over 84ºN.

Humans and other sentient species

Calemerian societies are not only human, even if they're by far the largest and most advanced civilization: there are some other sentient species that live in certain areas of the planet and often do not really like contact with humans. These include:

• Orcs (Cer.: orógio; Chl.: eteklen), living mostly in subpolar areas - all of Gurdugal and northern Púríton in the northern hemisphere, and a good part of central-southern Fárásen and the southern reaches of Ogúviutón in the southern; orcs of the two hemispheres are still of a single species, but there are three radically different races. They're the largest non-human civilization.
• Lizardmen (Cer.: féronébosa; Chl.: mevišlas), living in wetlands and swamps by some coastlines; like orcs, there is a southern hemisphere race, living mostly in eastern Ogúviutón, and a northern hemisphere one on the islands between Márusúturon and Quéaten (even if, geographically, some of these are actually south of the Equator).
• Harpies (Cer.: čúero; Chl.: šortas), dwelling on the semiarid islands off the southwestern coast of Védren and on those in the ocean between Védren, Ceránento, and Fárásen. They are the most hostile to humans.
• Dragons (Cer.: cépota; Chl.: kaṃšūs) — there are actually three species of dragons (belonging to two different genera), none of which exactly similar to our prototypical dragons. All of them are sentient, but to different extents.
  • The kaṃšūve (from kaṃšūs, Chlouvānem for "dragon"; in Cerian véduréoni cépota "Védren dragon" or éronoténosi cépota "Jungle dragon") are the least sentient dragon species, mostly living in equatorial and tropical wet areas — never farther than 20º from the Equator, and never in dry places — in central and eastern Védren (they have been largely driven away from the coast by humans) and in the southern part of Márusúturon, particularly in the unspoiled areas of the southern part of the Inquisition; they are also known to be able to immerse and breathe underwater, so that they may be spotted also flying above the ocean. Kaṃšūve, to Earthly eyes, mostly look like gigantic moths, with six large wings (giving them an almost flower-like appearance when they fly), and a large torso, covered with wool-like hair in older dragons. They have two stings that can be extended with arm-like appendages, but have no actual hands; they are still known to manufacture and use rudimental tools. They're substantially larger than humans, but only slightly taller. They're also harmless except when attacked.
  • The common dragons (Cerian: cólifuni cépota; Chl.: ñarikaṃšūs "mountain dragon") are closer to our prototypical dragons, but far smaller; they look like big lizards with wings, but they're roughly as tall as humans and are actually smaller than kaṃšūve. They, however, have arms and hands (but not the extendable arms of kaṃšūve), something which makes them capable of building better tools. Like the kaṃšūve, they are also able to breathe underwater. They inhabit the higher latitudes (above 45ºN) in the northern hemisphere, between Evandor and Púríton; their dens are very common across the hills and mountains in the arctic wilderness (taiga and tundra) of Holenagika and northern Púríton; human civilization has made them much rarer farther south. They are also found in high altitude areas in mountains across Evandor and Márusúturon, as far south and east as the Camipāṇḍa range.
  • The dry dragons (Cerian: émérósin cépota or nušučuácu (from the Spocian name); Chl.: chlebakaṃšūs "sand dragon"; Spocian: nułč'waqv') are the biggest dragon species, inhabiting the dry steppes and deserts of northern and central Védren as well as northern-central Fárásen. They are almost like giant worms, about 9 meters long, usually brown or dark gray, and with a scaled body. They have humanlike arms and mostly live in underground caves; while not loving human contact, there are populations around the areas where dry dragons live that have contact with them, and there are as such some humans that can speak the language of dry dragons: they are also highly praised in Spocian folklore and are important characters in many local fairytales.
• The forboxor (from Nordulaki forbox; Cer.: foruboše; Chl.: forbas) are short but fat humanoids with pig-like faces (like Earthly pigs, not Calemerian ones, which look more like tapirs!) and live in the steppes of northern Ceránento, and were known among local populations before modernity as great in the art of iron working and as good traders. forbox is an adaptation of one name given them by local people; early Western explorers called them "desert orcs", a name which is still used for them in Nivarese (ogeróti knetsína, sg. ogeró knetsína)

[TBA]

Most spoken human languages (L1+L2)

1. Chlouvānem (Chlouvānumi dældā)
2. Cerian (Čérízon)
3. Spocian (Spoc'yuƛwa)
4. Nordulaki (Nordûlaki)
5. Skyrdagor (Skyrdegan mast)

Calendar

There are two main calendar systems in use today on Calémere: the Western and the Chlouvānem ones — the Western calendar has spread to most continents due to colonization, while the Chlouvānem calendar is in use in the Chlouvānem Inquisition and fellow countries of the Eastern Bloc (except for Greater Skyrdagor, which uses the native Skyrdagor Calendar for cultural events and the Western one for business). Both main calendars are based on the 418-day long solar year, but are very different in their treatment of months (none of them link actual months to the moon): the Chlouvānem calendar has 14 months of mostly 30 days (four of them have 29 and two have 31), while the Western one has 29 periods of 14 days and a special one, halfway through the year, of 12. Neither calendar has a concept similar to our week — the Western calendar's months are short enough to serve also that purpose, while the Chlouvānem calendar uses a system of 17-day long lunar phases (originally linked to the natural moon cycles, today bureaucratically standardized).
A further difference between them is that in the Western calendar, days begin at midnight; in the Chlouvānem one, they begin at dawn.

The Western year's first day is in the middle of the northern hemisphere winter; the Chlouvānem year's is the autumn equinox (the first day of the Western year is the 139th of the Chlouvānem one).

The Western calendar's months (in Cerian) are:

1. Fásónon
2. Áman
3. Ténoren
4. Enési
5. Pésícere
6. Tucéden Ramo (its second day is the northern hemisphere spring equinox)
7. Tucéden Duro
8. Sánéntere
9. Rénion
10. Cótunion
11. Tálogé
12. Érenon
13. Čésion Ramo (its fifth day is the northern summer solstice)
14. Čésion Duro
15. Dérencórion (12 days)
16. Carótanón
17. Nómédon
18. Ačádo Ramo
19. Ačádo Duro
20. Dénón
21. Nétise (its third day is the northern autumn equinox)
22. Futé
23. Quosopó
24. Puróto
25. Sétéšon
26. Ínedon Ramo
27. Ínedon Duro
28. Dérecótunšílenen (its eighth day is the northern winter solstice)
29. Dérecótunegorónen
30. Fétíšon