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. Dhorāluka) 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.: Vṛtāyas) 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.: Hąuvitān), completely in the southern hemisphere, is the third-largest continent (Márusúturon and Védren are larger in any definition), 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:

• Queáten [kweˈaːten] (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 mainly 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.

Brief continental outlines

Evandor

Evandor is the continent where Western Calemerian civilization developed; its eastern border with Márusúturon does not have a commonly accepted definition, but the historically Evandorian cultural space is the area west of the Síluren mountains - Evandor's definition according to countries such as Ceria, Nordulik, and Holenagika. Its population is mostly concentrated in the northern temperate zone, where most of the continent lies (the whole of Gathurani and Hyxyn, as well as most of Holenagika are north enough to be considered subpolar and not temperate - though especially Gathurani and Hyxyn are considerably warmer than other subpolar areas at the same latitudes. Evandor is divided in about 50 countries, the majority being fairly small (two of them, Helinetian-speaking Vuntálica and Cerian-speaking Noméde Ínéma, are small enough to be considered city states), with the notable exceptions of Ceria, Nordulik (two of the superpowers of the Western bloc), Kalo, and the two countries of Gathurani and Holenagika, which, however, are mostly uninhabited tundra, taiga, or high mountains. Holenagika is also by far Calémere's largest island.

As a consequence of the colonization era, Evandorian cultures spread throughout the planet and political and economical structures in most of Calémere have been developed following Evandorian models. Cerian, and in some contexts also Nordûlaki (their roles have reversed in the last 150 years), are the two main working languages in most of Calémere.

Márusúturon and Gurdugal

Márusúturon is the common name for the part of the largest Calemerian continental landmass which is not defined as either Evandor or Védren. It is, according to climate and biomes, the most varied continent, containing every single major biome type. At the present day, Evandorian anthropologists define it as being mostly divided in four large cultural spaces: the Chlouvānem one - whose Inquisition covers a third or even half of the continent depending on definition, Greater Skyrdagor, the Nähärosphere (in the part of Márusúturon that is considered to be part of Evandor by countries such as Nivaren or Kalo), and the Dabuke cultural area straddling the geographical border with Védren. The steppe countries between the two inland seas are sometimes considered to be a distinct area, which, however, has historically had major influences first by the Nähärins, then by the Skyrdegans, and finally by the Chlouvānem. The area between the Skyrdegan Sea and Evandor (the Síluren mountains) is known locally as Eppilläinen ("the royal land") in Nähäri, and, in the form Eppillænan, this toponym is in use also among the Chlouvānem (who, however, extend it as far south as the actual isthmus, which is Chlouvānem territory). Skyrdegan people call it Mog Yszegnuk (the Western Place), in ancient sources only applied to the coast but later extended all the way to Evandor (which, around a century ago, was also considered a part of Mog Yszegnuk).

Márusúturon is the continent that has been impacted the least by Evandorian colonization, with only a few areas that have been actual colonies (many, however, have been protectorates, in the late modern era).

Gurdugal, on the other hand, is still today relatively untouched by humans; its main civilization is orcish. Human settlements are only found on the coasts closest to Evandor or Márusúturon.

Védren

Védren is a large continent, south of Evandor and west of Márusúturon, by which it is divided by the (mostly mountainous) isthmus of Tabal. It is mostly situated between the two tropics, and includes large tracts of deserts (in the northeast), rainforests (in the southeast), and savannah. Its largest and most important country today is Spocius in the north, which has historically been the largest Védrenian civilization; the Spocianosphere is a commonly recognized cultural area that includes most of northern Védren.

Modern Védren has had more Evandorian influence than Márusúturon, but not to the extent that for example Africa has suffered European colonization. Actual Evandorian control of Védrenian lands has been more limited to coastal lands and not in the whole continent, and Evandorian innovations like in most of the rest of Calémere have been later adopted by local rulers. This has contributed to form the current Védrenian political map, which is divided into more than a hundred countries, most of which quite small and - in many cases - densely populated.

Púríton

Púríton lies west of Védren and Evandor, but geographically isolated enough from them and latitudinally-extended enough to have prevented the development of civilizations as advanced as the Evandorian/Védrenian/Márusúturonian ones. The historical significance of this is that Púríton was the first continent to be colonized by Evandorian countries, especially in its temperate areas. It extends from roughly 18ºS and barely touches the northern polar circle at its northern end.

Púríton's countries are culturally mostly Evandorian, even though there are some countries which are more creolized between native Púrítonians and (descendents of) Evandorian colonizers. Unlike the example of North America on Earth, modern day Púríton does not have a single superpower the way the US are - instead we find a few important countries such as the Cerian-speaking Résunten Federation or Nérentíno, the Auralian-speaking Republic of Zoegen, and Nordûlaki-speaking Lleħar, none of them more influential culturally or politically than the others, or than their ancestral motherlands across the ocean.

Queáten

Queáten may be described as a (smaller) Calemerian sister to Oceania, though its ancestral inhabitants mostly came from Púríton to the east, with much more limited settlement from Márusúturon to the west. Ecáréton, Calémere's second-largest island, is Queáten's largest landmass and where most of its population and countries lie. Located on the far side of Púríton from an Evandorian prospective, it was colonized more recently and despite the still important Evandorian influence, unlike most of Púríton its cultures are still more markedly native, as well as native Queátenian languages being more dominant in domestic contexts than Cerian or Nordûlaki.

Ceránento

Ceránento is the smallest Calémerian continent and, despite the later colonization, its history and current status is not that different from Púríton. The temperate northern area of the continent, divided into various countries of different languages (but mostly Evandorian ones) is today a growing economic center and this area may overtake Evandor in cultural and economic importance in the coming hundred years. The city of Uny Gurmoit [uɲ gurˈmɔtʃ], capital of the former Nordulik colony of Ħerxá, is the largest city of the Western bloc and the fifth-largest worldwide.

The remaining two thirds of Ceránento still see more influences of native cultures and more creolized societies, with native cultures and environments having seen less exploitment the farther south one goes. The "Lower North" and the center see more grasslands and (in the east) steppes; south of the 45th parallel, southern Ceránento is mostly covered by taiga, with tundra in the far southeast.

Fárásen

Fárásen, Ceránento's eastern almost-twin, has had a quite different history, with stronger native civilizations and delayed colonization. It is currently the Calémerian continent with the poorest economy as many parts of it - with the most striking exception being the chain of the Ísenuóte islands in the northeast - have largely preindustrial economies.
Despite the use of Cerian, Nordûlaki, and to lesser extents Auralian and Besagren as international languages, Fárásenian rural societies are still largely devoid of major Evandorian influences. Fárásenian countries are somewhat larger than the average Védrenian or Evandorian ones, but have more arbitrary borders, relics of colonization times, despite them being societies with different characteristics than Ceránento or Púríton that also have this kind of borders.

As for climate zones, Fárásen is similar to Ceránento: a temperate north, grasslands in the central band and taiga and then tundra to the south. Except for the northern part, Fárásenian geography is characterized by a series of endorheic plateaus that are mostly cold deserts.

Ogúviutón

Ogúviutón, at least on the northern side of the continent, historically had some civilizations developed to a much greater level than on Ceránento, Fárásen, and Púríton, but still less than on Evandor or Márusúturon because of the greater fragmentation of the land. Climates of biomes of the continent are fairly equally divided by the mountains that divide it into a northern, temperate side, and a southern, subpolar one.

Modern day Ogúviutón is not unlike Ceránento or Púríton, with many fairly developed countries with a strong colonial past; however, there is a much larger influence of local customs and languages. Auralian is the main lingua franca in the eastern part of the continent and in many subpolar whaling communities; the western side has had more varied colonizers. Parts of modern-day Ésínenda and various other communities in the area were in colonies of various Chlouvānem countries, the only actual ones outside of Márusúturon (excluding the minor settlements in Holenagika as well as the current Inquisition-held stations, which were all mostly on uninhabited land, often remote non-continental islands).

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

World politics

[TBA]

Given Calémere's division in two very different "blocs" (even though there is a sizable Third Bloc of not quite aligned countries), the leaders of each bloc's respective most prominent countries may be said to be the most powerful people on the planet. Currently (2312/4E Ɛ1 (133₁₀)), they are Pétéro Bafín, Prime Minister of Ceria, and Hæliyoušāvi Dhīvajhūyai Lairė, Great Inquisitor of the Chlouvānem Inquisition.

External History

This section may also be named "why Calémere has so many similarities with Earth". When I started my first attempts at proto-conworlding (which also slowly led me to conlanging), when I was 9 or 10, my early "conlands" were mainly areas on alternative Earths, or, increasingly commonly in the next years, just located on planets - not on coherent, unified conworlds, though - where apart from the one or few conlands I was focussing on there were many other, unspecified lands that were like Earth renamed. I never did any map for them nor did I sketch their languages; I just invented a few names and mapped almost 1:1 countries on Earth to these vaguely defined countries, so that if I had to name some characters I could just use names from the languages of the original countries. For example I remember having a large continent named "Puretàn" that was like America (sometimes I did even mention "Northern Puretàn" and "Southern Puretàn" as distinct entities); I had nations like "Trinia" which was basically Spain, "Pulwaria" which was a renamed version of France, and so on.

When I, in 2014, started conlanging in a more serious way, I decided to join everything in a single conworld. While I did everything anew, I still kept more or less the same setting, with a main nation culturally and geographically opposite the "Western" sphere - basically the Chlouvānem Inquisition or whatever preceded it opposite Europe or renamed Europe in the previous settings, Evandor on Calémere.
This external history is basically why five continents of Calémere are geographically and often historically quite similar to others on Earth: Evandor to Europe, Márusúturon to Asia, Védren to Africa, Púríton to the Americas, and Queáten to Oceania. It is obviously not equal to Earth as there are spaces missing from them (like, where is South America gone? Or Central Asia? Siberia?) and their different dimensions as well as different "connecting spaces" have a huge impact on giving (or at least trying to give) Calémere that "it is familiar but it also isn't" atmosphere I personally try to aim at, but the West-East opposed relationships are just as alive as they were in my earlier proto-conworlding projects. As for Ceránento, Fárásen, and Ogúviutón, honestly the real reason why I decided to add them was "I want/need land in the southern hemisphere", but I take the fact they exist as a stimulus to make me characterize them more; given that such a presence is not something that really has analogues on Earth, it's probably going to be the most difficult part of my conworlding... but I am surely not going just to take them away or leave them as uninteresting, only mentioned places: time will tell what I'll make of them.