shaman
version sixteen: when life takes over
Geography of Shaman

Geography of Shaman

The Planet

"Shaman" is a world based far from Earth. The term "world" is generally used rather than "universe", since it's unclear whether Shaman is in the same universe as Earth but in a different solar system, or if it's in a separate universe altogether. The word "Shaman" can be used to refer to the planet as a whole, or as a collective term for all the known land within the planet. Therefore, sometimes fairies can talk about "the lands beyond Shaman" (i.e., the unknown or undiscovered territory) while still referring to the same planet.

As yet, fairies have not explored beyond the planet of Shaman and there has been very little study of astronomy. As technology develops and curiosity is piqued, this may be an area of development.

Geography and climate

Most of the known territory on Shaman is on the mainland. By Earth terms, the mainland is relatively small: it's possible to trek from one end to the other in a day. There are some unexplored areas in the mainland, but most of it is known and utilised by fairies. Around the mainland are a few smaller islands which each generally serve as one territory, since they are too small to be split into numerous lands. There are some unexplored and undiscovered islands around the mainland.
There is almost certainly more undiscovered territory beyond what is currently known. It is now believed that what is known as "the lands of Shaman" is actually only one country on a planet of indeterminate size. It's every explorer's dream to find a new, undiscovered country.

Within the mainland, the geography is extremely diverse. Shaman was not created in a carefully controlled manner; polar opposites were frequently thrown together in a confusing jumble, which is how freezing mountain ranges and tropical rainforests can co-exist alongside one another. Magic stabilises these different biomes, but due to a combination of fairy intervention and nature, the geography is constantly changing. Territory boundaries are usually drawn where a new biome seems to appear. Magic and magical pollution often has a huge impact on nature and can completely alter the laws of physics.

The climate is completely unstable due to excess magical pollution. Sometimes the whole of Shaman is fairly temperate, sometimes there are vast differences between individual territories.

Life on Shaman

Shaman was created by the deity Aura as a sanctuary for fairykind and a place where they could escape human persecution. Consequently, most of the "intelligent" life on Shaman is fairies and their familiars. The only other intelligent life is the unknown entities who are formed from ancient magic, such as Omni, whom many believe are not fairies at all but rather a different species altogether. All fairies are effectively the same species, although there are proven biological differences between "ordinary" fairies and the original fairies. This has led some to propose the theory that there are two sub-species of fairy: the "pure" originals and the "compound" ordinary modern fairies. There are also some smaller biological differences between modern fairies and extremely old immortal fairies, suggesting evolution over time.

All manner of plant and animal life exists on Shaman, from the "ordinary" creatures of Earth to strange mythical beasts. Some believe that magical pollution has caused mutations in the DNA of ordinary animals, creating entirely new species altogether. These new species are called "shamanimals". You are free to design your own shamanimals. If you do create one, please share it with us so we can put it up on this page!

Click the headings below to view the shamanimals and Shaman-unique flora creatured by members.

Fauna

Shamanimals' danger levels are marked by a warning colour. Steer clear of red!

Insects and arachnids

Ascenti: wing-eating months
Firebug: glowing insect
Gemspider: small spiders wearing gem armour
Golden Flea: invisible insect which brings good luck
Meckle: moss-appearance insect
Plato: large beetle with plants growing from back
Storm Flea: invisible insect which brings bad luck
Tedulaefly: large dragonflies, good for gardens

Creatures of water

Caliga Fish: silver koi which swim through mist
Fauxfish: large fish, reborn when killed
Glow Monster: amphibious glowing lizard
Pellicus Sea Dragon: tiny sea dragons
Shuppy: shark-dog amphibious hybrids
Sylvewt: adaptive river-dwelling amphibian
Varalga: shy sea snakes

Animals with flight

Faet: tiny birds with beautiful voices
Great Occiva: aggressive emu-like birds
Honeyspark: colourful hummingbird/butterfly crosses
Junkwing: cute rodent-butterflies
Manrii: flesh-eating horses with dragon wings and stinger tails
Moth Owl: owls with antennae
Nalims: piranha-hyena flying pack predator
Nectare: bee-sized, winged foxes
Sylkenferret: silk-spinning, winged ferrets

Land-dwellers

Bewilderbeest: causes confusion to its viewers
Boneshire: bone-creatures, bones bring good luck
Calico Deer: large cat-deer hybrids
Dandehog: short-lived plant-hedgehogs
Deko: tiny grass reindeer
Delmilleo: sand-dwelling big cats
Dosidotes: blob-creature predators
Elevulp: elemental foxes
Elugi: clumsy bear-like herbivore
Fumblepuff: small, round, bumbling creatures
Graff: miniature giraffes
Gramyor: tiny bipedal leopards
Ictyph: large winged dog-weasel-fox hybrids
Kraku: eight-limbed, cat-headed, snake-tailed humanoid
Kurrat: tree-dwelling colourful procupines
Mirror Deer: small, green deer with poisonous meat
Mjolniers: intelligent monkey-like creatures
Mondaugs: rarely seen creature with hypnotic eyes
Nazeers: large bull-like creatures
Pocobelly: rabbit-like creatures with vacuum-mouths
Sabre-Toothed Sciuridox: giant six-tailed squirrels
Spirigus: shy maned boars
Terrik Bear: bear-dog hybrids with lion tails
Tyrik: huge black greyhounds, bad omens
Umbariet Deer: tree-climbing tiger-deer hybrids
Venaraptors: large, long-necked reptilian predators
Wolpertinger: winged, antlered rabbits addicted to alcohol

Flora

Berries, fruit and vegetables

Angelberry: golden, glowing berries
Brawnberry: black, bitter berries which increase strength
Isafruit: triangular purple fruit
Rex Flowers: berry bush

Herbs and fungi

Jack Frost's Kiss: parasitic fungus resembling frost
Muddlebrain: alcoholic black herb
Spiceweed: spicy herb
Stink: red herb with poor smell

Trees

Agyo: tree with adhesive sap
Lacewood Maple: medium hardwood tree
Oniy: thorny tree which dances at night and teleports

Grasses, moss and flowers

Aura's Tears: rarer white wildflowers which make a salve
Bio-luminescent Butterfly Blossom: rainbow, butterfly-shaped flower
Evendim: very rare off-white forest flower
Ghost Creeper: ivy only visible at night
Ghost Grass: long black grass with tassle tops
Khus: aloe plants with appearance of glass
Leech Snapper / Life Sapper: creeper blood-drinking plants
Monkwood: nice-smelling flower clusters
Moonbloom: desert plants which ease sickness
Northman's Blade: gold-stemmed grass with white feathers
Parrot Lily (aka Fool's Echo): cone-shaped flowers which can be used to pass messages on
Red Eve Flower: red flowers borne of evendim
Spaniard's Flare: summer-blooming plant with fire-coloured flowers
Squigglesmudge: violet plant with orange and purple flowers
Wyrmglow: moss-like glowing plant
Yemwava: tasty black flower