#lilys

The whole country is more nocturnal than diurnal and the Fae had a massive change in lifestyle and everything during the war. Because their enemies were diurnal, the fae adapted, although they definitely had an advantage at the beginning when they could attack with the advantage of night. In my heart to diurnal fae are a little less powerful and typically smaller. So it was up for the nocturnal fae to be the guardians and such.

Anyways, so Maleanor, Raverne and Lilia are typically active starting around 4pm and then staying up until 9am or so. Maleanor sleeps the least and is very capable of staying awake for days without any fatigue or drawback. We can say it's at the cost of some magic, but she's got magic to spare and it's unnoticeable.

Raverne is a fan of taking naps. Daytime naps in the sun are his favourite. He loves sleeping in cozy spots and getting all tucked in and zzzz... lovessss feeling the sun on his feathers. When he's properly prepared for bed he wears a sleeping mask because his eyes are a little sensitive, although it doesn't usually bother him too much.

Lilia hates the sun. He hates it. It's too bright and his skin is sensitive and he can be awake when it's up but he will not go outside if he can avoid it. He sleeps more in the summer, and less in the winter to account for this. He likes his room cold and dark when he sleeps and he's actually a softie that likes a nice fluffy bed.

Despite having preferences, both Raverne and Lilia can sleep pretty much anywhere and fall asleep very very quickly. Part of being a soldier is being able to sleep when you get the chance, and I think they both learnt this lesson well.

Fiend is like. A 12pm to 4am kind of girl. Will often wake up briefly around 8 because their bed is suddenly filling up and "yayyy spouses. Yay cuddles.... zzzz" as they cling to whoever gets close enough first. Fiend doesn't really have a set routine and they have been TRYING to get to be nocturnal but the court physician said that sunlight would be good for Fiend and breaking the circadian rhythm was going to end up exhausting them more in the long run so. Fiend gets a bit of alone time in the mornings. If they manage to get out of bed. Fiend has been known to get up only long enough for breakfast or something then slip back into bed with a book. Doesn't even bother getting dressed.

So!!! That's lovely. I love slightly askew sleeping patterns. I think it's very cute. I like the idea of Fiend still trying to stay up later and failing. Like, being with Raverne in his study and falling asleep on the couch, or dozing waiting for Lilia out in the training fields or just sitting on Maleanor's lap trying to read along but its eyes start to droop and… zzzzz…. In the same vein, when they notice Fiend is starting to get sleepy they'll take her to bed, tuck her in, maybe cuddle until she falls asleep then get up until they're ready for bed as well. I like the idea of Fiend's bedtime being an event in their day as well.

As far as sleepwear goes. Maleanor wears something similar to what Malleus does in his sleepwear card. Something loose and with layers. But I also love her in a slinky nightie. Either way she has a shawl or a robe or another layer on top. But the fabrics are simple, it's something that feels good against her skin with no buttons or snaps or zippers. A drawstring if she must.

Lilia will collapse into bed in his armour if he's tired enough. He will wear nothing also if he manages go kick off all his dirty clothes then fall onto bed. Dedicated sleep clothes are non existent for Lilia. He will change into something a little more comfortable to wind down and then fall asleep in that, but it's something casual anyways. A loose top, some linen pants, it's all just clothes to him.

Fiend is a big fan of little nighties in the summer and fluffy fuzzy pyjama bottoms and a tank top in the winter. Something comfortable and easy and cute. I don't think it's the same in Briarland, but there were always fun little patterns on everything. There was a fun sense of novelty in it.

Raverne shares his spouse's closets so he wears a mix of everyone elses stuff. He's a man that is very fashion conscious and it's a big part of his character to be sensitive to the things he wears and dressing others. I think sleep clothes are different because this is him at his most vulnerable, so it's not as much effort as anything else. He's comfy. He's not trying to look or present a certain way, he's just sleeping. So he wants Maleanor and Fiend's nightgowns and Lilia's boxers and loose linen pants. I think he tends to sleep shirtless a lot though too just because of his wings. Imagining him getting tangled in his shirts when he was little and his wings were smaller.......

The Euphoritians live in an entirely music-centered. Their bills are actually short piano rolls, each represented by a different historical composer that is imprinted on the rolls. When counting someone's bill at a store, the roll is pressed through their cash register which plays the complete tune of their bill.

The bills also have different colors and decorative appearance to help them be differentiated in a quick exchange.

Piano roll for example, a thin sheet of paper with cut notches in the paper that is read by a mechanical instrument that reads and plays note based on the paper, think like a music box.

Novelty & Other Uses

Not at all required, but fun either way, is deciding if the currency has any novelty.

Many banknotes around the world have incredibly detailed designs, not just to represent their history or culture, but also to prevent counterfeiting, since as the more complicated the design, the more difficult it is to replicate.

USD have windows, where if you hold it up to the light you may see some shadow images, these act as both a watermark and an easter egg. While the novelty in real life isn't as cool as it could be fantasy, that where we get to have fun.

Money doesn't always have to stay money either. Maybe what is being used as currency didn't used to be currency, and now it is.

One of my favorite examples of this are the pearls in Rain World. In all reality the pearls are meant to be read from by these higher biomechanical beings known as Iterators, but while traveling throughout Rain World, you'll come across the Scavs, a social tribal creature that adores their shiny colors and collects them for both decoration and trade.

In my obsessive favorite video game series, The Metro games, bullets are currency, but they're also still bullets. Which says so much about the Metro post-apocalypse worldbuilding, with having to explain much of anything.

And of course we have the bottle caps from Fallout...

Culture

Nowadays referred to as shell money, historically many coastal and island nations relied on forms of sea shells as their currency, but why?

Well for lot of the same reason many places used to gems, metals, and minerals. Shells were valuable in ornamentation and jewelry. This made them good commodities for trade, and any good commodity for trade would also make a great currency. The most popular shell of shell money ended up being the cowrie.

Image of cowrie shells.

Culture affects our money, and money affects our culture. I honestly don't really have much to say here, but think about the culture you're building for.

Creation & Counterfeit

Another important thing to consider when designing a currency is of course the material it is made out of. Whether it be shell, stone, pearls, paper, gems, mana, or more.

If it's a common found material than there needs to be something about the currency that helps prevent counterfeiting. Whether it be a specialized enchant, an ornate design, or hologram imprinted onto the currency; no matter the age and day of the society you're worldbuilding for, counterfeiting will be a problem.

Storage & Commerce & Conflict

Ahhhh banks, vaults, and wealthy fat cats. Where there is money there is greed. Yeah we don't always have to add some currency-based conflict, in fact for most of my nations I've worldbuilt I haven't leaned too heavily on the woes of classism and wealth hoarding, but sometimes you need a debt collector or two to spice things up.

Aside from deciding where the wealth moves, and what are the major imports and exports of certain regions/cities, I like to come up with any potential banking systems.

There's several main systems of banking, and throughout history we've seen banking take many forms. Since the times of Ancient Sumer, humans have played their hands in banking, but we didn't see much like the modern day forms of banking until the 14th century.

Some things to think about when designing banks

Bookkeeping

Structure, Religious Relationship, Architecture

What money is held in?

How large swathes of money is transported

Religious restrictions

Loans

Debt Collection

Final Thoughts