#riftlore

was thinking more about the relationships between the deities. how they see each other. and they definitely do have a small hierarchy based on age, that's smth i thought of a long time ago. going snake god <- xeilren <- whisk <- lakuta <- terchu, because that's age order. and snake god is a superior to all of them, though she tries her best to make sure everything is balanced there isn't much she can do, she made all of the others, and is typically final say. if there was anything she could do about that perception the main conflict probably would not exist, it's a major source of lakuta's frustrations that ended up corrupting him. it's definitely something i see as important

however, there is an exception to this - snake god and xeilren. in my eyes, with the other three deities, snake god is clearly an authority even though they're all peers. but i think snake god and xeilren are probably the closest to being on truly equal standpoints to each other, on account of the fact xeilren is extremely wise and mature compared to any of the other deities. not only are they oldest by a very sizeable margin, they're meant to be the most distinct from any of the others in general. the first is something completely alien to all those that came after. and also because i think snake god made xeilren's image out of nostalgia for an old friend of hers that i haven't touched on much. simply bc i haven't touched much on snake god's past in general, it doesn't have a lot of relevance and even she's generally moved on by the time anything happens in the rift. point is, xeilren and snake god relied on each other a lot

and each deity learned from the others that were around before them. yes, snake god taught/guided them all when they were young, but they primarily looked to whoever came before them. that's why i noted age order, because it was only one made at a time. i see that part as important for why terchu takes to mindlessly following her brother as well despite the obvious feeling that his side is extremely wrong, both because they're family (none of the others are) and because he was the main one she had to look up to when she was young.

so with that context, if wisdom or guidance were needed from their peers, the other deities would probably have been more likely to reach out to xeilren for advice than snake god. (that's one of those newer parts i'm thinking on) because even though snake god is trying to level the playing field, xeilren is closer to understanding them than snake god is - snake god doesn't exist to fulfill any roles or represent anything other than being a leader, and filling in the broad range of gaps that the other deities don't cover. xeilren is one of them, snake god is also one of them but less so.

and then. well before lakuta became corrupt by his own whims, probably around the start of actual tension between him and the others, xeilren steps down. they become entirely uninvolved in the others, still doing some tasks just to not be doing nothing, in a small pocket dimension. they won't take sides in any discussion, they're minding their own business as a former/retired deity someplace else. it's a decision that they don't explain, though a strong sense of foresight is something that comes with them as it relates to their role. and so, while it is accepted without fuss, and snake god doesn't demand an explanation, they leave. and that's also been established since i made xeilren, basically

but even if it's without fuss, even if snake god accepts it gracefully and allows them to do so, and even if the others don't speak much on it. it absolutely has to have an effect on them ALL. (that's part of the new thought.) while they're, by that point, fairly matured in their perspectives and they're settled into what their lives are. that now, if they need advice, if they have an issue or concern or anything, they can only go to snake god. xeilren doesn't want to be bothered and while they can be helpful, they aren't going to give real answers to problems that involve even the slightest amount of taking sides. i dont think they'd actually notice that it's a major effect on them all, they've got other things to think about, maybe a comment or so about it, but it definitely affects them. whisk adjusts to it a decent amount, maybe with a bit of unease, but he respects snake god enough to settle into that change. lakuta, however, having his main grievances being all against snake god, would probably be more negatively impacted. i don't think he'd adjust to that at all and it'd drive tensions further. that'd also hurt terchu, because if the brother that was a role model for her previously isn't adjusting, she'd absolutely struggle to figure out how to adjust either. on her own she probably could just fine, i think she'd be nervous to, but considering she also goes to him more often than she'd go to anyone else, and he's not going to help her in an unbiased way, she'd take notice to his tensions and apprehension to reaching out to snake god. and probably go from very torn on what to do to not being able to adjust at all in a similar way

The Rift is not a single space, but a multi-layered structure

where meaning, emotion, memory, data, and form overlap.

It consists of six layers,

each independent yet sharing a flow of birth.

■ Layer 1 : Echo Layer

“Where every fragment first arrives.”

The vast outer layer where formless fragments drift:

Shattered memories

Residual emotions

Fleeting thoughts

Forgotten stories

Failed forms

Its essence is sound and resonance.

It responds instantly to the summoner’s intent and emotion.

■ Layer 2 : Imagination Fog

“Fog is the possibility before form.”

Fragments from the Echo Layer gain their first faint shape here.

There are no boundaries yet—only silhouettes:

Faceless figures

Blurred outlines

Condensed emotions

Half-formed movements

A state between existence and erasure—

a provisional being.

■ Layer 3 : Pattern Archive

“The blueprints of this world lie here.”

Here rests the form algorithms of the Rift.

Each being acquires its prototype code in this layer.

This is where one’s potential is determined.

What it can become.

✦ Algorithm of Form

A set of patterns, meanings, and structural rules

used by the Rift to construct form.

The Archive stores the prototypes,

the Algorithm defines how they are combined.

■ Layer 4 : Chamber of Forming

“Where a concrete body is born.”

Patterns become actual structure—

proportions, features, gestures, expressiveness.

Forms here are not fully physical:

a hybrid of digital data and mythic ether.

A being in this chamber is

on the verge of summoning.

■ Layer 5 : Aether Corridor

“A path of light toward reality.”

The corridor where a summoning route opens.

To call a being is to ignite this passage.

In the Rift, Aether is the mythic transmission medium

that carries form into the real world.

■ Layer 6 : Gate Point

“The door between the Rift and Reality.”

The deepest core and final threshold.

In the modern era, this Gate is synonymous with

the activation of a 3D printer.

Passing through the Gate grants a being

material presence and gravity—

true existence.

(REALIZATION)

▲

[GATE] —— 3D Printer

▲

[CORRIDOR] —— Path of Light, Summoning Link

▲

[FORMING] —— Structure Shaping, Design Set

▲

[PATTERN] —— Prototype Algorithms

▲

[FOG] —— Faint Silhouettes

▲

the way i had it before there was implication of an afterlife but i don't actually like that. its not that i don't want there to be one but i think within the rift there would exist numerous religions and perspectives from a ton of internal and external (though dead) influences. and i don't want to say all this exists, followed by canonizing one, i dont want to say any of them are right. i think even the deities probably wouldn't know themselves, they may have greater knowledge than anyone else but they're immortal*. it only matters to snakegod and xeilren. because sg is the creator of this system by technicality and xeilren manages it as a side role to taking care of time related duties. xeilren retires to a pocket dimension of their own creation and that's possible due to a context within how the world exists it has some shit to do with stars and particles of light or whatever, that relates to another project too its not super relevant rn. but its not like xeilren is just there doing the bare minimum roles they can't retire from. they spend most of their time meditating and thinking about philosophy

it's not like they really know for sure either. they just moved things along. the only thing confirmable is that within the rift there are souls but otherwise it's a mystery to even them. they see it as they most likely have the correct philosophy, but it's still philosophy and they wouldn't recount it to others. i think they also might like. fear what would happen if they passed that knowledge to something mortal anyway. its not really anyone's business except theirs, they don't have a reason to share anything about it. xeilren is very good about not relaying information or opinions in favor of any side if they don't have any reason to

i've always had this thought - how would laws and governing work in the rift? valid worldbuilding question i think, especially in the rift's context. currently i've established (at minimum) three different species in the rift coexist as sapient with both their own and conjoined societies. however, it's also established that these societies take different forms - there are towns and cities, as well as more nomadic civilizations, some civilizations are looser and more wild and some are strict like modern human societies, some are futuristic and some are medieval, etc. additionally the sapient species don't largely see themselves as less animal than anyone else, there is recognition of the differences between sapient and not but otherwise the overall culture around the rift falls into that being typically a moral distinction only. physically, everyone's a rift creature, and acting like an animal is expected within most circumstances. if you're in a city, sure you're expected to be civilized and abide by the law, but what if you're out in the wild?

and that leads into a question of how are laws applied to begin with. my resulting decision is that rift populations never really establish countries, at least not our kind. the closest they'll get is that i think empires are possible, but rare and frowned upon. law cannot be expected outside of civilization and is largely not enforced. some will expend resources to protect and enforce law on important routes, and some will prosecute violations committed outside of jurisdiction only if you return and are caught, etc. the reason for that is each civilization ends up its own independent regulating body, and it's seen as unreasonable to regulate the borderless wilderness beyond yourself acknowledging that the wilderness is wild. there are always exceptions because this also results in every civilization having its own slightly unique culture over time as well, with their own beliefs and interests. wilderness is respected as global land that everyone has the right to use but no actual claim to. there's no "we're taking this section of the woods to harvest resources and everyone will be chill with it until the end of the time" if a neighboring city wants the resources there, they can have it too, and if you don't want that? work it out on your own accord, there's no borders to say they can't do that

that lack of security brings up an issue. the only land which is secure is land which civilization lives and operates on, no matter the size or progress. can't always do the production of a city within that same city. but you can do trade and you can outsource it. a common solution to that issue in the rift is that larger civilizations will form temporary treaties with small neighboring ones. the neighbors provide production and resources, and in exchange typically are given things like more political power (larger one speaking for them), defense, help developing, a basis for their own governance, etc. they're temporary because if they impede independence as they often could, they become null after enough growth. usually ends up being replaced with something else because of the benefit of trading. symbiotic. all of it is meant to be very adjacent to countries, but largely does not lead to them as they're typically not supported or recognized. if they do occur they usually get dissolved from internally pretty quickly. can't force the smaller civilizations to stay if they don't want to and the agreement's supposed to be over, they can push back

i just like lakuta in general honestly. he's my favorite of their little set. but i do like to think about their individual perspectives on the problem that he created sometimes. xeilren foresaw it but did not warn of it for the sake of true neutrality, stepped down, will not answer anyone who consults them if they believe it has any relevance to the disputes. snake god wanted to negate the violence but had no true options other than to hide indefinitely because lakuta has no interest in listening to anyone else - he's so convinced that there are problems that she won't solve, that she fails her own duty, and that he's the only one bringing it up so therefore it is on him to fix them, to the point that he completely rots himself and his perception. i think a moment to simply stop and think "what am i doing this for? why am i still doing this?" would help him maybe. i don't think he'd ever actually asked himself those types of questions i think he simply fell down a route of bad and/or unforgivable decisions.

and in all fairness if he did simply stop to ask those questions, without further thinking he could probably spin up an unhelpfully unreasonable answer that to him is true, that paints him in a good light with a good motive still. i mean who is there to really challenge his thinking? he isn't going to do it himself, that'd require actually thinking about what the goal is beyond a mere concept and i think that'd be where he crumbles. can fight forever, can search for her forever, can try to kill her - perhaps never even considering that maybe that last bit is not even an answer, that that might worsen his situation, because why would that transfer any of her ability to him? even if it did, despite him being a deity, how does he know that she doesn't store enough rift magic that if it did somehow transfer to him, he'd get away unscathed? the distinction between him and her is by multitudes.

but there's nobody to challenge his thinking. xeilren sits meditating in a pocket dimension all day, still managing a handful of the affairs that they kept hold over when they were still in their position on a smaller scale. he won't listen to snake god, period, because to him she is the absolute problem and has escalated too far for her to reason with him. whisk already sees him as unreasonable, and doesn't really have a history of reasoning anyway? if he's mad, had enough - he usually simply gets rid of it. his patience runs quite far but once he's at the end of that, he doesn't play anymore. and, whisk stands in on behalf of sg often, impeding efforts against her and almost acting as a sort of medium for her in that situation. she provides him additional support just to manage the issue until an opportunity to resolve it opens up. and lastly there's terchu

but terchu doesn't want to challenge his thinking. she could, she's closest to him (or. you would think. i think lakuta would've actually gradually created a strong distance between himself and everyone else, including his sister.) but she's also in support of him and very devoted to listening to what he tells her. she'd have to challenge her own thinking first, and thinking for herself is not a strong point for her due to him. he dragged her in and misled her with all sorts of things saying that there was problems that could not be solved with anything other than his way and his way only, and that it is her responsibility to help him achieve that if she does not want to be part of it herself. to be passive like xeilren is not an option. it could probably even be easier for him to convince her of these things, mislead her to believe that her role managing weather is not as significant as it may seem compared to everyone else, and that on those grounds they have both been faulted - why should everyone else be a useful purpose, while theirs are drastically smaller and more forgettable? he can absolutely be headstrong and calculated at the same time, even if at first it's messier, it's in his best strategic interest to have her side with him, and she does. her own doubts are negligible, because she must be doing the right things - her brother, the one that she would have went to most often for help, says so. and if it feels wrong, maybe it's because the supposed problems are wrong, not them - turning against that part of the cause ceases to be an option, especially when all the infighting starts becoming significant

so instead of thinking for herself, instead of pushing him to challenge his thinking, she watches him rot and becomes guilty too, because to her there is an illusion that she has no other choice, and even if there was, it's obvious that nothing needs on their behalf must change to make things righter. and these two make me so giddy. they're a very toxic duo and i don't think either actually wants to change or knows they can/should. to me terchu is somewhat aware of her own guilt while lakuta has poisoned himself so greatly that he feels no remorse at all. i think he could he just needs his eyes opened, and like a lot of healing and change to uncover what he's actually frustrated over, and it would be very difficult for him to reach that. maybe terchu too i think she also needs healing and change but it'd be completely different i think that guilt would eat away at her. she wants to be successful and good at being a deity and acting with him is her failing herself and she doesnt know but she still feels at least a bit of nagging bad about it anyway

ummm i can attach. this tiny silly that isn't rendered bc i chose not to complete it. with lakuta, terchu and whisk in it. i think it fits well enough & i don't recall ever posting it. not on the higher quality side but idrgaf. if it wasnt obvious lakuta and terchu are not biological siblings because none of them are related i dont even know whats going on with them biologically but they are still treated like full siblings anyway. lakuta's the guy in the front not fighting and terchu's the zappy wyvern. i pass out now but i am also in fact willing to talk about this forever js /silly

oh i finished this way faster than i thought i havent left yet. im not gonna hold off sharing this but i am short on time rn so im not gonna show the old ref i was replacing or talk more about him but this is whisk. he has been refreshed

what i KNOW im gonna do is redesign whisk . i dont think i've posted any art of him yet but his ref is the most outdated - all of them get refreshed about once a year, but his ref is from the beginning of 2022. my style has changed a lot since then and i've had some thoughts. mostly how does this man get around bc he doesn't fly, i am almost certain him being a deity probably also gives him the ability to use rift magic to his advantage in going hella fast but like. he still has places to be . he has to keep engaging in perpetual fighting for a would be eternity. well he probably has to swim, i think he could do that pretty easily, but i want to incorporate stuff that makes him able to do that . im giving him fins now they're not ahuge change. and also his split double tail is somewhat resemblant of rna strands because im in honors bio and im going to use that for artistic purposes rather than critical thinking . it fits anyway because that's what the deity of. i refer to him as life and death but death isn't even his domain, it's xeilrens (and xeilren's domain is more time itself than afterlife) hes just done so much slaughter too that i think it's honorary. via plague and famine

i've been spending some time thinking about rift magic in general recently. taken to thinking of the deities as conduits. i think something i already established awhile back was that rift magic follows the rules of cannot be created or destroyed like real world matter but also that it all channels through sg , and her antlers are a great reservoir of it, there was more depth to that but that distributed it so that it was heavy in the background of the entire world. she also directly distributes it to each deity, they get their vast quantities of magic from her, but i think they would also on a smaller scale are conduits like i just described too and some of it channels through them as well. primarily whatever magic is most adjacent to their own. i do remember i had a document awhile back where i went into depth on the kinds of rift magic, i should dig that back up because i actually was cooking with that and because thats one thing that never committed to memory. i'd rather not rethink it from scratch considering i probably have notes abt it somewhere

i was also thinking about genetic variants / morphs / whatever they're called, in rift species. there's probably plenty unique to the rift, especially due to the nature of rift magic. there's unintentionally a pattern with rift magic making things have buglike characteristics and i ended up deciding some time ago that that's actually intentional now, though i havent had a lot of time to think about why that might be advantageous. i can say that it does also contribute to really high genetic variation in areas where the magic is most concentrated, there was a particular (more boreal) biome on some of the crappy old maps where this was extremely prevalent and a major definer of it but i want to flesh that out more so it makes sense too. regardless, im thinking particularly about in animals actually with this. i had already established (designed even, for a few species) stuff kind of like morphs that were named as blessings of the respective deities, and they weren't really colors and more actual traits following a theme but i've been considering playing around with that concept more. atp im too tired to phrase that in a way that make sense but if you get me you get me trust

but like. for example you can get a creature with traits of what is currently named as terchu's blessing (not an actual blessing , it's for the traits. i named it in context that it probably would be culturally seen as one though all of these terms need to be renamed) and they get traits themed around storms. but in my mind i could take that and say there's more variation in that based on region, make it more of an actual genetics thing that a lot of species exhibit in their own way. like, they're all caused in a similar way, but in one region it might be significantly more common that if you do see it it's themed around snowstorms specifically, and in another it's more themed around droughts. OR how lakuta's version would be traits themed around light, but because light levels in the rift are weird (they're based on lakuta distributing it ! while the planet of the rift orbits a star [...itcouldbecoolerifitdidntbutnowisnotthetimeforthat] and it does get light from it, because i said so some areas dont get bright anyway. some areas will be blinding like its afternoon in the middle of summer, maybe brighter than that, even during the day, just because lakuta put a buncha light ther for a stupid long amt of time. bc it gradually fades out over time. and then another area is in perpetual dawn light levels even at the brightest point of day. in a normal rift where lakuta behaves himself the light levels are distributed evenly but in the actual rift where hes constantly getting into skirmishes it's brightest wherever he fought at last.) because those light levels are weird you could get in a region that's had high light levels for awhile, more common to see that trait as being very bright and colorful, whereas in a darker area you may get a creature that's very darkly colored but their internals are bioluminescent and glow brightly. etc. i dont think i've explained this well but it's a fairly recent idea i want to build on and draw out at some point, and it is 9 pm i am FIGHTING to articulate anything i'm typing. good for you if you've understood any of this, if i ever look back on this i probably wont lmao