There was no such thing as night on Loss, whether in its plains, forests or deserts. At least not in the sense that earthlings gave to the word. Wherever you were, you couldn’t ignore Ortentia and its bluish light, its surface of vaporous wisps covering the sky over an area so vast that a hand stretched out in front of you couldn’t hide it. Lisa remembered the Earth moon, so small it could be hidden behind the tip of an outstretched finger. Ortentia, which she had quickly interpreted as a gas giant around which, she assumed, Loss orbited, forbade darkness by lighting up the world in a ghostly cerulean blue.

Even without it, however, the Lossyan night would have been clear. An immense galaxy, dense with millions of stars and incredibly larger and brighter than the Milky Way as seen from Earth, crossed the Lossyan sky. On its own, it probably shone almost as bright as a full moon. But what Lisa didn’t know, and what she discovered with eyes wide open, while Eïm, for whom the spectacle was customary, was already snoring like a buzzer, was that all the savage plant life of Loss lit up once night had fallen. Everywhere, buds, flowers and mosses glowed with a soft bioluminescence, ranging from blue to orange to golden yellows. It was like her discovery of Duncan’s symbiot hothouse, but on the scale of the entire forest, casting shimmering reflections in her red hair. Pure magic, which amazed her and kept her awake for a long time, despite her exhaustion.

The Songs of Loss, tome 4, The Arcis forests.

 

Here, in just a few pages, is as complete a presentation as possible of the world of Loss, covering its physics, geography, biotope, inhabitants and cultures. The description focuses on the Seas of Separation and the surrounding regions. Many of the topics that follow will be dealt with in greater detail later on, from Lossyan civilizations to geography and geopolitics, from flora and fauna to the societies, beliefs, philosophy and everyday life of Lossyans.

1 -Loss, the world of two suns

Loss is a planet a long way from Earth. I won’t talk about distances and light-years here, but to sum up, it’s simply impossible to see the star that is our Sun from Loss. How the Lossyans arrived on Loss is still a mystery, a mystery made all the greater by the fact that Earthlings regularly end up stranded on Loss (see below). Lossyan astronomical knowledge is quite extensive in terms of the stars and their movements, and major astronomical phenomena such as eclipses, shooting star showers and so on. But few people know that the world is round, a ball of matter revolving around two suns. Even fewer know that Ortentia, Loss’s giant moon, is in fact the gas giant around which Loss orbits. And the Church takes a dim view of even the most advanced astronomical research, because the heavens and the Stars are the exclusive domain of spirits, gods and the Divine Council, and writing about them should only be done under its supervision.

1-1 PLANETOLOGY

Loss’s skies, by day and by night, are something of an enchantment for those discovering them for the first time. The misty Ortentia, the gas giant of which Loss is a satellite, still occupies a huge slice of the night sky, barred by a luminous galaxy and tracing a starry path in an arc from one end of the celestial vault to the other. And in the daytime, when Ortentia is still slightly visiblet, two stars, a luminous sun and a small bluish-white star that is always visible even at midday, warm the planet. Once a year, Ortentia plunges Loss into a complete eclipse lasting around three and a half days. When the light returns, the Lossyan new year begins.

Insert: we can imagine complicated effects when a gas giant is close to a planet harboring life. Scientific theories even tend to assure that developed life would find it difficult to flourish so close to a star with such powerful gravitational, radiative and electromagnetic effects. For Loss, apparently, this was not the case, although some would argue that this is inconsistent. On the other hand, the presence of Ortentia is at the root of Loss’s many magnetic problems, which are discussed below.

Loss is a world quite similar to Earth, a little smaller than our planet, with a density and gravity a little lower, by just over a tenth. The oceanic surface area is just under 70%, and the land masses form a Pangea barred by rifts and volcanic reliefs, the northern part of which stretches around an inland sea called the Seas of Separation. The southern part of Pangea is much larger, and largely occupied by a desert that separates the Seas of Separation from the rest of the supercontinent. Pangea itself is surrounded by tectonic fault archipelagos. Both poles are devoid of land.

It’s hot on Loss. The average temperature is more like 17.5°C than 15°C on Earth. Its atmospheric pressure is also slightly higher, at around 106.8 hPa, compared with 101.3 on Earth. Finally, its atmosphere contains a higher proportion of Co2, exceeding 500 PPM. This is a boon for all plants, and the vast majority of the continent is covered by deep forests and jungles. These are interspersed here and there with plains and grasslands, either in basins surrounded by mountains blocking precipitation or high plateaus, or ancient plant cover grazed by the largest herbivores to the point of deforestation; yes, they’re big enough for that. Deserts are concentrated around the southern part of the central continental block, under the Seas of Separation, and on its eastern part, open to the infinite ocean. In addition to these deserts, there are the rifts, below sea level, with their crushing heat and intense volcanism, which are veritable hells where almost no life can be found. And when we do, it’s not good news.

Loss and compasses

Loss is a very active planet, with volcanic and seismic activity at its peak. It is also partly enclosed in the magnetic field of Ortentia, which protects it from many cosmic worries, but has troublesome effects on everything electronic and even electrical, including compasses.

There are 13 magnetic poles on Loss’s northern hemisphere, and they are shifting. A conventional compass is of no use here, and Lossyans use the sun and stars to find their way, with the help of sun compasses or soliliths, prisms that allow the position of the sun to be seen even on cloudy days, and of Dragensmann origin. Complex magnetic compasses are available for efficient position determination, but experienced sailors prefer to use sextants.

The number of magnetic fields and the intensity of their variations have an effect on any sensitive electric device: on Loss, anything that isn’t shielded against EMI won’t work for long. While this hasn’t been a problem so far for Lossyan technology, it does mean that nothing from Earth in this field works for more than a few hours before burning out for good, and it also means that electrical appliances on Loss can behave dangerously. Finally, it also means, oh joy, that the Northern Lights are frequent and can be seen even far to the south.

1-2 LOSS’S BIOTOPE

The flora and fauna of Loss have two features in common: it’s big, and it’s hostile to the average human. Loss has never been hit by a giant dinosaur-exterminating asteroid. But there have been several episodes of recent extinction, including the devastating consequences of the Long Winter, disastrous but mostly localized to part of the northern hemisphere; this has notoriously reduced the variety of living species on Loss, especially the larger and more specialized ones, although very few Lossyans are aware of this detail.

Loss is highly volcanic, often shaken by earthquakes and hence tsunamis, and regularly hit by meteorite showers, but none of this has ever been enough to exterminate the life that thrives there. The planet is home to a biotope which, not content with being oversized even if the largest species have disappeared, is particularly adept at survival. Adapting to an environment that was not only dangerous and hostile, but already occupied by a biotope that didn’t make life easy for them, was a feat for the Lossyans that is still constantly renewed today.

Lossyan’s plants range from the tiniest, most innocuous-looking moss to forests of trees whose canopies are almost a hundred meters high. And a tree topping out at twenty-five or thirty meters is the norm rather than the exception. What’s more, the variety and number of plants that have developed original and formidable defense and protection systems are very extensive. Plants with toxins, venoms, thorns, stinging hairs, psychotropic or stupefying fragrances, photophores and bioluminescence are fairly widespread, and most are really capable of killing a careless Lossyan. And there are a few – fortunately rare – carnivorous plants that are perfectly capable of capturing, neutralizing and digesting an animal the size of a large dog… or a child. Getting lost in a forest, for an unfamiliar Lossyan city-dweller, is a death sentence in a day. Even the best woodsmen don’t last long in an unfamiliar wilderness, and some peoples’ adaptation to forest life is as much a constant struggle as it is a remarkable case of symbiosis with their fearsome environment. To sum up: take the deadly side of the Amazon, add Australia’s most fearsome fauna, make giant versions of them, and tell yourself that most Loss forests are as dangerous as that, and some are far more so.

One advantage of this profusion of specializations and variety is that the flora and fauna of Loss provide a rich and sometimes incredible pharmacopoeia, which the Lossyans have learned to exploit to their advantage, especially in terms of health. Lossyans have a saying that there’s a plant for everything, and the fact is that Lossyan biochemistry works wonders, some of which astonish and surprise Lost Earthlings accustomed to the powerful pharmacopoeia of the 21st century.

The fauna of Loss

This is dominated by what Lossyans call mammalians: The average size of the reference Lossyan mammalian is roughly that of an ox (compared with the average size of a mammalian on Earth, which is smaller than a dog). To put it in numerical terms, the median weight of a mammalian is over a ton, compared with around 40 kg for the Earth’s mammals. A mammalian herbivore weighing three or four tonnes is common, while the largest, the longilas, exceed 20 tonnes, and predators are on the same scale, such as the tarbosarre and its seven tonnes. Mammalians are the dominant terrestrial species on Loss. They lay eggs, but suckle their young, and generally produce fairly small numbers. They are warm-blooded, and like terrestrial mammals, they have conquered all environments, including aquatic and aerial. Mammalians have little fur, and more down in colder regions. Their ornaments and dresses are coloration of their epidermis. Cutaneous, bony and external armor are very common. Last but not least, a number of them have venoms, including those they can spit, but also defensive weapons such as boiling breaths, or bioelectric weapons. Many produce bioluminescence. And all of them are dangerous: there are a few tame species, but mammalians, by virtue of their size, cunning, adaptability and weapons, are difficult creatures to domesticate, exterminate or simply control. It should be noted that no mammalian has ever developed an advanced cultural system.

There are many other surprising, impressive and dangerous animals on Loss. Birds, reptiles, snakes, insects and, of course, fish, molluscs and crustaceans can all be found here, but even if some are truly blatant dangers, they are very manageable; and of reasonable size. You may even encounter mosquitoes almost as long as a little finger, and a few rare species of insect larger than rabbits. As for the rest of the vermin, toshs (the rats of Loss ) can easily weigh over three kilos.

Finally, there are many domestic animals of Terran origin: cats (rare, as the toshs eat them), dogs, horses, rabbits, ducks and camels, for example. The Lossyans believe that these animals followed them when they arrived on this world from Earth.

Later on, we’ll also look at another species unique to Loss, the symbionts, who live in symbiosis with virtually all of Loss’s biotope, Lossyans included, and without whom, according to scientists, life wouldn’t be the same on this world.

2 -The world of Lossyans

2-1 THE GEOGRAPHY OF LOSS

Lossyan civilizations are all found in the northern hemisphere, around the Seas of Separation. To the west, an immense mountain range stretches from the Great Rift to the northern limits of the continent, forming a natural barrier that is actually surmounted by a wall of smooth rock rising more than a hundred meters, blocking all access and said to be guarded by a legendary monster. To the east and south, the Seas of Separation open out, behind tightly packed archipelagos, onto the barely explored Infinite Ocean. North of Loss opens onto the cold Arctic seas and the North Pole ice cap. The southern hemisphere, barred by a deadly desert, is still unexplored and considered uninhabited. As for the Rift, it’s a deadly, desolate territory, off-limits by the Council and home to the mysterious Jemmais.

With two exceptions, there are no real nation-states on Loss. The various Lossyan civilizations are concentrated around city-states, each with its own laws. The pressure of the Lossyan fauna is not conducive to creating new colonies and expanding, so most Lossyans live in fortified cities and the nearby towns and hamlets around them. Isolated villages and communities are rare. But just as there are, there are also nomadic, forested tribes who manage to live in harmony with the hostile nature of Loss. Lossyans prefer to live on the coast, around the Seas of Separation, so they can travel by sea, which is much safer than by land. But this is not systematic, and levitating ships enable communities far inland to benefit from regular trade.

2-2 EMPIRES & CITY-STATES

The largest city in Loss is the capital of the Hegemony, Anqimenès, the sacred one. It is the heart of the power of the Ordinatorii, the religious and military servants of the Church of the Divine Council, who reign as conquerors over an empire stretching from the northern borders of the Plains of Eteocles, to the extreme west of the Marches of Gennema, opposite the eastern empire of Hemlaris. Barely less populated, and at its southernmost extreme, is Armanth, the city of the Merchants’ Guild. With a population of over a million, it is a city-state that nevertheless holds sway over vast territories and all neighboring cities, and is rightly considered the capital of the whole of Athémaïs, all the way to the desert foothills of the Fringes.

The second empire of the Seas of Separation is Hemlaris, the Empire of the Ruby Throne. Although originally following the same faith as Anqimenès, variations in worship and dogma led to Hemlaris and its capital, Cymiad, being declared heretics. What followed was a crusade that lasted for centuries and ended just a few decades ago between the two mortal enemies, in a war that set fire to virtually all the city-states of the Seas of Separation and forced the Hegemony to give up its ambitions of conquest – at least for the time it needed to train new generations of fanatical and devoted Ordinatorii.

Between Armanth, Anqimenès and Cymiad, they are the Seas of Separation, and an archipelago of populated and prosperous islands and peninsulas, from Terancha to the United Cities, not to mention the immense Plains of Eteocles and the barbarian peoples: Jemmais, Foresters, Dragensmanns, mainly. While Cymiad restores its grandeur, weakened by internal conflicts, Armanth and Anqimenès wage a war of influence through the City-States of the Seas of Separation. Armanth and the Merchants’ Guild are seeking new markets and influences, and spreading innovative, heretical and libertarian ideas, while Anqimenès wants to become, through aggressive diplomacy, the center of the material world. The latter is already the center of the spiritual world and the city of the Church of the Council, an expansionist and dogmatic religion that has reigned over the whole of Loss for a thousand years. Armanth and Anqimenès have only been at war once, 25 years ago.

2-3 THE MYSTERIES OF THE PAST

The Lossyans were not the first civilization to live on Loss. Other strange beings have lived on this planet, founded civilizations and cities, of which rare vestiges remain buried, as if they had been wished away, and incredible technological artifacts, sometimes dangerous and considered magical by Lossyans. They are rare, proscribed by the Church, but eagerly sought after by the less superstitious. And many expeditions aim to find them by exploring the remotest parts of Loss, which, as you can imagine, is no easy task.

Lossyans are very, very rare in knowing their history beyond the last thousand years and the founding of the Church of the Council by its first prophets with frightening powers. Everything that dates from before The Long Winter, date 0 in the Lossyan calendar, is the stuff of myth, including their own origins. And virtually all written records have been systematically lost or destroyed by the Ordinatorii. The vast majority of Lossyans superstitiously avoid learning anything about it.

3 -The Lossyans

3-1 PHYSICAL ASPECTS

Lossyans are strikingly large compared to Earthlings. On Earth, a man of one meter ninety is very tall. For a Lossyan, this is the average. A tall Lossyan can reach 2.20 m, and the tallest, giants like Abba or Eïm in the novels, are 2.30 m tall. For women, 1.75 m is average, 1.80 m is common. The slight difference in gravity accounts for the difference in height. Lossyans are also better built, more athletic and more powerful-looking than Earthlings.

The impressive stature of the men and women of Loss is due to two causes: firstly, it’s a benefit of their indigenous diet. But these effects of the Lossyan diet have only become apparent over the generations. The children of a Terran will be smaller than those of a Lossyan, and they will only fully catch up with the Lossyan build in two or three generations. Secondly, the higher average difference in atmospheric pressure between Earth and Loss has also contributed to a slight increase in lung capacity and ribcage muscles, and their broad, slightly V-shaped silhouette. The Lost Earthmen spend some time having a little trouble breathing, which passes fairly quickly.

If you compare their strength, a Lossyan looks much more powerful than an Earthling. But that’s just the way they look. As the vast majority of earthlings imported to Loss are city women, they’re not much of a match for Lossyans, the vast majority of whom are hard-working and built like giants. On the other hand, a muscular, battle-hardened Earthman or a good combat sportsman is more than equal to a Lossyan, and can stand up to him, with the tenth of a gravity difference working in his favor.

3-2 LOSSYAN ETHNICITIES & APPEARANCES

Lossyans are as varied as humans on Earth. The only remarkable detail is that no ethnic group native to the American continent has apparently been implanted on Loss. There are Asians, Africans, Semites, Indo-Europeans, Slavs, Mediterraneans – mainly of Greek origin – Scandinavians and other older or local ethnic groups of Earth origin. After much mixing and blending, it’s common to see tall, blond or light-brown men with dark or café-au-lait skin and blue eyes.

There are very few Lossyans with red hair. Given how they were purged after the Long Winter, and how they are hunted down and enslaved today, this trait is rare. To be born red-haired, especially for a little girl, is a curse; if not abandoned or even killed as a child, a red-haired person will be enslaved around the age of 13 and may end up as an offering to the Church of the Council. There are also very few albinos and odd-eyed people. Lossyans’ superstitions don’t favour them, and in some places they tend to be killed or left to their fate as soon as these features appear.

It should be noted that some Lossyans live to a ripe old age. While the average life expectancy is around 38 years – there is still a fairly high infant mortality rate in general – and a man who has passed his fifties is called “old”, there are Lossyans who live to be two centuries old without time seeming to have any effect on them, thanks to symbiotes called Ambroses.

3-3 THE PRIDE OF LOSSYANS

Lossyans are all proud people. They’re proud of themselves, their families, their ancestors and their achievements. Humility is not a Lossyan trait; they leave that to the religious ascetics or their slaves. They also like to boast and embellish their exploits. Fame and renown are important, because fame reflects on family and friends; a Lossyan may well lose all caution if he sees a good opportunity to accomplish a glorious feat worthy of writing his Legend. Their pride is what makes them brave and adventurous.

The Lossyan is proud of who he is and who he belongs to. It’s a sensitive, ticklish pride that it’s not always wise to insult without being sure of yourself. Honor killings, revenge and vendettas are not uncommon. In a harsh and dangerous world, family solidarity is not only a driving force, but a necessity for survival. A Lossyan without family, loved ones or clan is alone, lost, at the mercy of the first danger, and will be viewed with suspicion.

3-4 THE VIRTUES OF LOSSYANS

An element so universal that it can be found in all Lossy cultures, even those that in no way follow the faith of the Church, are the Virtues. There are three recognized virtues, plus a fourth unknown to the Church and Concilian cultures. Here they are, with their symbolism:

• Honor, which is Earth, is linked to social skills and has green as its color.
• Courage, which is Fire, is linked to the body and is colored red.
• Wisdom, which is Water, is linked to the spirit, and is colored blue.
• Faith, which is air, is linked to the powers of Loss, and is colored white.

Faith is a virtue that is not recognized by the Church of the Divine Council, and has been forgotten by practically everyone, since its existence has been erased from all texts and its promoters, mainly the shamans, hunted down and exterminated.

Honor as social leaven

In general, Lossyan honor is the cement of family cohesion and social relations. It is a major factor in forging his reputation and the respect of his peers. A Lossyan without Honor is a disloyal man, and his promises, oaths and commitments are worthless. A Lossyan without honor can be swindled, robbed and cheated, without scruples. And he’ll have nothing left but his arms and weapons to defend and win back. Not an easy task, since Lossyans are by no means all good fighters.

Honor is a kind of substitute for contract in a world where most people can’t read, and where legal institutions generally have neither the means nor the mission to enforce written agreements. It’s also a moral value, so Honor is what will be enhanced or undermined by the public behavior of individuals, men or women. Last but not least, it’s what we end up defending in a duel, although Lossyans avoid duels to the death as much as possible: a custom respected by almost everyone – at the risk of losing their honor – is that a man who kills another in a duel becomes responsible for his family.

3-5 QUALITIES AND WEAKNESSES OF LOSSYANS

Superstition

Lossyans are superstitious. In addition to their respectful and distrustful fear of the dreaded members of the Council Church, Lossyans fear their many gods, spirits, spectres, bad omens and celestial signs. When a place is cursed or brings bad luck, most of the time the average person takes it seriously. A Lossyan atheist or miscreant simply doesn’t make sense, and apostasy is a crime almost everywhere. Diviners and spiritual intercessors are consulted by any man who wants to embark on great projects.

Hospitality

Hospitality is sacred: you don’t leave your door closed to a lost traveler seeking shelter for the night. And this same traveler will honor his hosts to the best of his ability, by offering services, bartering, recounting their hospitality elsewhere, and so on. Providing food to a man in need is normal, and the traveler knows he’ll always find a warm place to sleep and some soup.

Curiosity

Lossyans are generally quite curious. Distrust of novelty exists, but is relatively low, unless the novelty has the appearance of magic or could arouse the distrust of the Church. Lossyans respect scholars, scientists and engineers, even if they may also distrust them. As Lossyans are notoriously courageous and adventurous, they may take risks to satisfy their curiosity, but this has a limit: taking a risk also means turning one’s back on one’s family and friends, which is why Lossyans are rare when it comes to going on adventures.

Respect for life

Lossyans do not kill needlessly and rarely engage in massacres. When they capture an enemy, they will generally either hold him hostage for ransom, or enslave him; and they will only use cruelty because necessity demands it. Even with their slaves, Lossyans avoid cruelty. Except when required by law or tradition, and even if a master has full rights over a slave who is his property, killing or maiming a slave is frowned upon. And since fame and honor dominate social relations, killing your slave isn’t going to help you build a good reputation. However, Lossyans also never hesitate to give death when necessary, and fear its occurrence far less than 21st century humans. After all, they are confronted with it very often.

Sexism

Lossyans are generally virile, notoriously macho and, depending on the culture, clearly sexist. Patriarchal society, legitimized by the implacable dogmas of the Church, dominates Concilian societies, as it does in the Hegemony, the Plains of Eteocles, the United Cities and the Eastern Empire of Hemlaris. Women are the responsibility and yoke of the men in the family, who have all the power over them. An independent woman, free from male authority, is rare. But there are female military officers, ship captains, guild leaders, teachers, entrepreneurs and heads of families. And Lossyans respect – even if they’re wary of – the so-called “swordswomen “, the strong, independent women, often fighters but not necessarily, who have decided to defend their honor the way men do, and are ready to fight a duel.

However, the further south we go, to Armanth and Athémaïs in general, the more egalitarian the legal protection of women in the family circle becomes. They are granted divorce, inheritance and property rights, and the right to lodge complaints in the event of abuse or domestic violence. In the southern Seas of Separation, a man who beats his wife or sells one of his daughters risks losing his reputation and honor.

Slavery

Lossyans have no problem with slavery. It is considered useful and necessary, and the vast majority of Lossyans would not understand if it were deemed unacceptable. Slavery is not just a state of affairs for Lossyans; it’s an art, practiced by a respected profession.

The most valuable thing, along with loss-metal, according to the Lossyans, is women. The vast majority of them have learned to be cautious and fearful of any potential risk that could subject them to the fate they all dread, since any woman who has committed a crime or been captured by an enemy is certain to be condemned to servitude.

Note that High Art was originally created to enslave and control the Loss Singers. Now, anyone unfortunate enough to be a redhead is enslaved (or killed). Church dogmas also tend to confirm the need to enslave Lost earthlings.

4 – Lossyan social organization

There are five social classes in Lossyan city-states: the aristocracy, the clergy of the Council Church, the merchant guilds and brotherhoods, the common people and the slaves. This model is the most common, and is specific to Concilian cultures. For example, it is non-existent among the Erebs or Dragensmanns, whose societies are organized outside the influence of the Church.

4-1 CITY-STATE ARISTOCRACY & DEMOCRACY

Each city has an aristocracy akin to the nobility of the sword. The military forces of city-states are troops and legions financed by the nobility, who are often in charge of leading them. The more legions a city has, the more influential the aristocracy. They are recognized as the city’s armed wing, whose members see themselves as responsible for defending the city – and see it as their duty to enjoy their privileges and status in return.

However influential, the aristocracy is not the ruling class. City-states are generally run by democratic bodies, even in the case of monarchies. Cities are governed by an Agora of tribunes elected by an Assembly of representatives or by citizens of different social classes. In most cases, anyone can vote, even indirectly, provided they are an adult male citizen. Women very rarely have the right to vote.

Thus, depending on the case, nobles, priests or merchants would dominate the Agora and rule the city for the duration of their mandate, usually five to ten years. While the Agora represents the executive power, the Assembly manages the legislative power. Nepotism is rife, as is oligarchy and corruption, and seizures of power by force are not uncommon. But Lossyans don’t like autocracy in general. Money, politics, armed force, family ties and alliances form a complex system where power is passed from hand to hand and often fought over. Sometimes to the battlefield and city streets.

4-2 THE COUNCIL CHURCH

The Church is always present in the city-states, but not necessarily at the behest of the central power of Anqimenès. Each city is home to at least one temple and its Ordinatorii, who sometimes form legions in their own right. Placing itself above all local cults, which it represses and severely restricts (public cults are generally forbidden or frowned upon), the Church ensures that the Council’s Dogmas are respected, hunts down heresies, tracks down Loss Singers and makes sure that the offerings each city must pay to the Council are honored. Priests and Ordinatorii form a separate elite. While some are very close to the people, they tend to be feared.

The Church often had schools, always orphanages and sometimes hospices. Despite the weight of the Council’s dogmas, it’s hard to argue that its power is based solely on fear and tyranny. In some places, it even represents civilization, culture and progress. But the further south you go, the more power the Merchants’ Guild wields, and the more the Church’s influence diminishes. In Armanth and the whole of Athémaïs, the Church has almost no power.

4-3 GUILDS AND BROTHERHOODS

Guilds and brotherhoods represent the third great power, represented by the merchant bourgeoisie, often wealthier than the nobility. Guilds protect the interests and rights of their members, ensure the transmission of techniques and knowledge, and look after orphans, the elderly and widows. Guilds and brotherhoods provide social protection, solidarity and political representation for craftsmen, engineers, workers, academics and merchants. A guild is generally a union of merchants or artisans of finished products. A brotherhood brings together workers, engineers, artists and intellectuals. And guilds and confraternities meet among themselves. The most powerful and influential known is the Merchants’ Guild, headquartered in Armanth, whose power rivals that of the Church.

The most powerful guilds have their own halls, markets, schools, courts and banks, fleets and even entire armies, and the most powerful master merchants have such fortunes that it is claimed they could buy entire cities.

4-4 THE PEOPLE

Not everyone is a member of a guild or brotherhood, and not every city has a guild or brotherhood for every trade – far from it. For the most part, people fend for themselves, with their families, to defend their interests. The notion of police, courts and security is limited. Cities have guards charged with maintaining order in the event of a major incident, and possibly chasing down dangerous criminals, but their job is above all to protect the city walls and deal with civil unrest. Most misdeeds, crimes and disputes are settled by the people themselves, except for the most serious ones. Those who could afford it – nobles, bourgeois, wealthy craftsmen, brotherhoods – had private guards or militias.

Outside towns, there are no guards, no armies, and people can only rely on themselves and their families. Political representation of the people in city-states is rather limited. Sitting in politics is a major investment, one that the small craftsman, fisherman or farmer can’t afford. If he wants to eat, he has to look after his trade. So, most of the time, the people’s representatives are aristocrats, wealthy scholars or priests close to them, rarely a member of the people themselves.

4-5 SLAVES

Finally, there are the slaves. Outside the city-states, there are very few slaves, but there’s a whole market in slaves; in fact, it’s one of Armanth’s sources of wealth. Slaves are considered property and treated like animals and goods. Lossyans do, however, value their domestic slaves, and it is very rare for them to be maimed or killed gratuitously. But it is exceptional for a slave to escape, mainly because of the use of lincis, and dogs trained to smell them; any attempt is harshly punished, in public, including by death. While the lot of a female slave may be relatively mild, even pleasant, the lot of a male slave is less than enviable. They were used for heavy labor, in mines and construction sites, as gladiators in arenas, and even as auxiliaries and cannon fodder in battles. Women, for their part, were used for domestic chores, as pets and for sexual purposes.

A slave on Loss no longer owns anything, including his own name, and technically has no rights and no honor. Lossyans rarely enslave scholars, engineers or intellectuals, male or female, preferring to ransom them for their freedom or offer to work for them.

5- Lossyan science & technology

The various Lossyan civilizations are not all at the same level technologically, but societies that are far behind are rare and isolated. Most Lossyan peoples have access to much the same widespread technology as their neighbors, and the difference lies in the most modern advances and the most advanced research and techniques of each.

5-1 THE NOTION OF “CIVILIZED

A Lossyan generally defines “civilized” as someone who knows the principles of the Virtues and the dogmas of the Divine Council. This has nothing to do with being literate or cultured. A “civilized” Lossyan will be all the more esteemed if, in addition, he knows how to speak Athemais, the lingua franca of Loss.

Anything that isn’t “civilized” and doesn’t follow the precepts of the Council Church is considered barbaric, for a Lossyan. Barbarians have no Virtues and are therefore not human in the Lossyan sense of the word. They are not protected by laws and codes, and can be hunted, stalked, enslaved or killed. Including an Earthman with all his culture and knowledge, who finds himself lost on Loss.

5-2 LOSSYAN ERUDITION

The average Lossyan is, from the point of view of the 21st century Westerner, uneducated. He knows how to count, but rarely how to read or write. He’s a farmer or herder who lives off the land, has never seen a book or newspaper, and knows nothing about science. If he can talk about a few habits and customs of neighboring regions, his geographical knowledge doesn’t go beyond the roads and tracks within a day or two’s walk. Most Lossyans have never traveled further than the big local market or on a pilgrimage to a Church temple. Their knowledge is generally limited to that of their trade, and they would struggle to grasp innovative or revolutionary ideas. They are not very cultured, and their main preoccupation is to work to feed their families, find ways to get through the difficult seasons and harsh winters, and avoid attracting bad omens, the wrath of spirits, ancestors, gods and hostile nature.

However, Lossyans are also curious and adventurous people, which tends to give rise to a number of thinkers, researchers and explorers. The largest city-states have universities and colleges, and engineering – in all fields – is a fairly common profession. Somewhat more city dwellers know how to read, and the printing press has given rise to widespread newspapers and pamphlets. But owning a complete library is a bourgeois luxury, and writing a book is proof of great erudition.

5-3 ARTIFACTS FROM THE PAST

Before humans settled on Loss, strange civilizations evolved here. Only vestiges remain, but a determined explorer can find strange and unique treasures. In the vast majority of cases, these artifacts have no more impact than works of art, and their value lies in their materials: loss-metal, loss-crystal and other rare metals. But some are functional, even dangerous and deadly. Many Lossyan innovations, including electricity and levitation engines, have been inspired by the study of these artifacts. Wealthy Lossyans are very fond of these objects, and intellectuals seek every opportunity to study them, but their possession is highly frowned upon by the Ordinatorii, and has led to a few trials and executions for heresy after a find that is too exotic, functional and/or dangerous.

5-4 LOSSYAN TECHNOLOGY

The average technological and scientific level of Lossyans is similar to that of the Terran 16th and 17th centuries. Mathematics and geometry are highly advanced, and astronomy and star movement are beginning to be studied. The known world is being mapped ever more precisely, and the Lossyans are impressive hydraulic and wind engineers. Biology is still in its infancy, optics is developing, but chemistry is well mastered, and physics is beginning to take a successful interest in electricity, the concepts of atoms and elements, gases and fluids. Lossyan pharmacopoeia is surprisingly effective for a 21st-century human. Lossyans use fertilizers and fallow land, mastered agriculture; irrigation, water and windmills, hydraulic machine tools are commonplace. They know and use a lot of printing and paper, have rather efficient mechanized weaving workshops, and are masters of foundry and steel machining. Craftsmen’s tools are of high quality and wide-ranging, and watchmaking and micromechanics are in their infancy. A field in which Lossyans have great mastery is marine construction.

5-5 LOSS-METAL

Loss-metal is used to manufacture and power electric dynamos and to build levitation motors for levitating ships. Such large-scale machinery is expensive, and loss-metal is rare and precious. Lossyans’ knowledge of electricity comes from the study of past artifacts, and the physics of electricity is still in its infancy. The vast majority of Lossyans still believe it to be a magical force. Too much study of it is frowned upon by the Church.

Lossyans use loss-metal to make simple electromechanical motors and lamps. But above all, in addition to pistols and impulse rifles, however, the engines used in levitating ships are also manufactured, enabling them to rise into the air, out of reach of the giant, aggressive fauna of Loss. Levitation motors are also used on urban construction sites, to lift heavy loads. The electrical and magnetic effects of Loss have given rise to a number of highly effective, exotic and dangerous contact weapons. Finally, the use of electric heat is known to a few rare blast furnaces, enabling the working of certain metals such as titanium, and the production of highly resistant and solid alloys.

5-7 INVENTIVENESS & HERESIES

The truth is, if you’re looking anywhere, there’s bound to be a scientist or inventor who’s come up with a surprising or frightening little marvel. It’s not for nothing that we speak of a Da Vinci-Punk (clockpunk) universe. Lossyans’ ingenuity extends to all fields. In fact, their only restraint is a fearful and superstitious respect for the dogmas of the Council, which forbids certain heretical research or industrial applications. Explosives, for example : they are known, but the Ordinatorii try to keep a tight rein on them and, most of the time, they alone commission experts and engineers to design and use them on building sites and in mines under their strict control. On the other hand, they are not yet dared to use them as a weapon, except in exceptional cases: reliable and powerful explosives are rare, more unstable and dangerous than impulse weapons, much less understood, and Lossyans obviously generally take a dim view of using something dangerous that has been condemned by the Council.

6 – The outcasts

Outside civilizations, Concilian or not, there are people with strange fates or origins, which are by no means necessarily to their advantage: here are the most remarkable, whose very existence has changed and is still changing the course of the world of Loss.

6-1 THE LOST EARTHLINGS

Even today, no scientist knows how humans originally arrived on Loss. Legend and Dogma say that Lossyans come from the Stars and return there when they die. But just about everyone knows that Lossyans are not native to the world they live on. Earthlings continue to arrive on Loss. Although it’s a rare occurrence, people from Earth, the planet known to scholars and scientists at least through the testimonies and stories of Earthlings, do appear somewhere on Loss. They are called the Lost Earthlings.

The Church of the Council is very clear about the fate of earthlings: they are to be enslaved. The few Lost Earthlings who manage to survive their early days on Loss and adapt, often with help, quickly learn not to reveal their origin. A Lost Terran who strands on Loss without finding help in the first few hours does not, with a few exceptions, survive more than a day on Loss.

6-2 THE LOSS SINGERS & SHAMANS

The Loss Singers are people, most often women and redheads, who possess the gift of resonating with loss metal and, by “singing” with it, altering the laws of gravity and electromagnetism. The Song of Loss is a very rare power, but intrinsically destructive and difficult to control. The weakest Singer of Loss can do as much damage as a hand grenade. The most powerful and legendary of them all, considered a demon, Orchys de Parcia, has truly devastated the world of Loss and created the ravages of the Long Winter. The Loss Singers are feared and considered demons, and are either enslaved or hunted. It’s because they’re so feared that all redheads are enslaved in Concilian civilizations.

Shamans are intimately linked to symbionts and to the nature of Loss, a living entity in their own right. Their powers are as feared as their past influence on the Lossyans: the shamans truly exert control over all living beings on Loss. Accused of letting the Loss Singers destroy the world, and declared witches and heretics by the Church, they have been exterminated and are now very rare in regions of Concilian culture, where they must remain permanently hidden. But they continue their mysterious task, as well as fulfilling one of their most important duties: guiding and advising the Singers of Loss.