FYI: This is the "what if?" premise that started the whole thing... and it continues to be the most defining feature of my world.

Erde has one very simple yet pivotal rule of cobha – everything fades as it ages. Like human hair in our world turns white or gray in old age, everything in Erde gradually fades into grayscale, usually white. Literally everything, living and non, is affected by this premise. Rocks, fabrics, foods, human skin – nothing is exempt from this cobha.

Objects turn a paler shade of their color before going grayscale. Most objects fade into pure white at their end; the rare exception lies with naturally white objects, which turn gray. In humans, other sentient beings, and animals, the eyes are the last thing to lose color; there are no naturally gray-eyed people in Erde. The rate of fading is regular, making color a relatively consistent judge of age. People and things that have color are fresh, young, and strong; those that are faded are weakened, old, and dying.

While some objects fade quickly (such as bread) and others fade very slowly (such as rocks), all objects are generally affected by the fading in the same way. Mold, rust, burns, and other chemical damage will result in hastened whitening; the object will fade in the affected area as opposed to becoming scorched, rusted, etc. However, an object will not fade if it is merely torn or broken. (Think the difference between chemical change and physical change.)

There are a few natural phenomena that defy the fading cobha. Water is colorless, as it is in our world, and never changes color regardless of how many cycles it goes through. (Other drinks and treated water will fade when turning sour, however.) Decomposition reverses the process of fading; biodegradable objects will fade to the end of their life and then slowly regain the color of soil as they decompose.

Human health is the most fascinating exception to the fading premise. When humans and other living beings are injured, they will fade rapidly in the affected area to show the loss of cells and tissue. If the injury heals, however, the color will return to the affected area, a witness to the body “rebuilding” itself. Scars are always white. On the contrary, sudden death will result in immediate and complete fading. If a living being dies without warning, they will go white instantly. Color is not an immunity or guarantee of immorality.

This is a fascinating concept, Philly! I love it! So, things such as the rocks and mountains and trees fade slowly, while plants and animals fade more quickly? What about man-made objects, such as books? If they are treated well, will they keep from fading for a long while? What if only one page is moldy? Will the entire book fade?

Thank you, Milly!

Yes, that is correct. Everything fades, but things with short lifespans fade faster. Well-kept man-made objects would fade more slowly, because they wouldn't get damaged or wear out. (Given, of course, the materials the object is made out of have a long lifespan.) Chemical damage, like mold, only fades the affected area. So if only one page of a book got moldy, only that page would fade faster.

"Fading" is the single most intriguing thing about Erde. It is intriguing both in the overall concept, and in the visualization of it in one's imagination.

Thank you, Jonathan! I really appreciate hearing that.

I was wondering, if everything fades with time, wouldn't the scenery be a little...well...drab in color? I guess it depends on how old Erde is when your book(s) take place, but it still gives me the impression that the scenery might be rather colorless. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope, you are correct. In the first book, most of Erde still has a decent amount of color. A lot of plants regrow, so most of those aren't faded. But the ground in the south is starting to fade - so badly it's starting to fall apart...

Oh my! That will make for an interesting story? What happens when the ground falls apart? Does it just sink into the depths of the world?

When the earth crumbles, it just falls through endless space... Erde is flat, so the ground just chips off and falls.

Oh, okay! Yikes, I wouldn't want to fall with it!

Exactly. Thanks, Milly!

Next to the flat earth, the fading is my favorite aspect of Erde

Did anyone live in the South when it crumbled? I take it they don't stay alive while falling through nothingness?

eru

Awesome. Thank you.

Yes, people lived (are living) in the south during this phrase. I don't think we lost anyone over the edge (yet), but the land crisis caused some skirmishes that brought about the current politics: viewtopic.php?p=76823#p76823

Technically it's not the fall that kills you... it's the landing. Or not landing at all. (Whoa, maybe that should be a tagline... ) I'm going to answer those questions later... if I decide to write a book 2.

Wow, this is awesome.

So if something burns would it actually just lose color and turn white?

Can the ground be rejuvenated in any way to keep it all from crumbling away? I'm envisioning a patch being left about the size of a stepping stone with thirty people trying to stay on it...

Oh and also, will all of the moutains/rocks be white eventually? Or do they somehow get their color back (for example if they were molten and made into an igneous rock structure)?

Thank you very much!

I am still refining the science of fading in terms of injuries... I believe I'm going to have it that injuries on a living thing are white, but living things do have the ability to heal and regain color. However I may revise that and have it be that only permanent injuries (scars, death, etc.) go white - in other words, white is never reversible. It's something I'm still tweaking a bit, and will finesse when I revise all my world-building.

Certain organic substances can regain color if they go through a chemical change into a "new" substance. For instance, when something decomposes - it fades as it decomposes, but when it turns into "new" soil, it has color and basically starts its "life cycle" over again. So I think that would apply to the kind of situation you're talking about, if the rock went through chemical changes.

However, eventually all rock and soil will just get old... and no, once it crumbles there is no way to rejuvenate it. So yes, the earth is going to keep shrinking, and that's the point.

Awesome.