NTS and Lycanis said that if I posted this, they would help. (I think it was them, anyway)


The World of Cryulom
General

The Caverns:
The Caverns are massive network of natural tunnels and caves, spreading out from one giant cavern. It is difficult to enter or leave The Caverns, mainly because no-one maintains the tunnels leading out, allowing stalagmites to block the exits. Plus, steam pockets located randomly throughout the tunnels make all travel without a water-pressure machine practically impossible. The Caverns have several tribes and one monarchy inside, all living in moderately stable peace, aside from a few wars over the centuries.

The Surface:
According to legend, when a volcano’s ash blocked the atmosphere, chemicals in the ash caused half of the sun’s heat to deflect. One race, unable to stand the cold, fled down to the unexplored caverns. The other race stayed on the surface. They now regret their decision, as while they can survive somewhat comfortably, war and natural disasters plague them━from smaller volcanoes to enemy nations tearing down their weakened walls. However, certain countries have managed to protect themselves, and build peaceful relationships with other nations.

The lists below show a sampling of everything Cryulom has become.
Inside The Caverns

• Webs
• Crystals
• Moss
• Curly Leaf Okakonasi
• Dark
• Crystal spheres as currency
• Yellow diamonds
• Lizards
• Turtles
• Public transportation
• Deep blue water
• Snails
• Snakes
• Albino deer
• Black rabbits
• Salmon
• Water snakes
• Red/white striped crabs
• Clams
• People with limbs like spiders
• Coal
• Houses built on the cavern walls
• Spheres of crystal
• Amethysts
• Wanted posters
• Stalagmites blocking tunnels
• Homes carved from stone
• Tribes
• Boats of tree bark
• Cold winds from above
• Iron
• Ballistas
• Roads lit by lava trenches
• Water pressure technology

Outside the Caverns

• Cold
• Outside is harsh
• Mountains
• Ice
• Stone monasteries
• Old bridges covered in ice
• Strong winds
• It’s almost always snowing
• Lichen
• Strongly-built humans
• Castles
• Small steam vents
• Volcanoes
• Penguins
• Walruses
• Whales
• Icy oceans
• Icebergs
• Dark & rolling clouds
• Winding Paths up mountains
• Earth domes
• Food Stockpiles
• Arctic vines
• Valleys of pure ice
• Tunnels to Lower Cryulom
• Comets
• Frequent meteor showers
• Millions of visible stars
• Ice walls dividing countries
• Guards
• Steam machines
• Gliders
• Advanced weaponry

World Type: Flat
Society Type: Steampunk/ Gaslamp Fantasy


Thanks!

Sounds interesting! What did you need help with?

Developing it. I've been having trouble writing anything lately, and this is the only thing I came up with so far.

Hmm. Well, I'd like to hear more about the spider-limbed people. And do they have artificial light in the caves and such, or can they see in the dark?

So how do the cavern-dwellers get fuel for fire, or do they need fire at all? Do they see in the dark or something? Do they build stuff? If so what materials do they use?
Do they need the water pressure machine everywhere, or just in key places? Where do they get food?


Is this the main race(s) or are there others?

Does the lava ever overflow or bubble too much for a road to be safe to traverse?

So is the outside currently in a ice-age sorta thang? Is it like this everywhere on the outside?

Earth domes? Those sound interesting, what are they?

How advanced is the weaponry?

Has anyone ever accidentally slipped and then found themselves in the caverns?

Hope this helps some.

1. The cavern dwellers use lava/steam for heat.
2. Lights are oil lamps, the oil procured from plants.
3. One of their main jobs is mining, and they use iron and copper for building machines.
4. The water pressure machines are used only in factories.
5. Food is grown near lava falls or holes in the cavern ceiling, where there's enough light to grow food.
6. This is the only underground race as of yet.
7. Yes, often in fact.
8. Correct. On this continent, and the oceans are too dangerous to cross.
9. The earth domes are domes carved from the land.
10. No. The tunnels are very long.

Hehe... I fail at asking helpful questions.

That's really interesting! So...the people underground live on plants and the plants have everything they need? Or do they have diseases due to malnutrition or something like that?

How advanced is the weaponry?

I suppose some malnutrition, but not much.

The cavern people have a low military tech level, mainly because of their long peace treaties.

What about the surface people?

So do the surface people have legends/myths about the cavern-dwellers and vice-versa?

The surface people are your standard human.

I suppose the only myths/legends both sides would have are ones like: The evil humans/the evil spiders.

Cool! So do some of the surface humans want to try and find the caverns, or do they believe/know it to be impossible or do they not believe the cavern-dwellers exist anymore?

The humans think everyone in the caverns are evil, and should be destroyed, to allow humans a safe place of living while the surface becomes more pleasant. No one attempts to go down there, mainly because of the stalagmites that have grown so large they block the narrow tunnels.

That's interesting!
Oh, so they haven't developed technology to blow away the stalagmites or drill through them or something?

They have, but most of the countries on the surface don't care or can't spend enough resources to drilling through the tunnel blockages. Over 2/3 of the countries are at war with each other, while the other 1/3 are attempting to maintain peace with their few allies.

Okay I see.

So...what in particular are you having trouble developing? Do you want help thinking of a story or something? I ran out of easily-thought-of questions.

No, just lately I can't write.

Hm...well if you ever want more help brainstorming or something let me know, I'm not good at figuring out what I should write, but sometimes I can give other people ideas.