“I know you don’t like chess, Paxo, but let’s give it a try. I will teach you some basics so you can make friends with my circle of scientists and ladies. Are you feeling bored yet?”

“Not really, but go ahead.”

Heronoja is a fictional country I made located on an eastwards peninsula. Since my world has so many countries, I might begin with that nation of blonde alien hybrids.

If Heronoja were a countryball, they would be either male or female, depending on the work. They also come with blonde hair, like the country’s people. Like other countryballs, Heronoja’s interests reflect those of its people.

The male version would love gold, spears, brushing his hair, chariot riding and jousting, and unicorns. The female version also loves her hair and spears, but also likes archery, dresses, and dancing. But regardless, Heronojaball hates ice cream and vampires.

Heronojaball is quite suspicious about outsiders, due to being invaded and tortured by other countries, so they only trust a few friends. They also don’t like it when others refer them as “doll” because they looked unnervingly beautiful. They also love to ride on their unicorn.

Some pictures of Radumo, Paxoti, and Paruko, three friends. Radumo is a pink-haired tree person who loves to read and try experiments. Paxoti is a muscular woman who likes brawling and combat. Paruko is the most “mainstream” of the two, being an average lady: she and Radumo were classmates who used to work on lost Celestial tech and cycle together.

Sometimes, Radumo asks Paxoti to join her in hosting a weblog - the pink woman talks about her scientific projects, while Paxoti boasts about her workouts.

(Largely inspired by Octolings, pop culture depictions of atheists, and medieval Indonesia. The name Nandegakko was derived from a random Japanese comment in a video about wrestlers.)

Here is a picture of a Nandegakkovian boy and girl: they can be told apart from other Igarins by their red hair and fierce tempers. The boy is a scholar, studying ancient records, and the girl is a warrior, trained to fight with the bow and knives. Nandegakko’s culture is a nation of scholars dedicated to preserving (and improvising) the histories and myths of the Galaxy; and it is also a nation of warriors who defend the innocents of the Galaxy from total slaughter and extinction. Either way, they Nandegakkovians celebrate their ancestors and the Resparin culture from which many of them were descended from.

Behind the duo are two symbols of Nandegakkovian culture. The diamond tree is the republic’s national flower, its glowing mineral-like fruit symbolic of the knowledge and creativity gifted to its people. Next to the tree are two blue sails, sacred emblems to the sea god Sailachro: although he is only worshipped by a minority of religious people, his symbols pervade Nandegakkovian society. In spite of their lack of belief, many Nandegakkovians respect sea turtles, symbols of their beloved ancestors.

To other people in the Galaxy, even among the most devout traditionalists, the Nandegakkovians seem archaic and backwards in terms of attire and speech, even as their technology is very advanced: their culture was derived from a mixture of Resparin traditions with Igarin society from a thousand years ago. Their anarchonistic attire makes them seem odd when contrasted against their technological advancement.

The text reads:

Red turtle: úrsida (turtle)

White octopus: NÁNDA DÁNDA DÉRATE (Knowledge is the greatest power)

The boy: naskuóče (scholar)

The girl: zónesa (warrior woman)

====

Nandegakko, a culture from a tropical terrestrial planet along the southern part of the Galaxy, is known for its rather distinctive culture. It is one of several cultures that are atheistic, in that its people do not believe in or worship any gods, an exception in a Galaxy where nearly everyone worships many gods. Yet its people have a strong love for mythology, tradition, and knowledge: they risk a thousand deaths to retrieve the most mysterious and obscure archive in the furthest place, and they immerse themselves in a hundred themes revolving around their legends and heroes.

The rest of the Galaxy sees them as naive and reckless, without any gods to save them from their eventual doom as heretics. But to some people, especially those whom they protected fiercely, the Nandegakkovians are seen instead as protectors. Whether they were preserving and sharing the secrets of the past to all, or defending and liberating the peoples of the Galaxy, the Nandegakkovians are even viewed as instruments of the gods, even as the latter do not worship them.

Some also consider them - with their creativity and their love of knowledge - to be the servants of Odin!

Ang Yeung comes from a not-so-rich family at Shao Lien, a town further to the east. In spite of their humble home, her parents became rich after fixing many machines, so she was able to buy a holojector and a computer to record her adventures.

Acknowledging this and as a joke about her wealth, Ang Yeung purchased a costume of Karkinja, a spinel wight who supposedly brings good luck. As Karkinja is supposed to ride on a white horse, she chose the unicorn Dok Saau as her steed. It was during the Purilli parade of 1986 when she rode with several others: Chang Shong, her boyfriend, and his sisters Chang Lai and Chang Yau.

Chang Shong was dressed as Dubokhon, a pumpkin wight who records diligent people to be rewarded and blessed by the harvest goddess. Chang Yau was dressed as Klodiraz, a green star that brings curses to starfarers. Chang Lai was dressed as Purulli, the harvest goddess.

This is the ceremonial version of the flag used for the Waxeroi people. The Waxeroi people are a mixed Heronoi-Arnadjanai people, gifted with the beauty of the former and the strength of the latter, but exiled from their homeland to escape a purge where they were blamed for the Thralondian invasion.

Dark blue represents hope, white represents faith in the Gods.

The flag incorporates elements from three different cultures: Heronoi, Norse, and Arnadjanai.

The full Moon and white fern are symbols of the Heronoi, showing that the Waxeroi consider themselves just as Heronoi as their mainstream kin.

The unicorn in the right is a symbol beloved by both Arnadjanai and Heronoi, suggesting that the Waxeroi are the best of both worlds.

The elaborate design in the middle mixes Norse symbolism and Rakolan traditional art. It incorporates two or three runes:

* ᛝ - yngvar (Rannarisk) or yquowara (Heronoi), for Freyr and his blessing

* ᛒ - bjarkan (Rannarisk) or bajarikan (Heronoi), for Baldr and his courage

* ᛟ - udhal (Rannarisk) or jothoru (Heronoi), for Odin, a god of knowledge feared by the Heronoi as a bringer of doom. Because he welcomes them as outcasts into his arms, and they are ready to face every challenge and overcome them.

The lines branching from the curve’s right represent paths, and the Waxeroi’s painful descent to freedom and happiness. The stars along the paths, numbered nine to the sacred number of the Norse, represent their rise from being outcasts into being the inspiration to many people.

In my stories, Porashon is a mountainous nation inhabited by a beautiful race of pink-haired tree people. They are known for being very intelligent, smart enough to preserve technology that is more advanced than their neighbours.

And who else would be more fitting for this pink people than ponies? More precisely, Bubble Berry and Pinkie Pie, since they look better together.

Also, let’s make the ponies a prince and a princess! (the Pallava text on the tree reads “Namaskāra”/นมัสการ, a formal word that means “salutations”)

This is the traditional dress worn by Heronoi women and girls. Their attire may look Mycenaean, but the Heronoi themselves are aliens. And they are very obsessed with art and beauty, to a very annoying extent.

From left to right: Wiresa, Komata, Teraxari, and Komawe. Wiresa is an archer with blue hair, Komata is a sweet princess-like fangirl who loves unicorns, Teraxari is perhaps the most mature of the four, and Komawe is Komata’s older sister.

Christmas words in alien languages 1

K - Kuelgon

N - Novantirna

Christmas

K - Grystamehs [ˈgrystämɛxs] (Birth of Jesus)

N - Hristařez [ˈxristad͡rez] (Day of Jesus), Krismas [ˈkrismʌs]

Yule

K - Jôleriz [ˈjoːlɛriz], Jauloridz [ˈjau̯lɔrid͡z], Jorliz [ˈjɔrɪlz]

N - Drondai [ˈdrondai̯] (the Wild Hunt), Jôlniz [ˈjoːlniz] (Holy Day of Lord Odin)

Twenty-fifth December

K - Zâjoleiq-rri lêzqa-zuesqyn [zaːjoˈleɪ̯qrːi ˈleːzqɒzwɛsqyn]

N - Dîsembra taihokna [diːˈsembrʌ ˈtai̯xoknʌ]

Yule is observed in the Novantirna culture as one of several festivals. Because Odin is a popular god in the Novantir religions, the festival of Yule has been reinterpreted as a crusade against demons.

Although the Freyrgardian humans were afraid of going out at Yule out of fear that Odin’s Wild Hunt would kill them, the Novantirnas are not afraid. They openly celebrate and praise the Lord of Knowledge on those days by holding mock battles and bonfires: and in many of these mock battles, the poorest people sign up to earn a chunk of money from the authorities - whether their team wins or loses, they still get the cash prize for their livelihoods anyways.

Novantirna Yule is also like Halloween, as younger Novantirnas wear costumes of monsters and even host fashion contests. The winner is given a cash prize, and they and their contestants are praised as being “inspired by Odin”.

This is a flag for a knightly order in my sci-fi stories, the Knights of Baldr. The devotees of the slain bright god formed a knighthood, dedicated to practicing his values in defense of the weak, the commoner, and the innocent.

The shape in the middle is made of two bjarkan runes, traditional symbols of Baldr, and the flower on top is a mayweed blossom designed as a star. The runes represent honour and righteousness, the flower for hope, and the blue for peace.

Oskar, a character from my stories, has several relatives in his family who were knights in this order. In honour of their deeds, this flag was used within his home.

Ang Yeung comes from a not-so-rich family at Shao Lien, a town further to the east. In spite of their humble home, her parents became rich after fixing many machines, so she was able to buy a holojector and a computer to record her adventures.

Acknowledging this, Ang Yeung purchased a costume of Karkinja, a spinel wight who supposedly brings good luck. As Karkinja is supposed to ride on a white horse, she chose the unicorn Dok Saau as her steed. It was during the Purilli parade of 1986.

A series of picrew pics that I made for fun, featuring three characters from my stories:

a Heronoi boy
a Heronoi girl
Radumo, a scientist and a proper lady-in-training of Ontemazei descent.

The Heronoi kids may look like dolls, but don’t be fooled by their cutesy appearance. They are capable of fending for themselves, after some training.

As for poor Radumo, she can sometimes be more awkward than the other two. The Heronoi kids have their annoying habits, like getting too excited and an obsession with horses and pretty clothes, but Radumo can seem weird for acting too “formal”.

Radumo Parigawasare, an Ontemazei woman, loves reading and studying history and mechanics. It was the result of her parents pressuring her to become like them, but she also likes to be a “princess” to escape that pressure.

All that hard work paid off when she was brought into the Royal Institute of Ancient Technology. There, she had more freedom to study technology and machines from older civilisations and aliens. Studying ancient languages, especially to read the machines and use them correctly, was what she loves to do.

What she needs now are some friends who can help her become more familiar with their not-so-formal setting, and to stand up for herself.

“Good evening, druzhiny! Paxoti Adjanosai here. You guys are curious about my room, so here’s a pic. It has an embroidery to represent the fishing town where I came from, a rack for my weapons (gonna show you my handguns later), and a sculpture of my favourite sports celeb. Ah, if only I could find a guy like him …”

“Besides, I don’t need any fancy-shmancy paint for my room. I’m a simple girl, so bricks are enough for me, hahaha. Rado should be used to a simple room like mine - maybe she’s fine with it because I’m one of her best friends.”

Here is a countryball from my fictional universe: Sarmelonball! He represents the Sarmelonid Empire, a powerful civilisation of humans that conquered a large swath of the Galaxy, only to fall due to their own corruption and decadance.

Like the people he was based on, Sarmelonball is quite arrogant, extravagant, and devout. He is very proud of his classical culture, spending much of his days on making and forging splendid handicrafts to honour his gods just as he watched over his subjects and vassals.

He is very devout, venerating his many gods. It led him not only to love his flock of pet gryphons, but also to worship them as his angels. He also thinks that his war against two other powerful countryballs - Kuelgonball and Igarinball - is his holy duty to zealously slay demons to punish their excessive cruelty.