World Building Contest; Event 2

[cntrstrk14]

.: World Building Contest; Event 2 :.

Hello again NA!

If you are asking yourself what this thread is, go and check this thread out right here! For the rest of you, welcome to event 2! We're going to do something a little different this time, and maybe a bit more challenging. I am going to lay out a "box" and you must design in it. Rules are simple, you need to fit the guidelines I give you and stay in the lines, but be as creative as you want within the constraints below! Again, remember that the end goal is to create an interesting location for GM's to make use of if they so desire.

Design Constraints:
- Must be within the Eastern Oceans.
- Must be on a small island.
- Must contain a single image that is of good quality and color.
- The image must sell the area.

General Rules:
- Post your submission in this thread.
- Do not post anything except submissions in this thread.
- Members may submit as many submissions as they want.
- All staff members may participate (except myself). 
- Other rules to be added as I see them needed.
- Don't worry about unknown things, information you are unsure of, etc. If there is a conflict with already existing stuff you can still win, but minor edits might be made before adding it to the world.

 

Reward: $80 to a character of your choice.

Discussion Thread: Right here!

[ZeroFate]

Kijura Shima (Whale Island)

 

     Contrary to popular belief, Kumogakure does not have a monopoly on giant moving islands on the backs of animals, and Whale Island is the Kirigakure counterpart to Kumo's giant turtle. The "island" is smaller than that of the Kumo variety, only measuring a few hundred yards in length, so it does not have any giant wildlife living on it (yet it does grow some unique varieties of plant that provide excellent sources of rare chemicals for medications), but otherwise serves similar purposes such as hiding VIPs and important objects. On rare occasions, powerful ninja will go to Whale Island to undergo training or conduct duels that would potentially danger mainland settlements.

 

    The whale is not public knowledge, and is kept as a secret known only by the Mizukage and a select few members of the Umikaze Naval Alliance. To that end, it is always moving, constantly changing course to keep away from anyone who might see it without express permission. Being smaller and faster than Kumokagure's Turtle Island, this is a much easier feat for the whale. To keep tabs on an always moving island, there is at least one Umikaze Naval Alliance ship assigned to follow it at all times, and, if need be, defend it. Additionally, the Whale has given birth to twin calves, each growing very slowly over the course of decades, indicating that this particular breed of whale possess a significantly longer lifespan than other varieties. That said, Kirigakure looks forward to when Whale Island becomes The Whale Islands. 

Edited April 25, 2013 by ZeroFate

[K Mitsuhide]

Sage's Island

Once, years before Kumogakure no Sato’s invasion of the other great countries had begun, there lived a man. This man was no ordinary man; his mastery of the Ninja Arts was simply… Incredible, to say the least. He had advanced to the rank of Jounin before his thirteenth birthday, and was a merciless man whose only goal in life was to become the ultimate shinobi.

As the years dragged on, he grew wary of his life and of his gifts. His goal was still to become the ultimate shinobi, but something had changed within his soul. His son was getting older, and had finally joined Kumo’s Ninja Academy, but had less than zero talent for either taijutsu nor ninjutsu, and his genjutsu skills were far below average. His lack of skill was ironic, due to the fact that the boy’s intellect was far above average – almost genius level. Perhaps it was his son’s failures that opened the man’s eyes to the world, and to his own gifts.

And so, the man began to only complete regular missions; he only participated in A-Ranked and S-Ranked missions when called upon by the kage. Instead, he began to train alone, in a spot just outside of Kumogakure’s borders. There, his mastery of the Ninja Arts heightened even greater. His son joined him, though was only able to watch as his father trained.
Eventually, the man attained the level of Sennin within Kumo. He earned the nickname ‘Sage of All Things’, for he excelled in every facet of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Every day that passed afterwards opened his eyes even further. More and more, his son’s lack of talent despite his sheer intelligence made the man realize just how precious his gift was…

The man fled with his son, who now had a son of his own. Unfortunately, both the man and his son’s wives had died to disease, and the man’s grief-stricken son was unable to refuse his father’s proposition. And so, the three fled Kumo and headed toward the Eastern Oceans. When they arrived at the beautiful, sandy beaches, the man did something incredible. He created an entire island with the jutsu he had mastered. Even his son, who had watched his father train for so many years, was astounded. They attached large balloons to the island, and began to fly over the ocean. The man not only created an entire island, but he was also able to create a temple of sorts on the island shortly after they had taken flight. Every couple of months, the three would land in a secluded spot and travel to nearby cities, stocking up on supplies.

Rumors quickly spread of the flying island and its occupants. The ‘Sage of All Things’ quickly became a common name, and shinobi far and wide searched for the floating island above the eastern ocean. Very few shinobi ever accomplished the feat, however, as the island floated high enough, and moved just quickly enough to keep any lesser shinobi away.

Any shinobi that was brave enough and smart enough to find a way to find the island and then to reach the island was granted a choice. They would have two trials if they wished to learn the ‘Sage of All Thing’s’ deepest secrets; they would first have to defeat the man’s grandson in a battle. The man’s grandson was much like his father, except that instead of failing at every art, he was incredibly successful in the art of taijutsu. Along with his grandfather’s training, he quickly became an expert. And so, anyone who wished to learn would first have to defeat the man’s grandson in a physical battle.

However, the second trial would be far more difficult. The shinobi would be challenged to a battle of wits by the man’s genius son. The shinobi would be challenged to solve three riddles, and then play the perfect finishing move in a game of ‘Go’. Then, finally, they would be able to ascend to the top of the temple, and there they would learn directly from the ‘Sage of All Things’.

[cntrstrk14]

I will be closing this on Saturday, April 27th at 11:59pm. I will not be giving out prizes if we do not get a third entry (there will still be a winner).

[ZeroFate]

 

Calcidius

 

In the age before the Sage of Six paths, there was a civilization that tried to go to war with the Ten-Tails, attempting to subdue it with technology alone. As history has shown us, they failed. Not only did they lose to the unrelenting and endless power of the primordial demon, but practically all traces of their existence were obliterated, only craters remaining in the wake of the conflict. A small enclave of these people survived, though, who'd been living on the shores of what is now the Country of Fire. Using what remained of the advanced technology they possessed, they crafted submersible water craft and fled into the Eastern Ocean, hoping to escape the wrath of the Ten-Tails to a place where it couldn't follow. Only when they felt safe did they stop, in the deepest part of the ocean, miles below the surface, and there they started anew. 

 

Thus the city of Calcidius was founded, though it was not an immediate process. Over the course of decades a city was constructed, sometimes even a submarine was sacrificed to build infrastructure, but they made a place for themselves eventually. Now, centuries later, Calcidius is a massive sprawl of a city beneath the waves, an enormous dome of unbreakable glass surrounding it (not unlike the Storm Shield above Kumogakure). Finally, once all the major construction was completed, they drilled down through the ocean floor and created power plants to run on geothermal energy, essentially providing the city with unlimited electricity. 

 

The city is divided into two districts: the lower district where most blue collar industry and commerce takes place as well as the majority of suburban housing, and the upper district that holds all the white collar business and government workings. In the center is the Pantheon, where statues of the original six captains of the submersibles reside along side statues of the individuals who discovered and learned to control chakra independently of the Sage of Six Paths, granting the art to the people of Calcidius, and it has now become an integral part of their lives. 

 

Chakra molding in Calcidius has taken a different path than that of the surface world. Instead of changing its nature into various elements, they shape their chakra based on what it is: a life source. Calcidians who learn ninjutsu study how to form chakra into living things, often choosing to model their creations off the various sea creatures around them. Spectral fish and mantas and octopi are a common sight to see "swimming" about through the streets of Calcidius, performing tasks of all stripes for those that wield them. In fact, legends of sea monsters are often inspired by the astral creations of Calcidian scouts on the surface. 

 

While the ocean floor is rich in resources, and deep enough that even ninja with water-breathing abilities can reach them, they cannot remain entirely out of contact with the surface world. Occasionally, something will be needed, something that can't be mined from the ocean floor or extracted from what surrounds them, and so they'll use their unique chakra shaping to counter the massive pressure at such depth and rise up to the surface again inside their living chakra creations. A single ship in passing, one here and one there, sinking it and taking what they need. 

 

From time to time they'll even abduct passengers and take then back to the city to become citizens. Due to the circumstances of their city, they cannot maintain sufficient genetic variance among their population, and so the "stock" must be "refreshed" from time to time. The Calcidians see no issue with their actions, believing they are superior to the surface civilization and therefore have every right to take what they want from them. 

[Rhap Sodos]

Serenissima, the Floating City

Serenissima is an island by definition, if not by looks. It is indeed a landmass surrounded on all side by water, though attempting to find any natural land is all but impossible. What was once a swampy lagoon favored by pirates or people fleeing from mainland conflicts has become a towering cityscape of stone and water. Civilization has long outgrown the original landmass, and only a few rare gardens hint at the city's boggy beginnings. Stonework buildings now cover almost every inch of the island, and denizens of the city have been forced to build up instead of our for several decades now. This has lead to the creation of a city that is as sprawling as it is contained, ripe with lattice work and twisting pathways, pillars and narrow stairways all built over canals and rivers that give the city it's second name.
 
Located in the far corners of the Eastern Ocean, Serenissima has always considered itself to be a freehold, swearing allegiance to neither the Country of Water, Fire or Lightning, existing on what it claims to be purely neutral grounds. Ninja are not forbidden, but any presence greater then a few individuals is frowned upon as most of the citizens of the city-island wish to remain as autonomous from the shinobi and their wars as possible. An armed force known as "Chevaliers" keep the peace, and it's rumored that their armor and weapons are specifically crafted to reduce the effectiveness of chakra on the off chance any ninja shows up wanting to start trouble. However altercations with ninja are so few and far inbetween that the truth regarding this is hard to ascertain. Others whisper that between it's wealth and strategic location between the Eastern and Western Continents that somewhere there must be a Kage pulling the strings. And while no one will say as much openly, Serenissima is a favorite spot for political refugees who find it easy to disappear in the myriad streets, only to resurface under a new name and profession.

Politics aside, the people of Serenissima are a peaceful, if proud folk. The early history can still be seen in the populace, who have looks as different as their origins. The lack of any "pure" or "native" people means that most every person born on the island is of mixed or mongrel descent, and the lack of "ruling" family leaves anyone open to rise [or fall] in power. The various ruling factions [generally the heads of mercantile guilds or trade federations] co-exist in relative harmony - though the balance of power can be delicate at times, attempts at coups or civil wars have been few and far in between. Leaders would rather negotiate then risk loose everything they own, or worse, create an obvious opportunity for some outside force to come in and wrest control. At worse, they simply replace one leader with another fromwithin their respective faction.

The city functions mainly as city of commerce, specializing in trade or labor as any natural resource has long since been depleted. It is also as far west as many of the Eastern trading vessels are willing to go. The only alternative option is Avalon, which would require embroiling themselves with one of the Great Shinobi Nations. In fact, many of the citizens of Serenissima can become quiet haughty when compared to city located in the Country of Water, considering themselves quite above such backward systems such as a Daimyo and a mercenary army [though some Serenissima vessels are more than willing to act as a go between - at a cost]. If Avalon is the launching point to the east, Serenissima is the first stop. The formation of both the Iwagakure Air Federation and the Umikaze Naval Alliance threatens to change this, as Serenissims may soon be unable to ignore their shinobi neighbors.

[cntrstrk14]

Kijura Shima (Whale Island) - ZeroFate

 

I like the concept of this, but it suffers from a few issues. First off, as you point out yourself it is very similiar to the turtle island already in existance because of canon. If this were to work it would need something that set it very apart, otherwise I would rather just have us focus on making Turtle Island cooler. I do like the ties to Kirigakure no Sato and the interesting interactions with the whale calfs. This could be an interesting place for a GM to take characters too.

 

 

Sage's Island - K Mitsuhide

 

Right away this suffers from Sanji's floating city. Though on its own this idea is pretty good, the problem is that it has to exist in a world with other context. This takes away from the Iwagakure Air Federation in that it works on the same principles but just as an island. As I said before, "Sanji's Floating City" is a sort of inside joke on the site from when Alchem Sanji tried to create a floating city, the staff denied it, and in character he "lost" it somewhere underground where he was building it. Finally, I am sensing some Pixar's "Up" from your backstory. As much as I like flying locations, I feel that this doesn't hold up to the other submissions.

 

 

Calcidius - ZeroFate

 

I gave you the go ahead on this over Skype to see what you would come up with. The concept is interesting, but frankly it just doesn't fit in this world. The Rapture like feeling of taking people under and the seemingly hyper advanced style of this civilization under the water just doesn't mesh well with the rest of the NA universe. I like that you took this chance, because it was a long shot, but it just didn't hold up in the end. In another RP universe this would have been a great addition, good job!

 

Short note: I do like the idea of them using chakra and molding it into living things. I would suggest that you maybe recycle that idea in the future in another setting. Put it on a shelf somewhere.

 

 

Serenissima, the Floating City - Rhap Sodos

 

This is the winner hands down for me. This city is placed in an interesting location and has a greate balance of politics, architecture description and interesting tension to start many types of stories. It also fits rather well into the world created, a city built upon itself over and over. It also captures my facination with water cities like Venice. Well done!

 

 

~Winner~

 

Serenissima, the Floating City - Rhap Sodos

 

 

+$80 to a character of your choice!