Setting Bible

Setting Bible

This is still a work in progress, as is the Hayven Celestia wiki in general, but there's a few dos and do nots when it comes to writing in the Hayven Celestia universe:

• The "story" of the universe is the huge, centuries-spanning galactic war between the lio and the krakun, as well as the turek and potentially other lesser-known species. The intent, however, is not to focus on this war; to the vast majority of the universe the war is a very far-away thing and they're all just suffering (or profiting) from the fallout. Your story should not affect the trajectory of this overarching story in any major way without significant justification.
• Without contraindications, it will be presumed that your story takes place in the "present" time of the setting. You are allowed to write stories that take place in the distant past or future, but it would be ideal to not "lock down" canon in this way without discussing this with other writers. See Timeline for more details.
• This is not Star Trek. There's no federation of good guys exploring just for the fun of science and discovery. Utopias do not exist even if they are yearned for. The majority of stories published thus far are of characters simply striving for a better life. This is not a requirement but it is the shape of the kinds of stories this universe prefers.
• Hayven Celestia is intended as semi-hard science fiction. Certain fantastic technologies are considered mundane, even if such technologies cannot be accessed by everyone. If you introduce a technology, it must be reasonable that this technology is adopted everywhere it would be useful, or else has reasons it cannot. For instance, the sourang DNA-altering formula would be life-changing were it to be pursued and studied, but it cannot because the sourang are living largely ignored under the krakun shadow. See Advanced Technologies for more details, limitations, and areas that can be expanded upon. Send inquiries if you have questions.
  • Similarly, any element introduced outside of the norm, especially tropey ones, needs to at least be roughly justified. In general, you need to impart to the reader that what's happening isn't (or can't only be explained by) magic, and that its existence has support in the world and isn't just existing for the sake of the setpiece. It needs to be more than just a handwave. You may, for example, have ancient technology that somehow still functions, but it is unlikely to be made of stone clockwork with still-working traps that cannot be bypassed because it also has a super advanced forcefield that ALSO survived that keeps anyone from just getting to the secret treasure the direct way. That's silly, and while fun for a certain type of setting and adventure, is something we'd like to avoid breaking the setting for.
• Themes of faith and spirituality are encouraged, but not concrete incarnations of angels, demons, gods or magic except as myth and folklore (or via some other twist). Any story that is intended as myth should ideally have a framing device. Any other supernatural element such as possession, evil spirits, curses, etc should not be framed as the only reasonable explanation for a given event.
• Except for explicitly framed fables, it is a requirement to adhere to physical limitations of the species. There are many ways to get around these limitations, but they do need to be addressed. See Atmospheric Compatibility for one such example.
• You are allowed to invent new species as you see fit; we are nowhere near saturation.
  • This anthology is considered first and foremost a furry publication. The explicit use of animal-like physicality and traits for a given new species is heavily encouraged. Of course, the species does not have to be based strictly on a real-world animal, and it is suggested that the species be differentiated from a "standard" anthropomorphic animal of that variety in some significant manner.
    • That said, it is perfectly within reason to be cheeky when developing elements of a species. While krakun are not technically dragons, I did name their currency "golds" because of the connection. So long as these connections are not utterly derailing (like geordians assigning cultural significance to yarn, or something) it should be fine.
  • Humans and the planet Earth are not known to exist in this setting. While it is not entirely ruled out that Earth may exist, the introduction of humans or the planet Earth would be a big deal and should not be dropped casually as their presence may be considered canonical and future stories would be pressured to use whatever setup is presented as canon. As of yet, we have not heard any concept compelling enough to canonize humans or Earth into the setting, and are not inclined to include either without one.
    • As such it is suggested that human-like aliens (think Star Trek aliens) not be included either because that might confuse things. Besides... we know what our audience wants.
  • To account for the writing styles of different authors, for descriptive purposes, you can casually refer to a species that is similar to an earth species by the name of that earth species, but it is preferred to refer to them obliquely by taxonomy. "Felid" or "feline" for cat species, "canid" or "canine" for dog species, etc.
  • For the sake of variety, it's suggested that you do not create a species that significantly overlaps with those that have been established or canonized. There are currently three canid species (anup, kyacaotl, hekiru) and two felid (geordian, lio) so no other canids or felids will be considered without significant justification. Other species have been proposed by discord members, so if you have ideas for species similar to earth animals not already listed, inquire about these on the discord server.
  • It is also suggested that the precise role of your species does not overlap too strongly with one already established--i.e. while a slavemaster species is fine, a giant slavemaster species or a corporate slavemaster species is already overlapping with the krakun.
  • You might notice a trend of casual nudity in the Hayven Celestia series. While you are not required to make your species naturist-friendly, it sure goes a long way toward pleasing the judges.
  • Even with bigotry aside, thinly veiling a species or situation as a specific earth culture is not recommended; while earth cultures (past present and future) are a great source of inspiration and variety is very much encouraged, it's suggested that you mix and match concepts where possible to prevent running too close to undesirable parallels.
  • Multiple established species have writing tips and guidelines listed for them; see Races for more information.