Brainstorm and world building

A dense forest lie where two tributaries of the Luo river converged. It was the perfect site for settlers to build a river-powered sawmill. A village called Ai-Lin accreted around the sawmill as hunters and merchants arrived.

It wasn't long before the settlers noticed a peculiar shimmer in the downstream shallows just to the west of Ai-Lin. The river had uncovered and spread tiny crystals, each seemingly a different color, and most with a dazzling shine.

Ai-Lin swelled in the years to follow as people came to gather crystals from the banks and sell them in trinkets and jewelry. About forty years from the original founding of Ai-Lin, Mongoose Company arrived. They brought mining expertise from afar, and the financial resources  necessary to study the varied crystals and uncover their secrets.

Mongoose Company was not only a mining company, although its initial foray into Ai-Lin focused on gathering crystals. Rather, it was a full-fledged economic engine.

When Mongoose Company comes to a new village, one of the first things it does is approach the owners of the general stores. They offer owners a choice: be hired by Mongoose; be bought out; or be undercut by a competitor willing to stomach losses indefinitely until they have achieved control.

With the general stores under the control of Mongoose Company, they can afford to pay their workers in company credits rather than the national currency.  With enough of the local economy using company credits, they can expand into other market niches until the entire village is owned directly or indirectly by Mongoose.

Mongoose's workforce has a hierarchical structure, rewarding loyal workers with promotions that offer social power over underlings- promotions that confer more benefit the more of the town is under Mongoose's control.

The original settlers to Ai-Lin brought with them a particular culture centered around families, giving particular deference to their elders. Over time this became formalized into a Council of Elders that served as the seat of civic power and ultimate arbiter of disputes.

This culture survived the initial influx of gem hunters.  But in the ten years since Mongoose Company arrived, its influence is threatened as Mongoose attempts to exert more control.
This message was last updated by the GM at 07:41, Mon 23 Dec 2019.

Surrounding Ai-Lin to the north and south are forested hills. The forest to the north is called Bei; the forest to the south is Nan.

Bei and Nan are also used as an informal name or description for the loosely-organized peoples that hunt, trap, and harvest in those areas.  For example, one might say "Lee is Bei" to say that Lee lives in the northern forest.

The people in the forest live outside the legal accountability of the Elders and have tried to stay independent from the economic hegemony of Mongoose. Despite their independence from a formal legal system, they do culturally prize living honorably.

The Bei and Nan groups respect one another, though there is some rivalry between them. They mutually recognize that forces within Ai-Lin would gladly dominate them both if given the chance.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:17, Tue 07 Jan 2020.

Further west, downstream of Ai-Lin, lies Shifting Ridge.  Shifting Ridge is rich in crystals- both natively in the crust of the earth and deposited by the Luo river.

That richness gives Shifting Ridge a unique instability. Crystals that exert force, or transport matter in or out of the area, may reach a temporary equilibrium with their surroundings. But small disturbances can cause cascading effects that shift crystals into and out of proximity, causing the ground to unpredictably sink or sprout peaks. This diverts the river, which changes where it carries its sediment of crystals that multiply and nullify the effects of the crystals in the crust, which results in further avalanching changes...

As you can imagine, traveling in or near Shifting Ridge is dangerous. It's difficult for large animals to live in the area, so much of the time it seems quiet... until a small shift in the equilibrium causes thundrous cracks as the earth shifts anew. The temporary diversions of the Luo have left marshes, lakes, and waterfalls scattered about seemingly at random.

While travelers and explorers rarely stay long enough to see much of the area, there have been reports of strange creatures silently prowling about the twisted earth. No two descriptions of these creatures have been alike.

In the fifty-odd years since the first settlers founded Ai-Lin, there are western reaches that no one has seen beyond.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:23, Tue 07 Jan 2020.