Welcome to Maid Spin, the personal website of iklone. I write about about otaku culture as well as history, philosophy and mythology.
My interests range from anime & programming to mediaevalism & navigation. Hopefully something on this site will interest you.
I'm a devotee of the late '90s / early '00s era of anime, as well as a steadfast lover of maids. My favourite anime is Mahoromatic. I also love the works of Tomino and old Gainax.
To contact me see my contact page.
This post is written as an introduction to a conworld I have been working on. Further chapters will be written as if they are written by people of the world, and so a basic understanding of the world they're in might be needed. This post itself is written as if it were a document from the library of the capital city of the world. I hope you find it interesting. An extended version of the diagram above is included at the bottom of the post.
The world can be split into three concentric spheres, one of land and two of water; and also into four cardinal domains, each governed by a corresponding tower. In this treatise these regions of the world shall be summarised in their ideal form. Take note that the reality of the placement of physical features are chaotic, but nevertheless conform roughly to these principles of sphere and domain.
In the middle of the world stage sits the great "World Island", the centre of civilisation. Measured roughly five hundred miles in diameter, the World Island serves as the central sphere. Upon her green lands rise several ranges of uplands, with many rivers that flow from them, and a multitude of forests and pastures and cities dot her landscape. Central to the landmass, of course, is the great imperial capital, seat of his heavenly majesty and centre of civilised culture. Other cities of industry lie on her coastal perimeter, each busy with the extraction, processing and trade of material gathered from the surrounding land. These coastal cities rise and fall in power with time, vying for political control over the capital and favour with the Emperor. The capital alone stands as the eternal city.
All around the World Island lie the dark waves of the Near Seas. Their deep waters bring strong storms and currents to the expanse of open ocean, making navigation only possible with the durability brought by high quality sailing ships. Many islands lie nearby to the World Island's coast, with their frequency lessening the further out you get. Upon these islands sit many prosperous trading towns, serving as nodes for circumnavigation of the world island: the primary method of goods transport between various areas of the empire. The Near Seas extends three to four hundred miles from the mainland, with the ocean depths eventually shallowing as we approach one of the great wonders of our world, serving as the boundary between the second and third spheres: the Silver Line.
The Silver Line is such called for when approached by ship, the rapid change of water depth from the unfathomable depths of the Near Seas to the shallows of the Far Seas causes an optical illusion to the effect of a thin silver line on the horizon. The change in the world's temperament at this point is staggering, while the Near Seas are dark and stormy with constantly changing weather and wind, the Far Seas are bright and calm, with only rare rainfall and light wind that is seemingly unchanging in its direction: always from left to right as you approach from the Nearside. The water here is often as shallow as to allow a man to stand with his torso clear out, although the seabed undulates slightly in dunes with some parts being up to a man's head. This shallowness does not allow the passage of larger vessels, and as such the world beyond is rarely travelled and mostly uncharted. As such my recounts of geography beyond is uncertain and comes from the dubious claims of the few that have been there. It is from this line also that the four towers rise, which I shall describe in detail in the latter section of this treatise.
It is said that the Far Seas contain few and far between islands, that rise only as far up from sealevel as the seabed is deep. Strange and mysterious peoples inhabit these islands, uncivilised and unknowing of our culture; some are friendly and some are not, but trading opportunities with such savages seem scant. In some logs of travellers, the Far Seas extend out around four hundred miles until no one may go any further, the end of the world. Those who have gone nearby say that a brilliant golden shimmer can be seen on the horizon, but none who have returned ever told of anything more concrete, and accounts vary on the details. As for the veracity of these claims I can not be certain, and ask for discretion on the part of the reader.
From anywhere on the World Island the four great towers can be seen, so long as the terrain does not impede the line of sight and the weather is fair. These four towers form the basis of navigation both on land and at sea. The four towers are of hues as follows, in a clockwise order: black, blue, red and white. Great pillars of coloured stone, the purpose and origin of these most colossal monuments are unknown, and despite great effort by archaeologists and antiquarians no method of entry has ever been found, of whether they have an internal hollow at all. Measuring several miles in circumference and reaching taller than the cloud line, the towers are all structurally alike, rising out from the sea directly on the Silver Line. It is a commonly held notion that there exists no place in the world from which at least one tower is not within sight, although while travelling further from the World Island towers on the far side may disappear over the horizon.
Navigation using the towers is simple. For basic directions usually a "so many miles toward or away from a certain tower" will suffice. For more complex or precise navigation, like that needed at sea, ones exact location can be found by triangulating the bearings of three visible towers; or accurate route charts can be kept by keeping logs of the bearings of just two towers. This makes accurate navigation, within the bounds of the Silver Line at least, simple but for interference by the unpredictable weather patterns. Navigation in the Far Seas is far more difficult as often only one tower is within eyesight.
Each of the towers carries respective connotations for many of the more superstitious populous: black for death or white for wealth, just for example. Such fancies, while surely fascinating in their own right, lie outside the purview of my strictly geographical lens and as such shall not be included in detail here.
I hope this outline of geography can impart a foundational understanding of our world upon its readers, and perhaps inspire those of a curious mind to read further into the details of geography and its importance to the functioning of society.
-Published in the 22nd year of his Majesty's reign for the Imperial Navigational Society Library.
