Phum
ภูมิ
Phum is a world scarred by the past, a land of myth and wonder shaped by a cataclysm that tore a vast wound into the planet itself – “the Wounding”. At “The Edge”, where land and sea abruptly end, great rivers and oceans pour endlessly into the void, vanishing into the unknown. To those who dwell here, it is a place of reverence and terror and a constant reminder that the world is not as whole as it once was.
But Phum is far more than its scar. It is a realm where magic weaves through the very fabric of existence, where protector “Tutd’sawan” walk among mortals and ancient creatures stir beneath mountains and seas. Towering shards of crystal hum with arcane energy, floating islands drift through stormy skies, and primeval forests whisper with voices older than the Wounding.
Himmapan
หิมพานต์
The Himmapan forest is an ever-shifting landscape, a deeply magical forest that resists all efforts to define and map it. Some say that at the center of the forest, a titanic tree stretches to the heavens, a tree so large that a civilization could rise, flourish and fall on a single branch. Wrapped around the base of the tree is the skeleton of Anon, a great fish that legends say was the first living thing to come from the void. The god of the forest is a great water naga named Mucalinda, a powerful shapeshifter responsible for the rains that nourish the lands of Phum. Some tribes in the region claim that their ancestry stems from the union between lesser nagas and humans.
The rare humans that live in the forest tend to have extraordinary ability, magical or otherwise. Rarer still are the Kunnang Ba (ขุนนางป่า, Forest Nobles), mysterious beings made of living bark that are said to ensorcel people who venture too often into the woods and steal them away. The interaction between the plant and magic also results in unpredictable life – walking plants, bizarre animal hybrids, razor leaf tornadoes, and ruined cities you can only see out of the corner of your eye. Time also flows weirdly in the Himmapan, some areas are shrouded in darkness, while some afternoons seem to last for weeks.
Project Lift-off
The game we’re developing for Phum is currently in pre-production and under the alias “Project Lift-Off”.
More Lore
The Edge
Mokha / Groakthan (โมฆะ / โกรกธาร, Void/Canyon/Gorge)
Phum’s seas end at a planet-spanning gash, known alternately as Mokha, or the Groakthan, which bisects the planet.
Closer to the Edge you’ll find smaller and smaller landmasses with the exception of a single, very thin, section of land that creates a rim around about a third of the Edge in the northern hemisphere of the planet.
This region, at the rim of the Edge, is characterized by jagged mountains, fissures that belch steam and ash, and valleys that have been reshaped by relentless tectonic forces.
Sailing anywhere near the Edger is a perilous endeavor, and sailors who have returned from the Mokha tell tales of an empty Void that goes on forever, inverted stars twinkling in the distance. Phum’s large moon also creates powerful high and low tides that rapidly rise and fall, the water submerging coastlands that stretch for miles inland.
Some legends say that the Giants come from across the sea, and are born from conch shells. Other strange creatures inhabit the seas – bulls, deer and elephants can be found with mermaid tails (มฤคนที, Maruhk Kana |คาวีนที, Kawintee | Kunchon Waree (Thai: กุญชรวารี)).
To date, sailors have discovered three major bodies of water: Mahasamut Bagarung, (มหาสมุทรปะการัง, Coral Ocean) Mahasamut Pailin (มหาสมุทรไพลิน, Sapphire Ocean) and Mahasamut Juntara (มหาสมุทรจันทร์ธารา, Moon Water Ocean), but some believe that there is a fourth ocean that bypasses Mokha and leads to the golden land.
Indigo Mountain
Doi Khram (ดอยคราม, Indigo Mountain)
Doi Khram is the largest mountain in a mountain range that stretches along the eastern edge of the Himmapan Forest. During most of the year, its upper regions are wreathed in the indigo mists that give the mountain its name. Local witch doctors use the patterns and colors formed in the mist for divination ceremonies.
The mountain is also home to many creatures like the kinnaree, garuda, Nok, and the Hussadiling.
Yonok
Yonok (โยนก)
Yonok is the capital of the Singhanavati Kingdom, a bustling town and a center of trade for the region. Most of the city is built out on the lake, using floating platforms, and traders use small boats to navigate its many canals. The largest structure is an underwater temple to the city’s patron god, the water serpent Mucalinda.
Rainbow Glass Ocean
Talae-ruingaew (ทะเลรุ้งแก้ว, Rainbow Glass Ocean)
This area of Phum consists of many high, rocky plateaus, and is mostly barren of vegetation. Intense volcanic activity in the past has created an unforgiving, angular landscape, covering the area with multicoloured, iridescent fire obsidian. Sudden variations in elevation and temperature make traversing this stone desert difficult, but canny travellers may find winding ravines that lead to deep, still lakes. Some say that the Red Lotus Lake (ทะเลบัวแดง) is home to a god – a great horned dragon with the head of an owl, guarded by an order of invulnerable monks.
Cloud City
lMaet Thani (เมฆธานี, Cloud City)
Past the desert and to the north is Maet Thani, a name given to the floating lands that hover over long, rolling veldts. It gets its “city” moniker from the oddly symmetrical pattern of the drifting lands. Travelers have reported seeing Siho, creatures with the head of an elephant, the body of a lion, and a horse’s tail, traveling in packs in the tall grasslands below. There are also rumours that the sky islands are home to a fierce tribe of riders with flowing white robes who ride blue winged cows called Paksakawi (ปักษาคาวี) across the archipelago.
Lodestones
Lodestones (เหล็กนำ้ผี)
Throughout all of the lands of Phum large structures called Lodestones can be found. These luminous crystal shards are made of a material not found anywhere else on the planet and come in a wide variety of colours. If someone looks into the stones, they can see the stars above them, even in the middle of the day.
Many tribes have come up with their own explanations for them – some say they are shards from the Creator’s war spear, some say they were left by an ancient civilization that walked to another world.