I'm calling a halt of the A to Z blogging. Tendonitis or something like that, so no typing I can avoid, but I thought I'd make at least this short post.

Visiting my mother tends to bring about conversations involving either of us referring to my "home" either as here, or my own flat. That has led me to idle thoughts about what "home" is.

For myself, what I want from my home is that I feel safe. And... my home is my place, where I don't have to welcome anyone I don't want there.

But home is different things to different people, so I'll go poke some of my fictional characters about it.

Brice: When I hear "home", I picture the house I grew up in. That is...not very useful.

Gabriel: Home is a place where I don't have to play a role, or project a certain image.

Daaren: People who trust me, and whom I trust. A community in which I have a place.

Sylvie: Home is where I know the rules.
Nico: Say what?
Sylvie: I mean... I don't have to be afraid all the time about doing something wrong because I know what kind of behaviour is normal, and which is, oh, "fighting words".
Nico: Sounds more like home country?
Sylvie: I guess? Otherwise... home is family.

Dehrai: Yes. Friends that become chosen family, and the place we carve out for ourselves.

Xan: Anywhere no-one tries to kill me is close enough at the moment.

...
Sylvie: Nico?
Nico: Yes?
Sylvie: You butted in. After that, no sneaking out without answering the question.
Nico: Fair enough. ... Um. Homeplace is wherever I can stash some possessions and myself and be reasonably sure neither gets harmed for a while. Homefeeling is... I'm... I guess it's peaceful. It's hard to grasp. :/

If you want to share, what does "home" mean to you?

Well, back to the worldbuilding notes. :D

Eodea has goblins among its humanoid species.

They have pointed ears, big noses, and projecting jaws with marked canines. Their hands have two thumbs, one on each side of the palm, and three non-thumb-fingers.

Their sexual dimorphism works out to male goblins being around 3-4 feet tall, and female goblins 5-6 feet. Women are also more long-lived, and rarer - I haven't settled on a number yet, but something in the ballpark of 5-10 males for each female in a population.

So they have a reason for a tendency to protect girls and woman. Also for polyandry. The longer lifespan is a factor for women being most of their leaders, lorekeepers, judges, scholars, etc.

Goblins in general, and male goblins in particular, tend to be very group-oriented. I'm sure there are humans who have interpreted an unwillingness to make important decisions alone as sign stupidity or cowardice.

There is an insular nation of goblins in the mountains of Raaji.

In Konda there are smaller goblin communities integrated into a society dominated by humans. Particularly in the capital they are known as expert craftsmen, usually by the name of their legacy-lines - small teams who work together and trace their training back through generations.

Yrn was a settlement founded by goblins; they still make up about a third of the population, the rest again being mostly humans.

In northern Akadan there's a culture whose makeup by species includes goblins along with orcs (majority), elves, and humans.

What is your personal mental image of goblins?

I'll put that behind a cut because it's kinda melancholy, and I don't want to drag down the mood of anyone expecting squeeing about things I love under the headline "Fandoms". Mostly this is reasons why I'm not involved in fandoms.

Does the world really need another high fantasy setting involving lots of human, but also elves and goblins and orcs and others? Maybe not, but I want a sandbox like that. :P

It's familiar because it's been written about in many variations, but this one is mine, to put whichever parts I like together how I like, and leave out whatever gets on my nerves.

I can build it without having as end goal having it be the stage for a huge war. I can write about a society that respects women. I can have a fantasy world where forms or democracy are the norm. I can have cultures formed by multiple intelligent species living together, rather than coding some species as Good and others as Evil.

My favourite part, though, is playing with different magic systems. Magic may be the main reason why I'm drawn to fantasy. And if magic is not limited to just a handful of people in the whole world, how does that influence life? Thinking back, the first little mosaic stone that I made up was a mage who was good at shaping wood and living plants, and decent at healing people, but had a marked inaptitude for fire magic - because I didn't want to go with the RPG-formed stereotype of fireball-flinging person of mass destruction.

I'll say one thing, though: If your aim is wholesale destruction by way of an epic war, at least it gives you a basis to hang a plot on.

Do you read high or epic fantasy? What do you like or dislike about it?