CoSM:About - Revision history

Maxisnt: /* How come there is mostly Earth life on Álm? */

2026-03-03T01:10:04Z

How come there is mostly Earth life on Álm?

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	=== How come there is mostly Earth life on Álm? ===		=== How come there is mostly Earth life on Álm? ===
	I don't know, and I honestly don't want to get too much into that. There just ''is''. Apples and plums and ~~bears~~ and gum trees are all here for you to enjoy, along with some new species at my own leisure.		I don't know, and I honestly don't want to get too much into that. There just ''is''. Apples and plums and pears and gum trees are all here for you to enjoy, along with some new species at my own leisure.

	=== Wait, so Álm is only 6000 km x 6000 km? ===		=== Wait, so Álm is only 6000 km x 6000 km? ===

Maxisnt at 19:13, 15 February 2026

2026-02-15T19:13:11Z

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	[[File:Maintitle.svg\|thumb\|Look at this cool title card! I made it in like 2021 and then promptly never used it. So here it is!]]		[[File:Maintitle.svg\|thumb\|Look at this cool title card! I made it in like 2021 and then promptly never used it. So here it is!]]
	The '''Cradle of Songs''' is a multi-part project created by me, [[User:Maxisnt\|Camille]], or Max, or Rowan, whichever name you like best. Ideas had been floating around since before then, but it probably properly started in 2017, with my family's moving to Italy, marking a severe turning point in my life. I was 14 back then, and this project was my answer to that, arguably turning it into a trauma response.		The '''Cradle of Songs''' is a multi-part project created by me, [[User:Maxisnt\|Camille]], or Fionn, or Max, or Rowan, whichever name you like best. Ideas had been floating around since before then, but it probably properly started in 2017, with my family's moving to Italy, marking a severe turning point in my life. I was 14 back then, and this project was my answer to that, arguably turning it into a trauma response.

	In this article I will explain what I can about it in a sort of FAQ-appendix-infodump fashion. Have fun reading!		In this article I will explain what I can about it in a sort of FAQ-appendix-infodump fashion. Have fun reading!

Maxisnt: /* The SDO */

2026-02-15T17:23:40Z

The SDO

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:23, 15 February 2026
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	===The SDO===		===The SDO===
	The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]], [[clúnydd]] and [[Urm\|urms]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|~~nine~~ species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.		The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]], [[clúnydd]] and [[Urm\|urms]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|twelve species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.

	===''Tell us''===		===''Tell us''===

Maxisnt at 17:23, 15 February 2026

2026-02-15T17:23:17Z

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	==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==		==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==
	There are four main parts to this project:		There are four main parts to this project:
	===World===		===''World''===
	World is easily the biggest part of CoS, and my favourite one to work on. It revolves around a planet called [[World]] (shocker!), a project by the interstellar [[Search and Discovery Organisation]] to re-evolve the lost species of [[Earth]] after it was hit on the 18th of February, 2003 with [[Atropos\|another Mars-sized asteroid]] similar to the one that created the moon, although this one left the planet barren and inhospitable for good. The SDO, having become arguably "fans" of the Earth for being the first planet outside [[Nausicaä\|their star system]] that they found (but did not make contact with for fear of scaring humanity), were reasonably pretty distraught, so they set out to save what they could and study it further.		''World'' is easily the biggest part of CoS, and my favourite one to work on. It revolves around a planet called [[World]] (shocker!), a project by the interstellar [[Search and Discovery Organisation]] to re-evolve the lost species of [[Earth]] after it was hit on the 18th of February, 2003 with [[Atropos\|another Mars-sized asteroid]] similar to the one that created the moon, although this one left the planet barren and inhospitable for good. The SDO, having become arguably "fans" of the Earth for being the first planet outside [[Nausicaä\|their star system]] that they found (but did not make contact with for fear of scaring humanity), were reasonably pretty distraught, so they set out to save what they could and study it further.

	World is ''not'' Earth in that it resides in a [[Panopea\|different star system]], and does not have the same orbital qualities as Earth except for its distance to its star (although there is an infinitesimally small difference), and the type of its star, a near-analogue to our sun. The SDO's involvement was minimal, just enough to kickstart the planet's ecosystem and gently guide it into resembling the dead Earth during the eons (!) it took to develop. They mostly succeeded, although some things simply could not re-evolve, and some others evolved in different ways, both innovating new species, even whole genera, but at the cost of others, which existed on Earth, whose ecological niches were supplanted by the new species. One of these was the humans, supplanted by a canid species, [[felds]]. To make matters stranger, a [[Erdyll\|whole other kind of life]] evolved alongside cytotic life on accident, making use of different biochemistry, partly influenced by the [[Dessian physics\|chemistry]] of a [[Dess\|different universe]], which the SDO used for easier interstellar travel. Oops! Either way, this is what caused World to be populated by ''another'' sapient species that evolved convergently with felds, the [[clúnydd]].		World is ''not'' Earth in that it resides in a [[Panopea\|different star system]], and does not have the same orbital qualities as Earth except for its distance to its star (although there is an infinitesimally small difference), and the type of its star, a near-analogue to our sun. The SDO's involvement was minimal, just enough to kickstart the planet's ecosystem and gently guide it into resembling the dead Earth during the eons (!) it took to develop. They mostly succeeded, although some things simply could not re-evolve, and some others evolved in different ways, both innovating new species, even whole genera, but at the cost of others, which existed on Earth, whose ecological niches were supplanted by the new species. One of these was the humans, supplanted by a canid species, [[felds]]. To make matters stranger, a [[Erdyll\|whole other kind of life]] evolved alongside cytotic life on accident, making use of different biochemistry, partly influenced by the [[Dessian physics\|chemistry]] of a [[Dess\|different universe]], which the SDO used for easier interstellar travel. Oops! Either way, this is what caused World to be populated by ''another'' sapient species that evolved convergently with felds, the [[clúnydd]].
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	The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]], [[clúnydd]] and [[Urm\|urms]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|nine species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.		The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]], [[clúnydd]] and [[Urm\|urms]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|nine species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.

	===~~Earth~~===		===''Tell us''===
	"Wait, wasn't the earth destroyed or something?" Well, yes, my little avid reader! What a clever little guy, you! Why does this exist? Why is this part of the Cradle? I know, but you shouldn't. I have stuff planned here, mu-ha-ha-ha. Lol!		''Tell us'' is the part of CoS that centers around the [[Earth]]. The name is a play on the word ''tellus'' which is a name for our planet in Latin. "Wait, wasn't the earth destroyed or something?" Well, yes, my little avid reader! What a clever little guy, you! Why does this exist? Why is this part of the Cradle? I know, but you shouldn't. I have stuff planned here, mu-ha-ha-ha. Lol!

	===The Warawara Expanse===		===''The Warawara Expanse''===
	What's this? What's going on? Where am I? Don't worry, reader, this is but my little high fantasy project! While technically not a part of the larger CoS universe, I'd say it's at the very least tangential. Much of the mythology of WW is shared with the various cultures of World, especially that of the Avannians (Phyreans, Hearnish, Hogharrhyans, etc). It's divided into two (and maybe more in the future) parts:		What's this? What's going on? Where am I? Don't worry, reader, this is but my little high fantasy project! While technically not a part of the larger CoS universe, I'd say it's at the very least tangential. Much of the mythology of WW is shared with the various cultures of World, especially that of the Avannians (Phyreans, Hearnish, Hogharrhyans, etc). It's divided into two (and maybe more in the future) parts:

Maxisnt: /* World */

2026-02-02T15:22:11Z

World

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	===The SDO===		===The SDO===
	The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]] and [[~~clúnydd~~]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|nine species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.		The [[Search and Discovery Organisation]], often shortened to SDO, is an inter-stellar, inter-species, inter-cultural organisation of sophonts that have achieved long-distance spacefaring, among a couple other ones that were either intentionally or accidentally (as is the case with [[felds]], [[clúnydd]] and [[Urm\|urms]]) interacted with before they accomplished such a feat. These are, as of now, [[List_of_sophonts\|nine species]]. And this part of the project is, for me, an opportunity to explore speculative biology, its intersection with culture studies, and really cool sci-fi stuff.

	===Earth===		===Earth===

Maxisnt at 15:06, 2 February 2026

2026-02-02T15:06:23Z

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	=== Can I help you with your worldbuilding? Can I collaborate in any way? ===		=== Can I help you with your worldbuilding? Can I collaborate in any way? ===
	I am '''extremely''' picky with who gets to contribute to my worldbuilding. My main reasoning is that I want whatever comes out of these projects, like say a book, to be ''mine''. I do let some people help me (e.g. my friends [https://bsky.app/profile/overnecked.bsky.social Overnecked] and [https://bsky.app/profile/wrenguistics.bsky.social Wren], who mostly help me with languages for Moonsong), and they'll get credit if I ever get to use their contributions in some professional work. But I want to keep the number of people I gotta credit to be manageably low. I'm not good at keeping track. Sorry. My second reasoning is that ''very few people actually know how to match my stuff's vibe''. It's rare for me to find someone that is actually in the same wavelength for these kinds of things, so I'm rightfully (I think) a little selective.		I am '''extremely''' picky with who gets to contribute to my worldbuilding. My main reasoning is that I want whatever comes out of these projects, like say a book, to be ''mine''. I do let some people help me (e.g. my friends [https://bsky.app/profile/overnecked.bsky.social Overnecked] and [https://bsky.app/profile/wrenguistics.bsky.social Wren], who mostly help me with languages for Moonsong), and they'll get credit if I ever get to use their contributions in some professional work. But I want to keep the number of people I gotta credit to be manageably low. I'm not good at keeping track. Sorry. My second reasoning is that ''very few people actually know how to match my stuff's vibe''. It's rare for me to find someone that is actually in the same wavelength for these kinds of things, so I'm rightfully (I think) a little selective.

			=== What is a sophont? ===
			A sophont is a species that displays intelligence in a manner similar to that of a human. This is a vague and murky definition and it invites a ton of questions. So, naturally, after a lot of shower-thinking, I've come up with some criteria for sophonce.

			# A sophont has to be able to '''create for the sake of creating'''. Make for the sake of just making stuff, not just because it's particularly useful or groundbreaking, but just because, in their mind, it ''has'' to exist. Of course, a monkey can make a tool out of a stick to get hard-to-reach termites in a log, and while that is certainly creative, it's done purely because it has a purpose. No, what I mean is that a sophont has to be capable of creating for ''fun'', for the ''fuck of it''.
			# A sophont has to have '''some level of altruism'''. They have to be able to care for their peers and−more importantly−share. Else all that intelligence and creativity would remain constrained in their own head, and it wouldn't go anywhere. And then what man? And then what. Sophonts need some kind of drive to stick together, and by consequence, create together. Create solutions for shared problems, create games to have fun together, and ultimately, create ''cultures''.

			Not everyone is going to agree with me, and that's okay. To me, in my optimistic mind, I like my sophonts to be creative and altruistic. It's fun, it's cute, comforting even.

	==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==		==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==

Maxisnt at 00:38, 2 February 2026

2026-02-02T00:38:56Z

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	=== What inspired you to make all this? ===		=== What inspired you to make all this? ===
	Well, several things, really. I take a little from everything I know and apply it to my worldbuilding. Broadly, though, my main inspirations are other worldbuilding projects I love. This includes speculative biology projects like C. M. Kösemen's [http://www.cmkosemen.com/snaiad_web/snduterus.html Snaiad], Jay Eaton's [https://jayeaton.site/RunawayToTheStars/home Runaway to the Stars], and Gert van Dijk's [https://planetfuraha.blogspot.com Furaha], media such as [[Wikipedia:Team Ico\|Team Ico]]/[[Wikipedia:~~Gen Design~~\|~~Gen Design~~]] games, [[Wikipedia:Yoshitaka Amano\|Yoshitaka Amano]]'s artwork, [[Wikipedia:Hayao Miyazaki\|Hayao Miyazaki]]'s films, and [[Wikipedia:Yoko Kanno\|Yoko Kanno]]'s music, among many other things that would just take too much time to remember and write down.		Well, several things, really. I take a little from everything I know and apply it to my worldbuilding. Broadly, though, my main inspirations are other worldbuilding projects I love. This includes speculative biology projects like C. M. Kösemen's [http://www.cmkosemen.com/snaiad_web/snduterus.html Snaiad], Jay Eaton's [https://jayeaton.site/RunawayToTheStars/home Runaway to the Stars], and Gert van Dijk's [https://planetfuraha.blogspot.com Furaha], media such as [[Wikipedia:Team Ico\|Team Ico]]/[[Wikipedia:genDESIGN\|genDESIGN]] games, [[Wikipedia:Yoshitaka Amano\|Yoshitaka Amano]]'s artwork, [[Wikipedia:Hayao Miyazaki\|Hayao Miyazaki]]'s films, and [[Wikipedia:Yoko Kanno\|Yoko Kanno]]'s music, among many other things that would just take too much time to remember and write down.

	=== What's with all the dicks and sex and weird stuff (which is sometimes related to dicks and sex)? ===		=== What's with all the dicks and sex and weird stuff (which is sometimes related to dicks and sex)? ===

Maxisnt at 00:37, 2 February 2026

2026-02-02T00:37:46Z

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	=== What is this? ===		=== What is this? ===
	Well, I did describe it as a multi-part project, but that's a little vague, isn't it? Truth be told, I don't even really know how to answer this question myself. The best way I can describe it is a mix between a universe-building project, with small worldbuilding projects lying underneath, and a trauma dump, with much of my grievances expressed and extrapolated, a good exercise in processing the Really Bad Stuff™ that happened to me. It's a healing process, an expression of what makes me ''me'' in the form of a nebulous "place where stuff happens." But it's also a chance for me to have fun and toy around with the things that I like, such as culture studies, art, writing, men, dog people, among others.		Well, I did describe it as a multi-part project, but that's a little vague, isn't it? Truth be told, I don't even really know how to answer this question myself. The best way I can describe it is a mix between a universe-building project, with small worldbuilding projects lying underneath, and a trauma dump, with much of my grievances expressed and extrapolated, a good exercise in processing the Really Bad Stuff™ that happened to me. It's a healing process, an expression of what makes me ''me'' in the form of a nebulous "place where stuff happens." But it's also a chance for me to have fun and toy around with the things that I like, such as culture studies, art, writing, men, dog people, among others.

			=== What inspired you to make all this? ===
			Well, several things, really. I take a little from everything I know and apply it to my worldbuilding. Broadly, though, my main inspirations are other worldbuilding projects I love. This includes speculative biology projects like C. M. Kösemen's [http://www.cmkosemen.com/snaiad_web/snduterus.html Snaiad], Jay Eaton's [https://jayeaton.site/RunawayToTheStars/home Runaway to the Stars], and Gert van Dijk's [https://planetfuraha.blogspot.com Furaha], media such as [[Wikipedia:Team Ico\|Team Ico]]/[[Wikipedia:Gen Design\|Gen Design]] games, [[Wikipedia:Yoshitaka Amano\|Yoshitaka Amano]]'s artwork, [[Wikipedia:Hayao Miyazaki\|Hayao Miyazaki]]'s films, and [[Wikipedia:Yoko Kanno\|Yoko Kanno]]'s music, among many other things that would just take too much time to remember and write down.

	=== What's with all the dicks and sex and weird stuff (which is sometimes related to dicks and sex)? ===		=== What's with all the dicks and sex and weird stuff (which is sometimes related to dicks and sex)? ===
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	=== Can I help you with your worldbuilding? Can I collaborate in any way? ===		=== Can I help you with your worldbuilding? Can I collaborate in any way? ===
	I am '''extremely''' picky with who gets to contribute to my worldbuilding. My main reasoning is that I want whatever comes out of these projects, like say a book, to be ''mine''. I do let some people help me (e.g. my friends [https://bsky.app/profile/overnecked.bsky.social Overnecked] and [https://bsky.app/profile/wrenguistics.bsky.social Wren], who mostly help me with languages for Moonsong), and they'll get credit if I ever get to use their contributions in some professional work. But I want to keep the number of people I gotta credit to be manageably low. I'm not good at keeping track. Sorry.		I am '''extremely''' picky with who gets to contribute to my worldbuilding. My main reasoning is that I want whatever comes out of these projects, like say a book, to be ''mine''. I do let some people help me (e.g. my friends [https://bsky.app/profile/overnecked.bsky.social Overnecked] and [https://bsky.app/profile/wrenguistics.bsky.social Wren], who mostly help me with languages for Moonsong), and they'll get credit if I ever get to use their contributions in some professional work. But I want to keep the number of people I gotta credit to be manageably low. I'm not good at keeping track. Sorry. My second reasoning is that ''very few people actually know how to match my stuff's vibe''. It's rare for me to find someone that is actually in the same wavelength for these kinds of things, so I'm rightfully (I think) a little selective.

	My second reasoning is that ''very few people actually know how to match my stuff's vibe''. It's rare for me to find someone that is actually in the same wavelength for these kinds of things, so I'm rightfully (I think) a little selective.

	==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==		==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==

Maxisnt: /* Where are each of the ilks located within Álm? */

2026-02-01T02:53:49Z

Where are each of the ilks located within Álm?

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:53, 1 February 2026
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	=== Where are each of the ilks located within Álm? ===		=== Where are each of the ilks located within Álm? ===
	[[File:Big-map-ilks.svg\|thumb\|Eheu! The aforementioned map.]]		[[File:Big-map-ilks.svg\|thumb\|Eheu! The aforementioned map.]]
	I have a bit of a rough map for this which I've made a while ago. ~~Generally speaking: Faolkin and Almarkin inhabit~~ the ~~whole of the Horadur-Andinor-Arðiodur complex, Jüttkin inhabit Lea, Kanarkin inhabit Hedron, Drakes are cosmopolitan (i.e~~. ~~they exist as a diaspora around the whole world), Danu inhabit Towerward Danadur, Syolkin inhabit~~		I have a bit of a rough map for this which I've made a while ago. Along with the map I've made a table to give a general idea.
	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"
	!Kin		!Kin

Maxisnt at 02:34, 1 February 2026

2026-02-01T02:34:47Z

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 In this article I will explain what I can about it in a sort of FAQ-appendix-infodump fashion. Have fun reading!
-==What is this?==
+== General questions ==
 Well, I did describe it as a multi-part project, but that's a little vague, isn't it? Truth be told, I don't even really know how to answer this question myself. The best way I can describe it is a mix between a universe-building project, with small worldbuilding projects lying underneath, and a trauma dump, with much of my grievances expressed and extrapolated, a good exercise in processing the Really Bad Stuff™ that happened to me. It's a healing process, an expression of what makes me ''me'' in the form of a nebulous "place where stuff happens." But it's also a chance for me to have fun and toy around with the things that I like, such as culture studies, art, writing, men, dog people, among others.
 ==The constituent parts of the Cradle of Songs==
@@ Line 31: / Line 41: @@
 Faolsong is, in contrast to Moonsong, grittier, and definitely rougher around the edges. It started as a short-lived DND campaign with my now ex-boyfriend, and combines fantasy elements with sci-fi, in a NieR fashion. Its plot revolves around a conflict between the inhabitants of the Mainland, a menagerie of various species (many of which also found on Moonsong), and the army of Bellerophon, sci-fi-medieval-styled human androids.
-== When is "now"/the "present time" of CoS? ==
+== CoS-specific FAQ ==
 This is a difficult question as there is no real answer. A lot of things happen at different times, and there is no one point to anchor oneself with. For the purposes of most things in this wiki, however, I am sticking with the World year of '''1732''' (in SDO's base-60 standard for year notation, ''Sq'') or the '''Llun Maf Hwyr of 578''', comparable to the Earth year of 2020 technology-wise, with the beginning of technology imports from the SDO underway.
@@ Line 93: / Line 105: @@
 |}
-==What's with all the dicks and sex and weird stuff (which is sometimes related to dicks and sex)?==
+== Warawara-specific FAQ ==
-I have a difficult relationship with sexuality, because, shocker, I am mostly traumatised on that front. The way I explore that trauma, and express it in a way that is healthy (at least according to my psychologist), is through worldbuilding! I preemptively apologise if anything in here makes you uncomfortable, but the disclaimer I added that appears in every single article until you dismiss it was made for a reason, and I really don't like tapping the sign.
 [[Category:Doylist material]] [[Category:CoS Meta]]