Update 10/15/23: I'll be adding a list of changes and the date added at the end of this post from now on! Hello everyone! It's been brought to my attention that I have a lot of Gemlord's lore that isn't super clear to readers. I know it all in my head, and it's information that will be made clear in the novels- but they're not published yet! My goal is to keep this post relatively short, but it may be long length wise. You can use this as a general guide that can be reviewed whenever something unfamiliar pops up in Fox and Castiel's blog posts. Information is ordered in such a way that each section gives you context for the next. If any new information comes along from newer posts, I'll attempt to update this guide. As I wrote this guide, I was remembering some of Gemlord's lore has big yikes in it. This is for a sense of realism, and I do not endorse those behaviors, actions, etc.
Names, How do They Work and Why?
Names on Gemlord can be broken in the three parts; Gem Type, First Name, Last Name. Let's break down Fox's name.
This is what you see when he makes a post. He's an Azurite, so that goes first. Then his first name, Fox. Lastly, the last name, Alfred. For Fox, his name isn't super complicated. You refer to a Gemlord by their first name. Let's look at Castiel's.
Castiel's name looks longer, since he has a specific Gem Type. His last name, LaCour (sometimes I spell it La Cour), also adds length to the name.
Unfortunately, this can lead to long names. This isn't an issue on the blog, though. I will never call Fox "Azurite Fox "Raidon Kuro" Alfred," which includes his birth name. More on that later.
Why then, do I use this system?
It gives the reader information about the character. We are not Gemlords. While an Emerald could tell a Jade from another Emerald, we can't. The reason this is important will be explained soon.
It's part of Gemlord's naming tradition. Simple as that.
What Are Gem Types?
The last section probably made you ask why the Gem Type is so important. There are two main reasons;
In Gemlord's history, this is how Gems decided to organize themselves. There are also minor differences between each type. A Jade is slightly different than an Emerald. A Black Diamond has different abilities than a Blue Diamond.
Metaphor. Each gem color has a different place in society. Since this is for the novels, and may only come up a few times on the blog, I don't need to say much more at the moment.
A gem's color just determines what types of powers they have. The important types you'll need to know for this blog;
Blue Gems can manipulate and generate water.
Green Gems can control, read, alter, or otherwise peer into minds.
Pearls have the exclusive ability to heal.
Gender Roles
Gemlords actually have different genders than us. Biologically they're still male or female, but their views of gender differ from ours. I simplify the concept as part of the "translation." I've also not decided if I plan to use it on the novels. Gemlords don't gender clothing, items, etc, like we do. Everyone wears makeup daily, it's considered strange to leave the house without it. Feminine clothing like dresses and heels are worn by all genders. Gemlords rarely wear flat soled shoes.
Historical Events
There are lots of important historical events in Gemlord's history, but here's the ones you'll need to know, ordered oldest to newest:
The Clan Wars. When the Gemlords first settled their planet, they organized into Gem Type. This peace only lasted 20 years, when the Diamonds attempted to take territory from the Amethysts. This started a feud, conflict, then a war. Clans aligned with either the Diamonds or the Amethysts. The Diamonds won out, setting up a monarchy that benefited themselves.
Founder Festivals: As the first of each Gem Type died, their people started to hold small festivals on their death days to honor their work. The Diamonds declared these days national holidays in which a gem of any type could refuse work or other activities to celebrate. The Festivals of the seven most important Founders were moved to the 2nd week of June: Diamond, Amethyst, Emerald, Pearl, Ruby, Jasper, and Quartz.
Painite Attacks. Only a few 100 years into the Diamond's rule, the whole planet was attacked by immortal demons called Painites. Their burning of the planet killed many and reduced the budding society to a limited number of cities and buildings. Sapphire (see Misc), froze them in a holy ice and locked them under her palace.
The Amethyst Revolution. Happening only a year or so ago from the blog's timeline, this is the revolution that ended the feud between the Amethysts and Diamonds. Amethyst Revolution gathered a large group of gems, first to liberate the City of Shards, and then to swarm the Diamond Palace. After defeating the King and Queen in battle, she ended the 8,000 year rule of the Diamond Kingdom. She established a Council which gives representation to all Gem Types. The Council is attempting to remedy issues of discrimination, poverty, inequality, and other injustices created by the Diamonds.
Key Cities and Locations
Here are the three cities and places within them you'll need to know:
Emerald City. This is where Fox and Castiel live, along with being the hub for the music industry. The "Upper City" refers to the most well off part of Emerald City. Fox and Castiel currently live in a gated community called "The Hills." This is where successful Gems often move to show off their status. The "Lower City" refers to slums in the least well off part of the city, where lots of gangs control the area and the poor were neglected by the Diamonds. Castiel spent his teen years here. The "Middle City" refers to the rest of the city, where the middle class lives.
The City of Shards. In it's early days, it was called Kyanite City and was a bustling port city. The city fell into disrepair after being neglected by the Diamonds, and gems moved out in droves. The Diamonds evacuated the city, built walls around it, and converted it into a prison city. It was officially given the name "The City of Shards," a name it'd been locally nicked named perviously. It held prisoners, few lawful and most unlawful, until the Amethyst Revolution liberated it. It's currently being rebuilt by the Council.
The Quartz District(s). This is a large part of Gemlord, which once housed the segregated Quartz Districts. Quartz of different types couldn't go into other districts, until they revolted. The name was changed to the Quartz District and was no longer segregated. Cars are a huge part of culture there, thus it's the only city where it's legal to street race. Most cars are built in the District, and races are held on the major holidays instead of other types of celebrations.
Important People
Fox and Castiel have introductions that can be found on the blog, but here are short bios for them. Click their names for their introduction posts.
Fox Alfred: Born Raidon Kuro in the City of Shards, he escaped to Emerald City at age 10. He changed his name to "Fox Alfred," by age 13, since he was being hunted by the government. He attempted to pass high school but failed. James picked him up off the streets at age 18. Fox worked for James for 10 years before finding freedom at age 28.
Castiel LaCour: Nicknamed "Cas" by Fox, he was born in the City of Shards, his mother ran away when he was only a few months old. She had never intended to have Castiel, and had left him with his abusive father. Castiel left Shards at age 13 as a part of the government project, the Children of Shards Relocation Program (See Key Information). His foster parents in Emerald City were addicts and were unable to fully support him. He had moved to the better parts of Emerald City by age 20 and worked for another producer until he met Fox at 26.
Here are a few other characters who are important enough to know;
Azurite-Malachite Zelina Kuro: Sometimes called "Lina," she's Fox's mother. She was a professional street racer until she was framed for her rival's death on the tracks. He was fine, but Zelina was unlawfully convicted of attempted murder and sent to The City of Shards. Not only that, her Gem Weapon was shattered, leaving her in a mentally child like state (see "Key Information}. Her car, a Warrior Dawn (see "Misc") is her most prized possession. My best image of her is the picture from a tarot card design project I did.
Amethyst Revolution "Raelynn" Walker: Often called "Rev" by the general population, she's the leader of the Amethyst Revolution and current Council Head. She's widely considered as a peace keeper and hero to oppressed gems. She changed her name after her friends joked about how dedicated to the revolution she was. Another image from the tarot project, depicting Rev leaving the Diamond Palace after defeating the King and Queen:
Painite Reed Typhon: An immortal demon who was freed from his ice prison (see Historical Events). He's lived many lives under other names, due to the Amethyst Revolution he now has to serve on the Council, and uses an altered version of his real name. He's the leader of the band Fox produces, and is one of Fox's close friends. My best image of him also seems to be his demon form in the tarot card project.
Doctor Green Pearl Jayr Julyla: Fox and Castiel's therapist. As a Green Gem and a Pearl, he's able to heal mental injuries. You'll have to deal with this two year old art, because it's all I have.
Peridot James Lenoir: Fox's old boss, a bartender, who abused him for ten years. Without spoiling the novel, let's just say he's been taken care of. He's mentally ill due to an overuse of his mind abilities. This is the most recent image I have of James.
Ruby Vanessa Tempest: Fox's ex-girlfriend. They only dated a year or so, and Vanessa was quite abusive as well. This is due to familial trauma, although that doesn't make it right. Funny enough, this image is also from my tarot card project, where I have Vanessa as the "Hanged Man." She's fine, don't worry. I need to update my artwork.
And a few other names you'll probably want to reference;
Nat, Cole, and Reese Kuro. Fox's siblings.
Alfred Kuro, Fox's father.
Priscilla, Castiel's ex girlfriend.
Zen, a famous singer and good friend of Fox and Castiel.
Key Information
As I drafted this guide, I noticed there was a difference between the importance of certain items in the Misc category. This section covers the biggest topics that will give you a better understanding of the blog posts.
I often refer to the pervious government as "The Diamonds." There are plenty of good Diamonds on Gemlord, but the Diamond run government was corrupt.
Before the Amethyst Revolution, Jaspers were forced into public service and military jobs unless unable to perform said jobs. This led to the general population calling all public service workers "Jaspers," or the derogatory "Jasps." Castiel often refers to the police force (even though other gems are now in service) as the "Jaspers" or "Jasps." He's still unlearning old habits.
Gemlords evolved from two "parent races" as I call them; the Periodics and Minerals. Similar to how Gemlords are based on gemstones, the Periodics are based on elements of the periodic table, and the Minerals are based on, well, minerals. The Gemlords arose as a genetic mutation, since periodic elements and minerals make up most gemstones. The parent races did the not ok thing of breeding out Gemlord genes, and they usually send any Gemlord children to the planet of Gemlord.
English is no longer spoken, except by interplanetary diplomats. Those who lived in Shards often learn it as well, digging up documents from when Gemlord still used English before it's own language formed. Fox and his brother Cole speak decent English; hence why Fox can write his own posts, and Castiel cant.
The Children of Shards Relocation Program (CSRP) was the Diamond's way of controlling the overpopulation in Shards. Children were taken out of the city and given to foster parents. The program was extremely biased, and favored higher class children. They went to well off homes in wealthy cities. Middle class and lower class children were often sent to slums, poorer cities, and often unwilling foster parents. It was common for foster parents to neglect, mistreat, or even abandon children in the CSRP. Rarely, parents would abandon their homes and children would be left to fend for themselves. Children would be tattooed with their number, on their neck, collarbone, or wrist depending on the year they were relocated. This crop from Castiel's reference sheet shows where Castiel's number is when it's not covered by clothes or makeup (it often is);
Gemlords wield Gem Weapons, a small piece of their soul which transforms into a weapon which is made of pure crystal. These weapons correspond to the person; swords and shields are quite common, but Castiel has a whip, so anything is on the table. These weapons can be cracked or shattered by a Gemlord putting an immense amount of hatred into a blow with their own weapon. When a weapon is cracked, the Gemlord is suddenly missing a piece of their soul, which has consequences ranging from mental illness, physical pain or disability, and in extreme cases, death. The reaction to a shattered weapon depends on the Gemlord.
Misc
These are notes that you can refer to if you need extra context. They also answer common questions I get.
Usually I'll clarify what Gemlord brands are equal to human brands, but Warrior is so often brought up that I'll add clarification here. Warrior cars are based on Chevrolet's cars. If Fox talks about his or his mother's Dawn, those are similar to Camaros. Castiel's Addax is an Impala.
Cars on Gemlord function differently an ours. Instead of engines, motors are powered by nuclear fusion, which produces no radioactive waste. Two hydrogen atoms are fused into helium, and that helium is released from the car through the exhaust. Due to their parent races, Gemlords have much stronger lungs than humans, and can withstand the helium in the air. However, the helium is pulled from the air by filters and taken to a fission plant, where it is turned back into hydrogen which is fueled back into cars. We're working with sci-fi technology here, assume they've perfected this method of fueling cars.
Most of Gemlord's technology is outdated. Gemlord is 95,167.35 in the future, but society was started on a blanket planet. The Diamonds bet with the parent races that if they won the Clan Wars, they'd get technology. What kind was never agreed on, so they were sent outdated technology. Because of their grudge with their parent races, the Gemlord aspired to improve on their own- not attempting to achieve the technologies of their parent races.
Sapphire is the goddess of Gemlord. She was assigned by the Angel Love to protect Gemlord and it's people, however she was a recluse for 6,000 or so years due to abuse she faced during the Clan Wars. Due to her disappearance, religion is complicated. She revealed herself after the Amethyst Revolution, but is still a hands off goddess.
Fox and Castiel have a cat named Jello. He's black with red eyes, hence his name. He can teleport, which is normal for black cats on Gemlord.
Humans are long dead by the time Gemlords exist- which is why the blog is a for-fun kind of story telling. The stories Fox and Castiel tell actually happen, but they'd never actually be writing to humans if not for this blog.
Human oddities are a fascination of the Gemlords. Luxury car brand "M" has made very limited runs of cars such as the DeLorean and Pontiac Firebird. DVDs, analogue phones, paper, cameras, etc, only exist as phone icons. There are reproductions of human technology for novelty use. They also have our movies, TV, and music in a limited capacity.
I think that's all for now! Hopefully this can clarify and be a reference point for blog posts! Small details will still be written as editor notes.
-Rosetta 💖
Update Log
10/15/23: Update Log added, Zelina's profile expanded, Gem Weapons added to Key Information.