Smells Like Strawberries!

[bloodyrosemccoy]

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A few days ago I had an awesome idea.

Ever since I started my Poul Anderson binge, I’ve been inspired in my own worldbuilding.* So over the last week I was re-crunching some numbers for the Gherresa system again, trying to work out some of their other planets and being a little stumped on the moon.

 

Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out what to name the planets.  I always have trouble with that. I always figure that the sky is a pretty heavy area for the mythology, and that’s an aspect of my cultures that I have to work harder on.  In Luamavan it was easy, because sprites are mostly atheists and have come a long way scientifically, so I gave them all names that were sort of poetic and scientific. But our own planets are named after Roman gods. I don’t doubt that a lot of aliens would do the same, because they’d notice these objects before they had a clear idea what they were.** Those names would probably stick.

 

So a while back when I was just building Gherresa’s system I had assigned the planets code names, because I don’t like just using numbers. I went with jewels this time, so that they became Sphalerite, Kalkupu, Spinel, Garnet, Peridot, Spessartite, and Ametrine. (Okay, so the last was a gas giant I tossed in just because I was thinking up gemstones and ametrine was cool.)

 

And then I thought, why change it?

 

Why wouldn’t my aliens name their planets after jewels? The night sky can make you think of jewels, after all.

 

I did decide to complicate it by having the official names solidified in an older language than Rredrra. Now all I have to do is make up some names for jewels in Mavikrra, then run ’em through my Rredrra sound changer.  Hey, it clears up my “Look! Diachronic language!” love, too! And even Kalkupu can wind up meaning something like “Tanzanite.”

 

I love what I do.

 

 

*And it seems I’m not the only one.  I’ve seen a few people on my friendslist posting some various stuff on their constructed worlds.  I may have to join the club soon. I know you’re all dying to hear about the complicated worlds of arhodes and orlys, rumečilu and podobos. Aren’t you?

 

**Except for the fuzzworms.  They had to wait for the invention of the Smelloscope.

 

Comments

[shadesofmauve]

OOoh...wants to hear about it, especially the language. And the fuzzworms. That footnote was great.

[gwalla.livejournal.com]

All of my conlanging has been related to constructed worlds and cultures.

You gem idea sounds neat. Maybe they thought the various planets were actual jewels in the sky?

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

That was the general idea. (And for the farther out planets they discover later, the tradition continues, just as our mythology tradition continues. Although I vote we re-rename Uranus "George." It's got a history with that name, anyway.) Although I didn't get much past that as to what they thought about them--how they got up there and all that. Still working on it.

[sunshine-shaman.livejournal.com]

See, but if we rename Uranus, what would the school children laugh at? How could they get through science class without that little pick-me-up? You have to have the comical relief planet, otherwise, if all the planets had cool names, it would get a little boring. So, let's just keep Uranus how it is, and bring a little joy to the universe.

[padparadscha.livejournal.com]

We could always change it to "Urectum."

[sunshine-shaman.livejournal.com]

Now, that would be just silly.

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

you beat me to that comment!