Various other questions

I have a rough convention in which, to create appropriate feel, I translate those names which a native speaker of Eldraeic would instantly know the meaning of, given the roots (or other origin), in the same way that an English speaker would look at, say, Springfield or Smallville or Shady Vale, and leave untranslated those whose roots (or other origin) are more obscure or come from other languages that aren’t universally known. Hence Ravenstone rather than Travorac Azik, and so forth.

Although I am not always consistent: any native speaker would instantly turn Alaercima into Sea of Islands, for example. That lack of consistency is just because I’m making it up as I go along.

Oh, I’m sure there’s some law of parallel cultural development the Exploratory Service could cite somewhere along the way, not that the parallels are all that exact.

[Although really such naming is no stranger than using translations like “king”, “duke”, “colonel”, or “marine” (or “centurion”, “merarchy”, “polemarch”, and “hoplite”) - and is a convenient way to indicate the cultural delta between the Old Empires and Kanatai isn’t much short of that between Europe and East Asia back in the day.]

That said, I admit to playing it up a bit more than I probably should have to go along with/tease/encourage the readers who came up with the suggestion that the Precursors did their specimen collection from Neanderthals native to the Sardinia region and Denisovans native to the Ryukyu Islands (that led to this), and of course, hopes that someone will write my favorite first-contact friendship-fic (in which non-canonical later interactions lead to a diplonought appearing over Fuji-san one day bearing gifts, thanks for earlier hospitality, and one particular gift in the form of the JSS Kaguya-hime playing the role of Space Battleship Yamato).

Side note: also, no-one noticed Ildathach? I name an entire nation after (one of the slightly more obscure names for) the Celtic otherworld famous for being filled with beauty, health, abundance, joy, and everlasting youth, and I don’t have sídhe references coming out of my ears? For shame, my readers, for shame! :grin:

Unless it turns out that they actually were the Tuatha dé Dannann, the immortals of Penglai, and basically as many other hidden enclaves of mysterious pretty immortal people surrounded by luxury and Sufficiently Advanced Magitechnology as you like. Which they weren’t. Probably. Not in the primary sources, anyway.

Maybe? Depends on the inspiration to write more in that period hitting me. But while they were perhaps secondary figures in the foundation of the Empire due to the previous historical events, yes, they were very important in their own right.