Part 9 of the Palaververse: The Diamond Dogs · 10:54pm Nov 8th, 2015
Tonight, we delve into the underbelly of the Palaververse with a look at everyone's favourite unicorn-kidnapping canines, the Diamond Dogs!
This post should cover most of the major players on the Ungulan continent, barring Equestria itself. I'm hence inclined to cover Equestria in the next post before moving farther afield, just for the sake of polishing off the continent. Mass hue and cry could persuade me otherwise, though, and if there's another nation you'd dearly like to see covered first, leave a nomination for it in the comments below. Continue to blame themaskedferret for enabling and proofreading these, as well as providing a couple of dog names.
Onwards and downwards, past the page break!
Underneath the world, another sunless world seethes, its workings a mystery barely sounded by those dwelling on the surface.
Beneath the hooves of the surface-dwellers, the subterranean dark runs endlessly, under continents and seabeds and all the way to the fires at the earth’s heart. Tunnels and caverns riddle its vast and layered expanse, natural or otherwise, in which black rivers run through skeletal forests subsisting on the light shed by patches of magical gemstones alone. Streams of magma and molten sulphur course up from underground volcanic seas, shedding ever-growing veins of metals and mineral crystals.
These same tunnels host horrors undreamed of by the world above. Patches of sapient firedamp and darkness that seek out and smother lone prey; Dwellers Below, cthonic and chaotic monsters formed from the wild magic that held sway when the world was young; great ambulatory hiveminds of fungi; blind and flightless dragon troglodytes who breath poisonous and mind-addling vapour instead of flame. And worse things yet for which the only evidence consists of abstract scribbles left in abandoned and bloodied journals. All these and doubtless more in the unsounded depths.
For most species, such things are nightmares to keep children and some of the more imaginative adults awake at night. For the Diamond Dogs, they’re a bunch of bloody nuisances standing between the dogs and all the nicest seams of metal and gemstones.
The origins of the Diamond Dogs are shrouded in mystery, though the earliest evidence of them interacting with the surface world dates back over three thousand years, just before the approximate date attached to the Fall of Antlertis. The usual theories of the dogs being yet another creation of the Antlertean mage-lords have arisen in response to this, theories contradicted by the dogs’ own mythic accounts. Although such myths vary wildly in their fine details and major players, all share some common ground in the dogs travelling upwards from the heart of the world, fleeing from some vast and vague Creation War waged by unknown powers that had reduced the world’s core to a molten waste.
The few surviving dogs tunneled up through the world, travelling together in ragged packs for safety’s sake, enduring many perils and uncovering many secrets in an odyssey that spanned generations, surviving on fungi and the flesh of creatures that would have otherwise eaten them. Along the way, they learned the secrets of working metal in an effort to defend themselves from the creatures they encountered. First gold and then copper were worked, before the alloy of bronze was discovered. Iron came later, all but ensuring the packs could remain armed and armoured and protected as they drew ever-nearer to the surface. Finally, steel was wrought to save the packs on the last stage of their perilous journeys, before they finally emerged into the alien - but comparatively safe - surface world, and first discovered the light of the sun.
The truth of these accounts, as for so many other myths, is exceedingly open to question. However, their conclusion does fit with the archaeological findings uncovered by the few surface academics who have braved the deeps and found evidence of metal artifacts and technical proficiency centuries ahead of anything produced by the surface tribes in Ungula. Similar albeit substantially smaller populations of related Diamond Jackals and Fennecs emerged in Dactylia at roughly the same time. In the centuries after Antlertis’ Fall, it is likely that the advances in metalworking amongst the surface tribes was copied from the dogs themselves.
Such exchanges of information would have been scattershot and piecemeal for the first period after the Fall, however, as the dogs still existed as a multitude of small and divided packs dwelling primarily in the mountainous regions of the world. Although the majority of their existence would be spent underground, dog hunters would emerge onto the surface regularly to scavenge for food and to abduct slaves from the surface tribes to help toil in the pack’s mines. Individual chieftains and petty kings either fought or bartered with the packs in their territory, either offering up prisoners in exchange for dog-made metalwork or condemning the dogs and leading punitive sorties into the underground, whichever was convenient.
However, the tribes weren’t the only entities in the world keen on the handiwork of the dogs. Dragons were very much a domineering force in the early post-Antlertean era, and would frequently ferret their way underground to plunder the metal and gem stockpiles possessed by the packs. Smaller packs were rarely able to threaten even individual dragons, and frequently gave up grudging tribute to dragonkind. This state rapidly became the norm for most Diamond Dog packs across the continents, with dragons holding the surface in thrall and hunting underground for those packs who refused to bend the knee. Although most packs knelt, and some even developed a reverential attitude towards their overpowering new lords, many remained embittered and bloody-mindedly defiant.
Draconic pressure led to the consolidation of a few packs in order to bolster their own strength, and they soon got the chance to strike back.. In Ungula, in the Greycairn mountains running through the lands of what would become Capra, a loose confederation of many packs gathered underground, joining their underground realms together and pooling their efforts. The pack alphas chose the most esteemed of their number, the now-revered Lady Alpha Molly, to lead their efforts. Molly drew up the plans for a great underground complex, the walls of which would be fortified against any dragon attack from below ground, and the surface entries to which would be guarded beyond measure with steel-armed dogs.
Although the scale of the project dwarfed any other settlement then-existing in Ungula, the digging and craftsdogship of the labourers saw it finished in relatively short order. When the next dragons came intent on plunder, they instead found the nigh-insurmountable defences of the first underhold of Beryllium.
Dragon after dragon broke their teeth and claws upon its underground walls, were fended off by steel pikes and bolts from the gatehouse, and their every effort to smoke out the inhabitants saw the smoke diverted up through vents crafted into the tunnels. Moreover, the dogs had entered into deals with the nearby ibex and takin tribes, receiving enchantments upon their weapons with which to fight a common enemy. The dragons withdrew in the end, with all attempts to wear down the underhold’s defences immediately undone by the repairs of the dogs. The gold and jewels collected by the dogs remained firmly in the paws of the dogs, and news of the thwarted siege spread. Other Ungulan packs migrated to Beryllium, and the resources and influence of Molly and the Diamond Dog elite vastly increased. Even the packs of Diamond Jackals and Fennecs in distant Dactylia heard of the victory through far-flung underground channels, and belatedly formed their own smaller underholds, in closer co-operation with the surface tribes in their areas.
Enchanted steel weaponry was quick to flow out of Beryllium’s workshops, along with precious metals and gems, in exchange for food, slaves, and timber from the caprid tribes, who were all too willing to part with these resources in exchange for weapons to wield against dragonkind. The rest of Molly’s peaceful reign saw Beryllium become mighty and wealthy on trade, and well-populated thanks to the influx of other packs from across the continent, and Molly left Beryllium’s Alphacy to her successor, Lord Alpha Patches, in the sure knowledge that her people’s future had been secured.
Although a future had been secured, its exact nature remained in doubt, and the structure of underhold society was hammered out piece by piece in the decades to come by Patches and his successors. The traditional rulership by Alphas within packs, by whichever ambitious dogs could rise to leadership by ad-hoc force or guile or earned respect, was replaced with a series of structured competitions of intelligence, craftsdogship, and martial skill to select a worthy successor from amongst candidates on the death of an old Lord or Lady Alpha. The hierarchy of packs under their Alphas grew more complex in the context of underholds as well, with a Lord Alpha directing a group of sub-Alpha lieutenants who would in turn manage the common members of the underhold in both domestic affairs and warfare. Those sub-Alphas in turn were entitled to lead expeditions out of the underhold, opening new mine shafts and even moving across the surface in search of new deposits. Some of these expeditions even turned into raids against the surface tribes, who learned to dread unexpected tremors from underneath the earth.
The outside world turned as well, influenced by the trade with the Diamond Dogs. The caprid tribes, armed with the enchanted steel, succeeded in ousting dragonkind from their territory and forged themselves into a united Empire. The Capric Empire enjoyed sole land access to Beryllium, and its Imperators and nobles enjoyed peace with the Diamond Dogs for the most part. A series of truces established the safety of capric citizens against enslavement by the dogs, in exchange for continued trade and a share of whatever slaves were taken as a result of the Empire’s military campaigns. The peace held for all of the Empire’s history, for all that it frequently became uneasy - the independent realm directly under the Empire’s hooves couldn’t help but rankle some of the more ambitious and foolish Imperators, who contemplated bringing the dogs to heel along with the rest of the continent. Such secret considerations were usually put to bed by the losses inherent in any such endeavour, as explained to the Imperators by patient courtiers. Breaking the defences of Beryllium would have required the full strength of the legions, who would have fought on unfamiliar ground against an opponent who could have reshaped the very rooms they fought in to suit their needs. It could have been done - in its heyday, the collected might of the Empire was as close to unstoppable as made no odds - but not without vast and pointless cost, and so the Empire was content to rule the surface and leave the underground to the Diamond Dogs.
As Beryllium expanded unimpeded, however, it acquired its own share of internal problems. The deepening mine shafts and far-flung tunnels strained the resources of the underhold to properly secure and manage, and the number of sub-Alphas charged with managing Beryllium’s periphery increased greatly down the centuries. They delved deeper and deeper, and they uncovered more and more of the horrors that lurked underground. Dog miners soon became accustomed to going forth armed and with a full complement of soldiers at their side. Furthermore, in spite of the plethora of hazards haunting underground life, Beryllium’s population grew and grew past the point of easy sustainability. The ever-flowing veins of metal and naturally-growing gemstones risked being mined dry, and food grew scarce. Although some dogs left Beryllium to go forth once more as independent packs, not enough did so to ease the underhold’s worries. The eventual response from the then-Lady Alpha Bonnie and the ruling elite, who were reluctant to let power slip from their paws, was to organise the founding of a new underhold subservient to Beryllium, in order to funnel their excess population elsewhere.
An expedition was subsequently sent off from Beryllium and established the new underhold of Tourmala under the foothills on the border of Asinia, next to the new nation of Equestria. After its foundations had been laid and a steady stream of dogs from Beryllium had started to arrive, Tourmala’s own Lord Alpha Clyde paid all due obeisance to Bonnie, and for a few centuries after, Tourmala acted as a loyal vassal of Beryllium, obeying its directives and sending tribute its way. The trade Tourmala clandestinely conducted with the Equestrians was overlooked by the greater underhold for the sake of mutual enrichment and not offending the Capric Empire which had since fallen from its golden age but remained a great power on the continent.
With the passage of time, however, the relation between master and vassal began to fray. Tourmala’s remoteness from Beryllium, the emergence of its own customs, its local alliances, and a growing resentment over the tribute paid to faraway sovereigns all began to foster a growing desire for independence from Beryllium in Tourmala. Initial efforts to gain greater autonomy were only met with cold refusal from Beryllium, however, and more squadrons of Beryllium soldiers were soon permanently stationed within Tourmala itself in order to preserve the peace.
The tension erupted not long after the rise and fall of a legendary demon of chaos in Equestria twelve hundred years ago. The demon’s overthrowers, a pair of alicorn sisters called Celestia and Luna, rose to power in Equestria and proved their mettle twice-over by seeing off predation from the Fire Queen and the Capric Empire. After Lady Alpha Kaley rejected yet another call for autonomy, the Lord Alpha of Tourmala, Crunch, was quick to approach the alicorns and court their support for Tourmala’s independence. In exchange for Tourmalan metalware - and most significantly, the complete abolition of slavery throughout all Tourmalan packs - the sisters were agreeable. Crunch declared Tourmala to be its own sovereign underhold, and with Equestrian support, what should have been a quick and vicious suppression by Beryllium turned into a prolonged war. Diamond Dog fought Diamond Dog in tunnels beneath the earth, in a war waged underneath unsuspecting hooves.
Tourmala eventually secured its independence after Beryllium had bled itself dry, and the newly sovereign underhold was free to form its own allegiances and grow wealthy off its own resources. Beryllium, left shaken by the loss, withdrew into itself and recovered its strength, eventually falling to the same old problems of strain on its mineral resources and food supply from its burgeoning population, and now made reluctant to solve the problem by establishing another underhold.
The fall of the Capric Empire nine hundred years ago finally sealed the deal for Beryllium, when Equestrian forces - now led solely by Princess Celestia after Nightmare Moon’s short lived but destructive rebellion - penetrated far into the old core territories of the Empire to break all the shackles on every slave there. The same action was carried to the gates of Beryllium, where Celestia made the same demand of the underhold. Free every slave and abandon the practise, she said, or she would free them herself and leave the underhold’s rulers in no condition to keep the practise going.
Lady Alpha Lassie was quick to bow to Celestia’s demands. The dogs had no particular pride invested in the practise of slavery, and the economic downsides that could follow were as nothing compared to the wrath Celestia had proved herself capable of mustering. The last shackle was broken in Ungula that day, and the economic priorities of Beryllium were obliged to shift as a result. A new underhold would have to be founded, both to provide a release valve to the population and to make up for the economic downturn with the influx of tributary resources that would follow. In order to manage the inevitable calls for freedom, though, the rulers of Beryllium decreed that the new underhold - and any that followed - would be freely given their independence after the last offspring of the original generation of settlers had passed away. The large number of pups sent with the new expedition might have been related to this ruling, were a cynic to speculate, but the new underhold of Pascoite was soon established in Corva under Lord Alpha Polkadot and sent its share of tribute to Beryllium in due course.
Learning the lessons of history has served the Diamond Dogs surprisingly well, and to the present day, no more major upsets had arisen against Beryllium or any of the several underholds it has since founded and let free. Tourmala and Pascoite have even established their own underholds in the mountains and North, following the same model, and the Diamond Dog species has never been so widespread or large in recorded history. Local underholds have opened their own mine shafts, sounded the depths under their own paws, and traded with any locals eager to get access to the crafts and fruits of the world below.
Some things have scarcely changed, of course. The Diamond Dogs remain relatively conservative and detached from surface affairs, only bothering to interact and trade when such opportunities seem to offer profit. Innovation is a slow process, and many dogs look with slight scorn at the machines produced in the bustling and creative nations such as Asinia, preferring tried and tested designs over madcap new inventions. A hoof-held steel-wired Asinial repeating bolt-thrower with superfluous clockwork parts may be able to poke holes in things you dislike, they maintain, but so can a well-forged spear, and the latter is far less likely to explosively disassemble on you at the least convenient moment. Outsiders rarely enjoy free access to the underholds and their routes to the world below, barring a few supremely charismatic individuals like the famous pegasus explorer Tumbleweed. These mostly apply to the Diamond Dogs of Ungula, and the Diamond Jackals and Fennecs of Dactylia tend to be more open to outside contact and interest. Such openness stems from their close affiliation with Gazellen in recent centuries, and fall within that nation’s particular history and character. A few Diamond Dog packs and expeditionary forces continue to live and delve outwith the oversight of the underholds, and even fall into old habits of capturing and enslaving surface-dwellers to labour in dog mines. Such instances are few and far between, and tend to happen on the periphery of civilization. Those instances that are discovered tend to be fiercely clamped down upon by the nearest underhold, for fear of bringing down Equestrian retribution.
Life in the underholds themselves remains much as it has always done since the earliest recorded days of the Diamond Dogs. Families of dogs raise litters of pups in individual cosy and compact burrows built into the walls of the underhold, surrounded by the clamour of minework and the ringing of blacksmiths’ hammers. The pups are educated with a mix of the old histories and tales, as well as with practical experience helping the adults with their trade. Pups often tag alongside their parents wherever they may work, in crafts or trade or harvesting or mining, and often follow them into that trade. Diligence and hard work in whatever trade a dog may pursue can earn them respect in the underhold, though the most prestige tends to be heaped upon the deep-delvers - those miners who venture far into the depths and scout for new sources of wealth. Deep-delving tends to be a hazardous trade at the best of times, especially when the perennial threat of delving too deep risks awakening a Dweller Below or other horror wandering under the earth. Many a deep-delver has left their underhold, and many a deep-delver has returned in several doggy bags carried by their surviving comrades … or not returned at all. Such losses only add to the profession’s prestige. Death in service to one’s underhold is the greatest honour, after all, and in the darkness below even the underholds, great honour tends to happen whether one seeks it or not.
Beryllium has retained something of its prestige as the oldest and largest of the underholds, and responsibility tends to fall upon its Lord Alpha to represent the Diamond Dogs whenever global affairs raise their ugly head. The current Lord Alpha of Beryllium, Rex, rose up from the ranks of the underhold’s miners and still spends most of his time coordinating and taking part in day-to-day delving, and only reluctantly drags himself away to engage with the outside world whenever greater affairs threaten.
Depending on how future events transpire, Rex may have to spend much more time away from his mines than he’d like. The mounting hostilities across Ungula present great potential for profit for underholds who keep their blacksmiths and foundries burning day and night. But risk exists in abundance as well. An increasingly divided world shan’t long tolerate neutrality, and Beryllium’s close proximity to the driven madness of the Capricious Crown means that the safety of the underhold can’t long be guaranteed.
Terrors lurk below the skin of the world, but they’re more than matched by those conspiring above it. But with skill and luck, the Diamond Dogs can yet survive the latter as well as they’ve weathered the former.
Somebody's a fan of Dwarf Fortress. How many of the Underholds include molten lava traps as part of their defenses?
I apologise for this profusely, but it must be done:
Facinating as ever, and a nicely different culture to the norm. Happily, you saved me a job: my next vote would have been Equestria.
3530248
Tried Dwarf Fortress a couple of years back, but I failed to get past the learning curve and interface, alas. Details of happenings in it are always good fun to read, though. I imagine more than a few underholds incorporate molten lava into their defences and decor, whether or not it's strictly advisable. Lava's fun to play with, after all.
3530260
It had to be done, indeed. It's almost a good thing for the Palaververse that their horrors from a bygone age tend to be more common than Middle Earth's, and hence more means have been developed of dealing with them.
Do Diamond Dog weapons menace with spikes of granite?
3530285
Of course, it 'helps' (or not), that the dogs started too deep, and have been happily delving regardless. Battered, well read copies of An A-Z of Common or Fungus Grove Eldritch Horrors and Ancient Slumbering Abominations: A Miner's Guide are probably found with every expedition team.
3530310
In most cases, they prefer straight-up metal weapons rather than stone-studded affairs, and granite's most often used as a reinforcing material for earth tunnels and walls. That said, the plethora of diamonds and obsidian they tend to collect means that quite a few dog weaponmakers have experimented with weapons edged with stone. They can be quite deadly in a dog's strong paws.
Edit: Aaaand just skimmed back through the Boatmurdered LP. I am bad at understanding references, bear with me.
3530315
What To Do Whereupon Ye've Awoken Thee Greate Olde Ones, Ye Dozy Bugger is one of the classic texts on the subject. Most of the eldritch horrors described within have since been exterminated by the dogs at near-surface levels since publication, of course, but it's still a handy primer for basic procedure.
img12.deviantart.net/b942/i/2013/087/9/d/diamond_dogs_badge__my_little_pony_x_metal_gear__by_sequity-d5zl9ko.png
"Cipher sent us to hell... but we're going even deeper!"
Saddle Arabia next, my man.
3530359
Nomination for Saddle Arabia noted!
That creation myth is fantastic.
YES
YES
Yeah, Equestria, go4it. Seems unintuitive, since we already know about Equestria, but obviously there are different things going on in this verse. :V
Very cool stuff. I do like how the Diamond Dogs have flourished and actually learned from their history. Certainly more than can be said of some nations. (Also, "doggy bags"? Really? I'm smiling, yes, but really?)
I'm certainly in favor of finishing off the continent with Equestria next.
I love the Diamond Dog names. Equestria to finish off Ungula, I think.
Support for Equestria all noted!
3530391
One day, when the world ends in screaming and fire, the remnants of humankind will look back and reflect that the phrase that started it all was, "Ferret made a suggestion and I took it on board."
Equestria seems sensible to cover at one point, if just to account for all the historical stuff that's brought it up to where it currently is, canon-wise.
3530420
Learning from past mistakes: such an under-appreciated and rarely-used skill.
What else could a bag with that name contain?
3530450
A mix of common dog names, famous dog names, and dogs known to myself and themaskedferret. My name lists overflowed in this instance.
3530285
3530315
...
I assume Dogs, with some cunning and honest effort, would be a terror in a siege or guerilla warfare scenario. Just dig a great big tunnel down, find a Dweller Below, pop open the upper end of the tunnel, run away. Popcorn optional while the silly surfacers run around in panic as Cthuloid Balrogs emerge from the town square.
Also, please tell me that there was at some point an underhold named Boatsmurdered.
(crystal empire vote, btw)
3530513
Actually, I was just rereading the Tempest, and in it Gilda addresses Gellert as Dad. If I remember correctly, you called her his niece in the griffin post. I presume the niece is more accurate with her living in Griffinstone, but I thought I'd just bring it up before I forgot. Gotta help with the consistency, if I can.
3530519
At this stage in their civilisational level, they're somewhat more capable than most of the horrors they encounter, true. You can't hope to become a great miner if you let every little shoggoth drive you into gibbering madness, after all.
3530526
Nomination for the Crystal Empire noted! Meddle not lightly with the species that can weaponise Cthulhoid Balrogs at you. Dwellers Below tend to be a little too truculent for easy handling, but it can and has been pulled off, whenever a settlement's annoyed an underhold badly enough.
The exploits of the underholds of Boatmurdered and Headshoots are not spoken of in polite DIamond Dog society. Expect chilly silences and pointed changes of subject if they're ever brought up.
3530534
Ruling that she's his daughter for now. I'll head over to the Griffon post and tweak what needs tweaking.
... Derp.
(I've managed to get tangled up in my own worldbuilding now. Accomplishment, sort of?)
3530534
Looks like I didn't refer to Gilda herself in the main post itself, though I accidentally ended up calling her his niece in the comments. Whoops. Hopefully, not too much harm done.
"and punitive leading sorties"
"and leading punitive sorties"?
"Those instances that are discovered tend to be fiercely clamped down upon by the nearest underhold, for fear of bringing down Equestrian retribution."
...You know, I'm just imagining when Tourmala got the report of that incident.
"Okay, looks like another rogue pack... sigh, and slavers to-- they took WHO? Ponyville -- right next to the capital -- Equestrian national heroes?!"
And, um, yeah, could be troublesome times ahead. Especially if the various separate underholds act such that the diamond dogs as a group end up selling weapons to both sides...
I think closing out one continent at a time is a good plan. Equestria next please.
3530591
Best to assume Tourmala's Lady Alpha was ... less than pleased with that particular incident. That said, the full details would probably prompt some mercy.
Fixed, and thank you!
3530593
Equestria should indeed follow and close out Ungula! I suspect people will nominate Saddle Arabia afterwards, which could nearly bridge Equestria's entry and the other continents.
3530574
Are there diamond dog "archeologists" that specialize in researching exploring compiling archiving nullifying : genuine artifacts , or corruptive knowledge , or ancient prophecies , or impossible ruins , or inscrutable waygates ; left from past eldritch civilizations?
3530657
There are more than a few Diamond Dog academics and field researchers specialising in eldritch domains ... and it's curious you mention archaeology as well. I've got a story underway containing the (somewhat less that totally straightlaced) Equestrian efforts to delve into old and eldritch stuff.
3530625
And to salt the wound they were sent back to their mines near ponyville under orders to respect rarity as their new alpha on pain of non gratis persona.
3530698
3530707
Chuckle, let the punishment fit the crime I suppose.
So if I understand their societal organization they are meritocratic with dogs holding their positions for life unless they are promoted or massively screw up? Can any dog participate in the trials to become the Alpha or are only sub-Alphas invited? I do find it both hilarious and wholly satisfying that they fight off the horrors of the darkness with dedication, numbers, and simple ingenuity. After all, Soviet Russia showed that quantity has a quality all of its own.
Last question, how is their vision in darkness? The mines seemed relatively well-lit in that episode, but being dependent on light would seem to be an odd trait for a species that is almost entirely subterranean.
I vote most heartily for Equestria, but I would also like to throw in a request that such history includes the Crystal Empire. Unless you want to do a double header of Crystal Empire/Saddle Arabia in the next one.
3530583
Then I presume that Gilda's mother's side of the family has position in Griffinstone? Just wanted to make sure I had everything straight.
3530707
Carabas i swear upon all that is unholy that your comments are a whole other library of canonized palaverse fics excised from the main work only for brevity
My brain still insists that the "because there is a pot of bits at stake, my dear, and i am a very petty ewe." scene is definitely from one of your published works, making it very difficult to reread for fun because it was actually one of your comments on one of your own blogs!!!!
3530625
You're welcome. :)
...Also, reading this comment thread, I'm glad to see that my comment about the aftermath of the Ponyville Incident has been inspiring such humor. :D
Lady Alpha Molly was well known to be the cutest Alpha that ever lived, so I have heard.
I nominate Saddle Arabia after Equestria.
Awesome worldbuilding, as always! For something that showed up in one episode of the show (with a few refernces in the comics, IIRC), the Diamond Dogs really have captured people's imaginations. And I'm loving the names of the Dogs.
(Also, you inspired me to dig out something I wrote to explain parts of Equestrian history, which involves Diamond Dogs: it's here if you (or anyone else!) is interested.)
3530707
Because you're such a perfect straight pony and so fun to discombobulate, Rarity.
At last! At last! [insert appropriate evil laughter/dramatic thunder here at your convenience]
Are there any other noteworthy species native solely to Ungula? (Eg the windigos, if they're not present on the other continents.) If so, I nominate them before covering Equestria and its associated states. If not, I vote the Crystal Empire (if it's a separate post from Equestria proper), then Equestria, then Saddle Arabia, followed by moving on to Dactylia.
Looking forward to the next place, knowing it'll be as rich as this and other ones you've done:
Saddle Arabia
Gazellan
Zeb... er, Zebrica, er, whichever land the striped ones live in.
I am terribly sorry, but I was unable to not connect 'Burrow' and 'Delving' in some silliness.
Burro Delver put down the letter and slowly let his forehead sink onto his well-worn desk in the office that overlooked Ascincity. There was a reason for all the daring exploits of his youth... but no matter how far you ran, you could never escape the clutches of family. Even if it was just adoptive family.
That was why Celestia was acting so cold lately? Alright... but couldn't she at least drop the 'w' at the end of 'Burro'? Was that really too much to ask? He had a reputation to uphold. And a leak on this was not going to further it.
***
And my vote is Equestria.
3530765
Nomination for Equestria noted! I imagine a lot of the Crystal Empire's background will feature in their post as well.
The dogs are a solidly meritocratic bunch, yep, with any dog able to participate in the trials to become Alpha. Sub-alphas tend to have an easier time of it than most, if only due to the skills they've picked up on the job. Their darkvision's also pretty good, and although a light source does help them, something as small as a naturally luminous gem in their collar can help them make out the shapes inside a cavern.
3530792
Gilda's mother would probably be a noblegriffon from a nearby tribe to Gellert's. Griffonstone itself is a bit of a wreck nowadays, and none of the family have anything in particular invested in it. Gilda would just be passing through it onto somewhere else, and would have been somewhat too proud to ask for the assistance in getting the funds to move on.
3530812
Follow-up comments are a perennial joy of mine, springboarding off what other people come up with or suggest. It's great fun, and you're all great fun by extension.
3530943
Behold what you hath wrought. This used to be nothing but the most high-brow, solemn, and straightlaced comments section, you know. And now it's ruined.
3531058
Molly, the cutest and bitiest and most semi-toilet-trained Alpha there ever was. Future Alphas could look up to her skills and explots with mute envy.
3531090
The remnants of an old civilisation, fallen from stature thanks to war and leaving the land open for the ponies to move in? I can definitely get behind that.
That's a cool history as well!
3531137
Nothing else especially big and sentient on Ungula left to cover before Equestria - barring maybe the windigos or Breezies, whom I'd likely struggle to come up with a full post for. Most of the Crystal Empire's background could be covered within Equestria, I suspect.
3531140
Glad you approve, and hope I can manage to keep you approving!
3531175
It's always so awkward when your extended family had some influence in naming you. And whenever they come over and pee on the carpets in front of your respected peers. And when their genetic influence means you accidentally sired a litter of puppies last year.
Oh, crivens, that's a beautiful connection.
3530574
Someone needs to write a DF/palaver crossover now.
3531175
That's actually pretty clever.
3530707
3531211
I'm not even remotely brave enough to imagine how that could pan out. Underhold shenanigans with more miasma, murderous elephants, terrible dog decision-making, and eventual en-mass insanity and underhold devastation? That ... that could actually be glorious.
3531221
Actually, now I'm considering if the Dog burrow under Rambling Rock Ridge near Ponyville mightn't BE Boatsmurdered. Seems like it might fit.
3531227
This very badly needs to be a thing on the site, Palaververse or otherwise.
3531058 He has yet to listen to me and post puppy photos of how cute she is, complaining his photoshop skills mean he can't give her a crown and trident as she deserves.
3531466
What need has she truly of a crown and trident? Far better to display her majesty by slaying the Czar of Penguinkind with her bare teeth! Like so.
i.imgur.com/dsBqXkW.jpg
I just realized something: So many other species in the Palaververse have several different subspecies with different abilities. From the show, Diamond Dogs seem to have a several distinct types as well. Are there Diamond Dog subspecies?
3531466
3531484 And Lo, King Charlatan was defeated by the sharpened teeth of the First Alpha, after slipping in her clever urine trap!
3531515
You get all manner of dog phenotypes, but none of them translate out to forming a different or especially distinct subspecies. All the dogs in an underhold intermingle freely, and everyone's a mongrel. Even the Diamond Jackals and Diamond Fennecs in Dactylia are still very much capable of interbreeding with an Ungulan dog, though the trends in their phenotypes tend to be a bit more pronounced.
And there's a good connection I hadn't spotted.
Oh joyous day! It doth seem that mine prayers have been answered! Truly, it is in the paws of the great Diamond Dogs that the fate of the world doth rest.
But on a more serious note, I may or may not have spent the last ten minutes thinking of various dog names. By the way, do the other races find their names amusing, or are they considered normal? Or am I simply overthinking this?
But enough blathering, another fine bit of world building for me to obsess over :)
May I also vote for the land of Equestria for the next post? Or failing that, Zebrica (the barracks pyramids fascinate me).
3531198
Misreading that sentence out of context implies genius loci or sleeping megaliths exist in the palavarverse.
3531911
Each race tends to find each other's naming system pretty hilarious, so the Diamond Dogs are just one more island in a whole archipelago of silliness. Thunder Head the pegasus will snicker at Lucky the Diamond Dog, who'll snicker back at him in return, and then both will laugh at Girard the griffon.
Glad to answer prayers, and support for Equestria noted!
3531941
Nothing big or sentient that wouldn't be kind of a spoiler for certain stories on hiatus, that is.
3531198
Oh, sorry. :)
3531227
Very cool, as usual. Having the dogs originate from some lost world at the center of the earth is a good way to explain why they don't really fit into a world where it's mostly ungulates that have attained sentience. Also, I'd been operating under the assumption that the dogs were a fairly small species concentrated in maybe one or two cities, but they could definitely be a major power if they wanted to. That, or their loose organization could result in different underholds taking different sides in the upcoming war, which could make the whole thing that much more chaotic.
3584347
Glad you like them! Giving them a somewhat distinct origin compared to the other ungulates seemed sensible. Their somewhat fractious nature should make for fun outcomes as well.