u/Least_Boat_6366

I’m working on a fantasy worldbuilding project, and trying to create visual indicators of culture that are not, at first glance, to be considered a direct analogue of any real world cultures. As a result of this, I’ve made some designs for soldiers(where I tend to start thinking about the essence of a country) that use both western and eastern attributes, though it’s mostly just stolen from uniforms of the British Raj thus far. I’m considering studying central Asian Cultures in addition to other examples of the cultural influences of colonial powers on their colonies to find real life examples of cultural fusion and pull from that. Is this a solid idea? Should I pursue it, and do you have any pointers? Sketches of the British Raj inspired soldier design are below(the three on the right). The one on the left is a lot less directly inspired; I just saw some pictures of clothes I thought were cool.

Let me know if I should change anything:)

Ichor: A viscous form of mana utilized in the world of Bowerhart. Its appearance is a luminescent lime color, and it contains pearls with the consistency of fish eggs. The origins of Ichor are a closely guarded secret held by the Empire of Nassia, but the paper-trail seems to suggest that it comes from somewhere in one of their deep underdark colonies.

When left to fester, inside or outside of the body, Ichor has a habit for spontaneous generation. Little grubs with hard outer shells, like something between a caterpillar and a pill bug emerge from it, and in rare cases, secrete mana in small amounts before dying of its mutated and nonsensical internal anatomy. They are colloquially referred to as “maggots”.

Ichor, however, has other effects on the people utilizing it; prolonged use requires many calories, and sends the user’s body into a period of uncontrolled growth while it remains in their system.

Lemir: the mammalian men. The name Lemir began as a derogatory term meaning “vermin people”, and originates from a creation myth in which Maker Thaetr created them from rats in the image of Primordials. These are our “base” humans, dwarves, and elves. The lemir tend to thrive in colder environments that others struggle in because of the exceptional thermal regulation specific to mammals.

In recent years, the Cavmir(mage) caste of humans came about through research programs in the Empire of Nassia to utilize a substance called Ichor for magic. This allowed them to cast spells without need for external machinery to utilize its properties, spurring a secondary Industrial Revolution, isolated only to Nassia.

Chamuel: The Chamuel are race of intelligent birds, slightly larger than the average Lemir. Chamuel is the demonym of their kind, but many Lemir prefer the simpler exonym “Broll”. Their societies are largely bereft of gender roles, but are much more rigorous in the hierarchies of seniority, the family, the state, and between those seen as highborn. Highborn individuals are often indistinguishable from their lowborn counterparts from the perspective of the Lemir eye because the Chamuel have a greater degree of color in vision, and they can see the vibrant feather patterns that have earned their status. While the highborn can be born from low families, this is uncommon, and the Chamuel aristocracy makes sure only to breed among themselves to preserve their lineage. This, as you can imagine, has led to a great degree of inbreading among them.

Most Chamuel reside towards the equator of the continent of Mostir, but head somewhere unknown for the summers. Armies are left to defend the lands, but regularly see a cycling of individuals in and out of their forces.

Chamuel “flags” generally resemble wind socks with bells of different pitches tied to streamers at their ends. Similarly to the plume of the highborn, these flags are often far less impressive in their vibrancy to the Lemir eye than they are to the broader Chamuel scope of vision

Ashirians: The intelligent species of synthesized carnivorous plants and Primordials that hail from the ruinous depths of the underdark. Similar in function to a decentralized cordyceps fungus, their roots are entwined with their nerves, and sustain the ability to regrow the glowing green petals that ornament their heads under most circumstances. Little is known about them as they are mute, but they are more than wise enough for forced labor in the colonies spackled throughout the underdark.

Giants: The Empire of Nassia, in their early attempts to make the mage-soldiers we now call Cavmir, spawned monsters. This happened because there was an attempt made to bestow an innate magical ability to mages via an organ that housed parasites that spawn from Ichor. This method worked too well; continuous exposure to mana forced subjects into a period of explosive growth that neglected brain development, making them little more than animals. Their escape into the wild was unprecedented, and resulted in their spread across the southern half of the Mostirian continent.

Giants are things born human that never grew compassion or wit, but whose greed and girth grow until it results in death. Giants tend to live in packs called “droves” in the forests surrounding urban centers, and devour anything that they can chew.

The largest giant of a pack is usually the matriarch or patriarch of the group—a role that comes with tithes and care from subordinates, even after their gluttony and growth renders them sessile. Some avoid that fate by floating themselves in marshlands, making them aquatic apex predators.

Chytra: Mice in the world of Bowerhart are stagnating between benign animal minds and a late Stone Age level of intelligence. It is impossible to tell the difference, but the more clever among them have incredible problem solving skills, and are keen on the instruction of their less gifted kin, making pest control very dangerous.

This proposed country would just be called the Union or Ursa in passing, as in the constellation, and the state animal would appropriately be a bear.

The three blue stripes are there to represent Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness™️. They’re blue to invert and co-opt the imagery of the colonial stripes into a symbol of proletarian struggle.

The four white stripes represent the continuation of the purist ideals of the 4th International

The lone red field/“one red stripe” represents a united republic(as does the singular star)

the overlapping gear and sickle represent the solidarity of all workers in one class(maybe even some form of Working Class, but it’s a working title.)

How do the species read to you? What do you think about them? What does the design of the one on the right read as in particular?

(South is left) Any critiques of the borders/geography? I haven’t put the rivers on this one quite yet but I know where they are

Flag of an 1870s-80s revolutionary Syndicalist revolt in the American Midwest

(Dakota Territory, Southern Minnesota, Northern Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana)

8 pointed star because it’s the North Star™️, significant in native culture, and the 7 revolting states and Dakota territory add up to 8 as well. The red cog represents worker ownership of capital and state machinery. The three blue stripes represent life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Also I thought that the red cog resembled a Sioux flag I’ve seen before.