Miscellaneous Loroi question-and-answer thread

[Arioch]

I'm hesitant to ask this sort of question, but I am really curious, what was Stillstorm like when she was Beryl's age? Would we have recognized her?

Something like this:

[kclcmdr]

Wow... very impressive young version of the younger and care-free Still-Storm...

[Namaphry]

Nifty! She looks like she's got plans, alright. I love how the braid contrasts with the spiky hairstyle.

[GeoModder]

Just wondering, did Stillstorm became the leader of her diral?

[Sweforce]

Just wondering, did Stillstorm became the leader of her diral?

By now I strongly suspect she is the only one left so she probably is.

[GeoModder]

Just wondering, did Stillstorm became the leader of her diral?

By now I strongly suspect she is the only one left so she probably is.

I meant at the time her band was running 'in the wild' so to speak.

[Arioch]

Just wondering, did Stillstorm became the leader of her diral?

No, she wasn't the diral leader. Stillstorm's band were mostly members of an influential Taben clan group; she was herself a member of this clan, but she was not the biggest fish in this particular pond. The selection of the band leader is comparatively arbitrary; it's something that's done at the start and rarely changed during the band phase. Although it was a Soroin diral, this was a group that followed the Belerid tradition of conducting the trial at sea aboard a wooden sailing vessel.

[NuclearIceCream]

Although it was a Soroin diral, this was a group that followed the Belerid tradition of conducting the trial at sea aboard a wooden sailing vessel.

Being shoved on a sail boat with a bunch of other kids and told to succeed or die sounds distinctly more hard core than being shoved into the wilderness and being told the same.

Loroi are apparently all about being hardcore.

[Arioch]

There's a higher danger quotient, but on the other hand, there is a certain amount of fun to be had when you and your friends are given your own pirate ship.

[dragoongfa]

There's a higher danger quotient, but on the other hand, there is a certain amount of fun to be had when you and your friends are given your own pirate ship.

Now for some reason I imagine Stillstorm and co singing this with a slight Loroi twist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhfbLRoGEw

[Argron]

Since the induction of the allied races inside the Loroi alliance have the Loroi colonized inside of what we would consider the natural expansion areas of the other races, maybe even beyond, leaving those races' territory in a bubble inside Loroi territory? what about the original planets of the races they conquered? do they have large populations in allied nations the same way Pipolsid do in some Loroi worlds -and not just military centers-?
How much have Loroi grown in number comparatively to the other races of the alliance since first contact?
Seems like the Loroi have turned a loose alliance into a symbiotic nation, with them at the top.
The way the Umiak expanded, seems they did so too, but maybe even worse (entire genocide of species that wouldn't comply exactly to their demands, like the Orgus, and colonization of their territories).

[Arioch]

Since the induction of the allied races inside the Loroi alliance have the Loroi colonized inside of what we would consider the natural expansion areas of the other races, maybe even beyond, leaving those races' territory in a bubble inside Loroi territory?

It depends on the status of the Union member; the conquered populations (Delrias, Arekka, Mannadi) have not expanded beyond their original territory. The Neridi have done most of the non-Loroi colonization, expanding spinward to the borders of Morat territory, including most of what is now the Tinza sector. The Barsam have expanded anti-spinward and coreward into the Dinnan sector. The Pipolsid have been mostly content to establish aquatic enclaves in the already existing territory of other races. The Golim occupy a number of systems in the Seren sector, though these are effectively under Loroi control (or they became so the moment a few Loroi showed up). The Loroi have done the vast majority of new colonization and expansion since the formation of the Union into the Seren sector and Maiad sector (most of which is below the map to galactic south) and most recently into the Dinnan sector. Prior to the war, the Seren sector extended spinward past Ukko. The Nissek are not a member of the Union but they have expanded down-arm into the Ninnil Gap.

what about the original planets of the races they conquered? do they have large populations in allied nations the same way Pipolsid do in some Loroi worlds -and not just military centers-?

Aside from military bases, the Loroi tend to avoid creating settlements on other races' planets. The exceptions to this would be that the Loroi have many large settlements on Neridi-controlled planets in the Tinza sector, and on a few nominally-Golim planets in the Seren sector.

Also, I would point out that individuals of any race with full Union membership can choose to live on almost any planet in the Union, regardless of which race controls it, provided that they are willing to live by the rules of their host race. So a Barsam can move to Maia if he wants. What he can't do is found his own country there.

How much have Loroi grown in number comparatively to the other races of the alliance since first contact?

Loroi population has grown by a factor of at least 20 since first contact. Neridi population has probably grown by a factor of more than 10. The others would be less than that, but even races like the Delrias that had not added any new territory would still have experienced significant population growth on their own worlds.

Seems like the Loroi have turned a loose alliance into a symbiotic nation, with them at the top.

The Union is essentially an empire consisting of subjugated and amalgamated nations, not all that different in effect from the empire of Rome. Although the Loroi empire was formed somewhat accidentally (as opposed to through deliberate imperial conquest), and the Loroi don't actively seek to export their own culture as the Romans did, the Loroi disinterest in the affairs of their client states has worked to their advantage, earning them goodwill even in conquered nations for their hands-off approach.

[Hālian]

Is the first letter of the Trade alphabet R or Ş?

Have any Trade dialects diverged far enough that they have a different alphabet than the standard and/or loroi dialects?

[Arioch]

Is the first letter of the Trade alphabet R or Ş?

I don't think the order of the letters matters to the Loroi, except when they're used as numerals, and in that case P is first.

Have any Trade dialects diverged far enough that they have a different alphabet than the standard and/or loroi dialects?

Sure, there would have been many variations over such a long period of isolation.

[junk]

Out of curiosity - how long did it take loroi to go from flight to spaceflight? I presume it took them less than humanity, considering they had a larger population and 3 worlds.

[dragoongfa]

I think that it took them significantly longer than it took us considering their timeline.

http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/loroi_timeline.html

It took us roughly 58 years between the first plane by the Wright brothers (1903) and the first manned spaceflight of Yuri Gagarin (1961).

[Sweforce]

Out of curiosity - how long did it take loroi to go from flight to spaceflight? I presume it took them less than humanity, considering they had a larger population and 3 worlds.

Nope, three worlds maybe but that is three separate worlds until interstellar spaceflight is invented/rediscovered. Until that, each world was on their own. One of the world must have achieved powered flight before the others and most likely they reached space before the others as well unless they nuked themselves back a notch before they got there.

Regarding recovering old lost tech, you really do need to have a certain base tech of your own to get anywhere. It is like in the Independence day movie, scientists had a captured ship for decades but didn't get far in their research, a lot probably due to their own lacking base tech.

[Arioch]

Out of curiosity - how long did it take loroi to go from flight to spaceflight? I presume it took them less than humanity, considering they had a larger population and 3 worlds.

The first Loroi manned, powered heavier than air flight was about 50 years before their first artificial satellite, but 150 years before the first manned spaceflight. That's not especially meaningful in terms of rate of progress, because internal combustion and rocketry are not closely linked technologies. The Loroi were very late in developing an efficient internal combustion engine. Also, at that time, the Loroi were experiencing a relatively peaceful period, and there was not an arms race going on as there was on Earth in the twentieth century.

Loroi technological eras tended to last 2-4 times as long as the equivalent Human tech eras, and the Loroi tended to make milestone accomplishments later in their respective eras and with more mature technologies, whereas Humans tended to do it earlier and with bleeding-edge technologies. For example, the Wright Brothers limped into the air at the very beginning of TL6 with wood and fabric and a pathetic reciprocating 12 horsepower engine, whereas the Loroi did it near the end of TL6 with aluminum and a 200 horsepower turbine engine.

[Namaphry]

Hmm. Now I'm trying to imagine what the earlier, less successful Loroi attempts at flight would have been like. Trying to use a glider with a telepathic assist seems dangerous... even worse if it isn't fixed-wing! I can definitely picture some of them being brave enough to try flapping wing arrangements; someone able to fly under their own power could probably have a much longer experimentation career than the average, but none of them would be civilians with the freedom to come up with such crazy idea. On Deinar, at least, there'd need to be an inventor with a patron willing to spare some valuable Teidar, which makes things a lot harder than just one lone middle-class inventor (or two, in the case of the Wright Brothers.)

A planet with lower gravity could have a very different history of aviation--even with steam-powered aircraft!--but I think all Sister Worlds are too Earth-like to make flying easier. Deinar's thin atmosphere would make it more difficult, even, though at least it had more room for the vastnesses of TL7 airports than Perrein and Taben.

[Suederwind]

Whats with airships and balloons? Did the Loroi use them on any of the sisterworlds?

For example, the Wright Brothers limped into the air at the very beginning of TL6 with wood and fabric and a pathetic reciprocating 12 horsepower engine, whereas the Loroi did it near the end of TL6 with aluminum and a 200 horsepower turbine engine.

So, they are less adventurous than we are, I guess?