Flying Whale [32x55] (Patreon)

Oh boy! It has been a lot of work but it was completely worth it! Our most ambicious map yet. It's not only a battlemap, it's also animated and includes an awesome music track and a huge story and lore.

Go to the Flying Whale Animated post to see the animation and listen to the song.

We hope you like it!

Story

Flying Whales look very similar to regular ocean whales, but a bit more streamlined and light. Nobody really knows the origin of these magnificent creatures but it’s believed that some kind of ancient magic keeps them airborne. Some say that it’s the same magic that creates some of the floating islands around the world. Flying whales are born like that and spend all their lives in the air.

Accuma

Accuma is a city built around a giant spire that stands very tall on the green plains of this continent and that is almost only accesible by air. Whales are less common now that in the past and are being replaced by airships which are much cheaper to mantain, but some domesticated flying whales still remain in Accuma, although they are mostly used for tourism.

A small percentage of nomadic Accu still live by their traditions, traveling the world and living over flying whales just like their ancestors did. But most of them have settled in the spire over the last few centuries, and even though they adopted a sedentary life they still call themselves “The Sky People”.

The Accu developed a way to live with these whales. Each whale has a family of Accus that live on their back. They have a special relationship with the whale and they are all considered a family unit.

They build their settlements on the whales, who are trained to move gently and listen, but not necesarily obey, to their directions. In exchange they clean them, feed them extra food and protect them from predators. It’s a very beneficial symbiotic relationship for both species.
These settlements are made of ephimeral camps that need to be replaced each year. They are made of flexible wood, primarily oak, and silk so the motion of the whale does not affect the structural integrity of the buildings.

The houses are like small lightweight nests that hang from a wooden pillar that is  attached to the leather straps fastened to the whale. These houses are 3-5 feet above the "floor" and at the bottom of it a series of barrels are tied to the house and filled with water or other items to it serves as a counterweight for the house that stabilizes the structure along the Flying Whale gentle movements.

They have also fog collectors that gather condensation and atmospheric water droplets for drinking water and a few portable farms that give them a sustainable food source all year long.

Every Accu village and whale is different. This one for example has a bed for the matriarch at the north, a room for the kids and young members of the family at the north-west, the room for the parents in the west and a working, storage and kitchen room at the south.

Migration

Every year all flying whales travel to more comfortable air temperatures, which leads to a magnificent sight of giant creatures crossing the sky. It’s something well known in the world and something worth seeing.

In the summer flying whales migrate to colder airs to the north, where the feeding grounds are plenty. This is almost exclusively the only time of the year they will feed, building their blubber reserve for the rest of the year.

In the winter, flying whales migrate to warmer airs. Accu whales migrate back near to the warm Accuma, where mating season takes place. Pregnant whales will give birth to, usually a single calf, while males will make a display of lekking, which is celebrated by the people of Accuma with the biggest festival of the year. This display is different from whale to whale, but it’s a non aggresive beautiful dance.

The Accu will use these months to release the whales and rework on their new houses for the year. All people in Accuma help them, it's a sign of good fortune.

Once every whale in the pod has had the opportunity to interact with each other and give birth, they are ready to go back to the feeding grounds. The Accu resupply and gather long lasting food and rebuild the settlement of their whale and they leave again until next year.

The Accu communicate with the whales so they take unpredictable migration patterns to they have a higher chance not to be caught by airships or stationed hunters on land while migrating.

Whaling

There were multiple species of flying whales around the world, each one with their own migratory cycles, size and behaviour, but whale hunting has been pretty common over the last few centuries because of their meat, bones to make lightweight but sturdy tools and weapons, fat (blubber) to make candles and oil for lamps, teeth (baleen) to make baskets, ambergris for perfume and, the most coveted part, the spermaceti for cosmetics, textiles, and candles.

Flying whales have a lower bone density and less spermaceti than regular ocean whales, but they are much easier to hunt because of their predefined migration patterns and the fact that they are fairly easy to hit targets in the sky. That’s why it’s hard to see them on the wild and most of them are domesticated, mostly by the Accu.

Whaling is strictly prohibited in most of Izar, but it’s such a profitable industry that it’s hard to stop. It’s easy for hunters to catch flying whales in uninhabited territory, where nobody can see you.

Life cycle

Flying calves are 20 ft. long at birth and doubles their size at six months. In that time they exclusively feed from their mother’s milk, which is squirted from their mammary glands into the calf’s mouth (or at least most of it, the rest is usually blown by the wind or ends up in the face of a whale sightseer), this way calves gain 250 pounds of weight each day. When the calf has developed enough blubber to survive the cold airs they can migrate to the feeding grounds. From there half their diet is adult food, basically aeroplankton and small insects and birds, until they are weaned off at a year of age.

A flying whale can give birth to a single calf once every 5 years aproximately. If the calf survives the temperatures, all attacks from predators, malnutrition and the whale hunters they can become sub-adult and independent at around two years of age, and they usually stay with the same pod for their entire live, specially if they live with the Accu.

A flying whale can live from 70 up to 100 years long. During this time the same Accu family stays with the whale. Only when a new whale is available and grown enough do the Accu transfer people to that new whale.

Because of the lost interest in this tradition, the risk of the whale hunters and the development of airships flying whales population decreases almost every year, but the Accu really work to protect them and maintain the tradition.

Vocalization and communication

Whales communicate with eachother in two ways. First they have the “clicks”, which are very rapid sounds they use mainly for echolocation. Then they also can emit very low frequency melodic vocalizations known as songs or whistles that they use to communicate with each other. The Accu can communicate with them, mimicking whales speech in such a way that only people who really know these whales can understand.

To make these sounds the whales use the “phonic lips” and a set of organs, mostly located in the head, specialized for this purpose. For most whale species the air does not have to go out through the blowhole and can be recycled for new sounds.

Symbiotic relationships

Apart from the very beneficial Accu that settle literally on the back of the whales, there are other creatures that also serve as a beneficial symbiotic relationship for both parties.
Small group of birds constantly fly around the whale and make their nest on their sides, specially behind the fins, where there is less air drag. The birds eat parasytes and dead skin from the whale and also warns the whale and the Accu when a predator, like a big bird or other flying creature is approaching. Basically it’s a grooming and alert system. The birds get free food and protection from them, so each whale is basically a small ecosystem in itself.

Breaching

For ocean whales, breaching is the behaviour of jumping out of the water and splashing on the surface. It’s said that they do that to get rid of barnacles, but they may be doing it just because it’s fun.
Flying whales kept this innate behaviour, specially when they are young and playful, although it makes no sense to do that in the air.
Some whales don’t get in contact with the land in their entire lives, but some wild whales have been seen scratching themselves on rocky walls or against trees, which is usually a quite destructive act.

Sleeping

Whales do sleep, but in shorts periods. They stay mostly awake. This may be a behaviour they inherited from their ocean ancestors that needed to breath every hour or so.
It’s said that they sleep with only half brain off, while the other is awake.

References:
Most references in this article are based in real world facts about whales and are quite true to reality. Even though whales are extensively studied by science, we know little reliable information. Different facts about different types of whales has been merged to construct a solid narrative.
We know Wikipedia may not be most trustworthy source of information at times, but  if you want to extend your knowledge about whales so you can include it into your world, check out the following links:

-Whale general info: https://seethewild.org/whale-facts/
-Spermaceti: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermaceti
-Ambergris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris
-Lek mating/lekking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lek_mating
-Whale vocalization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_vocalization
-Whale sleeping: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-whales-and-dolphin
-Aeroplankton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroplankton 

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