The Book of the Habits and Beasts

The all-encompasing growing encyclopaedia of the Haan Archipelago

It is my duty and passion to register the natural and cultural wealth of the archipelago for future generations and for all who are missing on this delightful knowledge.

— Veld the Imaginative, preface of their manuscript of the book

Thanks to the work of dozens of the best minds in the Haan Archipelago, through decades of effort, we achieved the release of the Book of the Habits and Beasts' 3rd edition.
This encyclopaedia is a work of love put together with collated research for hundreds of articles about every possible topic to be investigated about the world around us.

Meet the Main Collaborators

Veld the Imaginative

Veld

Author

Veld the Imaginative, a Ruhk of Stunveldti family, has devised and worked on getting the best sources for each of the articles that they compiled into the book.
Never satisfied with the knowledge they have, they keep expanding the encyclopaedia with every new bit of information they can gather.

Danae by Naelin

Danae

Cartographer

Danae, a Thaurian man, has been made famous for creating the most widespread, accurate to date map of the Archipelago.
He has provided plenty of insights on the geography of each island, and also helped Veld with the intensive editing of the articles.

Welkinal by Naelin

Welkinal

Biologist and artist

Welkinal, a naturalist from Karte, is solely responsible for all the illustrations of the archipelago's creatures and plants.
His numerous research expeditions periodically provide newly discovered species, as well as new information on the behaviour and biology of the ones already known.

The Articles

The Book of the Habits and Beasts started (And continues to be in its evolving form) a series of loose articles detailing all the available information about a specific topic viewed usually from a specific angle, often with detailed illustrations and small snippets suggesting related articles.
These articles get constantly updated with new discoveries and information, new, updated and more accurate illustrations of maps and depictions of each creature, symbol, person of renown or item.
Copies of these loose articles usually get bought by the biggest libraries of each island, and the Knowledgeholders in particular are well known for trying to be on top of the never-ending stream of updates and new articles.

Selection of Articles by Naelin

The first release and revisions

Veld the Imaginative by TJ

In the year 3003 E.Alz, Veld decided that they had enough articles to make the first compilation. After intense editing, they coined and published the first edition of The Book of the Habits and Beasts in 31/03/3005 E.Alz.
The encyclopaedia became an instant success in all scholar and educative circles, and this helped Veld enormously to acquire new contacts from all around the archipelago involved in all fields of science.
The new and updated articles were being distributed through short magazines across the islands, and the book quickly got to be in dire need of a rendition.

The Rust and the Second Edition

Veld and their team started working on the new compilation around 3012 E.Alz.
Only two years later, the High Rust hit the archipelago and impacted most things in it, requiring intense updating and rewriting for a team that was as hit by the consequences of the High Rust as anybody else.

Though many of the collaborators and consulted professionals were lost to the rust, Veld and their closer circle considered the situation to require a second edition even more urgently, as many were using the periodic magazines to get accurate information on the situation of other islands, and sending their own news to Veld's team to research on.
In an incommensurate team effort, the second edition of The Book of the Habits and Beasts was released on 03/03/03 of the new Era of Rust with all articles updated to the latest news, and dozens of new ones to join the collection.

The Ideal Gift

All the instances of Veld's work have become a staple addition to bookshelves and libraries.
The complete encyclopaedia is sometimes too expensive for a family to acquire, but everyone owns at least a few magazines about their favourite topics.
The book is considered the ideal gift for young scholars and curious children.

Third Edition

As the second edition of the book was a work focused on gathering the most comprehensive information possible on the Rust and its effects and to make it available as quickly as possible, many on the team felt it to be a rushed work.
Immediately after release, they focused on polishing the encyclopaedia and revamping the design, making it a more enjoyable and attractive read.

Welkinal by Naelin

Other areas of the encyclopaedia were reworked on their entirety, such as its timelines, including one that detailed the events of the High Rust from start to end, accompanied by a reworking of their article on the High Rust's events.
Welkinal prominently put his hands to the task of reworking the zoology articles and polishing the artwork on each, bringing both astounding reference pictures and decorative illustrations.
Their advertising pamphlet was reworked in time for the release of the brand new edition, on 09/10/08 E.Ru.

Read the Document

The Book of the Habits and Beasts

The ever-increasing amount of articles included in the Book of the Habits and Beasts is being documented right here.
For a summary of its content, an introductory pamphlet has been transcribed in the following document:

Close

Type

Manual, Scientific

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

1st edition coined in 31/03/3005 E.Alz

Ratification Date

2nd edition 03/03/03 E.Ru

Authors

• Danae
• Veld the Imaginative
• Welkinal

Related Publications

The instant fame of The Book of Habits and Beasts and the success of its "compilation of short articles" format gave birth to several parallel publications, many made by the same team and with articles also included in the original book, but focused on more specific topics.
"The Book of People" and "The Book of Sex in the Archipelago" are two of the most successful derivatives.

The Book of People

The Book of People is a compilation of all the articles related to individuals from the archipelago, and a few of the things directly related to them such as discoveries, works or organizations.
The book features famous and influential people such as monarchs and religious leaders, but also ordinary people from tailors to cookie-bearing grandmas, as it is an effort to document the life in the archipelago in all social strata.
While there are no specific conditions to have an article done about you, being featured in the Book Of People is considered a great honour, and grants recognition by the person's community.

Log in to World Anvil to view bonus content and secrets!

The Summarizing Pamphlet

Symbols of Power

Veld and their team are considered to have coined the term "symbols of power", to refer to the cultural phenomenon ocurring after the High Rust, where the people left in countries and settlements with broken governments and militaries started holding on to any intimidating representation, to the point of changing their flag or founding new kingdoms based on them.