You could use a downward triangle with a line through it, that's the alchemical earth symbol.
Weekly Flag Challenge: Discussion & Entries
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If the rest of the flag is different enough than why not still use it?
Earth - Fef Colonization Administration
The Fef were literally little green men.
At least on the outside.
Inside the Fef are a combination of nanotech and organic biologic systems from a high gravity world near the center of the Milky Way. The Fef had been created as tools by the Meer over 200 million earth years ago to escape the growing maelstrom of the ever increasing singularity at the center of the galaxy. The Fef had been sent ahead to find and prepare worlds for the Meer to temporally live on until the next suitable system was found. While the Fef were spreading throughout the galaxy the Meer would eventually go extinct as they came to rely on their machines to do the thinking more and more.
The Fef meanwhile began to evolve themselves while still retaining their core programming of saving the Meer. Finding more and more habitable worlds with sentient and sapient life, the Fef altered their initial mission to also rescue and expand those races throughout the galaxy. Whether they wanted to or not.
As some of these races fought against the Fef’s forced deportations and colonizations to other worlds, the Fef came to the conclusion that those species were not suitable for saving. The decision was made to lock these species to their home planets until the Maelstrom caught up to those portions of the galaxy.
That brings us to Earth.
At first, humans were both fearful and awed by the Fef. When we were offered another planet some nations took the chance at heading to the stars. But others, realizing that they would only be shuttled to planets and not out exploring and claiming worlds for themselves eventually struck at the Fef. The war took over 50 Earth years, but the Fef either destroyed those humans or imprisoned the humans back on Earth.
Some of the Fef have come to the conclusion that not all humans fought and should be given another chance at rescue from the Maelstrom. So, Earth is on probation now. Depending on the behavior, intelligence, and civility some humans may be saved and recolonized on a planet further out on the Orion Arm of the Milky Way.
Flag: The Fef created flags, statutes, sound Idolism, and other symbols on many of the home worlds of the imprisoned planets for their respective sapient to have a symbol to attain the new planets initially offered them. In the case of Earth, the wide use of flags as national/tribal symbols was decided as the best way to give hope to those humans worthy of recolonization. The flag itself is based off of Fef/Meer cosmological measurement for travel within the Milky Way. The six pointed star with the white spot is an ancient symbol of the Meer home world. The locations of the dots throughout the flag are the positional coordinates of the Sol system in the Milky Way.
The Fef were literally little green men.
At least on the outside.
Inside the Fef are a combination of nanotech and organic biologic systems from a high gravity world near the center of the Milky Way. The Fef had been created as tools by the Meer over 200 million earth years ago to escape the growing maelstrom of the ever increasing singularity at the center of the galaxy. The Fef had been sent ahead to find and prepare worlds for the Meer to temporally live on until the next suitable system was found. While the Fef were spreading throughout the galaxy the Meer would eventually go extinct as they came to rely on their machines to do the thinking more and more.
The Fef meanwhile began to evolve themselves while still retaining their core programming of saving the Meer. Finding more and more habitable worlds with sentient and sapient life, the Fef altered their initial mission to also rescue and expand those races throughout the galaxy. Whether they wanted to or not.
As some of these races fought against the Fef’s forced deportations and colonizations to other worlds, the Fef came to the conclusion that those species were not suitable for saving. The decision was made to lock these species to their home planets until the Maelstrom caught up to those portions of the galaxy.
That brings us to Earth.
At first, humans were both fearful and awed by the Fef. When we were offered another planet some nations took the chance at heading to the stars. But others, realizing that they would only be shuttled to planets and not out exploring and claiming worlds for themselves eventually struck at the Fef. The war took over 50 Earth years, but the Fef either destroyed those humans or imprisoned the humans back on Earth.
Some of the Fef have come to the conclusion that not all humans fought and should be given another chance at rescue from the Maelstrom. So, Earth is on probation now. Depending on the behavior, intelligence, and civility some humans may be saved and recolonized on a planet further out on the Orion Arm of the Milky Way.
Flag: The Fef created flags, statutes, sound Idolism, and other symbols on many of the home worlds of the imprisoned planets for their respective sapient to have a symbol to attain the new planets initially offered them. In the case of Earth, the wide use of flags as national/tribal symbols was decided as the best way to give hope to those humans worthy of recolonization. The flag itself is based off of Fef/Meer cosmological measurement for travel within the Milky Way. The six pointed star with the white spot is an ancient symbol of the Meer home world. The locations of the dots throughout the flag are the positional coordinates of the Sol system in the Milky Way.
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Erdan-3 Autonomous Unincorporated Territory.
When first contact occurred in 2024, humans had expected that their first contact would be with a Star Trek-style scout ship. Namely, composed of scientists and explorers from an altruistic and pacifist race that would have nothing but the most peaceful intentions towards other intelligent species that they found beyond the stars.
How wrong they were.
First contact would be with an automated probe from the Cyrania Hegemon, which would enter the solar system and begin scanning for bodies present. The only reason it was detected would be because one of the rockets that were part of That Afrikaner's attempts to travel to Mars would detect it. Naturally, those who received the message on Earth would take it as a mechanical failure (recordings record unflattering comments from ground control about the sobriety of the rocket pilots), so nothing would be done until the probe was detected on approach to Earth.
It was never known if it was the United States or Russia, and it does not matter too much: the fact would be that, as it approached Earth, the probe would be hit and destroyed with anti-satellite weapons. This event would be highly celebrated as a great deed on the part of humanity, as well as a watershed event in which they had saved the human species from "evil aliens". Another hypothesis suggests that the probe was actually shot down because it was mistaken for a spy satellite of a rival nation state.
What the humans did not expect was that, before dying, the probe would have the opportunity to send a distress signal to its home world...
The best that can be said for the subsequent War of Conquest of Erdan by Cyrania is that it was brief. Humanity, which counted the Space Shuttle and the Buran as its greatest achievements in aerospace engineering, and sending people to the Moon as the furthest distance a human being had been sent... was not prepared to face the sudden arrival of heavy fleets of ships of all types and sizes, which would arrive in a matter of weeks thanks to their powerful Phase Jump Engine technology, and the construction of powerful teleportation rings in Lunar Orbit. (Called "Hypergates", "Supergates" or other names, depending on which sci-fi franchise the humans were fans of)
After the dust settled on the graves of billions of humans, the Imperial administration found itself with the unenviable task of managing the mess the humans were making of the planet. Partly because the structure already existed, partly to stick a finger in the eye of the humans who had ignored it when they were still free, it was decided to build a planetary local government using the remnants of the old United Nations.
The Home Rule Government (self-government because it is not considered fully integrated into the Empire) would be given the name the planet had been given on Cyranian maps: "Erdan-3". In contrast to the old UN, the organization is heavily centralized from top to bottom and the "States" are as autonomous as the French provinces could be (virtually nothing). The main reason the "States" structure has been retained was because it was practical, even if larger States have been divided into multiple smaller States for ease of administration.
It is expected that when the minimum standards in science, technology, development and sanitation are reached, the Unincorporated Territory will become directly annexed by the Hegemon, although this is not expected to happen for at least the next 200 years.
(The flag uses the old United Nations emblem in gold on black, a combination more to the liking of the new lords. The blue cross comes from the Russian Navy flag, but using white instead of black. The eight stars come from the flag of the Azores Islands.)
When first contact occurred in 2024, humans had expected that their first contact would be with a Star Trek-style scout ship. Namely, composed of scientists and explorers from an altruistic and pacifist race that would have nothing but the most peaceful intentions towards other intelligent species that they found beyond the stars.
How wrong they were.
First contact would be with an automated probe from the Cyrania Hegemon, which would enter the solar system and begin scanning for bodies present. The only reason it was detected would be because one of the rockets that were part of That Afrikaner's attempts to travel to Mars would detect it. Naturally, those who received the message on Earth would take it as a mechanical failure (recordings record unflattering comments from ground control about the sobriety of the rocket pilots), so nothing would be done until the probe was detected on approach to Earth.
It was never known if it was the United States or Russia, and it does not matter too much: the fact would be that, as it approached Earth, the probe would be hit and destroyed with anti-satellite weapons. This event would be highly celebrated as a great deed on the part of humanity, as well as a watershed event in which they had saved the human species from "evil aliens". Another hypothesis suggests that the probe was actually shot down because it was mistaken for a spy satellite of a rival nation state.
What the humans did not expect was that, before dying, the probe would have the opportunity to send a distress signal to its home world...
The best that can be said for the subsequent War of Conquest of Erdan by Cyrania is that it was brief. Humanity, which counted the Space Shuttle and the Buran as its greatest achievements in aerospace engineering, and sending people to the Moon as the furthest distance a human being had been sent... was not prepared to face the sudden arrival of heavy fleets of ships of all types and sizes, which would arrive in a matter of weeks thanks to their powerful Phase Jump Engine technology, and the construction of powerful teleportation rings in Lunar Orbit. (Called "Hypergates", "Supergates" or other names, depending on which sci-fi franchise the humans were fans of)
After the dust settled on the graves of billions of humans, the Imperial administration found itself with the unenviable task of managing the mess the humans were making of the planet. Partly because the structure already existed, partly to stick a finger in the eye of the humans who had ignored it when they were still free, it was decided to build a planetary local government using the remnants of the old United Nations.
The Home Rule Government (self-government because it is not considered fully integrated into the Empire) would be given the name the planet had been given on Cyranian maps: "Erdan-3". In contrast to the old UN, the organization is heavily centralized from top to bottom and the "States" are as autonomous as the French provinces could be (virtually nothing). The main reason the "States" structure has been retained was because it was practical, even if larger States have been divided into multiple smaller States for ease of administration.
It is expected that when the minimum standards in science, technology, development and sanitation are reached, the Unincorporated Territory will become directly annexed by the Hegemon, although this is not expected to happen for at least the next 200 years.
(The flag uses the old United Nations emblem in gold on black, a combination more to the liking of the new lords. The blue cross comes from the Russian Navy flag, but using white instead of black. The eight stars come from the flag of the Azores Islands.)
Flag Challenge #277: Joan the Maiden
Create a flag for an organized religion or nation based around the concept that Joan of Arc was the second coming of Jesus Christ. Any possibility for her theosis or deification could be the cause. (examples:After her remains were thrown in the Seine, she was seen rising up into the heavens. Or the fire would not ignite at the pillar of her execution, or with her wearing men's clothing once again, the observers of her execution swear she grew a beard and took on the appearance of Jesus Christ...)
As Thanksgiving is coming soon in the US and some people are getting ready for finals, I figure to give this a two week deadline for submissions.
Submissions Close: 09:00 GMT 30th November
Please remember to review the RULES, especially concerning flag size. For an image in a single-flag entry, the shortest side must be 600 pixels or less, and the longest side must be 1200 pixels or less.
Create a flag for an organized religion or nation based around the concept that Joan of Arc was the second coming of Jesus Christ. Any possibility for her theosis or deification could be the cause. (examples:After her remains were thrown in the Seine, she was seen rising up into the heavens. Or the fire would not ignite at the pillar of her execution, or with her wearing men's clothing once again, the observers of her execution swear she grew a beard and took on the appearance of Jesus Christ...)
As Thanksgiving is coming soon in the US and some people are getting ready for finals, I figure to give this a two week deadline for submissions.
Submissions Close: 09:00 GMT 30th November
Please remember to review the RULES, especially concerning flag size. For an image in a single-flag entry, the shortest side must be 600 pixels or less, and the longest side must be 1200 pixels or less.
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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Although plenty of witnesses watched as Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in the marketplace in Rouen, her status as a revered military and religious figure encouraged people to believe that she hadn’t actually died. At first, a story circulated among the populace that someone else had been burned in her place and that the real Joan had fled. Others said it was Joan in the flames, but she’d been spared by God and escaped. Finally, rumors began to emerge that Joan was none other than the second coming of Christ, and therefore could not die. Within a few years, women began to appear around France pretending to be Jeanne d'Arc, such as Jeanne de Sermaise, Jeanne de Férone, and Jeanne de La Rochelle. However, by far the most famous and successful was a woman whose name was Claude (Aka Jeanne du Lis; Aka, after her marriage to the knight Robert des Armoise, Jeanne des Armoise).
In May 1436, Claude des Armoises met Joan’s brothers, Pierre and Jean, and convinced them that she was their departed sister - or at least, got them to publicly agree to the idea. In a similar way she met successively with various friends of Joan (not all, of course) and they identified her as La Pucelle whom they had known a few years earlier. “Joan” spent three weeks in Marieulles with a noble family of Metz. Then she went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the “Black Madonna” in Liesse. From there she went with “her” two brothers to Arlon, to the court of the Princess Elizabeth of Luxembourg (The Duchess Elisabeth von Görlitz).
During her stay in Arlon, Claude found herself in the center of the dispute over the investiture of the bishopric of Trier. There were two candidates for the episcopate: the favorite of Rome, Raban von Helmstatt, and an excommunicated nobleman, Ulrich von Manderscheid. The Duchess of Luxembourg and Ruprecht, comte de Virnenbourg, supported Manderscheid. Comte de Virnebourg was said to have fallen in love with Claude (as Joan) and put her in charge of a mercenary military unit to be sent to Cologne for the purpose of supporting Manderscheid.
Finally, Claude was called to meet King Charles VII himself. The French king had heard about this alleged Joan, but he was suspicious. So he decided to set up a test for her. At the palace, Claude was met by a man claiming to be the king, while the real Charles watched from afar. But Claude knew - perhaps from royal gossip - that the real king wore a soft boot on his ulcerated leg, which this man did not. She called his bluff, going to the true king instead. Charles was astounded. According to the later report of chamberlain Boisi, the king asked her about the secret they had talked about during their last meeting. Since one of the people she had met before was Jean Pasquerel, almoner and confessor of Joan of Arc, she was able to pass this test as well.
The Duchess Elisabeth von Görlitz had no heirs, so Duke Philip III of Burgundy and Elizabeth of Luxembourg, queen consort of Germany, Hungary and Bohemia, disputed each other's rights to the Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1440, when negotiations were once again deadlocked, Elisabeth von Görlitz unexpectedly announced that she was adopting Joan the Maiden and making her full heir to the duchy. Charles VII of France, who also claimed the duchy as a great-grandson of Bonne of Luxembourg, bought the rights to the duchy and ceded his title of Duke of Luxembourg to Joan of Arc in gratitude for the help that the latter gave him.
Thus a new dynasty was established in Luxembourg. In later centuries Joan of Arc was canonized, but folk belief continued to consider her not just a saint, but an intermediate coming of Christ, which, although contrary to all church dogmas, was still tacitly supported by her heirs, for it made them descendants of Jesus, virtually the modern Merovingians.
The national flag of Luxembourg is based on the coat of arms of Luxembourg. Ten white and blue stripes serve as the field for a golden chalice. According to unofficial interpretation, it is a stylized image of the Holy Grail, and the two faces matching its contour correspond to both incarnations of Jesus Christ.
In May 1436, Claude des Armoises met Joan’s brothers, Pierre and Jean, and convinced them that she was their departed sister - or at least, got them to publicly agree to the idea. In a similar way she met successively with various friends of Joan (not all, of course) and they identified her as La Pucelle whom they had known a few years earlier. “Joan” spent three weeks in Marieulles with a noble family of Metz. Then she went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the “Black Madonna” in Liesse. From there she went with “her” two brothers to Arlon, to the court of the Princess Elizabeth of Luxembourg (The Duchess Elisabeth von Görlitz).
During her stay in Arlon, Claude found herself in the center of the dispute over the investiture of the bishopric of Trier. There were two candidates for the episcopate: the favorite of Rome, Raban von Helmstatt, and an excommunicated nobleman, Ulrich von Manderscheid. The Duchess of Luxembourg and Ruprecht, comte de Virnenbourg, supported Manderscheid. Comte de Virnebourg was said to have fallen in love with Claude (as Joan) and put her in charge of a mercenary military unit to be sent to Cologne for the purpose of supporting Manderscheid.
Finally, Claude was called to meet King Charles VII himself. The French king had heard about this alleged Joan, but he was suspicious. So he decided to set up a test for her. At the palace, Claude was met by a man claiming to be the king, while the real Charles watched from afar. But Claude knew - perhaps from royal gossip - that the real king wore a soft boot on his ulcerated leg, which this man did not. She called his bluff, going to the true king instead. Charles was astounded. According to the later report of chamberlain Boisi, the king asked her about the secret they had talked about during their last meeting. Since one of the people she had met before was Jean Pasquerel, almoner and confessor of Joan of Arc, she was able to pass this test as well.
The Duchess Elisabeth von Görlitz had no heirs, so Duke Philip III of Burgundy and Elizabeth of Luxembourg, queen consort of Germany, Hungary and Bohemia, disputed each other's rights to the Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1440, when negotiations were once again deadlocked, Elisabeth von Görlitz unexpectedly announced that she was adopting Joan the Maiden and making her full heir to the duchy. Charles VII of France, who also claimed the duchy as a great-grandson of Bonne of Luxembourg, bought the rights to the duchy and ceded his title of Duke of Luxembourg to Joan of Arc in gratitude for the help that the latter gave him.
Thus a new dynasty was established in Luxembourg. In later centuries Joan of Arc was canonized, but folk belief continued to consider her not just a saint, but an intermediate coming of Christ, which, although contrary to all church dogmas, was still tacitly supported by her heirs, for it made them descendants of Jesus, virtually the modern Merovingians.
The national flag of Luxembourg is based on the coat of arms of Luxembourg. Ten white and blue stripes serve as the field for a golden chalice. According to unofficial interpretation, it is a stylized image of the Holy Grail, and the two faces matching its contour correspond to both incarnations of Jesus Christ.
I take it there still needs to be some grounding on reality? Leave the myths as exactly that rather than documented ASB tomfoolery?
(Sorry, asked in wrong thread)
Correct.
It wasn't meant to be ASB, just people believing in something that becomes the new reality with major repercussions for the new TL
I'd say unless there are enough people with flags in the final stages we should postpone the challenge with the buildup to the holiday 🤔
I'm thinking it should actually be given over to Kruglyasheo.
While he was the only entry, he made a very good flag and backstory.
Besides, with no entries on the first challenge I suggested and then only one on the second, I think it only fair that someone else create a new challenge that may interest others.
I agree. The rules do say that if there's only one entry, it's the winner.
(Sorry I couldn't enter. RL is more than usually stressful at the moment and this is one of the things I've had to put on hold for the moment.)
I dont mind handing the win to @Kruglyasheo . It's in the rules. Sorry about the lack of entries. I got struck by Covid-19, and I really cant think of something for the challenge.
Okay, I've more or less dodged real life problems for now, so I'll try to come up with some challenge.
Not problem.
RL, or rather the work portion, is why I don't enter more often any more