One of my fundamental flaws as a writer is related to a basic component of my personality: I'm easily distracted.
I'm also curious about a lot of stuff. And I have an uncontrollable urge to mash concepts and genres together.
This relates strongly to the not finishing a story aspect. I get distracted by something new that I'm reading and try to force some ideas from it into a setting or character concept or plotline that is already developed. [This is related to another troubling issue--I get bored with stories once I think I've figured out how to solve the major challenges with them.]
I recently finished a novel that was something of a western homage to samurai films and legends, watched some vampire television, and listened to some western-themed instrumental music. So of course I'm now trying to apply all of these themes to a short story concept I had several years ago, as well as attempting to compress a story that was originally 22,000 words (way too long to submit to most markets and far too short to be a novel) down to 7500 or 5000 words.
It is, shall I say, somewhat rough going. One of those things where I wonder if I'm a loon for even trying. But I want to try to finish it.
I have, however, decided upon an ideal martial style for fighting among and against vampires: Japanese sword-fighting, with its emphasis on powerful slashing strokes that sever limbs and decapitate foes. Because you can't really stab a vampire to death unless you've got a stake and great accuracy. And any sane vampire in a fantasy setting would wear some sort of armor protecting their heart, front and back.
So you're left with the need to hack the shit out of someone to incapacitate them. Vampires are strong and fast and seem unfazed by pain in many forms, but unless you're dealing with the ridiculous stuff like "turns into fog," they aren't impervious to steel. Chop off arms and legs and they should slow down. This approach should also work reasonably well against zombies.
To make it a little cooler, I decided that the vampire samurai equivalents in this setting also carry a traditional pair of swords, but instead of the long and short swords favored by the samurai, they carry a metal sword and one made of hard wood with a sharp point. The wooden one is the "mercy blade" for dealing with mortals and the "finishing blade" for staking fellow vampires.
Plus I think that the samurai loyalty and artistic aspects go very nicely with vampires. A vampire lord's retainers will all literally owe their vampiric status to the lord, so their blood is his to shed. And if they live a long time, they'll eventually get bored with mastering the blade and have to cultivate some other artistic pursuits.
It would be too confusing and complicated to explain the western influences at this point. And I should add that none of the main characters is even a vampire at this point. Which shows how useful all this thinking is.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Daily Writing
Shortly after my last post, I made a resolution to write 1,000 words of fiction a day.
Since then, I've hit that target for 9 out of 10 days. I don't recall writing on Memorial Day at all. The total word count is at just over 14,500 words.
Note that some of those are much better than others, but I do have a complete story that I'm fairly pleased with as a result of the process. (It's awaiting one more revision before I submit it.) I've also got two other short stories in the works that I'm less confident about.
I can't say that I feel great about this process at the moment. I've got the plot and main characters of the two stories I'm working on all laid out, but I'm trying to write 5,000 word stories (because I think that's a better length to submit for an unpublished writer hoping to get published) with only one successful story told in that range so far. The other two are looking more like 10,000 word stories at the moment.
But my goals were to address two of my weaknesses as a writer:
Since then, I've hit that target for 9 out of 10 days. I don't recall writing on Memorial Day at all. The total word count is at just over 14,500 words.
Note that some of those are much better than others, but I do have a complete story that I'm fairly pleased with as a result of the process. (It's awaiting one more revision before I submit it.) I've also got two other short stories in the works that I'm less confident about.
I can't say that I feel great about this process at the moment. I've got the plot and main characters of the two stories I'm working on all laid out, but I'm trying to write 5,000 word stories (because I think that's a better length to submit for an unpublished writer hoping to get published) with only one successful story told in that range so far. The other two are looking more like 10,000 word stories at the moment.
But my goals were to address two of my weaknesses as a writer:
- Writing on a regular basis
- FINISHING STORIES
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Rejection was never so sweet
So I got my first rejection letter today via email from one of the editors at the online publisher Flash Fiction for the piece Tinkertoy Genii (specifically the version I recently posted). Flash Fiction specializes in stories of 1,000 words or less.
I have to say, for a rejection it was one of the nicest communiques I've ever gotten from a stranger. Here's an excerpt:
On the bright side, the editor closed with this encouragement:
Anyway, after several days of being sidetracked with other work or getting stuck on setting issues, I sat down this morning and wrote 2,000 words for the second chapter and got this pretty positive rejection letter, so I'm feeling much better than I was at this time yesterday.
I have to say, for a rejection it was one of the nicest communiques I've ever gotten from a stranger. Here's an excerpt:
"For a previously unpublished fiction writer, your writing is excellent, the storyline fascinating, the details believable, the conflict gripping."Now, as it turns out, I didn't resolve the main conflict in the story in the very short word count available, and the editor kindly pointed this out in rejecting it. Can't really argue with that, to be honest, and you'll notice it if you take the time to read the story. Flash Fiction is a tricky format and I'm a novice.
On the bright side, the editor closed with this encouragement:
"While I can't accept "Tinkertoy Genii" I sincerely hope you will continue writing and submitting and studying the craft of flash fiction writing as I truly believe it is valuable in honing a writer's all-around skills. I look forward, as well, to receiving more submissions from you in the future."I have a couple other ideas that I've written up as rather clunky vignettes that might work in the Flash Fiction format, so I'm going to give those a go in the near future while working on the Illyria novel.
Anyway, after several days of being sidetracked with other work or getting stuck on setting issues, I sat down this morning and wrote 2,000 words for the second chapter and got this pretty positive rejection letter, so I'm feeling much better than I was at this time yesterday.
Vignette: Tinkertoy Genii Final Submission
Tinkertoy Genii by Doug Sims
The voice was a dull, distant roar, rousing her from the depths. Light and sound overloaded her senses, her mind spinning wildly. A memory fitted here, a skill slotted there, an emotion relearned, a pattern recalled. Sounds forming words, words falling through holes in a net being spun furiously but still maddeningly incomplete. Until clarity came at last.
She was disappointed to discover her vision resolved in grainy black and white. Worse was the realization that not only could she not move, she lacked any physical sensation. Her body was simply gone, a void. Good grief, she thought, What kind of retrotech shell have they dumped me into?
The voice continued. “Refugee Valerie Shem, are you conscious and self-aware? This is your scheduled debriefing with the Talos Orbital Authority. Refugee Valerie Shem, are you conscious and self-aware? This is—”
“Yes, yes!” she interrupted. Her voice sounded tinny, tinged with static. Where was here? No, the voice had said that much. Focus! “In what form is my consciousness currently embodied?”
The recording paused. She studied the grainy image of an insectoid drone, sprouting metallic legs at crazy angles, an eyestalk wobbling in front of whatever camera was providing her narrow field of vision. “Ah yes,” continued the drone. The operator was probably running half a dozen of these remotes, interrupting automated procedures as needed. “Greetings. You are currently being stored on a backup server in Talos Orbital spacedock.”
Backup server? Her sense of calm dissolved. “Backup” meant file compression, downtime, dormancy, which in turn spelled fragmentation and memory loss. Questions flooded her mind. Who had been her advisor at the Polytechnic? Where had she seen that glorious sunset on Ramses?
Holes. Like missing teeth, like itches she couldn’t scratch.
“What is my storage medium?” she shouted as loud as the damn box would let her.
“Ah,” said the drone, hesitating. “Nanotubes.”
“Tinkertoys!” cried Valerie. “You can’t preserve a recorded personality on a rod logic system! I demand an upload to a DNA matrix or a quantum computer. And I want a full-mobility cybershell or an android host!”
“Nanotubes are the most robust medium for long term storage,” came the flat reply.
“Who gives a damn about long-term storage! I need full mind emulation now, before I degrade any further. I can afford whatever your backwards Orbital can produce!”
“Your credit account has a negative balance, Valerie Shem,” replied the drone curtly. “The cost of transmitting and receiving your ghost through hyperspace was not met by the funds on reserve with us. You are currently a ward of the state until your debt can be repaid.”
She remembered enough to respond to that. “My homeworld was sterilized by a solar flare!” screamed Valerie. “Why else would I evacuate to some forsaken cluster of satellites orbiting a gas giant in the ass-end of the civilized universe?” She paused, struggling to piece together her memories.
There were fewer gaps than she had first thought, but she noted a pattern to the missing data that belied random errors. “I think someone has sabotaged my records,” she said incredulously.
Her tone became more authoritative. “I request the opening of a formal investigation into the theft of my personal property and an assault upon my personal mind space.”
“Opening personal investigations requires a retainer to be deposited with Talos Orbital Security,” replied the drone.
Damn. She searched her memories frantically for some sense of who might have done this to her, hoping to find backup files hidden in her matrix. How clever had she been?
“Valerie Shem, I must inform you that you as an indigent ward of the Talos Orbital authority, your stored consciousness is scheduled for routine downtime to conserve energy and system resources.”
Bastards, she thought. She kept scanning herself.
There. A hidden memory file, with a recent time stamp. Accessing it, she found a sneaky piece of spyware, designed to record alterations to her cognitive structure. It told her nothing of her former life, potential enemies, or who had violated her mind.
But it might hold the solution to her current dilemma.
“What is the standard protocol in place on Talos for copyright and personal mindspace protection?” she asked.
The drone froze. “Level 1.2 quantum encryption,” it replied. “I fail to see—”
“I had Level 1.5 quantum encryption on my personal data, and it was hacked,” said Valerie.
“Opening an investigation into such matters requires a retainer—”
“I have a detailed record of the assault, showing how it was done, though not by whom,” interrupted Valerie. “This information might be of value to Talos Orbital Security, don’t you agree? Particularly given that the party involved is likely inhabiting your infosphere along with the other digital refugees.”
After a long pause, Valerie continued. “I might add that I have a worm program installed that will delete this information if anyone were to attempt to remove it from me by force.”
“You would run the risk of irreparable damage to your consciousness,” replied the drone.
“Do you think I want to live in this toybox?” she shot back.
The drone began tapping its long, slender appendages for what seemed like an eternity. Then, with a shake of its eyestalk, it spoke. “Valerie Shem, I am authorized to investigate your memory loss and, if your claim proves truthful, negotiate the purchase of your data recording on behalf of Talos Orbital Security.”
Valerie smiled to herself. They were hooked. Time to push. “Of course, I can hardly take part in such a negotiation in my current crippled state. I will need a full mind emulation running at baseline Human-Plus 2 clock speed to assess all parameters, the cost of same to be deducted from my fee.”
“Agreed,” said the drone, extending a probe toward an unseen panel. “Prepare for transfer to mind emulation.”
Before everything went black again, Valerie envisioned baring her teeth. Someone had tried to screw her, but they were going to find that this genii would not stay in her bottle.
The voice was a dull, distant roar, rousing her from the depths. Light and sound overloaded her senses, her mind spinning wildly. A memory fitted here, a skill slotted there, an emotion relearned, a pattern recalled. Sounds forming words, words falling through holes in a net being spun furiously but still maddeningly incomplete. Until clarity came at last.
She was disappointed to discover her vision resolved in grainy black and white. Worse was the realization that not only could she not move, she lacked any physical sensation. Her body was simply gone, a void. Good grief, she thought, What kind of retrotech shell have they dumped me into?
The voice continued. “Refugee Valerie Shem, are you conscious and self-aware? This is your scheduled debriefing with the Talos Orbital Authority. Refugee Valerie Shem, are you conscious and self-aware? This is—”
“Yes, yes!” she interrupted. Her voice sounded tinny, tinged with static. Where was here? No, the voice had said that much. Focus! “In what form is my consciousness currently embodied?”
The recording paused. She studied the grainy image of an insectoid drone, sprouting metallic legs at crazy angles, an eyestalk wobbling in front of whatever camera was providing her narrow field of vision. “Ah yes,” continued the drone. The operator was probably running half a dozen of these remotes, interrupting automated procedures as needed. “Greetings. You are currently being stored on a backup server in Talos Orbital spacedock.”
Backup server? Her sense of calm dissolved. “Backup” meant file compression, downtime, dormancy, which in turn spelled fragmentation and memory loss. Questions flooded her mind. Who had been her advisor at the Polytechnic? Where had she seen that glorious sunset on Ramses?
Holes. Like missing teeth, like itches she couldn’t scratch.
“What is my storage medium?” she shouted as loud as the damn box would let her.
“Ah,” said the drone, hesitating. “Nanotubes.”
“Tinkertoys!” cried Valerie. “You can’t preserve a recorded personality on a rod logic system! I demand an upload to a DNA matrix or a quantum computer. And I want a full-mobility cybershell or an android host!”
“Nanotubes are the most robust medium for long term storage,” came the flat reply.
“Who gives a damn about long-term storage! I need full mind emulation now, before I degrade any further. I can afford whatever your backwards Orbital can produce!”
“Your credit account has a negative balance, Valerie Shem,” replied the drone curtly. “The cost of transmitting and receiving your ghost through hyperspace was not met by the funds on reserve with us. You are currently a ward of the state until your debt can be repaid.”
She remembered enough to respond to that. “My homeworld was sterilized by a solar flare!” screamed Valerie. “Why else would I evacuate to some forsaken cluster of satellites orbiting a gas giant in the ass-end of the civilized universe?” She paused, struggling to piece together her memories.
There were fewer gaps than she had first thought, but she noted a pattern to the missing data that belied random errors. “I think someone has sabotaged my records,” she said incredulously.
Her tone became more authoritative. “I request the opening of a formal investigation into the theft of my personal property and an assault upon my personal mind space.”
“Opening personal investigations requires a retainer to be deposited with Talos Orbital Security,” replied the drone.
Damn. She searched her memories frantically for some sense of who might have done this to her, hoping to find backup files hidden in her matrix. How clever had she been?
“Valerie Shem, I must inform you that you as an indigent ward of the Talos Orbital authority, your stored consciousness is scheduled for routine downtime to conserve energy and system resources.”
Bastards, she thought. She kept scanning herself.
There. A hidden memory file, with a recent time stamp. Accessing it, she found a sneaky piece of spyware, designed to record alterations to her cognitive structure. It told her nothing of her former life, potential enemies, or who had violated her mind.
But it might hold the solution to her current dilemma.
“What is the standard protocol in place on Talos for copyright and personal mindspace protection?” she asked.
The drone froze. “Level 1.2 quantum encryption,” it replied. “I fail to see—”
“I had Level 1.5 quantum encryption on my personal data, and it was hacked,” said Valerie.
“Opening an investigation into such matters requires a retainer—”
“I have a detailed record of the assault, showing how it was done, though not by whom,” interrupted Valerie. “This information might be of value to Talos Orbital Security, don’t you agree? Particularly given that the party involved is likely inhabiting your infosphere along with the other digital refugees.”
After a long pause, Valerie continued. “I might add that I have a worm program installed that will delete this information if anyone were to attempt to remove it from me by force.”
“You would run the risk of irreparable damage to your consciousness,” replied the drone.
“Do you think I want to live in this toybox?” she shot back.
The drone began tapping its long, slender appendages for what seemed like an eternity. Then, with a shake of its eyestalk, it spoke. “Valerie Shem, I am authorized to investigate your memory loss and, if your claim proves truthful, negotiate the purchase of your data recording on behalf of Talos Orbital Security.”
Valerie smiled to herself. They were hooked. Time to push. “Of course, I can hardly take part in such a negotiation in my current crippled state. I will need a full mind emulation running at baseline Human-Plus 2 clock speed to assess all parameters, the cost of same to be deducted from my fee.”
“Agreed,” said the drone, extending a probe toward an unseen panel. “Prepare for transfer to mind emulation.”
Before everything went black again, Valerie envisioned baring her teeth. Someone had tried to screw her, but they were going to find that this genii would not stay in her bottle.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Illyria Overview: Old World
Probably because I was trained as an American historian, my setting features a conflict between the cultures of Old and New Worlds.
The New World is Illyria [ihl-LEER-ee-ah]. For now, the Old World is Draconis [drah-KOHN-is] (not the name everyone gives it). While the lands of the Old World run primarily along an east-west axis, Illyria runs more north-south (just like Eurasia and the Americas, respectively). Draconis is also a bigger continent than Illyria.
From Illyria's perspective, the main civilization of Draconis is the Dragon Empire (whose symbol is the Ouroboros). The Empire is divided into the Three Realms (also called the Dragon or Serpent Kingdoms), separate nations united by a shared cultural heritage (each civilization was founded by Dragons who taught the principles of culture and technology to lesser beings) as well as by the political allegiance and popular worship that they offer the Trinity of Elder Dragons. These ancient beings--Tiamahta [TEE-ah-mah-tah], Fahfenihro [fah-feh-NEE-roh], and Gormunduro [gor-moon-DOO-roh]--are among the most powerful entities in the Known World.
Each Realm has its own King or Queen who owes loyalty to the Trinity. The three monarchs sit together as the Triumvirate to pass major decisions that affect the Empire as a whole. The three Realms are:
Just over 100 years ago, the Cortadorans crushed the last significant remnants of the Night Walkers, a loosely knit confederation of necromancers and undead who occupied the Rakasha Mountains on Cortado's eastern border. Around 75 years ago the Cortadorans sought to improve their fortunes and flew westward across the Ocean of Tears in their great dragon ships (built by the Alchemy of the Craft Guild Magisters, empowered by Noble Elemanteros, and piloted by Merchant Guild Magisters), founding the first Dragon Realm colonies along the eastern seaboard of Illyria.
Cortado's colonizing efforts were fueled by greed, religion, and old hatreds. The Guilds found both new resources to exploit and new freedoms to purchase for themselves in the form of charters to operate in the New World. The Imperial Church found entire new peoples to convert. And the Noble Houses found to their horror that Night Walker refugees had beaten them to Illyria, forming their own settlements. The result was a brutal crusade led by Noble warriors, aided by mercenary bands, and accompanied by waves of indentured servants.
Illyria became the second Viceroyalty of the Empire. Illyria swears fealty to the Triumvirate, but the Noble Houses and Guilds of Cortado dominated the colonizing process and the King of Cortado takes the lion's share of the wealth generated by the colony.
The inland area in the Northeast of Illyria, known as Arbolia [ahr-BOH-lee-ah] or the Valley of Trees, was finally conquered 50 years ago, when settlement by Imperial citizens and their slaves and servants began in earnest.
Now Cortado and Samar vie for influence in Illyria, while Tilan busies itself dealing with the Awakened Cities, a league of living metropolitan gods created by humans through the use of geomancy and sacred architecture.
The New World is Illyria [ihl-LEER-ee-ah]. For now, the Old World is Draconis [drah-KOHN-is] (not the name everyone gives it). While the lands of the Old World run primarily along an east-west axis, Illyria runs more north-south (just like Eurasia and the Americas, respectively). Draconis is also a bigger continent than Illyria.
From Illyria's perspective, the main civilization of Draconis is the Dragon Empire (whose symbol is the Ouroboros). The Empire is divided into the Three Realms (also called the Dragon or Serpent Kingdoms), separate nations united by a shared cultural heritage (each civilization was founded by Dragons who taught the principles of culture and technology to lesser beings) as well as by the political allegiance and popular worship that they offer the Trinity of Elder Dragons. These ancient beings--Tiamahta [TEE-ah-mah-tah], Fahfenihro [fah-feh-NEE-roh], and Gormunduro [gor-moon-DOO-roh]--are among the most powerful entities in the Known World.
Each Realm has its own King or Queen who owes loyalty to the Trinity. The three monarchs sit together as the Triumvirate to pass major decisions that affect the Empire as a whole. The three Realms are:
- Samar [sah-MAR], the Kingdom of Salt (Whose King sits on the White Throne, made from the bones of a sea dragon), which controls a wide swath of Draconian coastline as well as fertile river valleys. Its people are noted seafarers and founded the first of the Empire's colonies on the Lucian [loo-SEE-ahn] Islands. Gormunduro is the patron Elder Dragon of Samar.
- Cortado [cor-TAH-doh], the Kingdom of Gold (The Amber Throne, made from a solid piece of amber), which controls the mountains that border the Celestial Hierarchy as well as the mountain forests and an extensive plains region. Its people are called Cortadorans or Ironlegs. The Cortadorans built the flying Dragon ships to navigate their rocky and dry domain, and it was the Dragon ships that first crossed the Ocean of Tears to colonize Illyria. Fahfenihro is the patron Elder Dragon of Cortado.
- Tilan [tee-LAHN], the Kingdom of Jade (Whose Queen sits on the Emerald Throne, made from jade with embedded emeralds and sapphires), which borders the lands of the Awakened Cities known as the Seven Siblings. Tilan has temperate rainforests and (to come). Tiamata is the patron Elder Dragon of Tilan.
- The Noble Houses: None of the Dragon Kingdoms are absolute monarchies, and the various Noble families, in particular the Major Houses (those who have an affiliated adult Dragon), wield considerable influence within each. The current King of Samar belongs to House Rocassa, the king of Cortado to House Vargo, and the Queen of Tilan to House Queztal. The Noble Houses are the only legitimate source of the Dragon-Blooded Elemanteros [el-eh-mahn-TEHR-os] who have the power to control the elements. Many Noble Houses also initiate members into secretive Mystery Cults based on the teachings of lesser or legendary Dragons.
- The Imperial Church: The High Church teaches a doctrine based on personal karma, the reincarnation of souls, and the status of the Elder Dragons as gods that walk the Earth in the form of the sacred Trinity. The Imperial Church is divided into three major Orders, each based upon a fundamental aspect of the material world: The Order of the Eternal Sky, the Order of the Endless Sea, and the Order of the Unbreakable Stone. The priests of the High Church are also the only ones taught the secrets of ritual ceremonial magic, which can twist Fate (by altering probabilities) and sway emotions.
- The Guilds: The Guilds are the primary engine of innovation within the Dragon Empire, though they too are bound by strong traditions and a desire to protect their status. The Crafting Guilds use Alchemy to create supernatural artifacts, materials, and potions. The Merchant Guilds use the art of Scrying to locate new lands, anticipate profitable ventures, and navigate treacherous routes. Those who reach master status in one of the magisteriums (or fields) of Alchemy or Scrying are titled Magisters. The Guilds, particularly the Merchant Guilds, have the greatest degree of contact with foreign nations. Wealthy Guild members also founded the various confraternities, influential combinations of philosophical societies and private clubs.
Just over 100 years ago, the Cortadorans crushed the last significant remnants of the Night Walkers, a loosely knit confederation of necromancers and undead who occupied the Rakasha Mountains on Cortado's eastern border. Around 75 years ago the Cortadorans sought to improve their fortunes and flew westward across the Ocean of Tears in their great dragon ships (built by the Alchemy of the Craft Guild Magisters, empowered by Noble Elemanteros, and piloted by Merchant Guild Magisters), founding the first Dragon Realm colonies along the eastern seaboard of Illyria.
Cortado's colonizing efforts were fueled by greed, religion, and old hatreds. The Guilds found both new resources to exploit and new freedoms to purchase for themselves in the form of charters to operate in the New World. The Imperial Church found entire new peoples to convert. And the Noble Houses found to their horror that Night Walker refugees had beaten them to Illyria, forming their own settlements. The result was a brutal crusade led by Noble warriors, aided by mercenary bands, and accompanied by waves of indentured servants.
Illyria became the second Viceroyalty of the Empire. Illyria swears fealty to the Triumvirate, but the Noble Houses and Guilds of Cortado dominated the colonizing process and the King of Cortado takes the lion's share of the wealth generated by the colony.
The inland area in the Northeast of Illyria, known as Arbolia [ahr-BOH-lee-ah] or the Valley of Trees, was finally conquered 50 years ago, when settlement by Imperial citizens and their slaves and servants began in earnest.
Now Cortado and Samar vie for influence in Illyria, while Tilan busies itself dealing with the Awakened Cities, a league of living metropolitan gods created by humans through the use of geomancy and sacred architecture.
The Imperial Church
The High Church, which teaches a doctrine based upon reincarnation and karma, extends across the Realms, although its northern, eastern, and western branches each espouse a slightly different variation of the core faith, and there are countless minor sects and heresies.
The Church does not have any of its own Dragons, but its leaders communicate directly with the Trinity. In this way their ultimate loyalty is not diluted by the creation of ties to lesser Dragons.
The Church has three major Orders, each associated with one of the primary elements that makes up the visible world: Air, Water, and Earth. Each Order has priests, monastics, and lay followers. [Each Order may be thought of somewhat like the orders of the Catholic Church: Franciscans, Jesuits, and Dominicans, each following the same faith but with an different emphasis on how to interpret it.]
The Order of the Eternal Sky (Bluesashes) promotes logic, observation, and rational behavior as the best ways to comprehend the world and live within it while pursuing the correct path toward enlightenment. Its primary missions include education, exploration, and the reforming of corruption.
The Order of the Endless Sea (Greencaps) emphasizes intuition, empathy, egalitarianism, adaptability to unexpected circumstances, and surrendering to fate as the keys to success and spiritual growth. In some ways it is similar to strains of Taoist thought, with an added emphasis on social justice.
The Order of Unbreakable Stone (Graycloaks) teaches stoicism, patience, endurance, obedience, and force of will as the pillars of right behavior and thought. It is strongly focused on stamping out heresy
In broad terms, the Order of Stone is strongest in Cortado, the Order of the Sky is strongest in
Tilan, and the Order of the Sea is strongest in Samar, but each Order can be found in every Realm. Gormundero is associated with the Order of the Sea, Fahfenihr with the Order of Stone, and Tiamata with the Order of the Sky.
The Order of the Flame is a small and secretive group. They are used whenever the Trinity feels that a region is in need of purification through religious fervor or when the Trinity secretly wants to foment revolution for reasons that mere mortals cannot fathom.
The various Guilds have their own confraternities associated with various elemental principles. The Noble Houses are noted for having their own secret Mystery cults that have arcane rituals and multiple levels of initiation.
The Church does not have any of its own Dragons, but its leaders communicate directly with the Trinity. In this way their ultimate loyalty is not diluted by the creation of ties to lesser Dragons.
The Church has three major Orders, each associated with one of the primary elements that makes up the visible world: Air, Water, and Earth. Each Order has priests, monastics, and lay followers. [Each Order may be thought of somewhat like the orders of the Catholic Church: Franciscans, Jesuits, and Dominicans, each following the same faith but with an different emphasis on how to interpret it.]
The Order of the Eternal Sky (Bluesashes) promotes logic, observation, and rational behavior as the best ways to comprehend the world and live within it while pursuing the correct path toward enlightenment. Its primary missions include education, exploration, and the reforming of corruption.
The Order of the Endless Sea (Greencaps) emphasizes intuition, empathy, egalitarianism, adaptability to unexpected circumstances, and surrendering to fate as the keys to success and spiritual growth. In some ways it is similar to strains of Taoist thought, with an added emphasis on social justice.
The Order of Unbreakable Stone (Graycloaks) teaches stoicism, patience, endurance, obedience, and force of will as the pillars of right behavior and thought. It is strongly focused on stamping out heresy
In broad terms, the Order of Stone is strongest in Cortado, the Order of the Sky is strongest in
Tilan, and the Order of the Sea is strongest in Samar, but each Order can be found in every Realm. Gormundero is associated with the Order of the Sea, Fahfenihr with the Order of Stone, and Tiamata with the Order of the Sky.
The Order of the Flame is a small and secretive group. They are used whenever the Trinity feels that a region is in need of purification through religious fervor or when the Trinity secretly wants to foment revolution for reasons that mere mortals cannot fathom.
The various Guilds have their own confraternities associated with various elemental principles. The Noble Houses are noted for having their own secret Mystery cults that have arcane rituals and multiple levels of initiation.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Dragon-Blooded, Part 2
One thing I think I'll add to the elemental magic of the Dragon Blooded is the concept that an elemental magician must attune him or herself to the element that they wish to control, and that this process brings with it detrimental side effects.
I want this kind of magic to have some down sides because it is more immediate and versatile in many of its effects. Sorcerers have to find spirits, bind them, and then deal with them. The Guild magi have to create their effects and tools in advance. The ceremonial magic practiced by the Church requires both time and typically a group effort to initiate. Whereas an elementalist can call upon his or her chosen element once the necessary power has been channeled.
Attunement is a concept I've seen in several places, so it's hardly completely original. But a lot of fantasy elements keep reappearing.
Anyway, here are the bad side effects associated with each element:
Earth--Body becomes particularly fertile ground for various microorganisms, highly susceptible to various sorts of fungal infections on the skin, produces a ripe smell due to bacteria. On the plus side one can digest almost anything.
Metal—Bones turn increasingly metallic and heavy, causing unpleasant stress on muscles and tendons. Basically move more slowly much of the time, endure chronic pain--can get so bad that limbs are voluntarily amputated. Unlike real life, the metallic bones don't result in blood poisoning. On the plus side, very hard to break a bone.
Fire - Body temperature rises, renders the elementalist sterile, physical dehydration and associated bouts of delirium a problem. On the plus side, quite resistant to cold and warm weather won't cause any worse effects.
Lightning—Body’s electrical impulses become irregular, leading to uncontrolled spasms and twitches; body may also radiate ions during bad moods that make nearby people uncomfortable and edgy. On plus side, can produce a pleasurable electric buzz in others.
Air- Bones become brittle and fragile and body loses mass in the form of lower density. The elementalist becomes less physically strong because the bones make for weaker levers. [Note that the Dragon-Blooded still has heightened stamina and healing abilities.] The positive is that the aerially attuned have beautiful speaking and singing voices as well as exceptional breath control.
Rain—Emotional moods generate highly localized, very minor weather effects (little clouds, fogs, mist, frosty breath, etc), making it very hard to conceal one’s feelings. On the plus side, the rainmaker can always stay cool in the heat.
Water-- Become cold and clammy, take on more water weight, get heavier, move more slowly and clumsily on land but swifter and agile in the water, like a sea lion.
Wood—Must spend longer and longer periods in a physically dormant state. On plus side, less need to eat.
I'm also thinking about giving a particular flavor to the Noble Dragon-Blooded magic based on which the three Realms (West, North, or East) that the Noble House belongs to, similar to how the Guilds in each Realm focus on different applications of material magic, but I haven't really figured that out yet.
I want this kind of magic to have some down sides because it is more immediate and versatile in many of its effects. Sorcerers have to find spirits, bind them, and then deal with them. The Guild magi have to create their effects and tools in advance. The ceremonial magic practiced by the Church requires both time and typically a group effort to initiate. Whereas an elementalist can call upon his or her chosen element once the necessary power has been channeled.
Attunement is a concept I've seen in several places, so it's hardly completely original. But a lot of fantasy elements keep reappearing.
Anyway, here are the bad side effects associated with each element:
Earth--Body becomes particularly fertile ground for various microorganisms, highly susceptible to various sorts of fungal infections on the skin, produces a ripe smell due to bacteria. On the plus side one can digest almost anything.
Metal—Bones turn increasingly metallic and heavy, causing unpleasant stress on muscles and tendons. Basically move more slowly much of the time, endure chronic pain--can get so bad that limbs are voluntarily amputated. Unlike real life, the metallic bones don't result in blood poisoning. On the plus side, very hard to break a bone.
Fire - Body temperature rises, renders the elementalist sterile, physical dehydration and associated bouts of delirium a problem. On the plus side, quite resistant to cold and warm weather won't cause any worse effects.
Lightning—Body’s electrical impulses become irregular, leading to uncontrolled spasms and twitches; body may also radiate ions during bad moods that make nearby people uncomfortable and edgy. On plus side, can produce a pleasurable electric buzz in others.
Air- Bones become brittle and fragile and body loses mass in the form of lower density. The elementalist becomes less physically strong because the bones make for weaker levers. [Note that the Dragon-Blooded still has heightened stamina and healing abilities.] The positive is that the aerially attuned have beautiful speaking and singing voices as well as exceptional breath control.
Rain—Emotional moods generate highly localized, very minor weather effects (little clouds, fogs, mist, frosty breath, etc), making it very hard to conceal one’s feelings. On the plus side, the rainmaker can always stay cool in the heat.
Water-- Become cold and clammy, take on more water weight, get heavier, move more slowly and clumsily on land but swifter and agile in the water, like a sea lion.
Wood—Must spend longer and longer periods in a physically dormant state. On plus side, less need to eat.
I'm also thinking about giving a particular flavor to the Noble Dragon-Blooded magic based on which the three Realms (West, North, or East) that the Noble House belongs to, similar to how the Guilds in each Realm focus on different applications of material magic, but I haven't really figured that out yet.
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