February is World Building Month. Day One: Planners ‘verse

piratekitten has declared February world-building month.

Every day in February, I will answer one question about any one of my settings.

The question post is here

The first question comes from lilfluff and is for the Planners ‘Verse

So it looks like they got started from family discussions after the panic of 1873. But how much was simply saying, “That worked well, we should keep doing that,” and how much was an actual organized effort to build something that could hold people together should civilization collapse.

When the Planners first began, their plans were very small-scale: they wanted to keep their family and their close associates safe through any collapse. They were intent on being the survivors, not necessarily in rebuilding a world.

What grew out of that was a combination of factors:

* A growth of target – they grew in number as they recruited new members, as their children grew up, married, and stayed close.

* A growth of technology – as technology improved, the “basics of survival” grew and grew – running water, modern medicine, transportation, and so on. In order to maintain that level of comfort, greater and greater infrastructure and education was needed.

* A growth of horror – the Cold War era led to the concept of “The End of the World as We Know It,” the belief in a global catastrophe. that left to a wider scope of planning as the focus could no longer be on the survival of the family; it had to be on the survival of the species if, in truth, the family was to survive.

All of this snowballed from “we’ll be comfortable through any small crisis” to “we are the supply and information depot for the post-apocalyptic world.”

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/652783.html. You can comment here or there.

Science! Character List

Jan30

Science! Landing Page

The following characters have named roles in one or more Science! stories.

Dr. Ahluwalia
Dr. Potter
Platya Perdido Proda
Juris
Archibald Antipone
Viji
Namae Sauter
Jason
Cara (in most stories)
Liam, head of the center
Alex (also in most stories)

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/648965.html. You can comment here or there.

Worldbuilding SFWA Style: Reiassan

Oct31

From this link, from the sfwa.org
I. The World
B. Not Earth at All

How does this world differ physically from earth? Is it the same size (same density, same gravity), same ratio of land/water, same atmosphere, etc.? Does it have more than one sun or moon? Rings? Are there spectacular constellations/comets, etc. visible at night or by day?

The world is slightly smaller than Earth (just a few miles in diameter), and a similar density and gravity, and is generally earthlike.

It has two moons, one large and one small. It also has brilliantly stars in a sky full of light.

Are there non-human inhabitants of this planet (elves, dwarves, aliens)? If so, how numerous? How openly present? What areas do they occupy?

Nope, there are only humans.

How are the continents laid out? If there is more than one moon/sun, how does this affect winds, tides, and weather generally?

Reiassan and (Homeland) are both in the Northern/Eastern Hemispheres. Reiassan is to the west of (Homeland) continent by about ¼ of the world; there is another large land mass on the Western hemisphere, and several smaller land masses in the southern hemisphere.

Reiassan is a continent about the size of South America; Homeland is a mass equivalent to Eurasia in size, as is the Western continent.

How much land is there, and how much of it is habitable?

There’s approximately 50,000,000 square miles (129,499,000 sq. km). About 35% of this is habitable (neither mountain nor desert).

Is the axial tilt and orbit the same — i.e., does the world have the same seasons and same length of year as Earth?

Seasons are similar to Earth’s, although they count them differently in Reiassan; they consider the rainy season, the warm season, and the cold season.

II. Physical and Historical Features

A. General

In which geographical areas will the story take place? How much ground will the story cover? What are the most striking features of landscape, climate, animals, etc. in this area? How will these features affect travel time, communication, etc.?

Both extant stories take place on the continent of Reiassan, a sort of comma-shaped continent the size (approx.) of South America.

Reiassan is a continent wrinkled and gouged by glacial activity; it looks like a wrinkled napkin. This makes travel difficult and sometimes prohibitive.

Agriculture tends towards crops which can be grown on slopes – more root crops and less grain crops, for one. There are fewer trees and much of what exist are scrublike and twisted; buildings are mostly stone-created, with wood being rare and generally used for accent, not for construction.

The tip of the continent, the part that was formerly Bitrani, is warmer and flatter, although it has a great deal of swampland. Trees similar to the mangrove are prevalent here, and rice is one of their main crops.

The seas on either side of the continent are very good for fishing.

Into Lanamer crosses most of the continent, heading from near the Bitrani city of Onikanin, less than 1/3 of the tail up from the Southern tip of Reiassan, up to the Calenyena city of Lanamer, at the point where the dot of the comma reaches the tail.

Edally Academy takes place primarily in Edally Academy at Ileltedez, a coastal city South of Lanamer.

If there are non-human inhabitants, are there any areas they particularly claim as their own (e.g., dwarves traditionally live underground, usually in mountains)?

Still no non-humans.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/594255.html. You can comment here or there.

Worldbuilding SFWA Style: Reiassan

Oct30

From this link, from the sfwa.org

A. Basics

Nature, physics all work the same as in real life, although use of sira/aether can speed up/slow down/nudge these laws’ effects.

The world in which Reiassan is on is slightly smaller in diameter than Earth. It is a Class M planet, with an Earthlike water-to-land ratio. The flow of sira through the entire planet has led to some differences; i.e., the trench between Reiassan and the homeland continent has what could be called massive fire demons.

In Edaly Academy and Into Lanamer, we are only on one continent. The people there emigrated from another single continent, which originally had three major ethnic groups (often referred to as West Coast People, Blondies, and proto!Calenyena); two of those groups made up the majority of the immigrants.

Thus, the ethnic makeup on Reiassan is determined mostly by settlement patterns in the 1750 years since landfall on this continent. The Calenyena are short, wide-hipped, and dark of hair, skin and eyes; the Bitrani are taller, more squarely built, and pale of hair, skin, and eye. Many regions have mid-range mixes common, and the east coast has a small, genetically isolated population who have curly hair and copper eyes.

Undetermined, but there are at least about 3500 years of human history between homeland continent and Reiassan.

Good question!

o Where does magic power come from: the gods, the “mana” of the world (as in Larry Niven’s “Warlock” stories), the personal willpower or life force of the magician, somewhere else? Is magic an exhaustible resource? If a magician must feed his spells with his own willpower, life-force, or sanity, what long-term effects will this have on the health and/or stability of the magician? Do different races/species have different sources for their magic, or does everybody use the same one?

Magic comes from the sira within the earth, which theory holds it, is formed when two things rub together.

Magic is controlled in Into Lanamer mostly with willpower and stamina, and in Edally Academy with mechanisms and devices.

There are no nonhuman races yet determined.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/593217.html. You can comment here or there.

Notes on Sira and Aether for Steam!Calenta/Edaly Academy

Oct26

On Sira and Aether

Sira is the ancient word for the force that underlies the world. It’s actually a word from the ancient Tabersi (the predecessors of the Bitrani) that was sound-shifted into Calenyen; the Bitrani say shira..

The word sira fell out of favor around 1400 R, or approximately 400 years after the Rin and Girey story; the Academy story takes place in 1750 R (after the discovery of the continent of Reiassan). People didn’t so much stop believing in sira as start feeling that their explanations for it were too credulous, too superstitious, and too rooted in the very-powerful Temples of the Three. They wanted to understand more.

Enter the concept of aether.

This is another Bitrani word. The Calenyena call it aatur, simply using the Bitrani word shifted for a sound they find comfortable. Some scholars call it iezhyetar (from Iezhet, air, and ietar, power), but the term has not gained a great deal of popularity; ancient Bitrani sounds as if it has more gravitas to their ears.

As the scholars in 1750 R understand the aether (whatever they call it), the aether is an underlying force of the universe. It exists wherever two pieces of the world rub together, and can be harvested from these areas with the careful application of mechanical apparati or the very, very careful application of straight concentration and mental fortitude.

Very few scholars approve of the second method, however, because it has a feel very much like that of magic, and everyone knows that magic is bunk.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/590530.html. You can comment here or there.

Worldbuilding: The Academy

Oct22

The Empress Edalleddallendu Academy of Higher Learning at Ilelteddez

The Edally Academy was begun approximately one thousand years ago, in the time of the Emperor Eleddeltendel, who started four such academies around the country, naming them all after his ancestors. It occupies a place just outside the old walls of Ilelteddez, (ocean-on-land, seaport), a coastal city between the Arran Cities and Lannamer.

When it was first built, it was a single tower with three outbuildings. As the school expanded, three more towers were built around the first tower.

About 500 years ago, the original tower was torn down. Its foundation serves as the basis of a central courtyard now.

Around the courtyard, nine towers reach 6-1/2 stories into the air. These towers were originally both classroom and dormitory; now they serve as dorm space only.

A ring of buildings, connected by archways, circle the towers. The buildings are about 3-1/2 stories tall, and where their roofs touch the towers, a walkway has been built.

Those buildings now serve as primary classroom buildings for the school, however, the first story of each is now given over to teacher & staff apartments.

Outside of those are another ring of buildings, usually about 1 story tall. They serve as adjunct classrooms, outbuildings, and the like.

The towers themselves narrow as they go up, and are constructed of red stone with grey sandstone accents. They are built around a wide, round central chimney, which vents to the sky. Their windows are narrow, and only in recent years have the Art students begun replacing all of the oiled-cloth windows with stained glass to allow some light – and less air – in.

A spiral staircase circles the chimney all the way up; at the landing for each floor there is a small student lounge around a fireplace. The dormitory rooms ring the floor; smaller rooms on the top floor, larger rooms on the bottom. The school has a drop-out/failure rate such that, while it admits 18 students to each House each year, only nine to 12 graduate.

The first-year dorms – at the top – are three to a room, consisting of a fold-up bed, a fold-down desk, a folding chair, and the Calenyena equivalent of a trunk (rather like a garment bag) each. Bedding and upholstery is in House colors.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/587250.html. You can comment here or there.

A Week of Settings – Day Three: Stranded

Oct11

Stranded Verse

The world is made of magic.

The world is made of connections, and in the ability to understand and manipulate those connections lies the magic.

The world is made up of the sparks of life, of creation. Every spark connects to others, and that is both magic and the building block for magic.

All of those are true in Stranded World, and yet all are untrue – just metaphors for an existence few understand well at all.

The world has connections, that much we know. Everyone and everything make connections. Those connections are often pictured as multicolored strands, tying everything together until they world is made.

Some people can reach out and tangle these strands, complicating everything. Some can smooth them. Some can tie bows in them, and some simply understand them.

In the RoundTree Family, Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer, they have one of each.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/578631.html. You can comment here or there.

Trivia Tuesday

Jun4

Cross-posted to Tumblr here.

Today is Trivia Tuesday, my first ever. Today, ask me anything about Stranded World.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/537849.html. You can comment here or there.

The Black Tower and its Council – a setting piece of Dragons Next Door

Apr9

“What is the Black Tower?” The dragon cocked its head to the side, narrowly missing knocking over the fence.

I blinked. The Tower has such a reputation among our people that it’s hard to remember it’s not that well known outside of the community. Even most other humans wouldn’t know what I was talking about – and I imagine the dragons handled such things in their own way. “The Black Tower is…” I resisted the impulse to end that with “…the Black Tower.” “It’s an academy of magic, considered highly prestigious but also highly dangerous. Sage attended there.”

“Ah, the Sandborn.” Zizny nodded. “We have heard of that place. On rare occasion, a young dragon will study there.”

“Yes, the Sandborn.” I’d forgotten it had a proper name.

–The Black Tower

The Sandborn Academy, the Black Tower, is a spire sticking into the sky, a nightmare against the night-time, the whisper lazy parents use to threaten naughty children. “If you’re not good, the Black Tower will send someone to get you.”

The Black Tower has no interest in naughty children. The Black Tower has very little interest in children at all, except as a necessary step in getting to the next generation of magi.

That is, of course, only as much as the Black Tower has a self to exhibit any interest at all. Regardless of rumor, conjecture, or fear, the buildings of the Black Tower do not, themselves, have sentience (yet).

The sentience of Sandborn Academy resides in its Head and its Council of Elders – seven magi who rule over the school with an iron fist and a steel-belted will. How they determine things within the confines of their Council chamber is a mystery; their dictates are handed down without explanation and with very little chance for appeal, and, in public, the Council presents a united front.

Their dictates rule everything in the Black Tower: who is admitted, and when; what the uniforms look like, and when they change; what is taught on the curriculum, and in the special independent study classes; what is served for dinner in the Dining Halls. Their dictates also determine when a member of the Council retires or is promoted to Head, and who joins the Council, and when.

There is nobody living who has ever met someone who has turned down a seat on the Black Tower Council. They may be the deans of a secondary school, but their power stretches far further than that.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/507893.html. You can comment here or there.

Magic Mondays: Dragons Next Door and Jin

Apr1

kelkyag asked: How does Jin do magic?

The oldest child of Audrey and Sage, Jin is quite an interesting specimen. It’s no wonder the Tower wants to get their hands on him.

Many denizens of the Tower are the result of a dweomer-human union. As such, their magic is buried beneath the surface and must be coaxed out.

The Tower sorcerers use complex rotes and rituals, diagrams and dialogues, scripts and spells, to complete their magic; each line in each spell is designed to pull the sorcerer closer to the magic and thus manipulate it.

The Tower is only half of Jin’s legacy, however, and the magic of the Pumpkin is much more organic. Although still relatively untrained, Jin uses a combination of his mother’s witchery and his father’s sorcery in a manner that is both innovative and dangerous.

This entry was originally posted at http://aldersprig.dreamwidth.org/503793.html. You can comment here or there.

Alder's Grove Fiction

The Worlds of Lyn Thorne-Alder

Archives

February is World Building Month. Day One: Planners ‘verse

Science! Character List

Worldbuilding SFWA Style: Reiassan

Worldbuilding SFWA Style: Reiassan

Notes on Sira and Aether for Steam!Calenta/Edaly Academy

Worldbuilding: The Academy

A Week of Settings – Day Three: Stranded

Trivia Tuesday

The Black Tower and its Council – a setting piece of Dragons Next Door

Magic Mondays: Dragons Next Door and Jin