Preparation: theme exploration and brainstorming
Theme 1: Nourishment
Food:
Local cuisine (I'm not interested in doing that in the Magical Maths world, but could be interested in Alien Monsters) --> I actually got an idea for Magical maths: a confectionary shop near the royal mathematicians' building, and them going there regularly and talking about novelty sweets (sweets infused with potions)
Farming (boring topic in Magical Maths)
Society:
Religion, education, and cultural activities (soul and mind "nourishment")
Something linked to my mathematicians, like their education or exercices they have to do regularly to train their mind
Something linked to music, as music theory uses maths and this could be a good way for mathematicians to show off and relax (creating new instruments working with magic, creating crazy music scores)
Arts and drawing showing off maths (abstract drawing made using a compass and ruler)
Relaxation and leisure activities (duelling, music and art. Weaving too?)
Friendships: MC's friends and colleagues, a pet cat (=office cat, with the mathematicians fighting to be the cat's favourite)
Recruitment for organisations (how someone becomes king, how royal mathematicians are hired, how people become professional duellers)
King's enemy getting new recruits / believers in his complot theory
Ambition and competitiveness and what fuel them (in politics, in the royal court, and among royal mathematicians)
Social stigma: what increases it and what the consequences are
Medicine ("nourishing" health): what "magical healing" they can do vs traditional medicine, what are their limits and what are the consequences for disabled people.
Magic:
How people replenish their magic (with magic from the environment) or try to make it grow in the long term (e.g. a scammy supplement industry) or temporarily (by using potions, which is seen as a cheat and not for honourable people).
How a country itself replenishes its magic / how its reserve can get emptied and if they can get damaged
How are magical devices powered and how they're used.
Individuals:
How magical power is perceived in society, its importance and the consequences of being perceived as weak (like for people with disabilities like MC)
MC and her mother: what triggers or increases their chronic pain, how it affects their relationship with magic
Country:
Imports / exports and how the economy works
What energy source the country uses (magic from the environment powering huge devices that would be use in defence, water control and maybe farming?)
Theme 2: Roots
Politics:
Recent history of the country, with the conflicts with the neighbours
Origin and meaning of the political system where the kings are the ones who can defeat the previous king in a duel
Roots of evil: What people are thinking are the causes of the political problems in their country (corruption? sabotage from neighbours? poverty and social inequality?)
The history of a past terrible king, to illustrate what the enemy are afraid of with the current king?
Society:
Career path as a royal mathematician
Origin of the social stigma around disabilities (=a sign of weak magic)
Magic:
Foundation principles of the magic system
Characters:
Origin of the conflict between the king and his main enemy / political rival
Ascension to the throne of the current king
Condition: Origin of MC's chronic pain
MC: her past, goals, and character
Origin of the relationships between the king and his minion/secretary
Theme 3: Metamorphosis & Theme 4: Tomorrow
How the world has changed recently
Recent technological development: module artefacts that can clipse together to forma complete artefact. This has allowed a greater flexibility and tailoring of devices (to their user's magic and to the specific application). This has allowed the kingdom to dominate their neighbours and has brought a lot of changes to society by allowing weaker/poorer people to access higher quality artefacts.
How the world is currently changing / what changes people want to make in the future
Neighbours' goal: The neighbour country has just invented a new branch of potions, and they want to change the political balance in the region. War is imminent... One of their diplomat is at court and is trying to spy for them.
King's goal: The King has plans for his royal mathematicians to develop a new branch of magic centred around rituals, which are currently outlawed and tabooed. As a mathematician, MC is getting involved in that.
Plot: The King's enemy, a royal council member, is trying to turn everyone against the king. He regularly sends challenger to officially duel the king for the throne, and is trying use the duels to learn more about the king's weaknesses.
Goal of MC's parents: They are studying the disabling disease affecting MC and her mother and to invent a way to cure it.
MC's goal: MC wants to hide her disability (as it brings social stigma because "disease = weak magic = social paria"), but is going to learn that she needs to change society instead to force it to accept her as she is and to transform and adapt it to allow disabled people to live normally.
To-do list for Magical Maths
Buildings
Palace
Royal Mathematicians' headquarters
Confectionary near the royal mathematicians' building, with novelty sweets
Duelling arena / amphitheatre
Manufacturing sites to make pigments or the devices invented by the mathematicians
Titanic architecture
Characters
MC (cold hearted & highly logical, creative thinker, goal is to invent new types of devices for fun)
Colleagues royal mathematicians
MC's best friend
two genius mathematicians who're going to duel for the honour of doing the king's next project.
one mathematician who's going to get some kind of scandal so that MC can take over the project he was doing for the king.
Office pet cat and how everyone interact with it / compete for its affection / try to avoid it
King (considered a genius and is a polymath, skilled negotiator and manipulator)
King's enemy (goal = weaken the king so that he can be killed / replaced). Character: very theatrical in a way that's fun to watch.
Confectionary shop owner (social butterfly who knows how to sweet talk everyone, with seemingly endless energy, always cheerful)
"Minion" = someone who follows the king everywhere to fulfil is every wishes and that others nickname minion (skilled problem solvers, but also chaotic and choose to create them instead when people annoys him. Admire king and is very loyal)
A diplomat / several diplomats from the neighbour countries. Invited to events to impress them, but secrets need to be kept from them, especially about technologies (a small man, extremely voluble, polite and likeable, a gossipers, goal is to get people to spill their secrets to him)
Council members
The doctor of MC's family (An old man, very gruff and judgmental. Look down on them for the disability and refuses to take it too seriously, but one of the only one who's still attempting to cure it. Has accepted to teach some medicine to MC's father, as he has no disabilities).
A famous dueller (or more), especially close to the king and council (linked to a recent scandal, he has to fight to restore his reputation and also wants to get revenge on the persons responsible - something linked to taking potions to cheat? Is feigning remorse). Character: very fashionable and narcissistic, easy going, daring and always ready to show off and duel or do something "stupid"
Conditions
MC and her mother's disability
Conflict
Conflict between king and his enemy
Duelling tradition to solve conflicts
Duelling current king to attempt to seize power
Ascension to the throne of the current king
Documents
Ethnicities
Geography
Region of the capital (climate + flat / hills + type of soil + river)
Neighbourhoods of the capital city?
Titanic architecture
Items
Some devices created by the royal mathematicians (for the king or given as a gift to his favourites)
Language
Maths, the language of magic
Materials
Stones for buildings with intrinsic wards
Pigments with metals of different conductivity for stained glass windows, paints, chalks, ink, and dye (but risk for skin, so worn above under layers)
--> All materials humming and vibrating subtly while conducting magic + risk exploding when shattered. Mix of stones and metals for conductivity and isolation is reproduced in both devices and architecture.
Military formations
How the army is organised and how soldiers make use of different devices to direct their magic depending on their unit
Sport team for the duelling competitions
Myths
The history of a past terrible king, to illustrate what the enemy are afraid of with the current king?
Natural law
Magic system centred around devices (foundations principles)
Environmental magic (used in potions but looked down upon, dangerous and forbidden in rituals)
Organizations
Royal mathematicians
Country's political system
Manufacturing sites to make pigments or the devices invented by the mathematicians
Council advising the king in politics, made of the most powerful mages in the kingdom / those who have done impressive magical feats, the enemy is among them
The one neighbour country that invented the new branch of potions.
Profession
Royal mathematicians
King
Manufacture workers
Professional duellers (sport people)
Professional duellers who transform their body in a magical device with tattoo (very dangerous)
Settlement
Capital city
Neighbourhood of the capital city
Species
?
Technologies
The use of maths to create magical devices
The use of special stones and metals to create walls with intrinsic warding properties
Some devices are used as modifiers of other devices
Switch mechanism: To activate a device, melt or evaporate one of its component so that its new phase allows it to conduct magic (some materials like lead are dangerous like that so use time is limited)
Titanic architecture
Tattoos made with metallic pigment to transform the body in a device, but it's very dangerous and mostly limited to one league of the duelling competition
Titles
Royal mathematicians
King
Tradition
View on magic and its link to health and social consequences (good health=magical power, so disability=weak and social paria)
Relationships of the king with his royal mathematicians (ancient member, very close, meddle with them and have them make artefacts for him and his favourites)
Gift giving by the king
Clothes style (robes + wearing as many devices as possible, especially pinned to clothes and in long braids)
Art that show off maths skills
Abstract art in stained glass windows or paintings, with colours made with metallic pigment with different conductivity
Music
Weaving
Vehicles
?
That's a fantastic amount of ideas..so many opportunities. I wish you the best of luck and loads of fun writing those during summer camp. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
Thanks <3 Good luck to you too!