Summer Camp Prep 2025

Did you say summer camp? Yes, it's that time of year!   As usual, I'll be working on all three of my worlds (The Wellspring Dragons, Evenacht and Lapis of Nicodem), unless I decide to create a new one (which is a possibility this year!)   first two fish photos by TravelSync27, Envato Elements
third fish photo by Kolevski.V, Adobe Stock Images
fourth fish photo by wirestock, Envato Elements   color adjustments Shade Melodique  

Assignment 1: Nourishment

  I see readers complain that the characters in books never eat, but mine do! In The Wellspring Dragons, Shiobe describes meals and has a particular fondness for Rakan noodle dishes. She's also a ravenous reader, and nourishes her mind along with her body.   Sikode isn't a slouch either. He'll stick his nose in a mystery arts book and lose himself in the pages.     In Lapis of Nicodem, food is something Lapis thinks of constantly, as she saves up to feed the street rats when they would otherwise do without (like during the End Year months). She's spent time with little to no food, and hates to see the kids do without.   Food also played a large part in the Dentherion Empire's conquering of other countries. They destroyed farming technology, and farmers, without the means to harvest as they once did, had to let food rot in the fields. People starved, and the hungry people fought among each other for edibles, so did not form resistances and fight back.     In Evenacht, well, if ghosts are really really good at Physical Touch, they can trick their essences into thinking they're eating (they just can't digest like a living body can). This is important because a large percentage of ghosts (especially those of magical ability) think the ultimate of ghostly existence is to look and behave as if one is still alive. Eating is a big part of that.   Of course, there are ghosts who see this as blasphemous; Death took them, and they should act like it. Conflicts arise from these two sides butting heads.  

Assignment 2: The Pledge

   

Assignment 3: Revisit My Worlds...

  Outdated articles?   HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA   Yeah, there are plenty. I've slowly been updating them, and I'll continue through Summer Camp and beyond. When will they be finished? idk   When I started at World Anvil in 2019, I didn't know much CSS, I didn't know any BBCode. Creating my worlds was a learning experience. I've improved, and I need to bring that to my older articles. I'm always revamping, I guess.  

Assignment 1: Roots

  In my Wellspring Dragons series, greenroot is the nature-oriented magick. Greenroot was not the prominent mystery art on Seari until the Ga Iniria fled a volcanic eruption on Yena, and brought their reverence of its practitioners with them. It gained its current status starting 3000 years ago, when healing drifted from being a blood and water magick to a greenroot-oriented one. Now it is considered one of the most important wielding classes--for humans.     In Lapis of Nicodem, roots have been uprooted, re-set, and uprooted again. The Taangis Empire, when they first invaded Theyndora, divided its peoples and forced them to relocate, destroying close-knit tribes and cultures.   Some of these people went into hiding, to retain their culture and identity. They maintained their roots, but even then, their perceptions of where they came from and their future changed to fit modern times.   And what happens when the Dentherion Empire , which relied upon the Taangis destruction to pave the way for their rule, also falls? Will people return to their roots, or forge something new?     In Evenacht, our current storyline features corrupted roots that are tearing the land and peoples of Greenglimmer apart--whether they recognize it or not. Wielded by a malicious entity, they seek death and destruction in his name.   The Greenglimmer book also covers how Qira became a syimlin, and how his cultural and religious roots formed the deity he is today. As I've already written on that, maybe I need to focus on the malicious entity, and how Qira affected his bad choices.  

Assignment 2: Homepages and Primers

  I've been working on revamps of all my worlds, because they need it. Some go smoothly, some not (I'm still not completely happy with Lapis's look). In the past year, I've created primers, too.   Wellspring Dragons Homepage
Wellspring Dragons homepage has a quick primer as you scroll down.   Lapis of Nicodem Homepage
LoN's primer is on the LoN World page   Evenacht Homepage
Evenacht's Primer (with pictures!) It's a bit long, but covers all the important parts of history that affect current events  

Assignment 3: Improvement

  My earliest worldbuilding projects started when I was 11yo. I had drawn things before then, but Elfquest by Wendy and Richard Pini cemented my desire to be an artist/author for the rest of my life.   I wrote and wrote and drew and drew, but nothing was put on the web until I decided to publish my first two books (The Wellspring Dragons, Books 1 and 2). I was searching for a place to plop my extraneous worldbuilding content, and happened upon World Anvil. I made a freeman account to try things out, then switched my name to my pseudonym (Kwyn Marie!) and became a Grandmaster. And I have happily created here ever since.      

Assignment 1: Transformations and Adaptations

  I have quite a bit to say on this topic!   In Wellspring Dragons, I have a character called the Butterfly Sylfaone. His past is a mystery, even to him. Butterflies accompany him, and they play a big role in the 4th book, coming out this autumn.   There is more to change than that, however. Dragons have sequestered themselves long enough, that humans in lower Seari have forgotten they existed. These mythical creatures are suddenly real and willing to carry out dragon justice, something people have not had to deal with in a millennium. Adapting to fierce beasts not willing to put up with human silliness will create unexpected changes in how communities and countries interact with one another.     Lapis of Nicodem is in the middle of the fall of an empire. Change is inherent in that, and what happens now will affect the rest of the book series (obviously, I suppose). It might be a bit hard to write on, as I don't want to include spoilers.     In Evenacht, you expect transformations to be a huge part of a story centered on ghosts. Physical death starts their change, the Judgment of Death carries it, and the arrival at the Evengates finishes it.   Transformation is part of how mortals become syimlin. All deities on Talis were once mortals, and through a transformation process, become divine.   And the living, because of a long-ago pact, must adapt to ghostly presence. Do they adapt willingly? Hehe no.  

Assignment 2: New Genre or Style

  I've been reading The Locust King . It's dark and horrific, a bit out of my normal comfort zone (I'm not a horror reader), but Morgan's writing has a rawness to it that I appreciate.   If you've followed my community posts, you know I've been working on drawing khentauree. I've been frustrated by it because not only are they centaurs, they are mechanical. Trying to draw robots that don't look dull has been harder than putting their torsos on a horse body. So I sat down, opened a new document, and decided to draw something minimal, something not like my usual artwork. It's inspired somewhat by Klimt's work. I'm thinking about creating an entire series, without any reason other than I want to.    

Assignment 3: Community Reading

  So I've been reading Kummer Wolfe's Death Whispers of the Etherwave. I like the setting a lot; it reminds me of my time in Louisiana.  

Assignment 1: The Future

  The future is looking adventuresome!   I'm publishing Abyss of Dreams: The Wellspring Dragons Book 4 this autumn. To coincide with that, I need to revamp my Wellspring world look, cause the Abyss takes place in snowy Rakan, not in a dark volcano. Future articles will be Abyss-related.   I'm also planning to revamp the book site along the lines of Evenacht, where articles that are part of a specific book are categorized together. So much work to do on it...     The current story arc (and book!) in the Lapis of Nicodem serial is coming to an end, along with the Dentherion Empire. I'm not going to spoil what happens, but the future is going to be much on the minds of rebels and syndicate bosses and once-citizens of the empire. Looking to the future, Re-cast will be continue the story, as part of the Chaser Chronicles arc.     The future is anxiety-inducing for Vantra in the Evenacht. Not only has a deity been horribly injured, she has discovered that many someones want her to fail in Redeeming Laken. She wonders what barriers they might encounter in the future, and sometimes it seems like she won't succeed  

Assignment 2: Get Ready!!!

  I always say I'll be more active on the Discord server and somehow that never happens. I do need to get out of my shell, though. Working at the library and dealing with a lot of public service BS really made me pull back from interactions with others.  

Assignment 3: Goals and Strategy

  Well, when it comes to Summer Camp, my honey is usually in Asia for work. I spend the days and nights sitting down and writing because I'm by myself. Yeah, for an assignment stressing community, it's kinda funny that I spend the entire SC alone.   During this time, my writing revolves around serial publication and when my honey wakes up in that far-off land and wants to say hi. I do most of my work in the afternoon/evenings, with breaks for food.   I've tried "work on this at this time" schedule, but I often get caught up in what I'm doing, and the timetable ends up unused.   So I guess my strategy is: write when I feel like it.