Week 1
Packing or unpacking nourishment
In general, the people of Tanderia do have their basic needs met. As with all societies, the nations of Tanderia have a range of socioeconomic levels. Those at the bottom have a harder time than those at the top in getting the basics. Geography also plays a part. Some areas, such as the desert, make getting those needs met more difficult. A thriving trade network, a temperate climate, and good agricultural practices mean an adequate supply of basic goods and some luxuries. Most shortfalls are local and transient.
Of course, crops fail, storms destroy housing, wars cause upheaval, and other catastrophes happen leading to people failing to have their needs met. When this happens, people reach out to their wider community, such as their neighboring village or the next county where relatives or friends live. Communities generally help one another, especially among the peasants. They recognize this help forms a goodwill economy that can be tapped into when they are the ones needing the help. In some places, such as the Black Desert, this type of charity is embedded into the culture's customs and rituals. When the issues are more widespread, leaders are expected to do something to assist the populace. Rulers who don't respond are liable to find themselves facing a revolt. This is not to paint a rosy picture where no one dies of malnutrition or that there are no homeless people. Just that those social ills aren't pervasive.
2. I am making a commitment to write twice as many articles as last year. Scary!
3. I don't really have any articles that aren't private bulletin point lists. So, updating them was pretty easy. I finished off my meta for Tanderia: mostly.
Week 2
Foraging for Roots
1. Currently, the past is reshaping the people of the City-States, Principalities, the Temple State and even the Fens in a massive way. Three decades ago, the people of the City-States rediscovered (or became interested in, at least) the ruins of the Highlands' culture before them: the Laoi Tawn Nayfawn. The ruins are influencing the arts including architecture, music, and theater. Some people are questioning religious beliefs and styles of government due in part to the writings they have rediscovered. A thirst for more information about the ancient culture is leading to an increase in contact with the Islands and the Khanates.
Beyond the modern revival movement, the three most significant events in history for the current cultures on Tanderia are St. Tedelis's Crusade, the rise of the Church of All Gods, and the necrotic plague. St. Tedelis led a war against the Unnamed Dragon God and his minions, the dragons. However the Crusade refers to the entire most recent reign of the god, not just to the revolt that finally banished him to the Outer Darkness. The dragons devastated the land and destroyed human and fae cultures. In fact it was so impactful, the current calendar starts with the banishing of the Dragon God.
After St. Tedelis's Crusade, Tanderia was a complete mess. One of the major forces that rebuilt society in the east was the Church of All Gods. The Church united the peoples of the East. While each ethnic group maintained its own character, the church taught ideas that were incorporated into the cultures. As it grew, it eclipsed all other faiths in the east, forcing older belief systems to go underground or merge with it. Since the Islands and Khanates didn't adopt the Church, they have become outsiders. The Island's culture has in fact developed in opposition to the Church. Both the Islands and the Khanates seem alien, exotic, and a little threatening to the people of the east. However, as stated above, this is changing.
Finally, there is the necrotic plague. It caused political and social upheaval throughout the continent. In most of the east, the majority of people believe it was caused by the fae and so their distrust of them. The Church has lost some power due to its inability to do anything about the plague. With a need for skilled workers, particularly in the east, there has been an increase in the rights of peasants, and increased contact with the Khanates. New technologies have been invented to allow the same work by fewer people. Finally, it has been used by conservatives in the Islands as proof that their isolation is good.
2. Since this is a new world, I really haven't done much to invite readers. I am adding an elevator pitch, a world cover, and other elements. I would like to create something of a world intro, but that is likely going to wait until after summer camp, as I am hoping to add a lot of content during it.
3. I started world building when I was in middle school, decades and more than 10 moves ago. The hard copies and even the floppy disks have been lost somewhere along the way. However, there is a record, though imperfect, in the hard drive of my mind.
I think the biggest issue with the world was I tried to jam every idea I liked into one world. It was a fantasy setting with people riding mammoth cats, a mile high city in a wall, and even a high-tech underground community left over from the distant past. . Looking back, the world felt more like a patchwork of random clashing pieces than a carefully coordinated whole. In order to improve my world building, I need to step back, view the entire creation, and make sure it creates a single, sturdy composition.
I think the two best things about my first world was its expansiveness and the efforts towards realism. I know I just said that it had too much stuffed into it, but that is the execution. The idea behind that exuberance, a rich world fully embroidered with different people and places, is something I want to achieve with this world. Another aspect I tried hard in my nerdy way was to add real world science into what I was creating.I continue to try to use what I know about topics like geology, meteorology, and anthropology to make this and all my worlds feel as "real" as possible.
Finally, I come to the biggest and proudest change in what I am doing: sharing. Even though a hand drawn map graced the walls of my home for years, hardly anyone knew much about it. That nerdy kid would never have participated in summer camp, and last year, she nearly convinced me not to. But I did. No one laughed. No one told me I wasn't good enough to participate. And even though I felt huge waves of impostor syndrome every time I hit the submit button, I did it. I shared my world with the community.
Week 3
Morphing into a Camper
1. In week two, I shared the major events shaping current society. In the east, these events have created societies that are deeply entwined with the Church of All Gods. It has become the central authority for all spiritual matters. It also is the main source for education and is the final authority in matters of succession among the nobility of the Principalities and the City-States. However, the Church was unable to do anything other than offer prayers and comfort in the face of the necrotic plague. Some people questioned the power of the Church and looked for answers elsewhere. This increased as people rediscovered the writings and beliefs of cultures that predated the Church.
Now the City-State and Principalities have split into two camps. One seeks to reduce the power and influence of the Church, known as the New Moon Faction, and the other, the Constant Moon faction, seeks to support the Church. Seeing an advantage, the Emperor of the Principalities, the city of Rowdos, and others are firmly in the New Moon Faction. The city of Viastetis firmly supports the Church and the current patriarch. Unfortunately, in Bludynor the noble class is divided between the two factions, leading to strife.
The Church's impact hasn't been the same throughout Tanderia. The Islands found the doctrines of the Church of All Gods abhorrent. Initially, they actively fought the growing religion. They failed to stop it from becoming the state religion in the east. At the behest of the Church, the east went to war with the Islands, driving them to be isolated on the Great Lake. This has led to a culture that is very conservative and distrusting of outsiders. However, individuals sincerely interested in their culture, manuscripts, and new trade relationships have led to a softening of that conservatism among the merchant class and younger generation. Elders and the religious leaders see only danger. Right now the conflicts are only a matter of words, but it wouldn't take much for the conflict to escalate into violence
Finally, the Khanates are something of a middle ground. They rejected the Church's doctrines, but not contact with the east. A mountain range with only a few routes into the Black Desert made it easy to keep armies out while allowing for trade and diplomacy. Both the east and the Khanates have fought over these routes throughout the last millennium, with little overall gain for either side. Within the Khanates currently, there are three Khans, all wanting more land and wealth. All the Khans have noticed a change in their eastern visitors, particularly in the diplomats. Tentatively all three are reaching out to the east about a possible alliance against their rivals while worrying their rivals are doing the same thing. While none wants a drawn out war, it wouldn't take much to convince any of these Khans that a preemptive strike would be in their best interest.
2. I'm always looking at art on Pinterest. I have mixed feelings about the site since I know many of the images have been posted by people without the original artist's permission. And don't get me started about the amount of AI art. However, I have been seeing some interesting stuff done by doll modders which fit in with my idea of big brained people as air aspected fae or sylph. I found quite a few people creating dolls that have huge heads and teeny tiny bodies.
Another inspiration has been watching Dragon Week, the TTRPG event on YouTube, since it fits well with those monsters returning to my world. The event gave me ideas about the purpose of legends and why characters and readers might care about them. Other creators said that the first hints about dragons should be in subtle like legends but also art, names, and places. And yet another suggested that if there are going to be more than one dragon (and I plan on there being more than one) each needs to be a unique character. Finally, one of the videos got me thinking of Eevelution dragons, but I'm not sure if that will actually impact my story.
3. I had already read the World Anvil Award Winners and runner-ups. So I read Cawold in Daleious. It struck me that the article was as much about conveying mood as it was about information.
Through word choice and which details were highlighted, I got a good sense of Cawold. This is definitely something I want to pay attention to as I write articles for Tanderia.
I also read The Introduction of Wanted Hero. This one showed off tone. I am not sure what the graphic novel and other books are about exactly, but I got the impression that they would be quite a hoot. While not the tone I am going for, it did underscore how important tone can be to maintain a connection to the audience.
Week 4
Tomorrow A-camping we will go
1. So my world is expecting religious war. The east is, anyway. The emperor of the Principalities has plans to seize the patriarch. Once in possession of the Church's leader, the emperor believes he can force the patriarch to agree that an emperor is above the Church in all matters of state. The New-Moon Faction believes by backing the emperor they will gain a valuable ally, possibly leading to more land and power. Having priests/ spies everywhere in the east, the Patriarch is aware of the Emperor's plans. He has been gathering troops from those principalities that are still loyal to him and the Constant Moon Faction. They believe that they can avert the wrath of the gods by returning the east back to the "True" Church. They hope for a diplomatic solution. However, they believe war is inevitable.
The leaders in the Fens see the military build up in the Temple State, and it scares them. They worry, if a diplomatic solution to the troubles in the Principalities is reached, that the Church will stop ignoring the Fens' "backward" beliefs. While the White and Rose Fens have signed a mutual defense pact, they find the future too uncertain to predict or plan for.
Next we come to the Islands. The majority of people in the Islands see life there going on much as it has for hundreds of years, a good thing according to most. With the intrusion of greater numbers of outsiders, some fear that the eastern interlopers will bring their conflicts to the Great Lake. Others hope that the merchants, scholars, and adventurers mean greater prosperity for the Islands. And the superstitious believe any change will anger the gods and bring devastation.
In the Khanates, the leadership believes the east is changing and with that comes the possibility for alliance. The ruling Khans see three possibilities for the future. First, she ends up as the sole ruler of the Black Desert. Two, she and her people are subjugated to one of the other Khans. Finally, there is the possibility that none of the rulers are able to gain help from the east. All three would like to be the sole ruler of the desert, but the cost of war, the possibility of defeat, and the current instability in the east has the Khans wondering if the third option isn't the best for their people.
The reality is the Unnamed Dragon God is coming. He is bringing with him all his children; the evil dragons. In turn, they will unite, encourage, and breed their followers the goblins and orks, the demons and devils, and all manner of evil things. Oh my! The only people right now in the world that believe in this future are three teen-aged bastard daughters and a volcanoi guard in a cannon house school.
2. Let's look at the packing list given to us to prepare for camp. I don't have a real schedule. It is one of the few perks to being disabled and unable to work. However, I do plan to make writing a priority during my best hours, a necessity with fibro. Also, it seems reliable that I will have six days to write a week. That means I need to be writing and preliminarily editing one article every day and a half. That's scary math.
My writing space is basically mobile. Because of issues with my hands, typing at my "big computer" causes them to go cold and numb. Typing on my brainless notebook doesn't. So really where I work is dependent on the weather and possibly if I have to go anywhere. Last year, part of my Summer Camp articles were written on my phone traveling to doctor's appointments. So my writing space is as set up as it gets.
I am finishing up research on this world. I have been reading and watching early modern history. The past is full of tales, some of which are too convoluted or crazy to be believed. On top of that, I am working on lists of names that fit with my cultures. I find I get very lost working on names.
3. As to connecting with the community, I am a bit shy and a major introvert. I have been a member of the discord server since last summer. However, I am more a lurker than a talker. I hope to get better there.
I am a walking, talking ad for World Anvil because I love you guys. So my friends and family have listened to me bouncing up and down, "Summer Camp is coming. Summer Camp is coming." for more than a month now. I have managed to get my brother-in-law, a writer and GM, to join World Anvil. Just today, I have reminded him that Summer Camp starts this Saturday. If he lived closer, I would certainly nuggy him until he agreed to join the fun. I have plans to share with my gaming group what I have written when we next meet.
Well, I'm all packed and waiting for camp to start
Comments