Theme: Nourishment in a Broken Divine World

Not physical, not emotional, and most definitely not divine, nourishment is sacred in this world because it is not guaranteed.

Physical Nourishment

• Ordinary people in TCOSA regions are fed prescribed diets that are determined by efficiency rather than flavor. The majority of people have enough to get by, yet comfort food is uncommon.
• To control their flare thresholds and emotional triggers, divine soldiers are fed a precisely balanced diet. Some people add sedatives or herbs that reduce flare-ups to their meals.
• Zhaïraë’alya goes without food. She doesn't experience hunger like other people do. Eldora frequently prepares meals, particularly for herself, providing warmth rather than calories.
• In the famine-stricken military world, Eldora's kitchen has turned into a feeding shelter. She feeds memories as well as bodies.

Emotional Nourishment

• Emotional demands are disregarded because they are viewed as hazardous or ineffective. Particularly among the godly, love, affection, and tenderness are rarely expressed out loud.
• Zhaïraë’alya’s first actual source of sustenance was sacred naps. Not to sleep. Get some rest. She demonstrated to others that even divine entities are worthy of silence.
• There was no food provided for Mal'Rayvyn while she was in Mindfall Labs. She now seems to be famished fo rserenity and clings to ever second of it.

"I do not need to be touched. I need to know I won’t be shattered if I am." -- Zhaïraë’alya, flare entry #287

Divine Nourishment

• It is necessary to "feed" the GodVein with leisure, relaxation, and clarity. it turns on its bearer without it.
• Evils are produced when the GodVein is denied nutrition. Ideas flow. Worlds break.

What Takes Place in the Absence of Nourishment?

• Children with heavenly potential can become unstable at a young age.
• Denial, according to Elders, fortifies the soul. In actuality, however, malnutrition breeds monsters.
• When the gods are hungry--for truth, for touch, or for peace--the choirs whisper more loudly.

Conclusion: Rebellion via Nourishment

Rebellion is nourishment in TCOSA. Soup in a bowl is revolutionary. A nap is rebellion. An act of kindness is a cosmic crack. Additionally, those who survive--

Zhaïraë’alya, Eldora, Mal'Rayvyn, and Szanyi--do so because they are finally learning how to feed themselves, not because they are nourished with power.

"For a taste of mercy, some gods will burn the world."

The Starving Realm: Xavareth's Hold

The empire's starving mouth, Xaraveth's Hold, is an enduring wound tucked away in the lowest quarter of TCOSA's domain. Its people live on the brink of what the divine dare term "tolerable existence," and its streets are cracked, and its skies are frequently gloomy. It is not overlooked. It is abandoned--intentionally.

The area beneath Xaraveth was originally intended to be a refinery district for processing flare crystals, but it became too unstable to support divine circuitry. TCOSA left the needy behind and moved the wealthy instead of evacuating. It deteriorated into an area of garbage, spillage, and gradual collapse. Its streets are not frequented by the divine. It won't be patrolled by most soldiers. But the people's voices become more audible in its soot-filled passageways. They don't have any loyalty to TCOSA. They are devoted to something more ancient. Something encased in divine agony and dark fire.

The area is populated by the Divine Veil insurgents, who are silent supporters of TVD. In Xaraveth, the rebellion is taught rather than discussed. Like bedtime prayers, mothers recount the names of exiled gods to their children. In an attempt to capture Zhaïraë’alya’s attention, even for a brief instant, fathers inscribed flare sigils on the undersides of entrances. She hears, according to some. Some claim that she has already arrived, concealed among them and covered in soot, just once.

There is widespread malnutrition. Fungal scraps and cooked roots are used to make bread. Water that is clean is a fallacy. Many people in Xaraveth consider it a blessing that children frequently pass away before their GodVeins awaken. They would be internally burned by the GodVein here.

Eldora has concealed food supplies by passing them via partially damaged flareways and wrapping them in fake documents. In council rooms, Zhaïraë’alya has attempted to discuss it but has been silenced. The Elders worry that it would be disastrous if she were there. Not because she would cause harm to others. However, they would adore her.

Even though Xaraveth is starving, she is not a hollow person. It's living. A developing movement of mercy and rememberance emerges beneath the surface. People congregate to sing in half-collapsed chambers and shattered churches. They identify as the Ash Choir. They no longer worship in the traditional manners. They sing to her as the only deity who has ever suffered as much as they have, not as a goddess of war or a weapon born of flares.

“We are not poor. We are purified. One day, she will come for us.” -- Whisper from the Ash Choir

Week 2:

Assignment 1: Primary Areas / Cultures to Focus On

Cultural Primer: Power, Memory, and Ruin. A Primer on the Major Forces of the Known Divine World

TCOSA Culture -- "Strength through Control. Loyalty through Fear. Hope through Fracture."

TCOSA was found out of fear, not vision, of Zhaïraë'alya, flares, and cyclical evils that were impervious to prayer or a sword. Its establishment was a desperate move that became codified into doctrine and solidified into faith. It developed into something bigger--and darker--over time

TCOSA has evolved into a militarized theocracy in which authority is seen as evidence of morality and obedience as divine. Its generals behave like saints in real life. The culture of the elite is characterized by rigorous GodVein regulation, controlled emotional feeding, and sacred slumber. Once intended for repression, rituals have changed into celebrations of tenacity and survival.

Cultural Traits:

• Preference for power, wisdom, and heritage over conventional divinity.
• Suppression of irrational feelings of the divine.
• Acts of resistance, including the sacred reclamation of nutrition (Art, food, and sleep).
• Strong respect for Zhaïraë'alya, despite institutional dread.

ØZiZethrynity: The Hidden Realm of Infinite Ruin

ØZiZethrynity was never intended to be made known. It was a plane of existence where the marbles of unclaimed sins proliferate forever in the forgotten borders of Zhaïraë'alya's own creations. Its existence was revealed, shattering the delusion of confinement that TCOSA had previously maintained.

ØZiZethrynity is now understood to be an infinite recursive plane that is both explored and feared. Rumor has it that the realm has its own will, one that is subservient to Zhaïraë'alya's innermost desires rather than to the gods. Students who go in don't come out the same. Some never come back.

Cultural Traits:

• Open study within TCOSA is deemed heretical.
• Rogue scholars and pilgrims search for "marbles" that contain information that is prohibited.
• Songs by ØZiZethrynity are invoked in secret rites performed by the Ash Choir in Xavareth.
• One of the few memory keepers permitted to document its alterations is Szanyi.

Aevum'Ziryathe Culture: The Before-Descent World

All worlds used to freely blend together in Aevum'Ziryathe, often known as the Before-Descent universe. There, Zhaïraë’alya and Xerovant raised twins and commanded armies of light and shadow during their complete lifetimes. The fragmentation of divine truth coincided with the Fall.

Dreams, customs, and artifacts that have been smuggled into the post-descent worlds are the only remnants of Aevum civilizations that remain. Its loss weighs heavily on those who recall its grace. Aevum is remembrance for the inner circle, not myth. It influences their fighting, love, and grieving.

Cultural Traits:

• High regard for the union of opposites (love and war, light and shadow)
• Rituals of kinship and bonding that predate TCOSA's beliefs.
• Because memory is sacred energy, Szanyi serves as an archivist.
• Silent opposition to Elder-controlled divine history tales.

TVD Culture: The Fragmented Resistance

TVD started out as a philosophical counterforce, held by intellectuals and lesser divines who felt that the foundation of TCOSA revealed the actual essence of divine life. Their principles eventually turned into revolt, and the forgotten, the flared, and the abandoned joined their ranks.

TVD is powerful, particularly in areas where TCOSA's influence is limited, such as Xavareth's Hold. Their vision flourishes there: one of the unrestricted gods, unrestricted divine power, and the resurrection of old truths (Truths they want told). However, their movement lacks a single leader and is dispersed.

Cultural Traits:

• Respect for the divine's freedom (Only their divines)
• Acceptance of rejected horrors and unchecked flames to a certain level.
• Significant mistrust of TCOSA elders and elites.
• utilizing traditional songs, such as those of ØZiZethrynity, such as Instruments of Resistance. However, they do put their own twist on it to assert TVD dominance.

Conclusion:

This is where every reader who enters this realm starts: A memory conflict. A struggle for sustenance. A struggle for the freedom to live without restraint.

The control is under TCOSA's jurisdiction. The invisible future is devoured by ØZiZethrynity. The past is haunted by Aevum. To recover what was lost, TVD burns it all.

In this world, the most potent weapon is remembering, and the most powerful weapon of them all: Rebellion is Nourishment.

Assignment 2:

Honestly, I published fresh articles a little slowly. I didn't publish as often as I wanted to because of school, worrying about failing math (I passed!!!), and juggling everything else. I am aware that this has left people a bit perplexed as to how specific concepts relate to my universes. I have a ton of Google Docs with names, concepts, and mythology, but I sometimes forget to publish them here so that readers may also experience how the cultures and battles related to one another.

I'm making an effort to get better by posting more frequently, coming up with ideas more quickly, and avoiding four-hour naps (though I can't promise that last one). Thank you God, I'm on summeer break now, which means I have more time to update and create a universe that new readers can understand. Instead of feeling lost or disengaged, I want my readers to be able to enter my world and instantly understand the depth and unity of it all.

Having said that, I will not be writing for two weeks from the end of June to the beginning of July as I will be on vacation. After that, though, I'm eager to make more of my worlds come to life here and to improve the clarity, fluidity, and immersion of this reading experience for all readers and new readers to come.

Assignment 3:

I grin a little as I think back on my first worldbuilding endeavors. Not because they were flawless, on the contrary. However, they were the first time I experienced the excitement of creating something large, intricate, and dynamic. Additionally, as I've progressed, I've learnt what to do and what not to do, often the hard way.

I made too many significant changes too late in the process, which is, if I had to pick one major error from those early days, this would be it. Names of characters, fundamental histories, how some evils operated. Even the nature of the connections that were already ingrained in my universe. At the time, I wasn't always aware of how many repercussions such adjustments would cause. The effects of changing a central power system or rewriting a major character's name or ancestry extended beyond the new content and caused a ripple that made me take a step back. Constant rebuilding can subtly destroy the heart of your own work, as I discovered the hard way. It is also felt by readers, who become aware of changes in the world they are looking at that are not mentioned in the main story.

Having said that, I'm proud of how bold my early imagination was. I continue to apply some of my ideas and feelings to this day:

• Deep recursive layering: The VXZ-ZXZ-117eterniviuminity notions I now fully developmed were inspired by my early obession with horrors that live beyond reality.
• Rituals of tenderness in hard worlds: I liked writing about how warriors and gods found small acts of peace and energy even in my first notes. This instinct now forms important points of my world, such as Sacred Naps, Eldora's kitchen, and the Ash Choir.
• Honoring memory: Characters who recall and struggle to uphold historical realities have always kept me in a weird choke-hold. Because I followed that early thread, Szanyi is here.

I now approach worldbuilding as though I were creating a living, breathing thing. I handle the bones carefully. I don't rip out the spine anymore unless I'm ready to rebuild everything it relates to, but I do let the skin and expression change (wow I sound smart). I've come to believe that at times an early concept was compelling and useful for a purpose. I enrich what was already there rather than always overwriting. Above all, I've discovered how to take a moment to appreciate the work that has left an important mark on my world and has stayed to tell the tale.

"This is your creation. It's still being built by you. And it's okay to feel proud."

Week Three

Assignment 1: What's changing in my world?

Everything.

But if I had to pick only one fundamental transformation, it would be this:

Zhaïraë’alya has given up on trying to control her creations.

For a long time, TCOSA attempted to repress the Choirs, deny recursive systems, and chain her flare-born evils. But now that she won't apologize for who she is, the world must change. The world isn't prepared, either.

By establishing underground meals, Ash Choirs, banned memory orbs, and sacred sleeps, the people have begun to adapt. Once more, nourishment is sacred. Sleep is divine. Rebellion even feels sacred.

But some people are opposed to this development:

• The Elders seek to silence those in between, rewrite the future, and erase the past.
• A new form of freedom, one that nonetheless excludes the truth, is what TVD seeks.
• And the inhabitants of the poorest realm, Xavareth's Hold, are already halfway through the transformation process, but if either side prevails, they will burn.

This universe isn't merely changing for its own sake. The old methods are crumbling under their own weight, which is why things are changing.

Assignment 2: New inspiration I tried this week

I listened to experimental glitchcore and some eerie, surreal ambient music instead of my typical mix of rap and haunting vocals. It was a lot. But interesting as well.

The textures reminded me a lot about how my world is beneath the surface. Ragged, recursive, unpredictable, and held together by faith and force.

I would also like to thank the amazing Worldbuilders I looked at under the Discovery tab. I became more interested in my own lore after witnessing how other creators dealt with their own systems and cultural changes. Reading someone else's definition of change and then understanding, "Wait, my world is changing too."

I'm not writing more from that place, describing not only what is but also how things are evolving.

Assignment 3: What Inspired Me

This week I had seen an interesting article titled Greenwake in the world of Erenel. I was very intrigued, not in a bad way but in that "wow, this is rooted and powerful" sense. They awaken rather than be born. They walk with purpose, not to construct kingdoms. Like the land itself settled, "no more," and created a guardian out of suffering and soil, each Greenwake is a living response to imbalance.

I was struck by the notion that nature intentionally changes rather than simply breaks. Particularly as it reflects a lot of what is going on in my own world. There are gods in my universe. Systems break down. Humans suffer. However, something always emerges from it, whether it be something dreadful, divine, or both. I was particularly reminded of Zhaïraë’alya’s atrocities when I read about the Snapthron.

So, yes, I gave it a like and a respectful head tilt. This is a very well put together article and it motivated me to dive more into how imbalance affects my life, and my world. What emerges from it, and what retaliates. I've been seeing this article in my community tab but never really read it until now. This assignment gave me a good opporunity to sit back and read it.

Week Four

Assignment 1: What Events will shape the future?

Right now, the line between recursive chaos and divine order is in a blur. Once concealed in the Nightmare-Tier, Zhaïraë’alya’s evils are now emerging in waves. Some people think she is losing her composure. Others think that this is how a system that isn't supposed to stay motionless naturally evolves. However, factions are already responding.

By presenting their growth as defense rather than invasion, TVD is orchestrating hidden purges throughout the lesser realms. It's about "Safeguarding survival," according to Maeve.

TCOSA is attempting to keep up, divided between external defense and internal healing, but some of its younger leaders are starting to doubt the gods. In particular, her.

Zhaïraë’alya, meanwhile, is silent. Not entirely. Even her closest allies don't fully comprehend what she is planning.

The future will be shaped more by that silence than by any declaration.

Assignment 2: Writing Schedule, Setup, and Sanity.

For the most part, I write whenever I can breathe between life. I'm properly organizing now that I'm on break, thanks to the gods and energy drinks.

I have a specific time slot for writing in the late afternoons and evenings, with additional late-night sessions when inspiration (and sleeplessness) strikes.

I can finally hear my own thoughts again because my writing area is quiet and clutter-free (mostly).

To avoid sifting through tabs when I should be writing about spiraling voids, I've reorganized my folders, reset old stubs, and bookmarked important resources.

In addition, I'm making myself stop editing the same sentence thirteen times. This summer camp season, we're posting--not just wishing.

Assignment 3: Who/What Will Help You Achieve It?

Zhaïraë’alya. I will always be inspired to write because of the way her story both strengthens and breaks me in the best ways.

My community (yes, you). You keep me motivated and sane.

The drama. The broken god-tier relationships, metaphysical betrayals, and divine-level family drama are the main themes in my stories.

My method of sharing? Post more. Even if I think it's not "perfect." Briefly put. Post large. Post sloppy lore and then polish it.

My goal for this Summer Camp is to focus on worldbuilding that causes viewers to pause, gasp, and ask themselves, "Wait--what the hell just happened?"

and then wish to read more.

On a less serious note, I'm excited for this year's Summer Camp Challenge! I'm a newcomer to WorldAnvil so this will be my first Summer Camp, and I'm planning on having fun with it and writing a lot of articles. I love new challenges, and I try to participate in most of them. I have a few worlds that I have created, and I have plans to use them for this challenge. If anyone is interested in more of Xaraveth's Hold, I'm willing to write more about that too. TCOSA is a group and collection of MANY worlds. So there is more to come. And I would love to share my Pledge but my computer is slow so I will just make that the cover of the article (darn computer).