WorldEmber 2024 Prep

As its creator, it is my supreme duty to bring to life the many realms that form Aclara. This is an oath I have sworn to myself, for only through my hand can these ideas take form and spread. I take my pledge now: with ten thousand words, may Aclara bloom this winter under my fingers.

— Erixxl

Wow, my first WorldEmber ever! An amazing opportunity to expand this litte world I call Aclara and to share my love for writing with all of you! ^^

Simply being here and taking steps towards my dreams is a goal, a goal that I feel proud to have achieved. But, of course, this is only the beginning, both for me and for Aclara. As I write on (digital) paper all the ideas swimming through my head, more and more directions open, more and more thoughts form, more and more possibilities reveal themselves. I could almost drown under this pressure. And I wouldn't have it any other way. L'appétit vient en mangeant, as they say.

That being said, do I have any clear plans for the forseeable future? Maybe some personal goals, or anything similar? For the time being, I will focus on defining the Meridian realm, as well as doing "world-wide" worldbuilding. The latter will be the principal focus of WE2024, especially the cosmology of Aclara and its magic system; after I'm satisfied with the general stuff, I'll focus on the former - the nations of Meridian, its sapient species (elves, humans etc.) and other stuff like that. I will also aim to finish at least one novel (check out Where None Dare Venture: Chapter 1!) until the next WE, but that's a little further down the line.

The word count I pledged is 10,000 - of course, if I exceed the limit, I will keep writing. Don't worry about that ;)

Areas of Focus

Cosmology

Aclara was created by the struggle of three uncomprehensible beings that can only be understood through their names: Full, Void, and Soul. From their clash, seven aspects took form - children of Full, facets of existence - each carving their own realm into the flesh of their parent. These aspects watch over billions and billions of lives, sparks of Soul that have taken form, each headed to their death as Aclara itself heads to its end - Void, pure nothingness.

Magic system

Every person is born with the power to bend the magic of Aclara to their will. To do so, one only needs to know how to speak the so-called "language of magic": the magic spell array. Runes ordered in complex shapes form the basis for spellcasting; they guide the flow of magic particles, inscribing attributes and forcing their movement until the desired effect is achieved. While everyone is born with capabilites to cast spells (through changing the flow of mana) and with their spell inscribed inside themselves, the most powerful individuals are those that learn and master the system. Even a child that can only blow smoke can grow into a mage that can level cities with their flaming breath.

Meridian

The Meridian plane is the realm created by the Aspect of Knowledge; the more one knows, the greater their power becomes. Information can be more powerful than one's life; most forbidden spells are results of years of study, kept secret from the world. Meridian is a spherical realm made out of a very large stretch of land simply known as the Continent; it is surrounded by a large ocean; it circles a large, yellow star; two moons orbit around it.

Other Preparation Stuff

I'll use this section to list the other stuff done as part of the WorldEmber prep! Although it's not too much (I have much to learn until I become a World Anvil editor wiz), I will still list the stuff done here.

World Meta

I've recently updated (or rather wrote) some of the World Meta, so I won't be focusing that much on its development. I will give it some attention after I reach the goal, but don't expect many changes.

World Primer

The primer suffers from the same problems as the homepage. I want to write about anything and everything - which says basically nothing about my world. During WorldEmber, I'll build the world primer from the ground-up as I keep doing articles. That way, I won't make mistakes or promises that won't be fulfilled. I hope it's a good enough trade-off... ^^;

Homepage

My homepage... Honestly, my homepage is a mess. I am not proud to admit it, but I'd rather be honest when it comes to stuff like this. I have written some stuff already - the thing is, these past months I've been writing whatever crossed my mind, without much rhyme or reason. The best I can do at the moment is to wait for the articles to be done (I'm saying it as if I'm not the guy who'll have to write haha), then link those articles for people to know where to start. Until then, I will have to rely on the "Recent Articles" tab.

Community Tools & Other CSS Stuff

This part is already a little too much for silly ol' me... I did manage to add some global follow buttons though! That counts, right? Personally I'd argue it does, so yeah.
Seriously though, stuff like CSS and formatting are pretty much foreign languages to me. Don't worry, I'll take my time to learn and do a proper job - I'd rather do it without being pressured by time though.

Inspiration

Well, since I'm barely even beginning to write about Aclara, I can say with a lot of confidence that I won't run out of inspiration anytime soon! I'm not really a person that uses music or moodboards to get inspired (or "in the mood"), but I will say that I enjoy listening to my favorite artists when I write (unless I'm really focused; in that case I pause the music to not get distracted). I can say for certain that I'll be listening to Kendrick Lamar (new album out!!) and multiple-hours-long essay videos about video games on YouTube. ^^

Schedule

Consistency is key - that's why I plan on spending a couple of hours every week to write my stuff. I aim to write on Mondays and Tuesdays and during weekends... Although I usually end up writing for hours on end in the middle of the night like a demented man...

Community

I will aim to be more active online on WA's Discord server - you can find me in the challenge channel :) Becoming a part of this community was the best idea ^^ I love how people from all across the globe can share their passions for creating stuff! I have also recently(-ish) joined a chapter - Seven Tomes! Interacting with a smaller section of the community is helping me overcome my "online shyness" (for lack of a better term). Much love to you all - and to everyone I've had the pleasure of interacting with <3