Reading Challenge!

Hello everyone!
This is the collection of articles for the World Anvil Reading Challenge! They are in no particular order and are all awesome. Check 'em out!

Magic in Everyday Life

By AmélieIS
World: Empire of the Covenant

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I'm always a sucker for exploring how the introduction of something supernatural changes the world... And not necessarily for adventurers, kings, and priesthoods, but for the little guy, the common folk.
That's what I like about Magic in Everyday Life, and how it looks at everything from cooking to infrastructure to how those without the ability to utilize all these wonders live and are treated. The fiction bits that come along with it really paint a (pretty amusing) picture of how these might be utilized.

World Building Inspiration

• How magic might change day-to-day lives
• The social impact and stratification of being able to utilize them
• How people would inevitable use them for entertainment
• The second-hand market for magic!

Rumours of the 15th

By Stormbril
World: Cathedris

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The Rumours gives us a deep dive into what's going on in Cathedris's shadows and all the different stories that I can't wait to see develop further. There's a lot of fun ideas here for both fiction and more world-building, from the true origin of gods to the creation of an new deity.
...And, of course, I can't say no to weird, body-horror-esque experiments by mad scientists. Cathedris is always a good time and this is no different. Great stuff as always from Stormbril.

World Building Inspiration

• Having a story-hook sort of document is a great idea!
• Setting up more characters and on-going shenanigans in a setting!
• Tying the high concept of a world into nitty-gritty story beats

The Book of the Habits and Beasts

By Naelin
World: Symbols of Power

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I really like the idea of having a bestiary/book also be a in-universe thing! Naelin's the Book is a really cool exploration of the topic.
The formatting makes it easy to read and follow, and I realize I kind of love octopus/squid-humanoid people. Especially if they are sages and scholars!

World Building Inspiration

• Documents/books that serve both in and out of universe functions
• Other meta-objects and articles that tie things together
• Paying more attention to the different additions/revised editions on documnents

Humbrain

By TJ
World: Melior

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A terrifyingly annoying hum that stays with you at perhaps all times, driving you quite insane and denying you sleep - and it might also be a sort of hunting signal of some great evil monster. There's a lot to love here, including the shady potion peddlers who're selling people fake cures.

World Building Inspiration

• Tinnitus as a hunting signal/tactic by magical monsters!
• Always remember to include a scam or two
• The behavior of the afflicted, and how they're treated by everyone else

Memory

By Rumengol
World: Spheres of Oblogga

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A species that help the short-lived, forgetful people to keep their memories alive, Memory is full of wonderfully quirky ideas and occult protocols for exchanging memories and information. It's a fascinating look into a really interesting session, and how the creatures there live and deal with such basic things as even remembering. It is a highly recommended read.

World Building Inspiration

• Quirk/Occult exchange protocol
• Change things we take for granted to create interesting world-building scenarios
• "And like anything precious and forbidden, it became an object of desire." is a great line, and oh so true

Pea Shanklet

By Serukis
World: Etrea

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MUSHROOMS!
The founding member of Mushroomember, a world-ember full of mushrooms, Serukis brings the fun with the Pea Shanklet and explores all the way mushrooms can not be such a great time... I.e when they destroy all our crops and starve us. People sometimes underestimate, I think, just how common famine used to be in ye olden times, and the Pea Shanklet explores the idea... As well as making me kind of wish for a pet snail.

World Building Inspiration

• Feast and famine in world building
• Unusual solutions to common problems, as we are a clever bunch of monkeys
• Cultural Significance part - especially where we eat them

Ley-Line Carts

By FenDawnChild
World: Ebea

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I really like the idea in the Ley-Line Carts, of using the magical leylines as the basis for an infrastructure thing like that. I'm a big fan of Exalted and all its magitech madness, and this feels like it is something in the same style. I've seen travel done through leylines before (even written one!) but making it it a cart like this is pretty novel and I'm not sure I've seen it before. It's a fun idea, well written.

World Building Inspiration

• Where does magic and engineering overlap?
• What are the games people play with them?
• How does the inner workings of magic and wonder in a world influence it's technology and architecture?

Lithmark

By Dhelian
World: Pekkola

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Pekkola is always fun of conflict, scheming, wars and careful, crumbling diplomacy, and it's always fun to read about it. Lithmark is a good example of this, full of intrigue and just waiting to explode into some sort of war soon enough. It's also a fun, deeper look into the sort of 'protector' nations and what such political situations might really end up looking when push comes to show.
Dhelian also does awesome maps for all his stuff and does commissions, so check that out too.

World Building Inspiration

• Always add scheming and intrigue
• Don't let things be easy for the powers in your world; lets see what they'll do under pressure
• Weave stories and coming conflicts into articles

Celestial

By Nnie
World: The Morning Realm

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I love magic languages and the way Nnie takes the D&D language and binds it into the magic system is something I really enjoy. It's such a cool idea, such good use of the existing building blocks that come with D&D, and it is such a fertile field for more ideas! The opening quote sets the mood in a great way, and I think Thaumaglossia might be one of my favorite new words.
This is the second really cool magical language Nnie has made - make sure you check out Chthonic too!

World Building Inspiration

• Languages bound to or relating to a setting's high concept & metaphysics
• ...And how those languages are transformed by mortals trying to speak them!
• Putting a new, cool spin on well-known building blocks

Selkirk Nero

By SolarCat02
World: Vazdimet

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I'm biased since I'm in part responsible for the creation of this, but there's no way something involving a gameshow called Five Hundred Fun Ways to Die won't make it on my reading recommendation lists. A reluctant show host for a murderous gameshow, it's a great read for both the character and the situation he finds himself in, telling a story about a setting where death like this isn't just normalized but sometimes.. Even popular. Finally, lines like "a deep loyalty and a deeper resentment" tells a story just by itself, making it just an amazing read.
SolarCat has also been writing a ton of stories for Vazdimet! If you like this, go check them out!

World Building Inspiration

• The complexities of the characters behind media in your worlds
• Comflicting and competing emotions of resentment and loyalty, and how that'll break things
• I should make more murderous gameshows!

Bonus!

Since just picking 10 was too difficult, here's some additional links to articles I've enjoyed this WE.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I didn't participate in WorldEmber this year. I'm very excited to get 2022 off right, and hope to get some new Araea (and other) articles off the ground as soon as possible.
The one thing I did create in December was the Anti-Divinity League! It is a sort of meta-community thing for World Anvil authors who share my distrust and dislike for all things divine. All those haughty gods, thinking they're better than us mortals. We'll show them all!
If you want to join, just see if your world completes the bingo, ot write until it does, and pop a comment into the article to get added to the membership scrolls and the fight against the Divine Tyrants.

And if you would like to check out some of my other work, here are my four primary worlds right now!

Weird fantasy in an underground world, full of horror and wonder

A light-hearted cyberpunk dystopia with unchecked capitalism

A dark, occult world where magic and monster meet in the shadows

Have a great 2022 everyone!