Cathedris
Scope
The motivation behind building Cathedris
World Anvil awakened in me something that had been dormant for many years before; I've always enjoyed art, design, and other creative hobbies, but never had I delved into the world of creative writing and worldbuilding. Once I began, I could no longer stop.
Cathedris to me is a form of pure creative outlet, it lets me be as detailed or as high level as I could want, and it allows me to go wild creating this wonderfully strange setting. I'm motivated to continue building it, increasing the depth of the lore, improving the connections between elements, and I'm thoroughly excited to see where it takes me.
The goal of the project
Something I want to focus on these days is "enjoying the process" -- if the only joy comes from the end result, then it's not a joy I want to pursue. Cathedris is a ton of work to develop, but it's fun.
Tying into that, I want it to be fun to interact with as well. I want articles to be journeys, for words on the page to come alive through art and other elements. I want to write stories, create characters, and give readers things to identify with in the world.
My big, long term, pie-in-the-sky goal would be to develop games for Cathedris -- board games, TTRPGs, or even videogames. It'd fulfil both my reasons for developing this world; personal growth through learning game design, and utilizing the ultimate form of interactive media to bring Cathedris to readers. One of my favourite things to do is to imagine level designs where there's a God-husk in the distance, ever present, influencing the players actions simply by existing at such a large scale.
Cathedris's Unique Selling point
God-husks, Articles as Art, and Interactivity
It's a dark, gothic-industrial fantasy setting, where the giant husks of dead gods wander broken loops of their former lives, while humanity toils in their long shadows.
Those dead gods, the God-husks, are by and large the main unique selling point of Cathedris. Three thousand years of history have passed since these gods all fought and died, and the world has become irrevocably shaped by their mindless actions in the time since. Each God-husk is unique in their theming, aesthetic, and history.
Countries, cults, and even geographical landmarks have formed because of them. They're the source of the world's monsters, known as Rendlings, and blood extracted from the God-husks is used to fuel the magic system of Cathedris, known as Catalurgy.
Open
AVARTARIAN
DIMITI
MIYU
QETZEL
QUR
RAK'TOS
SHARENSKUS
CODOD
FARAD
OLD KING CAED
TATETE
T'KALIA
XIUTHAN
Just like the large interactive stone doors that you can click on to the left of this text box, Cathedris is packed full of interesting and innovative interactive elements that serve as one of the key selling points of this world. There are secrets to be hovered over, combination locks to be puzzled out, and even entire towers to explore.
Additionally, all of the main articles in Cathedris are approached with a mindset of "Every article is a cohesive work of art"; layout, writing, CSS, and artwork all come together into a singular bit of worldbuilding that would not be complete without each of its parts.
Theme
Genre
Reader Experience
Cathedris is meant to embody a sense of exploration and discovery in the face of incredible danger and impossible odds.
There are deep world secrets and terrible conspiracies to discover around every corner; the world is entering an age where it seems anything is possible, and everyone, both good and bad, is taking note.
Readers should be able to take joy in noticing connecting threads between various articles or plot points, and begin to put together their own theories as to what is happening in the dark shadows of Cathedris.
Reader Tone
The main ever-present tone of Cathedris is danger; along with it comes darkness, fear, and even hopelessness.
And yet, it's not omnipresent. There is joy to be found, hope in small places, and elements that are both ridiculous and yet perfectly fitting to the setting. Without the danger of Cathedris, something like Danger-Tourism would never exist.
Recurring Themes
These themes are not present in every single facet of Cathedris in equal amounts, nor are they all present together at the same time in most cases. Yet everywhere you look, it's likely you'll find something that has a connection to one of these.
Humanity's Power
Power to change, power to be used. Part of the machine, or the ones pulling the trigger?Hidden Truths
What lies beneath the surface of every god, every organization, ever bit of history?Breaking point
Public pressure, government programs, secret research -- at what point will it all fall down?Character Agency
Every big world-shaking event begins with one small step; while the odds may seem insurmountable because the Legion, the Corporations, and the Governments have all the power, there's an undercurrent of resistance that runs strong throughout the world.
Characters who happen to be in the right place at the right time can kickstart a chain reaction that has consequences far beyond what they'd ever expect.
Focus
Drama
The Legion is building a new god
Hidden to many, even those within the Legion itself, is a secret organization that is fanatical in its belief that the Legion are the ones who must truly rule Cathedris, and they plan to do so with an artificial god at their side.
Discovery of the Gifts from the Sky
These objects seem to predate the gods themselves -- no one knows what they are, what their full potential is, or even how many there are. They exhibit strange, terrifying powers, such as the ability to weld living flesh together, or whisper secrets into minds unbidden.
The Artazian War Machine
Artazia is a military superpower with a brutal totalitarian regime controlling it. The country is hungry for land and resources, and plans to use the fires of industry to claim neighbouring countries, their land, and their resources.
Catalurgists, feared by the general public
Their strange, abhorrent powers, reliance on literal blood from the gods, and propensity to appear just before monstrous invasions or war means the general public harbors a great fear of Catalurgists -- the magic users of Cathedris.
The Kazcallen Revitalization Project
Kazcallen is a massive country, with most of it taken up by a barren, lifeless wasteland. It used to be an evolutionary hotspot, and hundreds of the worlds top scientists are trying to breathe life into the once diverse landscape.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All content, unless stated otherwise, copyright ©2010 - 2023 Devon Ruscheinski. All Rights Reserved. All images are made by Stormbril, unless otherwise specifically stated. World Default Header Image (Interior roof of a Cathedral) originally by Derek Story, edited by Stormbril.
Background image composited of a Cathedral Photo by Odin Lee, with mountains behind by Sorin Sîrbu, combined and edited by Stormbril.
Developed by Stormbril.
Want to support me and get some neat Cathedris art? Check out the stuff I have on Redbubble!
Powered by World Anvil
Powered by World Anvil
Are you interested in finding out what the Regiment for Humanity is all about?
Do you distrust the Legion? Do you want to do whatever you can to stop them... before it's too late?
Then
click
tap
here to find out more, brave soldier.
Ash Barklow
Procurement Officer of Barklow's Books
Listen, you need to be careful. The Legion have eyes and ears everywhere -- there's always a chance we're being watched. But we have to do something. We can't just sit by and let them destroy the world.
If you want to know more, find out what abhorrent things they've been getting up to in their secret labs, then follow me.
Click here to join The Regiment for Humanity and learn the truth of what the Legion is up to.
Do you want to know more about Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture?
Do you want help bring about a new divine era? Create a new and bright future under our control?
Then
click
tap
here to join the side of divinity.
Dr. Anabelle Evingston
Leader of the ACSA
Humanity is wasting its potential -- for too long have we toiled in the shadows of oppressive God-husks that do naught but push us down. Great and terrible secrets have remained hidden within the depths of the planet for ages, and it's time they make themselves known to us.
It's time humanity takes its proper place as the truly divine of this world.
It's time we usher in a new future.
Click here to make the right choice and join The Altruistic Concilium of Sacred Architecture
You've found yourself a tasty tidbit of information, a morsel of facts -- a Snippet. This is quick form content to consume at your leisure without needing to buckle down and read a whole article.
Hungry for more? Check out the catalogue HERE
Background by Alexander Nachev
Paper background from Indieground freebie
Paper background from Indieground freebie
