The Foundation of Dragons of Night

Scope

What is your motivation for building this world?

While I love book series like The Vampire Chronicles, The Sookie Stackhouse books, The Dresden Files, and Harry Potter, and shows like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Vampire Diaries, and so many others of this type, but with few exceptions, I don’t see people like me in them. It is fun to play on the edges of the dark, but I am not a nihilist, and don’t understand or enjoy people and stories that are. I want to explore this world through the queer eyes.

What are you hoping to get out of it?

I want to play with the Celtic, Greco-Roman, Gnostic, Judeo-Christian, and Egyptian mythology in a way that melts together into a world of dark wonders.

What is the Hook or Unique Selling Point of your World? What makes it unique or different?

The world is steeped in magic. It is not relegated to spells and wand work. Magic is as integral to the world as technology is ours.

Theme

What’s the Genre of your World?

Dragons of Night is a Queer, Dark, Urban Fantasy world filled with Romance and Mystery.

How does the world feel?

Dragons of Night is Gothic at heart, both in terms of the literary genre and the subculture. It laughs at death while swaddled in darkness and mystery. 

What is the tone of your world?

The World is Nobel Gray, think Charmed (the original series) meets the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but very queer.

What is the character agency level like?

The characters have the power to affect change in the world, but often through noble sacrifice or struggle. If the character can muster the courage to meet the challenges before them, they can do great things, though if they aren’t careful, they will be terrible things.

What are the recurring themes which reinforce the genre, tone, and feel of your world?

1. Love conquers all, whether it is compassionate, friendly, familial, romantic, or erotic. The power of love to bring people together is stronger than the forces or greed, fear, and hatred that seek to divide and conquer.

2. Tradition thrives through change and dies through rote repetition.

3. Real life is lived in the shadows rather than the blinding light of day.

Meta

Race/Class Relations:

Since all the magical races and classes live together in their hidden world, the lengthy histories of rivalries between them still smolder under the surface.

Gender and Sexual Liberation:

Gender is on a spectrum. Sexuality is on multiple spectrums. It is the way of the world. Rigid concepts like the gender binary or gender roles are not well understood or accepted.

Religious Influence:

The Way of the Giants (Sith Thyrsa) and The Trivian Way are the two predominate religions in Aernadael. Since they are the primary schools of human magic, they often differ vehemently about how things should be done.

Rule of Law:

Under the covenant, those in power have strict duties placed upon them to maintain the world. There are no leaders, no hierarchies. Those are the ways of the exiles… at least that is the letter of the law, it is not always executed in such an egalitarian way.

Cultural Influence:

Since there are no delineated positions of authority, the only hierarchical power that exist is cultural. The Dark, Luminous, and Spiritual Nobles, Lords, and Ladies are held in high esteem by many on account of the work they do, but it does not amount to actual power. Musicians, artists, teachers, and writers also hold a lot of cultural influence over the world.

Drama

1. For centuries, the population of the Commonwealth of Aernadael and the exiles of the non-magical world have been separate with only a few reclaimed from the exiled world a year. Those reclaimed exiles face suspicion and discrimination from those whose families signed the covenant ages ago.

2. The Dragons and the Fae often act as if they are the only true possessors of magic, with everyone else partaking through the covenant of their birthright. This entitlement often leads to drama. 

3. The Rephaim are treated as different from Dragons and Fae, and are not considered proper members of the gentry, as they claim to be human. Most humans view the Rephaim as a distinct race, neither human, nor Gentry. As a result, the Rephaim often keep to themselves, which only deepens the divisions.

4. In the aftermath of the Second World War, rumors and innuendo have circulated claiming that agents of the Great Darkness, of even the resurrected Nyx has infiltrated their hidden world. The problem is that cults and secret societies do work to bring their world down.

5. In recent years, several Ryukishi have made it fashionable to embrace the wrecca vampire image for themselves and others in Aernadael, to the chagrin to many who don’t appreciate the aesthetic and who believe it is a way for the Great Darkness to undermine their society.