Brazy's Camp Pledge

I pledge allegiance... to the camp... of all things chill this summer. And to be creative with all my might. And support all participants of World Anvil's Summer Camp 2026.

— Brazy

Okay - so this is my first Summer Camp literally ever. I don't mean just first World Anvil Summer Camp (it most definitely is that) but I never went to summer camp. I would participate in a week long theater thing but it wasn't all day and it was absolutely in my hometown so I slept in my own bed at night. What do I bring? Will there be snacks? I guess there's homework to do first so let's get into it.

The Pledge

To be honest, I don't really know what all is going on but I'm here for a good time, not a long time. With that said, I'm only aiming for a copper badge this year. Worldbuilding is still a very new skill and I am very frequently overwhelmed by it. Heck, I don't even use journal prompts because I frequently struggle with how to make them feel relevant. So I'm setting the bar nice and looooow.

If you are any of my players - turn back now, the rest of prep and any summer camp articles are not for you. You have been warned.

"Shhhhh. Spoilers, sweetie"
- River Song

Week 1 - Love

When I was first coming up with ideas for how to approach Summer Camp in Elyssom, one that stuck out to me was developing articles from before the rapid industrial shift. Specifically from when one particular deity fell in love with a mortal. Then, seeing this week's theme, I knew I simply had to commit to this idea.

In the versions of this love story that still exist, the angel loved the elf woman so much that he would planewalk every chance he could; even when it was the turn of other dominions. His near constant presence in her small town caused the people of the region to give it a nickname - Dreamer's Village. Love was so power that a whole town was renamed. Love was so important and all consuming that the angel gave up his divinity and immortality just to spend the rest of the mortal's life by her side.

In the words of Disney's 1997 hit animated classic, Hercules, "People do crazy things when they're in love." Never has this been more true than in Dreamer's Village, many moons ago.

Hopscotch

For this week's world preparation/hopscotch, I rolled a 1... which is honestly perfect because as it turns out, my homepage looks ROUGH and I literally never developed a world primer. I've really just been flying by the seat of my pants with bits of notes here, there, and everywhere but I do also have my Meta mostly filled out.

Side note: does anyone else read over what they've written and realize that "hey! that thing is actually really cool!" or is it just me?

Anyway... Elyssom's shiny new World Primer incoming.

In the end, I didn't really touch my homepage except to add the world primer to be right above my campaign block. Impressive? Not in the grand scheme of things. However, if you asked me to do that 3 months ago I wouldn't have been able to do it. So a win is a win and that's progress, baby! {Insert finger guns here}

Warm-Up Article

Coming Soon (but I can tell you it will be Dreamer's Village because...obvi)

Week 2 - Growth

Happy Week 2 prep (she says from the middle of week 4)! Growth is interesting because when I think of Elyssom as a whole, everything feels so slow. What takes 12 months for us to experience is 8 months in Elyssom. Until around the 1700s, the people of Elyssom were still stuck in what we would consider the early middle ages. Granted, the last 100-ish years brought them closer to the progress we would expect for something that old but still. All of this to say, in current non-summer camp focused time in Elyssom the biggest area of growth lately has been the rapid technological advancements. Indoor plumbing... it's gonna be big (that is now two separate Hercules references for anyone keeping count). Additionally, there may or may not be a secret cult that is growing in numbers and strength while siphoning power to someone who may or may not be the BBEG of the campaign.

Focus. I need to focus.

Elyssom of the time of the lovers I mentioned in my week 1 work is quiet and slow. Still recovering and rebuilding after the Old Gods War that nearly wiped out the area a few hundred years prior (Hundred?! Yes... hundred. Did I or did I not just say it was SLOW?). The capital region, Telospretyrne would be growing significantly. Belief in the Old Gods and, as a result, the power of the Old Gods would be growing back to pre-war levels.

Okay cool - see? Lots of growth even if it's slower than molasses on a cold day.

Assignment - Choose your area of focus

This is where stuff gets weird, okay? Is the campaign I'm running set in 1835 Elyssom? Yes, yes it is. Do I want to world build for 1835 Elyssom? Abso-freaking-lutely. However, comma, I'm much more interested right now in what was happening in 825 Elyssom because I think the world at the time of the love story that causes a near apocalyptic event is infinitely more interesting right now. It may make me a glutton for punishment or incredibly selfish or just a girl who loves love. Only I know the answer to that (HINT: it's all three).

Things that could be really interesting to explore during this time may include:

• The Old Gods War - where all the regions fell during the conflict, how they were impacted, how they came together, and how they're each rebuilding (except Telos because its a special little region that was created in celebration of the end of the war - huzzah).
• Religions - was it still just the Old Gods or did a smaller pantheon pop up during the conflict and how did it die out/did it die out? This is especially cool/interesting/useful given the current implications in "present" day Elyssom.
• Myths - are there any myths that exist in this time/era and does it still exist today? OR! Are there any myths that exist in 1835 that have origins during this time (and are they true? how much do we have right?) One that may be fun to flesh out here is Vontyre's Pass and the story of Lummoch Vontyre.
• The Regions (geography & geopolitical) - I know a medium amount about what the 4 founding/original regions are in 1835 but precious little about their histories. This simply must change.

Hopscotch

The fates have cast their hands and determined... its a 4 which is either "Plan the category structure for your area of focus" or "Create an article about your area of focus". All I have to say is oof, the fates were not kind to me (honestly most of this week's hopscotch items felt hard conceptually).

Towards the start of the year, I think around March after my world was freed from my impulsive WAWA entry, I restructured my categories. As a result, I don't think I'm going to make any changes to that or how I'm organizing things for now. I'm far more interested in improving the quality of the contents of the world and the overall scope of the world. There's so much here to talk about that lives in my head but I need the brain space so out it must come.

Using the list of 4 items I provided above when talking about my focus, here's where I think things could fit:

• The Old Gods War could fit easily in my Deities & Religions category. I could see arguments that depending on what element I'm discussing, it could also end up in any of my Locations categories (e.g., battle fronts, impact on regions based on which gods were engaging, etc.), or maybe the Magic, Science, & Technology category (e.g., how did the people protect themselves from a heavenly war? what items did the Gods fight with?). If we're honest with ourselves (and we should always be honest), a war between the oldest gods known to the people of Elyssom would have major ramifications on day to day life so there's almost something for every category. Did the war spark a group of protectors that go from battle front to battle front, protecting villages from heavenly ruin? Well see that's an Organization. Did a God totally destroy crops or trade routes or items? Guess what? ANOTHER CATEGORY - Commerce & Trade. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
• Religions feel a little less all encompassing than the Old Gods War, thankfully. These articles will mostly find homes under the Deities & Religions (for those being worshipped or doing the worshipping) category, the Organizations category (for roles in a more organized religion way... like priests or how a specific "church" is set up), or the Ethnicities and Cultures category (religious festivals feel especially correct here I think).
• Myths feels more complicated but I think that's because I just haven't figured out how they fit in to my existing structure yet. More than likely, they'll end up lost somewhere in the Locations category by region of origin. I may take back my previous "I'm not adding/changing any categories" statement for this and make a Myths category and a tag system for where in the world they occurred. Alternatively, I could just chuck it into the locations as I've been doing but add sub-categories for People, Places/Landmarks, Myths, etc. to better organize it. Honestly though, I think I'm going to leave everything as is and fiddle with where it all goes L-A-T-E-R.
• The Regions (geography & geopolitical) really deserve the love here (even though they may not get it). This also feels like The Old Gods War as a gift that keeps giving. People, places, things, cultures, religions, interconnectedness woven between them all, flora & fauna, I think this may actually be the MOST broad topic I could have chosen. I think when developing my 4 founding regions, I'd prefer to focus on the daily life of 825 (Ethnicities & Cultures category) and what the backdrop of each looks like (weather, celestial events, climate - Fauna & Flora category and/or Locations category). Maybe I'll be brave enough to look at how they interact with each other (Geopolitical Organizations category).

Warm-Up Article

Coming Soon - A Geographical Location boasting different kinds of ecosystems... interesting (stares at Kilevernous which is already quasi-built but has some cool AF places I've thought about... like Vontyre's Pass or The Sapphire Canopy or, especially, Celestial Grotto).

Week 3 - Loss

Loss. Its heavy and dark and changing and beautiful. Loss can teach us so much about others, ourselves, and the world around us. It often helps put so much of the good in our life into focus. Without ever losing anything, we never truly learn to value anything or discover the people, places, or things that mean so much to us in our life. The same applies to my area of focus. At this point in the timeline, the only people who have experienced loss are the people of Elyssom. My BBEG has never truly lost a thing a day in their life - until this particular story comes crashing down around them. Their divine artifacts and their story soon to be lost to time and memory. Additionally, there's at least one ritual that has implications in 1835 Elyssom that has yet to be lost to time in 825 so that's definitely a fun thread to consider as well.

Loss as it applies to the era I'm exploring in Elyssom's history and to the story I'm telling at large really just boils down to two phrases (both normal sayings that have been used in iconic songs and so I do in fact hear them as song lyrics) - "you don't know what you've got until it's gone" (Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows) and "it's always darkest before the dawn" (Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine). When I say in my bio "lover of pop culture references" please know I meant it. I tried to warn you and now here we are... two songs, imaginary finger guns, a Doctor Who quote, and at least two very bad Hercules references down.

Assignment - Plan your writing time

Would I love to sit here and commit to daily writing? Absolutely. I would also love to tell you, dearest reader, that I have a schedule in mind. Alas, do you want to know what's actually going to happen? I'm going to write as much or as little as I can as often as I can. It may be on my lunch break. It may be at 9pm (which is technically past my bedtime). There is no way to plan my inspiration and no way to guarantee I'll have the energy or brain capacity to do so. I'm trying to not make promises to myself that I can't keep. Something about "unrealistic expectations" and how I'm hitting near nuclear levels of burnout by 3pm each day at work.

I was SO excited for Summer Camp at the start of the year and I promise you that I am still very excited for Summer Camp. The universe, however, decided that my coworker needed to have her baby at the end of May and effectively shunt 97% of her daily, semi-monthly, and monthly work onto me with no training or real support. I'm sure my coworkers are about to block me on our internal phone system because of how much I call them (and I don't blame them). I will say that so far writing this prep article has been a way to treat myself so I'm hopeful that writing articles for Summer Camp will feel the same.

Now, I am a dreamer and a perfectionist and I do in fact consistently set unrealistic expectations on myself. I'm in therapy and working on it. The beauty of writing, however, is its such an old, ingrained, natural, and self-serving part of me that it doesn't seem to have the same pressures (at least for now). If I were to apply those expectations and pressures it would appear as the following:

• At least 2 articles per week, published on Sundays and Thursdays
• At least 500 words per day
• Daily writing sessions of at least 30 minutes, 60 minutes preferred

Lucky for me - I know none of this is realistic and I'm just thankful to be writing again. Writing for the love of writing and creating. It feels like coming home to myself and if I think too much about it I'll cry... so on to the Hopscotch!

I'm not crying... I've just got something in my eye, I swear!

Hopscotch

Does anyone else hear the maniacal laughter? Just me? Oh, it is me. The powers that be decided I'd roll yet another four which gives me the option of "Gather music or other media to inspire you" or "Read a book to inspire you".

If you think that I, Brazy, lover of all things pop culture references, wouldn't immediately choose the first option then well, you don't know me at all. I mean... odds are that you DON'T actually know me but like we've covered this already just a couple of sections up.

I have a Pinterest board dedicated to the story I'm telling - code name: Project Burn. While I won't share the whole board, I did gather up a collage to show off the vibes.

Additionally, to the surprise of no one who knows me, there is a playlist. I'm known as "the playlist friend" - OF COURSE there's a playlist. While the playlist is technically geared towards my D&D campaign as a whole, the vibes take a very sudden shift during the Pas de deux from The Nutcracker. There is a swirling rumor around my parts of the internet that Tchaikovsky composed this as a sonic representation of the grief he felt after losing his sister. I have not done a lick of research to confirm if that is true or not so if you've fact checked this and I am wrong, please do not tell me. Please allow me to live in my delusion for a little bit longer as that lore is the whole reason I originally added it to the playlist and now I'm too attached to it.

I do also want to share one other song from the playlist as I feel the energy of it captures the vibes of Elyssom really well. Pas de deux was the vibes of Project Burn (the telling of the love story and tragedy), Adventures in the Clockwork Lands is really how Elyssom feels to explore. I found it while trying to find some steampunk fantasy music to play in the background during lore drops that I would monologue at the start of session to get my players focused. I've since fallen in love with the rest of the Clockwork Lands pieces that Luis has composed. There is also a beautifully hilarious irony (in my opinion and personal decision to misuse the word "irony") that on Luis' artist profile on Spotify, he cites Tchaikovsky as a "strong inspiration". Are most composers likely inspired by Tchaikovsky? Yeah... probably... makes perfect sense to me. But you have to admit that for the song that ties into the story I'm telling to be a Tchaikovsky piece and the piece that feels like my world but in music form to be by a guy who cites Tchaikovsky is incredibly poetic.

Warm-Up Article

Coming Soon - Write a language lost to time

Listen - I see... I see the vision. I reject the vision. I suggest no alternative.

Lost languages are super cool conceptually but that feels like a very tall order for someone who doesn't know what the heck is happening. No one has told me what to pack, what snacks I'm in charge of, or asked me what my allergies are (none - thanks). This author is running on vibes and delusion and apparently running a marathon she didn't know she signed up for. Opting out of this warm-up article is self care (and those interesting energy gel things actual distance runners carry with them in their run packs).

Week 4 - Family

Let's see... this week's theme is.... ah, yes... family. FAMILY?! Oh! No. No, thank you.

Assignment - What's your goal as a worldbuilder?

World Anvil (WA): Why are you a worldbuilder?

Brazy (B): Honestly I started world building out of necessity. I somehow got talked into the idea of running a D&D campaign for some of my friends and was listening to a song when it happened. You know the moment - time stops and suddenly everything makes sense. You've gotten a glimpse of the inner workings of the cosmos and it fills you with stardust. I don't do anything half-way as it turns out. What started as a fleeting idea for a story turned into a homebrew ttrpg campaign because I couldn't shake myself of the idea. Instead of researching the existing published settings I decided to build my own. Furthering my point of my inability to halfass the project, I started researching platforms for housing all my thoughts and ideas for the world. I had started in a OneNote notebook (which still has a ton of information that I frequently reference) but knew my players would need access to the information at some point. I love them but they're all very ADHD and need to be able to read and reference stuff. TLDR; I'm a worldbuilder partially out of necessity and partially out of my inability to turn off my "too much" gene.

WA: What do you aim to do with the world you're creating?

B: Originally it was entirely just meant to exist as a TTRPG setting for a small homebrew campaign I was running. It has since evolved into a world that additionally exists for a book trilogy which I'm tentatively referring to as Project Burn. Additionally, depending on how the campaign ends, there's options for follow-up stories in the world. I didn't realize it when developing the concept initially but the rapid development of technology and other inventions feels kind of like what is happening currently with AI. I think it would be fun to explore what happens next - how do the people adapt, do they try to put the metaphorical toothpaste back in the tube?

WA: How does Summer Camp help you work towards this goal?

B: In the obvious and most straightforward answer, Summer Camp (and my area of focus) will help me develop the backstory of the events that cause the campaign. It gives me a more sturdy foundation of knowledge to build the happenings in 1835 Elyssom on and around. That's not entirely why I'm participating in Summer Camp, though. Truth be told, I'm incredibly rusty when it comes to writing and creating. With limited success, I was able to manage a few thousand words in the last couple of years before abandoning writing. Before that it had been probably a decade since I was any amount of creative. R-U-S-T-Y. My perfectionism and imposter syndrome have been trying their hardest to choke out any flame of inspiration and I often find myself trying to write but crippled by the need to find the perfect word or phrase. This is where Summer Camp comes in. It does not expect perfection - just at least 300 words. There's a community cheering you on and inspiring you and raising you up. I'm using Summer Camp to get out of my own way and to silence the voices in my head that tell me my ideas are shit and I don't know what I'm doing. As it turns out, my ideas are quite cool and people actually care about them. While I am firmly in Camp Chill this Summer Camp, there's an infectious feral energy that comes from being allowed to create without the expectation of polished perfection. That is my why for Summer Camp.

Hopscotch

And for the final Hopscotch of Summer Camp 2026, I have rolled... a 2! "Find a community" or "Find an accountability buddy".

Unlike Dory, I do not know that I have an exit buddy (let alone a Summer Camp accountability buddy). That does not mean I am camping alone! My plan is to rely heavily on the chaos filled Discord chat dedicated to the event. There are so many kind individuals in the server and historically, success takes a village. I do want to offer some small special thanks to two veterans, though, who have helped me through this prep.

Mochi ,

I think I've told you before that the Yonderverse is one of the reasons I decided to seriously explored World Anvil and decided to give the Discord another chance. I'm so glad I did because now I have the honor of calling you a friend. Every time I show up in your DMs to ask questions, you never make me feel silly or stupid or like a burden. Asking for help puts me in an incredibly uncomfortable and vulnerable position as someone who is known IRL for their hyper-independence and intelligence. Because it's so uncomfortable, I often ask questions in weird ways and you always take the time to understand where I'm coming from and make sure I get answers. You are my MOTTO. Let's Run It together until the end of Summer Camp (and maybe get some Ice Cream at the end).

Keon ,

You have no idea how much of a positive impression you have made on me in the short time since you came back for Summer Camp. The amount of advice and support you have to offer everyone has been beyond encouraging. Like earlier this week advising all of us first-timers that keeping up with the chat is futile and not to burn ourselves out trying. Additionally, I think you're one of the first Anvilites to hear a concept of an idea that I'm kicking around and plainly say, "That's a very fun concept, I like that a lot actually". My friends agree with you that m ideas are fun and good but I have little to no faith in myself that the things I create (and especially the things I come to the community with) are worth the effort. But I always know that I can count on some Feral Keon energy to motivate me when I feel like I have nothing to contribute.

Warm-Up Article

Coming Soon - a Myth that reveals the "true" meaning of family. Maybe - I make no promises as this is honestly an emotionally raw spot for me. There's a lot of grief and anger for me behind the concept of family but maybe through the course of Camp, I'll be able to better get into the minds of the people of Elyssom and come up with something. Never say never.

And with that... Summer Camp Prep comes to a close.

I did it! I actually want to cry... but don't worry, it's a good cry. Its a cry that comes after doing the hard and unknown despite the challenge life throws at you. I'm proud of myself at a level I don't know that I've felt in a long time. No matter what the next several weeks bring, I can cross at least half of Summer Camp participation off my list of things. This prep has taught me a lot about what I thought was possible. It also showed me that I have more to say than I thought and that I can just get the words out. Dare I say I'm going to miss Prep? Is that allowed? I know everyone is all CAMP, CAMP, CAMP, CAMP! but I suspect I'll always have a fondness for Camp Prep. Maybe that's just the Type A personality in me that prefers the planning to the unbridled chaos of creation.

I hope that over the course of camp, I'm able to find the time to write the warm-up prompts for Weeks 1 and 2. If I do, I'll be sure to come back here with a cheeky little update and show you what I made. Week 3 is still a definite skip for me and Week 4 is a hard maybe. We'll see what happens.

No matter what camp you represent, what badge you're working toward, or what SPF level you inevitably forget to reapply after 2 hours, let's just enjoy the time we have together. I'll bring the fridge-cold aloe gel, scotcheroos, and frozen grapes.

Happy camping!

With love,

Brazy