Erina
Scope
The motivation behind building Erina
This world is a personal passion project, and as such despite the almost kinda a plot involved with it, at the end of the day it is still just a world building project. It was served as my own retreat from the world we actually live in for... Well I guess it's been 9 years now.
The purpose of this world is for my own enjoyment, and nothing matters more than that. I have no reason to include things because others like those things, and no reason to remove things because others do not like those things. Perhaps I will add a perfectly straight river to my world one day, as a call out to PMSlimeKing on Reddit.
The goal of the project
Happiness, satisfaction, and fun. If world building starts to feel like work, it's time to take a break, listen to some new music and come back when it's fun again.
Erina's Unique Selling point
The chaos and the general distinctness of the different Elementals, along with what I love exploring the most, how in a world nobody lives in isolation. Every decision affects another person, and being able to see how a doctor who refuses to conform to what's impossible can change the entire political landscape of a world. I build my world starting with my characters and building outwards. Rivers only exist because a character needs it to. And I feel that's why I like my world.
I spend my time in university learning all about what is actually possible in our world. The whole point is to build a world where I don't have to pull out my textbooks to decide if the fun thing I want is possible.
Theme
Genre
General Technology level: Further ahead than humanity is currently, think holograms computers, cool explosives, and the ability to replace a suitcase with a tiny pouch that fits in your pocket.
General Magic level: All the stuff listed above works only because of Elemental magic and Golden power, which is combined with tech. That's why crystal tech works, the explosives differ in effect based on what Elemental is using them, and that pocket pouch doesn't still weigh as much as a suitcase filled with all your clothes.
Genre? No clue really. Fantasy? Weirdness? Weirdness sounds about right let's go with that. What about Adult rated Weirdness. Now we got something.
Reader Experience
I would hope my world would feel the way I imagine if a human from our world would feel if they were suddenly thrust into it. Strange, mystical, and hiding some terrible secrets. Every person you meet should have something hidden in their closet, while that could be anything from actually having something hidden in their closet, to how their own species seems almost human, until they aren't.
Reader Tone
Somewhere in the middle. Horrible stuff happens everywhere. As it does in our own lives. The world is in constant turmoil and everyone knows that and that more turmoil is just around the corner. This doesn't stop people from working together, falling in love, or just living their lives. Their lives just may or may not be very long. I like to think of my world as optimistic, in the sense that bad stuff happens, but unlike in our own world, people get through it and come out better on the other side. This healing might take years and dedicated therapists. But they make it out of all the horrible stuff that happens.
Recurring Themes
-Alexandra's, Zoe's, Wendy's, and Iris's background. It is rough. If anyone ever reads those articles, they'll know just how low times can get in this world.
-Any of the love stories. Main points would be Alexandra x Brandon, Iris x Daniel x Conner, Amy x Tyler, and especially Andy x Lexi. These really show how important love is a theme in this world, and that a partner should be capable of putting all the broken pieces of you back together, as you do the same for them. Erina is a world where true love exists and is visible through the promise bond, and as such plays a large part in places of the story.
-As for how one person can alter so much, Dr. Raven Jen's story really covers this. While she certainly wasn't working all alone at the end, she was the one who created the reason so many doctors came together, and her actions alone directly change the paths of Zoe, Iris, and creates an entire new species herself. Not to mention the chaos she brought by doing so.
Character Agency
Most, if not all, of the characters in this setting have enough power given to them that they will probably alter the world in some fundamental way. This normally comes from the fact that I personally focus on the characters that do have this power, and I don't overly think about the everyday janitor.
The runes in the header, and the 'ribbons' beside them, were created by me (anc789sims).
Background image by Alfo Medeiros
Background image by Gerhard
Background image by Aleksandr Nadyojin
Background image by Efrem Efre
Background Image by SwissHumanity Stories
The background was composed by me using photographs by Gerhard (Lightning), Harry Huang (Ice), Polina (Rock), and posted on Pexels by Pixabay (flames)