Worldember Pledge 2021!

I pledge to write 10,000 words of worldbuilding during December!

Goal:

My goal during Worldember 2021 is to develop the world of Francia in two ways: first, to breathe life into the world of Stephen, the setting of my 2021 NaNoWriMo novel Breaking the Silence, which will be drafted and in the hands of a gifted beta reader during the month of December; and then to develop the mysterious forest of Teutoburgerwald, the source of all magic in the region. I want to build up this world both to improve on future drafts of Breaking the Silence and other Stephen novels set in Francia, as well as to explore the magic of the world for my own enjoyment.

Plan of Action:

I will write articles for each of the main rooms in St. Maximinus Abbey (not counting those already written, of course), for each of the characters in Breaking the Silence, and develop the magical mechanism of the world by writing articles on the mythology and science and technology of the world, which will be under the subheading of Boethius's On Music. Finally, I will explore the forest region of Teutoburgerwald by creating a map of the area and articles corresponding to each location on the map. If I have time, I will begin to write articles about the magic of the forest as well...

Prompts:

1. Identity: Write about a group of people who are not particularly welcoming to strangers.

• These will be the of TeutoburgerwaldEichhornen
• Revising this prompt on 12/9: The Eichhornen are a species of squirrel people, but all the magical beings of Teutoburgerwald are unwelcoming of stranger and they will be the focus of this article

2. Organization: Write about an organization in your world that is collecting wisdom. How do they use it?

• The (but they need a better name). Sister Caecilia belongs to this guild"Musicmancers"

3. Myth/legend: Write about a myth in your world about being in two places at once.

• A myth told among the "musicmancers" of Alcmaeon the Sphere-Splicer and "sphere-splicing," but no one alive knows of someone who has actually accomplished it.

4. Natural Law: Write about a natural law in your world that distinguishes a settlement or location.

• I will write about the natural law of Teutoburgerwald, and the magic that separates it from the rest of Francia

5. Tradition / Ritual: Write about a tradition in your world that honours a high-ranking individual. How is it celebrated?

• There will be an annual Vigil celebrated by the humans who inhabit Teutoburgerwald in honor of their leader who holds the talisman (needs a name it will remind Stephen of the St John's Day vigil with all its music

6. Document: In your world, write about a document or piece of information that is so ancient or odd that no one can make any sense of it anymore.

• The "musicmancers" headquarters hold an ancient Scroll of Pythagoras and no one can figure out what it means

7. Conflict: Write about an unintentional conflict in your world. What caused it, and how did it end? (for Teutoburgerwald)

• The Great Ruckzug was a battle in Teutoburgerwald history after which the magical inhabitants of the forest withdrew from human contact. It was caused unintentionally by a Roman invasion...

8. Describe a winter tradition that exists within one culture of your world. What is celebrated, and what’s involved in the festivities? (from World Anvil)

• Christians in Francia celebrated Christmas, but I will describe specific details about how Christmas was celebrated at St Maximinus: Christmas at St. Maximinus

9. Condition: Write about a condition in your world that afflicts the elderly. How do they cope with it? Are there methods to palliate it?

• This will be a mystical form of Tinnitis that afflicts the elderly Fae of Teutoburgerwald when they are near death; it is believed they can start to hear the souls of the deceased in a phenomenon that may be related to sphere-splicing, but that is still undetermined.

10. Write about an important family in your world who came to fame for their participation in a historical event (thanks to Eallixy for this prompt).

• The Norman clan of the Haraldssons, a "musicmancing" family that scioned Godfrid who raided much of Francia in the late ninth century, made a treaty with Charles II and in return became Duke of Frisia and married Gisela, the sister of Hugh of Alsace (and half-sister of our fictional Stephen)

With special thanks to Tillerz for this excellent map of prompts, which inspired most of these.

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After a 50,000 word NaNo draft, a 10,000 word goal should be a breath of fresh air. I hope to use Worldember as an opportunity to fall back in love with Francia after potentially becoming extremely sick of it during the madcap novelling adventure of November. Looking forward to it![/l

Articles Completed for WorldEmber