Gilden
Scope
The motivation behind building Gilden
This world exists primarily for the story I am writing it set in, but it also extends far beyond where this main story will actually take place and I would love to write more stories elsewhere in the world as well in the future. But also before that, both this world and this story exist because I wanted a fantasy setting of my own to play around in where in particular I could explore more mature themes than I really can in my legend of zelda fanworks. I also just wanted my own personal fantasy sandbox with no limits other than those I choose to impose on myself--which aren't many.
The goal of the project
Ultimately, I want to make my as of yet untitled Gilden story a graphic novel, and build the tension and stakes up to epic proportions, with lots of drama, mystery and intrigue. I want to make something that will really stick in the minds of the audience even long after they've put it down.
Gilden's Unique Selling point
It's a combination of all my favourite things: themes of grief and loss, love and friendship and healing, gay sex (emphasis on the gay sex), complex and interesting female main characters (multiple, even!), and more, all wrapped up in an epic medieval fantasy setting. There's huge fire-breathing dragons and wizards that shoot lightning out of their hands and swords personified as demons and epic battles between the forces of good and evil. There's diversity in as many senses of the word as possible. There's lesbian herbo adventurers and dramatic gay bards and trans druids. There's effeminate men and masculine women and body hair on everybody. And, even though there's technically no audio component, the entire thing should just absolutely scream 'heavy metal'. If the above listed things are things that you like, then this story and its world are for you as much as they are for me.
Theme
Genre
'Capital F' Fantasy! It delves into many different sub-genres of fantasy; there's some elements of high fantasy, heavy on the classic medieval fantasy, a fair amount of dark and gory fantasy, super epic fantasy, a big helping of adventure fantasy, a dash of steampunky-sci-fi fantasy, and probably even more types I can't recall off the top of my head right this second. It's an adventure but it's also a drama and also a comedy, and it's also about the power of friendship, and the power of giant badass swords and magic spells. And, of course, lots of subtextual exploration of themes of gender and sexuality and power and human nature.
Reader Experience
I want to make something profound that people will get very invested in, both the world and the characters and their story. I want the world and the story to feel exhilirating, dangerous, complex and rewarding of curiosity. I want the audience to feel what the characters feel, and laugh and cry and rage alongside them. Many of the themes and topics explored as well as the world itself leans heavily towards the dark and mature, but that doesn't mean it is without levity or joy, because there is also plenty of that to go around. Am I being too vague? I worry I'm being too vague. There's lots of mystery and drama and violence and blood and guts and love and friendship and joy and hope and despair but most of all hope-- all these things go hand in hand. Yes, even the blood and guts and hope.
Reader Tone
The world is quite dark in many ways, particularly in the exact places where most of the story is set, though there is a major variety of tone to be seen, with some places we'll go that are much more lively and bright, and some maybe even whimsical, whereas some parts will be downright spooky. Violence and injustice is a major component of the world&story, but there are also people doing everything they can to make the world a better place.
Recurring Themes
I'd say the three most major themes of the story itself are:
Grief. Grief as a curse, as a form of madness, as an incredible burden, as a sacred duty. Grief as a form of prayer. The ways in which grief may be the spark that ignites a roaring fire or a frost that paralyzes down to the bones. How grief is both one of the most important, most grounding, most universal human emotions in existence, and also a killer of the heart and poison to the soul.
Love. Love as the root of grief, its prelude, but also its remedy. Love of all kinds, familial, platonic, romantic love. The pledging of undying devotion and the arduous effort of loving even when it's hard. The absolute torture of letting yourself be loved, especially when it's hard. As well as the reward, the release, the relief, the comfort of unconditional love. And also the magical power of friendship and also gay sex sometimes simultaneously
Power. The power to protect as well as the power to destory. Tyrants and conquerers and heroes and guardians. Champions of the damned and those who damned them in the first place. Gods and demons and humans and moments in which they are all one in the same.
The three major themes of the world are:
Power again. This time in a more structural sense, with lots of thought given to systems of power and how they come to be, and what comes of them. Exploration of the concept of kingship, and the supernatural and divine.
Magic and Mythology. Of course, being a fantasy setting, magic is a core element of the world, but there are many different kinds of magic that can manifest and be used in tons of different ways, but the underlying acknowledged existence of magic is a pretty key part of the setting. Even if there is no magic actively happening, one should never forget the potential for it at any given time in any given place.
Adventure fantasy and history. I want my world to feel richly storied, where civilizations rise and fall all at their own pace, and some are remembered and some are forgotten. There are many ruins of lost or past places that dot the world entire, some more mysterious and/or haunted and some more mundane. At the same time, I want it to feel as though the history of this world is also an ongoing thing, that the world is a growing, evolving thing and not static. There's also a major aspect of adventure and exploration, and a lot of the world and setting is very inspired by the type found in ttrpgs. This world is not being made for a ttrpg, but it should be very compatible with that kind of format, and it should feel very easy and natural to imagine a ttrpg campaign set in this world.
Character Agency
The power the characters have to change the world around them varies greatly depending on the context, much like how I feel it is for most people in real life. Some things that we do may seem to matter very little in the grand scheme of things, but could have great significance to us or others on a smaller scale. At the same time, those same people also have the capability to do extraordinary things that alter the course of history forever-- I think all these changes, both small and grand, are extraordinary in unique ways. All of those kinds of changes will be happening here.
Focus
Culture
It's a broad way of putting it, sure, but I'm aiming to tackle the entire culture iceberg with this world as much as possible, for as many of the different cultures and groups I'm coming up with as I can. The specific model I'm talking about is this:
Specific customs or traditions or holidays and stuff like that are fun for worldbuilding, sure, but something I really want to put a lot of focus into is cultural values, which will not only inform the characters and their thoughts and actions, but also the various ways in which the world itself and the societies occupying it operate. I think that will both make my worldbuilding feel more cohesive, and also better highlight when there are differences between certain groups and people, on a much subtler, more enriched level than just the food they eat and the clothes they wear. Basically I'm coming at this like an anthroplogist. I'm talking thick description, ethnographic worldbuilding, people
Drama
The status quo in the Warlands is shifting-- for over a century, there have been specific and known categories of people: the ruling and feuding warlords, the fighters who've pledged one of them their loyalty, the fighters whose loyalty is bought, the outlaws (brigands and bandits and the like) and the peasant masses. In the last ten years or so, a new kind of interloper has appeared in the Warlands: adventurers. Hired swords or other people with combat-compatible skills, often working in small groups, they differ from the typical cutthroat mercenary by having grander ideals of fame and glory, and they pretty much all come from outside the Warlands. At first, people thought they were a newfangled oddity that would fizzle and fade, but they've only grown in numbers and reputation, and now play a key role in the Warlands' daily functions and economy. There is even talk of an Adventurer's guild which steadily grows in influence and access, and the warlords are starting to see it as a threat.
Word on the current happenings within the Dymin Empire is rare, vague, and sparse, but a few years ago there were rumours the Church of End's head, the Harbinger, attempted a coup against the royal family and failed. Some time after that, there were rumours that one they called the 'God-Queen' ascended to the throne-- and the palace has been suspiciously silent since.