Update (1/3/21):
We made it! WorldEmber has come to an end and I feel like I wrote some fantastic articles. As of this evening, I have updated this article to reflect what I completed during WorldEmber and what the status of the articles on my to-do list for the event is as of the first of the year. I hope to finish more of these articles in the coming weeks, so watch notifications for completed articles!
The WorldEmber
A hush falls over Isekai as the morning of Winter's Evening breaks, marking the first day of something that stretches far beyond the plane that this world rests on. An event like no other stretches across hundreds of planes, permeating worlds full of all manner of people, creatures, horrors. None of them are like Isekai, none of them celebrate or hide away from this the same way that those of Isekai do. As the morning of the first day of Winter's Evening dawns, the fires are lit, signaling that the WorldEmber has arrived.
The fires burn for the length of Winter's Evening, marking a celebration of storytelling. But only the bravest, most courageous, or the ones that lack sanity participate in this marathon of stories. It is not for the faint of heart, as the stories of old and of new will alight the sky with their words until the fires of Winter's Evening have burned down to their last ember.
Winter's Evening
As the bright day of the first of Winter's Evening slowly drifts into the cold of the evening, fires alight, casting their glow on covered bodies and curious faces. The shadows on the edge of the fires' glow remain cold as the brightness of the white snow is cast dark while the soaked earth below the flame is revealed. All have gathered around the fires of Winter's Evening, all have gathered to hear the tales of the WorldEmber.
Other places and planes may hide from the light shed by the fires or they may celebrate in their own way, but the lands of Isekai celebrate with tales, endless stories of the barren and fertile landscape that had survived a cataclysm of divine proportions only a few centuries before. The people gather to hear stories of long-lost civilizations, of places their feet will never rest. As the fires of Winter's Evening erase the snow and cold of the depths of winter, the people that hear the stories alight with a new fire.Lost Souls
Even as the fires burn brightly, some of their lusters are lost among the colder days and howling winds. It seems this year has been full of hardship, so much so that the calls of Winter's Evening have fallen on the ears of those beyond the planes of Isekai. This year they are joined by their brethren in Seireitei, a whole other world, but one that too could benefit from the camaraderie that the WorldEmber and its stories bring.
As the year winds to a close, we join together one last time to find harmony and peace in the desolate landscape, but the voices of the storytellers ring out. We shall reach Spring's Morning and the warmth of its days, we will reach Shogatsu and the renewal that the new year brings.
Reaching Spring's Morning
Once again we have gathered around the smoldering fires, warm cups clutched tightly in hand, as storytellers begin their fantastic ballads, their voices reaching far above the howling winds that whip the snow into flurries. Even as the world around us remains bleak, illness reaching far and wide, the storytellers come forth, and we are now different. One of us may be called away by the cries of the lost under the howling wind, but even as one of us remains, the stories dance in the firelight of Winter's Evening.
The Goal of WorldEmber: To reach 400,000 words in Isekai, reach 100,000 words in Seireitei, and flesh out more details in both worlds.
Image Inspiration
Week 3's homework was to prep images and I'm slightly ahead with many of the images I need for my proposed articles. For Isekai, many of the images were created for the Alliance Challenge. The crests noted for the individual organizations were created using the
Fantasy Emblem Creator. The portraits I have been creating with
Portrait Workshop, which is currently in beta, hence why so many of the portraits aren't done yet. Let me know if anyone would be interested in seeing some of the portraits I've created so far.
As for Seireitei, the world has very few images as I tend to let the imagery of the words speak for themselves. There's really nothing to prep, so I'll stick to working on the meta and primer for the world instead.
I need to learn how to do these tables because I love the idea of being able to roll in order to know what you'll be writing about next.
By the way, I am also loving the story part in the beginning of your article and how organised everything is!
Check out the new table feature! It's been awesome for this type of thing and I've seen a few others using it as well.
Co-creator of the TTRPG System Storybook
Thank you! I have been playing around with them after seeing how well it works for this. :)