Kriltch's SC23 Pledge

On To Summercamp

It's been quite some time since I've participated in a Summercamp event. All the way back in 2019 left me with 30 prompts complete (same as 2018). But that COVID, it really took away my motivation to do things. Well, that and I've been a bit preoccupied with STILL trying to complete my novel of many years in development. So, while life and the book will be there, I'd love to do another summer camp!

So, while I haven't been writing articles in World Anvil, that hasn't stopped me from world-building in general. I now have so many notes and even more ideas still locked in my head that are begging for articles. I tend not to go for a specific theme or section in my world, writing whatever the muse tells me to, and that will be the case this year. So don't expect any direct world build for the novel. My plan is to get all these disparate ideas rambling around in my head down and out for everyone to enjoy. I want to write fun ideas that will either spark more creativity or are just there to say "huh. neat."

Dewy Diamonds Badge by Strixxline

Being a part of the Dewy Diamonds, I plan not to stress about getting diamond.

Seeking the Unknown

READ

Theme 1: Power

Power is such a broad topic, it comes in so many forms. The obvious forms of power are social and material (think physical strength, mental prowess, magical aptitude, just anything that can affect the world around an individual). But power can also be abstracted to touch so much. Power can be anything that holds one thing higher than another. It can be social standing as much as changing the mind of an individual or group to better suit a person or group's needs. It can be technology that enhances personal attributes. It can be a concept that uplifts or brings down merely by knowing or accepting its existence.

In Kald, power is a liquid. That is, power fills any space and will shift depending on any kind of factor. While political leaders hold much social standing in the primary timeline, just look into a nearby timeline and that power never was. And while a being might be able to change the weather, that's not very influential to a city that has a dome that blocks out external weather phenomena.

That said I'll probably add things adjacent to power, like technology that increases power, as well as the typical big organizations and influential/strong individuals. A few ToDos I have in mind are: Drakve the Mirrored, any vshawen Phor, Republic of Kexist, illicit substances over various species, the Boda'oba tree, and enchantment.

Theme 2: Frontier

Frontiers, now that’s something I can really sink my teeth into. While I don’t plan on making any maps, this might be a good excuse to update the world map. My plan has always been for it to add stuff as I worldbuild. A city here, a mountain there, some bones of a giant snake creature. That said, I have plenty of room for frontiers both physical and conceptual. There’s plenty of physical space on the continent that needs to be explored or re-explored. I’m also interested in the frontiers of concepts, like understanding the soul and new + innovative technologies.

I want to include one of the premier characters for frontiers, Tia, the Witch of Knowledge in more articles. She's had a small presence in a few articles now; I think she’d have a lot to say on boundaries between the known and the less known. I’d also like to include more on the delving profession, maybe some stories of unique areas. And, of course, the all-too-necessary intermediary, sometimes a frontier exists at the city’s border.

I’ve already delved (pun intended) into some of these aspects, but I’ve got plenty more. Some articles for frontiers may include: Soul Stitch, Natural Sciences Ligt/Fire/Magnetism/Glass/Chemistry (They might seem simple, but Kald has a different way the universe is set up from atoms and gravity. So what "light" is will be completely different from photons and waves), Dream sharing (the limits of pain and pleasure), Bweal (A town with some curious happenings), and some stuff on unexplored places.

Theme 3: Relics

Kald is full of relics, intentional and unintentional. There are plenty of museums, oral history, family heirlooms, and more to go around. There are also lost towns and entire civilizations that, due to the common occurrence of places vanishing, are forgotten until discovered. In fact, the City of Sornata is a relic of a city with relics upon relics scattered inside. Kald has a flimsy attachment to the past, and though it is there for rediscovery, not everyone is fully on board with digging up graves. Some, however, are more than willing to risk their lives and sanity to uncover the truth.

Because relic-making is so ubiquitous and majority unwanted in conception, the people of Kald generally try to keep relics in civilized areas or retreive them from areas known once to house life. But those are just objects, unearthing the history of past peoples can also come in the form of folk tales, oral history, rumors, myths, and more. Words passed down the ages are like a huge game of telephone, but they all started with a true story. Those stories, many stories, have yet to be retold in their original form.

I don't have too many items in my todo pertaining to relics. Overall, I like to leave a lot of mystery to the history of the world to the inhabitants and you readers. Some of the stuff I don't know about, but there's plenty I have just in my head. Ideas I do have and may make articles for are: Anyuh Nepechidee (a big ol' ship), Heart of Keva (the still-beating heart of an unknown species), ships (in general), & any kind of geography

Theme 4: Communication

Communication in Kald is... complex. Sure, you have the standard forms of communication, body language, vocalizations, and writing. First, that's an issue with so many species having the ability to converse in distinct languages but do not have the same capacity for vocalization ranges and different body parts and natural mannerisms to communicate with body language. With telekinesis, or as they call them ethereal limbs, writing becomes the standard for effective communication. Though Kald also has some quirks that expand communication, that being aura and telepathy. Being able to read minds and feel others' emotions adds complexity to what exactly is communicated.

While I have the ideas for modes of communication down, at least a little, in writing, I don't have much for how it's used, a vibe for the understanding of communication. Sure, I can say a language is made by drake and thus would only be able to include these sounds, but how would a different species approximate those sounds, what kind of tools would people use to "translate", how would dialects form if people in a given area say the same word differently, with different modes of writing (flame, carving, paint, etc), how and why is one dominant despite it being only for one writing system? And, for a little (a lot) of seasoning, how does the modern world affect communication, and how has globalization (at least of the civilized continent) affected the modes of communication? I have a few bits of technology rattling around in the world, and, as I write, I wonder why there are multiple of them and not a dominant force...

Now, as for the article stubs & on the TODO: Far flame (writing at a distance), I could probably stand to make auras and telepathy their own articles, rather than being bunched up in the generic magic article, something with languages, enchantment, potion brewing, scrying smoke, ships (land/sea/air/sub-aquatic) could tell how communication gets around, & Grandmother Wayfarer.