Seven Sanctuaries
Scope
The motivation behind building Seven Sanctuaries
To capture all the best parts of a video game world while ironing out the wrinkles that come with the limitations of the media, and exploring the cultural ramifications and impact that video game logic would have on such a world.
Many games are unnaturally skewed toward violence/combat because, simply, solutions to quests rely on the programming of the game. Likewise, NPCs are limited in their interactions and responses instead of being able to react in a more natural fashion.
People are far more creative than a game can allow for.
The goal of the project
A novel or possibly serial novel.
I really want my readers to be able to immerse themselves in the world as much as the story and envision it as a place where they could live if they were able to step into it.
Seven Sanctuaries's Unique Selling point
The Sanctuary system emulates the "respawn" function of a video game, but with in-world mechanics and limitations.
Theme
Genre
Magitech Fantasy. Sword and Sorcery. Exploration and adventure.
Reader Experience
Mystical yet familiar. A place where wonder is everywhere, but it also feels like home. With a little extra stabbing on the side.
Reader Tone
With wondrous things comes the possibility of terrible darkness. Any system can (and likely will) be abused. But that doesn't mean that everyone will choose to be abusive.
Recurring Themes
General video game shenanigans. Leaping from balconies and rooftops as a shortcut. Tossing cabbages. Dumping boatloads of weaponry down a stairwell because they're too heavy to carry.... Just typical stuff.
A sense of belonging. What creates a home? How does a community come together to rebuild from ashes?
Do you really want to live forever? After all, even old soldiers eventually fade away. Life is exhausting.
Character Agency
"A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may be the difference between victory and defeat." (And sometimes the Dragonborn is the one who serves the mead and steals your sweetroll.)
Focus
Drama
The mythical Hollow Warriors have returned, climbing out of the Well of Souls in greater and greater numbers. Will they save the world, or destroy it?
The largest Sanctuary zone is rapidly shrinking, causing refugees to flee inwards. Or risk crossing to another.
Rumors claim that the City of the Seven Towers, home of the Well of Souls, has awakened as a Sanctuary zone.
Some of the [high] elven royal families are employing Hollow Warriors as bodyguards and assassins, causing tension among the elven gentry. Many view this as an unfair advantage in The Game.
A growing contingent believes that delving into the treacherous no-man's lands between the Sanctuary zones might discover more zones. But is it worth the risk?