Across the Worlds 2023

Welcome to Across the Worlds, where I share some of my favourite articles and worldbuilding this Summer Camp. I decided to focus on three worlds that really stood out to me, and that I highly encourage you to check out for yourself!

Cathedris is a titan of World Anvil, and for good reason. Steampunk in the shadow of massive dead gods is a killer concept, heightened further by Stormbril's mixed media approach to storytelling.
There's so many reasons to love Cathedris, but what catches my heart is the storytelling. This summercamp we saw the tale of Dr. Anabelle Evingston's rise to power weave through the articles.

wow that's a lot of stars or Talos for short, is another up and coming world, this time by Rin Garnett. Built for Stars Without Number, Talos is a grounded yet inventive science fantasy setting, with beautiful and clean presentation.
As the winner of the Under the Sea Challenge I had high hopes for Talos, and they haven't let me down.

NimrodialLibrary's Ayonerra is a world of capricious serpentine god-suns and myth come alive. If you're fascinated by mysticism and mythology like I am, it's a world well worth following.
The aesthetics and the art of Ayonerra drew my eye, but it's the weirdness that keeps me coming back. It's one world I'm really excited to see grow, and I think you'll enjoy it too.

Reading Challenge

Cathedris by Stormbril

A Powerful Organization

The Human Augmentation Program is a fascinating deep dive into a horrifying program. It reads like an exposé. A masterful use of tropes so that we immediately get what we're reading about, and allowing us to soak in the ways it which it ties into the wider universe of Cathedris.

A Destructive (Super)Natural Event

Dr. Evingston finds the Errant Thoughtseed is mostly prose, following the return of Dr. Evingston's operatives with the Errant Thoughtseed. I don't want to give much more away, but it is a great example of how you can use prose in worldbuilding.
Here, I feel like serves almost like a snapshot in time of a crucial, deeply important event of Cathedris' history. It's a chilling read.

A Historical Culture

Cult of the Mind might be a palate cleanser for some. We get some levity in this article, hearing about the follies and foibiles of the cultists. These cultists aren't quite harmless though, few cultists are. It seems however, that they mostly pose a threat to themselves.
The rapid pace at which the Cult spreads whenever it is rediscovered might suggest someone is pulling strings. Could it be tied to some of the other mind-altering things we've been told about this Summer Camp?

wow that's a lot of stars by Rin Garnett

A Powerful Organization

Mother of Stars is a religious organization that valorize and defend psionics, and who make look to to contextualize one of the great mysteries of the setting, the cause of the Scream. It is easy to see how people are drawn to their teachings, and some excellent seeds are sown to show the darker sides of the organization.
I also want to add that I very much appreciate how Rin Garnett incorporates insights into the creation of the article in the authors notes.

A Destructive (Super)Natural Event

The Scream is a cataclysmic psionic collapse that shattered interstellar society, and a big part of the Stars without Number system. In this article, Rin Garnett makes the concept their own.
It is a very well presented article, that cleanly lays out the causes and consequences of the Scream.

A Historical Culture

The Niris culture is a good example of extrapolating a culture from a species unique features. It takes into account the effective blindness and electroreception of the species.
However, it is the technological legacy of the Niris where this article comes to life. We are invited to wonder about their secrets alongside the people in the world.

Ayonerra by NimrodialLibrary

A Powerful Organization

The Saammai are a secretive order that serve Med'Hea. While the article seems intended for an audience already familiar with Med'Hea's role in Ayonerra, the concept is a strong one, and their history is intriguing. I think a good lesson to take from this article is how characters and worldbuilding come together to make eachother stronger. Organizations are always related to people, both those who took part in creating them, and those who operate and lead it today.

A Destructive (Super)Natural Event

A Rain of Amaars, the bestial children of the Gveleshapi sun-gods, is exactly the sort of cataclyismic event that splits a calendar. It's really cool, and the mythical tone of Ayonerra really shines in historical articles like this one.
I feel this article shows the value of a strong perspective, a definitive idea of what lense we're seeing this world through.

A Historical Culture

Remains of the Hska Civilization does not just give us insight into the Hska, but also to what Ayonerra was like before Med'hea's arrival. The Hska left behind weapons for fighting the Amaar, albeit at a great cost to those that came after.
It is rewarding to see what we've learned in other articles not just in a new context, but with new information. Rewarding curiosity when reading on like that really scratches that exploration itch for me as a reader.