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Summer Camp 2024 - Reading Challenge

Looking Back

Summer Camp was a blast. As the first World Anvil event I've particpated in, the experience went far beyond what I expected. What started as a chance to focus on developing Terramora further, turned into a truly transformative experience with implications far beyond world building.   First, the community here is fantastic. As the first discord channel I've truly utilized, and the frequenters of the challenge channel are incredibly welcoming, encouraging, and helpful. Without them, Gold would not have been accomplished, and Terramora would likely still be invisible on this site. If you haven't had the chance to get to know these folks, I highly recommend jumping into the the discord, in addition to checking out all the great worlds the site has to offer.
  Secondly, the experience of writing to prompts was new and surprisingly enjoyable. It forced thinking about things that otherwise would have been glossed over, or even forgotten, and helped add quite a bit of depth to both modern and historical Dendralis.   Lastly, the chance to harness focus into one are for a month was the most productive and fulfilling creativity has been for some time. With numerous hobbies and focuses beyond Terramora, it's too easy to jump from project to project even within a singular day. By focusing on one single project for the month, both the volume and quality of output was significantly higher, not to mention getting to build on progress from day to day was very enjoyable. I will be attempting to focus on one primary project each month through at least the remainder of 2024, and possibly further in an experiment to see if this is truly a more porductive process for myself.    

Summer Camp in Dendralis

As of now, only the continent of Dendralis has been revealed on Terramora, and thus was the central focus for all summer camp prompts. In particular, Summer Camp provided a great opportunity to expand upon the ancient history of this continent in signifiacnt ways. Below are links to the preparation for Summer Camp, and the hub page for all articles created during camp.    

Reading Challenge

The hardest part of the Reading Challenge is trying to pare down all the amazing articles submitted to Summer Camp into a digestible number of articles to share. I also wish to support those who have done a ton to help me over the last month as well. As such there are two segments of articles below for your reading pleasure. The first group is comprised entirely of worldbuilders who have helped out Terramora in various ways (and I'm sure some I've missed, so HUGE apologies to those I did miss). Second is a collection of articles from prompts I did not complete myself. The focus this month remained on what fit in very nicely with what has already been created within Terramora, and some prompts simply weren't obvious fits, and thus skipped. It was fun getting to read those who did complete these prompts to get some new ideas for Dendralis and beyond. Enjoy!  

Friends of Terramora

Esclabor
Building / Landmark | Sep 1, 2024

A mountain carved fortress overlooking the Holy City of Calm, built to guard against dragons

Alan Byers's support for Terramora has been exceptionally helpful, and his work is just as impressive. I love the idea of Petra-like structures hollowed out from stone, and Esclobar is not only protective in it's defense, but offensive as well.

Lavender Rebellion
Organization | Jul 27, 2024
From the streaming great Polina "Line" Arteev comes the Lavender Rebellion. I love a rebellion, and a subtle decentralized one always seems to stick around no matter what.
Devil's Ashes
Technology / Science | Jul 28, 2024

The only way angels can enter Inferncenem safely.

From another helpful voice on the discord, Coolg, the use of Devil's Ashes is just such a great concept that goes hard.

Sárezket
Geographic Location | Jul 25, 2024

An earthquake-prone coastal plain in Hvalgora, sweeping from mountains to sea. Lights up gold sometimes.

From a Queen of CSS on the discord channel, Han, comes a land of beauty, danger, and intrigue. The writing does a great job of painting a picture, while the images included really hammer it home.

Wire Dancer
Fauna | Aug 9, 2024

Parasitic jellyfish that target armoured whales, one of the largest organisms in the oceans of Norrab.

What list of helpful Anvilites would be complete without Mochi? The wire dancers are a wonderful example of the spooky deep sea creatures that are so fun to learn about in the real world.
Spin the Coin, Roll the Die
Tradition / Ritual | Jul 16, 2024
Finally, Keon Croucher is an amazing welcome man to the discord, and a really fun worldbuilder. The practices of the Faith of Varis Tomain completely subvert our standard ideas of what constitutes religious practice and worship.

Exploring the WorldAnvil-verse

 
A Tradition that Represents Moral Decay
The Shadow Masquerade
Tradition / Ritual | Sep 13, 2024

Masks hide all sins.

Immediately breaking the rule of featuring authors who are entirely new, The Shadow Masquerade from Tillerz is a wonderfully detailed account of a morally bankrupt event that gave off some Bilderberg/Eyes Wide Shut vibes.
Iron Feast
Tradition / Ritual | Jul 21, 2024
Dieselpunk is a genre long I've long admired but haven't gotten to dive into enough. This entry from BCGR_Wurth added a wonderfully visceral experience to a genre of steel and oil.
Feeding of the Stone
Tradition / Ritual | Aug 3, 2024
Just absolute brutality from tarkinlarson. A descriptive account of human sacrifice that has definitely taken an even darker turn with time.

A Document of Spurious or Controversial Attribution
The Sleepwalkers' Tale
Document | Oct 4, 2024

A compilation of strange fragments that tell of an alien world

An epidemic a sleep-writing creates a tale of an unknown world creates a fantastic hook into the Million Islands from Demongrey
Altiarc the Wayward's Guide for Discovering Artifacts of the Ancient Times, Vol. 4
Document | Aug 3, 2024
Sometimes articles written as part of the world, rather than about the world fail to really hook. However, this offering from Ellysium instantly immerses the reader into the Hallowed Legacy.
Dragonstone
Document | Sep 3, 2024

A mysterious stone tablet with writing older than the Ancient Dragonkin language.

This cryptic tablet from reminds one heavily of not only the named inspiration of Skyrim's Dragonstone, but also the hermetic text the Emerald Tablet.

A Myth, Urban Legend or Conspiracy Theory Believed by Many to be True
Fake News Strikes Again!
Myth | Aug 3, 2024

The University of the Arcane at Uftlon greatly appreciates you assistance is stopping this ridiculous time wasting fable.

Too funny not to include this newspaper article from Tlcassis Polgara | Arrhynsia - The heathenous Round World Society trying to convince people the world is not flat?? Balderdash!
Tree-Forming
Myth | Jul 20, 2024

A belief among the mortals of Lenwir, born of a legend, that to break deals with or disrespect wood elves causes you to become a tree.

A wonderful little tale of a terrible fate from Yerran, having both the full tale, and surrounding context immerses the reader nicely.
The Smokeman
Myth | Jul 13, 2024
From M.R.R. Shelswell, the Smokeman is the kind of spooky that just sticks with you.

Future Plans for Terramora

The beauty of working on Terramora is that it is so massive, that there will always be something to add to the world. The focus for the remainder of 2024 is to continue to establish the continent of Dendralis. The Greenwood and Emerald Isles are solidly established, while the regions of the Emerald Shores, The Fertile Valley, the Darkwood, and the Fissures are almost ready to be revealed to the world. However, that leaves 40-50% of the continent yet to be plotted out. Ideally the entire continent will be loosely plotted out in it's entirety, while the named regions will hopefully all be unveiled by the time Worldember is complete.   In addition to revealing these regions, the hope is to complete a detailed primer for the continent of Dendralis, and to create the first piece of prose related to the world. Look out for the great historian Talamus Wynned to be included heavily in these works. There is also a plan to continue participating in World Anvil's events. The buzz in energy and creativity is contagious and will continue to push Terramora further.   In the long term, some regions beyond Dendralis have been loosely plotted. Ideas like deserts, artcic mountain ranges, and even a ring of fire are being tossed around in the oven. There may even be a subcontinent being developed entirely inspired by the Gizzverse.... Hope you decide to follow along the adventures in Terramora!

Comments

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Aug 8, 2024 03:29 by Keon Croucher

I'm really glad you liked that article, the concept came to me and I had to run with the idea though its still very raw, and its definitely a fun one I can't wait to explore more in depth in time :D

Keon Croucher, Chronicler of the Age of Revitalization
Aug 8, 2024 04:33 by Jeffrey Lebowski

I'm glad you ran with it! I had fun imaging a bunch of people in monk's robes throwing dice in the corner of a church XD

Aug 8, 2024 03:51 by Marjorie Ariel

That's great that you were able to make so much progress in your world! And even better that you found an awesome community to support you :D

Aug 8, 2024 04:34 by Jeffrey Lebowski

Has been an awesome experience! And I haven't even gotten to explore the worlds of all Terramorans such as yours yet!

Aug 8, 2024 18:45 by CoolG

EEEEE I'm so happy you loved my article ^^ I was originally thinking of special cooling suits but realized that the research would take too much time I didn't have (exams >.<). Then the idea of ashes from Inferncenem sprang to mind and I ran with it. Really glad I did xD

Explore the dark and mysterious Inferncenem, the bright and wonderful Caelumen or the magical and fantastical Ysteria   Have a good one!   Feel free to check out my Substack: CoolG's Awesome Worlds! Join the Discord and chat with like-minded people!
Aug 8, 2024 21:40 by Jeffrey Lebowski

I'm so glad you ran with this idea, its so badass!

Aug 8, 2024 18:57 by Mochi

Aww, thank you so much for featuring me and my wire dancers! <3

I hope you have a great day!   Explore the endless planets brimming with life of the Yonderverse! Go after creatures, discover new places, and learn about the people you find along the way.   Check out my Institutes of Learning Challenge entry!
Aug 8, 2024 21:44 by Jeffrey Lebowski

They're fantastic! Thank you for all the help in the discord!

Aug 15, 2024 01:27 by Han

Thank you!! Wonderful company to be among :D I'd missed that newspaper from Tlcassis hahaha


welcome to my signature! check out istralar!
Aug 15, 2024 01:42 by Jeffrey Lebowski

Thank you for all your help! It's so so good!

Aug 15, 2024 15:41

Thanks for including the Sleepwalkers' Tale in your collection! I am glad you liked it.

Aug 15, 2024 19:56 by Jeffrey Lebowski

It was a fantastic read! I read a story with a similar premise a while back - can't remember what or when - but the spook came back immediately while reading yours.

Aug 19, 2024 22:22

Congrats on reaching gold! That's awesome! And thank you for reading my article, it means a lot!   The Smokeman was inspired by a real-life urban legend from London where people once believed there was some sort of boogeyman who romped across the rooftops at night, but I can't remember much more than that—and it got a little flavour from the original Sandman mythos from back when he was a terrible creature and not as nice as he's now. John Solo on Youtube did a great breakdown on him.

Aug 20, 2024 02:10 by Jeffrey Lebowski

Thank you so much! And I really appreciate hearing about the background of the Smokeman! Such a cool concept!

Aug 31, 2024 15:00 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

Congratulations on reaching gold for Summer Camp! Great achievement for your first year! :)   Also, how did I miss this before? Thank you so much for featuring my eruption article! (And also apparently I forgot to follow you so I rectified that.)

Emy x
Explore Etrea
Sep 1, 2024 02:21 by Jeffrey Lebowski

Thank you! It was quite an enjoyable foray. We'll see if I go for quantity or quality next year.   I very much enjoyed reading about the eruption, and all of your articles for that matter! Thanks for the follow! Excited to see what comes next in Etrea!