WorldEmber 2023 Pledge

Fire fire burning bright
Long into the winter night

I only ever participated once in World Ember, back in 2019, but it left such a strong impression on me that it's remained the by far most memorable time here on World Anvil.
Free writing and running for word count goals felt right up my alley. I don't think I've ever not known what to write. I have such an unsurmountable ocean of notes for fledgling worldbuilding ideas - and I always end up writing double the amount I first intended to - so it'd be no problem getting words down. Finding the motivation, energy, and time to do it in a month was the actual challenge for me.
I decided to give it a go despite being weighted down by brain goblins and having a panicking reptile brain screaming at full blast... and it was good. It was fun. I'm not sure what happened, and it's so difficult to describe the lingering emotions, but I had such a better time taking part in the community than I had in other events. It was so... wholesome (yes, I like this word very much), such a warm community spirit, and everyone was so supporting to everyone regardless of <insert list of stereotypes>.
Taking part in Summer Camp 2023 after my come-back and getting to re-experience that exact feeling made July the highlight of my year. And made me also look forward even more to the next World Ember.

Pledge Goal

In 2019 I was very, very close to reach the 50.000 milestone without much struggle or effort. It was just unlucky my personal spacetime continuum got warped and I ended up just about 500 words short. I thought I had a day more to write than I did.
Due to that, and the fact Summer Camp went so swimmingly compared to expectations, I almost immediately set my aims high for World Ember this year. 50.000 words, to be exact.
Recent events IRL have forced me to reevaluate, and dial it down significantly. Hopefully I've gotten over this shitty state I'm currently in by the time the event starts, but I'll leave it as a pleasant surprise for me and you if I find myself with more energy than I've budgeted for.
For one, I will be keeping the Competitor Mode off, and I also have concluded I'll be satisfied and happy if I can reach first milestone of 10.000 words.

by Nimin N.

Area of Focus

I plan to deal with a backlog of writing that I feel I should have gotten done a long time ago. They're all more or less finished planning-wise, and just need to be properly pieced together and written.

Characters

• Elgin Graff-Iner
• Juane Pellian-Desyk
• Kiros
• Natira
• Setsuvah
• Tiona Primen-Celwik
• Tybulus Svilen
• Verah Dyyne

Conflicts

• #6 No Words Necessary
• The Skethal Infestation

Conditions

• Desquamating Identity Disorder
• Dread Throes

Documents

• #37 Three Tail's Demands

Ethnicities

• Llucevian
• Ljuuhovii
• Sandaru
• Therännan

Languages

• Gjevasudit
• Goosujati
• Voehn
• Aolkili

Landmarks

• Suszukoro Research Station
• #21 Uushi Mining Station
• Yggdrasil D-44 Shipwreck

Locations

• #20 Csetun Uushi
• The Darkverse

Myths

• #42 The Omniescent Void

Organizations

• The Ascendancy
• #41 The Soulfire Sentinels
• Sketh Hive

Species

• Akreian
• Andelin
• Balike
• Eörpan
• Kolalu
• Ktlac Ktlac
• Lusoyan
• Rejinat
• Ultholl
• Vulgoc

• Hukhajya
• Lejipolma
• Muursamul
• Piddes
• Soomja
• Taljakka
• Tursatjek
• Marrowblight
• Agglamus
• Sketh

Settlements

• #23 City of Hövnís

Technologies

• Lifeform Biochemistries
• Modern Methods of Space Travel
• The ARK Archives
• Reality Cutter

Traditions

• Common Currencies
• Union Standard Dating System
• Vsunutuhah Dating System

Mini-Meta

A mini-meta? *Starts sweating* I haven't even filled out the regular meta yet!
... And I'm not sure I will do so in the future either as I feel it has a lot of overlap with some already existing articles I've cooked up such as the category, updated about page, and the shiny new primer plus content & updates roadmap.
It's also pretty difficult since my 'area of focus' in World Ember this year is more or less catching up: Writing articles for some core concepts, finishing all the related articles for the planet Biegjun, and check off some of the leftover SC23 prompts.

Category Structure

I already did this very recently but it hasn't been fully implemented yet due to time constraints.
Rosepetal's primary PoV is the in-universe library curated by the The Royal Atheneum of Hövnís for the general public, and I am working on filling out the category structure to support this. There will be introductory top-level categories that branch down into narrower categories and/or indexes. A finished example of an introductory category is Space Exploration.
Color palette theme shifts will be used to communicate if a specific page deviates from their PoV, such as the more uniform blue tones of my meta pages.

Challenges & Events

WE 2023 Event Hub

Winter Clubs

Many thanks to Rin Garnett for inviting us to his Cozy Cottage this winter. I'll be huddling in an armchair close to the fireplace, with a thick blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.

Cozy Cottage Enclave badge by Rin Garnett

1. I will stop to stoke the fire when it dwindles.
   No matter the task, rest when you are tired and for as long as you need to feel rejuvenated.
2. I won't force the fire to fit a different stove.
   Your pledge is a goal, not a requirement. Your plans are inspiration, not a map.
3. I will follow sparks of joy, not chase dying embers.
   Write and read what makes you happy, and don't force yourself forward if you're not having fun.
4. My flame is beautiful and undying.
   Believe in yourself and your ability to create, including when it's a struggle.
5. I will tend to all flames under my care.
   Working toward non-Worldember goals does not detract from your success, but adds to it.

Also... Can I pet it?

The biggest draw for me with Summer Camp and World Ember is the community engagement. I will be joining the Comment Caroling for as much as I have energy for.

This worldember I invite you to go Comment Caroling with me. The goal is to help cheer people on as they write. It's as easy as trying to leave a little comment when you like an article! It doesn't need to be fancy.
An important tenet among us comment carolers is to take care of yourself too! If you're not feeling like commenting, don't! This is for fun, and forcing it isn't fun.

— Annie Stein, Solaris

by Charlie N.

Homepage Update

by Charlie N.

I updated my homepage not that long ago, but do think I should take another look at it.
Currently the homepage welcomes the reader with an in-universe greeting from the Royal Atheneum of Hövnís' Public Knowledge Repository (P.K.R) and a selection of theme and topic categories. But to make the homepage more first-time-visitor friendly, I'm rethinking this approach.
The most likely change will be to move the contents out of my Welcome to the Rosepetal category out and directly into the homepage, and create a hub for each of Rosepetal's voices. I'll have to see if I can manage to do this before World Ember starts, though.

P.K.R Library

Jarmen Archives

The Dreamer

Sources of Inspiration

Fellow Anvilites

This keeps on being a super difficult choice: I follow 162 worlds to date and they are all an inspiration to me for different reasons. So I decided to showcase 3 worlds from my list I haven't showcased in my previous challenge entries.

Astra Planeta

I've followed Astra Planeta since early 2019, and this hard sci-fi setting had a huge influence on my growing interest in speculative fiction worldbuilding. I was very glad when Doug Marshall announced coming back to work on it again.

Elaqitan

Though I decided to go into sci-fi, I have my roots in the fantasy genre. Blue Fairy 74's Elaqitan is a stunning low-magic alternate history / fairy tale fantasy mix with incredible depth and detail that I feel I've still only bared scraped the surface of.

Culinarypunk

It's difficult not to be inspired by Emily Armstrong's Culinarypunk just from how ingeniously and creatively unique it is. They've baked a delectably charming setting that's become my go to reading spot to cheer myself up on those cloudy days.

Literature

The Pit Dragon Chronicles

♦ by Jane Yolen ♦
I haven't read the pit dragon chronicles since late teenage, but still remember them as some of my favorite books thanks to their (to past me) fascinating mix of fantasy and sci fi.

Paksenarrion

♦ by Elizabeth Moon ♦
The single series in my entire life that I have read more than once. They're such a fantastic example of a grounded, low-magic fantasy setting and the attention to details and flow truly show how much research went into it writing them.

The Story of Your Life

♦ by Ted Chiang ♦
This is the novella that was adapted into the movie Arrival, and it's such a fascinating dive into the subject of free will and casuality; If you know what's going to happen, can you keep it from happening?

Games

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Not only is it a good game, but a fantastic story that incorporates the visual medium it's told through to the fullest, for a truly one-of-a-kind, unique experience. And if I ever could offer an example of how to portray mental illness the right way, this is it.

The Last of Us

This game gripped my interest for two reasons: first, it's a very gripping story, and second, their version of the zombie virus outbreak trope is among the most original and realistic I've seen.

Gods Will Be Watching

A point and click adventure game with a gripping narrative. Similar to The Story of Your Life it explores the subject of free will and casuality, and is an epitome of well-executed 'show don't tell' writing.

Any Last Minute Prep?

... Not really. :) I think I'm as prepared as I can be, and doing any more might be more harmful than helpful. I'll be spending the last week continuing on my category and article tidying. Plus there's a trove of pledges I've saved and would like to catch up commenting on. <3