WorldEmber 2020 Prep

The Setting

The Wild Cards is a pseudo-Medieval setting where some people have magical abilities, called Tarot Abilities. At a central political-neutral Academy, selected young adults can undergo advanced lessons for up to five years. Class hierarchy still is is followed by many pupils, though change is brewing here, thanks to select individuals causing ripples that they hope will change society for the better.

The Plot

Centered around a club of five powerful individuals, and those they interact with, the stories are about their history and their years at the Academy, where they impact many of the people around them. A combination of slow water and rapid burning fire, these Wild Cards are shuffling the deck of society. From a history of fighting Tarot monsters even before coming of age, and overthrowing people's class prejudices, to preventing assassinations and getting involved in civil wars, they are preparing the world for a time of turmoil.

The Plan

For WorldEmber, the plan is to work out the setting's foundation with at least 10k words. The focus will be on three parts: The characters, the Academy, and various Tarot abilities. The characters are partially made with the Thoth Tarot, using a simple 3-card spread. (Genders were randomly determined but may be changed later.) The Academy consists of many moving parts to work on, needing explanation on how everything ticks. And Tarot Abilities make clear who can do what and where the limits are. Below is the plan per category what kind of articles to work on.

Characters

• 0: The Fool (M, Acceptant*)
• 1: The Magician (F, Noble)
• 2: The Priestess (M, Noble)
• 3: The Empress (M, Acceptant*)
• 4: The Emperor (M, Acceptant*)
• 5: The High Priest (M, Noble)
• 6: The Lovers (M, Acceptant*)
• 7: The Chariot (F, Noble)
• 8: Justice (M, Acceptant*)
• 9: The Hermit (F, High Noble)
• 10: Wheel of Fortune (M, Noble)
• 11: Strength (M, Acceptant*)
• 13: The Nameless One (M, High Noble)
• 14: Temperance (M, Noble)
• 15: The Devil (M, Noble)
• 16: The Tower (F, Acceptant*)
• 18: The Moon (F, High Noble)
• 19: The Sun (F, High Noble)
• 22: The World (F, Noble)

The Academy

• The Staff
  • Teachers
  • Administration
  • Army
  • Misc.
• The Pupils
  • Nobles
  • Examinees
  • Recruits
  • The Marked
• Parts
  • Dorms
  • Classroom Wings
  • Shared Areas
  • Staff Areas
  • Training Grounds
  • ✓ Battle Arena
  • The Walls + Walled Corridor
  • The City

Tarot Abilities

• Swords
  • Summoned Blades
  • Physical Augmentation
  • Air
• Staves
  • Barriers
  • Constructs
  • Earth
• Pentacles
  • Mental Control
  • Sensing
  • Fire
• Cups
  • Plantlife
  • Healing
  • Water
• Nine Shadows
• Wild Ones
• Tarot Monsters

Stories to tell

• Monsters in the Woods: Origin of Sasha, Maera and Random
• A spider's web: Diane's first year
• Forever not yours: Idalia's breakup
• Going Wild: Random's first detention
• A thorny road: James and gossip around him
• Jack of all Trades: Jack's intro at the Academy
• Our Winter Dance: A tale of Fire and Ice rivalry
• Master of Blades: Sasha becoming Blade Master
• An Admirer's Suffering: Maera being harassed
• The Six Knights: Tarot Tournament
• Between the Shadow and the Act: Extreme bullying
• Pen and Sword: Attack by rival Academy
• Nine Shadows: The first Master Classes of the Knights
• Fire and Flames: Inferno proving himself
• Winter of Discontent: Clarke exposing corruption
• Army of the Damned: Political prison break

The World

• History of the Academy
• The current countries
• Tarot Knights
• Anti-Tarot prejudices
• The coming Age of War
• Jack's Masterplan
• Random's Masterplan
• The role of Fools
• The monsters in the dark
• Anti-Tarot measures
• Raiders and mercenaries

* There are two kinds of pupils: Nobles, who are sent to the Academy by their countries, and Acceptants. While all Acceptants are treated and labeled the same by Academy staff, it is public knowledge that there actually are three types:

• Examinees, which applied, went through entrance exams and were accepted.
• Recruits, which are found by Academy recruiters and either invited or pressured to join
• Marked, Tarot criminals who are offered refuge at the Academy to master their abilities