Summer Camp 2023
Pledge and Homework
((click to expand))
"I, Chrispy_0, pledge to...write some articles this month, maybe, I hope...Let me explain."
I unfortunately....Work for a Living. I had three days off during the month of May. Every other day involved 10 hour work days trying to get projects pushed out. The month of June is not looking any better unfortunately. Work might possibly slow down once July starts and stay that way until the middle of August, which happens to be the perfect window to participate in Summer Camp! Let's not get too far ahead though.
Goals
Read 300 articles
That's about 10 articles a day. I managed to reach this number barely halfway through the month last year. I'm not going to be commenting on many articles though. I rarely do.Write 16 articles, Achieve Silver
I'm lowballing this number because of stuff I mentioned already. Also, I don't like writing stub articles (I tend forget they exist after making them). I'd rather they be full and nearly complete. If I get inspired and have the time, prepare to see 40 articles, but I'm not putting that as my actual goal.World CSS Overhaul and integration
You can see some of the new containers in use here. Adding a little gradient makes everything look way better than before and doesn't get in the way of me wanting a dark appearance for this world. It's a work in progress though and there are some issues with it, but I hope to have it done by the end of next month and have all my articles changed over to the new style. This will not get in the way of my writing next month.World: Vreathe
Something I learned over the last few months is that I am never going to be able to work on both my science fiction world and my fantasy world at the same time. I'm always putting one or the other on the backburner and sometimes I end up ignoring both because I can't stay focused on one or the other. Because of this, I'm not touching the Cairn Sector at all this summer, and will be entirely focused on this world: Vreathe. There should be enough unwritten thoughts and unfinished material to at least get a few articles done in a month!...unless work completely takes over my life again, but let's not go there!
Also, like most of the worldbuilding I do here, the primary location will be the Kingdoms of Cassel.
Theme 1: Power
Saya
"Cassel itself isn't just one kingdom, it's five if you count the Two Elven Kingdoms and the Three Human Kingdoms.Wait...Isabel would be mad if I didn't mention them...There are seven kingdoms if you count the kingdoms of Sea Elves in the Bay of Lions and the Bay of Tornor.
Oh, and while the three human kingdoms are still considered separate for whatever reason, all three have the same king, my bastard uncle Eldon Vernador!"
"There are many powerful organizations with influence over Cassel as well. The most obvious one is the Church of Saint Nora. She is literally the reason we Iron Humans even exist on Vreathe. Also she's my great, great, great times 20 grandmother.
Thirteen Knightly Orders carry one or more of Nora's Virtues, and they spread these virtues across the land. They also employ ridiculously powerful mage-soldiers that are sent to various kingdoms to keep them in check and ensure nothing strange is happening.
My brother Arden of the Order of the Abyss, and my sister Renelle of the Order of the Phoenix are two of the most powerful knights I know. Arden's defenses are said to be absolute, and Ren's fire magic is said to be the most powerful of any human or elf. Even the Infernas Dragons respect her power!"
Possible Articles
Theme 2: Frontiers
Myles
"The most uninhabited regions in Cassel are the The Sun Valley and the Ledon Frontier Lands, but we know about those already. There are also the Dragon Marches in Western West Cassel. The eleven baronies in this region are all located within the Corruption of Maeos, an area of the irradiated remains of a Dragon Lord of the same name. The Dragon Marches also form the land border with the Empire of Irrelith, one of the largest and most powerful nations on Vreathe. Wars between Cassel and Irrelith are rather rare and usually involve sea invasions because the Dragon Marches can be somewhat unstable and dangerous to humans who stay there too long.
The Corruption of Maeos houses a type of Dragonfolk that Do Not Exist in this reality except during certain astronomical events, and the corpse of the Dragon Lord is made of a rather unique type of crystal that Does not interact with mana. I think it was made of Beryllium, not really sure. They're used in Mana detectors of all things...
Map of the Dragon Marches of Cassel. Nine of the Eleven rulers are Humans, one is an Orc, and one is a Lamia. Instead of the title Baron, rulers of these areas bear the title Marques. They rule over the few people living here and they also patrol the lands with their forces in case Irrelith does decide to ever invade again.
Possible Articles
Locations
Raini
"Hey Tha--, er, Myles, tell them about the Dragon Crater in your home country of Yurrimkil. It isn't in Cassel, but it plays a huge role in the nation's history."
Myles
"The impact crater of Etaltra the Impervious. This dragon's hide was made of a lot of heavy metals and many legendary weapons are made of this dragon's remains, including the sword that Saya's carrying, the Aciam Fulgriff. Hey, Saya, doesn't that sword technically make you the undisputed ruler of all of the kingdoms of--" "Enough!"
Saya
"Just..."
"Not right now, please..."
Myles
"Fine, fine...moving on!"
Theme 3: Relics
Raini
"We have to talk relics?....Sorry Saya."
Saya
"Dammit....Just get it over with..."
"So, there are actually quite a few ancient and old weapons and items that can be found across Cassel. Two examples of which are to the right, Cida's Silverfish, and my old weapon, the Shattered Sisters. These are Silver Age weapons made by the Olimians, even tens of thousands of years later, these weapons were in perfect condition when we found them."
"But you're here to hear about some new relics of the past, aren't you? Well I know of a few! Myles already mentioned the Aciam Fulgriff. This Iron Age weapon was made for the Fifth King of Cassel over two thousand years ago. It was lost by the tenth king, and Saya of all people found it!
Another old Casselian weapon is the Rose of Cassel. This magical sword amplified fire magic, so it's a perfect weapon for Saya's older sister, Renelle! I heard she lost it and it is currently under the possession of King Eldon. I don't think he uses it though because the King of Cassel has his own legendary weapon, the Bear Slayer.
Aciam Fulgriff
Rose of Cassel
"There is one other very important Casselian relic, one that Saya is in ownership of. It is her birthright and signifies her as the rightful ruler of North Cassel (yeah, she has not just one, but two things that say she's the Queen of Cassel!). This Ring of the North is crafted from Silver and a piece of a legendary Aethercite crystal known as Xonde, which I think is old Casselian for Infinity or something.
The Ring has several powers thanks to the infinity crystal. Saya's tried throwing it away, many times, but it always magically reappears on her finger. That's not the only power though and I always wondered why Saya--"
Wait, where did she go?...What? No. The ring doesn't make you invisible! She just left..."
Theme 4: Communication
Cida
"Communication?...Where do I begin...I guess I'll start with language!""So, to start, merchants, mercenaries, travellers and more in Eastern Vreathe speak the same common Trade Language for cross country communication. It has different names and dialects depending on the country. In Cassel it's called Mercato, but in Ordland, it's called Masnach. It's probably the language you're reading in right now! Many say this trade language originated in the Empire of Irellith, but no one really knows."
"Each country also has their own local languages and Cassel, being quite a large country, has quite a few local languages. Each of the Twenty Counties of Cassel have at least one language spoken by some of the population, but there is significant overlap and all are descended or combined from Old Casselian in some way (which also has its origins in Irellith!). That language eventually turned into New Casselian, which is spoken in all of the cities and most of the towns. Out in the country, hopefully you know the local dialect or you might be in trouble!"
No matter where you are in Vreathe, as long as you know the trade languages, you can get around. There are three known Trade Languages, corresponding to the major areas of Vreathe: Eastern, Western, and Median.
"For People that communicate over long distances, there are several options. Of course you can just write a letter and hire someone to deliver it. There's an entire Guild that promises speedy delivery service no matter where you are on Vreathe!
If you have a lot of money, you can buy something known as an Entangled Letter. These magically enchanted pieces of paper always come in pairs. Whatever is written on one is automatically written on the other no matter the distance between them! The ink is enchanted to fade on command so it's reusable.
For something nearly as expensive, you can use a Memory Crystal to send a message. In order to view the message, just charge the crystal with mana while holding it and a memory will appear in your head. It's like someone is speaking directly to you!"
If you have a lot of money, you can buy something known as an Entangled Letter. These magically enchanted pieces of paper always come in pairs. Whatever is written on one is automatically written on the other no matter the distance between them! The ink is enchanted to fade on command so it's reusable.
For something nearly as expensive, you can use a Memory Crystal to send a message. In order to view the message, just charge the crystal with mana while holding it and a memory will appear in your head. It's like someone is speaking directly to you!"
"For more mystical communication, like creating enchantments (like the ones you see in the back there), We have a very specific way to attune an object to the universal Manafield, that allows the enchantments to work. This requires specific Circles of Power, Mana Arcs, Magical Symbols and Runes, and very precise mathematical calculations.
There is one other thing related to communication we can talk about, and unfortunately for Saya, it involves her again...The Vernadors are all descended from Saint Nora, the Supreme Judge. She measures a soul when it dies and enters the wellspring of souls inside Meliheal, the World Tree. Vernadors can tap into Nora's power and speak to the dead, and even channel these dead souls back onto Vreathe for a short time, just by being in contact with the World Tree. The dead have to be willing to speak though...
There is one other thing related to communication we can talk about, and unfortunately for Saya, it involves her again...The Vernadors are all descended from Saint Nora, the Supreme Judge. She measures a soul when it dies and enters the wellspring of souls inside Meliheal, the World Tree. Vernadors can tap into Nora's power and speak to the dead, and even channel these dead souls back onto Vreathe for a short time, just by being in contact with the World Tree. The dead have to be willing to speak though...
Possible Articles
Raini
"Which does bring up an obvious question...Why hasn't Saya ever tried talking to her parents? There's no way they wouldn't be willing to speak to their own kid..."
Cida
"Yeah...If she got their point of view, she'd be able to more easily find out who hired those assassins to kill them. Of course, we know Saya, she'll just say 'It's Not Important'...I wish she would open up to us more..."
Myles
"She'll also say 'what dead parents?' then say that she's not even a Vernador...But, the fact remains, Saya has that ability, and no amount of denying their own name and identity is going to erase that."
Summer Camp Tracking
Summer Camp 2022: Personal Stats
Articles Written: 16/40
Also wrote 2 non SC articles.
Also wrote 7 new variables.
Words Written: 10,300/40,000
41
Articles Read: 151/300
I also commented on 1 article so far. I suck at giving feedback so don't expect many of these...
Multipasses Found: 1
Also ran across 1 worlds that had social features disabled. ((I wish there was an easier to tell people that when they change their subscription plan, it sometimes disables the social features...))Article List
Theme 1: Power
Theme 2: Frontiers
Theme 3: Relics
Theme 4: Communication
Non-SC articles
((Articles that don't fit any category that I wrote during the month of July. I was writing these just before Summer Camp Started and spent the time to finish them before I got into the event proper. Even though I kind of suck at it, character work is important for worldbuilding and I am much better off having spent the first four days finishing these first))Articles read
The list below is a record of every one of the 300 articles I read during the month of July. You will find the article name with a link to it. There is a secondary reason why I am posting it like this, for some number crunching later next month. Don't need to worry about that part right now! ((Note that due to the nature of links and people changing article names and later making some articles private, some of these links will break.))Week 1
"A Powerful Organization In Your World"
"A Resource That Provides Fuel or Power"
↑(...Hey, i read it, it totally counts!)↑
Excellent goals for the month ahead! You've got this :D Are you hoping for any particular prompt templates this year?
Thanks! I'm up for writing any prompt template that comes up. I don't have much preference there.