Time to actually do a writeblr intro, wow this took me forever to make.
HI! Iām Crow, I like writing sometimes & wanna post about how I write sometimes. To do that I gotta have a place where people can have summaries of my too many projects. So, here
Most of my projects (except for War & Wings) take place in Cievia, a high fantasy world that Iāve been working on for 5 years now and love immensely.
[ ] means the name hasnāt been decided yet; a placeholder name
Novels
The Wandererās Guide
A somewhat academic-style, whimsical story of two best friends accidentally creating the first ever encyclopedia (and leading a decrepit world into a new golden age).
Itās a platonic love story as these two idiots (affectionate) travel the world together, gaining a comprehensive understanding of demonology, metaphysics, and the structure of the universe while on their roadtrip to go everywhere and experience everything in the world. That roadtrip just ends up longer than expected when they keep unintentionally helping wayward gods. And being the only witnesses to the death of the King of Heaven. And then fixing heavenly bureaucracy. And getting into underworld legal drama. And making a child from scratch to repopulate humanity. Yāknow, usual roadtrip things.
A lot happens when a cartographer/scholar and a wilderness guide decide to be best friends, okay?
Wandererās Guide will be a multi-book series that sees everything in Ceivia in its lowest state. Zipping Dragonfly (cartographer & scholar) and Cal Ipse (wilderness guide) go through Heaven, the Mortal Plane, and the various afterlives out of a youthful desire to see the world, and itās their need to help the people & gods they encounter that makes the world start to slowly recover. Itās a very domestic and hopeful story and itās easily my biggest project.
Themes on what the different kinds of love look like & how they often overlap, the ability or lack thereof to feel an emotion doesnāt make you evil, learn from history or be doomed to repeat it, itās never too late to try to get/be better, evil is a matter of perspective, and organizations can and should change with changing times.
[To Adapt]
A sort of side-sequel to Wandererās Guide? It follows the stories of two side characters as they reconnect and start traveling together.
It takes the perspective of Isal, a former major god who was out for the count for a solid two eras and is now back with no family left, his people barely remembering him, and without most of his power. Isal, when brought back, is greeted & taken care of by Lutt, a major enemy of his back in the day. Lutt has fallen from grace too; the civilization that worshiped him is gone. Lutt, once the god of rulership and an advisor to kings, is now the god of stories & wandering minstrels with almost no worshipers at all. The story follows the two as Isal relearns how to be a nobody, and tries to figure out a new domain for himself.
Itās borderline a philosophical dialogue, with the two constantly debating with each other. The big question is about betrayal. Isal used to (and might still) be the god of betrayal, so he has opinions about it. Lutt thinks itās a neutral thing, whether itās good or bad is determined by who youāre doing it to, and some forms of betrayal are the right thing to do no matter who youāre doing it to. Isal thinks that it is awful in all forms. Betrayal can be justified or necessary, but it is always morally wrong.
Lots of grappling with immorality and what it means, how you handle outliving people you love, and what to do if it all gets dull or tired.
Empire of Nixarian
This one is about the slow expansion of an empire on a very cold continent, told from the perspectives of the emperor, the emperorās advisor(and lover), a runaway slave from a neighboring kingdom, and a small group of soldiers at the front line. It takes inspiration from the reigns of Qin Shi Huang and Wu Zetian.
The perspective of the emperor deals with internal workings and politics of the palace, as well as his dubious sanity. The emperorās advisor has a lot of focus on the politics of the demons and spirits of the frozen landscape, ensuring the safety of his emperor, and managing his own demonic nature. The ex-slaveās story focuses on the magic system as she learns it and uses it to maintain her freedom. The soldiersā story shows the horrors of the front line & the love of found family, used as contrast to the goings on of the palace.
Themes of how mental illness doesnāt make you a bad person, who the āheroā of a story is is subjective, the nature of family & romantic relationships, and whether trying to live up to a legacy is worth it.
Web Comics
War and Wings
War & Wings is a story meant to play with the stereotypes & tropes of Fae King x Spunky Peasant Woman romances.
Itās a political drama & romance between a former nobleman and a fae queen.
A nobleman, named Ivan, was taught levitation magic by his sister (before she left) as a child (only women are allowed to learn magic). He wanted to spend his days in archery, romance novels, and practicing magic in secret, but he had to get married to secure the family line. He delayed marriage as long as possible, and when he couldnāt delay it anymore at home he joined the army as an archer.
At the border of the fae lands, [Queenie] has united all the clans of her people under one banner. She is leading them to conquest into human territories to have a place for her own people away from the constant threat of dragons and other great beasts. She has conquered a decent chunk of human territory, and is in the process of renovating a crumbling fort into a palace city complex.
While at war, Ivan and others are captured by [Queenie]. Ivan is picked out to be a palace servant. Plot ensues as Ivan finds he actually enjoys being a servant and the power he wields by influencing other servants and blackmail.
[Queenie] ends up finding out about his skill with levitation & the power he wields as a servant. She makes a deal with him. He will be her personal servant (a position of safety), and he will turn his network of servants into a network of spies for her. He agrees. Romance spirals from there.
I enjoy this one a lot since the story is kind of a story of villains? [Queenie] and her flying menace of a lover Alfe (Ivan starts calling himself Alfe) are very antagonistic to very hero-coded adventurers who are trying to stop them from continuing their conquest.
Medium To Be Determined
[Wandering House]
This one is mostly just vibes right now. Inspirations from Howlās Moving Castle, the Kidnapping of Persephone, and Baba Yaga.
A traveler is lost in a blizzard when he finds a manor. He breaks in and makes himself warm by the fireplace. At some point he eats food there. He looks for people but he canāt find any, but things keep getting fixed up and arranged like servants are working around the manor. At some point the traveler meets the master of the manor, who is determined to keep him there for some reason, probably loneliness. The master of the manor is up to some spooky shit and the traveler goes āNopeā and tries to leave. He canāt, doors wonāt open and when he finally breaks a window to leave he ends up back at the manor anyway.
He does manage to get away at some point, and manages to stay away for a while by actively dodging the place no matter how often it appears on the road. He gets forced back eventually.
The manor is full of spirits that work as servants :]
[Protect the Heir]
I have a better grasp on this one.
A snake demon & an enchanted soldier are desperate to protect the last surviving heir to the royal family until she reaches maturity.
The guard has been through many surgeries, removing his bones to be placed in weapons so that heāll be able to control them with his mind. So many bones have been removed that heās missing an arm, his feet are mostly metal, the remaining arm is in shreds, and his jaw got replaced with metal so he canāt speak. He is the princessās protector and the only person she has other than her godmother, the snake demon. The guard is an older brother to the little princess; she adores him.
Revolutionaries think that the demon and guard are manipulating the princess, or are going to puppeteer her, or otherwise hurt her so they kidnap her. The snake demon stays behind as regent to keep the place running, the guard goes to steal the princess back.
This one will probably be a comic but I havenāt decided yet.
