Happy worldbuilding wednesday!! I wanted to ask about the magic in Alesseia—you mentioned everyone has it, but how does it look like at the lowest level? How do the people in caste 6 most commonly use it?
Hello, thank you so much for the ask!! I'm really happy someone is interested in learning about my world 💖 Sorry for answering it a bit late (it's Friday morning in my time as I answer this) but I was busy 😅
Before I can answer your question, I want to talk about how magic works in this world, so buckle down and strap in!
Magic is defined in Alesseia's world as the essence of life, the power that every individual holds. This isn't to say that magic is only found in living organisms (the earth itself contains much magic, which is why Alesseians tend to think of the earth as a living thing) but rather, magic is a semi-corporeal substance that empowers life. Whatever supports magic supports life, as magic is what makes life blossom in this world.
With that in mind, it can be said that every living organism has magic in one way or another. Of course, all humans definitely have magic. If anything, humanoid species are notable for having some of the most powerful¹ strains of magic available.
[1] This is what modern humanoids believe in Alesseia's world. Is it true though? Eh, that's a question that can be answered by reading.
However, magic works differently for everyone; each human has a unique² strain of magic, so not all humans have the same powers. That's why they've sorted themselves into various castes³ depending on the rarity and power level of magic.
[2] On a small tangent related to this: magic is commonly noted to be the unique power of an individual, but that is a bit of a misconception. While each individual has a unique strain of magic in the same way every organism has a unique DNA sequence, this doesn't mean that they don't share magical similarities with each other, or that the outward characteristics (i.e. how magic is expressed) will not be similar. This is a lot of words that basically boil down to "people can do similar magic even when they're not related."
[3] See footnote number 1.
Last notable thing: magic is inherently a natural part of this world. That means everyone can naturally do magic without needing specific tools, accessories, or rituals. Of course, some people may experience difficulties in casting magic for one reason or another, which is why things like wands, potions, and certain traditions were invented to help with casting magic. Some items may even allow them to use magic outside of their capabilities, though technically they aren't casting magic themselves. These inventions may have even brought in new strains of magic that weren't available in the past.
So... How do people in the lowest caste use magic?
The average person in Caste 6 generally has magic underneath one or both of the following categories:
their magic is significantly weaker than others with similar powers (example: only being able to control a few gallons of water at a time)
their magic is too specific to be considered powerful (example: only being able to "communicate" with chickens, not even other birds, just chickens)
Other examples include fruit ripening, flora/fauna identification, healing minor injuries, minor usages of air and earth magic, and lots of other relatively small magical types that are associated with nature.
It's notable that these powers are generally useful in modern day society; the first two examples above are great for fish and chicken farmers. However, they're not considered powerful enough by the ruling families for a higher caste.
Happy belated TbTT! Which of your OCs is most similar to you? Why?
Hey, Tea, happy belated TbTT.
I mean, Autumn IS me as an anime character, so obviously her.
But I’d say Kate in the alernate universe. Struggles with extreme bipolar/rage... but once she gets diagnosed, she fights to get better and to be better.
Happy WBW!! Hope you're doing well! What's your world's social etiquette? Does it have any specific unspoken rules? Or is it what you yourself are used to?
I think the biggest difference is just not commenting on things you pick up on from supernatural senses. That and shifters have no concept of a personal bubble :P
For Storyteller Saturday! Comparing to when you first started writing your WIP, did you do any changes to the later plot/character/whatever that you weren't too happy about? This probably sounds vague, but I mean, did you have to sacrifice something you personally liked for the sake of the story?
Happy STS!
Oohhhh, what an interesting question! Let’s see here~
Um, I did actually have to make a lot of changes to the plot/etc as I went along because I kept finding plot holes and I kept adding stuff that needed some altering to be fit in. Hmm... To be honest, this one’s way later on in the series, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to fit it in like I wanted to: I wanted to reveal a whole lot more about the Light sirens than I think I’ll be able to.
There’s absolutely too much development I did with that specific type of siren that unfortunately won’t be able to find its way into the series, mostly because Light sirens are very rare and aren’t encountered much at all in the actual story. I’d love to be able to reveal more about how varied their physiology can be, and more about how their culture works, but that’s difficult when you really only have two Light sirens actually show up. ^^’
Aside from that, I can’t think of anything much else at the moment, but yeah! Thank you for the ask~
Yo uhh I'm in the same boat (haha) as that last ask, especially considering sirens is something of a main theme in one of my wips too, so I, as well, need to be added to your tag list, like, stat, please and thank you, I need more sea content
YO HECK I’M ALL FOR OTHER SIREN WIPS TELL ME ABOUT YOURS PLZ
Also yes!!! I shall certainly add you to the taglist~ ^u^
heyy ashe, happy STS!! what advice do you wish you were given as a beginner writer? was there any that has stuck with you until now?
hi hi, thanks for the ask!! 🥰
I started writing when I was like... ten years old? I'm in my twenties now, and honestly don't even remember things from months ago, much less when I was ten.
Though, I do remember a piece of advice that recommends taking out any mentions of "something" in them to make for stronger writing. For example:
"Something was making a large noise" VS "A large noise reverberated through the hallway."
When I'm editing, I tend to kick out a lot of "thing" words and replace them with stronger sentences. It isn't that they can't be used though! They're like adverbs that way.
heyyy happy STS!! what do you think is your strongest area in writing? description, dialogue, action scenes, etc.? which one do you think needs the most improvement?
hello hello, thanks once again for the ask!! 🥰
I've been noted by several people to do particularly well with dialogue! I don't know if I do character voices well (I've had criticisms that my characters tend to sound the same after a while) but they do note that my dialogue runs smoothly and sounds natural, and that my best works tend to be dialogue-only, like in screenplays and whatnot.
Unfortunately, my descriptions are quite lackluster in contrast. For example, Alesseia's first book is from Axel's POV, Axel being a young kid who has absolutely no knowledge about the modern world and its technology. Describing Axel's experiences has been particularly painful—I've had several people note that they don't realize what I'm trying to describe until I directly state the object's name. It's probably caused by my aphantasia, but I'm still annoyed, haha.
happy Storyteller Saturday! what do you hope your readers will take away from your story? what main idea do you want them to be left with?
hello, thanks for the ask once again!! 🥰
Stories, especially my own, saved me during hard times all my life, so I would find it really nice if I could give others hope and encouragement as well, or perhaps allow them to feel seen.
It's not really a lesson or anything—the only planned lessons I have in Alesseia are "queer kids deserve to be loved" and "classism sucks"—but I think it's important all the same.
