#skyline spirits

[mauvelilywilliams]

The Writeblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Winter Moodboard

This moodboard is for my Skyline Spirits stories, and this is based on one of the stories that takes place in winter.

In Skyline Spirits, the elements are messing up one by one, and that is having bad consequences on the last little patch of living area in the world. This moodboard focuses on Water.

Be careful around the holidays. You don't want your cider to get the better of you.

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writeblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Wildcard

Today is the last day in the advent calendar event, and the prompt is: Wildcard.

So, I've done a chunky paint of Skyline Spirit's Wildcard character.

Meet: the Guardian Spirit of Chaos.

[mauvelilywilliams]

Decided to draw up a pic of one of my characters and thought I'd make an info sheet for lolz. Die's info is under the cut. :D

(EDIT: I updated the picture. Much easier to see now. I took out my original texture overlay, since Glaze was going to do one anyway. Looks better. :D)

Name: Die (Formerly: Spiro), He/Him Occupation: Local Guardian Spirit of Souls Age: 24 Family: Nawra (Sister) - Local Guardian Spirit of Plants Animal Association: Crow Special Ability: Talking to the Dead Personality: Stubborn, Distrusting, Likes his space, Caring once you grow on him. Prefers the Dead to the Living.

Die currently lives alone, braving the upper story of a building that is falling apart. Sometimes his sister Nawra visits. Die is the reincarnation of Spiro - Crow Guardian Spirit of Souls - and hasn't gotten the hang of using his powers in his human body. But that doesn't stop Souls, or Soul Orbs, from finding their way to him and asking for help. If he is seen with anybody other than Nawra, it's when he's causing crap for the leader of a nearby human group or talking with other Guardian Spirits for updates on conditions of the area.

(Pictured is Die, Two healthy Soul Orbs flying around him, and Die trying to figure out what is wrong with a sickly Soul Orb that he is holding.)

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writeblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Magic System

Get prepared for a long post, because that's what this is. Ha ha.

TLDR: Guardian Spirits are long-living mortal creatures with strong souls that guard the elemental balance but are trapped within a 6-mile area. Humans can learn magics, but it takes lots of time. If they are granted magic by a Guardian, they will learn insanely quicker, but they may become trapped in that 6-mile area along with their Guardian.

(Full post is under the cut.)

In Skyline Spirits, the world is divided into hexagonal shaped Areas of magic influence. Each area is roughly 6 miles wide at its widest and has its own Guardian Spirits of the Elements that keep the Elements stable in those areas. Supposedly it was decided a long time ago that it was easier to manage the elemental balance if the entire world was cut into small sections and each one managed. Nobody is certain who or what decided that. And many people have been frustrated by it.

Each area has one Guardian Spirit for each Element, except in the rare case of one teaching a new one to take its place, but there is never more than two Guardians per element in an area at any given time. Guardian Spirits live for hundreds of years so this is rarely ever seen. 

Each Guardian has their own System they have to manage, and those systems have to work alongside the other Guardians’ systems. The systems are usually set up by placing Elemental Anchors, items enchanted with elemental energy, in certain locations around the area. Each Anchor stabilizes the System within a limited range, so it is common for each Guardian to have between 30-50 Anchors in order to get good coverage over the entire area. Each Anchor cannot be too close to another Guardian’s Anchor – especially an Anchor of the Opposite Element. Moving the Anchors without careful calculations can cause problems for the System. If not an immediate problem, then problems over time. 

Guardian Spirits also have to maintain their Anchors and monitor their coverage and strength, to make sure the natural increase and decrease of their strength over time won’t be too much to knock their System – or fellow Systems – out of balance. 

Each Guardian Spirit has magical strength over their element and no other element. The Guardian Spirit of Plants can create plants, the one of Fire can create Fire, and so on. The most common restrictions for the Guardians and their magic is distance and System strength. Like their Anchors, the Guardians can only use magic within a certain distance from their bodies. 

Even though Guardian Spirits have such important roles, they are not immortal nor do they have fancy bloodlines. They simply have a different kind of soul. Each Guardian Spirit is born to normal parents, normally some kind of animal – rarely human – because animals have a stronger link to the natural elements. They grow slower than their normal counterparts, and often get abandoned by their parents before they are grown, but Guardians live longer. Much longer. The average lifespan of a Guardian is between 800-1000 years. In some instances, Guardians have been known to be the last of an extinct species or display traits that are not found in their modern-blooded cousins. 

Guardian Spirits are not the only creatures capable of using magic. Humans, and less commonly other creatures, can learn to use magic. But it often takes many years of practice and discipline in order to unlock their individual soul’s ability to access the Elements, especially since humans usually have a weaker connection to the natural elements. On rare occasions, Guardian Spirits may ‘bless’ a human or other creature to have easier access to their own Element. This takes a great toll on the Guardian Spirit though and may even shorten their lifespans or give an opening for another way to disrupt their System. So ‘Blessings’ are usually considered forbidden except in the rarest of cases. 

Human magics, once practiced and learned, have manifested themselves anywhere from having a green-thumb to being magical warriors that could call fireballs or bolts of lightning down on their enemies. If they are Blessed, those abilities will only work within the Area that the Guardian Spirit that blessed them resides. And Guardian Spirits are bound to their Area, they cannot ever leave, even in death. So, Blessed people, are no longer considered Blessed if they leave the bounds of their Guardian’s Area. And some have been known for being so in-tune to their Guardian, that they were unable to pass the boundaries of the Area as well. Being forever trapped in this 6-mile area, like the Guardians, for the rest of their lives. 

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writerblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Found Family

I used today's prompt to write out a scene that would happen if Die and the others got stuck inside due to a snowstorm. And Die gets reminded that it's not just him against the world.

(Scene under the cut)

Die stormed around the littered loft, his footsteps echoing in the bleak, dirt-stained room with its cracking drywall. Only muffled by the sound of the heavy falling snow and the howling wind outside the broken window. A smell of cold, yellow must, and smoke filled the air. Die grabbed a fairly good sized piece of charcoal that had rolled out of the dying fire in the center of the room and threw it out the broken window at the sky. “Damn it!” Clause and Deirdre stood in the doorway to the loft. The darkness behind them partially hid the stairwell that was slowing gaining a thin sheet of ice in spots as the mist they had moments ago froze. Clause watched on in concern and Deirdre curled her lip in frustration at Die's actions. The angry man’s jet-black hair was wild from being tugged at and his brown eyes seemed darker than usual from his mood. Both siblings knew to tread carefully when he was like this. After a moment of standing awkwardly, trying to read the situation, Deirdre finally reached up and shoved her brother into the room. Clause stumbled his way into the loft and almost tripped over a broken woven basket. Die didn’t look over, but his brief pause gave away that he at least noticed he wasn’t alone. Clause tried to make eye contact, but Die wasn’t having any of it. So, Clause busied himself with looking for something in the room. Deirdre walked in behind Clause and made her way toward the fire that was practically nothing more than a coal sitting on sheet metal and bricks. The bits of smoke that it managed to kick out curled up toward the ceiling and a hole that had been broken out, exposing an old air duct. No one had any idea where the smoke was going from there but at least it wasn't gathering in the room. Die glanced over and glared at her, still trying to not look at Clause. “I don't want to hear anything about how this isn't helpful.” He huffed and angrily sat down next to the pitiful fire that was threatening to go out. Clause settled on grabbing a blanket and pulled it out from under a pile of clothes and a collection of acorn tops. He tossed it over the back of his shoulders and sat down next to Die. Which garnished a glare from Die before he looked away, trying to keep from looking Clause in the eyes. “Neither one of you have to stay with me,” Die grumbled. Clause took the blanket and tossed it over Die's shoulders too just before scooching a little closer to Die. “I'd like to stay with you, if that's okay.” Deirdre sat down next to the fire and tossed a few more pieces of wood on. Which started smoking horribly. The mist probably got them a bit wet on the outside. “Yeah, if we left, you'd probably do something stupid.” Die looked at Deirdre expecting her to be glaring at him or about to give some sort of lecture. But instead, she busied herself by checking the multiple hair ties in her ponytail, making sure her signature look of poofy black baubles went down her back correctly. Then he felt a bump on his shoulder. Die turned to see that Clause was smiling at him, brown eyes still worried but trying to be positive, and his shoulder against Die’s. “We're here with you, you know.” He pulled the blanket a bit tighter around Die and himself. Die felt the tension in his shoulders release. He couldn't even bother letting out a groan this time at their kindness. He glanced back at the fire and leaned in a little against Clause. “Stupid. The both of you.” Deirdre smirked, “Says the man who almost let the fire go out.”

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writerblr Garden's Advent Calendar Event - Today's Prompt: Holidays

I thought that I would write about a couple of the holiday events that take place in my Skyline Spirits world.

The Walnut Festival and Winter Gifting

(Found below the cut.)

After the skies have reached their darkest from the sun being in the sky the least, the different communities begin to have their festivals.

--

In Snatch’s community, they hold the Walnut Festival.

This is when the community folk come out of their homes with their rattles, decorated clothes, and other creations made of walnut shells. First they put on a parade, with the children in the front. And the rest of the day is followed by enjoying various walnut dishes and just enjoying each other's company.

Every now and then one person parades around in the dried outer portion of the nut. A walnut when it falls from the tree looks like a large green ball and inside lies what everybody recognizes as a walnut. Normally the green part is discarded because it will turn black and start to spoil. But for the Walnut Festival there is someone who has taken the green portions and dried them to create a different type of outfit. This person will show up randomly to chase the kids around and pretend that they are going to steal the pretty walnut shells from them. The children then usually start throwing walnut shells at the person to make them hurriedly pick up the walnut shells and run away.

--

In the Amazon community to the South, they have a Winter Gifting Day.

Everyone spends the month up to the day working on crafting gifts for other people. Everyone tries to make a gift for the immediate members of their family and then a random person from the community that they have been assigned. That way everyone gets a gift.

Since the community excels at crafting things from grasses and furs, those are usually the materials that the gifts are made out of.

After gifts are given, the rest of the day is spent enjoying food and music as people play instruments and sing. And everyone plays with their new gifts. Both old and young.

At the end of the day everybody gets together and finishes decorating a large tree that has been allowed to grow in the center of the community. And if somebody has crafted a new decoration that year they get to hang it on the tree first. And then they surround the decorated tree with small candles as they finish out their day of festivities.

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writeblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Cover Graphics

I've had a completed cover slapped into a my pinned post for a while for the first story, Skyline Spirits: Spiro.

And sadly, I did not have time to finish the next cover, but I didn't want to post the exact same thing that everybody's seen.

So, here's a sketch of what the next cover is going to look like. Of course, I may change a couple things here and there while finishing it completely, but this is the general idea. xD

This is the cover for Skyline Spirits, Book 2. (Full name is redacted at the moment. I want to keep it a surprise until I have to unveil it. xD )

[mauvelilywilliams]

Writeblr Garden Advent Calendar Event: Relationships

As much as I want to talk about the romantic relationships that will happen in my story, I want to leave them as a surprise. xD

So, you get a sibling-relationship. My main character group has two sets of siblings, but this will focus on when Die (Spiro) and Nawra met. They are a Found-Family set of siblings. After meeting, they started referring to themselves as siblings and were so close that there was no doubt. Like siblings, they do fight occasionally, but it's usually Die (Spiro) that gives in because Nawra is cute and he wants to make his little sister happy.

(A summary about their meeting is below the cut.)

Back in Die's previous life as Spiro, Guardian Spirit Crow of Souls, he was still recovering from the frustration all Guardians go through when their mortal family realizes they aren't normal and kicks them out or abandons them. - Spiro's crow parents had given up on him growing up, all the other siblings had flown the nest, and the slower growing Guardian was still losing his baby feathers. And Spiro had to find a way to safety until he was old enough to survive on his own.-

Anyway, so he was still angry, and finally getting to try out his new flight feathers, when he came across a dog barking wildly at something at the base of a tree. He figured it was a squirrel or something, but decided to mess with the dog anyway and get some of his angry energy out. He pulled at the dog's rump-fur and tail, until the dog switched to chasing him. The crow easily got away, and the dog was found by their owner before they could go back and scare the crap out of whatever animal they had cornered.

Spiro flew back to the tree and saw a tiny rabbit sticking its head up. It was shaky and seemed to be too young to be alone and out of its rabbit-hole.

Spiro flew down to it. The rabbit retreated, afraid of what else was coming. And that's when Spiro noticed the bright green mark between the rabbit's ears. And a strange sensation, a rippling warmth that almost carried a smell of fallen leaves, coming from its soul.

"You're a Guardian..."

The rabbit looked up in surprise. It's ears upright in surprise. No doubt trying to make sure it heard him right.

Spiro fluffed his chest feathers and revealed a light blue spot that was hidden beneath his adult crow feathers. "Me too."

The rabbit carefully came out, looking around for the dog. And once it knew it was safe, the rabbit hopped up against the crow and buried their face in his feathers.

Spiro ruffled its fur with his beak. "Don't worry, I'm not like them. What's your name?"

"Nawra."

"Great. Let's get out of here, Nawra."