I would like to start off with a heartfelt apology. I have a habit of doing things ‘all or nothing’. I start off doing it all then get overwhelmed and do nothing. Well… not entirely nothing. During my absence I finished my masters degree, got a job in my field, and recently received a promotion. I participated and, for the first time, completed NaNoWriMo. Writing made me miss the community so here I am.
I promise I never truly forgot about you all, I have been seeing notifications for all of your work for the past several years and I’ve been quietly cheering you all on. I finally feel I have the space to give others the support that I had needed for myself. I hope you all have been well! Keep tagging the Stag and I’ll work through all of the posts I’ve been missing.
Current progress: Currently on the backburner while I focus on one major project at a time. Five chapters written. Approx 16,600 words.
Synopsis: The world is a broken and shattered shade of what it once was. Long ago, Humanity dominated the earth as the primary masters of it. Their prosperity and success led them to arrogantly reject all gods and religion, and would eventually lead to the total collapse and destruction of their species.
In the wake of this First Cataclysm, a new kind of life would arise, one that did not wield technology as Humanity did but harnessed the mysterious energies that they called magic. These were the Arrodah, the Greater Fey, or the Great Elves. Incredibly powerful, some would say divine or angelic beings.
These Arrodah would inherent the world that most of Humanity had left behind, as the last vestiges of the Old Gods rested to the west the Arrodah would craft their empire in the east. Fate would bring these two great people’s into contact and eventually into war.
The war is long over now and Humanity thought extinct, the world is inhabited by the Lesser Fey, descendants and successor species of the Arrodah whom worship them as gods. Humanity is mostly forgotten, thought of as mere myths and tales, not truly ever real. Even scholars dismiss that they were even real, though many cling to their memory. Some even see Humanity as the true gods of this world.
These many successor races have spread out over the old world and formed their own kingdoms and conflicts, yet even as the world seems to move on, everything seems stagnated. The shadows of war never fade, and the scars upon the lad do not heal, as if time itself refuses to let go of all that has happened and the past is not allowed to die.
It is in this backdrop that the first Human seen in over a thousand years suddenly appears from seemingly nowhere. Jason doesn’t remember much of where he was before coming to this strange time, but he knows and has a sense that he does not belong here. The past whispers to him constantly, and he is overshadowed by wars that aren’t his own, and blood that is not on his hands. Yet through it all, Jason shall strive to understand the true nature of Humanity’s downfall and if the sins of the past can be redeemed.
The world: The world of Humanum Victoria is our own, but far into the future and after several post apocalyptic events that has wiped out Humanity from the face of the earth. The world is littered with ruins and artefacts harkening back not only to the peak of Human civilization but also to the Arrodah, whom in the wake of the war largely abandoned their temporal forms.
This is a world that is stuck, unable to truly move on from the past, and always defined by conflicts long over. All knowledge and intelligence seems to cast eyes backwards rather than forwards, and so progress is stagnated and the world remains broken. The plot of the story shall explore why this is and how hopefully the world can be fixed.
The setting is a mixture of themes and genres, sci-fi with the technology that Humanity wielded in its prime. While the current day Fey of the world wield magic and late medieval/early renaissance technology, all of which is based on a comprehensive magic system with strict rules.
Main Characters:
Jason of Rome - Jason as a character is someone who is headstrong, determined and eventually a person of deep faith. Being thrown into an unfamiliar world where he is, seemingly, the last of his kind, and often manipulated by powerful forces. Jason has no desire to play the part in the story that he find himself in, yet he resides to make the most of it and use this chance to undo the wrong of the past.
Ser Aurus, Knight of the Sky - Aurus is a character totally bound by his set of rules and honour code. Coming from a culture and a society that places these values of honour, loyalty, and chivalry above all else, Aurus is totally defined by his mean to fulfil these values. Through the course of the story, these values are challenged and Aurus experiences a crisis of faith as he forced to choose between what he desires to do and what he is oath-bound to do.
There are in fact almost 100+ notable characters in this novel, and it’s grander world, and I don’t feel like listing each and every single one.
Current Progress: First novel halfway through completion. On 2nd draft now.
Synopsis: In a world much like our own, the year is 1919, and it is a time of empires, war, and stagnated progress. The Industrial Upheaval that began in the year 1890 promised peace, prosperity, and liberation for the common man. Instead there is conflict, starvation, and repression.
The Commonwealth is one of the most powerful nations to ever exist. Born out of the dying corpse of the Cassimirian Empire, it had rapidly industrialized the once idyllic landscape and created a military force the likes of which can barely be matched. All of this in thanks to the genius of one Jon Checklov, who has recently gone missing; again.
Yet for all its might, the Commonwealth is a stratified and brutally collectivist regime. It's dictator, the Lord Commander Nicholas Nalklov, wrested control of the nation from the chaos and bloodshed of the revolution and set out to establish a stable state; by eliminating all threats to it with brutal efficiency.
The Commonwealth's citizens live under the watchful gaze of the Red Guard who occupy every street from Chunwall, to Solace, to Tarcadia. The ideology of the regime disallows its citizens to be given access to the most basic of luxuries, and everyone is assigned their purpose in the great system based upon an overly bureaucratic process of determining where they would be the most useful to the Commonwealth as a whole.
It is in this place that Natasha is born, she is a labourer, a browncoat as they are called. Like most, she is no friend of the Red Guard, the blackcoats, or the Iron Tower, which is the seat of power of the Lord Commander. But like most Natasha is powerless to do much of anything to change it, denied the capability or the means by the system itself Natasha cannot even read or write let alone engage in meaningful resistance. Not when the Red Guard, and more sinister organizations, are always watching.
Yet, Natasha is enamoured with pictures and paintings she has seen of the past. Of brave heroes and knight, of kings and princesses. Though she cannot read those stories, she is fascinated by the culture and history that she has not been allowed to learn about. What Natasha believes, though, is that eventually things will change, and hope will see that happen.
And Natasha will sacrifice more than she knew she had, to defend that hope.
The World:
(Map to be updated)
The world of This Tower of Iron is highly based upon the early to late 19th century. Technology has essentially stagnated and everything is based upon diesel engines. Everything is overly engineered, complicated, and unreliable. Yet, the militaries of this world wield incredibly destructive power and are all too eager to unleash it upon each other.
Main Characters:
Natasha - The protagonist. Natasha is an idealist at heart and believes in general that every situation will work out in the end. However, this is often clashed with her brash decision-making, Natasha often rushes in without thinking because she thinks it’ll work out for her. While her failures haunt her, she never truly loses this optimism.
Natasha is very quick to anger, but also to love. She deeply cares for those around her, but often unintentionally leads them to their deaths through her own ill-conceived actions.
Jon Checklov - a brilliant man. Jon Checklov is near single-handedly responsible for being modern industry and weapons of war to the Commonwealth. And it haunts him. Jon detests every gun and armoured vehicle he was coerced into designing. He is tormented by the deaths they have caused, and by the inhuman and unethical experiments he is forced to perform. All of this drives him to dispose, hopelessness, drink, and opium abuse.
Elena Wroclowska - A mid level bureaucrat. Elena was simply fortunate enough for the system to deem her suitable for an administrator role in the Commonwealth hierarchy. She is ambitious and intelligent, adept at office politics and navigating the every monolithic complexities of the Commonwealth’s government. She maintains a cold and calculated demeanour, yet in truth the despises the system she works for, she hates the cruelty that is delivered daily by simple stamps of approval on paperwork. Elena’s ambition is to reform the system from within, and abhors open conflict. Yet, she is dragged into it against her will.
hello! im just wondering, and maybe this is a little silly, but for that taglist post you made back in september, are you still open to being added to more taglists? and if so, what genres do y'all prefer over here?
- an awkward anon who doesnt know how to go about doing these things ;asdfjk
Hello lovely little anon! The invitation for new taglists is always open from now until the end of time!
As for genre, literally anything! I'm sure one of the 200+ people will enjoy whatever genre you wish to share with us :D
The only slight requirement I ask is that posts are properly tagged with warnings and maybe some cuts added to let people know what they are getting into if that's necessary but as I always say, readers are responsible for what they consume. I can't police all of writeblr nor do I want to :)
I did a post recently of the book's first chapter, which is Laura's introduction. However, since our other main protagonist, Saeed, doesn't come in until chapter seven, I'm jumping ahead to his intro to let the people of writeblr get to know this alchemist buddy a little bit 🙂
Length: 1,300 words
Summary: Saeed works on a potion to compete with his best friend for a permanent job as an alchemist.
Content warnings: Mention of illness. None others that I'm aware of (but please let me know if you think any need to be added!)
Saeed Azhari hardly saw where he was going as he made his way upstairs to the alchemy lab, his mind working like a colony of ants.
Stripewood bark has some anti-inflammatory properties, he thought, running a hand through his shaggy, overgrown hair. Might be a good addition to the sunleaf mixture.
The tiny lab was quiet when he arrived, and he took his preferred spot in the rear corner, close to the supply cupboard. He flipped open his pack to retrieve a stack of scribbled notes from inside before letting it drop at the foot of his stool.
A gray tabby cat leapt onto the long table to greet him, staring at him with huge green eyes.
“Hi, Quicksilver,” said Saeed.
He stroked the top of her head, and she responded with a purr, spinning around leisurely. Then he spent a few minutes absently gathering supplies for the day, considering the herb ratios for his potion. As he returned to his seat, the door swung open.
Tavi’s face was lit up in a broad grin as she strolled in. “Morning, Sai.”
“Hey. You’re in a good mood today.”
“Of course I am,” she said. “You do know what today is, don’t you?”
Saeed considered it, half panicking for a second that he’d forgotten her birthday. But no, that had been a few months ago. “Uh...sweetbread day in the dining hall?”
“No, silly.” She flopped her bag down onto her end of the table. “Today marks exactly one month until Emberhawk officially hires me.”
“Oh yeah,” said Saeed, his own lips quirking up. “Except I think you meant to say, until Emberhawk gives you the boot.”
“Ha!” Tavi casually tossed her burgundy braid back over her shoulder. “Honestly, you might want to spend today packing your bags. This thing is as good as done.”
“We’ll see about that.”
She was right about one thing anyway: the end of their year-long apprenticeship with Emberhawk Alchemy was rapidly approaching. At its end awaited a permanent, well-paying alchemist position with the company—but only one. Both of them had impressive achievements under their belts. The remaining question was which of them would come out on top.
Saeed pored over his notes for a few minutes as Tavi got settled. He’d been thinking about his current project—a cough remedy—nonstop, and he had some new ideas to try out.
Maybe a little more sunleaf this time. He shredded the herb by hand, staining his tawny fingers a yellowish green, and piled the foliage into his alembic. Fragrant vapors issued from the device as the mix simmered.
Most days, he and Tavi worked as lab assistants, running errands for the alchemy team, taking inventory, and performing repetitious production tasks. Today, however, was what they called a “free day”—a day off from their scheduled assignments, usually granted once or twice a week, in which they got to utilize this cramped little lab to conduct their own projects.
Simply put, these were the days that really counted. Here was the space in which they could prove their personal worth in potioncraft.
“How’s it going with the endurance tonic?” Saeed asked, his cheek resting on his palm while he waited for his concoction to distill.
“Could be better, actually,” said Tavi. “I had to scrap the recipe I was working on. We’re all out of lion blossom.” She rolled her eyes.
Saeed sympathized with that. Their limited access to materials was the one big stumbling block of the apprenticeship. Particularly with more expensive ingredients, they were allotted minimal amounts to work with, if any, so they had to ration carefully.
In fact, that was the primary challenge of his cough remedy project. Lyusk root was well-known to be highly effective for respiratory ailments—particularly this new, stubborn one, to which Saeed’s own brother had recently fallen victim—but there was never any of the root in their supply cupboard.
He’d just have to find an alternative.
And he would. One way or another.
Tavi stripped the husks off some chiba stalks, leaving green stains on her long fingers to match the ones on Saeed’s shorter human ones. As a member of the Jirian race, Tavi had a physique naturally built for arboreal life: remarkably long fingers and toes, effective for branch-gripping, and a prehensile simian tail. Their skin came in an array of grays, and Tavi’s complexion was a pale shade reminiscent of a dawn sky. Her burgundy hair was bound, like most days, into a single plait hanging down her back.
Saeed returned his attention to his notes for another quick review, then stood up and made for the supply cupboard again.
The shelves of the narrow closet were lined with jars and sacks of herbs, minerals, and brightly colored concentrates. Just standing in here, breathing in the cacophony of herbal scents, sent a thrill through his veins. Despite their complaints about the limits upon them, they still had a good variety of ingredients to experiment with.
Now, to find that stripewood. The S’s were on the lower shelves, which was convenient, as Saeed was rather short. There you are. He plucked a jar off the shelf. Curls of shredded brown bark filled it halfway, and Saeed unscrewed the lid, gingerly extracting a few pieces.
He closed his palm around them, focusing. In this dead and dried form, there was only a trace of its original life energy left within it, but it was there, and he could feel it if he really concentrated. He let his mind go quiet, let the little shavings tell him what their purpose was.
Its essence, once brought out, would provide a mild soothing effect, but without numbing. Just what I need. He sent a wave of gratitude to the bark before heading back to the table to put it to use.
In his peripheral vision, Tavi was scribbling away, making that face she always did when she was deep in her tasks, with her eyebrows furrowed and the end of her tongue sticking out. He set to work, smiling to himself.
Starting with their first alchemy lesson when they were just eleven years old, the two of them had shared a fascination for potion making, matched only by their drive to outdo one another every step of the way. They had something of a code between them: no cheating, no sabotage, and no being a sore loser. Even as teens, they’d adhered to that code strictly.
Most of the time, anyway.
Saeed used a mortar and pestle to grind the stripewood bark into a coarse powder before stirring it into the sunleaf mixture. Then he shuffled through his notes again, resenting the fact that he could barely read his own handwriting.
“Sai,” said Tavi, nodding toward his equipment, “let me borrow that quarterspoon really quick.”
He slid the little measuring scoop down the table to her.
“Thanks.”
They spoke little over the course of the next few hours, and Tavi wrapped up her day by transferring her potion-in-progress into a brass storage urn. Saeed did the same with his own product. Soon he’d need to find time to run safety testing on the potion, but he felt good about what he’d come up with today. He hummed a little tune as he set to putting away supplies.
“I see that cocky look on your face,” said Tavi, smirking as she came up beside him.
Saeed shot her a look of feigned indignance. “Who, me?”
“Yes, you.” Tavi gave him a playful shove. “Don’t you worry, I’ve still got some good ideas to try out.”
“We’ll see about that,” said Saeed. They walked back to the table together, and as Saeed prepared to pack up, he noticed a few greenish potion droplets on his notes. The ink smudged as he tried to wipe it dry.
We’ll see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! And as usual, here's the tumblr link to the book's full intro for anybody new to the story!
You can also buy a copy for 99 cents (USD)!
Tag list: @thelaughingstag @a-completely-normal-writer
[ID: a collage in a brown and orange palette. The upper row shows images of two elaborate structures carved directly into a stone wall, flanking a photo of a striped slot canyon. The upper row shows a swath of colorful fabric with uneven stripes, a bright purple sky with dark clouds, and the phrase “The Scar.” End ID.]
WIP: Rival Potion Shops
The Scar
A natural, if mysterious, chasm that rips through the heart of the Laskell plains.
It’s hard to know what to admire first- the overwhelming array of stars, the hyper-chromatic sky, or the endless brushstrokes of color patterning the chasm all the way up to the surface. When Ambrose first descended into the Scar, he had to keep his gaze on the elevator floor, so the beautiful stripes wouldn’t make him dizzy. Years later, his eyes navigated them easily, following their waves up to the purple clouds, the dawn-veiled stars, then back down to the other side of the chasm. Whoever had looked upon such a sight and dubbed it something as ugly as the Scar…well, he’d certainly have words for them.
[ID: a collage in a palette of pink and fiery orange. At the upper left, a Black woman with a mohawk, looking to the side. At the upper right, a hand holding a lit flare. Below, an image of a pink flower and gold jewelry. At the bottom, an image of pink fireworks, and the name “Dawn Kerighin.” end ID]
WIP: Rival Potion Shops
Dawn Kerighin
30, she/her
Dawn Kerighin can and will be part of the next 30 under 130 in the next Laskell Business Compendium, and Rosemond Street doesn’t doubt it. Dawn is as loud, brilliant, and fiery as the firework wands she’s known for. You want a birthday party no one will forget? You go to Dawn Kerighin.
Though these days, the wandmaster has been a little hard to find outside the shop. Working hard, she tells the neighbors- only a few months until the Compendium judges come to visit. She can sleep later. Right?
[ID: a collage in a warm yellow and orange palette. Gold bird earrings on the upper left, orange wildflowers on the upper right. Glass bottles with yellow liquid on the middle left, and a man with an orange shirt and a smile on the right. On the bottom, a sunflower and the name “Eli Valenz.” end ID]
WIP: Rival Potion Shops
Eli Valenz
27, he/him
Eli is a breath of fresh air to Rosemond Street. He smiles, he laughs, he enjoys city gossip just as much as the next shopkeep. Sure, his store may have a bit of a chaotic flair, but have you tried his healing potions? Don’t say this around the Griffin’s Claw, but the adventurers say they’re better than Ambrose’s.
As far as Rosemond Street can tell, Eli’s Elixirs is doing quite well for a new shop. So no one quite understands why the man looks so sad when he thinks no one is looking.
