#telvan

[vylequinnewriting]

Telvan Worldbuilding #13: The Motivation Domain

Hello, all! Been a bit hasn’t it? In case any of you need a refresher, here’s a link to the previous post which details the Order Domain. This time it’s Motivation’s turn, which is the reason most things happen. (Page found here.)

How is Motivation represented?

Motivation is represented by an eight pointed star with the downwards most point being thing and needle like and winged, almost like a pen nib or spindle.

What does Motivation cover?

Motivation has the widest range of all domains. Many natural forces such as time, air, and the moon fall under Motivation. Fate is it’s mainstay, however. As such, anything that happens must first be Motivated to do so.

What does Motivation mean symbolically?

Motivation is the reason as to why anything occurs. Whether it be a God’s whims or simple fated to happen, it must first be motivated to do so. Motivation is the wind beneath your wings, the reason the moon and sun continue to rise and why the world just seems to work.

Who is the Motivation God?

The God of Motivation is Cosul, the Personable Paradox and the Shearer of Fates. Cosul is the smallest God, with her avatar standing only a head taller than most Chrominè. Despite her perceived weakness, she is the only entity capable of touching the Threads of Fate. Every being on Telvan is connected to a thread that links it to another, moving it along in life. Cosul regularly cuts, rearranges, and tangles the threads in a way that no one can understand them except for her. Her personality is as unreadable as the Threads, one moment hysterical and another tyrannical. Her relationship with the other Gods is strained at best, since they do their best to not start arguments with someone who controls literal fate.

Any known Aspects?

Cosul has a healthy amount of Aspects at her disposal, all who interest themselves in manipulating events at their creator’s discretion.

One such Aspect is the Aspect of Inevitable Romance. Like many Motivation Aspects, this one can take on multiple appearances but always has a red string tied on its ring finger. Posing as a matchmaker, passerby, or even disguising themselves as friends for years at a time, this Aspects pairs people with their soulmates. Fairly benign in name, but they can get very pushy.

Another is the Aspect of the Forgotten Promise. One of the few Aspects without a corporeal form, this one is a mere tightness in your chest. Why does it come and go so easy? What was said that wasn’t honored? You may not remember but this Aspect will never forget.

What effects does Motivation have on a person?

When born under Motivation, people tend to be charming to an extreme, capable of swaying you with only a couple of words. Whether it might be for their own gain or another’s, they have a certain way of making plans work. 

In terms of anima, Motivation users have a fairly high reserve but powers that exclusively have low potency. Skill is much more important than power when it comes to this Domain.

Taglist under the cut. Ask or otherwise let me know if you’d like to be added!

Muse’s Band Taglist: @avian-writes​, @ashen-crest, @fourteenzero, @cometworks

Making a Killing Taglist: @vivian-is-writing​​, @kittensartswriting​​, @mary-is-writing​​​, @blindthewind​​

General Taglist: @ecwrenn​​​​, @lyrium​

[vylequinnewriting]

Hello yes teleporting abandoned hospital??????

Hello, and thanks for the ask as always, Raev!

So in short, yeah. Wurmwhyle is Silent Hill if it could teleport. Plus a couple ghosts and anomalous beings.

In Telvan, there is an extremely rare monster called an Utteo. Basically a walking mouth with a skinless, vulpine body, Utteos are extremely intelligent with a penchant for information hunting. Especially "lost" information. "Lost" in this case is stretched pretty far, especially because of a certain Utteo that will be reffered to as Dr. Gerrand. One fateful day, Dr. Gerrand wandered into an old witch's atelier that was locked up for several decades. Since Utteos have the gift of language, they can read and translate anything. Unsuprisingly, you hand a monster and a magic tome that it can actually read, it'll end up using said magic. It just so happened that the teleportation spell was incomplete.

The spell specifically was to use Motivation magic to teleport you to the place that is the most important to you. Since Utteo's have an innate compulsion for knowledge, Dr. Gerrand used it to transport itself to the nearest source. An abandoned hospital, Wurmwhyle, just so happened to be the nearest source. Filled with texts of epidemics no longer seen and studied and samples upon samples of secret experiments, Dr. Gerrand had a veritable goldmine. Then the second teleport happened.

The spell was unstable and activated itself again at a random time. However, this time there was an overlap. Instead of moving Dr. Gerrand, the spell moved the building onto another. This time, an age-old bookstore. The third time, a blacksmithy where the forge has long since gone cold.

 Each time, the initial entrance would look and lead to Wurmwhyle, with the absorbed buildings altering the inside in unexpected ways. Since Dr. Gerrand is very protective of its knowledge, only the bravest of adventurers explore the newest appearances of Wurmwhyle. 

In addition to the new features in the basements, the spell usually brings along any nearby inhabitants. Dr. Gerrand is usually extremely thankful for all the new specimens. Each time Wurmwhyle appears, you can bet on hearing some new abberration appear in the local news.

[vylequinnewriting]

Ahhh, cloud eaters?! That sound so cool, tell me more!

Hello, and thanks for the ask! This one's a double feature since I wanted to talk about Joratyne, too. They are connected, after all. Content warning, it gets pretty gross and gory.

Cloudeaters are a species of large species of animal (?) that are a cross between sperm whales and man-o-wars that float slightly above clouds, only dipping down occasionally towards the ice cap for a cool breeze. They aren't pretty but at least they're docile, so much so that most begin to wonder if they even register other entities at all. Their preferred diet is to gorge themselves on rainclouds. The lightning adds a nice zing, I hear.

Retroactively immortal and consisting of a diet of only only clouds, no one has any clue what Cloudeaters are or what purpose do they serve in the ecosystem. Their bodies are the best source of Motivation magic and they are the subject of poaching often as a result. As they are immortal, the poaching isn't lethal but it's still a huge ethical dilemma. They give off little reactions to anything but clouds so it's hard to judge exactly what they're Motivated to do. Their composition is similar to Striders where they have slime instead of flesh beneath their skin but they also have formations of what could be organs, albeit with no real functions.

Cloudeaters were previously unknown and thought of something like a cryptid. A mere shadow in the sky isn't enough to sway most people. That is until Wyndol Yvarriel, a Thae adventurer, found one that had seemingly fallen and pierced itself on a rocky spire. For whatever reason, this Cloudeater had become hardened, almost like a fleshy stone. Thinking the creature had long been dead, Wyndol carved a city out of it and named it Joratyne. Every now and then, the city goes through a "shaving" period, where they remove the stoneflesh to make sure buildings don't get swallowed up into the Cloudeaters body. Fortunately, Joratyne doesn't suffer under gravity storms like the rest of the Cantican midlands since the magic from the gravity storms and the magic from the Cloudeater don't mix.

[vylequinnewriting]

Gravity Storms, you say? What kind of impact does that have on daily life

Hello, and thanks for the ask!

I've answered the same question (which you can find here) but answered more for architecture. In short, gravity storms may physically be a simple dust storm, but in reality the dust contains magic particles of fairly high quality. Since the type of magic is known for disobeying rules, it’s quite hard to protect yourself the magical part of the storm. People employ basic means of protect against the dust part of the storm, like wearing efficient masks and staying indoors. In the cities that have been affected long enough to actually float off, people typically wear hooks or carabiners in order to latch onto things in the event a dust storm large enough to reach the cities occurs. These cities also specialize in hydroponics in order to grow crops without a need for soil. Aside from the land itself being arid as a result of the dust it’s just pretty hard getting imports when the city lies a couple hundred feet above the ground, ya know?

Some areas have increased gravity as a result of the storms and instead develop underground. These areas have pretty refined magic for everyday purposes, such as creating light and guiding water.

[vylequinnewriting]

Telvan Worldbuilding #14: The Heralds

Hello, all and welcome to another worldbuilding post! This time’s all about the Heralds. Probably will make subposts for the first two, so look forward to that at some point.

What is a herald?

Humans made into beings of pure force capable of shifting the world with a single word, Heralds are the most magically powerful entities that are still mortal. No one quite knows how they appear but it is usually through intense trauma and the whims of one of the gods. They are then gifted a power similar to a Manifest, a magic spell based on your personality, but much stronger than usual. The God who is in charge of that Herald’s Domain will then whisper about their future or the role they wish the herald to play. Whether they fulfill this role is up to the Herald. Regardless, they will always go on to incite a major event that shapes the future of Telvan, only to disappear right after.

What are the Ages?

In respect of the Herald, the time period from the last Herald to their disappearance is posthumously named after them. The first Age is known as the Age of the Unknown due to the Poet erasing history. An Age that has yet to be defined is referred to as the Current Age. The Ages in chronological order are as follows:

Age of the Unknown - A period lost to time. Occasionally information of old kingdoms are found but hard to piece together.

Age of the Poet - A period of strife and loss. 

Age of the Explorer - A period of growth and rebirth.

Age of the Thief - A period of exchange and connection.

Age of the Rebel - A period of motivation and pursuit of interests.

How do you know someone is a herald?

Once a Herald comes to terms with their role and power, their pupils will become the shape of their domain. Some Heralds are known to be able to hide this until they use magic. Other features usually change also, such as their hair become a vibrant shade of their domain if it wasn’t already or a mark appearing in the shape of their Domain’s symbol appearing elsewhere on their body.

Who are the most known heralds?

While each Age is defined by a single Herald, multiple can exists at one time and sometimes with conflicting roles. The Herald that succeeds in their role goes on to be the most important in their time period, and thus, have their Age be named after them.

The Heralds that were successful and their major acts are:

The Poet - A Herald of Loss. Erased written history as of that point in time in an attempt to remove any record of loss and pain.

The Explorer - A Herald of Gift. Traveled through each of the realms and gifted knowledge of the Gods to the mortals. Supposedly still alive.

The Thief - A Herald of Exchange. Stole the sun from the sky and prevented it from being controlled by the gods.

The Rebel - A Herald of Motivation. Challenged fate itself and shackled the gods, if only for a short time.

Taglist under the cut. Ask or otherwise let me know if you’d like to be added!

Muse’s Band Taglist: @avian-writes​​, @ashen-crest​, @fourteenzero​, @cometworks​

Making a Killing Taglist: @vivian-is-writing, @kittensartswriting, @mary-is-writing, @blindthewind

General Taglist: @ecwrenn​​​​​, @lyrium

[vylequinnewriting]

Making a Killing Pre-Intro

[Image ID: A coffee-stained letter titled Making a Killing that reads, “Dear Shiloh, congratulations on joining the Duhl Family! Being a member of the Duhl Company gives a wealth of benefits, including premium membership at all our subsidiaries, insurance at sponsored clinics, and a free small cup of coffee in designated break rooms as with all new hires, we are obligated to tell you that business hours are cutthroat.” Towards the bottom of the letter is a bleeding stamp that says “hired.” /end ID]

Genre: Dark comedy, thriller

Setting: Mixture of Dungeonpunk and Dieselpunk in a setting inspired by the 1930’s

Synopsis: 

Zastüd is regarded as one of the most important accomplishments in the last 500 years of Telvan. A city of steel and magic where all are welcome and are free to try their hand at making their name known to the world. At the very center of Zastüd lies the Duhl company, whose speciality lies in selling any and all. Groceries, clothing, and technology are sold to the general public, while they sell arms to a select clientele. Shiloh, an intern from parts unknown, infiltrates the company in order to find proof of their ruthless business practices. She tries her hardest for a promotion but never raises the ranks. When she does ask, she finds that she’s actually challenged her manager to gladiatorial combat. Employee contracts are magically binding, where one can do no wrong against the company and can only be broken by the enigmatic CEO. Can Shiloh keep working her way up the pecking order to break her contract and bring down the company even if all the executives are top-class mercenaries and world renowned assassins? 

Current tag: #making-a-killing

I’m still in the brainstorming stage, but I’ll be planning openly. Most of the information here has been though out for a while, but as this is still in early development, everything is subject to change.

What to expect:

Magical minimum wage workers and even more magical, murderous managers.

A lot of business jargon related puns.

As much absurdity and satire I can fit onto the pages with an overarching plot, probably. Subtlety? None for me, thanks.

Tons of worldbuilding, especially concerning the small people overshadowed by big faceless entities.

Fashion! Fashion and clothing will definitely be at the forefront of my mind.

Graphics, character intros, and general ramblings as I go. 

Send an ask, comment, or tag if you’d like to be put on the taglist!

[Playlist]

Character Intros

[Shiloh]

[Canel]

[Schro]

[Syxion]

[Frank]

[Paze Duhl]

[vylequinnewriting]

WIP Masterlist

Here’s a master list to all the other masterlists of all the stuff I’m working on. Organization is fun.

Muse’s Band of Misfits: 

10 people get locked in a prison and forced to undergo magic tests. Horror ensues. 

Making a Killing:

Big company in a dungeonpunk setting that promotes employees who win in fights against each other. MC wants to bring the company down to its knees.

Telvan Tales:

Various short stories to fill up lore on the world and experiment in style, genre, and tone.

Telvan Worldbuilding Masterlist

Masterlist of all my major worldbuilding posts for easy access.

[vylequinnewriting]

Telvan Worldbuilding #10: The Creation Domain

Hello, and welcome to another post about Domains! This week’s post is dedicated to Creation. This Domain is underrepresented a lot, mostly due to the fact it’s technically the least flashy of ‘em all. Despite that, Creation has many accomplishments to it’s name, including the actual creation of Telvan’s lands.

How is Creation represented?

The symbol of Creation is shown above. The symbol itself is an hourglass like shape with a z-like shape intersecting it. 

What does Creation cover?

Creation is a fairly straightforward domain. It’s roles include anything that is created or made by another for a distinct purpose. While most Domains focus on intent or reasoning, Creation is only concerned with the initial of creating.

What does Creation mean symbolically?

Creation symbolizes the world as a whole and everything preordained. Every rock was laid perfectly in place since the beginning of time. Whatever machinations the Gods create, they must first fit into the God of Creations ultimate plan for Telvan. 

Who is the Creation God?

The God of Creation is Effritahn, The 100-armed Mother and the Raging Sands of Time. While her true form is unknown even to the Explorer Herald, she commonly appears on Telvan, disguising herself as a tall woman with skin like stone. She is entirely focused on the “structure” of Telvan, whether it be the lands themselves or the systems people have created on top of them. If it does not fit in her plan, she usually will see fit to destroy it.

Any known Aspects?

Effritahn has as many Aspects as she has hands that sculpt the earth. Though they tend to be much more reclusive than their maker.

The Aspect of Constant Count is one such Aspect. Within the vast expanse of deserts of Frikija lies the distant shape of a human. Always on the cusp of being a mirage, they count each grand of sand to ensure they are in their right place. Every 44 years, they throw a fit due to them losing count and start a massive sandstorm in their rage.

What effects does Creation have on a person?

Those born under Creation are stubborn and headstrong. However, just like how the earth provides to those who treat it with kindness, these people are as reliable as they come. In terms of anima, those who lie under Creation have decent reserves but low output. In exchange, their powers will never waver no matter the enemy.

Taglist under the cut. Ask or otherwise let me know if you’d like to be added!

Muse’s Band Taglist: @avian-writes​, @ashen-crest​, @fourteenzero​, @cometworks​

Making a Killing Taglist: @vivian-is-writing, @kittensartswriting, @mary-is-writing​, @blindthewind

General Taglist: @ecwrenn​​, @lyrium​