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Post by Zylaa on Oct 1, 2012 17:28:32 GMT -5
Centuries ago, a couple of precocious mages created Surreality, a world anyone can access in their dreams, provided they have a key. As keys are rare and far between, it's become a playground for the rich and powerful Crowfolk, and now the nobles of the land can spend their dreams exploring fantastic worlds and creating their own. Then, one by one, people stop waking up. Lady Shenna, the heir of one of the oldest noble houses, is used to being a political figure, but her family's status lets her get away with some eccentricities. She's devoted her scholarly studies to what everyone considered a frivolous subject-- mapping the dream world and documenting how its unique magic works. Once people start disappearing, she's suddenly the center of a very different kind of attention: people wanting salvation, mostly, but some people wanting a scapegoat. Aliday, an unremarkable human, has been a test subject all her life in the foremost institute of magical research in the empire: the Tower. She's spent her whole life filled with resentment, clinging to memories of a brother that the researchers insist doesn't exist. Soon after the mages enter her into a new study of human minds in Surreality, she kills a mage, steals the dreamworld key, and runs off into the underworld of Owl's Point, the capitol city. Shenna offers Aliday a deal. Aliday helps her search for explanation behind the nobles' disappearances, and Shenna won't turn her in. In their own, very different, lives the young women begin to explore. Aliday discovers a world about which she's barely even read, with its own allegiances, attractions, and dangers, while Shenna tries to throw aside all her assumptions about her fellow nobles-- tries, but doesn't succeed. A story of families, alliances, secrets, trust, betrayal, and maybe even revolution-- and about a friendship between two very different worlds. ---- So yeah I've been planning this since the summer, and I've had the Surreality setting lingering in my mind for years without knowing what to do with it. I don't think I'll be able to fit everything into 50k words, but I want to start. ^_^ Cast of characters, world information, my personal NaNo goals, even []'s actual name, all coming soon! (EDIT: Look she has a name now!) NaNo Goals: -- Hit 50k, even though I doubt I'll finish the story in that space -- Write a book focused around a friendship -- Figure out a nice rich cultural backdrop for my world (I have several scattered details figured out, and the general history, but that doesn't make a culture) -- Write a fantastic, believable Magnificent scoundrel character (I love him already. I want everyone else to love him) -- Write relationships of equals (Despite the central friendship, there are at least three romances I'll be writing, probably four, all different types) -- Write interesting family dynamics (Shenna's family. It is a wonderful family. Plus Aliday gets to learn things about her own family...) |
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Post by Rikku on Oct 1, 2012 19:52:30 GMT -5
you had me at Crowfolk
no but seriously wow this sounds amazing! I love Aliday and, uh, your as-yet unnamed noble girl because she sounds fascinating, scholars gosh scholars are great.
FRIENDSHIP and families and revolution and uncovering secrets and overturning - or not overturning - old beliefs ahhh wow this is great already <3
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Post by Zylaa on Oct 3, 2012 19:13:14 GMT -5
Characters! Here are characters! Complete with names that they may or may not keep! Naming got a lot easier once I thought about the time period. Humans all got pulled over from our world to the Crowfolks during about 500 years-- I think starting around 500 BC though I've noticed some problems with my timeline-- so I can give my humans any real earth name from around that time. =D (I will eventually name someone Nebuchadnezzar and my life will be complete, but I haven't reached that point yet). SO. Characters. The Main Characters
Aliday was born to parents who had already sold their lives, and the lives of their as-yet-unborn children, to the Tower. She's a little resentful of these parents she can't remember. Just a little.
All Aliday knows for certain about herself is what's written on the scholar's chart on her wall (so any scholar can come in and see what specimen they're working with at a glance). Her parents could change into hawks, though she can't. One of the many ongoing experiments of her life has been tests to try and trigger any latent shapeshifting powers. These are never very pleasant tests.
Aliday believes, with all her heart, that she has a brother, a brother who was born a hawk, and clings to the few memories she has of him. The scholars tell her that these memories are faked, that they were put there for a study (yet another study) on producing and removing familial attachments in sub-humans. Scholars like to talk like that.
One study Aliday didn't mind was the study on the intellectual capabilities of sub-humans. She was given a full Crowfolk education-- reading, writing, mathematics, magical theory, and so on. Essentially, all the tools a young, clever, angry mind needs to formulate an escape plan.
Once Aliday escapes, with the clothes on her back, a bone warding amulet, and a key to Surreality, she finds that silence is her best weapon. She's developed a stoic facade after all these years dealing with scholars, and uses it well to hide her plans, her history, and most frequently, her utter bewilderment at the life of humans outside the Tower, which somehow never gets covered in a proper Crowfolk education.
To say that Aliday is cautious and doesn't trust easily would be an understatement. More than anything, she's determined to save her brother from the Tower. The one thing that can break down her typical calculating reserve is music-- music, which she's never before heard in the tower, except for a snatch of a whistle here and there. Picture taking a man from the middle of a desert and showing him a crystal-clear lake. Or, as Joshua comments, picture a cat with catnip.
Lady Shenna is the eldest child of one of the oldest noble families in the empire, and dearly loves her family members-- although lately, her younger sister has been driving her up the wall. Like all of the Crowfolk nobility, she holds all six elemental powers, and like the majority of Crowfolk nobles, takes this ability entirely for granted.
Shenna has always been a studious child (an attribute valued among all Crowfolk). She digs into her research on Surreality's architecture and peculiar rules with enthusiasm and passion, though she's learned that most people don't really care about the fact that the roots of the giant oak tree beside the Spectral Palace hide a door that leads to the Beach of Spirits, even though the Beach of Spirits is the shore of the Fiery Forest. After all, it's not like dreams are supposed to make sense.
Shenna is careful to observe social niceties and etiquette, even when she'd rather be reading or spending time with her closest friends (who all have their own particular passions). She's unfailingly courteous to the human and Crowfolk servants, and if questioned about it would definitely support eliminating the legal discrimination against humans. She doesn't really think about it, though.
When a Tower Scholar asks her to help with a study of human minds in Surreality, Shenna can't resist. She can't help disliking the Scholar, though, and makes a point of treating the human subject as if she were equal to a Crowfolk. Scholars have a lot of power, after all, but she is a lady.
Shenna says she values intelligence and scholarly discovery above all things, and mostly spends her time with people who would say the same thing. Naturally, when she starts spending her dreams accompanied by Aliday, she begins to question what she's assumed about her own values, and the values of the empire.
Aliday's World: Owl's Point Criminals
Joshua meets Aliday when he picks her off the street.
An insufferably charming Thought mage, Joshua has made a career of reading people, through both magical and non-magical means. He works as a right-hand man for one of the city's crime bosses-- which is surprising only until Aliday considers exactly how much damage disarming young man can do if he can also manipulate a person's thoughts.
As Aliday's given up her bone charm by the time she meets him, he gets a good glimpse of her emotions and thoughts-- so he knows she's a runaway from the tower. He promises not to tell, though, and indeed keeps a friendly eye out for Aliday as he helps her into the crime ring, and then into a plot against the Tower.
Joshua has his own plans and goals, and unlike Ailday, hides them by appearing to be open and carefree. Being an intelligent Thought mage, he's learned how to manipulate people without ever relying on magic. His sense of humor and intelligence are both genuine, which doesn't make them any less effective as tools.
Joshua plays some instrument moderately well (flute? lute?), and when he notices Aliday's fascination, and realizes it's because she's never heard music before in her life, he plays her private concerts. Aliday's pretty sure it's genuine kindness, but wouldn't bet on it.
Ruth, the crime boss. Large, strong, trusts Josh as far as she can throw him-- which is a very long way.
Tep, Joshua's best friend and co-conspirator. Now dead, but this hasn't slowed him down much.
Tep's sister, who wants to blame Joshua for Tep's death, but as Tep is still very capable of saying "Don't blame Joshua," settles for glares and cutting remarks.
Shenna's Family
Tessira hates that she has to marry for an alliance! She wants to marry the man she loves, and doesn't care that he's only a jumped-up merchant! How could her parents be so cruel?! She'll do anything to be with her one twu wuv.
... I will try to make Tessira a balanced character, I swear.
Tess, Shenna's younger sister, is like Shenna in kindness and dislike of courtly fashion but opposite in every other way. She causes minor gossip and scandals at practically every ball by spending all her time with her love interest, sometimes even spending time with him in a room alone.
Tess enjoys debates on philosophy and policy, and has started arguing more and more for radical social theories about human/underclass equality and the corruption of the nobility.
As the head of one of the leading noble families, Shenna's mother does not so much follow fashion as set fashion. Elegantly understated in dress and mannerisms, Isedria still wields the intelligence and cleverness expected from the nobility (though she often uses her cleverness at the expense of the ill-bred, the rude, or, worst of all, the unfashionable). She likes to give exaggerated sighs when her daughters don't demonstrate the same nuanced appreciation of style as herself, but loves them all the same.
Shenna's father is a jovial, effusively friendly man, devoted to his children and his wife, though as this was a marriage of politics (like most noble marriages), his romantic love is saved for his consort, Adran. Though he isn't the head of the family, so doesn't officially get to sit on the ruling Council of Scholars, he and Isedria work as a team of equals behind the scenes.
Since noble marriages are always a political affair, the institute of harems and official consorts is a time-honored tradition. Nevertheless, very few nobles have formed such a devoted extra-marital relationship as Adran and Fenstren. Adran, Fenstren's consort of twenty years, has a warm and gregarious personality. He's not of noble origin, so has no magical powers and a slimmer formal education, but he's an intelligent Crow nonetheless, and by far the best in the family at cards and games of skill.
Among the eccentricities of Shenna's family is that Adran is, unquestionably, a family member, despite being officially a consort. The two daughters call him "Dad" and Fenstren "Father."
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Post by Zylaa on Oct 11, 2012 20:57:24 GMT -5
=D =D =D A revelation today!
I had no idea how to end this. It's gonna end with revolution and chaos, and it's hard to get a nice conclusive ending in that sort of setting. Especially since so many characters are going to end up hating each other for a while. >_>
But now I know how to make things up between a couple people, and how to give Aliday a beautiful arc of her own personal character development and growth with its own climactic scene. =D I have such a beautiful mental image and... there's not a good phrase for it, but thought-image? Like, I can see the scene, but I can feel what Aliday's going to be thinking, and how she's going to take control, and it will be lovely.
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