"Tales of Leinyere" Story Event: Official Support Thread

[Voboy]

Hmmmm.

Very intriguing. Nice job, OP.

 

[PoisonPen33]

Portoa is in a good place! I'd say those hills to the east/northeast are the Amber Hills.

Story, story, story...Whispers in the Aether.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Alchemy

I like the "aether foundation of magic" concept, which in turn allows me to put some meat on the bones of my alchemy system.

Alchemy is viewed as "poor men's magic", because it is both simple and kinda affordable - everything you need to produce results are recipes and ingredients. At it's most basic, alchemy requires an aether-infused base solution, to which is then added a number of thematic reagents to produce the desired effect.

The most expensive and tricky component is said aether-infused base solution. There are two ways to get it - either toss together magically charged ingredients like meteoric rock dust, bits and pieces of magic-wielding monsters or magically active plants. Mix in just the right quantities and you have the base.

Option two is for those who have a bit of magic of their own - they can substitute the expensive aether-rich materials for a certain quantity of their own blood, giving the solution the aether infusion it needs.

The base solution can be produced in advance and most travelling alchemists have several vials on their person to quickly improvise needed potions, antidotes and the like. The stuff keeps for a year and a day and one batch is usually enough for ten potions. Can be bought at Alchemist's Guild halls for at least a hundred gold.

So, if you wanted to produce a love potion, you'd start with one unit of solution, add rose petals and honey. If you want to create a fierce irritant, use one part solution and add your choice of nettle leaves, thistle thorns or green dragon spittle. Voilá! Instant thug repellant.

The core philosophy, from a writer's standpoint, is "ease of use" and "easy theming" wthout having to care too much for hard numbers. By using ingredients which relate to the desired effect, writers can apply as much or as little detail as they want when cooking up alchemy-related scenes.

There are distinct drawbacks to alchemy as well. The art is fantastic when it comes to changing one thing into another or altering an item's or person's traits or capabilities by applying a potion or rub on an oil. Alchemy really, really sucks at creating something from nothing. Also, the potions and oils don't last forever unless extremely expensive components are added to "supercharge" the base solution and make it last longer. Usual duration for said potions (unless they work like healing potions, which do last forever) is measured in hours, days maybe if the solution-to-ingredient ratio is particularly favorable.

By the way: Currency system? I was thinking "cogs and gears" for those cities with a strong Machinist's Guild (steampunk) presence. Ten Cogs (small silver cogwheels) are one Gear (one palm-sized, golden cogwheel with seven spokes). Maybe add "scraps", square copper tokens. A handful of Scraps can buy you food for a day, a Cog a week covers rent and having a Gear can afford you all the drink, food and whores you'd want for a month. What makes them so valuable is the fact that the Machinists use them as literal ingredients in their clockworks.

If that's too fancy, we can always substitute the classic copper/gold/silver coin triple tier system and slap regional names on it.

When I have time later today, I'll whip up info on Galtin's Port, an independent city-state at the southern point of Kelthala's Wound. Planned highlight? The Machinist's Guild hall, built on a gigantic cogwheel suspended over the fjord on massive chains.

Also, feel free to expand on the Machinist's Guild idea. The main reason they're so powerful is their long-range transportation system - the Pyro Express, a train powered by enslaved fire elementals.

@Rusty: What was the name for your cat species? Ancot? Can I borrow that for my kitty alchemist?

 

[PoisonPen33]

Currency - I like copper/silver/gold, with different names ("copper hatchling, silver dragon, gold elder", scraps/cogs/gears) across the continent. It keeps things unified for the authors.

I also have a bit where my character finds a gold piece and freaks out because he's never seen one before in his life.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

I live the regional variations on copper/silver/gold, too.

Also, while we're talking about magic systems, I was thinking about, in some schools of magic (maybe most?), there could be a dichotomy between sorcerers/sorceresses on one side, and witches/wizards on the other.

Sorcerers/Sorceresses are the born naturals. Brimming with Aether, magic always came easily to them. They don't understand the intricacies of magic and they don't wield a wide variety of spells, but they are powerhouses in their specialties.

Witches/Wizards are Swiss army knives. They had to learn magic the hard way, and they learned it well. They may not have the raw power of their more gifted brethren and sistren, but if you're in a fight with one they could throw anything at you, and you'd never see it coming. They also make much better magical educators.

I'm thinking the line between them is fuzzy, but real, and some of them get pissy if they get mislabelled. They don't want to be confused with those lazy, entitled Sorcerers/Sorceresses or those dorky, uptight Witches/Wizards.

Of course, they get mislabelled all the time, because the average person doesn't understand or care about the distinction.

Thoughts?

 

[Blind_Justice]

I live the regional variations on copper/silver/gold, too.

Also, while we're talking about magic systems, I was thinking about, in some schools of magic (maybe most?), there could be a dichotomy between sorcerers/sorceresses on one side, and witches/wizards on the other.

Sorcerers/Sorceresses are the born naturals. Brimming with Aether, magic always came easily to them. They don't understand the intricacies of magic and they don't wield a wide variety of spells, but they are powerhouses in their specialties.

Witches/Wizards are Swiss army knives. They had to learn magic the hard way, and they learned it well. They may not have the raw power of their more gifted brethren and sistren, but if you're in a fight with one they could throw anything at you, and you'd never see it coming. They also make much better magical educators.

I'm thinking the line between them is fuzzy, but real, and some of them get pissy if they get mislabelled. They don't want to be confused with those lazy, entitled Sorcerers/Sorceresses or those dorky, uptight Witches/Wizards.

Of course, they get mislabelled all the time, because the average person doesn't understand or care about the distinction.

Thoughts?

I'm totally fine with that. In fact, that's more or less how my magic system in "Mud & Magic" (and most other "Western Continent" tales) operates. Sorcerers can sense and draw upon elemental power sources wich are everywhere in the world, shaping the energy (fire, air, earth, water and (a)ether) to suit their needs, limited only by their imagination and how strong their wills and bodies are. In a pinch, or more often when they're still young, untrained and foolish, they can use their own life force (which is nothing but aether as far as the rules are concerned) as fuel for their spells, catching what is commonly known as "Sorcerer's Burn" when they overdo it. And yes, they can theoretically kill themselves overdoing it. Rhys is pretty good at that.

Wizards on the other hand don't have to have a strong connection to magic. What they lack in brute force initially, they make up for in sheer determination and study until they've mastered intellectual constructs (i.e. spells) to harness magic, which boils down to the classic D&D magic system of learning shit from your spellbook, memorizing it and once used, it's gone for the day. With enough preparation, a wizard can prepare for literally any problem while sorcerers tend to approach problems with a rather narrow set of solutions according to their preferences.

 

[PoisonPen33]

I like it as well.

I'm seeing "West Coast" magic as being highly specific and very specialized - one person summons elementals that could tear down a wall, but that's ALL they can do, while someone else could punch a hole in said wall but have no clue what to do when confronted with a ghost.

And the big weakness - West Coast magic can't heal other people. A Body mage would always be in perfect health, but trying to manipulate someone else's body falls under Life magic, which is a "forbidden school." In fact, trying to manipulate someone else's aether could be considered "non-consensual" on the West Coast, adding to further disdain for Life/Death magic.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think it would be helpful early to get a very rough timeline going, with references to geography, so the timeline and map work together in a very general way, while still giving lots of room for authors to write stories to fill in details.

I don't have any details, but very general suggestions:


Say you have a thousand year timeline. Early in that timeline there was a great and powerful civilization, but it fell (e.g. Rome, or Numenor or the Gondor kingship in LOTR). Or there was a great evil that existed but fell, though not forever (Sauron in LOTR, the Night King in GOT).

There is some kind of prophecy about evil returning, but being defeated, by somebody, and with that defeat something will be restored. King Arthur, LOTR, GOT, Dune all follow this pattern of a prophecy to be fulfilled.

The logical place to center things -- perhaps where the ancient civilization that collapsed had its capital -- would be the spot now called Giltan's Port. Maybe it had a different name in the old days. Maybe not. Presumably there's a substantial river that flows from the mountains to the south into the vast bay of Kelthala's Wound (why wound? that needs to be explained). The latitude appears to be right for a fertile and prosperous civilization. The mountains form a natural barrier between two fundamentally different areas, or perhaps civilizations. The western half with all its many bays, appears well suited to be a place of commerce and civilization, while the eastern half looks more wild and inaccessible, and appears to have a large, barren desert. Although the area in the northeast called "Thrace" could be a thriving island civilization, presumably with a lot of seafaring (notwithstanding the constant threat of krakens and other sea monsters, not to mention naked sirens).

 

[SimonDoom]

I like the idea of alchemy being a central theme in this world. Many possibilities.

How's this: With the fall of the ancient civilization a thousand years ago, 90% of the world's knowledge about alchemy was lost. In particular, the knowledge of how to create a certain kind of metal for swords or other weapons to defeat some kind of terrible dragon or monster, but also other things. Alchemy has aphrodisiacal side effects, of course.

A thousand years later, monsters have arisen again. To defeat them, the ancient alchemy must be recaptured. Somebody, or a few people, go on a quest to recapture the magic so they can build the weapons that will defeat these monsters. But of course the quest gets fractured and goes awry, and once they do discover the ancient secrets they learn that they have unanticipated consequences -- like heightening libido.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

There is some kind of prophecy about evil returning, but being defeated, by somebody, and with that defeat something will be restored. King Arthur, LOTR, GOT, Dune all follow this pattern of a prophecy to be fulfilled.

I'd like to disagree with this idea. If there is a prophecy about defeating a great evil that dominates the timeline, then the anthology will feel incomplete if no one writes that story. But if someone does write the fulfillment of the prophecy, then that becomes the primary story and the rest of us are just writing side pieces. OR more than one of us write about the prophecy fulfilled in different ways and that just confuses things.

I'm not saying there can't be small-p prophecies. But can we avoid an over-arching capital-P Prophecy?

I'm not going to argue strenuously for this position. If everyone else likes it, that's fine, I'll work with it. I've said my piece.

 

[PoisonPen33]

I like the idea of a "fallen kingdom." Gives characters ruins and dungeons to explore/get caught up in for our stories. But it should be long ago.

For the prophecy, there's two options.

First, don't have one. Stories and adventures happen. There doesn't always need to be a big bad somewhere.

Two, have one, but it's already done. Maybe it happened when the kingdom fell or soon after, but the stories are in a "post-prophecy" world. The adventurers killed the Bad Guy millennia/centuries ago, and now people are asking "what's next?"

 

[SimonDoom]

I'd like to disagree with this idea. If there is a prophecy about defeating a great evil that dominates the timeline, then the anthology will feel incomplete if no one writes that story. But if someone does write the fulfillment of the prophecy, then that becomes the primary story and the rest of us are just writing side pieces. OR more than one of us write about the prophecy fulfilled in different ways and that just confuses things.

I'm not saying there can't be small-p prophecies. But can we avoid an over-arching capital-P Prophecy?

I'm not going to argue strenuously for this position. If everyone else likes it, that's fine, I'll work with it. I've said my piece.

I see your point. Since this is so decentralized, my idea may put too much of a strait jacket on it.

What I'd suggest is some kind of very loose structure that doesn't seem to require anything, but provides a skeleton on which all the stories can hang together. Since this still is a very new idea it may take time to figure out what that will be.

 

[Gamina]

Very cool Idea.

i will be writing a story for it. "The Shield Maiden" It will be set in one of the Islands In the North-North East called Urkā Móna (Terrible Womb)

This place is the birthplace of demon spawn and an Order of Female Warriors are tasked to protect the world from them. In the past men and women fought side by side here but as many men lost their mind and turned against their allies here, it was decided that the women would shoulder this responsability. But once a year Men from neighbouring Islands and Champions from all over Leinyere Hold a mock raid on the beach front camp.

For some it is just an excuse for a good tumble, For some a chance to find a worthy man to strengthen the family line. But for the young women of the Island it is also their comming of age event and the kick off of their own Meryalë (Rumspringa), the story will follow a young woman on her adventure. Should she become just another brave but nameless Shield maiden, or an Epic Hero is TBD

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

I'm not saying there can't be small-p prophecies. But can we avoid an over-arching capital-P Prophecy?

Yes! Agree 100%

Two, have one, but it's already done. Maybe it happened when the kingdom fell or soon after, but the stories are in a "post-prophecy" world. The adventurers killed the Bad Guy millennia/centuries ago, and now people are asking "what's next?"

On second thought, this sounds good, too! IDK!

What I'd suggest is some kind of very loose structure that doesn't seem to require anything, but provides a skeleton on which all the stories can hang together. Since this still is a very new idea it may take time to figure out what that will be.

True. The timeline as a whole may even end up being not nearly as useful as it sounded. We'll see!

 

[Voboy]

Two thoughts:

1. It's a big continent. There's no reason to assume every polity on that continent is using the same money. It's fine for some kingdoms/empires/principalities/marches/etc to use scraps/cogs/gears and others to use, say, plain ol' farthings or ducats or mergansers or roights or pennies.

2. There ought to be a war someplace. Like, a long and ongoing one. It doesn't need to cover the entire continent, but it should be available to writers as a looming threat, a distant rumor, or a chaotic setting. And if stories don't want to mention it at all, well, that's fine too. But if the rest of us are mentioning similar combatants or battles, it'll lend easy versimillitude.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

We have Orcs, humans, and catfolk listed in the Notes. What about standard issue Elves and Dwarves? I have the beginnings of an idea for a "forbidden love" kind of story between two races that are historically enemies. I suppose I could do it with an orc and a catfolk, but I need a long-running ancient animosity between the two races.

2. There ought to be a war someplace. Like, a long and ongoing one. It doesn't need to cover the entire continent, but it should be available to writers as a looming threat, a distant rumor, or a chaotic setting. And if stories don't want to mention it at all, well, that's fine too. But if the rest of us are mentioning similar combatants or battles, it'll lend easy versimillitude.

That could work for me, if the animosity has resulted in a generations-long war between the two. Maybe it's a war over resources. Say, for example, the elves in the mountains west of the Greywood and the dwarves that live under those mountains?

Or is animosity between dwarves and elves too cliché?

 

[Blind_Justice]

I already killed off an ancient civilization by virtue of naming the northern ocean. There once was a civilization of extremely self-centered hedonists which got nuked by the goddess Kelthala, protector of innocence and virtue. Because not technically "evil evil", these hedonists ranged far and wide, abducting interesting specimens for their orgies, possibly destroying other civilizations before they even got a foot off the ground. So they had to go. Divine Spear into the heart of their empire -> no more Ancient hedonists. That event is deliberately set into the far past, more like a tectonic event than a war or something. Still, in the area now known as "Kelthala's Wound", strange artifacts tend to surface. The central hook of my story revolves around one such artifact.

But who's to say that's the ONLY ancient civilization? I can very well envision the continent being the playground of the gods -> PoisonPen's idea with the undead goddess looking to resurrect herself comes to mind. I can see said gods sponsor civilizations/kingdoms if they align with their philosophy and huge, sweeping conflicts might be the norm rather than the exception.

I've proposed the orcs being such a divinely championed race - they were created for one job and one job only: Spread the will of an (infernal?) deity by being the best goddamn warriors ever created. Hard to kill, quick to breed and capable of basically impregnating everything.

 

[Nouh_Bdee]

We have Orcs, humans, and catfolk listed in the Notes. What about standard issue Elves and Dwarves? I have the beginnings of an idea for a "forbidden love" kind of story between two races that are historically enemies. I suppose I could do it with an orc and a catfolk, but I need a long-running ancient animosity between the two races.



That could work for me, if the animosity has resulted in a generations-long war between the two. Maybe it's a war over resources. Say, for example, the elves in the mountains west of the Greywood and the dwarves that live under those mountains?

Or is animosity between dwarves and elves too cliché?

The only reason those three are in the notes is because they were the only three mentioned in this thread so far.

Adding elves and dwarves now...

 

[AlphaLyon]

I apologize in advance for the lengthy reply, but I just got home and have a lot I want to contribute to what's been added.

I like the "aether foundation of magic" concept,
The most expensive and tricky component is said aether-infused base solution...magically active plants. Also, the potions and oils don't last forever unless extremely expensive components are added to "supercharge" the base solution and make it last longer.

This would go well with the monks I had on my island. I wanted them to be cultivators, and over the years, have developed powerful strains of magic-infused plants in addition to their regular yields. They mix this with sexual fluids to enhance the power of the oils/herbs.
Their magic would be design based (possibly tattoo, henna, or mud runes; haven't decided), but still it would tie in to your magic system.

Currency - I like copper/silver/gold, with different names ("copper hatchling, silver dragon, gold elder", scraps/cogs/gears) across the continent.

I agree that copper/silver/gold is the easiest to implement. I'm not sure how I will use that for mine, since they're isolated and trade-based on the island, but that's the fun that will come from the writing.

there could be a dichotomy between sorcerers/sorceresses on one side, and witches/wizards on the other.

I'm curious where you would place my monks in this scheme. They are more oracles and "servants of the land" who are kind of like lightning benders: they let the magic flow through them and think of themselves as conduit of magic.

I think it would be helpful early to get a very rough timeline going, with references to geography, so the timeline and map work together in a very general way, while still giving lots of room for authors to write stories to fill in details.

I like the idea of alchemy being a central theme in this world. Many possibilities. How's this: ...

We also don't all have to be writing in the same epoch. We can have some stories during different ages.
I would suggest that there could be 3 main eras:
- The Age of Gods: the dawn of the world, when gods walked among man; Atlantean or Ancient Greek/Roman era
- The Great Event: standard prophecy, hero's/heroes' quest, defeat the big bad; medieval, feudal castes, etc.
- The New Age: the rise of steampunk, technology, and a general perception of all the histories of the past were just fables or not real. There could be a really cool lesson about the hubris of mankind to think that they are the dominant species; Renaissance, Victorian era, etc.

I'd like to disagree with this idea. If there is a prophecy about defeating a great evil that dominates the timeline, then the anthology will feel incomplete if no one writes that story. But if someone does write the fulfillment of the prophecy, then that becomes the primary story and the rest of us are just writing side pieces. OR more than one of us write about the prophecy fulfilled in different ways and that just confuses things.

Unless, what if the prophesy/defeating the big bad was an event that gets interpreted differently for different cultures? Something akin to the flood myth, or the demi-god myth, or the myth of Eden? This way, maybe we can just say that there was a big event, stuff happened, but no one knows for sure, although everyone thinks that they're the one who is the most correct *cough*religion*cough*

i will be writing a story for it. "The Shield Maiden" It will be set in one of the Islands In the North-North East called Urkā Móna (Terrible Womb)
...

You've got an island of all women, I've got an island of all men in the same island chain. There's a lot that can be done with this, especially if we play on Adam & Eve tropes. I'm open to collaborating ideas, but I like the tournament idea that you had. I mostly write gay erotica, but I'm totally down for bi/str8 stories too. We could even have a Romeo & Juliet-type scenario, only R&J brought the tribes of the two islands together and because they were united, they were able to push back the demons. The mock battles are a reminder that historic victory.

 

[Gamina]

Oh I like the sound of those Orcs, might just have to use one as a protagonist in The Shield Maidens

I've proposed the orcs being such a divinely championed race - they were created for one job and one job only: Spread the will of an (infernal?) deity by being the best goddamn warriors ever created. Hard to kill, quick to breed and capable of basically impregnating everything.

 

[Gamina]

That does look like a natural collaboration in the making. I would say either a story about why the Island split into two groups early on. Or a later date reunion to make sure both island replentish the troops ?

You've got an island of all women, I've got an island of all men in the same island chain. There's a lot that can be done with this, especially if we play on Adam & Eve tropes. I'm open to collaborating ideas, but I like the tournament idea that you had. I mostly write gay erotica, but I'm totally down for bi/str8 stories too. We could even have a Romeo & Juliet-type scenario, only R&J brought the tribes of the two islands together and because they were united, they were able to push back the demons. The mock battles are a reminder that historic victory.

 

[Voboy]

I wrote a fantasy series once, which I enjoyed, and included an offshore island that looked something like a phallus. I mapped it as The Standing Prick, but I never set any stories there.

Feel free to use that name for some sort of rock formation or island. I like it. Remember, a lot of times, places and things aren't named in High Valyrian or Quenya or whatever; often, they're just named for body parts they look like. Such as Grand Teton.

 

[Blind_Justice]

Oh I like the sound of those Orcs, might just have to use one as a protagonist in The Shield Maidens

Be my guest. I've just tossed some ideas in the ring, here's a bit more fluff.
http://forum.literotica.com/showpost.php?p=93843269&postcount=40

While on the topic of races:

If we work off the assumption that the gods and goddesses of Leinyere have meddled with the mortals, there's a high chance of celestial/infernal half-breeds hopping around. Cool? Question is: How much sway do the divine ancestors have over these divine offspring? Are they aware of their progeny? Can they even REMOTE CONTROL them? Do they see them as useful tools, to be nourished and encouraged or shameful memories of simpler times?

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

I've proposed the orcs being such a divinely championed race - they were created for one job and one job only: Spread the will of an (infernal?) deity by being the best goddamn warriors ever created. Hard to kill, quick to breed and capable of basically impregnating everything.

There would need to be a reason why such a race hasn't already taken over the entire continent and wiped out or enslaved the humans, cat folk, and other races.

 

[AlphaLyon]

... I mapped it as The Standing Prick, but I never set any stories there. Feel free to use that name for some sort of rock formation or island. I like it. .

I'm totally going to have a natural stone obelisk that looks like a phallus in the center of the island and call it The Standing Prick.

That does look like a natural collaboration in the making. I would say either a story about why the Island split into two groups early on. Or a later date reunion to make sure both island replenish the troops?

Awesome! You do your thing, I'll do mine, and we'll see how we can get them to intertwine like lovers in a hot summer rain fall.

There would need to be a reason why such a race hasn't already taken over the entire continent and wiped out or enslaved the humans, cat folk, and other races.

What if there is no orc queen to lead them like a queen bee? There are still females for orcs to have offspring, but without a leader, they're just kind of ho-humming around...for now.