WBM: Bestiary–the Ellefolk
Location and General Information Creatures who inhabit the forests of Altern, particularly around the area of Barksville. They are generally considered beings of folklore, rather than reality. Description Males are generally shorter than the females, have giant noses, white hair, and large heads. They wear robes or suits and sometimes walk with a cane. They also have eyes that are narrow and yellow; much like a bird of prey. Females are tall and unusually beautiful in a more “strange” way than a “typical” way. Their beauty is cause for intense curiosity from human males. They are tall, generally long-haired and blonde, and have piercing eyes. Both male and females have gaping holes where their backs should be, as if their fronts were created to seem human, but the rest of them were left mostly unfinished (although they do have bottoms and legs, just no backs). Magic The Ellefolk are primarily masters of the art of manipulation, and mainly the manipulation of males. Their magic is exceedingly effective against human males, who tend to be more inclined to curiosity and, unfortunately, weaker willed when it comes to temptation. One of the key magics of the Ellefolk is the use of magic as a means of controlling by inserting emotion or sensation. They are capable of controlling men by making them genuinely obsessed with pleasing the ladies of the Elle, which can sometimes spark intense jealousy amongst the affected males. Generally, this magic is difficult to break. One must wait quite a long time for the magic to wear off or someone must kill the lady whose magic has hold of an individual. The easiest way to break the spell is to keep knots, holes, and cracks in trees covered up or stuff full of clay or some other substance Women are rarely affected by the Ellefolk, though they can be, on rare occasions, struck by a similar manipulative magic found within Ellemen. This magic, if it works on the individual woman, will be instantaneous, but less difficult to break than the hold the ladies of the Elle have over human men. The limiting factor, however, is that the Ellefolk’s manipulative magic is only effective when the target looks through the knot, hole, or crack in a tree. Other magic includes creating a genuinely pleasant environment that glitters. Their homes in the forest are filled with glittering gold particles that make anyone caught within it happy by default. This isn’t so much a spell as an environmental thing, as the Ellefolk are not actually in control of this so much as just living in it. The breath of a lady of the Elle is like a corrosive acid. It causes death in seconds and melts the skin and tissue from the victim’s face, causing agonizing pain. Creation The Ellefolk are not born normally, as most creatures are in Altern. While humans breed through intercourse, the Ellefolk do not breed at all. All the Ellefolk on Altern were there from the beginning, or what seems like the beginning, and as such there is a finite number of them. They cannot create new Ellefolk, nor can anyone else. As such, the Ellefolk are essentially immortal, part of a spiritual/faery world rather than what one might consider the human world of mortality. They can be killed, of course, and generally this is pretty easy as thy are subject to the same physical weaknesses as humans. Ellefolk are born in giant stone eggs found buried in the Earth. The Ellefolk are constantly searching for their kin, digging wherever they can find them. This is a constant preoccupation, which goes hand in hand with their ability to manipulate human men, providing them with free labor. The stones are brought to the surface, dipped in enormous containers of water, and left to sit. Eventually the rock softens and becomes more like a boiled chicken egg without a shell and then the Ellefolk inside breaks out and is born. At least, that’s how the folklore goes; nobody actually knows how they bring out their young from the stone eggs. War The Ellefolk never have any wars. Because there are a limited amount of them across all of Altern it is not considered worth dealing with the complications and ramifications of war. Why fight your own kind when you can move and maintain the population? Whenever a dispute arises, members of a particular group assess the situation and make a mutual beneficial decision (usually one group moves elsewhere with the help of the group that gets to stay). This may seem quite civilized, but it should be known that if the Ellefolk reproduced normally, no such peaceful decisions would be made. It’s simply thought as better for the species not to fight over anything, no matter how horrible or annoying. Culture The Ellefolk have a very simplistic culture in comparison to the cultures of mankind. They are dominated by the desire to essentially dig up their own kind. This prevents them from developing cities or separate cultures. In a way they are like animals–lions might be a good example. Their young, once dug up and brought to life, either remain with their “parents” or move on to other groups or create groups of their own, expanding and seeking to hunt down their kind from other locations–to be released, of course. Beyond this, the Ellefolk lack any sort of complex culture. They do no create music, except in certain regions where non-human, sentient creatures exist who are not so easily swayed by Ellefolk magic–and music has a higher success rate with certain creatures, and a lower success rate with human beings. They are not, by default, an artistic people, creating little art, except the glittering gold air of their woodland homes that produces bliss for anyone within its grasp, which might be considered artistic. In fact, the only thing that makes the Ellefolk more than animals is the fact that they are sentient, capable of intentionally luring humans (and other
WBM: Bestiary–Erdluitles
Yes, Erdluitles are in my WISB universe, but I like them so much I want to keep them for the world of Altern. Besides, they fit into the scheme of things anyway. So here is what you need to know about these little guys: Location and General Information Erdluitles are primarily found in plain lands or farming areas and almost always avoid wooded areas–the exception being for the relatively few who have acclimated to life in human cities. Due to their affinity with farming communities, particularly their good nature and willingness to help farmers either by offering magical aid to crops or by offering their services as laborers, they are often seen as good omens or markers of particularly fine products wherever they are found. As such, they are loved by farmers and often well fed, though Erdluitles will make it very clear that they require no handouts at any time, seeing as they are quite prideful little people and don’t take kindly to what they perceive as insults to their kind. They also vehemently defend other little people. When they are offended they can do unimaginable damage to one’s crops or livelihood until the Erdluitle in question is appeased. It is considered a great offense in human culture to do anything questionable when an Erdluitle is around. Description Erdluitles are short–around three feet tall–and thin. They always wear suits, including a small, rimmed hat, and have pointed ears, though less so than elves or other little people; females wear long, green dresses with frills and neither males nor females have any facial hair. The most pronounced feature of these small peoples are their feet: they have goose feet instead of regular five-toed feet. This, unfortunately, is something they are most ashamed of. As a result they almost never expose their feet, even when washing, choosing instead to soak their shoes rather than risk someone laughing at what they consider to be a disfigurement. Beyond these simple differences they are practically human in appearance, just short and extremely proud of it. Magic Erdluitles are some of the more magical of beings in Altern. While many creatures have little magic, the Erdluitles are exceptional magic users. They are able to manipulate the weather, levitate objects, and even cause physical harm to someone. Their most powerful magic, however, is related to plant life, as they are powerful in the art of growth, making plants grow in record time, bear incredible fruit and vegetables, etc. They take great delight in matters of growth and can be found dancing or frolicking gleefully whilst making peach trees shoot up to record heights with massive, gushing peaches bursting from the branches–they are often mistaken for children when doing this. They have great control over magic, as stated, but it should be noted that they rarely use magic that doesn’t have something to do with farming or growth for they consider physical attacks or destructive magic to be mostly vulgar and for last options. They are destructive creatures when offended. Creation It’s not entirely clear where the Erdluitles came from. Some human cultures believe they are the spawns of elves and lesser little people, while others have considered the myth that they are related to the very fabric of the universe, from which the stars and Altern itself was created. The reality is, however, that Erdluitles simply popped into existence…and that’s how they all come into Altern–pop, pop, pop. The most disturbing thing about this is that they have no idea that it is going to happen and are always exceedingly confused when they suddenly appear in a field or under a rock or, on rare occasions, in the cell of a jailhouse. This explains their being spread quite thinly across the continent of Altern. The process of their existence seems random, but all Erdluitles believe there is a reason for it all; elderly Erdluitles who are no longer capable of tending to fields–due to being retired, of course, since it would be quite insulting to tell an Erdluitle he or she is just too old–spend their days contemplating the reasons for their existence. No answers have been found to date (Erdluitles want their existence to have a higher purpose in the world). Culture Erdluitle culture tends to be small, yet complex. They don’t share a religion of any sort, but there is a great gathering every year where Erdluitles from all across Altern meet in a predestined place–usually the home of the most successful Erdluitle of the year–and celebrate a year well done. There is a massive feast and it is generally acceptable to invite human farmers and their families to the celebration. Dancing, singing, and music playing is a necessity. The last party that lacked one of those three things ended in a two hundred year war between different “clans” of Erdluitles, which made the lives of farmers particularly uncomfortable: it isn’t easy to appease a very angry Erdluitle. Their music is not entirely unique, usually stealing from whatever place they might be in at any time, but it is almost always beautiful. They do not have the greatest of singing voices, but they are exceptional dancers. Some Erdluitles have found pleasure in poetry, churning out farmer’s epics with complex rhymes and structures. Additionally other avenues of art have found their way into Erdluitle culture in recent years, such as painting, which they find to be a particularly fascinating venture. Erdluitles do not generally build towns; it does happen, but it is rare. They are often given shelter by farmers, who are kind enough to allow the little people to occupy their barns or attics. They do have a complex set of rules that governs the proper method of interaction between Erdluitles, which is too complicated for any human to even begin to understand. This they take pride in and talk “down” to humans who simply cannot fathom all the bizarre rules that come with Erdluitle culture (such as one must never bow more
WBM: General Information About the Bestiary
Since I’m going to start delving into the creatures of Altern and what not over the next two weeks, I figure it’s about time I give some general information regarding the world. So here goes: The BestiaryThe non-human creatures of Altern are all born unnaturally, meaning that they are not born through human means of reproduction or by any natural means. They are, by default, creatures of magic and myth. Humans are the only ones who reproduce; obviously by means we’re all familiar with. There you go. I know, it’s basic and what not, but so be it! I’ll also be digging more into the magic and providing a definitive definition of it. And I’ll have the five unstable substances all ironed out! Anywho! (Don’t click the read more, there isn’t any more after this!)
WBM: Magic (Part One)
Ah, magic, the one thing everyone loves to have in fantasy. I’ve been thinking quite a lot about this, mainly because in my world there isn’t a whole lot of magic, or at least the magic is more of less uncontrolled, or unaccessible. So, yesterday my girlfriend and I were walking to one of the national parks around these parts and I started thinking about it. My world is quirky as it is (what with there being evil gnomes in New Timberfax and haunting, man-stealing faery creatures in Barksville). That very quirkiness means my magic has to match it. I can’t have stuff that will seem too, well, magical when everything else is magical in a strange way.So, let’s get down and dirty on the whole magic thing. Who has it?Only non-human creatures, specifically spirits, faery, sprites, and other such mythical critters. Humans themselves have no innate magic, meaning they aren’t born with it and can’t “magically” gain magical abilities. There are no human wizards shooting fireballs in this world. How powerful is it?Depends. For the most part magic is relatively low key. There is lots of manipulation of the mind and the environment, but again, no fireballs or crazy magic (at least not intentionally). I don’t want magic to be a force that can essentially destroy the world through a single creature’s hand. No evil magic-weilding overlords and stuff. Can non-magic folk use magic?Yes, actually. Even though humans don’t have magic, there are elements within the world that contain magic within them. Gnomes, for instance, cannot come to life unless they are built by human hands; the clay itself is magical. Then there are other substances that can be manipulated using alchemy/chemistry, which produce results that can, for the most part, be controlled. Healing potions exist in Altern.Having said that, I do have one substance that I’ve created that will have unstable results: CacticlesVery similar to cactii. They’re sort of a mixture between a vine-like plant and a cactus. Cacticles, however, contain properties that are completely unstable and, for the most part, uncontrollable. Every time you use cacticles for any purpose, the results are random. A person chewing on the plant might light on fire, or turn to stone, or float away, or explode, or a number of other things. As a result, when experimenting with the plant, a lot of precautions are taken. For instance:A person chewing the plant will stand in a bucket, be chained with thick metal that can’t be burned or melted (and so the person can’t float away), then be surrounded by thick walls, in case of explosion, etc. Every time a new result is found that is potentially hazardous, a new element is added into the mix to prevent damage to innocent bystanders.So, the point is that cacticles are extremely potent, making them exceedingly valuable for study, since the potential of the plant itself is limitless. The problem is that controlling it is just about impossible (or so the human folk think). So, magic can be in the hands of the non-magical, just not in a way that is controlled by the individual, but controlled externally through chemical means. Why do I want it like this?Well, to be honest, I’m about sick and tired of all the fireballs and super magicians. I’m more interested in making the human more of an outsider, sort of how we might be outsiders in this world if magic were ever to be proven to exist (or mythical creatures for that matter). Or perhaps the magic folk would be the outsiders in this world? Well, in my world, the outsiders are the humans, since they are the ones mostly out of touch with the natural elements surging around them. As a result, they become isolated or targeted by the magic community. I wanted magic to be limited on purpose, because I don’t want there being the possibility of super overlords and what not.Humans will, of course, have ways of using magic, just not directly. They’re means of magic is limited too, since it revolves around understanding natural elements and plants and being able to manipulate them to do what one wants. One can’t just go “abracadabra” and make a magic healing plant. It takes time and dedication to find the right formula. Cacticles may have immense power, but that power is uncontrollable. One would have to have tremendous luck to use it for evil means and not explode or die in some other horrible manner. I think that’s more than enough on magic for the time being!
WBM: Geography (Part One)
So, I’ve begun really working in the mapping details of my new continent/world. I’m going to try to follow the list found at SFWA on worldbuilding, although in no particular order (probably only in order by section). As you can see I have mountain ranges now and the beginnings of some rivers/lakes: I’ve only got one named location (The Cliffs of Marth). I’m very behind as far as worldbuilding is concerned; at least in comparison to other folks doing this. So, I’m going to focus on the geography for a while just to get it all ironed out.I have plans to draw two more circular chains of islands with the intention of having this world be subject to a lot of the mythology revolving around what might be considered “near extinction events”. Some of the circular items are actually volcanoes, such as the one where the Cliffs of Marth are present. This would be a fairly inactive volcano, but one with significant folklore surrounding it, since it’s occasional explosions might be the cause of the invention of gods or spirits, although I am intentionally avoiding the quite silly and cliche indigenous cultures that we are all too familiar with (you know, the kind that dances in hoola skirts and sacrifices virgins into the fires of the volcano and other such cliche stuff; thankfully I can avoid this considering that most of the volcanoes that are visible are actually primarily underwater).Other instances of circular structures, and primarily islands, are instances of impacts from space: comets, asteroids, and other such strange anomalies. These, of course, would be constantly on the minds of the people living in my world, and will fit right into the fantasy world I’m trying to create. What sort of beliefs will they develop from fearing the heavens? Well, I like the idea of there being a constant fear, one where even the simply sighting of something burning in the sky sparks civil unrest and possibly even revolution. But we’ll get into that some other time, since this is primarily focuses on geography.One thing that has to be resolved is the name of this world of mine. I’ve tried coming up with something, but nothing felt right. And I have a name. It came randomly while talking things over with my girlfriend (talking, mind you, about nothing related to WBM whatsoever) and officially this world is called:AlternYep, it’s Altern. Don’t know where the name came from, but there it is. Now, back to the geography!So, one thing that will affect the climate is going to be that big mountain range in the middle. Currently it is unnamed (as are most things, though I will periodically update the map in new posts). Not only is this going to create a divide between cultures, but it also should, upon further research, create interesting climate differences (possibly making one drier than the other and certain areas more difficult to traverse and generally unlivable).The mountains and most of the actual landmasses are done, thankfully. As a note, I generally draw maps in this order: Continent/landmass (because you can’t do anything else without this being there first). Islands and other landmasses (since they’re related and it makes things easier if you do them relatively soon). Mountains (I do these next because they are the most difficult to erase, so it’s best just to get them out of the way). Rivers/Lakes (so all the water stuff is done with) Forests (these tend to nestle near rivers/lakes/mountains, so it’s best when they aren’t the last thing I do) Naming (cause, well, you need names right? I violate this rule when I have a name I don’t want to forget for smething). Leftovers (whatever they may be, they get done last; this is also generally when I do any erasing edits that I find compulsory because the evil map editor in me doesn’t like something) Yeah, so right now I’m on the rivers/lakes bit, which leaves me with quite a lot to do, actually. Finding names tends to be the most difficult for me because my landmasses are never small, but large. You can see in the sidebar on the right, just a little down where the WISB Chapters section is, my map for Traea, the continent in WISB and SoD. That had a lot more names on it than ended up in the finalized version, which were taken out to make the map readable.I will be honest, as I end this post for the day, I have very little intention of spending a lot of time dealing with the logical, realistic aspects of climate. It’s not that I don’t like realistic climates, I just don’t have the mental space in a fantasy novel to devote to something that won’t necessarily matter anyway. My world has a naturally occurring magic that has very little to do with genetics (most of the time), which means that Altern may or may not follow what might be natural laws in our world. Of course I intend to spend some time on climate, just so I can get the basics of how things would look, but I don’t want to get into the complex dealings of climate simply because that sort of detail would never show up in a novel or story I might write anyway. I really don’t want to spend ten pages explaining the climate cycles of a particular area. I’ll just write the weather as it occurs.Okay, so I think that’s it for right now. I’ll be focusing more on the other aspects of the geography in another post. I really want to spend some time on the magic system of Altern in the near future, since I haven’t done that as of yet. Anywho!
WBM: Notes On My World
(WBM stands for World Building Month) While travelling to San Francisco to pick up my girlfriend the other day I started considering what sort of world I wanted to build. I already knew it was going to focus on the things present within two of my short stories, so that was the easy part. I had two cities to work with: Barksville and New Timberfax. The latter does present a problem, however, because it begs the question of where the regular Timberfax actually is. I don’t know at the moment. That’s something to worry about later.In any case, while I waited in the airport whilst consuming a piece of Turtle Cheesecake at a place called Just Desserts, I started drawing a map in one of my Moleskines (the one with the graph paper lines). And things started to take shape…and world, a continent with interesting features. It’s not finished yet, but here is what it looks like as of right now:This is just the start, of course, and I have big plans for this continent. It’ll be a land of magic, swords, and crazy stuff. You can probably tell by some of the strange structuring that this will have some truly bizarre things in it. Now, as for the two towns I mentioned (or cities), I thought I’d offer a little discussion on them: New TimberfaxThis is the setting of a story I’m working on called “The Gnomes of New Timberfax” (which is probably pretty obvious). New Timberfax is a small city, but not too small. Right now I know it has a big hospital (a medieval hospital with some modern fixings, though not too modern). I want the world NT is in to have a lot of the medieval feel, but I don’t want it to be an intentional rehash of all those medeival worlds that people create. I want it to have a modern flavor mixed in. I don’t know how that will work, but we’ll see. NT is a bit like an old English town with some good old fashioned 1950s culture tossed in. BarksvilleThis place is actually just a village consisting of maybe one hundred or two hundred people. It’s a somewhat isolated place near a very thick and well stocked (with animals for the hunt that is) forest. One of the things I’ve established for this town is that they have a yearly “hunt”, which is conducted with another town that lies on the other side of the forest. Both villages send their men out, armed, and they work their way towards one another and share the “bounty” in the end. It’s sort of an uneasy peace between them. They don’t like each other much, but they do cooperate.And…Barksville has a few secrets that only the women are aware of. The main secret is that the town is haunted by the Ellefolk, though the men are mostly unaware of this fact, but do what the wives tell them out of tradition. I won’t ruin what that is all about, though, as that would make one of my stories rather pointless. And that’s what I got for the time being. More to come, of course, especially updates on the map. Enjoy!