Insight

I got a very interesting message last week. Someone asked me about my worldbuilding process and how I keep track of everything. Truth is, a lot of it is in my head. But there's also a lot that isn't. So by way of answering that person's questions, here's the notes I'm using for Lifebringer. This, of course, excludes my roadmap, as that would spoil the plot quite completely. Aside from 1-2 changes for the sake of spoilers, this is totally unedited; a direct copy/paste from the word documents I refer to in my writing.

I've also added at the very bottom the 5 parts of the novel and their names. It's insignificant information in a way, but some might find it interesting to know that structural things like dividing into parts is planned out like this.

Notes:

14 boys, 10 girls, oldest 25 (male), youngest 13 (female)

Characters:

·         Wrinlett Leeve

·         Khol (name) (Fork/Knife/Orvin/Gerry/Purzhy/Jurd/Kim/Maggie)

·         Lorsem (Lor) Brith

·         Jaeval (Jae) Brith

·         Karla Deern

·         Tiasi Jay

·         Yawmer (High Cleric)

Academy Subjects - Instructors:

·         Language - Yawmer

·         Anatomy - Jhia

·         Worship - Teff

·         Biology - Warsothet

·         Healing and Hymns - Leorlai

·         Apothecarial Arts - Briwr

Academy Buildings

·         Cathedral (Chapel of Admission/Chapel of Induction/Main Chapel/Basement Levels/Administratorium)

·         Clericum

·         Dormitory (Mess Hall/Common Room/Study Hall/Dorm Floor/Bathroom/Practice Room)

·         Lecture Halls

·         Medicum

·         Library

·         Apothecarium

·         Apothercarial Gardens

Nations/Peoples/Capitol/God/Magic/Arcanists/Art

·         Ægien/Argin/Ægis/Protector/Healing/Priests+Paladins+Inqisitors/Healing

·         Tence/Tencish/Pilor/Former/Elements/Mages+Elementalists/Conjuring

·         Cardis/Cardish/Sandsedge/Maker/Construction/Enchanters/Enchantry

·         Verdis/Verdish/Alchus/Impeller/Energy/Sorcerers/Sorcery

·         Heivar/Heivalar/Godtree/Nurturer/Life/Shamans/Alteration

·         Chronis/Chronists/Drift/Watcher/Time/Chronists/Chronistry

Saints

·         Pice (Alive.)

·         Nomi (Alive. Paladin.)

·         Kiyfall (Dead)

·         Requi (Dead)

·         Cliwth (Dead. First Inquisitor.)

·         Obitus (Dead. First Paladin.)

·         Vaia (Dead. First Priest after the Binding.)

1 Year as students

5 Years in a Clericum OR 3 Years Paladin training OR Inquisitor apprenticeship

After Clericum may live outside Clerica and even stop working as a healer, most stay on. May also pursue Paladinship or Inquisitorial training, though these are subject to recruitment. May pursue Administratorium positions subject to availability.

After 20 years serving in Clerica, may found a Clericum and preside over it as Chaplain.

Lord Cleric (1) - High Cleric (3) - Head Cleric (each capital) - Chaplain (other Clerica) - Priest

Order Father/Mother (Krayw Gror) (1) - Paladin - Initiate (Priest)

Lord Inquisitor (Jekker Promaire) - Inquisitor - Apprentice (Priest)

Characters:

Wrinlett Leeve:

18, black hair, green eyes, average height. Conman, with traits of psychopathy and narcissism. Born to traders, mother (Gloria) died by drowning, father (Tijun) killed 3 weeks later by a highwayman. Lived for 12 years on the streets of Aegis, met Khol within a month. No magical ability, but has bluffed his way into the Academy.

Lorsem Brith:

17, sandy blonde hair, brown eyes, taller than Wrin, well-built but a little lacking from his years on the streets. Student, having lived two years on the streets saving to travel to Aegis for admissions. Thrown out at 15 by his father when he was given the Gift, mother died when Lorsem was 3. Honest and upstanding, but emotional and not above anger. Confident, but not in the presence of Jaeval.

Jaeval Brith:

Lorsem's twin brother, but a little more muscular and well-fed. Left his father at 17 when the Gift was given to him, but left with his father's blessing. Received word during his journey to Aegis of his father's passing. The 'confident' twin, who is naturally more outgoing. Prodigal in terms of healing ability, and admitted a day late because of this.

Karla Deern:

17, brown hair that falls in curls, blue eyes, short, curvy. Born to merchants of medium wealth in Aegis. Given the Gift and can already heal broken bones. Pleasant enough, but secretive and hides a great intellect and confidence behind an outward 'girlish naivety'.

Tiasi Jay:

19, pale blonde hair cut short, brown eyes, Wrin's height, thin. Born to a prostitute mother in Aegis. Mostly independent from a young age, worked in taverns and began to learn arts of brewing. Clever, but a little arrogant and aloof. Kind-hearted and not unlikable, if a little reserved and judgemental.

The six gods created the world, the product of all their talents

The Shaper, God of the elements, gave the world pieces of substance

The Maker, God of construction, bound these things together

The Nurturer, God of nature, gave the world biological creations

The Impeller, God of energy, gave these creations life

The Protector, God of vitality, gave living things the ability to heal and mend

The Watcher, God of time, gave the world the only thing he could; the ability to die

And so the world was. As time went by, men began to favour one God over all others, and began to group themselves with those who were like-minded. The Gods rewarded their followers with a further gift: the gift of magic.

Each God gave their followers a form of magic. The Shaper gave her followers command over the elements, the Maker gave his followers the ability to bind objects together, the Nurturer gave his followers the ability to shape the plants and wildlife, the Impeller gave her followers the ability to transfer energy, the Protector gave his followers the ability to heal, and the Watcher gave its followers the ability to control the flow of time. For a while, things were good this way. But all the Gods knew the truth; That this would be short-lived. They had made men too powerful, and so they began to hurt the world. First it was small things, new lakes made to support settlements, giant walls to keep their lands safe. Then the most powerful began to disrupt the lives of thousands, creating constructs of war, turning cities to stone that crumbled at the wind. Then a powerful Chronist stopped time itself.

His intentions were good. He gathered the Gods and brought them out of their growing denial. The world could not continue this way, and the powers of men had to be curbed. But the Gods saw the danger of such a powerful Chronist, and soon they struck him down.

Still, his words worked, and the Gods agreed to limit the magic in the world. Each God must select the men who would wield their magic, and each must lock it in an art of casting that would take time to learn. The world was repaired as best as could be done, and the passage of time was restored. In among this, though, the Watcher fled the world. No-one has seen or heard of them since. No-one even remembers what they looked or sounded like. With them, the Chronists disappeared.

So that's the mythos, and it leaves me with a lot of freedoms and just as many limitations. The net effect is that I have a world with magic, practiced my Arcanists, divided into 6 distinct systems. These systems are roughly as follows:

The Shaper's magic is practiced by Mages, and a Mage will learn one element at a time with only the most powerful ever learning more than 3, let alone all of them. They are able to use these elements at their will.

The Maker's magic is practiced by Enchanters, and they can bind objects in various ways through the use of glyphs and sigils inscribed onto objects. They are able to construct things like unbreakable buildings.

The Nurturer's magic is practiced by Shamans, and they can alter the biology of new lifeforms. They are able to do things like grow fruit trees that are harvested year-round.

The Impeller's magic is practiced by Sorcerers, and they are able to transfer energy from one thing to another, or create and destroy energy through the use of complicated diagrams imbued with magic. They would be able to take the heat from a fire and boil a body of water.

The Protector's magic is practiced by Priests, and they are able to heal lifeforms through the use of Hymns. They would be able to heal a cut, cure a cancer and prolong a life, but the Hymns get more complicated as the healed becomes older.

The Watcher's magic is practiced by Chronists. No-one knows what they are able to do, and no-one knows how.

Protector:

System - Hymns (Healing).

Rules - Sung in a magical language, with different Hymns for different ailments and subtle differences depending on area injured, severity, etc. Grammatically complex language.

Penalties/Limitations - Time. The older a patient or the more complex the illness, the more complex and long the Hymn.

Maker:

System - Glyphs and Sigils (Enchantry).

Rules - Each must be inscribed onto a certain material and written with absolute accuracy in order to imbue the object with the intended property.

Penalties/Limitations - Material availability. If a certain Glyph or Sigil requires a rare material then its use will be limited. Also due to the accuracy required in writing Glyphs and Sigils it may take time for more complex constructions.

Impeller:

System - Alchemical Diagrams (Sorcery).

Rules - Through the use of these diagrams Sorcerers may transfer energy in complex ways, using commands similar to programming logic.

Penalties/Limitations - Despite perfect transfer, inequivalent exchange is still impossible and energy may not be created or destroyed.

Nurturer:

System - Imbued Intention (Alteration).

Rules - By imbuing a seed or sapling with intentions of eventual properties and use, a Shaman may produce genetically altered plants to serve a variety of purposes.

Penalties/Limitations - Time. Even though the growing process may be accelerated, it still takes some time for a plant to grow, meaning the results of the magic are far from immediate.

Shaper:

System - Channelling (Conjuring).

Rules - A practiser of the magic can call up the element they have control over and produce it with some effort. Often in the form of literally 'shooting' ice/fire/water/what have you from their hands or perhaps an object. Alternatively, a chosen person may become one with the element, forgoing the ability to wield it and instead becoming a living manifestation of that element. These people live on Vane, and have a largely separate society.

Penalties/Limitations - Largely God-imposed. The Shaper will only select someone absolutely capable of wielding the massive power, leaving the number of magic-users incredibly small.

Chronist:

System - Travelling (Chronistry).

Rules - A Chronist may only move a certain distance through time with the help of one or more other Chronists. The further travelled, the more people required.

Penalties/Limitations - Manpower and Equivalent Exchange of Time. For every second moved forward, and area around the Chronist is moved equally back in time, and vice versa. The more Chronists used, the smaller the affected area, however this creates a manpower limitation.

PART 1 - THE BLESSED

PART 2 - THE DISCIPLED

PART 3 - THE RELINQUISHED

PART 4 - THE CONCEALED

PART 5 - THE ASCENDED