Not Quite As Cool As Pirating, But Its A Lot Easier! Stick It To Em!

I was worldbuilding two bog standard fantasy species, wise old tree dudes and impulsive little rat guys, when I realized it was far funnier if they had each other's personalities.

The rat guys think fast and talk fast, but they're incredibly conservative and like to cover all the angles before they take any action. This comes with being a prey species: their ancestral environment had lots of clever traps and devious hazards, so you get rat councils wisely working the problem.

The tree dudes speak and move slowly, but they will propose and then do the most insane things you can imagine. They can slot together a rocket in an afternoon and will then use it without so much as a test fire first. They test new potions by quaffing them down, sometimes not even waiting for it to cool (though they're tree dudes, so I guess quaffing a potion just means pouring it over their root legs). This comes from the ancestral selection process too: the tree dudes that won were the ones that took big risks, that grew faster, stronger, and tried new things without worrying about consequences. The tree dudes evolved in an era when they had no natural predators and their only competition was each other.

And this is, of course, initially confusing for any human who makes contact with them. If a giant bearded tree nods at you solemnly and tells you to go through a portal, your first thought is not that he's curious about what will happen to spacetime. And if a hyperactive little rat guy tells you with some urgency that you must accompany him into a ruined city, you won't immediately think that this is step 11 of his branching 27 step plan.

When people say, “nature is my religion” are they talking about flies that feed on shit, maggots in decomposing corpses, lionesses with stained teeth and mouths full of blood? Are they talking about floods and fires and things from which we should always run? Are they talking about carcasses, rot, death?

Or do they just mean “this particular copse of benign trees is my religion”

Magic and the Second Realm (Part 1)

The following document is transcribed from the heavily damaged original printing of Divine Theory, etc., By Magnus Helderon, Pioneer of magical research. This is the translated and abridged introductory section, for the magic lithograph, and unabridged text, refer to the branch headmaster of the Tarbrind Royal Library, Historical Division.

Introduction to the Text Magnus Helderon is a difficult to track figure. No one knows when or where he was born, or when he died. Only a single small portrait of him was made during his brief visit to Tarbrind. His grave is located in the royal crypts, after his exhumation from an obscure village in western Dragonspine area in 1368.

Magnus, a "folk wizard" hailing from the relatively unsettled southeastern region, was, by most accounts an "esoteric madman" who practiced some slight degree of what is commonly referred to as folk magic. He was reportedly taught by his grandmother to cure warts and witch for water and rain, among other things. He is believed to be the first person to discover the utility of the "Ember" found scattered across the world after the great cataclysm in 1253. Rather than share his findings, he delved into hermitage and studied the phenomenon ceaselessly. Despite having almost no formal teaching, He produced a 1758 page codex known as the Divine Theory, Of Magics, Embers, and Dragon-bone. It was written entirely in the Oldspeake, and was nearly unintelligible in handwriting. He personally delivered the book to the miniscule magician's guild of Tarbrind, only six months after the conclusion of the great famine, where it sat in storage for nearly a decade, completely unread.

The tome was recovered while the guild was preparing to relocate, its numbers bolstered by the recent emergence of ember magics following the incineration of Horus Tob some 18 months prior. By this time, the book was heavily water damaged. It rested in the hands of the Scribe's guild for nearly 3 years before the readable portions were translated and compiled into the Theory of Magics, a textbook used in teaching the fundamentals of magic to this day. (approx. 150 years later)

The first section, and final third of the book, some 700 pages total, were completely beyond recovery for several more years, before more advanced recovery techniques were developed. While some sections remain lost to history, What was recovered changed the fundamentals of magic forever.

Here is an audio transcript made with ElevenLabs. AI was NOT used to write this document.

The Helebrost Incident

Statement 11-07-1310. Helebrost Department of Safety.

This statement outlines the approximate times of major events pertaining to the major incident which occurred at the Helebrost Institute of Magics, 7th of Malice, 1310. Long Live The Emperor.

11-07, 1:45 PM Significant Smoke seen rising from west tower, HIM. Call for brigade organization sent to HDS Nature presumed mundane

11-07 1:54 PM Brigade assembles outside HIM, West. Flame seen engulfing the tower's top floor

11-07 2:01 PM Intel from on-site staff indicate fire possibly due to run-away magic, details unclear. Request for Riot Control sent to HDS Request for more manpower sent to HDS and nearby districts.

11-07 2:13 PM Riot Squad arrives and establishes zone of control. Fire Brigade begins work clearing the building

11-07 2:17 PM Brilliant light seen emanating from top of HIM, West Tower. Request for more manpower sent to HDS Roof partially collapses inward. Radius of control is expanded.

11-07 2:28 PM City wide fire brigades assembled, Pumping station is functional. Water is observed to be reduced to steam without contacting the tower

11-07 2:45 PM Explosion is heard as tower partially collapses inwards, Floors from 4th upwards are destroyed and fall into the tower. Blinding light from 2nd floor is visible. Light and falling debris causes injuries in some emergency persons.

11-07 2:48 PM Fire spreads to HIM Helderon Hall Cordon Order given by Lucas Armsten, HDS. Efforts begin to isolate the burning buildings from the rest of campus, assume full loss of afflicted buildings. Light from Tower reported to ignite materials on contact within 50ft of tower. Unconfirmed

11-07 4:11 PM Water deemed ineffective on primary source, switched to damage control by order of Lucas Armsten, HDS Deafening howl reported from HIM, West Tower.

11-07 4:53 PM Explosion felt across the capital at 4:53 PM, Origin is HIM West. Burning debris seen flying hundreds of feet into the air.

11-07 4:59 PM State of Emergency Declared in Helderon South, evacuation order given. Debris seen up to 5 miles away Hundreds of fires reported Dispatch order given to all state and military personnel.

11-08 1:00 AM Coordinated efforts by military and emergency persons complete evacuation of Helderon, South Quarter. Est. 1200 persons missing or dead.

11-08 6:30 AM Fires spread through low income district unimpeded, inner gates blockaded in effort to prevent spread to the upper city. South Quarter completely locked down

11-09 10:00 AM Fires isolated from initial source and Low income/market area under control Lower City Cordoned by Mages' guild in effort to control the wildfire.

11-09 8:45 PM Wind Shift causes fire to break containment, West Avenue Wall evacuated Reports of Fire tornadoes confirmed Eastward Expansion contained, Northward slowing. Nothing left southward to save.

11-10 3:17 AM West Avenue Wall collapsed in 1/4 mile stretch, near fishmarket street. Cordon Efforts proving effective in stopping Northward spread

11-10 4:00 AM West District Emergency Declared to allow for cordoning efforts in highly populated areas

11-10 5:27 AM Moderate rainfall recorded Wind slows significantly

11-11 6:00 AM East and Northward Fronts quickly retreating. Fire has exhausted its fuel in those sectors Westward spread is slowed Diplomats dispatched to Tarbrind seeking humanitarian aid.

11-11 11:21 AM Wind shift blows Southward into open land. control deemed unnecessary. West District Deemed contained

11-11 2:00 PM West district Emergency lifted All fronts rapidly pushed back towards ground zero

11-11 9:47 PM HIM grounds reached by emergency personnel, no survivors found. No remaining corpses found, determined to be incinerated. Stonework of West Tower is reportedly in a molten state.

11-12 6:00 AM South District Lockdown lifted, Salvage operation ordered by HDS Council

11-12 12:00 PM Emperor Tours desolated areas Military on patrol to prevent unrest

END OF REPORT TIMELINE

ADDENDUM

From 11-12 to 11-16, Multiple small fires were reported and controlled. An estimated 3.5 Square miles of city were completely destroyed in the conflagration. Near ground zero, stonework was observed to be melted, with evidence that liquid stone was flowing down the streets.

The initial explosion is estimated to have killed nearly 1300 people, most of whom were emergency response persons. The following blaze killed another 500, as many were trapped by the hundreds of fires sparked by the explosion. Nearly 100,000 people were left without homes.

Aid caravans began arriving 2 weeks later, carrying valuable food and medicine, as well as tools and most importantly, many people seeking work.

The practice of large scale magic was banned within city limits following the catastrophe, and the school of magic was not rebuilt until nearly a decade later, located almost 3 miles from the city walls. A large public square with the largest fountain in the city was erected on the site as a memorial to those who gave their lives to combat the flames. It depicts some 200 life-sized figures of wrought brass in various active poses amidst an enormous reflecting pool. The names of all known lost souls are engraved around the base of the pool. The square is overlooked by the Emperor's Honor guard to this day.

The fundamentals of Magic

I finally got around to writing a guideline for my magic system. As this was for my own use, i didn't put much effort into formatting or story-writing, but i thought i would share regardless.

General Concept:

Magic exists as an energy found in the "Third Realm," a shadow-like domain composed entirely of magical energy.

The First Realm is the physical world, and the Second Realm is the immaterial realm of the gods. The Third Realm is a non-physical shadow of the physical world composed entirely of magical energy.

All living creatures in the First Realm have a faint connection to the Third Realm, naturally drawing a small amount of magic into the physical world.

The "gods" of the second realm exist by the energy of the third realm, but exist as a sort of undefined halfway point between the first and third realms. Their domains are composed of magic with the illusion of physicality. The existence of the dead in this realm pose major questions on the nature of the soul that I honestly don't feel like trying to explain.

more on this later i think.

See [[Realms]]

Mechanics:

Larger creatures can channel more magic due to their greater connection to the Third Realm.

This is tied to a creature's volume, but has a small effect. Humans and Dragons have far more magic than one might expect from their size.

Dragons are something of a special case that will be expanded on later.

A large and small human will have a negligible difference in access to magic.

A ant will have less access to magic than a deer. etc.

Animals generally have far less accessible magic than sentient races, but special cases have been known to surface.

plants have almost no perceivable magic, this is thought to be a result of not having a soul or blood.

Magic in living beings is more stable and "pure" compared to the chaotic energy found directly in the Third Realm. Magic is "filtered" when it is pulled between realms by a living force, although the mechanism behind this is not understood.

Using magic depends greatly on what medium is used to control it.

Ember magic must be used by channeling magic from the Third Realm into the physical world without drawing it into one's own body, otherwise you risk mana sickness.

Dragon Magic uses dragon bone as either an amplifier or a battery for magic, allowing one to slowly accumulate large stores of magic which can be unleashed without loss.

"natural" magic is magic drawn directly from the user's body. This method must be used as a sort of signal current to activate and use other types of magic. It is the most widespread form, and also the weakest on its own, as humans have a very limited amount of natural magic at any given time. Think of it like blood, when you run low, you make more. You can't lose very much without feeling some serious effects.

When using Ember magic, natural magic is channeled from the user to maintain the connection to the third realm, and to direct the flow of the raw or chaotic third realm magic. This imposes a hard limit on how long an Embermancer can operate.

In draconic casting, raw magic is used to "break the seal" an unleash what is stored, but is otherwise preserved, making this an extremely efficient way to use large amounts of magic.

When casting without a medium, magic may flow from any part of the body, but most commonly the hands. Running low on internal magic will cause exhaustion and may bring similar symptoms to complete bodily exhaustion such as hallucinations, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. If you run completely out of internal magic, you will die, although most will fall unconscious before this point, similar to how you will pass out and begin to breathe again if you hold your breath too long. If magic is being continually drawn from you, by a formulated spell or Ember channeling, for example, your body will rapidly breakdown to generate the deficit energy drawn from you. This is known as "Burnout".

Special Materials:

Dragon bone is prized for its ability to hold and amplify magic, allowing spellcasters to channel larger spells.

Ember acts as a conduit for magic. It allows magicians to draw vast amounts of energy from the Third Realm with minimal personal expenditure, but with significant risks. When in use, Ember generates a significant amount of heat. Ember takes the form of a black, basalt-like material interspersed with brilliant orange luminous crystals. The crystal formations are the actual Ember, with the black material being similar to a dross.

Ember prisms, cut from higher-grade Ember, are coveted for their increased effectiveness and reduced heat buildup. However, overheated Ember prisms can be extremely dangerous to the user. Despite their name, Prisms are not a specific shape. Ember is often found in pentagonal prism form in small samples, but very large masses can have a wide range of crystal forms. Ember can be cut to any shape. It is traditionally cut to 2-6" rods and used in a similar fashion to a wand. They are often shaped to maximize skin contact to reduce the effects of Ember-burn.

Overheated Prisms can cause serious burns, and have a chance to explode when overheated. Larger masses have the potential to run away while under heavy use, creating a huge spike in heat as the Ember begins drawing magic by it's own power. This almost always leads to the violent destruction of of the prism and the surrounding area. The only way to stop a runaway reaction is to quickly cool the mass below the critical threshold.

Runaway spells are not true spells. The original spell usually falls apart near instantly as the stone switches from a controlled stream of magic into an overflow of raw energy. This uncontrolled flood of energy usually ignites anything nearby within seconds. See [[The Helebrost Incident]].

Risks and Side Effects:

Drawing raw magic from the Third Realm into one's body, rather than expelling it directly into the world can cause "mana sickness," which manifests as nausea, muscle cramps, seizures, coma, spontaneous bleeding, and even death if overexposed. the condition generally lasts about 24 hours, while your body quickly attempts to prevent breakdown from the influx of chaotic magic.

"Burnout" occurs when a magician's body is destroyed by excess "dirty" magic drawn directly from the Third Realm, or is reduced directly into energy while overcasting, leading to violent immolation or explosion.

Ember-Specific Risks:

Prolonged use of Ember can cause mundane heat burns, and "Ember-burn"; a mostly harmless condition where the stone seeps into the user's skin, causing dark scars, patterns, itching, occasional numbness, and other irritating effects. In very extreme cases, Ember will begin to crystalize directly on, in, or even under the user's skin, sometimes causing frostbite-like damage and intense pain.

Magicians using Ember typically channel magic directly through it into the world, avoiding the chaotic energy's harmful effects on their bodies. See "Burnout"

Historical Context -- to be expanded

Horus Tobb discovered Ember magic but died from burnout while demonstrating its use to the Magician's guild in Tarbrind. This tragedy led to a global increase in interest for magical research.

The rediscovery of Magnus Helderon's Divine Theory provided a deeper understanding of the nature and mechanics of magic. See [[Magic and the Second Realm - Ember and Bone]]

The Helebrost Incident - the first recoded runaway of an Ember Prism. A 33" diameter Ember Sphere used for conducting research at the Helebrost University entered a meltdown state after a research team attempted to transmute a mass of pig iron directly into gold. The resulting inferno burned down nearly 3.5 square miles (9 square km) of the the surrounding city in a blaze which lasted nearly a week.

You don't need anyone's approval for the stories you write and the art you create. But it's also absolutely valid to want some approval from your audience. Kudos and likes don't determine your creation's worth. But it just feels amazing to receive them.

So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.

I'm going to try it.

The Fathomless Tomb; From the collection of John Heldefson, Library of Tarbrind.

"Grey stone and vast tunnels. A presence which lurks the corridors, hunting and voracious. An Illogical web of utter darkness. A fathomless tomb." -Excerpt from Thresholds by Scholar Fareiar Brands, Library of Tarbrind

The secluded chapel, fathomless tomb, the lost cathedral, or catacombs of the war, this incredible location goes by many names. Endless halls of rough grey stone twist beneath the Dragonspine Mountains, branching with clusters of innumerable chambers. There is no living memory of it's construction or true location, and no written record yet found of it's creators. To call the place a tomb or even catacomb is a disgrace to the sheer vastness of it's unknown depths.

Few have ever wandered it's halls, and fewer yet have returned to tell tales of the unfathomable darkness within. Some wanderers speak of beautiful vaults and chambers, echoing with their volume. Others mutter of a hungering presence that stalks the halls, unseeable, unmeasurable, inescapable, and unfightable. Some tell of twisting corridors who's shape betrays the wanderer's eyes, forming a illogical, twisting web of unending corridors. Some will tell you they were lost for years in the hungering depths, with only a few day's worth of food. They might tell you of their time as dead men walking in a tomb who refuses to give them rest. Perhaps if you look carefully enough, you will see something broken in their eyes.

Regardless of some of the more far-fetched stories, the accounts agree on many things. Upon finding an entrance, something far easier said than done, one finds himself on a dark corridor carved roughly from grey stone, resembling a mineshaft more than anything else. In my own search, I located a long-abandoned mineshaft some fifty miles due west of Tarbrind, near the ruins of Illimar, on the foothills of the Dragonspine. The location no longer exists, else I would provide further detail. Should one choose to continue their journey into the darkness, they will eventually come across the first chamber. Accounts vary as to how long it takes, from several hours to only a few minutes, but in every story, and indeed in my own experience, the first chamber remains constant.

An immense cathedral opens before the intrepid, and perhaps, foolish, explorer. Carved stone columns six feet in diameter march the length of the room in two rows, twelve on each side. The room is illuminated solely by a shaft of sunlight filtering from a single hole centered over what might be considered an altar at the far end of the room. Small natural gemstones embedded in the grey stone reflect this light, casting pins of light around the chamber. From the seventh column onward are carven stone benches, enough to seat some five hundred people. At the end of the room is a raised platform holding an altar and a pulpit of sorts, overshadowed by a huge statue. The colossal figure of carven stone depicts a hooded, robed man, a sword in his right hand, and two tablets of stone in his left. His face is partly obscured by the hood, but an expression of something between anger and resolution can be seen. Partly obscured by heavy shadows, feathered black wings lie partly folded behind the figure's back. Both they and the cloak seem to be carved of some darker stone than the rest of the scene.

It has been noted by my colleges that the presentation of the statue closely resembles that of the traditional reading card known by the folk name of "The Judgement", and while their clothing and posture is remarkably similar, one cannot help but notice the lack of wings, and the absence of the tablets in the latter depiction. As such, I cannot persuade myself to delve too deeply into the connection.

The walls of the chamber are covered in carvings of what are assumed to be historical events. The vast majority are of unknown times and places, but some are recognizable, such as the split of the great empire, the shattering, the great plagues that swept the land shortly after, and the coronations of all rulers in recorded history, including the most recent. There are no empty spaces on the wall, and some carvings depict events as recent as only a decade ago. Some believe this indicates the end of the world is near, while others believe that the room simply grows longer on it's own. Others still deny that there is any change, and that people are simply applying their knowledge to a assortment of otherwise meaningless carvings.

Perhaps the greatest feature of the great chamber, and perhaps entire the tomb itself is the great wind-organ constructed into the rear wall. Innumerable tubes scale the chamber, presumably extending to the surface, although their location has never been found. The organ endlessly plays a melancholy tune which seems to lament the very nature of it's surroundings. The organ projects a haunting melody throughout the wandering halls without respite, and gently serenades the ones who lie in rest. One can often feel the music more that they hear it, as many of the notes are far below human hearing. This quality lends the organ another purpose. The sheer power of the deepest notes provide the sole reliable method of finding your way back to the main chamber. May the gods of old help you should you wander outside of it's range.

Beyond this main room, which some consider to be the center, or nexus of the tomb, cartography and navigation become difficult at best. The halls and lesser chambers have a terrible habit of shifting themselves around. The catacombs themselves seem more or less unremarkable. The majority of the graves here are simple slots cut into the walls. Most have a stone cover, sometimes carved with the likeness of the resident, but none have the names or burial dates of which have always been customary in both the east and west kingdoms.

If you wander long enough, you may find yourself in the tombs of what is assumed to be nobles or great people. These tombs reside in small rooms, usually with four to six slots on the left and right walls. These slots hold a single, simple stone sarcophagus. at the far wall, there is a much larger slot carved into the wall, which holds a statue and a thick pile of partially burnt candles. The statue is different for almost every chamber, but almost always depicts a larger than life winged figure of any gender kneeling in a position of weeping or great mourning. The candles in these rooms are one of the most important details. Implications of how exactly these came to be aside, explorers use these candles for themself, but also as markers. If you enter a chamber with a great number of broken-off candle stubs, you can rest a while, and be sure the area is relatively stable, because a good number of people have found the room before you. If you enter one with no broken candles, be wary. You may be the first to set foot in this room, and you may very well be the last.

Wandering the tombs provides no gain whatsoever aside from the incredible and unknown sights within. Grave robbers do not return from their expeditions, and wanderers and explorers alike leave the tombs with a strange tendency to disappear. There are a great number of tales of wanderers returning home, only to hear the drone of the great organ in the wind, or to walk through a seemingly inconspicuous door which disappears the moment it is out of view, never to be seen again. There are frighteningly few first-hand accounts of this phenomena, which would ordinarily invoke my skepticism. I was, however, am unfortunate witness to one of these happenings during an interview with one Alexander Hoffson, who, by his own account, visited the tomb on seven separate occasions over the past twelve years. It was by his advice that I was myself able to locate an entrance. Upon the conclusion of our conversation, he walked out of a side door near the stairs on the second floor of the Dancing Crow tavern. When I looked back in that direction, I realized that no such door could be there, as it was an exterior wall. The door itself had entirely vanished as well. To my knowledge, he remains missing to this day.

End note.

Scribe Guild east branch, Tarbrind East, Guild Narrow, By the hand of Viliar Scottson, Royal Scribe. Transcript direct from subject, Year of our King 1377, 5th of Noct, Words of John Heldefson, Field Scholar, Library of Tarbrind.

Statements Compiled for further commercial works by client. Box 1173. Long Live The King