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Seven Reimagined, A new view of an old story |
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SubRosa |
May 6 2018, 03:26 AM
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Ancient
Joined: 14-March 10
From: Between The Worlds
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A while ago I wrote Seven, which is set in Tamriel. Afterward I thought about adapting it to an original setting. I did a lot of world-building, remade the characters to fit the new world, and got started into translating the story over. I ran out of steam when I started looking at my over-arching direction, and started seeing some problems. The biggest one was that I had in mind a big High Fantasy story - an ancient race rising to destroy the world, champions rising from the dead, the army of light banding together to fight off evil, and so forth. The twist I planned to this standard format was that the protagonists were trying to stop the war, rather than win it. With finding a peace between all involved being the end goal, rather than destruction. But the story I was starting out with - Seven - is Low Fantasy (at least the way I define it). Farmers and mercenaries vs. bandits. Ordinary people, with ordinary problems. I like that, as it feels very accessible, and makes the characters, even the extraordinary ones, feel more relateable. So that made me want to continue in that vein, and do a series of stories about a pair of hired spells who are part mercenaries, part private detectives. Sort of like Spenser For Hire or Magnum P.I. with magic. That in turn meant scrapping the entire over-arching story. Or trying to bridge the gap between Low Fantasy and High Fantasy. It left me with a lot of questions, and I was not feeling excited about the answers. So I ended up setting it all aside. Instead of leaving it all collecting dust, I decided to post what I did finish up here. Maybe it will fire me up to get back to working on it again. People who have read Seven will recognize most of the main characters. Names have been changed in many cases. Some because the originals were Bethesda creations, others to suit the new races/languages. Speaking of which races and the like are entirely new, as is the geography, flora and fauna, how magic works etc... I will put some of that here in this post, and start the actual story in a second post. Let me know if you want to see more of the background notes, and I will put them in this post. This is a world mapThis is the continent of Aulerci, where most of the action takes placeAelaLoriaThe Stone Forest (IRL The Shilin Stone Forest outside of Kunming)Another example of karst landscapeAn Oro (IRL Orodromeus)A Crumhead (IRL Parasaurolophus)RL Troodon (the inspiration for the Teodon race)Troodon frontTroodon headAncient Rasen Armor (IRL Samnite bronze armor)Bronze lamellar armorBronze lamellar armor againVeia MapRasen streetRasen cityRasen apartment blockRasen-style architecturePhereinonPhereinon againMaledictionOwl ScreechingOwl CarvingServes CamnaWooden mugTamac (tomahawk)Raven pendantHrafngoelirHrafn's shieldHrafn's seaxVencaRasen bedroomRasen bedroom 2Rasen bedroom 3Lorcras armorHagalaz runeHorse-Powered Ferryboat 1Horse-Powered Ferryboat 2Spirecrown - Saurolophus AngustirostrisLambeosaurusParksosaurusOrnitholestesHadrosaurs 01Hadrosaurs 02OrodromeusGasparinisauraOuranosaurusMaiasauraTropical Milkweed BeetleTeodon Coloration (this is just what their scale colors look like, not actual representations of the characters) Alcheon's colorationDaehyun (a very common peasant coloration)Dark Eye (though his belly is not so brightly whiteSindeokBanyan treeDurian treeBromeliadsBamboo forestSolageaKye Rim GravesTeodon DokTeodon village houseTeodon village houseEarthen rampart, wall, and ditchcheavaux de friseShield Wall trainingFighting Moves Dark Eye's finishing move against DaesoPhereinon's belly to back suplex (German Suplex) that she used upon the Arvern Oathman of House CamnaHere is a link to Sindeok's killing move against Brown-ScalesMorte Strike and Half Sword Defense
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Replies
SubRosa |
Nov 10 2018, 03:31 PM
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Ancient
Joined: 14-March 10
From: Between The Worlds
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Acadian: I wanted Aela's sex change to be more involved that just waving a wand and saying a magic word. Like anything important in life, I wanted her to work for it. It was also a great opportunity to show one of the ways that magic works in the world, and how it literally reshapes reality in accordance with your will. that is why Camna was so impressed with her. Aela is using magic for how it is ultimately meant, rather than just to sell cheap trinkets to make money. Likewise, that scene also adds more to how aura's work, without it being an infodump.
The that was indeed a fragment of previous edits. Thanks for catching it.
Chapter 10.4
The Nakdeok Queen spent the night pulled up to a clear stretch of shoreline, and the travelers rolled out their sleeping mats on the deck. It was not the comfortable bed Aela had left behind in Veia. The deck was hard, and the air was hot and humid. But the Arvern could still not stop from smiling as she stared at the stars overhead.
The next day they continued their way up the meandering Nakdeok. By now Alcheon had more than proved his worth as a river man, often diving into the muddy brown waters, only to return with a fish clutched in his bare hands. While some might have been doubtful of his fighting ability, all of their stomachs were thankful for the Teodon's presence.
They came across an area where the edges of the river rose up in steep banks of clay. Great flocks of colorful parrots and macaws clouded around the almost sheer surfaces. They darted in and around one another, in a great seething mass. Somehow they avoided colliding. In fact, they seemed to move in a strange sort of unison. Watching them reminded Aela of a rolling and undulating wave, which became almost hypnotic after a while.
"Are they eating the dirt?" Hrafngoelir wondered. Aela looked again, and saw that the Skanjr had been correct. The birds were indeed nibbling upon the earth of the high riverbank.
"Many of the seeds the birds eat are toxic to them," Phereinon explained. "The poisons bind to the minerals in the clay in their stomachs. Then in turn they are safely expelled when the animals… expel."
"How do they know to do that?" Hrafngoelir asked.
"Most populations produce more offspring than their environments can support. So there is always a steady rate of attrition." Phereinon explained. "The first bird to eat the clay gained an advantage over those who did not learn to expel the toxins from their systems. It lived longer, it bore more offspring. At least some of its young learned to do the same. Perhaps this was simply by observing the parent, even if not actively being taught. They in turn lived longer than other birds, and produced still more offspring. In time all the parrots and macaws either adapted, or were replaced by those who had the advantage over them."
"So you subscribe to the ideas of Epicura, from On The Nature Of Things." Loria observed. "That only the most functional lifeforms survive."
"I have seen it with my own eyes," Phereinon contended. "Life is always competing with life. Even the trees in the forest around us fight for sunlight. Only the winner survives."
"What of the Principle of Plentitude?" Loria debated.
"That when the amhranai sang to their sleeping mother Domhan, they created all the plants and animals that were imaginable, because the world would be incomplete without them?" Phereinon said. "That may be. I was not there to see it. But plants and animals do change. Even the manaborn deliberately change them, to suit their needs. Look at the Maelanu breed of horses. They did not exist a thousand years ago. The Arvern bred them from other lineages to create an eidos that is better suited to riding."
"I do not contest that we intelligent races intentionally alter other creatures," Loria said. "We certainly select them to succeed or fail to fit our needs. But do you really think that nature does so by accident? Do the gods play dice with the Earth?"
"It may seem accidental when you look at from a short term perspective," Phereinon said, "in timelines of only millennia. But when you view it over tens of millennia, or hundreds of them, chance becomes certainty. Random become inevitable. Nature's process of selection only moves slower than that of kith. But it does move just as decisively."
"Hundreds of millennia?" Hrafngoelir balked. "That is before even the First Age! The world is not so old."
"I suspect the world is far older than any of us might imagine," Phereinon contended.
"You radical!" Loria grinned. "Even I would not say anything so heretical. At least not out loud."
"But then how could history only go back so shortly," Hrafngoelir argued. "We are only five thousand years into the Third Age. And the Second Age was what, another four or five thousand years long? What was the First Age then, a million years?"
"Perhaps more," Phereinon said. "Perhaps much more. Our idea of history may be only a tiny chapter of our world's story."
"But what of the gods then?" Loria wondered. "What were they doing all that time? And what were people doing? Surely there would be more signs of ancient cities, monuments, roads, and the like."
"Maybe there were no people." Phereinon waved a hand out toward the clay riverbank and the birds clustered there. "Maybe it was all like this, growing, maturing, evolving, into what it is today."
"So maybe creation took longer than a song, but a million years?" Hrafngoelir wondered. "You have some wild ideas my friend."
"The idea of a boat was unheard of once," Phereinon contended. "Yet here we are."
"Since you believe in creatures evolving over time, surely you agree with Gwenael of Alalia's theory of mythic evolution?" Loria asked.
"The physical characteristics of the manaborn races certainly evolve to reflect their own self-image." Phereinon insisted. "Over time - a very short time - mythic values become physiological traits. The Silmar on the steppes of Glastal are a prime example. They did not exist in the Second Age. They evolved from Dark Elves who survived the Great War."
Aela shook her head and pulled Hrafngoelir away while the two talked natural and magical philosophy. Loria could talk about books all day long. When he found the time to read them, she had no idea. Personally, she would rather read a fiction about interesting and relatable people and their successes and failures, rather than dry and dusty philosophy and history.
Still, at least someone was drawing Phereinon out into a social activity. The corpse-pale swordswoman was usually even more distant and remote than Valens. He was merely gloomy and surly! Aela wondered if perhaps that had been Loria's intent with the discussion all along?
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Posts in this topic
SubRosa Seven Reimagined May 6 2018, 03:26 AM SubRosa Seven 2.0
Chapter 1.1
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Infodump?? What info dump?
I didn't notice t... May 8 2018, 02:01 PM SubRosa
Infodump?? What info dump?
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This section sounds very Korean to me. ;P
... May 26 2018, 11:22 PM Acadian Exotically fascinating!
Lots of world buil... May 26 2018, 11:27 PM SubRosa haute ecole rider: I am so grateful for you turnin... Jun 2 2018, 05:15 PM haute ecole rider oooh, both magic and swordplay! Pretty tense f... Jun 6 2018, 04:25 PM ghastley This all had me wondering about how a conjured wea... Jun 6 2018, 05:15 PM Acadian Quite the sword fight! Loved your description... Jun 7 2018, 05:53 PM SubRosa haute ecole rider: Daeso was partly inspired by Ki... Jun 9 2018, 04:58 PM Acadian ”The scales of men will quake at the sound of yo... Jun 10 2018, 07:51 PM SubRosa Acadian: I wanted to show some of Dark-Eye's c... Jun 16 2018, 03:49 PM Acadian Another wonderful episode chock full of goodness a... Jun 17 2018, 04:21 PM SubRosa Acadian: The last segment was another good opportu... Jun 23 2018, 05:02 PM Acadian A wonderful introduction of the villagers seeking ... Jun 23 2018, 11:28 PM SubRosa Acadian: Hopefully they will be magnificent!
... Jun 30 2018, 04:36 PM Acadian Nice to see you unleash the full slender of your d... Jun 30 2018, 08:47 PM haute ecole rider YASSSS! Pursephone! I made the connection ... Jul 3 2018, 03:44 PM SubRosa Acadian: I was originally going to simply describe... Jul 7 2018, 08:50 PM Acadian Very much a pleasure to read as you weave this tal... Jul 8 2018, 09:38 PM SubRosa Acadian: I wanted to show that with an item as rar... Jul 14 2018, 04:09 PM Acadian Aesensing – Yes, I thought perhaps you had inten... Jul 14 2018, 09:27 PM haute ecole rider I continue to draw inferences between your fiction... Jul 18 2018, 08:02 PM SubRosa Acadian: We are finally getting to the start of th... Jul 21 2018, 09:02 PM Acadian By Julianos’ Little Teapot! :O
With the M... Jul 22 2018, 07:33 PM SubRosa Acadian: Aela and Loria certainly agree that White... Jul 28 2018, 04:38 PM Acadian Cool spell to hear things not intended for Aela’... Jul 29 2018, 07:32 PM SubRosa Acadian: While Aela is far from being a superhero,... Aug 4 2018, 04:09 PM Acadian Your descriptions are wonderful throughout! Y... Aug 5 2018, 08:51 PM haute ecole rider AAAnd Dee Foxy makes his appearance!! :wub... Aug 6 2018, 01:50 PM SubRosa Acadian: I spent a lot of time working on Waranari... Aug 11 2018, 05:00 PM Acadian Wow! White Hair, Kitsune and now Goldenlocks ... Aug 11 2018, 06:04 PM SubRosa Acadian: I am liking how the Seven Magnificos are ... Aug 18 2018, 04:54 PM Acadian Woot! Number Five is Alive! Another wond... Aug 18 2018, 07:52 PM haute ecole rider Oooh, who is that Venca? Where have I seen HIM bef... Aug 20 2018, 02:05 PM SubRosa Acadian: Venca is indeed our Seven Magnificos... Aug 25 2018, 03:45 PM Renee A relaxing morning scene, other than some hair-fig... Aug 29 2018, 03:32 PM Acadian A wonderfully girly morning and pause in the actio... Aug 25 2018, 07:57 PM Uleni Athram 5.2 - 5.3
Delicious, delicious combat. The techn... Aug 30 2018, 12:50 AM SubRosa Acadian: I really like those old Roman beds, with ... Sep 1 2018, 03:17 PM Acadian Using White Hair’s need for Aela’s spirit-calm... Sep 1 2018, 07:44 PM haute ecole rider Oooooh, this is getting even better than I have co... Sep 1 2018, 09:16 PM SubRosa Acadian: I was pleased with how I was able to dove... Sep 8 2018, 04:36 PM Acadian Nice character development here that begins with A... Sep 8 2018, 07:38 PM SubRosa Acadian: As I have been going back through the sto... Sep 15 2018, 04:39 PM haute ecole rider Aww, an adorable chick episode! Complete with ... Sep 16 2018, 06:19 PM Acadian Rider is right – a delightfully girlish episode.... Sep 16 2018, 07:10 PM SubRosa haute ecole rider: I had two women talking to one ... Sep 22 2018, 03:26 PM haute ecole rider Sigh. I am hearing Tumindil's voice once again... Sep 22 2018, 11:19 PM Acadian More and more, I’m realizing that much of Aela... Sep 23 2018, 08:01 PM SubRosa haute ecole rider: That does indeed remind me of T... Sep 29 2018, 03:59 PM Acadian Aela’s delightful romp with the water undines wa... Sep 29 2018, 08:00 PM haute ecole rider I really liked that whole confrontation/conversati... Sep 30 2018, 05:16 PM Renee , I've fallen behind... [i]way behind. Hard fo... Oct 3 2018, 03:37 PM SubRosa Acadian: Every time Aela tries to get some quality... Oct 6 2018, 04:16 PM Acadian A wonderful and easy to follow instruction period ... Oct 6 2018, 08:04 PM SubRosa Acadian: One of the things that really annoys me a... Oct 13 2018, 04:05 PM Renee The magic tutorial had me fascinated, that was awe... Oct 14 2018, 06:42 PM Acadian A neat interlude from the Seven’s water journey.... Oct 18 2018, 09:20 PM SubRosa Renee: The Shadowrun and Earthdawn rpgs were excel... Oct 20 2018, 04:17 PM Renee
Check out Scott Cunningham's book Wicca: A G... Oct 29 2018, 03:14 PM Acadian A fascinating look at this river ferry that blends... Oct 21 2018, 07:46 PM SubRosa Acadian: I was originally going to use horses on t... Oct 27 2018, 05:07 PM Renee
But she has no body odor. She does not sweat. Sh... Nov 12 2018, 06:06 PM Acadian A richly detailed study of life along the river. ... Oct 28 2018, 07:39 PM SubRosa Acadian: I could have just said "they sailed ... Nov 3 2018, 04:30 PM Acadian What a wonderful episode as Aela addresses the man... Nov 4 2018, 08:28 PM Acadian Nicely done!
You painted a nice feel for li... Nov 10 2018, 07:37 PM SubRosa Acadian: I think I learned the part about the bird... Nov 17 2018, 05:15 PM Acadian A rather ominous transition through bandits, necro... Nov 17 2018, 09:42 PM SubRosa Acadian: Now that the river journey is complete, w... Nov 24 2018, 07:06 PM Acadian Wow, the situation the villagers face is grim but ... Nov 24 2018, 08:42 PM Renee
Wow, the situation the villagers face is grim but... Dec 11 2018, 03:52 PM SubRosa Acadian: I put a lot more work into the background... Dec 1 2018, 05:26 PM Acadian No surprise that Alcheon is beginning to show his ... Dec 1 2018, 09:22 PM SubRosa Acadian: All I need is Aela twisting her sunglasse... Dec 8 2018, 07:45 PM Acadian A great deal of wonderfully rich world-building go... Dec 9 2018, 12:57 AM SubRosa Acadian: I definitely worked hard at showing vs. t... Dec 15 2018, 05:11 PM Acadian An instructive display of sword fighting, when the... Dec 15 2018, 06:17 PM SubRosa Acadian: Things have really slowed down in the sto... Dec 22 2018, 06:19 PM Acadian You really bring the jungle-forest surrounding Agr... Dec 22 2018, 08:58 PM SubRosa Acadian: I expanded on the size of the village thi... Dec 29 2018, 06:23 PM Acadian What a delightful episode as we finally arrive in ... Dec 29 2018, 09:50 PM haute ecole rider I continue to enjoy this reinterpretation of the S... Dec 31 2018, 05:13 AM
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