Seven Reimagined, A new view of an old story Options

[SubRosa]

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 map

This is the continent of Aulerci, where most of the action takes place



Aela

Loria



The Stone Forest (IRL The Shilin Stone Forest outside of Kunming)

Another example of karst landscape


An Oro (IRL Orodromeus)

A Crumhead (IRL Parasaurolophus)

RL Troodon (the inspiration for the Teodon race)

Troodon front

Troodon head

Ancient Rasen Armor (IRL Samnite bronze armor)

Bronze lamellar armor

Bronze lamellar armor again


Veia Map

Rasen street

Rasen city

Rasen apartment block

Rasen-style architecture





Phereinon

Phereinon again

Malediction

Owl Screeching

Owl Carving





Serves Camna



Wooden mug

Tamac (tomahawk)



Raven pendant

Hrafngoelir

Hrafn's shield

Hrafn's seax


Venca



Rasen bedroom

Rasen bedroom 2

Rasen bedroom 3



Lorcras armor

Hagalaz rune




Horse-Powered Ferryboat 1

Horse-Powered Ferryboat 2

Spirecrown - Saurolophus Angustirostris





Lambeosaurus

Parksosaurus

Ornitholestes

Hadrosaurs 01

Hadrosaurs 02

Orodromeus

Gasparinisaura

Ouranosaurus

Maiasaura

Tropical Milkweed Beetle




Teodon Coloration (this is just what their scale colors look like, not actual representations of the characters)
Alcheon's coloration

Daehyun (a very common peasant coloration)

Dark Eye (though his belly is not so brightly white

Sindeok



Banyan tree

Durian tree

Bromeliads

Bamboo forest

Solagea


Kye Rim Graves

Teodon Dok

Teodon village house

Teodon village house



Earthen rampart, wall, and ditch

cheavaux de frise


Shield Wall training




Fighting Moves
Dark Eye's finishing move against Daeso

Phereinon's belly to back suplex (German Suplex) that she used upon the Arvern Oathman of House Camna

Here is a link to Sindeok's killing move against Brown-Scales

Morte Strike and Half Sword Defense

[SubRosa]

Acadian: All I need is Aela twisting her sunglasses off and pointing: "It's... a dinosaur!"

Next we learn more about the cockatrice and why it is sacred, as well as find out a little more about each of the Seven.


Chapter 10.8

"I suggest we keep our eyes open," Loria said, "and retire to the trees for a respite. Then perhaps our Teodon friends might tell us more about their feathered friend?"

The cockatrice paid no heed to the drama unfolding beneath him, and in seconds flew on out of sight. Still, the party of travelers moved back into the concealment of the forest. Once there, packs were shucked off, water skins passed around, and a welcome break taken by many.

"This is a very good sign!" Daehyun declared, still looking skyward. "To witness one of the sacred ones as we returned!"

"Perhaps the water flows our way for once," old Hyunsu murmured.

Like the others, Aela stared from one of the scaled folk to another. She had read about cockatrices at the Ingenium of course. But the Rasen books had little to say about the creatures, other than rumors and conjecture of course. The only thing they did seem certain of was that the fantastic creatures only lived within Kye Rim's rainforest. That much was at least borne out by their lack of mention in any other land's history and legends.

"The cockatrice is a part of our oldest stories," Alcheon explained. "Legend has it that thousands of years ago the ancestors of our nine tribes made an exodus across the Inner Sea. They were all that had survived a great calamity in some far off land."

"The Great Dying," Hyunsu nodded. "A terrible time."

"After many days and nights at sea, they came to a bright and green land, overflowing with life. They went ashore, and found a cockatrice egg within. It hatched when they opened the box, and from it a child was born. He shone with light, and all of the animals within the forest danced with joy to honor him."

"They named him Hyeoknuri," Daehyun now picked up the story, "which means 'Shining World' in the tailless tongues. They built Asadal, our people's first city, upon the spot, and named the land Kye Rim, or 'Chicken Forest'. The boy grew up to be our first seonjo, or sacred ancestor, and the cockatrice has been the symbol of the royal family ever since. They share the same sacred bones. So to harm a cockatrice, is to harm the king's family."

"Ahh, I see," Aela nodded her head in understanding. "My people in Aulertil honor dragons as well. My own city of Cymner's flag bears a red dragon.

"Your tale reminds me of one told to me by the orcs of the Alagar mountains," Hrafngoelir said. "Their legends speak of a terrible war across the sea, against the Silor. It ended when the Dark Elves were laid low with fire and thunder. But the land was shattered, and all were forced to flee or be destroyed with it. The Great Migrations began. The orcs spread out across the world. Some went east across the Inner Sea to the Alagar Mountains. They become the Guzuks, or Mountain Orcs. Others went north, and became the Assina, the Forest Orcs of Hiakwia. The remainder fled onto the steppes to the south, only to return decades later, and become the Rouran, or Desert Orcs of Tiwanaku."

"Aye," Venca spoke up as well now. "We Rasenna tell of the Great War with the Dark Elves as well, when all the races rose up to claim our freedom from them. After the war laid waste to the Westlands, we fled across the Inner Sea too. We landed in Old Perusna, to the east of Kye Rim."

"Everyone seems to have a story from back then," Aela noted. "We Arvern were already living in the heartland of Aulerci, but we tell tales of the Dark War against the Silor, and the terrible cost paid by both humans and the other elves to stop them. It is said that the Mound People, who lived in Aulerci before us, were the direct descendants of the slaves of the Dark Elves."

"My folk know the old tale of the war with the Dark Elves too," Dhasan said as well. "We also fled the southern lands to escape the scourging of the Dark Ones from the world. Even today there are whispers that certain places in Hiakwia are cursed, because the Silor once had outposts there. My mother even used to hush me at night by saying the Dark Ones would come to get me if I was not silent."

"It was the Fomorians in my case," Aela laughed.

"My mother said the frost wyrms would freeze me with their breath!" Hrafngoelir declared.

"My mother said an imugi - a leviathan - would come up from the swamps and swallow me whole!" Alcheon cried.

"My father said the Phereinon would strangle me in my bed." Loria spared an amused glance in the direction of the white-haired swordswoman.

Aela noted that while others were offering up their versions of the boogeymen whom their parents had threatened them into good behavior with, Venca remained silent. Instead the Rasen mercenary rubbed the back of his head, and stared off into the trees. Aela wondered if he could remember anything from his life at all. Or was it all empty doubt?

"What about you Phereinon?" Hrafngoelir directed the talk away from her silent Rasen friend, and to the white-haired swordswoman instead. "What did your parents frighten you with when you were acting up?"

"I never knew my parents," Phereinon said. "My owners told me that if I did not behave, I would be sold to the quarries, and die a slow death of toil and starvation."

"Your… owners?" Dhasan gaped.

All grew silent and stared at the pale woman.

"But slavery has not existed since…" Vesia murmured.

"Since the Dark War," Phereinon finished the Agrigentan's sentence. She turned her scarred features to the empty sky. "The cockatrice has been gone for some time now. Let us move."