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: While Aela is far from being a superhero, her chosen field of study - Vitamancy - allows her to use magic to enhance her physical form in all sorts of superhero ways. Like Daredevil's enhanced hearing. I found that was a great way to show what was going on with Phereinon and the Camnas, and why it would be kept secret by those involved.

Phereinon is indeed motivated by anything but money. But tapping into her real motivations might be difficult. We will see more of that.

Aela is indeed good at what she does. She can indeed find the words when it comes to practicing medicine. It is her profession after all. She can stop being self-conscious for a change, and just do what she knows best.


Chapter 6.1

The remainder of their tour of weapon and armor shops passed without incident. Aela let Loria do the talking, and simply stood back with the Agrigentans as the elf passed on the word that they were looking for warriors. In the end they did go to a tavern, and naturally not the one Aela would have preferred.

Waranari's was an unremarkable two-story building. The whitewash was peeling from its walls, and in many places shutters were missing from the windows. The inside was more of the same, with scratched, battered, and sometimes warped tables and chairs thrown in. A large 'U'-shaped bar dominated the central room, and a stair rose up to the second floor behind it. Dart boards were set up in several places. Wide openings led to rooms off to either side, filled with gaming tables for amusements such as bar billiards, skittles, shove ha'copper, and ringing the bull.

The entire tavern was worn, old, faded, and used. But Aela had to admit that it was clean. Waranari always kept it that way at least. It was the only thing that made the place bearable. It was still relatively early, so there were not many patrons hunched over mugs or adding more dings and scratches to the gaming tables. But Aela knew from experience that as the day turned to night, the number of loud-mouths and roughnecks would multiply, like rats on a lump of cheese.

"Warriors will be found in this place?" Daehyun was evidently less impressed with the alehouse than Aela.

"This is where all of Veia's mercenaries - and other unsavory types - congregate." Loria found them a table and motioned for them all to sit. Aela made sure that she had a chair with a wall at her back. Just in case.

"So how do these ones winnow the good rice from the husks?" Hyunsu asked.

"Well now, that is the trick is it not?" Loria's eyes sparkled as a large Aymaran walked over to them. His head was shaved until his brown scalp gleamed, and a neat goatee set off his chiseled features. He wore a simple tunic and leggings, with an apron pulled down from his neck and left to hang from his waist.

"Loria, Aela," he nodded to the mages as he stepped up. "Some of the Frisverd told me you were back in town. They say things went well in the Stone Forest."

"Well enough Waranari," Loria said. "We came back alive, and with a small amount of coin."

"A small amount?" the Aymaran raised an eyebrow.

"Just a pittance really," the elf replied. "But it is enough to buy you a cup of tea, say at the Blue Orchid?"

"You know I don't like tea," Waranari smiled.

"Neither do I." Loria's eyes gleamed.

The Aymaran laughed, and looked to the others around the table. "New friends, or are you two already at work on another job?"

"A new adventure!" Loria replied with zest. "Let me introduce our employers, who have journeyed far from the mysterious land of Kye Rim in search of only the greatest of mercenary spellweavers!"

"Unfortunately they found us instead," Aela murmured.

"This lovely goodwoman is none other than Vesia." Loria continued without pause. "From what I hear, she might be able to teach even you a thing or two about brewing the finest of alcoholic beverages. This ruggedly handsome young man alongside her is the Mighty Ranazu, goodman and planter. The dashing Teodon dressed in white is Daehyun - you had better watch your purse around that one, he's a salesman. Finally we have Hyunsu, the wizened patriarch of the friendly settlement of Agrigento."

"Well it sounds like I am in impressive company then!" Waranari grinned as he looked over the Agrigentans. "What can I get you, ale or wine?"

"Don't you have any Arvern whiskey?" Vesia asked.

"I had to stop serving that." The publican made a sour face. "It starts too many fights. So I have ale or wine."

Neither Loria or Aela had to say a word for the Aymaran to bring them each a wooden mug of wine. Vesia tried the same, while the other Agrigentans chose the ale. All of them stared down at their mugs. Carved from a single piece of rich brown wood, each had horizontal lines carved around their sides, giving them the appearance of tiny barrels.

"Who serves wine in a mug?" Vesia shook her head.

"The solid wood is harder to break than crockery," Aela explained as she took a tentative sip. The wine was better than the vessel which held it, possessing a strong, fruity flavor. "Things here are often thrown, or smashed, or crushed."

"Warriors tend to be a boisterous lot," Loria said. "Anyway, we need to be choosy…"

"Good thing we came here," Aela said dryly.

"…about the people we hire," Loria continued as if she had not spoken. "Some of those in here belong to one of the three gangs that run Veia's underworld. Waranari's is neutral ground, the only place they can meet without killing one another. Take that Guzuk back there in the corner, that's Ihsen One-Tusk, the enforcer for the Toklumen gang. He'd kill us all if he saw a coin in it."

"If everyone knows they are criminals, why doesn't the law come and arrest them all?" Hyunsu stared wide-eyed around them.

"The zilath tries," Aela said. "But every time his oathmen squash one gang, it creates an opening for another one. Before you know it that one moves in, or a brand new one sprouts up in its place."

"Like roaches," Ranazu frowned. "No matter how many you step on, there's always one more."

"So what do we do now?" Vesia asked.

"I don't see anyone here I trust, so we wait to see who comes to take our bait." Loria pulled out a deck of cards from one pocket. "Who wants to try a game of whist?"

Aela sat out of the card game, as did Vesia. If they had been in better circumstances, she would have meditated. Communing with nature spirits always made her feel better. Not to mention that as a conjurer, she always needed to nurture her relationships with them. Nature spirits served far better when they wanted to. But Waranari's was not a place that she dared to let down her guard. You never knew when a piece of crockery might come sailing through the air. She had already gotten more unpleasant stares than she would like.

So she was surprised when a friendly face came through the door. An Asokar, the newcomer was covered in fur that was reddish yellow along his back, and turned to grey-white from his lower jaw down the front of his torso. He stood upright like a human or elf, and bore similar hands and fingers. But his head was shaped like that of a fox, and a long, bushy tail jutted from his rear.

The vulpine wore the ironleaf armor of his people. Aela knew from experience that the long leaves of the aronsawa plant from which it was created were as strong and durable as iron. A cuirass of its wide, dark green leaves formed bands around his chest. Similar strips created pauldrons over the shoulders and upper arms. Finally, smaller leaves created bracers and greaves to protect his limbs.

The Asokar warrior carried a one-handed axe tucked into his belt. Unlike those favored by the Skanjr, the tamac's striking edge did not contain a long, trailing beard. Rather it formed a short crescent. A small hammer rose from the back of the axe head, which Aela knew was meant to be a tool as much as it was a weapon. An unstrung flatbow was slung over his shoulder, laminated dark red, with a line of yellow diamonds running the length of its arms. A quiver of arrows also rose from one shoulder, and finally Aela noted a small wooden buckler slung from his waist, with an eagle painted across its leather face.

"Dhasan!" Aela waved to the newcomer, and his brown, vertically-slit eyes lit up with pleasant surprise as he met her gaze. The vulpine silently glided to the table where they all sat, and Aela motioned for the others to make room for him. Taking an empty chair from another table, the Asokar spun it around and hunkered down beside the Arvern Witch, with his forearms resting upon the backrest.

"It is most pleasing to see you again Aela!" The furred warrior sniffed the air. "How has that cream cake been treating you?"

"Oh, he's a handful, as always," Aela smiled with genuine delight.

"The cream cake is sitting right here you know…" The Light Elf, with his soft pale skin, rolled his eyes.

"Oh, this one had thought it was a tall bottle of milk," Dhasan grinned, revealing a set of short fangs. "And how are you this fine summer day Loria? Still smuggling banned books?"

"Oh no, not since we graduated," Aela smiled.

"Well, I still have my contacts," Loria insisted. He straightened up his collar, and did his best to make himself look distinguished.

"So you did graduate!" the vulpine's eyes lit up with delight. "Congratulations! There was never one so deserving of it as yourself. Especially after all of the trials and tribulations placed in your way."

"It was hardly a walk in the gardens for me either…" Loria said dryly.

"And who are your new friends?" Dhasan asked, looking around the table.

"These are our employers," Aela said. "In fact, there's room for more, if you're interested."

"Oh I am sure he is far too busy," Loria waved one hand in dismissal. "Chasing his tail, breaking into hen houses, a fox's work is never done."

"This one should be glad to accompany you upon any quest Aela," Dhasan smiled. "If only for the pleasure of civilized company."


Wooden mug

Tamac (tomahawk)