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]

haute ecole rider: I had two women talking to one another about something other than a man. So I passed the Bechdel test.

The dreaded It(')s strikes again! Another thing that spell check does not catch.

Lots more foreshadowing in the coming episodes.


Acadian: It was fun writing that girl on girl episode. It gave me a chance to do a lot of exploration of Aela's past and character.

Hetha's mispelled magic had saved Hrafngoelir's life more than once. Thanks for noticing that.




Chapter 8.3

"So why is it called the Bronze Sea anyway?" The aging Teodon Hyunsu scratched his fading green and brown scales in consternation. "The color is not like bronze at all. Not even old bronze that's gone green."

Loria piped up before anyone else could answer. "Why my good man, because while the sea may be made of water, it is bronze that flows over it."

"There beyond the far end of the sea, you will find many copper mines in the forests and meadows of eastern Aulerci." The Light Elf pointed a slender finger ahead of them to the east. Then he turned around, and gestured behind them. "But to the west, in the hills of Aela's homeland of Aulertil, there are tin mines. For thousands of years, both have been traded across this sea to create bronze."

"Aye," Venca spoke up from the rail where he stared out across the sea. "It is bronze that brought the people of this continent together, in peace and war. The Bronze Sea is the heart of Aulerci. They say that sooner or later, everyone passes over it."

"And perhaps sooner for some."

Aela turned at the sound of Dhasan's voice, and followed his gaze to the stern of the cargo vessel. There she saw Alcheon, the same Teodon from the day before. He tried to conceal himself with a cloak, but the stripes and irregular swathes of green across his otherwise yellow scales were impossible to miss.

"It would appear that these ones have been followed," Dhasan continued. The Asokar nodded toward the Teodon. "Is that the scaletail these ones spoke of before?"

"Aye," Loria said, "That is him to be certain."

"Well, he is persistent," Venca admitted. "I'll give him that."

"That persistence will earn him an early grave," Hrafngoelir murmured. "What are we going to do about him?"

"Do?" Aela finally spoke. "There is nothing to do. He can make his own bed, and he can lie in it."

"What if he dies in it?" Loria said.

"Everyone dies," Phereinon pointed out. "If he wishes to die with us, let him come."

"Remind me to never book you as an inspirational orator," Loria murmured.

"I know we all had to start sometime," Dhasan conceded. "Often not the best time. But I think we can all see that he is in over his scales."

"What we want does not matter," Aela said plainly. "Alcheon's fate is his to make, and his alone. None of us can change that. If he is determined, then we cannot stop him. Just like no one could stop me from attending the Ingenium, and no one could stop Loria from smuggling banned books out of the restricted section of the library."

"Trust a seidberendr to speak the truth no one wants to admit," Hrafngoelir said with slightly flushed cheeks.

"This talk of self-determination is all well and good," Venca argued. "But it still does not change the fact that the boy lacks skills."

"Well perhaps if someone who knows a thing or two about spear fighting teaches him - instead of humiliates him - that will change?" Aela took a moment to transfix the Rasen with her stare. Then she walked off. Stepping around crates and barrels of cargo lashed to the deck, she made her way to the rear of the ship. There she found the subject of their conversation.

The young Teodon leaned upon one of the side rails and stared out at the shore as it slid by to the right of the ship. The starboard side, Aela reminded herself. She leaned upon the rail beside him, and looked down at the water that foamed and eddied behind the cog. Alcheon said nothing, and for long moments neither did she.

Turning to Alcheon, she finally spoke.

"Tell me friend, do you know any magic?"

"The use of magic is not common where I come from," the Teodon hesitantly replied.

"Well then," Aela declared, "time we changed that."

"But I cannot-"

"Use magic?" Aela finished the sentence before Alcheon could. "Nonsense. Everyone can use magic. It is as much a part of us as blood and bone. Mana is the lifeblood of the world. It is just that many people do not want you knowing that."

"Why is that?" the Teodon asked through cautious eyes.

"Because you might change the world," Aela said plainly. "Do you know what magic is?"

"Well, potions, and scrolls, and bolts of lighting, and such things," the Teodon replied with a wave of one hand.

"Not at all," Aela shook her head. "Those are expressions of magic. But not the essence of magic. Magic, my young apprentice, is the ability to create change in accordance with your will."

"That is all?" the Teodon seemed unimpressed.

"It is that simple," Aela nodded, "and that powerful. Magic is quite literally the ability to reshape the world. To make reality how you will it to be. Is that not enough?"

The young warrior shrugged, and Aela hoped she was not wasting her time with the prospective mercenary. But she knew that if he did pay attention, her lessons might just save his life, or someone else's. That was certainly worth a little effort on her part.

"There are three things which comprise all magical workings, be they spells, scrolls, potions, or enchantments." Aela began. "First there is mana, then a pattern, and finally the will of the magician. Everything a mage does always comes down to these three things. Now, let us talk about each one."

"Mana is the first. It is the energy that powers all magic, just as pieces of wood are the fuel for a fire." The Arvern explained, and Alcheon nodded as she spoke. "All living beings have mana within them. It comes from the Earth and builds up in our bodies. Our spirits attract it, just like you have probably seen flies attracted to dung. And just as the bigger pile attracts more flies, the more powerful magician learns to store more mana within them."

That brought a wry smile from the Teodon, as Aela had hoped it would. It had done the same for herself, the first time she had heard those very same words spoken to her nearly a decade before.

"Now let us start by learning to feel the mana within ourselves," the Witch went on. "I want you to rub your hands together like this," she rubbed her open palms back and forth in a quick motion, as if she was trying to work the cold out of them. "Now you do it."

Aela watched as the Teodon rubbed his hands together as she had.

"Now what?" he asked earnestly.

"Do you feel that tingling in your scales?" the Witch asked. When the warrior nodded, she went on. "That is mana. In time you will learn to feel it within you with only a thought. But for now just rub your hands together like that."

"Next is a pattern, which is very important," the magician explained. "Think of it as the pattern of a tapestry. Or as a portrait or drawing. It is an image of what you want your mana to do. The only difference between a spell that summons a sylph and another that fires a bolt of lightning is this pattern. So learning a spell is really a matter of learning the proper pattern."

"Now there are all kinds of patterns for spells." Aela said. "In fact, there are many different ones to make the same spell. That is because magic is as much about your own personal inclinations as it is about universal rules. What inspires one person does not always work for the next. You must create your own magic or it will never work for you."

"For beginner spells, the patterns are very straightforward," she went on. "Simply imagine the result you desire in your mind, and channel your mana into image. As you can probably guess, more powerful spells require more complicated patterns. In time, you will learn to sense into the aether. There you can weave the individual strands of a spell's power, just like stitching a shirt, or a tapestry."

"Today we will learn an arcane shield spell, something very useful in our line of work. Shields can deflect physical blows, magical attacks, or both. Let us just start with the simplest: physical attacks."

Aela put out one hand, and with barely a thought a field of shimmering energy formed there before her. She turned, and stepped back so that she stood side by side with the Teodon.

"Do it just like me," she said. "Rub your hands together like before, and feel the energy rise in your scales,"

Aela watched as the Teodon did as she asked. She felt the power rising within the young warrior, and partially shifted her senses into the aether. "Now put your hand forward, and imagine a barrier taking shape there. This shield will turn aside any weapon that strikes it."

The Teodon put his hand out, palm flattened outward as if motioning to stop. Aela could see the ridges over his eyes scrunch up in concentration. His tail twitched, and his head spines rose up above his head. Yet nothing happened. Finally, he threw down his hand in disgust.

"It doesn't work!" he cursed. "I cannot do this!"

"Oh you just wait and see!" Aela's eyes sparkled with light reflected from her own arcane shield, which still glowed before them. "No one gets it right the first time. That is because there is one final ingredient we must speak of: Will. You must make the change happen. It is not enough just to want it, or hope for it, or even believe in it. You must know it. Just as you know the sun will rise tomorrow, you must know your magic will work. If your will is not this absolute, then you will cause your own spell to fail. Now let us try again, and this time focus your will."

The Teodon rubbed his hands together once more, and again the Witch could see his features scrunched together in concentration.

"That is right," she coached softly, watching the mana once more rise through his body. "You can do it. You have the power within you. You can do anything. You can make it happen. You will do it."

A disc of brilliant light burst from his fingers. In an instant it spread out to form a glowing oval in front of the Teodon, screening his body from head to toe. He opened his eyes, and stared in wonder at Aela behind the rippling light of the ward.

"See," Aela said, feeling no small amount of pride in both the Teodon, and in her own teaching ability. "I told you that you could do it. Now watch."

Aela finally allowed her own shield to fall, and she pulled back her senses from the aether. She stepped before the Teodon and balled up one hand into a fist. She beat it upon the face of Alcheon's arcane shield, as if pounding on a sealed door. She felt the magical barrier stop her fist just as firmly as such a door would. She struck again, and once more the ward halted her blow.

Then the light of the spell fizzled out of existence, and the Teodon sagged for a moment. Aela stopped, and waited for him to shake his head. He yawned, and Aela recognized this particular form of fatigue without even having to view his aura through the aether.

"You just used all of your mana," she explained. "Shields require much energy. Do not worry, it will replenish in a short while. The more that you use magic, the more mana you will learn to retain within you, the quicker you will recover it, and the less of it you will need to use in your spells. The important thing is that you did it."

"I did," the young Teodon said, "didn't I?"

"Welcome to a much wider world my friend," Aela breathed.