Introduction Rough Draft

[puffin]

This is a rough draft for an introduction to something I'm writing. Not an introduction for the story itself, but essentially the introduction to a wiki about the world that the story takes place in. Basically this would be on the homepage of the wiki. Thought I'd let the "masses" give me some feedback on it.

Introduction

The year is 1923. Meinos has changed more in the last century than in any other. The industrial revolution has led to an explosion of technological advancement, meianity (like “humanity”, but not limited to only humans) has taken to the skies, and quality of life has greatly increased for most. Railroads criss-cross the continents, cars and trucks begin to flood city streets, airships and rudimentary planes litter the horizon, firearms become more complex; war becomes deadlier.

Thousands of years ago, the world was much different. Humans were alone on the continents, but were ruled over by deific monarchs known as celestials. Most were content with this, as they had never known another reality. However, some humans sought to overthrow the system and rule themselves. They called upon an ancient force, far older than the celestials, and sealed their rulers into stone statues. However, in doing this the revolutionaries unknowingly set this ancient deity free from its purgatory, and it invaded Meinos. This being’s true name has been lost to time, but the people knew it as the Lord of Lightning, a creature so massive and powerful that the human brain cannot even comprehend it. With the Lord came the Worldstorm, which engulfed the continents and destroyed civilization. The temple in which the celestials were trapped was destroyed, and the gods themselves with it. The only human survivors were those who fled underground.

The Worldstorm raged for over a hundred years, reshaping Meinos forever. Islands sunk, mountains moved across entire continents, forests were ripped from the ground, and cities were buried. The survivors, now living in Meinos’ expansive underground, stayed there for centuries. Eventually they were no longer human, they had mutated into reptilian creatures, known now as doroths. They were scared of the surface, not knowing that the Worldstorm and the Lord of Lightning had long since disappeared. Eventually they did resurface, led by a prophet, and found a new, but not empty world. New inhabitants had arrived in Meinos from afar as if the world itself had drawn them here. Humans, ilestrians, avians, feikas, saftens, edibas, and more had settled all over the place. Also, though nearly all animals had died during the Worldstorm, the continents were filled with animals, both species that had existed before the storm and new ones. Doroths told the new people stories of the Worldstorm and the time before it. Many treated these stories as mere mythology at first, but faith soon spread across the continents that the celestials would one day return as the gods of Meinos.

Since the Worldstorm ended, the Realm of Meinos has possessed some strange qualities. People of all species have been born with magical abilities, similar to those that the celestials possessed but generally not nearly as powerful. Although, many of those who believe the celestials will return believe it will be in the form of rebirth: people will be born with abilities that resemble those of a celestial, because they literally will be a reincarnation of that celestial. Similarly to people being born with abilities, some objects seem to randomly acquire magical properties. Finally, curses seem to be able to manifest under the right circumstances, which can lead to the creation of monsters. In general, the world is a very strange and magical place. Some believe this is the result of the world itself trying to compensate for the absence of the celestials.

Despite all this magic, in 1923 the world has truly been taken over by an explosion of scientific and technological advancements. There is less need to take advantage of magic when technology can accomplish the same goals more reliably. However, this may soon change. In the city of Alta, in the very northernmost reaches of the Kingdom of Karthenia, an orphan with an unusual name is about to begin down a path that will change Meinos forever. The question is: for the better or the worse?

Edit: I should probably mention, this won't be the entire homepage. I don't want to assault the reader with this giant block of text right when they click on my world. There will be a shorter introduction about what they can expect from this world, then the table of contents and links to things like maps, and then this extended introduction below that. Or something like that.

[cyndaquirl]

i really like this concept, and for some reason my favourite part is that the celestials got destroyed along with the temple? like it adds emphasis to the sheer power of the lord of lightning that he just wiped out the previous gods like they were nothing. i think thats hard as fuck. the only question i have is: how do the other settlers get there? do they just show up from other worlds?

[puffin]

i really like this concept, and for some reason my favourite part is that the celestials got destroyed along with the temple? like it adds emphasis to the sheer power of the lord of lightning that he just wiped out the previous gods like they were nothing. i think thats hard as fuck. the only question i have is: how do the other settlers get there? do they just show up from other worlds?

Yeah, I guess so. It isn't clear if they come from other worlds entirely or just distant parts of the same planet. Maybe a mix of both. I'm not sure if I'm ever really going to give a concrete explanation to be honest. There is some implication that the world itself is a conscious being itself and has drawn them here to repopulate the realm. The world itself being alive is actually gonna be a big part of the world's various faiths. For example, there is a substance called "earthblood", which is a black liquid that can be found inside of rocks and is believed to be the blood of the world itself, and used to make potions. I'm glad you like the premise!

[puffin]

In general I feel like I've become a "lazy worldbuilder". Or at least my priorities have changed. I don't really care for giving concrete explanations for how things came to be or anything like that. A big example is how I treat magic. Some people have magical abilities. Some objects have magical properties. Is there any consistency? No. Is there any explanation? No.

Idk, I just find myself really leaning into soft worldbuilding recently, where I'm more focused on things being interesting or cool than giving them concrete explanations or really any consistency. I'm more concerned with the characters and their interactions with each other, rather than the sheer details of the world that the story takes place in. An example is how often I've been using anachronisms. For example: As a rule, fashion is completely anachronistic. A friend of mine is currently working on a drawing of one of my characters and she's gonna be wearing a modern summer dress and converses... in a fantasy version of 1923.

Although there is a part of me that has a hankering to have a really thought out, consistent, "hard" worldbuilding project alongside this one. Where every single aspect (language, culture, science, etc.) is thought out and explained in extreme detail. I was thinking that it would be a post-post-apocalyptic world where the people are starting to recover from the apocalypse and they have leftover modern technology but society has basically had a hard reset back to the dark ages.

[cyndaquirl]

omg can i draw one of ur characters??????????

[puffin]

omg can i draw one of ur characters??????????

I am very down for that if you are. I'll let you know when I pick one lol