Tell me about your world

This may be the wrong place for this thread if so, I apologize. Hey guys, I'm pretty interested in what kind of worlds people are building around their stories.

Maybe start with the genre, the time period in which it takes place, talk about any factions in your story and perhaps a quick synopsis of the plot and maybe discuss a few of the key characters.

 

Sci-fi/Action/Adventure/War, 28th Century (2715+)

Factions:

Confederation: Planet Terra. Joint races of Humans and Greys. Turned into a Plutocratic Oligarchy of tyranny, using
the massive global Military of the same name. The 30 Chairmen run the planet, and are the masters of the puppet
government. They are ruthless and have no qualms about stepping on the common folk for their warped entertainment.
As well as planning to invade and rape resource rich planets within the galaxy. Weaponry is gas powered ceramic composite
ballistics, though on some of the heavier ordinance they do have rail gun tech.

Centurian: Planet Centuria. Reptilian (7-9 feet tall, and have tails). Omnivores, Live Birth, Hybridization with other species
not possible, but physical sexual encounters are. Ruled under the Council of Elders, they are similar to Terrans despite being
200 years more advanced. Society is free, and there are still communities that practice the old ways of the clans. The Centurian
Armed Forces (CAF) is a fearsome force. While having coil range weaponry, many will often get in close combat utilizing swords
or knives.

Uldivarion: Planet Uldivaria. Silicone Based, 8ft tall cousin species to the Greys. Having dark blue skin, pitch black eyes, and
2 pair of arms with 16 digits distributed equally on each of 4 large hands. 1000 Years more advanced than Terrans, Ruled under
a benign Empress who oversees 6 known planets of the Empyre. Not much is known about sexual practices nor how they reproduce.
However, they can have intercourse with other species, and hybridization is not possible. Military relies on superior tech, and
flawless surgical precision. Using fusion fired projectiles in many calibers. High ranking officers, the Empress, and Empyreal
Elite Guard are know to carry swords or melee weapons.

Martian Colonials: Mars, Human, Democratic Republic under an elected Chancellor. Currently in a cold war with Terra and have
been ever since the War Of Separation in the early 25th century. Skirmishes do break out between the Confederation and the Martian
Colonials off and on. The Colonial Military is a well oiled machine. Tougher than their Terran counter part, they lack the numbers
of the Confederation. They make up for numbers with strength and resolve. They carry similar weapons to the Confed such as caliber
matching with small arms, though they have their own design of their weapons. They defend their airspace quite efficiently, by shooting
down Military ships with extremely fast missiles with non-explosive diamond tipped Penetrater Missiles that puncture hulls killing the
people inside while the materials and information are salvaged.

Mercenaries: Mercs are primarily Human, and are in the deep pockets of the Confederation to bolster the Military. Despised by all other
factions as they do not find Mercs to have any honor. They are a much more independent military, but can be found in joint exercises
with Confed. Spendy cannon fodder, but effective none the less.

Synopsis:

Ober-Commander Marckus Syrilious is 'abducted' by Captain Graxis, along with his three loyal staff. While aboard the massive Centurian war-ship
Marckus is thawed out and given some damning news about the faction he has been under. The evidence turns out to be true, that the Confed is breaking
Treatise within the Sol System. So after going on the hunt after a rogue Confed Freighter into the outer rim, the two officers encounter a Confed
Exercise out on Ceres. Which just so happens to be the home of the Galacticaly feared creature known only as the Mother Confessor. They subdue
the Confed and have them subjugated to the local populace to repair the damage they had caused. As well as taking the Mother Confessor into
protective custody along with all of her equipment and instruments of pain.
From there Marckus takes command under the allowance of the Council of Elders. Beginning an escalating campaign against the Confed. Traveling
back to the source of all his rage and contempt for the faction and it's leaders. Decimating Confed Installations without mercy, and rescuing the refugees
that have been forced to build a new installation on Pluto. The Male refugee aliens were 13 in all. The females and children were taken to the Military
Science facility on Callisto. Not many families are reunited. Around the time between Pluto and Callisto the Mother Confessor Joins the CAF, going through
basic, med and surgical tech training, and also through armor training to pilot a Medium Armor Class war-frame. The Uldivarions meet up with the Centurians
in an unexpected alliance shortly after the assault of Callisto was getting underway. Both were more or less non-existent to their respective governments, on the
bloody brutal trek toward Terra.
Mars comes into their path, and so a small party including Marckus goes to negotiate safe passage through the Martian Colonial Airspace.

 

Horror/Dark Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Set modern day and before in 'the real world', I'm working on the idea that there is an area on Earth where the fabric of reality is frayed and torn, and this area happens to be within the tiny English Midlands county of Harkshire (my avatar is its flag). Things in Harkshire are wrong, messed up. The people know it subconsciously, but can't or won't leave. The worst part is the town of Hark itself, which has a crime rate per head to rival Detroit at its worst. Somehow, the outside world sees none of this. Incidents are hushed up, quietly forgotten, swept under the carpet. Its like a conspiracy that near enough everyone in Harkshire is in on.

I'm setting everything I work on within Harkshire, or in one of the parallel worlds just beyond. After all, as Jake Chambers of Dark Tower fame said "There are other worlds than these."

 

WOW!! This is so detailed and thought out it's beautiful!

 

I came up with most of it on the fly, but it has to be detailed as there is a lot more in the universe
than that. Also the synopsis is only of the first half of the story. Sequel is still in the works.

Thank you for the compliment.

 

I have this one sci-fi/romance story that I've been building for a few years now. The title is "Soot and Clouds."
It's set after world war III, and most of the world has nuclear fallout. There are a few cities throughout the countries, but a lot of people tended to stay near the government, which is the largest city. The people who are government employees, or are at least don't speak out against the government are dressed in white and are always immaculate and the such.
Those who have spoken out against what the government has been doing have black clothes, usually just the white clothes that have gotten dirty from all of the smog/soot in the air. Since they are considered criminals, they use the roofs to get around the city quickly, so that's where a lot of the dirt and grime come from.
The city itself is painfully gray with no real signs of life other than the people walking about, as there aren't any advertisements anymore and they needed to build a lot of tall buildings to house people. There isn't any wall or anything to keep people in, so when the city limits are reached, there's a large field before it hits a forest. Some pathways connect the other towns, but they tended to try and keep mostly to themselves.
In the places where there are no people, nature has taken over a lot of the world again. There are some patches where there is some abnormal growth due to radiation, but the government has spread the lie that it's dangerous outside the city so that the people will stay with them. There are a few rebel camps along the roads, but they've hidden away and rather hard to find if you don't know where you're going.
The basic plot is:
The government has started a re-population project. However, it let them take over everyone's daily lives. Some people escape the plan to have children that are 'illegal.' The story follows one of these kids as he ends up getting involved with a rebel group, along with a young woman who's trying to escape the project. She has two brothers, one that wishes for her to escape and one that wishes for her to remain under the government's power. They have to run and survive as they unknowingly become this rebel group's figure heads.

 

Fantasy/Mystery, the place it is set has armour and weaponry equivalent to the late thirteenth century, however, their guns are 15th century and medicine is around 14th century, though without the superstitious parts as the culture is evidence based on a lot of things.

Factions:
Marquess Lympha and accompaniment
With the death of her father, Lympha of Dunend took her father's place as reigning noble of the county that matches her last name. She can trace her bloodline back to a fallen empire which she idolises the image of, and is trying to bring it back in terms of culture and iconography. Within her court is Pericles of Claypit, a nobleman whose lineage matches Lympha in that they share common ancestry, who acts as her advisor, confidant and bodyguard. Afterwards is her small court of artists, who she uses to "salute the glory of imperial culture". Some are just as devoted as her, while others are there to be paid. Amongst them is a historian named Leo, who is there to ensure historical accuracy, however, artistic license has been given greater precedence. This annoys him greatly, as the imperials that conquered the land long ago had a culture distinct from the main empire.

The group currently hold residence in the citadel of Dunmouth, the county capital.

Duke Vorheen and accompaniment
A friend of Lympha's father, Vorheen was a man of ambition, however, the loss of one son has quelled the fire within him. Politically he is securing his final victory, securing an additional province for the land via marriage, before returning to his home. Unfortunately, the key is a friend of Lympha's, who whom the Marquess does not wish to have used as a simple tool. That friend is Sophoniba Zana, currently in the Duke's company "for her own protection" and the man she is to marry is the Duke's son Reim. The couple is a loving one, something that Vorheen is pleased with, though Lympha despises as she considers Reim a fool.

After that is Sophoniba's uncle, a man by the name of Hanno. (He and the rest of her family inhabit Shurk, an area claimed by another country named Ishtia, however, they rule in name only with the Shurks being autonomous. The society was tribal until Sophoniba's father converted to Taughfism, the primary religion of Taughfland, the country where my novel is set. This led to them either converting or exterminating the other tribes and forming a unified kingdom, then declaring themselves independent of the empire and part of Taughfland. Ishtia decided to deal with the Shurks once and for all, Taughfland decided to protect its interest with the aid of its allies.) He is simply there to conduct trade agreements and ensure that the marriage goes through, strengthening ties between the country and the new province.

Finally are the mercenaries, though they have served under Vorheen for many years. Led by a man named Veithmann, they have had many conflicts with the religious extremists throughout the city, but are having an issue. The Duke keeps them on a short leash, ensuring that they only kill those who are violent, and who openly promote violent actions, while the extremist leaders act behind the scenes.

The Kingfishers
The sewers beneath Dunmouth are infested with Brinespawn (amphibious fish-person monsters), when an ally of Taughfland from a southern land was passing through the city, he discovered his daughter had entered his party. Unwilling to take her to war, he left her under the care of Durus, and to repay him, sent a message to The Order of The Kingfisher. A group of knights that specialise in killing Brinespawn. While they still do their duty, they have also decided to defend the religious minorities in the city from the extremists, considering it their knightly duty.

Taughfish Extremists
Dunmouth had always been a hotspot for religious tension, with the largest percentage of people of minority religions in the country by a significant margin. When Durus died, his arm cut off and now missing, many considered it an act of their god, with the fist being a religious symbol of the Taughfish faith. Despite several priests declaring that the violence is wrong, it has not stopped it.
The leader of the violence is an elderly woman by the name of Lilly, though her followers often call her Mother Lilly, for she is a kind and caring figure to them. She argues "Taughfland for the Taughfish", and that the nobles be removed and the devout rule.

The House of Nerin
An outsider to local politics, The House of Nerin is a school run by a cult. They worship the god their organisation is named after, and run a plethora of establishments to ensure a certain level of funding which is boosted by noble donations. Durus fell in the later category, and The House has sent a representative, Corrin of Dubh Lodd, to ensure the gold keeps on flowing.


All my key characters have been either named or referenced in that, so I'm going to leave it. And the synopsis would probably be the last two sentences of The House of Nerin explanation, but explaining who the characters are.

 

I'm loving the sound of this, it seems like there is so much to work with here and almost all of it sounds interesting.

 

That is one city. I have the rest of the country and Tumonte down as well at the moment.

 

I have finished one short story and am writing another, both from the same universe. They take place in a near dystopian future. There are only two major factions and they aren't explored very much in the stories.

The Natol Alliance
A conglomerate of states or possibly city states.

The Independent City-State of Lavakia.
A city state controlled by a corrupt dictator.

In the first story the main character is called Mathus. Mathus only cares about his son, Joseph. They used to live in the Uppercity of Lavakia, but they had to move to the Undercity when Mathus' wife (and Joseph's mother) died. The Undercity is the industrial center of Lavakia, which has been neglected by the aforementioned dictator.

 

Still working out most of the details, but for the most part, my Urban Fantasy world is basically one of those "our world with the supernatural hiding behind a Masquerade," and my preliminary explanation for the Masquerade is a combination of:

• The supernaturals' fear the mortal world's bigotry and superior numbers: standard on its own, but my cynically misanthropic view of human nature may take readers by surprise in my comparisons/contrasts of humanity opposite the other sentient species on the planet
• Their fear of an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of spell-books: I'm thinking that the world was almost ripped to pieces by warring mages in the distant past and that those In The Know want to learn as much as possible about the limits of how far magic can be controlled
• The most sociopathically violent factions like the Order of Saint Michael or the Cults of Moloch, Nemesis, Apollyon... spend so much time and effort hiding from each other that a lack of footprints in the mortal world is just a happy side effect ("Inceptuerade")

 

@Simpson17866 Sure hope some of that humor is in the story.

 

(If you read this, read what I said at the very bottom)

Sounds a fun question. I'll start by giving an overview of the geography, then move over to inhabitants and how the world became the way it was.
(By the way, I forgot the name of the ruling kingdom. I'll refer to it as the state and the kingdom.)

This is a novel of not just a war-fantasy with deceit and Kingdoms, but it contains such complex characters that are integral to the whole point of the story. There are all studied philosphical aspects that will invoke them to evaluate the reader's life. I'm onl going to be covering the summary and synopsis, but not go over any of the character's (especially Kaleb's) motivations for their actions.

A brief political summary: There are 8 smaller islands (each slightly smaller than Texas) that surround, in a circle, the Mainland, Vauk. If you were to cut off where Africa begins to go convex, Vauk is the size of that piece. Vauk became, due to geography, the ruling land. It's divided into 3 sections. In the capital city is where the richest of all live. Aristocrats, bankers, and the famous who stay for long trips. The city is still run on slave labour-- this is a time where free-market capitalism is unheard of. It's pre-industrial, where workers work by crappy tool and hand. Though pre-industrial, people are not inventing better compasses, ship designs, nor practical tools. Nor or they founding new ideas of philosophy, art, nor literature. It's stuck--stuck due to the ruthless rule of the state. They enforce the harshest religious rules, mostly created out of corruption. They've overthrown nearly all of their allies and began a new order, not allowing a single opposing individual or group to live on the planet.

5 of the outer lands are slave lands, where feudal systems reign and education is... unheard of. Men, women, and children were all bound to work on their vassal's land, unable to purchase their way to freedom. Only through daring escape could they find a new life.

The need to begin a new life is exactly what will fuel the most destructive war. A tale arose of a certain magic in a mountain within the Deadhope Mountain Range--the name given because so few believed such a notion; the notion that there was a portal to a new land. But out of desperation, families of all sorts sought this new beginning. Whether it was the enslaved, the merchants, or the rural communities living in the West, they went.

It was supposed to be the boldest of secrets ever created. A free civilization had existed through the portal for a hundred and thirty years. There were communities; communities that grew into cozy, friendly towns of markets, jewelry, farms, bars, and folk-tale. There was actually private property. Amazing!

They were also physically trained, armed, and ready for each generation. Word eventually got to the towns that this 'legend' had been brought to the other side. Training grew immense, and a collective fear ensued.

Kaleb's family was the family that knew that the land stood 0 chance against the Kingdom. They had their plan to move in with an acquaintance on his island while the others fought a battle that would be inevitably lost.
Kaleb is an old teen who's emotions do not interfere with his way of life, nor are they ever easily conveyed towards others. He does not conform towards a collective idea; religion, traditions, values, mannerism, nor practically any type of societal standard. Though he does not believe at all in religion or tradition, he still practices it. This is due to his interest in maintaining a fully static lifestyle; since he was a child, he practiced these things, and it would be like an environmental crisis to his mind if he were to stop. To many, he was a pyschopath--he was not

When Kaleb's family reaches Maverick's (the acquaintance) island, no content is felt. Conflict between the family of Kaleb and Maverick happens because of a corruption that's attached to Maverick. Not knowing about this corruption, Kaleb plans to kill Maverick but sees him in the cellar with this creature. The corruption attaches to him, gives him this sixth sense, and then the corruption reaches full flare and Maverick and Kaleb fight brutally.

A fire had engulfed the entire house, and Kaleb had finally escaped the grasp of this creature. Only the mental grasp. It had become re-animated, and had made its way into the mansion. God knows what it did to them-- Kaleb's family. Kaleb could not turn around to protect his family. The creature was 13 feet tall with retractable fangs that could grasp its prey and slowly slide it into its void of a mouth, where it would be grated down to the bone with the coarseness of these thick hairs that lined the mouth. It naturally was hunched over, it had claws that hung from the arms that lay horizontally at its waist. But that was when it was resting. When it got hold of bloodlust, the creatur would hold a snarling face, and the needles would tense in its mouth. Its back would fully straighten, and it wold keep its head raised. He would flip his arms and have the talons pointing up. That way, it could slice through the neck of the human that looked up at him with a final, paralyzed stare.

Anyways.. uh.. I've written a lot. I spent two good chunky paragraphs on this creature because it's so important to the story. Kaleb has rowed back to the mainland-- seven months after leaving it-- to find that nothing is the same. After weeks, he finds a group of three old men who happen to be three of six wizards (magic is very weak, and does not have a significant impact at all such as in Harry Potter. It isn't nearly as powerful aswizard magic in LoTR.) These wizards seek a man who happens to be Maverick. Maverick, according to them, contains The Ruby.

The Ruby was what made the portal to travel between the original land and the new land, Nrai (ray). It was supposedley destroyed by the Kingdom, and the portal was divided into 10 pieces. One would be on each island. So then, it made sense. There were 8 islands surrounding Vauk, but there was a wide, unfitting gap at the very North tip. That was the island they were on, but in some weirdrealm.

Blah blah blah, the wizards and Kaleb must find The Ruby piece and figure out a way to connect it to the pieces that are outside of their realm.

That's the first part of my series, as there's a whole wider scheme behind what the characters know, thank you not a single person for reading that. I'm tired and I'm going to bed now. Hey maybe writing this placed this whole idea in my head so I won't forget. please reply someone if you actually read any of this.
Oh and nobody take my idea thanks.

Oh and if anyone actually read this and has nice words, suggestions, is interested, or is just wondering about what I was talking about when I said there would be heavy philosophy and characterization just send me a private message.

 

My story takes place in a world that has no concept of the sun, or daylight. They sleep when the moon sinks into the ocean and they are active when the moon rises back into the sky. Literally.

The flora reacts to moonlight, flowers blooming and glowing, providing light to cities and towns.

The world is star powered. When stars fall from the sky they are used as a source of fuel. However, the sky is running out of stars.

Starseeders collect fallen stars an use flying ships to sow them back into the sky. But most of the stars fall into the ocean. The world is made up of very small islands and, unfortunately, a massive sea beast lurks in the dark waters. Since there is a finite amount of stars, and there is no way to produce more stars, the world is facing a crisis.

The only thing to do is to kill the sea beast so that it is safe to try and collect the stars from the ocean floor. The Searender is big enough to swallow an entire fleet of ships whole and has claimed thousands upon thousands of lives.

Development is under way on a weapon that might just be powerful enough to pierce its skin. But it will take almost all their star reserves to power it, and it may not work anyway. The people are divided. Risk losing almost all their stars now for the chance to recover more than 100 times that amount. Or try their best to make what they have last and come up with another solution.

Allegory to the face! BAM!

 

Sci-Fi/Dark Fantasy


I've got the bones of this thing but, I have a ton more think about and I don't plan on writing this for a very long time. I’m also terrible with names and I usually don’t name things until the very end of the whole process. The story is set in a world similar to the way ours was around the 14th century. The only big difference is the people who inhabit it are surrounded by evidence that an extremely advanced civilization existed thousands of years before them. As there is no written record left by said civilization the people currently living in this world believe that they were their forbearers. They believe that at some point they’re ancestors emerged from the giant “vaults” deep beneath the earth. These beliefs are more like mythical tales and each society has a different idea of who released them from said vaults, how they were able to open the vaults and what people were like during the time period in which the vaults were opened. Over time these stories influenced the religious beliefs of each society. The stories they tell are essentially medieval versions of post-apocalyptic stories and many of their gods are personified as heroes from these post-apocalyptic stories.


Factions


Western Mountain People - These people started out as tribes spread throughout the western dessert. Eventually more advanced peoples from the temperate region of the continent made their way through the mountains surrounding the desert. These people spread disease, enslaved thousands and easily bested the desert tribes in combat. Half of the desert tribes united out of fear and fled to the mountains to save themselves. They used the network of caves in the mountains to turn the tide against the invaders. The mountain people flourished, they began experimenting with metallurgy, domesticated animals and started to produce foods. The people of the temperate region came to them again but this time in need of their help. The displaced peoples of the southern islands are being led in rebellion against the temperate region they needed the help of the mountain people to push them back. They agree but, only if the children of those enslaved years ago are returned to the desert. The two forces manage to end the rebellion but the decision to provide help cuts the mountain kingdom in half and begins a long series of recurring civil wars. When the story begins the kingdom has been unified after the end of what seems like its final civil war. A lot of inspiration from Ancient India, Persia and Mayans for this one.


Western Desert People – These people started out the same way the Mountain people did but, unfortunately never used the mountains to escape the invaders. They were a race of slaves used by the invaders as soldiers, eunuchs, concubines and bed slaves. After the first rebellion the majority of them are freed and they migrate back to the desert. They have no writing system and their culture is a strange mix between the old tribal cultures of the desert people and the slave sub culture they developed during their time in the temperate region. Tribal warfare breaks out between groups for resources, slavery is all they know so, they begin to enslave the peoples of the tribes they conquer. As they sell the conquered peoples back to the great lords of the temperate region they amass enough coin to purchase weapons, horses and ships. At the beginning of the story the king in the temperate region has banned slavery within his kingdom at the behest of the ruler of the mountain people. This backfires however, without slavery as a means to make money the desert tribes begin attacking the Mountain people more frequently.


Southern Islands People – All of the people living on the southern islands are Technomancers. Technomancers have a latent mental ability that allows them to control any of the machines left intact by the old society. These people started in the temperate region of the main continent. At one time Technomancers were rare, as time went on children were born with the ability more frequently. The more Technomancers were born the more the majority feared them. Eventually they were forced off of the continent and onto the frigid, barren southern islands. Very few of them existed when they were migrated to the islands to begin with so, within a few generations inbreeding became unavoidable. Eventually the island people began to develop into a society with a large percentage of people with facial deformities and mental instability. Resources are extremely difficult to come by on the islands so warfare between island tribes is common. They use bits and pieces of weaponry left by the old society during their tribe wars. It is extremely rare for a Technomancer to be in full control of their abilities but, if the body is put through enough distress they will lose control and be forced to use their abilities. Because of this they tend to associate pain with unity. During tribal warfare they use large mobile towers to move infantry. Within those towers they torture “Mad Men”, those unfortunate enough to be born with mental illnesses, as a means of using horrifying futuristic weaponry. At the beginning of the story an ambitious Technomancer is conquering and unifying the tribes of the Southern Islands, teaching them how to build sea fairing ships and claiming that he knows how to open the great vaults hidden within the earth. Tons of Warhammer 40k inspiration for this and some Viking stuff.


Story Synopsis – The story begins with the King of the western mountain people. Both of his children had been tortured to death years ago by the former king of the eastern mountain kingdom during the last civil war. He has spiraled into a deep depression since then, has become a recluse, ruling his kingdom through his wife. After killing the former king he spared his albino daughter and has raised her as his own child. The king’s people are afraid, the desert people have been attacking more frequently, the king has no heir to rule the throne in his stead and there has been talk of the king bending his knee to the ruler of the temperate region. The king’s younger brother, the current ruler of the eastern mountain kingdom, finds out that his older brother plans to keep the mountain kingdoms independent and that he wants to claim the albino girl as his true heir. He decides that his older brother is no longer fit to rule and that he needs to be the one to remove him from the throne.

 

Something I'm absolutely terrible at when it comes to world building is keeping things simple where they should be. I like this because it is nice and simple. There's enough here to spark my interest without having a ton of complicated exposition.

 

Thanks! This is my story for nano. So hopefully I have something to show in the workshop soon.

 

To elaborate on this (I feel a bit silly now everyone's posted up loads of detail!), there are no factions as such, since it is set in modern day England. Harkshire is a mostly Tory/UKIP area, politically leaning towards the further right. The Harkish/Harkites (working on this one...anyone got any suggestions?) are for the most part the kind of white middle class Daily Mail/Express readers who lazily hate and fear everyone that isn't like them. They even hate the Irish, despite the fact that there's a section of Hark nicknamed Little Dublin. Their mantra is "If it's not local it's bad, and if it's bad it's not local." To them, Harkshire is the best part of the country, if not the world. Religion has little to no influence in Harkshire. There are churches of course, but with tiny congregations. Paganism quietly holds sway over a few of the isolated communities, and there's even rumour of stranger and darker worship.

Throughout its history, Harkshire has been dominated by four families: Harrow, Leech, Kingsley and Marlin. Rumours fly about the kind of shenanigans the families got up to in their early days, and how they gained their influence and wealth.

As for geography, I've placed Harkshire in a patch of the Cotswolds to the south east of Cheltenham. It has two towns, Hark and Riverton, and a host of villages with typically English names such as Burnhythe and Scardale. Not to mention typically awkward English names such as Rayencester, pronounced "Rainster".

It has two rivers. The River Hark which gives the county and its capital their names, and the smaller River Scarlett, which eventually merges with the Hark east of Riverton. The Scarlett has a waterfall just after its spring, known locally as Scardale Force. The Hark narrows, before eventually plunging underground.

If Harkshire were real, it would be the second smallest county in England, being a mere square mile or two larger than Rutland.

I intend to write a series of novels called The Harkshire Tales. They will be all linked, some more directly than others. They won't follow on from each other like sequels, but there will obviously be a chronological order. I plan to cross them all over eventually with some kind of cataclysmic event, kind of one part Dark Tower, one part Avengers. That's where my head is at anyway.

The first novel will be Heartstopper. It'll introduce the town of Hark, the county and their many problems, as well as some of the concepts I've mentioned. It'll introduce DCI Gerald Hendricks, a reoccurring character who is on the verge of uncovering the truths of Harkshire's ailments.

Heartstopper is the story of Zack Preston, a young man with a supernatural ability which emerges as old enemies crash back into his already chaotic life. His mother, a recovering heroin addict, falls off the wagon hard as her abusive ex, a pusher called Cameron Bray returns. On the same day, Zack is violently assaulted by a former school bully, now also an addict. He heals instantly from the attack. Zack realises that this ability isn't just healing, but total control over his cells, and he soon also realises that this also extents to other people through skin contact.

The trouble is that Zack is no Peter Parker. He suffered a severe brain injury as a child that he had no right to have survived, and it has left him with split personalities. Traumatic events and the discovery that he can use his ability to hurt people lead to his other personality emerging: a cold, angry man with a warped sense of justice. Obsessed by superhero stories, he becomes a murderous vigilante. The Heartstopper leaves a trail of corpses in his wake, leaving the police baffled by these criminals whose hearts seem to have simply stopped beating.

The second will be Grid. This will introduce a multiverse concept. There are "seams" in reality, and where a "seam" is ripped, so to speak, all one needs to do to pass through them is to step onto the perfect spot at the perfect angle. Harkshire is riddled with torn seams. People disappear often, sometimes never to be found.

There is a group who are mapping the seams and the worlds which lie beyond. When you cross over into one of these worlds, you are in that world's equivalent to Harkshire. There are seams there too. As I explain it to friends and family: You cross from our world into Middle-Earth (for example). From there, you could cross into Narnia. From Narnia, you could cross into Wonderland or even cross back to our world. This is why they're making the map, and why they call it "The Grid".

They explore and do their best to rescue anyone who stumbles across a seam, but they have a strict rule: Never go more than three steps away from Earth. They fear getting stuck, or worse still, bringing something back.

It will begin with two bored, but smart guys coming across this group, and joining them, taking the codenames Magellan and Vasco. Magellan is sharp, and gets into the swing of things quickly, but Vasco: a natural risk-taker and thrill-seeker, becomes erratic and wild, ignoring protocol and wandering off at will.

The novel will follow them from their early days, visiting other worlds such as a semi-traditional fantasy world I was working on (where magic is everywhere, lions, elephants and apes are mythical and the dinosaurs never died out), and a world they've nicknamed "Planet Rain" due to its never ceasing weather (kudos if anyone spots the reference), through to a sudden conclusion. I have a rather fun chapter planned which features a chase through 10+ different worlds. I'm looking forward to that!

After that, things are a little looser. I've got an idea called Harrier which will be based around an impossibly talented young footballer, playing for Riverton Harriers. It'll be a little lighter in tone, but still supernatural heavy. The next definite in the series also has a name but I can't divulge it as I'll give something away. Some eagle-eyed members may have clocked it already.

I'd also like to write something set around the English Civil War, about the founding families, as well as a host of short stories set all around the county.

 

Working Title: The Great House (worst working title ever)

The planet doesn't have a name yet and may not get one until near the end of the story. There hasn't been any natural segue as of yet for any character to mention the planet's name that doesn't feel shoehorned. I mean, think about it. How often - outside of conversations about planets and worldbuilding - does one ever actually refer to the Earth as the Earth, capital E, in normal conversation?

The world itself is nothing too fantastical or garish. The story is science fantasy in the way that Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels or MZB's Darkover novels are. It's dressed in the wardrobe of fantasy, but it's really science fiction, hence no magic, no wizards, nothing that gives any sort of nod to standard fantasy props or tropes other than its old-timie, 14th (ish) century feel. I reach back to the late 60's and early 70's (whence come the aforementioned franchises) to make use of the then-popular trope of the Lost Colony. In keeping with that trope, there are occasional mentions of anachronistic high-tech terms, but they don't represent technology that has somehow managed to survive, but instead are repurposed terms for things that were once of technological origin and are now handled in other ways.

There exists a subgroup of people within the general population with some limited enhanced mental abilities, telepathy being the most common. I have chosen to keep these abilities very restricted so as not too push too far into what could be seen as magic. There may be people with genetically programmed banks of knowledge. Not sure yet. Something I'm playing with as a way of retaining a certain level of technological know-how to keep my Lost Colony from sliding back to the neolithic and having to crawl its way back up again. It's troublesome though, because if certain people can have genetically ingrained technical manuals, then why have the culture slide back at all? Still working on that...

The population is small and clustered together on the west coast of one of the two large continents. They stay clustered for reasons that play out in the rest of the story.

There are dolphins. Other than the humans, dolphins are the only other Earth creatures that have slipped into the story so far. They live in the seas on the other coast of the continent. They are the descendants of the original crew of the colony ship. Like the humans, some of them also have limited enhanced mental abilities. For the majority of the story their presence is something the humans no longer remember for reason that, again, play out in the story.

 

The Swallowing Abyss

Could be an interesting plot element Have you already planned something else?

@Cave Troll Have you read my "Favorite Quotes from your MC" posts

BTW, the first book doesn't see a lot of the inner workings of The Magical World, it's more about my characters learning about magic and using it secretly in our world. Even when we do learn more about The Magical World, the biggest thing about it is that it's a loose network of hundreds of house-sized and city-sized pocket realms, rather than a single country-sized or planet-sized realm.​

But yes, I am planning on turning a very cynical description of human nature into something humorous: I believe that bigotry is a fundamentally human instinct, not a universal instinct, so the other sentient races I've come up with do not have that in their biology. Individual non-humans may hold to a very strong "Us versus Them" view of the world, but that's considered to be a mental illness rather than something basic.

Humans, on the other hand, are very likely to look at the world this way, and this worldview dominating The Human World makes The Human World dangerous for any non-Human that would be perceived by The Human World as being an "Other" to be hunted down...

According to most of the humans in The Supernatural World. Non-Humans aren't as likely to say "Humans are bigots" as Humans are.

 

Sold!

 

Yeah, loosely (very loosely). Ok, so... My story starts in a town where the industry is shipbuilding. All kinds of ships. The idea sort of came to me that Lady Petla's grandfather, who started the shipyards in the town, was a Shipwright, capital S. He's born with the knowledge of shipbuilding. It's his ability. As soon as he can hold a writing instrument he's drawing draftsman quality sketches of all kinds of ships. It just comes to him. The knowledge of line of weight, shape and ballast, it's all imprinted into him.

I haven't fleshed the greater concept out more than that so far other than it's a very rare thing to happen. Don't know if I'm going to have a name for anyone born like this, or specific names for the banks of knowledge they possess. I was thinking maybe it happens with Farmers too, and other kinds of tasks that would be of value to a colony world just starting out.

 

Genre: Fantasy

Tech Level: Largely 11th century AD, though there are some inventions from later eras, like clocks and the printing press.

Synopsis: The story is set in the world of Venosea. There is magic, elemental in nature, but it's more like Avatar Bending than Wheel of Time channeling – you’re manipulating actual matter, not drawing upon energy to manifest an effect. Mages are called Wielders (working name for now)

A long time ago, there was a war that eventually enveloped most of the world; Wielders got involved and created elemental constructs they called dragons (dragons only existed in myths and legends, but the first creator wanted the biggest, baddest thing he could think of, hence a dragon). Wielders had to be close by to control these dragons, though, and if someone were killed while controlling it, his or her consciousness would inhabit the soulless construct, creating a new, sentient, and effectively immortal being. Naturally, this ended up causing even more chaos and bloodshed. A group of Wielders who opposed the war came up with a new plan - if they took magic away from the people, maybe it would halt the conflict and/or destroy the dragons (since they were sustained by magic). They gathered to perform a ritual during a lunar eclipse to temporarily bind magic, so that they could force everyone to take a step back and possibly negotiate a peace.

The ritual was well underway when a group of dragons who had gotten wind of this plan attacked the ritual. It went awry, and the resulting backlash shattered magic into its component elements. This caused catastrophic natural disasters - tidal waves, massive storms, volcanic eruptions - that wiped out 70% of the population, but it did end the war.

In the wake of the cataclysm, four new races - Avarii, Ma'jaat, Vargrim, and Valdameri - appeared, as well as eight new types of magic, known as the "lesser elements": Storm, Ice, Blood, Wood, Metal, Shadow, Lightning, and Light. Wielders are now able to use only one greater element (Air, Earth, Fire, Water), except for a rare throwback who can use either Air/Water or Earth/Fire (they're known as hybrids; because magic is broken, the elements fight for control of the Wielder's mind, driving them insane, if they don't die first). The Council tries to capture hybrids and "heal" them by cutting off access to the second element before they hurt themselves or others.

Most Wielders in Venosea are affiliated with the Order, a group that trains them in one of four Academies dedicated to each (greater) element. The Council, the group heading the Order, knows about the Wielders' involvement in the Shattering and worked to expung or alter records to that effect, so that no one else ever finds out. They have an uneasy truce with the dragons, who survived the cataclysm unscathed: as long as the dragons avoid exposing themselves for what they are, the Council won't hunt them down and destroy them.

Some of the dragons have gotten tired of immortality and want to became human again. Unfortunately, the process can't be reversed unless magic is reunited. Enter the Guild, the Order's main rival. They have records of the time when the war occurred, including the process to make dragons, which can be altered to unmake them.

In the middle of all this are two young Wielders: Kari Lindholm, a hybrid Air/Water Wielder, and Rayad, a Fire Wielder. Due to various circumstances, they're drawn into the conflict and end up being hunted by both sides (the Order and the alliance of bad guys) while trying to prevent another cataclysm.


Factions:
* The Order. About 70% of the Wielders in the world are affiliated with the Order and are thus beholden to its rules. The Council enforces said rules through sanctions and the judicious use of their enforcers, nicknamed the Hounds - a group of Wielders who hunt down rogue Wielders, capture hybrids, deal with the Order's enemies, and whatever else the Council tasks them to do.
* The Guild (working title). There are many smaller schools that train Wielders in various disciplines; of these, the Guild is the largest, controlling about 5% of the remaining Wielders (who are all Lightning, Fire, and Light). The Guild came about because of religious persecution against Wielders on the continent of Uhabat (long story); the Wielders formed their own nation and established a new Academy, separate from the Order, which they resented for not doing enough to prevent their plight (see: non-interference in national affairs, above). They want to cast down the Order and establish a new world order where Wielders take their rightful place at the top of the heap. The Triumvirate, the Guild's leaders, want to become dragons after magic is reunited, thus becoming an immortal, everlasting group of rulers.
* The dragons. There are around 150 dragons left, representing a wide range of interests. About a third of them follow Valacius Deliinus, the leader of the faction that wants to reunite magic and turn themselves back to normal. Many of them (both VD's faction and others) appear in the story, hindering or helping the MCs.
* Valacius. He has his own agenda in all this, which only tangentially coincides with the others: He wants to expose the Order's hypocrisy (the fact that they were responsible for the cataclysm and covered it up, their handling of hybrids, and their treatment of the dragons) and cast it down. He couldn't care less about his allies, but he's willing to work with them to achieve his goals.

 

(My main WIP is just Wales with fantasy elements, so not too exciting so here's my random world)

Genre: Fantasy
Tech level:Varied, one part is late 19th/ early 20th century Britain, one is 18th century East England/Nederlands and another is tribal.
Synopsis(es?): This is a world that I just made so I could explore several different plots to scrap and reuse and just mainly mess around...
After the continent of Guinea and all its nations (five) discovered the island empire of Witik tensions have been high between them.
Things that probably will happen-

• Civil war, due to the fact that technology is being brought in too fast and is not right for the islands.
  
• A rebellion of the Northern Isles (captured by the Witik empire) as continent traders give them access to new weapons.
• Traditional trades such as weaving, glass blowing and the such are replaced by factory driven industry in the Witik empire.

And then I just thought I could explore people's lives affected by all these goings-on, sometimes the people in the heart of it, sometimes people barely related. It's an icky mess really but I took last week off (just work and writing, all I did) to sort it out. Still not sorted though

Factions:
The Witik empire has a navy and a small group of imperial guards but no real army due to being an island nation. They do hire mercenaries though so there's lots of them about. These also work as bounty hunters and contract killers in times when they aren't being hired by the state. They have no faction name but are very influential.
Anti-cavy Legion- against the immigration and technology of people from the continent.