Lore Post Masterlist

Just had an idea for a zine where each issue begins with a short description of an original fictional world and each artist has to create something from that world. Whether it’s a grand landscape piece, a scientific article about one of the world’s strange creatures, or a short personal story from one of the inhabitants, every artist would contribute something to the collaborative fiction of the new world.

Part 1, The High Realms(Tilemgie- Boriasonde) Drafts

The proper Boriasonde(Tilemgie) post is here: https://at.tumblr.com/elvaria-project/universal-lore-part-1-the-high-realmstilemgie/yo1donzt3f70

If I were to assign one word to each of the stories of the High Realms, Altersae's would be fear, Spaelcul's would be frustration, Voiskana's would be vengeance, and Tilemgie's would be hope.

I wanted to convey that the Tilemgians are the ones that will be able to let go and forge a future for themselves, and thus the story ends on a hopeful note, but I'm not sure if I managed that correctly, so here's the versions that didn't make the cut. I'm not going to bother adding the writing taglist to this post since it's very trivial.

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Version 1(Incomplete)

Note: This one got chopped because it would've been too long and also too dramatic. I also felt that the first part was very irrelevant so I just scrapped the whole thing.

Howling sandstorms tore across the dunes of Desaebla, leaving behind swirling grains of sand that remained afloat in the skies.

The skies would remain a burnt yellow in hue as the storms persisted for many days, but not all of the desert was battered by these storms, for far away from the Asurei-shielded Dalirnan cities was a canyon surrounded by strange magic.

To the eyes of outsiders, there was no canyon, and they felt no pull to travel across or near it. To them, it was simply another dune among the many that covered Desaebla. To those more observant, they saw the air ripple ever so slightly when sand grains passed through it, but they assumed it was only a hallucination from the scorching heat and felt a compulsion to leave it be.

But the canyon was no strange phenomena akin to the air-lands that dotted the skies or the perpetually ablaze lands of Emorscal, it was unnatural, carved by the hands and power of many that came from a realm afar.

The strange beings known as Tilemgians were once a grand race that held power over the concept of Time, for their creator Tilisnet was the embodiment of Time and the one that granted each Cycle a beginning and end and the ability to progress.

Without Time, there would have been no start of life or creation to be born upon the Space of Seclir, and there would not have been a definitive beginning of this existence for Avaas to cultivate.

This Cycle, though, was always bound to meet a short end from the circumstances Avaas had seeded. Tilisnet knew of the beginning and end of each existence, but it was not his duty to speak of these, only to ensure that Time would still flow to its natural end. His people would also know of this, and they understood that it was not their place to change fate, as no one could, and that they were not preservers of individual worlds or civilizations, as that was the duty of Avaas and his people. They had foreseen the end of their realm of Boriasonde and the disappearance of Tilisnet, but they were never able to prepare for it or warn the other High Realms of it, as this existence had an ordained fate from the start of this Cycle, and this fate dictated that their race would fall from grace.

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Version 2(Complete-ish)

Note: his was supposed to be a comic but then I realized that I cannot draw in a comic format for my life. I'll stick to single shots thank you very much. The character in yellow is not the same character as the one in the proper Tilemgie post. This would've been titled Clockwork Bird. Also please disregard any issues with the text colouring, I cannot fix it at all. Tumblr is just making it worse each time I try.

"I still hear the whispers carried by time, you know. Not ones that carry orders from Tilisnet, of course, but whispers from people."

"That's not very encouraging considering our current circumstances. Are you certain that you're not hallucinating?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not hallucinating. "But it turns out there's still things to learn. "There's a word mortals have that we don't- miracles. When good things happen without reason or explanation."

"We're long past believing in that sort of thing. Our realm is gone and our powers are diminishing. Many of us are scattered across all points of existence and some of us are unfortunate enough to become sick from the memories we hold."

"But we're still alive, aren't we? Though we don't have much power compared to our past selves, we still have power and we can still survive on these mortal planets. These are miracles, if not to you then at least to me."

"At this point I don't consider our survival as a miracle, more like a tribulation. At any moment we could disappear, and at any moment time could cease to exist and this existence's past, future, and present could collide and end this Cycle."

"But that hasn't happened yet. Time still flows, even if the sands do not flow entirely in the right direction. But living on the mortal plane for the past few hundred thousand years has taught me to focus more on the little things rather than the grim bigger picture. "We're no longer bound solely to our duty- we can afford to care more about ourselves as individuals, if not be a little selfish."

"Selfishness brings irrationality. You are becoming irrational, sister. This is not good for us, and we cannot forget our duties that we were created for, as without us there is no time."

"I never said to forget our duties entirely, just that we have more "freedom"- another idea I learned from eavesdropping on mortals. "Boriasonde being destroyed and TIlisnet disappearing at first seemed like tragedy when I looked into our future eons ago. But to be honest, I've forgotten a lot of what came after. I've chosen to let go of many memories in order to live like this."

"But I have chosen to remember."

"And you've become sick as a result. "Fate is a strange thing, and I know there's no one that embodies it since it's the natural progression of entropy, but I don't see this fate as our end. "I think of it as our signal to change. It's going to hurt, but maybe change will redefine our place in this existence."

"And you think the memory overload is a "miracle"? The permanent death of many billions of us, the impending doom of our kind, and the loss of Tilisnet? "This was not a good change, and you saw how change led to our current predicament- in fact the whole of existence's predicament! The Abyss was never meant to exist, Avaas' desire for change doomed us all. The change you suggest, there is no guarantee that it will not end us."

"Tell me, when I release this clockwork bird, does it matter if it remembers me after I die?"

"Our situation is not comparable to a clockwork bird."

"Just humour me."

"...No, but birds are not bound by-"

"-When I set it free and let it pass through the barrier, this being of clockwork will become a real bird that breathes and bleeds. It has no duty other than to survive, and whether or not it does shouldn't be determined by me. When I am left in the past, the bird will have a choice to remember or forget and to stay or go. "If it stays, it will die without knowing the world outside and never realize what it could've been. If it goes, it will learn of the many wonders of life outside this canyon and be able to live a life of it's own choice. "Our fall from grace was a tragedy, yes, but we are the clockwork bird with the choices in front of us."

"...If we change, who will be left to maintain time when we become a new race?"

"As long as we still exist, Time will endure. We will never bleed red like the elves on this planet, but we'll always be connected to the Sands of Time, and so will the race that comes after us. "The bird is still a clockwork being in its heart, and the essence of clockwork will be carried by its children if it chooses to have any. "We should fly freely in order for Time to live on, we can't be afraid of mortality forever. Even if flying defies parts of our duties, we will still carry on the essence of them. "No one has to be sick anymore from the memories. Actually, we don't even need all of our memories for our duties- we just need to know how to fix and maintain Time, not all the details of said Time."

"And what if the day comes where our memories will prove crucial to whether or not this existence will outlast the Abyss?"

"Write them down and give them to the Altersaeans and Spaelculans. We can warn them now without the duty stopping us. "This is the miracle all of us have been looking for since our creation. Even if some of us never wanted to fly, we've all wanted to be able to warn others in the hope that maybe, just maybe we could change fate. We don't all have to die. This existence doesn't have to end this way."

"...Then for once I will believe in your irrationality and "miracles"...but are you certain that the sickness will end if we forget the future and past?"

"I'm not going to say certain, because I gave up foresight for my life. "But just take the chance so we can live for the first time since our creation- and that clockwork bird will be our guide."

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Okay so one last notes section. I chose to not(and also kinda forgot to) mention the whole "there's pretty much no one managing time right now except like a very small population of Tilemgians" thing. Time may or may not get messy when I work on the present and future of Elvaria itself.

Also felt the need to slightly elaborate on line "We now can evolve as the drakes on the elven planet and the crystalline structures on the pseudo-planet have done." in the proper post, mainly the crystalline part because the drake stuff is in the Dust Era post.

So I'm probably never going to talk about the pseudo-planet since that draws away from the focus on Elvaria(which the realms posts are already doing so I need to do less of that), but basically Elvaria's solar system has six planets, and of those six two of them have life, being Elvaria itself and the pseudo-planet. They'll pretty much never interact so it's very irrelevant, but the life on that planet is crystalline time-crystals and the planet itself is in a phase state because of it's composition also being mostly time crystals. Tilemgians on there are doing pretty good in comparison to the ones on Elvaria since the pseudo-planet is closer to sands of time than any other.

Day 9 of Creatuanary :

This prompt is actually a nice opportunity to talk about the chirpers:

The big light-blue spot on the sides of the chirpers head first evolved as a sort of camouflage, mimicking the eye of one of their former predators : groups of young Paddlesnatchers. These would be intimidated upon seeing, what they assumed to be, a larger solitary Paddlesnatch, and would give up the hunt. (in some cases at least)

They remained in the chirpers society as they find them to be beautiful, having many ways to emphasize their size or complexity.

Of the Trifold Eclipse and a Bygone Era, an Elvarian Short Story

The sky was not always smothered in ash and debris, and we of the three kingdoms were not always so somber and defeated. 

We were once proud and mighty peoples, we that held the power of the three moons and sun of this world, but all that is left of our radiant legacy are ruins and shriveled bodies.

All we have left to hope for is to remember the past and pray for a future to carry on our memories, and so do I leave this story on this wall to preserve for whomever finds this some thousands of years from now.

When there was still a sky and celestial bodies in our sight, we would celebrate an event known as the Trifold Eclipse where all the moons of this world would align with the sun and cast a silvery shadow upon this world, and this only happened once every seven thousand years.

We of Lunaris would come out from the night on this rare occasion where we did not have to fear the weakness the daylight brought to us, and those of Solaris would come out from the day on this rare occasion where they did not have to fear the weakness the dark of night brought to them.

Those of Urthalis would prosper most at this time, as both the sun and moons were present, and this eclipse would last one week.

We would hold vibrant and plentiful feasts and festivals in the main city of each kingdom, traveling throughout the world in a sort of drunken pilgrimage in our finest festival garb. Tournaments would be held to test each others’ physical and magical prowess, and cities and villages would shine brightly with the celestial energy that bathed the world in shimmering light.

Though the flow of the violet Asurei was weak during this eclipse, this was a time of celebration for our victory against the Dak-Shan many, many generations ago, and a time to thank the celestial bodies for shining upon us and granting us their power.

We were all at our most powerful during this one week, and on the eve of the final day of the eclipse, every citizen would gather at their capital city and channel their power into crystal vessels.

The vessel of Solarine shone bright gold like the sun that they drew from,

The vessel of Lunaris shone pure white like the pale moons,

And the vessel of Urthalis shone a warm vermillion like the vivid sunrise and sunset.

These vessels represented the empires we had built and the legacy our ancestors left for us to continue, and in these vessels too were our well wishes to the future generations and prayers for our empires to last forever.

On the first light of the last day, Solaris would raise their vessel into the sky and watch as it became another star in the sky.

On the sunset of the last day, Urthalis would raise their vessel into the sky and they too would watch as it became another light in the rays of the descending sun.

On the midnight of the last day, we of Lunaris would raise our vessel into the sky and watch it as it followed the separating moons and disappeared into the blackened night.

As the vessels faded from the sight of the three kingdoms, so too did the eclipse’s corona leave the skies and thus did this time of celebration end.

We never thought that The Fall would occur less than six months after the last Trifold Eclipse.

Now, this is but a distant memory that fades with each year that passes, and over four Trifold Eclipses should have happened by now…

But we no longer have anything to celebrate with a shrouded sky, and so do I entrust this memory, and thus the legacies of our fallen empires, to you from the future.

If we do not survive this age of darkness, please let our memories do so in our stead. -------------------- The Trifold Eclipse is no longer celebrated by the people of Elvaria after the many tens thousands of years of darkness and strife, and there is only one kingdom left that directly draws from celestial power. Of the many traditions of the Cycelian empires left behind in the distant past, this festival is one of such that will never see a revival. The memory endured through stories passed down through the ages, but the spirit of it died with its era. Some believe that there should be a revival of it for the preservation of the past's glory, but the majority believe that those days should be left to time in order to look forward to a new golden age.

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Taglist for writing-

@aneci

If anyone else would like to join the taglist, feel free to DM me or send in an ask! I will also have a separate taglist for art posts.

yo! do you have a tag list for your writing/worldbuilding posts? absolutely love your stuff but i cannot keep up b/c of the amount if people i follow haha

Hello and thank you so much! I don't have a tag list yet but I can add some from here on out for art and writing posts 👐

Types of intelligence for your OCs

What kind of intelligence does your character posses? Based on theory of multiple intelligences, these are some ideas what kind of smarts your characters might posses that aren’t the typical academic or street smarts. 

1. Visual-spatial (space smart)

These people are good at visualizing things, seeing in 3D, being able to imagine how things look even out of sight from the information they have about it. They are good with directions, maps, charts and pictures. Eye for drawing, patterns and puzzles. 

Especially useful for: architects, engineers, artists, pilots

2. Linguistic-verbal (word smart)

The ability to use words well, when writing and speaking. Typical strenghts are telling stories, memorizing information, love for reading, skill with words, debating and persuasive skills, adept at explaining complicated subjects. Also tend to be great at languages. 

Especially useful for: writers, journalists, lawyers, teachers, public speakers

3. Logical (reasoning smart)

Not necessarily but possibly mathematical, these people are great at reasoning, pattern recognition and logical analysis. Enjoyment for abstract thinking and ideas, excellent problem-solving skills and logical argumentation are other common traits. Pattersn, categories, relationships. 

Especially useful for: mathematicians, accountants, scientists, and detectives.

4. Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)

Great hand-eye cordination, physical movement, often skilled at sports, dancing and creating things with their hands. Learn and remember rather by doing than listening or reading. Sense of timing and mind-body union excellent. 

Especially useful for: dancers, sculptors, actors, athletes, surgeons, crafts people, soldiers, police officers

5. Musical (sound smart)

Sensitive listeners. Thinking in patterns, recognizing rhythms, notes and melodies, good at remembering tunes, these people often enjoy singing or playing instruments. Often show great understanding of musical structure and know quickly when they hear someone going off-key. 

Especially useful for: musical teachers, composers, musicians, 

6. Interpersonal (people smart)

These people are very good at understanding and interacting with others. From verbal to non-verbal communication, they are proficient at assessing motivations, moods and desires of others and seeing things from multiple perspectives. Great communicators, create positive relationships with others easily and solve group dynamics and group conflicts well. Also enjoy discussions, debates and teamwork. 

Especially useful for: psychologists, counselors, salespeople, politicians, philosophers, teachers, managers, team leaders

7. Intrapersonal (self smart)

The opposite of interpersonal smarts is the intrapersonal intelligence, where people are very in tune with themselves and their feelings. They are honest with themselves, enjoy self-reflection, analysing theories and ideals, love daydreaming, and show great self-awareness and assessment of their own strenghts and weaknesses. 

Especially useful for: writers, philosophers, theorits, scientists

Bonus types: 

8. Creative (ideas smart) 

People that show exceptional curiousity, get inspired by little things around them and connect ideas and concepts in an unsual way. It’s a more feeling-based, spontaneous type of intelligence that gets less recognition, but brings immense benefits in all fields. 

Especially useful for: artists, marketers, scientists, concept artists, 

10. Abstract (concept smart)

Drawn to abstract ideas, these people enjoy deep discussions, don’t like to settle on one truth and ask questions that have no easy or no answer at all. Connecting, conceptualizing, analysing, listening and putting things together, they are great at seeing things from a distance, seeing the whole and not just the pieces. 

Especially useful for: scientists, philosophers, researchers, theorists, designers, analysts

Writing advice masterlist

The Current State of Elvaria

Ember War is over, everyone is sad and trying to bring back order but some people try to celebrate because no more war So because Salgirtus is dead and had no kids, the throne now passes to his younger sister, so it's now Queen Lidisina Mirankis Zhonal of Zodiana Leonnox didn't want to deal with the humiliation of Flaerna getting its ass handed to it and also didn't want to deal with the political fallout so he abdicates his throne to his cousin, now known as King Garaxyran Alaystav Kolvastran of Flaerna With the old Treaty of Elorinar having been violated many times over, a new treaty is drafted by Queen Lidisina and the representatives sent by they various kingdoms around Elorinar in the hopes that peace will last longer, called the Treaty of Elemortia Floernia, Dalirna, Zodiana(by default for obvious reasons), Walekria, and Föllen Alatsa immediately vote to ratify it because they're sick of war(Warring Era lasted for 22,500 years) Offers are extended to Åskorhal, Yukiosa, Lustarise, Jivankova, and Avianaen(they were found around the end of the Ember War), Queen Vethørigya of Åskorhal basically tells Lidisina to fuck off with the terms but Yukiosa and Avianaen would agree to ratify the treaty

Jivankova isn't even visible to the other kingdoms because of their weird ass barrier that makes Kavathanar "disappear" so they don't have to deal with other kingdoms Lustarise just doesn't care, they don't sign and return to isolation but send some of their mages to Dalirna for a bit to help them rebuild and recover due to similar ideals regarding the pursuit of knowledge Flaerna is pretty much forced into it because A, they don't have the forces to bother trying to fight it off, B, they kinda started the war, and C, the other kingdoms are in the position of being able to straight up invade if needed to force a signature from Flaerna So what made Flaerna and Åskorhal so against signing it? They'd be forced to demilitarize(this term specifically aimed at Flaerna), and should any kingdom be attacked by an outside kingdom, all the kingdoms in the alliance detailed by the treaty must get involved to quickly end the war and quell the threat through war Basically, if shit happens, they get another continent spanning war and Åskorhal doesn't want to deal with that The Military Sect of the Scorching Council is dissolved and all of the soldiers in the Flaernan military are honourably discharged, with the ones that fled returning to Flaerna to help rebuild So now the kingdoms that ratified the treaty are in a massive alliance called Elemortia, or the Order of the Elemental Kingdoms, and they also have to help each other rebuild which also includes setting aside what happened in the Ember War so The Beef™ doesn't create yet another war

Lidisina also creates the Starsworn Council in Zodiana to remove some ruler duties from herself because now that war is over she has to deal with a whole lot of shit and also because, well, her immediate family is dead so she doesn't want to solo rule or appoint a singular advisor she may have to marry to for public image

She also sails to Yinorael as a second thought realizing that it would be a good idea to make the two kingdoms over there enter a Non-Aggression pact so war doesn't break out there since it was terrible in Elorinar Both Hikarina and Yūregina choose to ratify it, but on terse agreement, so now there's the Order of Yiagilia but it's not a very stable order Good enough for now though So now it's year 233 post-Ember War, what's going on now? Yūregina, in a bid to try to stop the plague, has been experimenting with necromancy since it turns out that dying and being reanimated does actually stop the progression of the plague, but of course, no reproduction(if anyone wants further elaboration on how Yūregian necromancy works and why it's only them that can do it, just ask in my ask blog Consulting the bored Altersaean) and Hikarina doesn't like it at all They're still at their trade disputes though There's a running problem along trade cities(usually on borders of kingdoms) where a strange shadowy elf-like being is sowing chaos in the cities and capital cities are on high alert The Fractured Span, a section of the sea floor that's basically collapsing in on itself, is, well, collapsing in on itself and Walekrian researchers are trying to figure out wtf is happening Yukiosan researchers are still researching strange relics that are out of place in the technological skill of the modern and Classical Kingdoms(as far as they know because they don't know about big brain Estellis) Jivankova only opens up their barrier every 5,000 years for a week at a time so right now there has only been one expedition from outside kingdoms to document and understand the lands of Kavathanar and the Jivankira Elthir, missives are sent between kingdoms to exchange information about each other Hikarina just has a little cultural dispute with some people petitioning for the capital city of Arenlia to have the name changed to Punjaranm-Ka-Sanhar, as Hikarinian culture has diverged much from Solarian culture. The royal family has left the name as is to keep as a reminder of the legacy of the Three Kingdoms And of course, some brewing political problems in Föllen Alatsa because classist divides. So basically, Caldivelle is the only city at the mouth of the caves and sprawls along the sides and ground of the cave mouth. The higher up you go, the more wealthy the people are, with some manors built into the cave walls or protruding from them. Closer down you go and into the cave are wealthy craftsmen, and anything further than surface level overshadowed by extravagant buildings from the upper echelons of society are mostly upper middle class dwellings. Even further down are workers. Some people have openly questioned the nobility and royalty about wtf is with the very obvious divides, but they've been dismissed so far since there's no one actually homeless and people live pretty okay lives because of employment and shelter programs to account for a slowly growing population. Very little social mobility though, especially for those that come from the Lower Gem Deposit Tunnels. Caleivelle's Alhiana Alatsi residents especially take issue as if the tunnels collapse one day, they all go down. There isn't a way out other than lifts and long winded routes and a small amount of teleporters, and there aren't many Alhiana living in Caldivelle to relay their complaints to

heya! I don't know if you celebrate but:

merry christmas❣️🎁 and a happy new year!✨

Hello!!! I don't really celebrate but happy holidays to you too 🎉!

If you're from NA I hope you're doing well and keeping warm these past days, the weather is brutal right now-

(source)

Unsplash -  photography, illustration, & art

Pixabay - same as unsplash

Pexels - stock photos and videos

Getty Images - photography & illustration

Veceezy - vectors and clipart

Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)

StockSnap.io - stock photos

Canva - needs login but has lots of templates

Library of Congress - historical posters and photos

NASA - you guessed it

Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie

Even Adobe has some free images

There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without plagiarizing! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own. 

Please add on if you know any more resources for free images <3

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