I’d like for my project to feel like a children’s story book, with complex characters and a hopeful, happy ending. With this is mind, I think that my target audience would be children from ages 8-15, but enjoyable to ages above that as well.
Adventure in many different settings, meeting loads of strange people and solving problems along the way.
The hero returns after an exile, older and wiser. There are also many parallels to the book of Exodus in my story with the Collapse representing both the Plagues of Egypt and then Judgement Day.
A surreal narrative with deeper metaphorical meanings in which a child travels to far away fantasy lands to learn important lessons (excluding Matilda on that last point).
I want my story to have an optimistic narrative and that despite the terrible actions of the Imperium, justice and empathy will ultimately prevail.
Authoritarian regimes are appealing to many because they offer simple solutions to complex problems with a disregard for nuance and empathy. To many, cruelty is easy and simple; animal even, but empathy is complex and difficult. When people are afraid they will abandon their empathy in favour of security, so it is in the favour of fascist regimes to stir up fear and manipulate the narrative.
In contrast to this, empathy is layered and requires patience, especially when dealing with those who are very different to one’s self. The message I hope to pass on to players or readers is that cruelty may be easy in the short run, but kindness reaps far greater rewards.
After establishing the environment I took to writing down my thoughts about the society that lives on this planet how they function.
Summary:
“The Elysians believe themselves to be descended from fallen angels that were cast out of paradise onto an empty prison planet as punishment for a terrible, but unknown, sin. Their ultimate goal is to prove themselves worthy of ‘ascension’ and initially disagreed on how to achieve this, with about half the population being cast out of their early settlements for differing ideologies. ‘The Exiles’ as they came to be known, claimed that the path to ascension was the road of kindness and compassion; that only by treating their fellow mortals as equals would they be able to prove themselves worthy once more. ‘The Elysians’ as they later named themselves, disagreed, claiming that they should attempt to reclimb their way to paradise through becoming as close to their angelic ancestors as possible. The Elysians set out to leave their prison planet and prove their superiority to the species of other planets.”
External:
• Elysians have a distinctly non-human biology, from millions of years of genetic editing.
• Several notable features of external Elysian anatomy is the absence of indicators of natural birth or sexual characteristics; Elysians do not have ‘belly buttons’ (the cut-off point of umbilical cords), cannot grow facial or body hair, have androgynous, yet unnatural features, are very slim and typically taller than humans. They tend to have an uncanny, eerie appearance. Elysians could be compared to elves or fallen angels (which they believe themselves to be). They are often beautiful, but in a non-human and unsettling way.
• Most Elysians lack a biological sex, as they are genetically engineered to. They procreate through an asexual process like cloning, known as ‘genetic weaving’. A long time ago they might have been like humans but have become reliant on ‘clean and efficient’ reproduction which has rendered them incapable of natural reproduction. Some exiled Elysians are “naturally born” however, as their ancestors have avoided genetic modification.
• Elysian eyes have 16 photoreceptors instead of the human 3 allowing them to see a much wider spectrum of colour and can see UV, and X-Ray light. Elysians can focus on much smaller details, much further away than humans can and their vision can focus much better in the dark.
• Elysians’ hearing is much more advanced than humans, as they can hear much higher and lower pitches. They also have a natural defence that muffles louder sounds while boosting quieter ones.
• Their skin is resistant to heat and cold, allowing them to survive in harsh conditions for significantly longer than humans.
Internal:
• The Internal biology of Elysians is where the differences become much more apparent. Elysians’ internal anatomy are like machines, designed to be as completely efficient as biologically possible. The size and organisation of several organs are changed, while some are removed or multiplied. Several pseudogenes are also removed.
• Noble Elysians and Worker Elysians have different biological structures, due to excessive gene editing. Noble Elysian cells never stop regenerating, allowing them to maintain a youthful appearance for thousands of years, ensuring that they remain in power. This means they can heal from most injuries and even regenerate limbs in extreme circumstances.
• The muscles have an increased ability to absorb kinetic energy, and the bones are strengthened by a natural, carbon-fibre substance in the marrow that make Elysians far more durable than humans.
• The lungs are larger than humans and possess the ability to recycle air internally, allowing for Elysians to hold their breath for much longer than humans.
• The stomach requires less sustenance and is less sensitive than humans’.
• The kidneys process waste at a significantly faster rate and the energy conserved by food is redirected more efficiently meaning less waste is disposed of, and inedible substances can be processed and filtered more efficiently rendering them immune to many digested poisons.
Mental:
• Most Elysians are slightly psychic, but only to an extent that allows them to receive psychic signals, not broadcast them. In very rare cases some Elysians are born with the ability to read and process the thoughts of others, as well as influence them. The psychic abilities are not engineered but genetic and inherited from their angelic ancestors and Elysians have yet to discover how to engineer these, so they remain completely random.
• These rare few Elysians are known as ‘the Chosen’ and are believed to be gifted by the heavens. Those who possess psychic abilities are seen as partially ascended and are revered and respected as saints or prophets.
• ‘Chosen’ often spend their entire lives training their psychic abilities with other Chosen, and those who born very powerful might be able to take brief glimpses into the futures of others, or receive prophetic visions, though the accuracy of these vary greatly.
• In exceptionally rare cases the gift of prophecy doesn’t need to be trained at all, and children are born with precognition. These children are once in a millennia, and beloved as prodigies, but suffer from unwelcome and sometimes terrifying visions of their future which can lead to delusions and paranoia.
The Caste System:
• Elysium has a strict caste system with very limited social mobility. It can be broken down into 3 castes; “Noble”, “Working” and “Serfs” caste.
• The Nobles Caste is comprised of Royals, Higher Nobles and Lesser Nobles. Higher Nobles are anyone within 2 degrees of separation from the Monarch, 5 degrees of separation from a High Lord or 2 degrees of separation from a Lesser Lord.
• Higher Nobles and Royals enjoy lives of leisure and luxury, with their every need met at the service of employed, wealthy Workers or Lesser Nobles. The Serfs Caste do not serve the Higher Nobles or Houses but do serve the Lesser nobles of Lesser Houses.
• Noble houses are massive, and make up large portions of the population, so Lesser nobles are common, and while they enjoy lives with servants, food and travel freedoms, they are still expected to work to some degree. Many Lesser nobles will seek employment in Star Ports, Colony Planets, Serfs Higher Nobles or their Houses assigned duty.
• All Higher Houses have a duty to oversee and protect their assigned lands and galactic quadrants, but Lesser Houses have more varied duties. For example, House Nox (under the jurisdiction of the Royal House) oversee the Archives, a great digital library that stores all known information about the Universe, while House Silvermere (under the jurisdiction of House Ivoryton) oversee and run the judicial, penal and legal system.
• The Working Caste in contrast have significantly less freedoms; they need state approval to travel between cities and are unable to travel off-world unless for business (rare exceptions for Medium Workers only since Lesser Nobles tend to work off-world). The Workers, however, are literate and well-educated with universal healthcare and an abundance of food. Workers tend to live comfortable lives, as the worst of undesirable work in society is left to the “Serfs Caste”.
• Workers living outside the city in smaller villages tend to have very limited technology, as if they are thousands of years behind in social development. The vast contrast between workers and nobles in biology, technology, architecture and lifestyle should make it seem as if they are almost functioning within a different genre or historical era.
• The Serfs Caste are a largely invisible portion of the population, existing only in the Undercities (a network that exists underneath the cities, where the Serfs can travel between their “homes” and their “workplaces”. Serfs are slaves in all but name comprised of mostly descendants of the prisoners from Ophir but also modern political prisoners and off-world hostages. Serfs are not to be seen or heard, and they are motivated with capital threats. If a server attempts escape into the wilds, the lives of their loved ones are forfeit, so deserters are rare.
The Caste system was inspired by:
• Feudal England: the monarch owns all land (for the Royal family, this means the Imperium) while the lords oversee it in portions and social mobility is non-existent.
• Ancient Rome: society is divided into three distinct classes: Upper, Common and Slave. Common citizens cannot hold political office and wear short tunics instead of long togas. Upper class members make laws and run the military, Commoners are often merchants and Slaves work undesirable labour jobs.
• Ancient Sparta: there are citizens with full rights (the Nobles), citizens with limited rights (the Workers) and a state-owned slave class (the Serfs).
• ‘Panem’ from the Hunger Games: an oligarchy authoritarian society run by a wealthy elite. In this analogy, the regular citizens of the capitol would be the Commoners, the Elite as the Nobles and the Districts as the Serfs. The Commoners work regular jobs that aren’t physically taxing, those in the district work hard, manual labour and the Elites spend their days at their own leisure, enjoying a decadent lifestyle at the expense of others.
• Ancient Egypt: society built on slaves largely comprised of an oppressed ethic group (the Israelites = the Ophirans)
The Senate:
The Senate oversees all policy and legislative decisions. Bills are presented to and written by Senators who then debate and discuss their worth. When the senate has finalized a minor bill it is pitched to the Monarch’s advisors who will either deny or accept a bill. If they accept the bill, the Monarch will sign or deny it.
The Senate is comprised of representatives from Noble Houses and significant industries, with each house selecting a representative internally. The representatives are usually high in the line of succession but not direct to avoid any potential compromising of political duties.
The Senate convenes in a great domed building atop a high tower in the centre of the Capitol known as ‘the Pantheon’. Senators sit in a rounded room with rows and balconies that correspond to the importance of the senator. In the centre of the room is a dais where a senator may speak, and a judge presides on a high balcony above to maintain order. The central room is surrounded by large, beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the history of the Imperium and a great skylight in the ceiling that the twin sunlight can shine through. Pillars of black, white and gold marble hold up the structure while statues of the greatest leaders stand ominously watching around the central space.
The Senate system was inspired by:
• England’s House of Lords: an inherited position that only the elites can hold, debating and discussing bills though the Monarch retains the ability to veto.
• Rome’s Senate: The Nobles are much like Ancient Rome’s patrician class, and the senate was comprised only of members of this class.
• Sparta’s Gerousia: Lawmaker hold their positions for life, but elections are open to manipulation by monarchs.
• Ancient Carthage: A monarch consults with a body of advisors comprised of the wealthiest in society. These advisors sit on a ‘Supreme Council’ and oversee the treasury, foreign policy and all law-making/military decisions.
The High Clergy:
The High Clergy is a religious order that exists outside of the Caste system. Predating even Good King Rychaed and the Imperium, the High Clergy was established in the founding days of Elysium, after the descension. Initially comprising of faithful individuals that sought to return the Elysians to their rightful position, the modern Clergy is now a collection of the ‘Chosen’, people with particularly strong psychic abilities who are given to the faith as infants. If a child is woven from any class below Higher Noble and is flagged for high psychic abilities, they will be handed to the High Clergy instead of their parental parties. Having a child given to the High Clergy is seen as a great honour, as those with strong psychic powers are seen as closer to the Ascendants. Those born as Higher Nobles with psychic powers are raised between monasteries and their family homes but are expected to give up all titles and claims upon reaching adulthood. The only exception to this rule are Royal children, who are expected to have some inherited psychic abilities, and automatically receive psychic training from members of the High Clergy.
The High Clergy’s mission remains to return their people to the Heavens, but they also oversee policy decisions in the senate to ensure the ‘righteous path’ is remained upon. The High Clergy write prophecy and monitor the scared Blue Rose flower, a symbol of their order. The Blue Rose flower is a delicate, crystalline rose that only blossoms exceptionally rarely at the highest mountain peaks, and crumbles to dust in the gentlest breeze. When the flower blooms it is said to be a sign from above that the intended path is being followed, and the Elysians are closer to ascension.
The High Clergy is led by a High Cleric, often an elderly individual from within the order who has trained their psychic abilities for so long that they are able to take brief glances into the future. The High Cleric’s main role is to receive messages from the Heavens, though no prophecy has been given since before the time of Good King Rychaed. The High Cleric will read the future of all young royals brought before them, though the accuracy varies, as the High Cleric can only see a very brief glimpse of a potential future. This glimpse is seen as a divine message.
The Clergy system was inspired by:
• Roman Catholicism: a religious order led by a ‘divinely’ chosen leader (initially) operating autonomously from monarchical authority. the aesthetics of the clergy also closely resemble those of roman Catholicism. Similar to Henry VIII’s religious reformation, Rychaed and his administration (or another undecided ruler descended from him) removed power from the head of the church and began hand-picking the leaders.
• The Oracles of Greece: oracles who live their entire lives in a temple or cloister who are consulted for prophecy
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Wikipedia. (2020). Helots. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helots Helots – Wikipedia
Wikipedia. (2022). Ancient Carthage. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Carthage#Government_and_politics Ancient Carthage – Wikipedia
Stanford, P. (2011). BBC – Religions – Christianity: Roman Catholic Church. [online] www.bbc.co.uk. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/catholic/catholic_1.shtml BBC – Religions – Christianity: Roman Catholic Church
During a lesson with Jane Hankin my classmate and friend showed me a PowerPoint presentation that documented her world, characters and the story of her IP. Seeing her thoughts so well presented made me realise I wanted to have a ‘bible’ of sorts that I could refer back to for information, instead of just trying to recall ideas I had come up with. After Ms. Hankin assigned to create similar PowerPoints for presentation to the class, so I returned home and started planning.
The Orbit:
I knew that I wanted my planet to be tidally-locked with binary suns before even starting development because the first mental image I had of this world was a town that sits in permanent, dual sunsets and a snow-globe city in a harsh desert. This presented some difficulties however, as I knew that binary systems are typically uninhabitable and aren’t optimal for life. I used several solar system simulators to ensure that the orbit would remain stable and predictable, and realised that I needed a dense centre of mass for this, so I amended the system into a trinary one, with a small dark neutron star now central to the system. I then studied the orbit and weight of stars in the trinary Proxima system to ensure the size and mass were realistic.
After establishing a consistent orbit I went to add my planet into the simulation and realised it would only work in a circumbinary (P-type) orbit with the black star acting as the anchor. This then allowed me to create a unique seasonal system, with summer occurring when the planet was closest to the larger star, winter when it was far from both and then a unique transitional season when the planet was closest to the smaller star.
I named the neutron star Mythra after the Persian God of the Sun ‘Mithra’, and the main star ‘Helios’ after the Greek God of the Sun, as these two cultures have inspired several areas on my planet.
The ‘Day Side’:
I envisioned the ‘Day Side’ or ‘Solar Chapter’ as an alien and harsh landscape with very few spots of refuge.
Since the Perihelion was the hottest part of my planet I researched the hottest places on Earth and found the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia; the bizarre, alien look combined with the scorching temperatures made this a great starting point for me. I wanted it to be a low area in a massive crater with an oppressive heat.
Surrounding the northernmost point I wanted a completely barren landscape with dust and volcanic craters, resembling the surface of Mars, or Fuerteventura where I holidayed last Easter. The strange and barren landscape of Fuerteventura was initially depressing to me, but I came to appreciate the beauty in the uniqueness of it, and the slightly unearthly feel the desert had.
Moving further south I envisioned a ring of red mountains surrounding the shallow ‘Badlands’ crater, filled with canyons and tunnels (remnants of extinct rivers) that wound through the rock. I wanted the tall plateaus to be unbearably warm, but the shaded canyons to be slightly cool.
The Northern Red Wastes is a desert that covers the remaining sections of the Solar Chapter. I imagined it would be sparse and varied between empty red sand dunes to tall sandstone monoliths. Wadi Rum (in Jordan) and Uluru in Australia were my two main inspirations. I wanted to include a middle eastern desert due to the biblical parallels in my story, and the inclusion of sandstone monoliths came from my visit to Australia since I thought they were stunning and unique.
Though it was unlikely to matter much for my project, I also wanted to think about what kind of plants and animals could survive in the Solar Chapter, if any at all. I remembered that the shadows would be static, allowing me to create shadowed, cooler portions of the desert where plants could survive. I then researched aquifer systems in deserts and how plants could be sustained by them, to ensure that the environment was functioning realistically.
After establishing plant life I thought about animals knowing that they would be rare, and likely only small scavengers as well as adapted for the harsh conditions.
Once I had established the natural landscape I thought a bit about the settlements. While I imagine there are several small settlements across the area, each governed by a Lesser Noble house, the main City both of this region and the Planet would be on the border of the Redmount and the Northern Red Wastes, likely sheltered by a crater or ring of canyons. The city would have to be completely enclosed and protected inside a climate-controlled dome with a consistent temperature and an artificial day/night cycle. I imagine the buildings as tall, layered skyscrapers with intersecting floors and bridges, built in a white stone (maybe marble with gold veins) or similar material. The Nobles would live on the higher floors, with beautiful statues, stained glass windows, golden ornamentation and rooftop gardens (complete with ponds, pools, topiaries and flower gardens), while the Workers would live below, in less fancy but still beautiful buildings. Fountains, large open plazas, towering multi-floor statues and high walkways add character to the city.
In the bowels of the city, however, I imagine a network of tunnels, poorly maintained and patrolled by a brutal police force, where the Serfs live. These tunnels would connect different buildings or sections of the city where they work, so that the Serfs wouldn’t have to be seen outside their working positions by the city’s population. This was inspired by the ‘Underbelly of Dalaran’ from World of Warcraft, the ‘Leyendell Sewers’ from Elden Ring and Victorian era ‘servant doors’. I wanted this to highlight the giant gulf in class and to show that despite the city’s beautiful surface, a darker corruption exists below, where the citizens rarely think about.
Inspired by the biblical city of Ophir, where all the bricks were said to be made of gold, is a ruined city of the same name. Structurally inspired by Petra in Jordan and ‘Ironforge’ from World of Warcraft, I wanted to create an underground city that had once served as the heart of ‘Exile’ society. While the exiles were a historically nomadic peoples, they once had settlements in an attempt to leave that life behind, the greatest of these being Ophir. I want the city to have been destroyed long ago, by the supposed ‘Good King’ Rychaed, in ‘fall of Pompeii’ style devastation. This city could be a permanent reminder of the barbarity of the so-called ‘most civilized species in the universe’, as well as a catalyst for character development upon its discovery.
Now I imagine the remaining Exiles live scattered in small, subtle settlements in the canyon walls of the Redmount in an attempt to not draw attention to themselves.
The Twilight Band is an exclusive, thin strip of land through the middle of Elysium that only the wealthiest can afford to live in, due to the year-long habitability. This area was the very first place that I imagined when I thought of this world, and I knew this was where I wanted my protagonist to have grown up.
The Sunrise Sea was a later addition to my project, after it was suggested to me that a sea could serve as a natural barrier to people attempting to cross into the Twilight Band. I wanted the reefs to feel tall, vibrant and expansive to highlight the unearthly feeling, and the animals to be strange and colourful. Bioluminescent plankton or algae could make the waves glitter when they hit the beach, and small islands/atolls could be fun to navigate in gameplay setting.
The Meadows was the first place I thought of in this project; a golden field with multicoloured flowers and an orange sky, pink clouds and a red sun. This eventually became a red sun and a gold sun, and the area became more and more reminiscent of Tuscany, or Umbria.
The Glades would be dappled through the meadows, creating a larger biome. I wanted the trees to have gold leaves, white bark and a yellow sky, but this eventually changed to any variety of autumn colours for the leaves. ‘Eversong Woods’ from World of Warcraft was a big inspiration for this area, as that had always been my favourite starting zone in the game. New England in America is another inspiration, as I have always thought their autumns looked incredible.
The Rosen glow peaks were inspired by a phenomenon called ‘Alpenglow’, and the Ladin folk story behind it. The story goes that; “A dwarven king with a beautiful pink rose garden in the mountains stole away a local girl to be his bride by turning himself invisible. However, when the townsfolk came to save her they saw the crushed roses beneath his feet and were able to find him. In a rage, the dwarven king cursed his garden to never be seen in day or night, but forgot to mention the sunset. Now, whenever the sun sets, a pink glow descends on the mountains, which from a distance looks like his rose garden.” When I first heard this story in the Dolomites I thought it sounded fascinating, and I wanted to include a reference to it in my world.
In a story sense, this area serves as a barrier into the ‘night side’ or Lunar Chapter, and is connected to the Blackridge (another mountain range). This area also has a darker, more purple sky due to its proximity to the ‘night side’.
The Twilight Band would be the only section of the planet with extensive wildlife due to its optimal conditions for life. I imagine that predators are extinct due to Elysian intervention so the wildlife is peaceful. I think that cervids (deer, elk, stags etc), large felines (cats) and large aves (birds) are the most common animals, though I think they have interesting features such as multicoloured feathers/pelts/fur and odd ears/antlers/wings where they may not typically be or on animals that do not traditionally have them.
Similarly, I imagine the flora is abundant and colourful, though I haven’t gone as far into planning for this due to its low importance.
The Emberhall (or Embercourt, or Lilystone Court – names still to be decided) is another city also important to my protagonist as I imagine this is where she grew up. This place was inspired by Mediterranean villages, Lake Como, ‘Naboo’ from Star Wars and ‘Silvermoon City’ from World of Warcrft.
This area felt very personal to me, so I wanted it to be made up of places I loved. I have often holidayed in Tuscany, Croatia or Greece during the summer and the Alps in the Winter, so I wanted it to feel like it could be a mix of these places.
The Lunar Chapter is less developed in my mind, but I know that I want it to be eerie, cold and very different to the rest of the planet.
The Blackridge and Darkewood serve as a natural border between areas. The Blackridge is a range of tall, icy mountains and glaciers with steep drops and frozen waterfalls that are unscalable for anyone without advanced technology (anyone below the Noble class, essentially). The mountains are inspired by Scandinavia’s fjords and the forest by the Siberian Taiga.
The Blackmire was a later addition to my project, and I am still unsure on whether or not this area will be cut in production.
The Root Network is where I imagine an exile settlement exists in the South.
The two cities I have envisioned are the homes of two major families. Ivoryton live in a gothic, vampiric city inspired by ‘Revendreth’ from World of Warcraft and ‘Hogwarts’ from Harry Potter, surrounded by a town inspired by ‘Gilneas’ from World of Warcraft and Bavarian towns, while Silvermere live in a long (but not tall) palace inspired by Versailles and the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, surrounded by a town inspired by Edinburgh and Glasgow (where I grew up).
The paternal family of antagonist Lucien are Ivoryton (though he is identified with the Royal House), while a secondary protagonist Rosamine is a Silvermere, so I wanted to have an idea of what these two cities looked like specifically.
Finally I wanted to establish the Stellar Chapter. This region would be significantly smaller than all others, as it was given to the Starling family belatedly.
The Southern peaks was designed around a character from House Starling; Polaris, since I had already decided his vague design some time ago. Since Polaris’ clothes are star-patterned and iridescent, I wanted a beautiful night sky and a multi-coloured aurora.
Lumicity looks very different the rest of the planet, design wise, as it was constructed very recently. This area should look like cyberpunk cities, colourful and luminescent, since it was built and is overseen by the Starling Corporation, a space-travel tech company. This city would be entirely enclosed, much like the Capitol, due to the freezing temperatures outside the dome.
The Everdark is the Antihelion, and was designed around my childhood fear of the dark. There is no light, and no warmth. I don’t want to be sure if life exists or not on top of the ice, as it keeps both my reader and myself on edge.
I do think that I want life to exist under the ice however, as the idea of something frightening being beneath you is scary to me. This life could be sustained by deep-sea underwater vents.
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