#collection.queries

[veneritia]

does your world have magic? if so, what is it like?

Congratulations anon! You somehow managed to do the impossible: make me worldbuild WCTD's magic system

I need you to know that this one ask consumed me for a day and a half and ended up spawning a near 1k word page in my wip notion.

Genuinely glad you asked this. No I am not ok

Anyway, here's the highlights of that doc

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While there are various theories and schools of thought about the subject depending on where you grew up and who you ask, there are a few universal characteristics about magic that everyone considers to be true (with exceptions).

All human beings are born with a mystical energy that gives them life***

Imbuing this energy into a target allows it to be controlled; this act is called THAUMATURGY (i.e. magic)

***The notable exception to this are deadbornes, which are humans that are born without this mystical energy (ichor). Though considering that almost all infants with these condition die during or shortly after delivery, it can be said that existence of deadbornes is the exception that proves the rule. As of yet, the etiology of this condition is unknown.

The earliest and oldest demonstrations of thaumaturgy centered around elemental magic: earth, wind, water, fire. The elements are considered to be the rawest form of energy manipulations. As these elements are present in abundance everywhere, they are the easiest to become ‘in-tuned’ to.

There is, however, no universally agreed upon origin of this energy or understanding of how it works. In the Raian continent alone, many scholars have spent lifetimes studying how this mystical energy works and experimenting its limits. A great amount of the current treatises on magic are based around the works of the long destroyed Il’Saharin House of Wisdom. The House of Wisdom referred to a guild of libraries and scholars during the second Saharin Dynasty in central Raia. These scholars amassed and translated a large collection of books and scrolls from all parts of the globe, with a particular focus on magic. This centralized hub of information is what contributed to the Saharin Kingdom’s golden age of arcanum, as the works its scholars produced would greatly influence Raia’s understanding of magic.

One of the most prevailing theories that caught on is that this mystical energy was divinely wrought. According to Trinitarian lore, the goddess of creation Meidther used her own blood (and in some versions, cuts out her own heart) when imbuing life into humans. Among cultures that prayed to this pantheon, this myth is what influenced the idea that this mystical energy is similar to, or flows parallel to, blood. And so they called this energy ICHOR.

Maybe right about now you're thinking "okay you've said all this, but you still haven't explained how magic actually works." This is because I still don't know. Not fully, anyway.

The basic concept of thaumaturgy is that a successful spellwork is done by enacting the right set of commands (spells) imbued with sufficient enough energy (ichor). Though these concepts are non-quantifiable, many teachers like to simplify this idea for new students with the equi ation W = C+E (or if you are in Aetier, W=S+I).

Beyond that, the use of thaumaturgy is further divided into three schools of learning: Exoturgy, Somaturgy, and Lexiturgy.

EXOTURGY is the command and manipulation of objects in the environment. It is the oldest of the three as well as what comes to mind when people think of the word magic. The largest field of study centers around elemental manipulation.

SOMATURGY is the manipulation of the cells, flesh, and energies of the human body. Much of somaturgy lies within the context of healing sickness and wounds, though there have been some recent interest in its application toward body augmentation (e.g, temporarily strengthening bones and muscles, and inhibiting pain receptors).

LEXITURGY is the use of physical script inscribed on an object to host a particular series of commands (i.e. enchantment). It is the youngest out of the three schools, having only existed within the past couple of centuries, and has revolutionized the way magic is thought. It is highly experimental but its potential applications promises to not only make magic more accessible to the untrained, but to expand the limits of how and what kind of magic can be performed.

--

And that's a wrap! (for now). Trust me when I say there was more but most of it is extraneous stuff that probably won't feature much in WCTD

Special thanks to Nicole for opening my eyes to the unfortunate thing that is magic academia. Please let me out of this hell

[veneritia]

Do you have a map of the world in When Comes The Dawn, or can you explain the geography? I'm kind of confused about the kingdoms.

Thanks for the ask anon!!!

I did have a map for WCTD, but it was so old and outdated that Aetier was still a kingdom that bordered fantasy fake Germany. So to answer this ask, I went ahead and made a new map! (Shout out to Pris @serpentarii for sending the map tutorial they use, I owe you my life). It's not super duper accurate, just because there are details I forgot to add, and I'm still squinting at the general shape of the borders, but its mostly correct.

When Comes the Dawn takes place on the continent of Raia, primarily in the Aetierian Empire. Below is a map showing Aetier and its two plot-significant neighbors, the kingdoms of Hesperia and Leohthal

The empire owes much of its prosperity to their control over the Iphegenian Sea, considering as its a gateway of trade between the continents of Raia, Ior (to the east), and Ostri (to the south). The Empire's capital, Kaelstanopoli (not marked), was at the center of this trade route.

Important geopolitical developments for WCTD though is Hesperia coming under Aetier's rule during the Hes-Aei war (though most people in Aetier just call it Dantalion's Hesperian campaign).

Below are pre-war (before the book) and post-war (when the book starts) maps of Aetierian territory.

Fun fact! Hesperia and Aetier used to be one country, with Hesperia being the empire's "birthplace" and eastern/south-eastern Aetier being the financial capital. Hesperia's secession from the Empire occurred during the Era of Three Crowns, a period of civil war where 3 vi Aetier heirs (Anastasia, Theophanes, and Karas) waged war against one another for the throne.

Long story short: Anastasia defeated Theophanes and declared herself Vasilier. Karas seceded his territory from Aetier and became king of Hesperia. Both groups were too exhausted with fighting to continue on (though the rivalry between both countries persisted through the centuries).

Not exactly sure what to cover with geography, so if you have any more questions, feel free to send an ask!

[veneritia]

So what prompted the war with Hesperia?

Short answer? Dantalion wanted to see if he could do it and get bragging rights

Long Answer?

As mentioned in the last ask, Hesperia seceded from the empire during the Era of Three Crowns (E3C). Neither Karas of Hesperia or Vasilier Anastasia could gather enough resources to prolong the king's game even if they wanted to. But the loss of Hesperian land was a stab in the gut for the Aetierian Empire, because that land was their birthplace. It was their roots, their beginning. It was the place Kaelstansa the Great (their first ruler) was born and bled and died in.

Losing Hesperia was like losing a piece of their history, and Aetier wanted it back.

After Anastasia's death, many vasiliers have tried staging campaigns in the name of reclaiming Hesperia and re-uniting the Empire with varied degrees of success. And at some point, it also became about pride and bragging rights, of making your place in history and shouting "look! I have done what others before me have failed to do!"

And that's where Dantalion comes in. He--glory-touched and fire-wreathed, blessed by fortune and war--did what his ancestors could not. He accomplished his goal of achieving greatness, though whether the personal losses he endured for it was worth it is something only he can answer.

[veneritia]

hey! just wanted to say that your writeblr crash course post has been a real lifesaver, and thanks to it i've finally garnered the courage to join the community ^^ i should also mention that i'm in love with your wip, wctd! the recent excerpt from it is extremely gripping. i've noticed that dantalion and andras are the names of demons from ars goetia... was this choice intentional or did you just take inspiration from it?

Welcome to the writeblr community and I'm so glad my post helped you! I tried to put in a lot of things I wanted to know when I first joined the community myself, lol.

And thanks for your support! I did rip Dantalion and Andras' name from the Ars Goetia but not for any character/plot reasons though lol. A lot of the characters of WCTD predate the current story direction, so there are a lot of anachronistic things that get carried over simply because they were there from the start and I didn't see a reason to change them. Before I decided to use the Byzantine empire as inspiration for the setting, everything was just kinda set in a nebulously ancient fantasy age and I wanted names that would reflect that. I had a couple resources that I usually go to to get names, and the Ars Goetia was one of them. Dantalion was my favorite one, and later on when I decided to give him a brother, I went back to the Ars Goetia to pick out another name to keep with the theming.

[veneritia]

Hi! May I please be added to the taglist for when comes the dawn?! 😊

Of course! Thanks for your interest!

[veneritia]

3 & 7 appearance (@inky-duchess)

Thanks for the ask @inky-duchess !

Fenice + 3. Is there something about your character’s appearance that they would change if possible?

She'd love it if she didn't appear so sickly looking, being a super pale red-head doesn't help because without proper sun protection she'll probably turn red in the sun in less than an hour. And maybe if her appearance looked less fragile people would take her more seriously

Fenice + 7. Is there someone your character tries to look similar to?

Fenice tries to look like her father, Dantalion. Not in physical appearance but moreso in outward demeanor, I'd say. Fenice takes after her mother, Titania, a lot in terms of physical features but the only trait she inherited from Dantalion is the silver eyes. Dantalion is someone Fenice has wanted to have a connection with since she was a young girl, but in adulthood realized that she really doesn't know how to connect with him. Emulating him is her way to try and forge that connection and to endear herself to him, in some small way. Little does she know that it only does the opposite.

🌸📩Send me a number from this super long character ask game!📩🌸

[veneritia]

Violet - Do a voice claim for your OC (@inky-duchess 💜)

Thanks for the ask @inky-duchess!

General + Violet - Do a voice claim for your OC

I'm not kidding I have no idea what any of them sound like 〒▽〒 They sound like the voices in my head but if you ask me what actor or person they sound like then I will immediately forget the voice of everyone ever

💌🌸flowery oc asks🌸💌

[veneritia]

12 and 45 for Fenice

Thanks for the ask anon!!

12. What are some of your character's pet peeves?

Haven't thought of this one before, actually. I'd have to say...when people don't follow manners and etiquette. A lot of it stems from her own childhood where she basically obsessed over learning everything about her family and life at the imperial court and all that it takes to be a "proper" imperessa. She learned all this so that she won't be looked down upon if when she came to court. When people don't observe proper manners/etiquette in the same way, she takes it as a slight against her. Like, you don't respect her enough to do so.

45. On a scale from 1-10, how intelligent is your character? (1 being incredibly stupid with almost no knowledge of the world, and 10 literally being Light Yagami.)

I'd say 8 or 9. (that she's much smarter than me is one of the reasons she's sometimes so difficult to write lmao). She's extremely intelligent and shrewd, and not only that she has a superb memory and is a voracious reader on a lot of difficult subjects (when more than half of your life is spend on bedrest, you gotta entertain yourself somehow). Her mind is her greatest asset; she doesn't have a lot going for her compared to her siblings, so whatever she does have, she sharpens and hones to a frightening degree.

📩 Send me one of these 50 OC questions! 📩

[veneritia]

1, 2, 6, 8, 13 & 14, 24, 41 for Euphemia!

...I went a little berserk haha sorry, but I'm curious about her!

i want you to know that the second i saw this in my notifs the first words out of my mouth were "jesus christ" and "anon i love u"

ok so Euphemia is a little tricky because she's a much newer character compared to the rest of the cast, and she has the most screen time in book 2, so there's a good chance a lot of these answers are gonna change in the future. But honestly this is the perfect excuse to start developing her

What motivates your character?

It's the same thing that motivates every vi Aetier: survival and ambition. While the vasiliers of the empire have many children to their name, at the end of the line, only one can succeed the throne. Everyone else is competition. Everyone else is the enemy. Everyone else is out for blood.

2. How does the public view them?

Euphemia is extremely well-beloved by the public. And by public I mean the noble circles of the empire. She's charming and talented and the physical embodiment of the phrase 'pretty in pink.' She is the jewel of the imperial court, the subject of much ardor, the muse of poets, the sole princess of aetier, etc. etc. If we go beyond the courtiers and the vieux riche, the majority of the common people in the empire have passing knowledge of her. Mostly positive, but generally in the sense that they view her as "Dantalion's child."

6. What, if anything, sticks out about their appearance?

Feels like a cop-out answer but I have to go with the eyes. the vi Aetiers have this weird genetic quirk where everyone born in that family has silver eyes, so meeting euphemia (and anyone on her father's side of the family) is just the people with blue eyes meme

The second trait...has to be the smile, I think. Euphemia always smiles as if she's in on some big secret and is secretly laughing because you don't know what she knows

13 & 14. Who is the closest person to your character? How did they become close?

That would be her mother, Eudocia vi Kallystos. Eudocia has always kept her daughter close, and is Euphemia's staunchest advocate in the sociopolitical scene at Court. Euphemia looks up to her mother a lot. Outside of the family, though, possibly one of Euphemia's reiakomes (lady companions), whose been raised with her since she was young.

24. From childhood to their current age, how has your character changed?

Euphemia's twice as cunning, thrice as ruthless, and infinitely better at hiding it. As a child, she would've been the little girl that had all the adults wrapped around her finger and knew it. I wouldn't say that she's changed all that much since she was a child, just gotten a lot better at smoothing or hiding the more vicious parts of her personality...until it was time to strike. Roses have thorns and all that

41. What kind of clothes does your character wear?

Expensive ones. Imported silk and gold brocade, brightly colored cloth (hues of pinks/reds/purples are her favorites), and all the jewels. She was an imperial princess and wanted everyone to know it. As for the specific style, wctd is loosely (and i mean very loosely) based off of the various styles of byzantine court dress (no specific century though bc this is fantasy and we play fast and loose lmao)

This was so much fun! Thanks so much for this ask anon!!

📩 Send me one of these 50 OC questions! 📩

[veneritia]

I thought Fenice and Charles were Dantalion's only kids until I saw your post on their relationship saying that they got along best from all his children 👀

How many kids does he have/what are their names, if you're okay sharing?

You'd be correct anon! Up until March 2023, Fenice and Charles were Dantalion's only kids. In fact, through out the many incarnations of these characters (because I've had Fenice and Charles longer than I've had WCTD), the one thing that's stayed constant is that they're siblings.

The rest of their siblings are more relevant in book two, along with the Imperial Harem that spawned them, but here's a quick rundown of who all of Dantalion's kids are.

[Pictured: a focused look on the vi Aetier family tree showing Dantalion's consorts and his children. Enlarge for better photo quality. You can see the full family tree (up to 5 generations!) in this post]

In total, Dantalion has had five children with five different women. From oldest to youngest we have:

Fenice Eucleia Titaniae

The first princess, born of Dantalion I with his first wife, the vasili Titania of Taul. What was supposed to be the herald of a new age and a source of stability for his reign turned into an ill omen. Unlike the rest of her siblings, she was the only one that grew up away from the Imperial Court.

Carolus "Charles" Valerius Soresos

The first prince, born of Dantalion I with his second wife the consort-premier Illysandre vi Soresi. Beloved amongst many, he is expected to take up his father’s mantle as the next emperor of Aetier. He is known as the gentlest of the vi Aetiers.

Euphemia Helena Kallysta

The second princess, born of Dantalion I with his third wife consort Eudocia vi Kallystos. Her natural charm and sweetness draws hearts to her as easily as sirens lure sailors to their doom. She is a master at weaving public sentiment to her favor.

Konstantine Leo Reizenicus

The second prince, born of Dantalion I with his fourth wife Adelheid of Reisenberg. He is barely a more than a boy compared to his older siblings. Quiet, polite, with a fondness for animals and herbology.

Basil Nikodemos Aranticus

The third prince, born of Dantalion I with his fifth wife Aurelia of Aranthia. The youngest of the vi Aetier children, and also the only one related by blood to the dowager Empress Meidira, whose influence at court is immeasurable. He likes ducks.

[veneritia]

🌤️Weather and Nature: 3, 4 and 8 for any oc(s) of your choice!!

Thanks for the ask!

Charles + 3. What season would your character say they’re most similar to?

Charles is a summer child, both in that he was born in the summer and seems to embody the season too. He's warm, he's fun, he's endless sunshine and waves of gold and the abundance of life. He's most people's favorite person. But summer comes with a lot of dangers too. The sun isn't harmless, no matter how welcoming its heat.

Charles + 4. Is there a natural phenomenon that scares your character?

Not really

Charles + 8. What type of environment does your character like best?

He loves places with lots of people. Bustling streets, parties, places where life is full and vibrant and bursting at the seems. It makes him feel less lonely.

🌸📩Send me a number from this super long character ask game!📩🌸

[veneritia]

orchid and violet for Nike (from writinglyra)

Thanks @writinglyra for the ask!

Nike + Orchid - What is your OC's biggest fear?

If you asked Nike that question five years ago, he'd have said something like death or insects. But now....I think he's afraid of making the wrong choice and having to live with the awful consequences that follow. It's something that I noted down in my notebook actually, how he feels a bit like his Hesperia (his own country) trapped in a game between two powers, where no matter who he sides with or who wins, he and the people he loves will never come out of it unscathed. No matter what choice he makes, he'll always have to hurt someone, sacrifice something, risk everything. And once he makes that choice...he can't take it back.

Nike + Violet - Do a voice claim for your OC?

Oof, no. I can't even visualize what he looks like half the time XD

💌🌸flowery oc asks🌸💌

[veneritia]

I saw on your magic post that you said there was more to know about the magic system in WCTD but that information was mostly extraneous. Is there any way we can still find out what that is? I just love lore. Also I love your WIPS :)))))) You're definetly one of the best writeblrs out there.

OMG THANK YOU!!!!!!

Ok so some cultural stuff: While everyone has the potential to use thaumaturgy, the subject itself is such a highly specialized and time consuming thing to learn, so the majority of trained mages tend to be the upper-middle or aristocratic classes. (You could say that money has its own type of magic T_T) Most teachers also prefer to teach in small groups or one-on-one apprenticeships, making their time high in demand. Thus, being a formally trained mage became a mark of elitism in society.

And as it's also believed that ichor is of divine origin, those who possess an exceptional amount of it are considered to be blessed. More often than not, these "blessed" people tend to produce similarly "blessed" offspring,which further instilled the idea that ichor is intimately interconnected with blood. Aristocratic families use this as a way to purport their superiority, and would go to various means to make sure their own bloodline remains strong. For much of Aetier's history, marriages between people of strong magical essences were desirable enough to even transcend social classes. Lines of succession and inheritances have been redrawn to favor these blessed heirs. And for the middle/lower-class families, producing a mage was one way to climb up in society.

This idea can even be found in literature, which were chock-full of takes of common people finding fame and glory in part due to their incredible magic.

This doesn’t mean that the common populace don’t practice magic, however. It means that many who do aren't formally trained, and the scope and scale of their spells are determined by what's passed down through the family, spells that are beneficial to one’s job, or small healing spells to treat common ailments. Those that enlist or are drafted into Aetier’s imperial Army are even taught how to do basic healing magic for combat, as well as basic earth magic in order to form quick shield walls and to construct bridges and roads during long campaigns.

[veneritia]

i have never in my life been so proud of asking an ask 😔 also said magic system sounds amazing! i love it when people go down the scientific route 🥰

you can't see it but i'm kicking my legs in the air and twirling my hair rn <3 Look at what you did

It's not even done yet

[veneritia]

Charcoal, navy, lilac, and carmine

omg when's the wedding bestie 👰‍♂ 💍

[veneritia]

MADDIE ITS HARLS CAN YOU ADD ME TO YOUR GEN TAG @SOURRCANDY

HI HARLS SURE THING