#wctd.the aetieriana

[veneritia]

The Imperial House of Aetier | the Drochonan Dynasty

“It’s a wonder that all of you imperial bastards lasted this long with how easily you try to tear each other to pieces.”

Tag list under the cut (ask to be +/-):

GENERAL → @charlesjosephwrites | @bearunicorn154 I @seasteading | @writting-in-blood | @trapped-inadystopianovel | @inky-duchess | @thats-my-type-writer | @serpentarii | @myhusbandsasemni | @aphaimaniis | @writinglyra | @belialwrites | @amoranza | @pseudepigraphic | @mel-writes-with-her-dragons | @uppoffringar | @fantasydisease | @sourrcandy

WCTD → @zmlorenz | @andiwriteunderthemoon | @ryns-ramblings | @marchdove | @cielnocturnes | @wren-is-writing | @lord-fallen | @tragicbackstoryenjoyer | @bloomingwrites | @marrowwife

[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

-

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]

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]

WTW ASTROLOGY PROMPTS - TAURUS: GOVERNMENT

THE MONARCH

The Aetierian Empire is dominated by the Vasilier, who functions as the head of the secular government, religion, and its military. The Vasilier’s position is hereditary but practices an “open succession” where the monarch’s heirs would compete amongst one another to prove themselves worthy of the crown.

THE SYNEDRION

The Imperial Synedrion is the Vasilier’s main advisory body, usually composed of people of wealth and power that the Vasilier appointed themselves. The Synedrion is further divided into two groups: the Archontes and the Curia. The Archontes, which consist of the evgenii and the highest ranking offices, are the ones who meet on a semi-regular basis in the Archontesof Kaelstanopolis; with the exception of the evgenii, who maintain their position in the Archontes based on the Concord of the Eight, all of the offices were based in the capital city. The Archontes—and the Synedrion as a whole—is led by the Eparch of Kaelstanopoli, who is also, in essence, the mayor of the capital city. The Curia are considered the inactive members of the Synedrion, composed of offices that are based beyond the capital’s walls, such as the praetors, vicarii, kaisarims, and provincial governors.

While the Vasilier reigns, the Synedrion is primarily an advisory body that may draft legislation if the Vasilier consents, and if needed, act as the highest court of law in the Empire. Their influence comes more from the importance of their individual members, rather than as a whole. Where the Synedrion, specifically the Archontes, truly shows power is in the interim moments between successions; if there is no official Vasilier declared, the Archontes presides over the empire until a new monarch is crowned.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENTS

The empire is divided into four administrative regions called dominions, which are each headed by Praetors. The four dominions are: Voleron, in the north west; Illyosa, in the south west; Khaldir, in the north east; Danyatris in the south east.

Each dominion is divided into three dioceses, headed by a vicarius, who are representatives of that dominion's praetor. There are twelve dioceses in total, and each diocese is further divided into numerous provinces, headed by a governor or a kaisarim. Governors are appointed by the Vasilier and are usually stationed in areas where they had little to no familiar connections so as to decrease the chance of any partial treatment.

Kaisarims are imperial heirs who are given the chance to learn about governance and demonstrate their capabilities to the Vasilier by ruling over their own province. They are in a strange place on the hierarchical pyramid as, being imperial heirs they are second only in importance to the Vasilier, but as governors, they are under the supervision of their respective vicarius and praetor.

***

Taglist (ask to +/-) ->

GENERAL → @charlesjosephwrites | @bearunicorn154 I @seasteading| @writting-in-blood | @trapped-inadystopianovel | @inky-duchess | @thats-my-type-writer | @varkolak | @myhusbandsasemni | @aphaimaniis | @writinglyra | @belialwrites | @amoranza | @pseudepigraphic | @mel-writes-with-her-dragons | @uppoffringar | @fantasydisease

WCTD → @zmlorenz | @andiwriteunderthemoon | @ryns-ramblings | @marchdove | @cielnocturnes | @wren-is-writing | @paperburrows | @lord-fallen

[veneritia]

Hound's Steps: an orange-yellow flower that blooms only in autumn. At night, it is said that these flowers look like candles flickering in the darkness. Named after the Hound of Aphel, a psychopomp that guides departed souls to the afterlife.