This blog is where I share daily posts about the superhero fantasy novel I’m writing, Byoldervine, as well as writing tips, discussion and analysis. For more specific/in-depth posts about my story, check out my masterpost, and here’s the basic gist of the story:
What Is Byoldervine About?
Persephone Foster was a human brought into the angelic realm of Tyrion after discovering her immortality, and since then has studied magic and monsters while trying to maintain connections to her mortal family. But when the god of the fantasy realm of Paracosm falls deathly ill, and his fragmented power sends mythical creatures into the human realm, Persephone must become the masked hero Enigma to protect her old home, with the help of a credit-stealing new hero determined to make this difficult. When an opportunity presents itself to stop this at the source — curing the dying god — can they set aside their differences and work together with new allies to find the cure before it’s too late? Or have they been more involved in this ever-expanding story than they’ve all been allowed to realise?
What Are The Four Realms And Who Are Their Gods?
Aegis Cantor is the God of Order, and rules over the angelic realm of Tyrion
Corrus Acaron is the God of Souls and Fate, and rules the underworld known as Nexus
Nordsvark Attolus is the God of Creation, and watches over the fantasy realm of Paracosm
Byoldervine is the deceased Goddess of Free Will, and once watched over the human realm of Terran
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Writing Rambles — The Seasonal Gods and the Festivals of Sunstade and Monstade
I said a while ago about creating a new god or two for the solstice, and I’m having a high motivation day for worldbuilding, so ima get on that now
I like to use either Latin or Old/Middle English for the names of my minor gods, or something close to those, so that’s where I’ll start. The Old English word for sun is sonne, and the Middle English word is sunne. Both could work. And for moon Old English is mona and Middle English is mone. I want them to match up, especially if we’re gonna have two counterpart gods, so either Sonne and Mona or Sunne and Mone
Solstice seems to be more of French origin, but Latin had solstitium and late Old English had sunstede. We can disregard Middle English for now so that’s where everything matches up, which would give us Sonne, Mona and Sunstede all in Old English. Or maybe Sunstede can be a celebration of the solstice? I think I prefer that. Like a festival or something
And there are summer and winter solstices, so that invites gods of each season. In Old English, spring is springan and summer is sumor. Winter seems to have always been called winter, but the plural would be wintru or wintras, and I think I prefer the look of the latter. And then we have autumn, which is complicated as it took a while to get a formal name; it was usually referred to as the harvest season rather than anything unique to it. But the etymology for harvest is hærfest
In all honesty, none of these words particularly stand out to me as ones I like for names, save for maybe Wintras. So I’ll try to find some similar words that could link to the seasons
Spring could be neowe or niowe, which both mean new. Another option could be sawan, which means to sow
Summer is hard to classify without defaulting back to the sun, so Sumor is probably the best name I’ll get here.
Autumn could be reopan, which means to reap. If we went for Sawan and Reopan, then the gods of autumn and spring would effectively be called Reap and Sow, which is really cute. Or if we wanted to switch to Middle English for the seasonal gods, they would be Repen and Souen, which I really like. So that would make the summer god Somer. Souen, Somer and Repen
And now for winter, cold would be cald or ceald in Old English, which is fitting for the cold season. Since I used the direct translation for the summer god, I could also go back to Wintras. And because I think it looks better, I’ll do just that
So now we have our seasonal gods; Souen, Somer, Repen and Wintras. I like them! And to bring us back to the solstice theme, we now have the gods Somer and Wintras meeting Sonne the sun god for the bi-annual festival of Sunstede, which takes place on the solstice. And maybe there’s something I can do for Mona with Souen and Repen, too? I’ll have to come up with something original here
If we take the suffix -stede from Sunstede, we can have the festival of Monstede, or ‘moon state’, which celebrates nature’s rise and fall with the changing of the seasons, all under a golden moon that basks Paracosm in the brightest moonlight known to the four realms. Any beings who draw power from the moon experience increased strength during the night of the golden moon
So now we have our sun and moon gods, Sonne and Mona, as well as the gods of the seasons; Souen, Somer, Repen and Wintras. We also have Sunstede, the festival of the solstices, and Monstede, the festival of the golden moon. It took us a while, but we got there
Considering the currency in my story is suns and moons (gold and silver pieces), I think I’ll change the names slightly to their Middle English versions, sunnes and mones. I think it ties into the worldbuilding nicely, and makes the currency sound slightly more interesting. And since Sonne and Mona have their names in Old English, it makes the two gods sound more ancient than the currency, which, along with the seasonal gods, are more recent
Censored Writing Ramble — The Last Cure Ingredient
I need to figure out what I’m going to do with the final cure ingredient now that I’m scrapping Haffólk and the liquid siren song ingredient. I find it helpful to type these things out so I’m gonna do that here and then censor any spoilers. Dunno how much sense this is gonna end up making but let’s give it a go
Okay so all the cure ingredients link back in some way to curing the Byoldervine Sickness, which is some kind of fatal illness that slowly kills even Celestial gods. What’s yet to be discovered about the sickness is that [CENSORED] and so its just about able to even kill a Celestial
Ooh, maybe now that I’ve got non-Celestial gods like Solace and Granum and Pretium I can say that there are a few minor gods that caught it first? But then it’s not the Byoldervine Sickness, it was named after Byoldervine because she was the first known case. Maybe they think it’s like a super strain or whatever because it’s never been known to spread to Celestials before? Maybe the Celestials just don’t really know/care about the minor gods? I guess it would only really impact Nordsvark since the minor gods are all in Paracosm. Could be a cool point of conflict in a future story if the minor gods actually don’t like Nordsvark very much. Or maybe he only learned about their issues after the sickness name had already stuck, because he just doesn’t engage the minor gods often? Things to consider
Wow I didn’t even get to the problem and I’m already off topic. Anyway, because of the true nature of the Byoldervine Sickness and what it actually does to Celestials and their powers, the different cure ingredients need to all have the same thing in common; [CENSORED], aka the talisman Corrus gives him as a parting gift
Kettringham has the Remaligo leaf as a power up to the potion and a connection to the infected, aka Nordsvark, since it’s an extension of their magic. Porphyria has the Fallow rose that’s needed to make any potion base, as well as having the power to drain a life force. Blackwood has the Tainted Ivy, which is known for its necromancy magic and its power to store and contain the souls of those passed
And then Haffólk had the liquid siren song, but beyond the whole scene just not feeling right, since the cure has developed from the original plotting, the siren song is no longer relevant to the current cure and its needs. So now I need to either find a new ingredient that can realistically be gathered from Haffólk, or I have to find a new ingredient that needs to be gathered from a new location entirely. And whatever I choose, it has to fit the need of [CENSORED], and it has to be strong enough to work on a Celestial, and be something unique that can’t just be summoned via glyph magic or whatever
I can’t use Eyke because that’s where the Taken are being kept and their asses would be got immediately if they go there too soon. Wintrym and the Draconid Isles aren’t really developed enough for this… or at all, really, so I’d have to start more or less from scratch there. Problems of not getting into the book
I’ve got Solchester, but it doesn’t have any particular goods, and in a time of religious crisis with Nordsvark dying, the place is gonna be packed. The only thing I can come up with off the top of my head is maybe the babbling brook? Get some special magic water from there or whatever. Is there anything actually magic about it? Voice of Solace and all that, but is that just superstition? Is that limited to the brook specifically? It feels like it should be everywhere a brook or other moving water would be. Idk maybe there really is something special about it, fuck it, I’m the one making the rules
The other pre-made option is Rosegold, and the benefit there is that they have expansive trade options like gold and ore and minerals that could be worked into the potion. Though with Rosegold’s proximity to Blackwood, it might be super difficult for them to redirect to Porphyria next. Unless I wanna play around with changing the order of the locations? Though then I’ll have to change around a lot of plot development and character development that’s location-dependent… I’ll circle back to that if I need to
But Rosegold can be helpful because the options are a lot wider. First thought is an underground spring illuminated only by faintly glowing crystals, and maybe that’s where some moss or herbs are growing that can be used in the cure? But how would that connect to [CENSORED]?
I feel like the best way to pull off that connection would be with a demon or other undead being, and we’ve got plenty of established options there between the Acarons, John Grim and Mauthe. It would be extra special to involve Mauthe actually since it’s like she’s honouring Byoldervine’s memory by helping create a cure for the sickness that took her. But it would also be a cool use of [CENSORED] if I wanted to explore that earlier than planned
But the ingredient still needs to be something in Paracosm that can’t be created with glyphs or be anything widely traded in its base form. Even the Remaligo leaf could only be summoned on technicality, and since there’s already a tree they have access to it’s not worth growing a whole new one
This is hard
Okay, the Fallow roses are unique to Porphyria because there was a special curse placed upon the land a long time ago, and the Tainted Ivy is unique to Blackwood because it contains the souls of Ivy and Eilonwy. And then the Remaligo trees are filled with Nordsvark’s magic, and thus can’t be replicated without the use of Nordsvark’s magic. The pattern is that each item has a unique type of magic to make it irreplacable outside of its natural conditions. So I need to figure out a curse or a blessing or something like that, which has resulted in the creation of the ingredient
I don’t have any particular magical influence in Rosegold. Maybe a water spirit or something is mad about the dam? Maybe the dwarves have stumbled upon an ancient shrine or whatever and the spirit tied to it curses those who touch it? I already pulled the ‘meet a ghost’ thing and the ‘cursed land’ thing in Porphyria though. And actually, how much do I want to journey through a badlands before going to a desert? Gonna be a very sandy story
Solchester has the magical influence down pat, what with Solace and all. Maybe the babbling brook really is magic and its water can work in the cure? I guess I’ve always said it ‘captured the replies of Solace’ and stuff, so maybe I can go that angle. I reckon that’ll work. And the power of a god would be a good one to throw in here to help cure a Celestial
I guess the statue at the precipice would be a good place for them to go. Maybe there’s extra stuff going on that adds more to the brook? I feel like there needs to be more. Maybe there are water spirits that reside there and look after the source pond? Naiads? Maybe they translate what Solace says to the people through the water?
Ooh would there be some way for one of the group to actually be able to understand the babbles and realise that the naiads are false prophets? That’d be cool. I don’t know if there’s a way to make that work though. Not unless Solace is also a spirit or something, but I don’t know how or why that would be the case. I need to reread my stuff about Solace real quick
Okay so nothing that says that Solace can’t be a spirit. Maybe that was part of Byoldervine making an example of her for visiting the humans even after the ban? She’s a wandering spirit disconnected from the worlds, and can only communicate through the sound of shifting water?
That’s actually pretty cool. And it would tie in to a lot of stuff actually. So the party will visit the Precipice of Solace, maybe the naiads will prevent them from taking the water from the brook while claiming that Solace does not approve, but thanks to their access to Nexus beings via the resident revival immortal, they’re able to clock that the naiads are bullshitting and try to call it out
What if they want something that only Solace can provide them, rather than just water from the brook? Then when they get it, it proves that Solace agrees with them, and that the naiads really are false prophets? But what could Solace have that fits the ingredient criteria? A duck feather? A pearl that the brook won’t even have an oyster for? Algae? Moss?
It needs to be something that would relate to [CENSORED]. I guess if Solace is a spirit that can only communicate through water, maybe that counts as her soul being bound to water? So anything from the water should do so long as Solace influenced it in some way, shape or form
And the way she influences it is through making noise with the water. Is there some kind of clever term I can throw in with it like I did with liquid siren song?
First thought is a pearl of wisdom. Maybe a thought bubble? Speech bubble? Maybe a ball of water that’s just called a pearl? And the water that forms it is constantly moving, so you can always hear it if you listen close enough? That could be cool. And it could be called a pearl of wisdom because it forever echoes wise words that Solace has imparted on those who have sought her advice in the past. Or maybe this particular one echoes with words she wanted to impart specifically on the party, since they have a way to understand her?
I’m starting to get excited about this now. Solchester and the pearls of wisdom it is
I have genuinely just spent the entire day coming up with worldbuilding stuff and making looooong posts about it for this blog, so I’m gonna have to shorten it all here
Original Posts When I Post Them:
Censored Writing Ramble — The Last Cure Ingredient
Writing Rambles — The Seasonal Gods and the Festivals of Sunstede and Monstede
1. I will be replacing Haffólk and the liquid siren song ingredient for Solchester and Solace’s pearl of wisdom, which will include traveling to the Precipice of Solace and trying to get around the goddess’s naiad prophets preventing them from accessing the ingredient they need
2. The gods of the sun and moon, respectively, are Sonne and Mona
3. Originally I had it planned that the world’s currency would be suns and moons, aka gold and silver coins. In relation to their namesake gods, they will now be called sunnes and mones
4. The gods of the four seasons are Souen, Somer, Repen and Wintras
5. The solstice is a big deal, and is celebrated with the bi-annual festival of Sunstede during summer and winter. This is a big deal for Somer and Wintras, as well as of course Sonne
6. For one night during spring and autumn, a natural phenomenon happens called the golden moon, which is when the moon glows bright and golden, granting extra strength to those who draw power from the moon. This is marked with the festival of Monstede, which is a big deal for Souen and Repen, as well as of course Mona
I still very much need to work out the characterisations of each of these new gods, all I know so far are their names and domains. I want to give them all personalities and maybe even sort out patronage, like how Solace is the patron goddess of Solchester. But for a day’s work, I’m pretty happy with all the conclusions I came to!
Yeah, after some consideration of my current position, my writing goal for the rest of the year will definitely have to just be to finish my edit notes. Work bullshit keeps dragging this out and I don’t have the opportunity to be consistent with my editing on top of that — and consistency is a pretty critical factor in me getting any of this done
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Set a ten minute timer and just write whatever comes to mind. Do NOT stop writing during this time. Continuous thought, go
Once you’re done, congratulations! You’ve written a draft. Edit it if you wish, making as many changes as you so desire, even if it turns out to be completely different. Editing it will help teach your brain that you can indeed make it better later
You did it. You wrote something without editing as you went. Great job!
I think I legitimately need to set my story during late summer/early autumn just to avoid the heatwave issue here in England. Imagine Enigma completely covered head to toe in some knock-off Assassin’s Creed type shit, and then Angelus and the Guardians all decked out in armour, all in the middle of a heatwave trying to run and fight
Persephone is never going to experience a British summer again I can’t do that to my girl. She can enjoy the Great Humbling online from the safety of Tyrion
Okay so I’ve had some people asking since my last post on it how I manage to not worry about editing while writing, and honestly? I’m just kinda lucky in that regard that I’m more inclined to keep going if I don’t have an immediate fix in my brain. But I’ll try and include something more helpful than ‘skill issue’
The thing I was thinking about when writing that post was when I was writing the sirens in Haffólk; it was a very weird chapter, I didn’t like it and I knew even as I was writing it for the first time that I wouldn’t be keeping it. I’ve decided it’s probably best to scrap Haffólk and the sirens entirely — not from the world, of course, just from the story
I think a big factor in why I kept writing despite knowing I wasn’t going to keep it is that I was working with a writing sprint at the time; I didn’t want to pause that in order to change my plotting notes and come up with an entirely new scene. So I followed the plotting notes, figuring that there might end up being something I want to salvage if I do, or maybe a new idea will come to me along the way and I’ll feel a lot better about having written this in
It did not, but it was worth a go, and I didn’t lose the flow of my writing
With the summer solstice having just gone by, it makes me wonder what kind of worldbuilding I can do for the solstices in my lore. There’s so much potential there for a god or goddess, and the currency in-universe are suns and moons, so it makes sense that something would be done with this
Maybe I’ll talk through it on here if I get inspired. Is that something people wanna read?
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a writer who was physically and mentally completely healthy, myself included
That’s not even shade, just a weird thing to think about. Even the normies get fucked over with lung infections or spinal fluid leaks or getting cursed by AO3 or something
As a writer I’m just glad that I’m good at saying “That’s future me’s problem” when it comes to the first draft. Yeah I’ll write this even while I’m cringing and certain that I won’t keep it, it’s a first draft, I’m here for quantity not quality
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a writer who was physically and mentally completely healthy, myself included
That’s not even shade, just a weird thing to think about. Even the normies get fucked over with lung infections or spinal fluid leaks or getting cursed by AO3 or something
There’s nothing more satisfying than knowing exactly the right moment to end a scene/chapter. I love that moment when I reach a natural conclusion and it all fits together nicely
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Unfortunately for all your fierce enemies and all your unhealthy lovers, hate and love aren’t emotional opposites. Both are the end results of extreme care, and the only antidote is true apathy
And as the saying goes; it doesn’t matter if you’re throwing darts at it, you still printed out their picture to hang on your wall
