#biim

It begins - I am not sure if today's momentum actually reflects how the following days will go, as I hyped myself up for this particular scene. However, I didn't actually finish the scene, so there's high hopes! I am so happy to finally get to write these characters.

Word Count: 2279

Excerpt:

At length, he came to her table - or rather, he stood alongside it. Even then, she couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face with the shadow of his cowl stubbornly giving no hints. Marina waited an extra beat, but apparently it was her turn to try to catch this outsider’s attention. He turned, just a bit. She finally caught a glimpse of the shadowed jaw, masculine in its angles and the faint black stubble upon it.

If he wanted to buy anything, he’d already have patronized one of her fellow vendors, so Marina didn’t waste her time on the usual sales pitch. “You after anything, love, or is this a performance piece?”

The stranger paused, then turned towards her more. Odd shadows played tricks on her, kept her from picking out more details on his face besides his mouth. When he spoke, those lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners. “I beg your pardon?”

Another productive day! I’m pretty pleased about that. The week 4 slump was pretty bad up until last night, and I’m hoping I can have another good writing day tomorrow.

Word Count: 1710

Excerpt:

“Who’s that, brother? Friend of yours?”

The voice was tired, broken, weak. Trace turned to his twin. Biim barely clung to consciousness, his eyes narrowed against the blood that ran down his face, and yet here he was finding strength to speak. He searched Trace’s look with something like disbelief, maybe distrust.

(Forgot to do this yesterday, so there will be two posts today :P )

There’s not a ton to say on this one that won’t come across as super generic. There are doctors who specialize in patching people up, giving treatment, that sort of thing. They sometimes work with herbalists to help treat the symptoms of sicknesses. These types are generally easier to afford, since they probably won’t be performing any miracles, but if there’s one nearby they can do good work to help people.

Then, there are the magic users. There are varied levels of talent with healing, ranging from only doing what the body could naturally do but faster, to straight up miracles that repair damaged tissue and bone and wipe away diseases that can’t normally be wiped out. The catch is that their skills are often more costly, if they do this for a living, and the ones that don’t charge tend to wander all over. It’s hit or miss on being able to find someone in time, try though they do to be there for anyone who needs them.

Muunfel is home to many different groups with their own traditions and overlapping beliefs about how the gods should be revered (or not). Since they are far more likely to actually meet the subject of their worship, some folks can adopt an overly familiar tone when talking about them. This might be the main cause of denominations within one group, as others fully believe that the gods should not be spoken of in the same way a friend or family member might be.

Many may choose one god or only a couple to focus their devotions upon. This could range from daily prayer and ritual to draw the god’s attention and favor to simply having a token or shrine of them nearby that one passively acknowledges from time to time. This is not organized religion, and is much more personal to each individual’s comfort levels. Many gods have temples at which their most devoted keep their preferred traditions in practice.

The bigger religions focus on a certain grouping of gods, and so far are mostly centered around only the First gods (ones that existed fully as gods without having to ascend).

The Church of the Life Gods: Worshippers of Leleurya, Diakon, and their children Wiavex, Biim, and Trace. There is emphasis on the cyclic nature of life and all things, as well as a strong desire for being true to oneself in body, mind, and soul. This is the most common organized religion found in Muunfel, and many people follow it as well as a handful of ascended gods.

The four nature gods have a religion surrounding their stewardship of the world. Its most devoted followers will make a pilgrimage to each of the four temples made in these gods’ honor. However, the temple to the god of earth has been fragmented, and so the journey instead takes followers through the mountains to reflect on the power of earth against all mortal creations.

Vayla, the goddess of time, has a small but meticulous following that keeps records of her words and teachings. They work to aid in the gathering of prophecy, and many of Vayla’s followers also worship other gods as well.

Throughout history, the people of Muunfel have found reasons to fight one another and drive rifts between them. One of the most violent rifts is between the people who can channel magic directly (Tamkind, gods, and fairies) and those who must direct it some other way (wizards and sorcerers, etc).

This fighting saw a turning point when scholars of Korvasin discovered and developed what they simply dubbed “Grey Metal”. This material, created through alchemy, enchanting, and rigorous rituals, can be shaped into almost anything. It is an absolute bane on magic channellers.

When it comes into contact with someone with magic in their blood, it floods them with its own strange, false magic. The afflicted person cannot use this Grey Magic, and are rendered almost helpless because of it.

Grey Metal has been made into chains and manacles as well as weapons. In some regions, it is common for magic folk to be detained using Grey Metal, while in others there are those who lobby against its use at all. The ethics behind its use are often brought into discussion, and many of the naysayers cite some of its more catastrophic uses as reasons to ban it without considering its usefulness:

Manacles made of Grey Metal were used on Trace, Biim, and Fiorebell in the incident that resulted in Fiorebell’s death. The land surrounding the village where this took place still cannot support any growth, and Biim himself received an incurable curse thanks to the way his and Trace’s godly magic fled.

The previous Una of the Fae was shot through the spine with an arrow tipped in Grey Metal. Because she was unable to heal, she spent the rest of her days unable to walk. The Aubry placed a curse on the entire empire of Korvasin for this, and it has yet to recover from it.

Leleurya (goddess of creation) and Diakon (god of destruction) were the first of the first gods. They were also the first beings to ever have children together, and their three godlings became key members of the pantheon of First Gods (as opposed to gods who ascended later on in history).

Wiavex is the goddess of souls and impulse. Her motivations are impossible to discern and she is as changing as the tide. People who meet her corporeal form are often baffled and sometimes a little afraid. Her personality is intense and worn on her sleeve, and she can be the most capricious of her siblings. She is the only being who can understand the entirety of a soul, and can change it at her whim. Her name is the source of the phrase “The Vexing Door”, which refers to the gates of the “beyond”, where a soul goes when someone dies.

Trace is the god of mind and patience. His name and identity were destroyed by Diakon, and all record of it vanished “without a trace”. He is the twin of Biim. His main motivation is to ensure balance, and he tends to achieve this by any means necessary. He experiences very few feelings, particularly since his identity was destroyed, but he is as sharp as ever.

Biim is the god of body. All physical aspects of a being fall under his domain. He provides healing and strength. He is playful and lax, helping those who ask with a (sometimes mischievous) smile. In his corporeal form, he wears a black mask over the right side of his face. If the mask is removed, all healing ceases.

Tamkind are beings born of the energy of Magic. There are not many varieties among the Tam, and the lines between them tend to be more blurred than among other groups. One of the most common and notable varieties are the Solians.

The Solians’ ancestral home is found in Meraev, across the Moondrop Sea south of Genfierz. At one time, they had an empire that extended over the western third of the Muunfel continent, and only when the empires of Mankind began to expand did they retreat back to Meraev.

However, ruins of their once great cities are dotted throughout the modern day countries of Genfierz and Rutan, and with minor maintenance their magically built feats of engineering are operational again. Notable among these cities are the capitols of both nations: The City of Exiles in Rutan, and the Silver Fortress in Genfierz.

Solians, as Tam, have a constant connection threading them to Magic. They utilize their magic in an infinite variety of ways, often unique to each individual. However, if they use more magic than their bodies contain, they will perish. For this reason, every Solian has a meditation technique to tap into their connection to Magic and replenish their stores.

The meditation techniques are as varied as the individuals. Dancing, singing, hunting, praying, running, or some other repetitive, meaningful activity can open the rear floodgate, allowing more magic to flow into the Solian and replenish them. Using their magic depletes the stores. Every Tam has their limit, and though a Solian could potentially meditate indefinitely and continue to restore their magic, they can die by other means.

Solians tend to have very tall, thin builds. Many of them have tufted tails. Their ears are pointed (more so than the elves) and are also tufted. They tend to have a variety of skintones, and usually have bright hair and eyes. Solians are more aggressive than humans at their baseline. They are more likely to react in a “feral” way to a threat.

Fun fact: If a solian smiles with their teeth, it is very much a threat display.

“The Lady Knight is smiling at me. I think she likes me.” - A Very Unfortunate Soul

Notable Solians:

Branwyn Damascus, “The Witch”, Lady Knight of the Damascus clan and Tamer of the Cataclysm

Cira Dawn, while born a human, was changed into a Solian by Biim, the God of Body

Fennelin Sieve, married into the Rutan royal family