#firstborn.prince

I havent finished reading WHA but current concept: Razareth is a pointed hat, pretty disillusioned with the current state of things. Glass Demon is a wide brimmed hat, they have harnessed transformation magic and have made themselves into a quasi-construct thing that can fold into a form of an orb hang in a staff, concealed. their robe is covered in spells, some of them unfinished. They meet up with Razareth and he is smitten, but he will never prove it. He tells himself he just wants to investigate the wide-brimmed hats and then report them, but he just keeps meeting up with the witch in secret. Razareth still doesnt use forbidden magic, but he is reaaally warming up to it and to the whole idea of freedom of magic.

At one point the glass demon uses its folding abilities to hide itself while out with razareth, razareth lies that its his new magical item. Curious, he often examines the singular eye of the glass demon

possibly, to be canon with OG razareth, after some time he is convinced and they fuse into one body, but I think here the eye would be detachable and the glass demon could be its own entity if it detached from razareth.

Szekh And Nane

#s.and.n - Szekh (ʃɛkx) and Nane (nänɛ) setting! The project currently doesn't have a name. A worldbuilding project, into which I insert characters, minor scenarios, ideas. I often "adapt" media I enjoy into it (eg. what would Death Note be like if it was in the szekh world? what would Invincible be like? Et cetera.). It is set in the modern world, with the only difference being the existence of szekh, their gods and related elements.

In this world, hidden among humans, are szekh. They are a prideful, authoritarian, highly religious society, basing itself on hedonism, subordination and social hierarchy. The setting has 28 gods! I have created an uquiz about them!

#szekh odyssey yapping is a subcategory of this tag, where I have "adapted" Epic The Musical into the szekh setting! One day I will post my funny ideas about Death Note and Code Geass adaptations. fjsdkgnj. I like thinking what would characters in things I like would be in the szekh setting

Drought Times

#drought.times - A more plot-focused project, but still ripe with worldbuilding!

Something happened, in this world. Something that should not have ever happened, something that should have been impossible: the afterlife is gone. Sure, there is more to that, there is always more, and the humans don't really know that it's gone, they just know of the effect. Entropy. A mysterious "disease" is affecting humanity more and more with each passing generation. The wealthy long-lived cling to their almost complete souls, while newborns mostly end up with scraps. Soul is no longer being recycled and remade, just scattered, drifting beyond the veil or straight up refusing to leave the body that should be dead.

In this decaying world, Sofia N., a tech guru thinking herself proud to not have been subject to Entropy, has devised a solution. Her "solution" ends with her haunting her own "dead" body, now occupied by a rather impressionable, naive parasitic fungi...

This is more of a science-fiction setting mixed with multiple fantasy elements, mostly relating to the existence of gods and their angels, the "afterlife" and the entire philosophy of how souls, humanity, death and the like work in the world, which is very distinctly different from ours in these regards.

Firstborn Prince

#firstborn.prince - the most plot-filled project! aaaalso with a bunch of worldbuilding!

My only story set in a more typical fantasy world, with wizards, elementals and long-forgotten deities.

The story intro can be found here!

Antythea

#antythea - the project with the least plot. hah. but I do love it ngl.

A maintenance robot awakens on a desolate space station. As it explores its newfound surroundings, it starts discovering more about itself, the history of the station and its other machine inhabitants. During its journey it encounters a voice from the intercom, which guides it, believing this repairbot is the long-awaited solution, a saviour that will fix this cursed place...

I have also worked on other misc projects, which never came to fruition or simply don't fit into any of that stuff, but still have their own tags

#limes inferior fanfiction - What it says on the tin, I did genuinely start writing it, had a lot of fun, but just never finished it! Maybe one day I will continue, I've enjoyed it greatly.

#alternative.stuff - this is a general tag for any AU's of my worlds, settings, stories!

#worlds.collide - I use this for crossovers!

❌AI & the likes of it. These are my hobbies, my passion projects and special interests.

— Mom, mom! Pick me up!

— Okay, okay, you little rascal. Do you want to see the painting up close?

— Yes!

— Hey, Razzie, don't touch it! It's very old, it doesn't like being touched.

— Okay.... sorry painting...

A moment of silence passes as they contemplate the masterpiece.

— Mom?

— Yes?

— Who is this? — A small finger points at the sea creature depicted. It seems to be wailing and hissing, prismatic crown on its head slipping off, as the human is spearing it. There's a tasteful amount of blood where the weapon meets its skin. 

— That... Is a ruler. Her true name is forgotten to history, I'm afraid.

— A roorel?

— A queen. She loved her people and defended them.

— Oh! Like you! ...Why is she getting killed? Was she bad?

— No, no, she was good, just... the person who painted it, he liked his king more. Sometimes the side that wins gets to make paintings that show the losers as bad, you see.

— Oh. Why?

— Sometimes the truth is... complicated. Or not nice. So... people like her get twisted into something else to... fit. I don't think you are old enough to be talking about that.

— Okay... will you get killed too?

— What?! No, no, of course not, sweetie. Why would you even think that?

— But you are a queen and you are good too...

— Don't worry, love. Your daddy is a far far far grandson of the king in the painting. That means we are on the side of the winners, okay? There is no danger for us.

— Okay... Yay! ...But... if we are the winners why did we make her bad?

— That's just how history works. Don't worry about it yet.

-----

A dream? No, a memory. I didn't sleep, couldn't sleep, just laying in the bed, thinking. Fell into a trance? A meaningless one, or was it something more...? No, no trances. Just reminiscing.

A vivid memory. One of the few I have of my mother from my childhood. I see. Maybe it really was a sign.

I get up, throw on a hood. It's nearing midnight, everyone is long asleep by now.

"Triumph over Wilderness" by Alvio Perer Minsce. A master of his craft, the painting a true artifact in the castle, one of the only last few remaining originals from the author.

Many times I have wished to burn it, along with all her other work.

The critique is warranted, I must say. What seemed to be lost to the history is that the pictured Wilderness was no sea serpent, just a woman, a queen of what now is the biggest port in Falpea, what used to be an independent elemental city.

Used to be. Winners write history, so she became Wilderness, the monster hellbent on destroying humanity and stopping "us" from ever gaining access to the sea.

Her city burned, inhabitants enslaved, family murdered and, last but not least, she was executed. Not in glorious combat, not during war, but during what was supposed to be peace, right after the treaty was signed.

Nobody knows what it entailed, but it must have been a bit too beneficial to elementals.

And so, here she is. A monster to humans, a freedom fighter to elementals, a symbol of what could have been, all squashed by senseless violence and bigotry.

I can't help but feel kinship with her. I hate it.

Every time I pass this painting I feel a shiver in my hands. A threat, the anxiety of a promise. Am I going up to end up like her? A fighter, diplomat, executed by those who were supposed to be his equals, twisted by history?

If I win, it will not matter, will it? If I am the one who writes history, maybe nobody would-

No, no point in thinking about that now. I will cross this bridge when it comes up.

I touch the frame of the painting. It's very nice, polished, wooden. Intricately carved, a work of many painstaking hours for a hefty sum straight from the palace vault.

I trace the sides until I feel a slight knob, which I turn. Nobody expects a stash right behind one of the most valuable things in the palace, right?

I move the frame horizontally, unveiling the hollowed out wall. It's ugly work, the edges scraped and messy. My hands slipped a few times, okay?

I carefully take my most prized posession out of the hole. It's a large, heavy tome. Every delicate page is annotated, with multiple maps crammed between them.

The only problem is that most of the actually important information is written out in a dead language.

I scoured Falpea far and wide, but there was nobody who had any clue about translating it. So, I stretched my influence out, trying to find anyone up to the task.

And I found her. I found the expert. She is, unfortunately, a citizen of the Republic of Irinium. Problematic. Cannot leave the country, not right now. Despite trying to pull a few strings I will not be able to get her out of there, at least not without appearing there in person and forging a hefty pile of documents. I sigh. I did prepare some of them, those I could, but many of them will require her own signatures, a thing I dare not forge.

I will have to somehow sneak into the Republic unnoticed with my entire team, won't I?

Well, I will think about it on the road. I lock the painting back in and give it one last look. I might never see it again.

I should never see it again.

In a fit of impulsive, admittedly foolish rightousness, I grab the frame and, again, unlock it, this time pulling it off completely.

With the tome safely hidden in my travelling bags, carrying the painting through the dark, empty corridors, I sneak outside.

Maybe history can be rewritten.

The burning wood smelled like justice.

so um. CW for child death in point 54. A heads up.

And ofc the entire story is laid out here jnkfgsnjg

Razareth's mother is born, who later is named Orpheli.

She is hidden and snuck out, avoiding the fate of being bound.

Orpheli is taken in by a lone man, who raises her as his own. Orpheli gains her female surname, Sakaadze.

Years pass, Orpheli grows up, meets the king, gets married to him.

Orpheli gives birth to Razareth Sakaadze Ver'noth.

A few years (3-4) later her status is discovered by a knight.

Orpheli is forced to flee.

Razareth is hidden away by the king; who is fearful of his genetics being discovered.

Razareth grows up alone, guided by his father and clinging onto the delicate and fleeting memory of his mother.

He learns of the world through his father's stories, books and rarely sneaking out at night, but no further than the royal library.

He's round 16, 17 now. He learns that his father will announce something big and cool. He has no idea what it will be, but he's interested in it.

He sneaks out at day, the first time ever. He wears a disguise he hobbled together. Mostly to hide his hair and eyes, so a hooded cloak works.

He gets out, talks to real life humans, avoids dad, generally has a good time. Until the announcement. He notices there are… people, over there, next to the king.

The king announces that he and his wife have successfully created a child, one who will be a heir to the throne. The child is apparently 6 years old. HUH. EXCUSE ME. HOW DID RAZARETH NOT NOTICE? Why did his father....... omit this information...?

Razareth is FUMIN. HE MAD. He is the firstborn after all?!? (roll credits).

Razareth gets out of the castle. He's pissed. He goes outside to the gardens, where he cools down a bit.

He is exhausted. He's been preparing for this escapade all night, and now the anger has leeched energy off him completely. He dozes off.

While he is sleeping, multiple figure haunt his dreams. They… talk, to him. Promise something, ask of something.

He meets a projection of his mother in his dream. He learns that the castle is protected by a sinister force, but in the gardens she can reach him.

She reveals the truth to him. Everything she has planned for him. That the curse can be broken by him, if he just grows up as a human and becomes influential

He promises to fix things and free all elementals <3

Razareth is clever. he has a PLAN. He goes back to his "room" and plays nice. Dad is suspicious, but cannot prove anything. He doesn't know Raz owns a copy of the key, after all :^)

Que growing up. During that time he befriends his younger brother, sneaking out at night to talk and all. the brother is fucking ecstatic that he has any family beyond his dad and mom. everyone wins.

Razareth starts studying HARD. he sneaks out at night more and more, accessing the royal library and shit. He even starts going out to people, all in disguise, getting resources, connections and access to more stuff. He experiments with his own magic.

The brother, now round 20 yo, Dwarghen Azulis Ver'noth, becomes king after the previous one steps down, giving the mantle to his younger son.

Razareth is now around 30 but he is nothing but patient. Of course, considering their brotherly bond, Razareth now can act freely, not constrained by the old king's influence.

Dwarghen is a good person, but not very fit to be king. He appoints Razareth as his main adviser.

Razareth now has access to royal resources and his own elementals. He usually conceals his face and hair, unless he is alone or just with the new king. Nobody else knows about his half-elemental status

Razareth has been mostly researching the binding spell/curse and how to break it. He learns that the wording was very precise - the curse is ruled over by a ruling, living monarch of the Ver'noth bloodline. Problematic.

Razareth knows there are only 2 roads - he either convinces his brother to break the curse or overthrones his brother to break the curse.

Sure, Raz's influence on Dwarghen was big, but not the only influence. The brother is not keen to lift the curse. He (correctly) identifies, that it is the main thing that prevents the loss of power from the Ver'noth bloodline. Additionally, it keeps the relatively small kingdom safe and secure - the containment and usage as a working force of elementals has made the country more magically advanced than others, giving local wizards almost free reign over the elementals. This solidifies the kingdom as an exporter of highest-quality spells and houses the most proficient warmages. Removing the curse would undermine this and maybe even cause instability in the region and a war with their neighbours, relations with which are "friendly", but lined with tension and jealousy.

Raz pleads with Dwarghen. Dwarghen won't budge and, feeling cornered, threathens to remove Raz from the position and binding him too "if he likes the elementals so much". Dwarghen points out that the choice to free elementals is one someone strong has to make, and he knows neither he or the kingdom is strong enough on their own to uphold security after that.

Raz is conflicted. He cares for the kingdom, but he cares about the promise more. RIP

Raz wants to go against his brother's wishes, but he doesn't want to kill him. He needs to find another way to change his mind or destroy the curse by himself.

Raz thinks about the fucked up unholy artifact. hm. that sounds like a solution.

Raz 'makes up' with Dwarghen. Yeahh suree, my people dont really have to be free when I think about it. Thumbs up. Anyway imma go on an archeological expedition brb

Raz goes out with a team to uncover the location of the artifact. They walk walk walk. They find the ruined location.

Hm. There's a lot of skeletons round 'ere. Surely the "statues" of people encased in glass / human shaped glass pieces is just a very particular brand of home decor. nothing sinister.

They locate the artifact. It seems to be veiled in multiple layers of protective spells and traps. Everyone gets to work on uncovering it; Razareth employs the band of different elementals he rented out and weaves counterspells to different protections. He is NOT an evil wizard! Nahh

Razareth spends multiple sleepless nights trying to attune to the artifact, but he just cannot hold onto it. Everyone's getting worried.

While pacing the chamber, he dusts off a plaque. He realizes that what he was missing was a sacrifice.

He sets up the ritual circle, with the whole expedition in attendance. He weaves magic and creates THE spell. He grabs the staff, chops off his hand and stitches it to his body with strands of magic he previously weaved. Ouch.

The hand doesn't lose its grip. Razareth holds onto the staff while it resists. Theres a big scene of him vying for control against the glass Demon as the demon pulls him into its mindscape to "test" him.

He wakes up to carnage. There are blackened bloodstains everywhere. There are multiple bodies, well, actually skeletal remains. There is some tissue, at least it appeared to be, because after further inspection it turned out to be charcoal. There are very rare remains of clothing, with some armour holding up better. It seems like an indetermined amount of time has passed. There are a few piles of ashes where the fire elementals used to stand.

WTF.

Surprise! New shiny, glass hand. The fleshy one Raz chopped off? Fate unknown. The shiny, glass hand is holding a shiny, silver staff with a shiny glass eye hung in the crest of it. Dear.

IT SPEAKS!!! Anyway I think this is wayyy too detailed let's skip around. Raz was asleep/battling in Demon's mindscape for 10 years RIP. (it felt like mere minutes for him btw) So he is now around 40, his brother round 30. Everyone on the expedition is dead.

Raz ventures back.

Raz meets a commune, a sovereign nation of elementals. There are more half-elementals there! OMG! He also learns that his mother used the knowledge she aquired with his father and became the matriarch of this nation. Reunion <3

He promises he will rescue his kind stuck in Falpea. yay <3

He goes to the kingdom. He has a nephew and a niece now! Wow! His brother is overjoyed to see him, but concerned. (Raz disguised the staff and hides his missing/changed hand)

Now this is where I am unsure. there was supposed to be a whole arc. Im not sure about keeping it.

Raz tries to take control of the capitol by himself, he is stopped when he enters the palace and all his powers granted by the Demon disappear, turns out the curse is specifically tuned to work against the Demon's influence. They imprison him and try him for his coup attempt. He is thrown into a remote jail. Brother keeps visiting Raz in there, talking to him and telling him whats been happening round the kingdom while he was gone.

Apparently he married a princess of a neighbouring kingdom (that's where the kids came from!), so the relations with it have been mended, strengthening Falpea itself. Feeling pity for elementals and knowing that the country is stronger, while not removing the curse, he has started implementing anti-exploitation and anti-abuse laws. Elementals even have basic personhood now! Still not fully free though.

During Raz's sentence he also talks to the Demon in his hand. The Demon keeps trying to make him break out and inflict carnage, but Raz has it in reigns.

Dwarghen comes less and less often. He seems to be exhausted and sorrowful. Apparently, elementals have been recently calling for the release of Raz and asking for full freedom. Free elementals from other kingdoms have been coming in and destroying property and staging small riots. They are all calling for Razareth to take the throne and rule the kingdom, as the rightful Firstborn Prince. This is where his title comes from.

Dwarghen stops coming by. Raz is all alone with a malicious Demon whispering in his ear. The demon makes a bargain.

All of Razareth's humanity in exchange of a promise. The Demon will crown him king and make him return freedom to his kind. It's very persuasive, especially knowing that there really are people who believe in his cause and will help.

Razareth agrees to the deal. After a painful transformation, the left half of his body becomes covered in plates of glass growths. He loses his left eye to this, which is replaced by the Demon's Eye, which disappears from the staff.

Soon after Dwarghen comes round to the jail with good news. He will release Raz if he removes the Glass Demon from his body, and in exchange he will give more rights to elementals and make Raz the Royal advisor again. He recoils in fear when Raz turns around and reveals that the fusion has gone too far. Raz leaves the jail. This is covered up in the kingdom, officially Raz is still jailed.

Raz comes to the sovereign nation ruled by his mother to gather up troops. He performs a great ritual, now his magic more powerful than ever, and enhances the powers of the elementals who enlisted in his fight.

The Demon's plan is to make the kingdom so ruined, that the king will have to leave the castle (as the curse protects it from the Demon acting inside of it). Basically an advanced siege. The moment the king leaves the castle, the Demon plans to kill him. Meanwhile Raz wants to make the king give up the crown and recognize his birthright.

The Glass Demon starts infecting elementals with a Rage, not just the troops like Raz intended to at first. This makes them disobey their human owners, become destructive and murderous for random periods of time. This reaps through the kingdom. Everyone is convinced this is some plague, epidemic.

Raz's mother and a few of her people go to Razareth. They do not approve of what he is doing. The mother asks him was this his plan all along; to destroy Falpea, kill humans and make them distrustful and fearful of elementals?

Razareth realizes that his mother is right. This is wrong. He tries to call out to the Demon, but its ignoring him.

Raz tries to mutilitate himself and tear off the glass, but its impossible now with how much it has grown onto him, at least not without killing him.

Raz sneaks into Dwarghen's throne room again. He pleads for the king to abandon resisting and to break the curse before the Glass Demon kills them both and wreaks havoc.

Dwarghen doesn't trust. Who would've trusted Raz after all this?

The Glass Demon is spiraling out of control, violence and the taste of blood clouding its mind. The throne is trying to keep the situation under wraps, they are executing infected elementals and they assert that the infection has been put under control. After all, if it was so bad, the king wouldn't employ elementals in the court, right?

Well. Here comes the kicker. Razareth is less and less in control, while the Glass Demon grows in power and influence.

The Demon, infuriated that the crown denies the crisis and undermines its carnage, blinded by pride, infects a royal governess while she is with one of the children in the gardens "to make them see its power". Yeah. Yep. It arranges to make her kill a young prince, but before she does the deed, she snaps out. She cannot do it. The child is scared and runs away. She is temporarily stunned. The Glass Demon chases after the child. Before she can reach it, the Demon kills the child. It comes up to her, activating her Rage and making her unresponsive.

Theres some cinematic things happening here. It ends up with the governess broken and bloodied, caressing the body.

There is A problem now. The king has to judge the murderer. He has a feeling this is not her fault, that she did not do it, but he cannot throw his brother under the bus. After all, nobody knows he escaped jail.

Guilty. She is executed. Now, the king, alone in his throneroom, ponders. He makes a decision. He goes deep, deep underground. To the chamber that holds the curse. He untangles it and removes it, forever.

(Meanwhile, Raz is being tortured, arguing with the Demon that this needs to end now, to get out of his body, etc etc.)

Yay…?

The Demon demands Raz gives away his body in full :) after all, the elementals are free now! hehe.

Razareth goes nuh uh. Wtf you mean nuh uh? Well you see, you promised to make me king. I don't really see how I am "King" now. Also, the deal specified, that Razareth will be the person who brings freedom to the elementals.

Demon's grasp on Raz's body lessens. Raz decides to leave the country and hole up, ascetic style, to make sure he can never become king and "fullfill" the deal.