#lyrianwrites

So, I want to share the magic system I've been working on for my story! I wanted to make something at least a little bit unique, and since the fight for freedom is my main theme, and I've always loved using the wind as a metaphor for freedom, I landed on a magic system that revolves around the concept of wind.

It's named Windcalling! Or just Calling, for short. It's users are, thus, Windcallers, or simply Callers.

Callers are divided into ten Kins, each of which has access to two Wings of Calling. Said Wings are as follows:

Manipulation: It grants the user precise control over the air/wind in a wide area around them, including manifested/solid wind (see Manifestation below). This allows them to create strong currents in whichever direction they please. Seen as the weakest power, but it has great synergy with all the other wings.

Manifestation: It grants the user the power to manifest wind, giving it a solid form, also called Wind Essence. It can have any shape. Essence is extremely hard and tough, but light.

Mutation: It grants the user the power to change the composition of the air in several ways. The most typical is accelerating/decelerating the particles that make it up, heating/cooling their surroundings.

Internalization: It grants the user the power to metabolize wind, obtaining enhanced strength and agility. Also has great synergy with the other wings.

Deception: It grants the user the power to create artificial sounds, sights and even smells.

Each Kin also has unique powers that are born out of the combination of their Wings. The ten Kins are as follows:

Stormbringers (Mutation/Manipulation): Can manipulate the weather.

Skywatchers (Manipulation/Internalization): Can change their weight.

Truthshapers (Deception/Manifestation): Can create solid illusions.

Windbreakers (Manipulation/Manifestation): Can Manipulate the objects they manifest.

Bladecasters (Mutation/Manifestation): Can heat up/freeze the objects they manifest.

Soothsayers (Mutation/Deception): Can cause hallucinations that only select people see.

Talebearers (Manipulation/Deception): Can communicate from far away by transmitting sound via the air.

Soulstealers (Deception/Internalization): Can change their own appearance.

Willkeepers (Manifestation/Internalization): Can create thin layers of Essence around their skin that act as armor.

Snowdrifters (Mutation/Internalization): Can regulate their body temperature and are immune to high heat/freezing cold.

If anyone is wondering; yes, it's possible that I was reading the Stormlight Archive when I came up with this system.

The main magic users in this setting are nobles from the highlands (for more info, see my post from a few days ago where I share a fragment of the novel this system is from and I explain a tiny bit of relevant worldbuilding). There are nine noble houses, known as the High Houses, that are the overlords of the continent. Each High House is related to one Kin of Windcalling. So, for example, the House of Calais is made up of Bladecasters, and so on.

As far as everyone knows, the power is genetic. The members of each High house have natural access to Calling. They're supposed to be descended from the ancient legendary figures known as the Guardians, who were the first to wield magic. You may notice, however, that the numbers don't match. Ten Kins. Nine Houses. There is a reason for that, and a reason why one Guardian was wiped from the legends. The truth is, there is more to this power than it seems. However... that is a story for another day.

...did I make you curious? Hahahaha, I hope so. In any case, I hope to keep sharing stuff about this story that's been living in my brain for the past, gosh, nearly three years now? I'm thinking of doing some character introductions next, concerning my dual protagonists, Saroth and Leiden. A lowlander and a highlander, both of whom have, as far as they're concerned, lost everything (you can read a few paragraphs from Leiden's POV in the post previously mentioned!). If you would be interested in that, it's coming soon, so keep an eye out! I love talking about my brainworms very much, and I enjoy it when others take joy out of listening to me do it :]

Have a wonderful day, my friends, and I wish all of you all the luck in the world in your own creative endeavors! I'm rooting for each and every one of you.

So, for a self-proclaimed writer, I haven't been doing very well with my writing lately. It's been well over six months now since I last wrote anything of substance (I spent two weeks writing a chapter every day and burned myself out, but that's a story for another day). Right now, it's hard to not feel a bitter sense of guilt about it all. Where has all my motivation gone? How dare I call myself a writer? Maybe I should just forget about it. I'd never make it anyway. But then, I remember one particular piece of writing I produced over 9 months ago, some time before hitting my big wall. A seemingly random fragment from chapter 9 of my semi-abandoned WIP. Perhaps it will read as nothing special to you. I won't claim it to be perfect, or even great writing. But to me, it is hope. I showed it to my one and only beta (more like alpha) reader at the time, who'd been keeping up with my novel-writing endeavors, and they told me that these paragraphs had evoked deep feelings in them. That they were beautiful. It won't have that effect on everyone—hell, it won't have it on most people. But, at the very least, I made one person feel something beautiful with my writing. I know that. And is that not what this is all about? As long as I can make one person feel, maybe it's all worth it after all. I will keep calling myself a writer. I won't give up. And I guarantee, you reading this right now have the ability to make people feel too, no matter what. Be strong, friend. I will be rooting for you. I want to share that special fragment of mine with you all. It's out of context, given that it's from chapter 9 of a novel, but I think it can mostly stand on its own. One crucial piece of worldbuilding first: The main trait this fantasy world has is that its two continents (gigantic floating islands/landmasses) are situated in such a way that the one on top (the "highlands") block most of the light/sky for the residents of the one below (the "lowlands"), which is where our POV character currently is, going through some magical trial or other (you'll see!) Without further ado, here's said piece of writing. I hope at least one of you out there who randomly came across this post enjoys it :]

Leiden looked up. The base of the highlands couldn't be more than a couple dozen paces away. From so up close it felt even more oppressive than usual. He noticed a second plaque, inlaid in the roof of the tower, where he was standing. There was more to the trial, as he suspected. After reading its contents, however, he felt confused. ‘I'm glad to see you make it here. Your task is simple: Feast upon the beauty of the sky.’ He looked up again. It would be hard to feast upon what wasn't there. If he looked to the sides, he could just barely make out the thin lines of sky visible beyond the highlands. It didn't feel like enough to exactly feast upon. For the sake of trying something, he lied down with his back to the stone. He had enjoyed cloud watching, back when he was above. Even though there were only rocks on top of him, he wrapped his hands behind his head, and tried to remember the feeling of admiring the sky. He closed his eyes and pictured a summer afternoon, with an open sky decorated by a few lonely clouds. What was the point of this trial? Maybe it had once been possible to see the sky from here. Had the highlands not always been above the lowlands? Perhaps it was all part of the trial. Slowly, those complicated thoughts ran out of steam, and Leiden became fully involved in his personal sky, and his little clouds. It was nice. It had been a while since he'd felt like he could afford to take a moment to just relax. He saw shapes of all kinds in the clouds, as they swirled and morphed and danced with the wind. Sometimes the sun peeked from behind, bathing him in rays of light. He realized there was no need to limit himself to one kind of sky. A wave of darkness swept over the azure background, and small brilliant dots started to cover the sea of black. The moon stood out amongst them all, shining with borrowed light. It seemed larger than usual, like it was stretching to cover Leiden's view to the fullest extent it was capable of. For a moment, within himself, Leiden stopped feeling alone as he became part of a whole. He was a blade of grass, swaying in the dirt, surrounded by acres of grassy fields. He was a star, shining with the endless power of the sun; a speck, part of a map of dots where each one represented wonders beyond a human’s capability to understand. He was everything, and yet he was nothing at all. It was a realization that often eluded a species defined by their willingness to work against nature. What separates a human from an eagle, soaring through the clouds; or an ant, working hard for the good of its colony? What makes us so different from a flower, helping the bee produce its food in exchange for having their lineage continued? Are we so different from a gust of wind, ephemeral in its passing, yet meaningful all the same? Leiden felt like a mote of dust, suspended in a beam of light. Visible only as long as the sun shined, yet always there. He floated in the air, no longer supported by the steady stone beneath him. Well done, child, a voice said. He was so surprised by the voice that he snapped out of his daydreaming. He opened his eyes and realized that he really was floating—or he had been, until the free fall started.

Tagged by @cee-grice! Thanks :]

Rules: Share whatever you've written last

Okay, this is technically not the last original thing I've written, but it is the last thing thing I wrote down. I was doing transcriptions, leave me alone lol, it works. Haven't gotten any fresh writing done in a bit

From chapter 13 of A Moonless Night, and from Leiden's POV:

He took note of every tree, every rock, and every piece of moss in his path. For good measure, he tore out a chunk of bark from a tree, making it obvious someone had messed with it on purpose. That done, he resumed his hike. He’d been feeling paranoid lately, and maybe it wasn’t as unjustified as he’d like to believe. Even if he wanted to trust the things and people around him, a modicum of caution had always been what kept him alive.

(Picrew by @elena-illustration! Thanks a lot :D)

More introductions! Today it's Leiden's turn. Once more, in case you haven't seen my previous posts, here's a brief introduction:

The main trait this fantasy world has is that its two continents (gigantic floating islands/landmasses) are situated in such a way that the one on top (the "highlands") block most of the light/sky for the residents of the one below (the "lowlands"). The highlands are fertile, full of life and wealth. They have large cities and a vast population, and the territory is divided and ruled by noble houses. A feudal system, you know the drift. The lowlands are poor. Crops struggle to grow, and as such the population is much smaller than that of the highlands. They live more isolated lives, with most of the population living in rural villages. A more ancient way of life. The highlanders consider them backwards and dull-witted, but they aren't too interested in the shadowy lowlands, so the only interest they take in them is making sure they do not climb up. The highlands are theirs. As such, travel between the islands is highly restricted, but this only goes one way. As the story goes, the past few winters have been unbearably harsh. Crops have a harder time growing than ever in the lowlands. This has led to a certain group of lowlanders banding together and deciding that enough is enough, and the highlanders ought to share their resources or else they will take them for themselves. This, of course, does not go too well. The nobles of the highlands are used to bickering and warring amongst themselves, and they were more than able to crush the "invading" force with ease. They have retaliated by sending their armies down as a united front and invading the lowlands as revenge for the crime of daring to mess with them.

GENRE: High Fantasy

VIEWPOINT: Dual Close 3rd Person POV

STATUS: First Draft (~30k words in)

SYNOPSIS:

Hey there! Interested in me or my writing? Awesome! Thank you very much ^-^

Who am I? I'm Lyrian, self-proclaimed writer extraordinaire! Alright, maybe not that last part, but I am a writer. I'm here for the fun of it! Currently working on a fantasy novel titled A Moonless Night that I am all too happy to ramble about if allowed. Thus, this blog is born! I have put this masterpost together in order to make it as simple as possible to reach all of my original work in an organized manner. I will edit it as I go along, adding every relevant post I make.

My Writing

WIP Intro

On writing motivation and writer's block (+ a special piece of my own writing)

My Characters

Character Introduction: Saroth

Character Introduction: Leiden

My Worldbuilding