#posts by dave

Your party is walking along a forest trail by moonlight, trying to make it to the next town before the inn closes for the night. As you make your way in the dim light, you see an old man sitting by the side of the trail, his head bowed low under a wide brimmed hat.

Feeling sorry for the poor fellow who obviously has nowhere warm and safe to spend the night, you toss a few coins at his feet. One of your companions pats you on the back as you continue, and you feel a swell of satisfaction at your good deed.

And then you feel several sharp thumps on the back of your head as the coins smack against your skull.

“What’s the big idea just droppin’ your trash wherever ye please?” says an oddly spry voice from behind you. “The forest is no place for emptying pockets and scattering bits and bobbles!”

You turn around to see the man you passed by, now standing and holding a long walking stick. Next to him you see (though you don’t know how you could have missed it before) either a very large dog or a very tame wolf.

“Uh, that’s not... It wasn’t garbage sir,” you stammer out. “Those were coins I dropped at your feet.”

“And why would you do a thing like that?” he asks, not unkindly, but not with the gratitude you might have expected either.

“Well, you’re alone out here and I figured you might be... hungry?” The end of your sentence turns into a question under the piercing gaze of the stranger.

“Hungry?! Ha!” The man laughs. “How could I possibly be hungry with such an abundant feast all around us?”

Just then your grumbling stomach speaks up, making it obvious you have no idea what kind of feast the man could be thinking of. It also reminds you and your companions of your desire to get to the inn at the next town while its kitchen might still be open.

“I’ll tell you what,” says the stranger, now smiling at you, “I’m no fool. I know you were trying to show me a kindness, and for that I thank you. To make amends for your sore head, allow me to provide you all with an evening meal and a bit of entertainment!”

“We appreciate your offer,” says one of your companions, “but we really must keep going.”

“Not a problem!” the man replies. “I tend to eat on the move too. Keeps the old limbs limber as timber, as the saying goes! Lead the way!”

As the five of you walk, the old man begins to whistle a tune.

As he whistles, his dog hops excitedly around him, and his walking stick begins to glow. Many of the blossoms and flower buds near the trail seem to give off a faint light as well, in a myriad of colors.

Branches from the trees begin to bend down, with faintly glowing fruit now easily in arm’s reach. Berry vines you hadn’t noticed before now seem to line the edges of the path on all sides, offering plump and juicy berries to enjoy.

You glance at the stranger. He gives you a slight nod as he continues whistling. You pluck one of the berries and put it in your mouth. DELICIOUS!!

“Are you a Nature mage, then?” asks the youngest member of your party. “I’ve never met one before.”

The stranger stops whistling and smiles. “Well now I don’t know that anyone has ever called me a ‘mage’ before,” he says. “Though I am quite fond of nature. I’ve just never cared too much for books and classrooms. They’re fine for some folks of course, but I prefer to seek out magic through other means than disciplined spells.”

“There are ways to use magic other than spells?”

“A great many!! Probably more ways than there are squirrels in this forest! My personal preferred method is music.”

Your young companion looks to you, trying to figure out if the man is making some kind of a joke. “You can’t cast magic through music, can you? Really? Is that something special for Nature magic?”

“Of course you can! Music can cast magic of any element, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes a bit more naturally to Nature magic, what with our love of harmony and all.” At this he gives you a quick, knowing wink.

“Let’s see,” he continues, sizing up your party while stroking his chin. “Between the four of you I’d say you can cast Lightning, Earth, Metal, and Water spells. Is that right?”

“How could you possibly know that?” asks the water mage in your group.

“Don’t worry,” says the man, waving a hand. “I’m not reading your minds. I can’t do that like you can. I just happen to have a talent for seeing connections between people. I have a nose for sniffing out how groups and different elements fit together. Like how two of you are secretly quite fond of each other.”

At this last comment everyone in your party becomes quite stiff, not wanting to make eye contact with any other member of the party. At this the man laughs heartily.

“Relax! I won’t spoil the surprise. Now eat, I still have some entertainment that I promised to provide.”

“Can music REALLY cast magic from any element?” your young companion finally bursts out again. “Not just nature?”

“Hmmm...” The man strokes his chin and begins to whistle his tune again. “It’s like this...”

Well wind, it sure can whistle

And rain keeps quite a beat

Hearing sandstone rubbed together

Can make me tap my feet

And there is no denyin’

Some singers sing with fire

But nature’s the conductor

That can harmonize the choir

Yes horns of brass and metal

Can trumpet clear and far

And those electric fiddles…

….

….

(OK, so they’re bizarre)

But just ask anybody

Be they Oni, Elf, or Faun

And they’ll confess that nature

She provides the wood baton

He closes his song and you find that despite the corny lyrics and campy tune, you couldn’t suppress your smile.

“So that’s it then?” you ask, raising your eyebrow. “Nature is simply the best?”

“Bah! Haven’t you been listening?” he says incredulously. “Nature is all about finding the harmony in life. You can’t have harmony without balance, and you can’t have balance if everybody is trying to sing the loudest.”

The light of his walking stick dims a bit as he speaks next. “Some nature mages who come through here, they’ve got heads full of moss. They think the only way to appreciate nature is to keep it ‘pure,’ which to them means keeping everything and everyone else out.”

“They don’t get it,” he says with a sigh. “This new world of discovery and exploration isn’t something that can be kept out, and trying to is only going to make things worse. The only way to keep Nature healthy is to be part of helping everyone, all the nations, all the spell schools of every element, to find that harmony for themselves.”

“I don’t know,” you say with a sad shrug. “I’ve seen a lot of struggle, and I’ve been through a lot of fights. We all have.” Your companions nod in agreement. “How do you even begin to tackle something like that?”

“I find a good place to start is just to get the song stuck in somebody else’s head,” he says with a wink.

Just then, you come around a bend in the trail and you see the light of the inn’s windows in front of you. “Hey we made it!” you say. “Why don’t you come join us for the night, and...”

You and your companions turn to look at the stranger, but he’s gone. No glowing stick, no large dog, not even footprints or tracks where he had been just a moment before. The faint glow of berry juice around your lips is the only evidence that it hadn’t just been a dream.

“Well, I guess he had somewhere else to be,” you say to the rest of your party. “Come on, let’s get inside and out of this night air.”

Your party has been traveling by airship for ten hours, and so far it’s been smooth sailing. Normally the four of you wouldn’t be able to afford tickets for a luxury vessel like this, but you were able to work out a bargain with Captain Valen, the owner. You and your allies would be allowed to travel for a fraction of the cost, in exchange for helping the crew and defending the ship from airborne threats like dragons and air elementals.

Hopefully small air elementals, you think to yourself as you look down over the railing.

Not that the threat of falling is really an issue. Everyone on board, even the crew, was issued a swan-shaped ring when they boarded the airship. The ring will cause them to float to the ground as gently as a feather if they fall overboard, and even float on water indefinitely in case of a water landing. Too bad you have to return it when your party arrives at your destination, you remind yourself.

Thinking of your destination turns your thoughts inward. There’s no guarantee that Academie Arcana will provide any real leads for the mystery that’s already taken you across multiple continents. But at this point you’re convinced that the Academie is your only hope of getting any answers at all.

A chill gust of wind from the north makes you shiver, and you spin around in alarm for the eighth time in the last hour. Like the other seven times, it was nothing but a normal gust of wind. But that’s no guarantee for the ninth time.

You turn the swan ring on your finger and look to the other three corners of the ship where your companions are stationed on lookout. If they were attacked by an air elemental, the ring could put you in just as much danger of being blown into the stratosphere as anything else. The thought makes you grip the rope next to you with white knuckles.

A warm breeze behind you brushes across your cheek, causing your neck and shoulders to relax. And then you hear a deep, breathy voice in your ear.

“It seems tragic that a face like yours should wear an expression like that on an evening as lovely as this.”

Your heart skips a beat. The voice came from behind you. There shouldn’t be anything behind you except the railing of the ship and some clouds.

You turn around, though not as quickly as you did just a moment ago. There, standing on the railing of the airship, leaning casually against a rope, is a devastatingly attractive djinn.

It takes several seconds for your brain to wrap itself around the figure before you, starting your gaze low and working your way up.

Shiny black boots that go halfway up the calf, with striped pants tucked into them. A leather belt around the waist secures a cutlass to one hip and a spyglass to the other. A ruffled white shirt that’s mostly covered by the long red coat with gold trim that seems to billow gently in the wind.

And above the collar is a face of such confidence and mirth that you swear that in contrast it makes it seem as if everyone else you’ve ever met had something to hide. And this is the first time you’ve seen the face of any person who has nothing at all to hide. No doubt, no shame, no hesitancy.

And surrounding that magnificent magenta face is shoulder length hair that seems to burn like an orange fire as it dances in front of the setting sun and the airship full of sky pirates rising up from below...

Wait. What was that last part?

Oh dragon snot. You shake your head back to your senses. Where in the wide world did THEY come from?!

“Greetings to you all, my esteemed guests!” the djinn calls out as every conversation on deck goes silent. “For those of you not aware, my name is Captain Cinder. But since we’re all friends here, you may call me ‘Captain’ or ‘CC,’ if you wish. I am accustomed to keeping things familiar, so I hope you’ll choose whatever makes you most comfortable.”

Captain Cinder gives you a wink before walking past you, strolling into the center of the crowd of passengers. As Cinder’s airship rises level with yours, several members of their crew step casually across planks, with swords sheathed at their hips and relaxed smiles at their lips.

“Now I know what you’re all thinking,” the Captain continues. “You’re thinking, ‘That can’t really be THE Capatain Cinder, can it? I heard Captain Cinder was a handsome swashbuckler of a man with a voice like honey and a gaze that makes every young adolescent’s heart melt!’”

Switching to a deeper voice and different accent, the Captain goes on. “‘I heard Cinder was a rogue temptress with charms that could beguile even the most hardened mercenary or miserly merchant!’”

Shifting to the comically high pitched voice of a child, “I heard Captain CC has been the bestest pirate in the whole entire world for over 600 years! And that’s even older than my grandpa over there!’” At this last comment, Captain Cinder points to a white-haired moon elf in the corner and a chuckle begins to spread through the crowd.

“Well as you can plainly see,” says the Captain, returning to their original baritone voice, “you’re ALL right!” At this, the chuckling on board ignites into a burst of laughter from both passengers and crew.

“Ah what an enchanting occasion it is when two vessels of mutual affection should pass each other in a chance encounter such as this, among these golden clouds and ruby sunsets.”

“But speaking of gold and rubies, I now must lean upon this mutual affection of ours and speak of sparkling matters. Donations, to be precise! Gifts given by you out of your admiration and adoration, and accepted by me and my crew out of our gracious and grateful hearts. Here come the boxes, friends!”

You watch, dumbfounded, as the passengers on board happily deposit money purses and heirlooms into the open treasure chests the pirate crew carry politely to each person.

Occasionally you see Captain Cinder personally address one of the passengers. Wealthy women blush and smile flirtatiously as they remove their jewelry for the Captain. Noblemen make a show of removing more and more wealth from hidden compartments of their coats, as Cinder gives a look of feigned shock and an impressed gasp at each new gift. Despite the raid (or perhaps because of it) everyone seems to be in the best mood they’ve felt since the trip began.

In all the excitement, you can’t see your three companions at the other corners of the ship, but you’re sure they’re fine. Everyone seems fine! Even an air elemental would probably decide to join the party if it came along.

Finally, far too soon, the sun begins to dip below the horizon, and Captain Cinder begins to offer sweet farewells. They give their final goodbye to you, their first hello.

Captain Cinder leans in close. “I can see you have little to offer as a donation, but perhaps you would prefer to give me a different kind of gift?” Your heart skips another beat as they continue in a whisper, “My ship can deliver you anywhere you choose. And in the meantime we can enjoy some privacy to become better acquainted.”

You can feel every eye on board boring into you with envy at the intimate attention, but you’re not thinking about them. You’re thinking about your beloved back home and what might happen if you gave in to such an offer.

“No thank you,” you say quietly. You can manage to say nothing else. To your relief, the Captain gives you another warm, genuine smile.

“I see. It takes a very special kind of love to resist a spell of Charming as strong as mine. And it takes a very special kind of person to treasure that love so faithfully.” The Captain reaches inside their inner coat pocket and retrieves a crimson gem.

“This ruby is very special too. In its center it contains a spark of red dragon fire. But it can only be seen by one whose love burns as intensely as yours.”

The Captain’s smile becomes sad, but no less charming. “Once, a very long time ago, that ruby shone as brightly as a torch for me. Now it only flickers like a candle on its last bit of wick. I’d like you to have it.” You find yourself completely speechless as Captain Cinder places the jewel in your hand and gently closes your fingers around it.

After all of the pirates have returned to their ship and the planks have been raised, the Captain calls out to you one last time. “May the Elements protect you until you can deliver that gift to your own beloved! Farewell my friends!!” And then the ship sails through the air speedily away.

As the last of the daylight fades away over the horizon, a chill wind blows from the North again, and the resulting shiver causes many to shake their heads and gather their senses, though the effects of the spell still linger faintly.

“Captain...” you whisper to yourself. Then your eyes widen. “Captain!” you shout. Captain Valen, your captain, the captain of the ship you and your companions are aboard right now, the captain who hired you specifically to protect his ship from threats. How could you have failed him like that?!

You run across the deck of the ship, halting breathlessly when you find him. Your three companions are there too, looking as embarrassed and ashamed as you surely feel. But at least none of THEM were guarding the corner of the ship where the pirates actually boarded from.

All of you try to stammer your apologies at once. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know how we could’ve possible just stood there while-” But Captain Valen cuts all of you off with a wave of his hand.

“Relax,” he says. “Captain Cinder is a local legend in these parts, and with good reason. In all honesty, most of the wealthiest passengers on board booked this trip in the hopes that we’d be boarded.” Valen then adds with a wink, “Though I’d never tell Cinder or their crew that. They’d be furious if they thought they’d become predictable.”

“Then you’re not angry with us for not stopping them?” you ask.

“I’d have been flabbergasted if you did!” replies Valen. “I’ve been boarded by those pirates more times than I can count, and I’ve never had a member of my crew come anywhere close to stopping them. Why should I expect any differently from you four?”

“Though I’ll admit, THAT is new,” he says, pointing at the ruby still clutched in your hand. “That’s quite the valuable keepsake you’ve got there. How about a trade?”

“What?” you ask, taken by surprise.

“I’d be willing to let you keep that enchanted swan ring you’re wearing in exchange for the jewel,” he offers. “They’re not cheap, I can tell you. It will take me three months to earn back enough to replace it. But I think it’s a fair trade. Never fear drowning or heights for the rest of your life! What do you say?”

You look at the ring on your hand and consider the offer. You’ve always been a pretty strong swimmer, and the hights don’t really seem so bad anymore.

“No thank you,” you say for the second time that day.

The djinn are a species on Alterra whose relationship with the ten elements is regarded as more “spiritual” than most. While any being who aligns themself to an element will be affected by that connection, the djinn experience that connection at a much deeper and more personal level. 

To explain this, let’s take a step back. Learning to use magic on Alterra requires more than just memorizing spells. Spells are the mechanism that focuses and directs the magic, but it’s the elements that provide the energy needed to fuel those spells. And in order to access that elemental energy, a person needs to align themself to the central motivation of that element. 

For example, the element of Fire wants to “change the world around it.” So someone who desires to change the world around them is going to be able to connect to the element of Fire much easier than someone who is already content with the world as it is. That’s not to say that a person’s alignment to an element is set in stone (insert Earth element pun here) because as someone’s personality and worldview changes, their elemental alignment may change over time as well. 

For individuals among most intelligent species on Alterra, this personal alignment to one of the elements can be fairly subtle. It need not be overt, nor override every other motivation or desire they have. (Dragons, for example, will always be greedy, and that will consistently override any elemental influence they may feel.) One’s elemental alignment is part of their personality, but it is not the entirety of their personality. 

For djinn, the connection to their elemental alignment goes much deeper. Each djinn still has their own unique identity and personality, but every aspect of that identity is impacted by their elemental alignment. Even their skin, hair, and eye color will vary based on the element to which they are aligned. 

Djinn unaligned to any element do exist, and are sometimes called “gray djinn,” but these are typically very young djinn who have not been alive long enough to settle on a particular element they wish to align themselves to. (This is one of the only ways to distinguish young djinn from older djinn since they do not age the same way as most other species on Alterra. More on that later.) Among mature djinn, it is extremely uncommon to be unaligned to an element. 

To understand why, it’s important to understand the life cycle of a djinn. In many ways, the life of a djinn is like the life of a flame (whether that djinn is aligned with the element of Fire or not.) A djinn’s life begins when a “spark” is summoned by a community of djinn powerful enough to give that spark a physical form. Those who participate in this summoning are considered the young djinn’s parents, and take on a shared responsibility to nurture and care for them to help them reach maturity. 

The lifespan of a djinn is not a matter of cellular degeneration or disease, but of inner balance. A djinn who becomes too disengaged or apathetic to the world around it risks the “inner heat” of their spark dying out, causing the djinn to fade out of the world. On the other hand, a djinn who allows their emotions and desires to grow out of control risks their inner heat consuming them and everything around them in an explosive burnout. Thus, the key to a long and healthy life for a djinn comes from finding a balance for that inner heat that may be sustained over decades and even centuries. 

For those who cannot (or simply no longer want to) maintain that balance however, the djinn believe that death is not the end. After all, the spark that was given form when they were summoned did not come from this world, so it stands to reason that such a spark would endure and take on a new form and purpose after it leaves their current body. 

But where does the spark go when a djinn dies? Well, that depends on which element the djinn was aligned to when they were alive. The djinn believe that each element has its own unique afterlife that is specially suited to be a kind of heaven for souls aligned to that element. After centuries of contemplation and debate, djinn philosophers have come to a general consensus over what these these heavens are likely to be. (Though there is no way to objectively confirm their theories since no one has ever visited one of these heavens and been able to return to Alterra.) 

It’s worth noting also that while djinn are the species who most widely believes in these heavens, the djinn do not believe that these heavens are exclusive to djinn. They believe that the souls of every species on Alterra will be taken to one of these heavens when they die, as long as that soul was aligned to an element in life. (Even if they don’t believe in those heavens themselves.) 

Below the “Keep Reading” link, we’ll explore the ten heavens of the elements, as well as the afterlife speculated to exist for unaligned souls. 

Hey everybody! Dave here (aka @flavoracle) with an introduction for a series of posts I’m calling the “Alterra Worldbuilding Journal.” (You know, like the title above implies.) 

Here’s the main thing you need to know about the posts in this series: These share thoughts about and possible interpretations of the world of Alterra that have come up during my weekly talks with the game’s creator and head designer, Parrish (aka @professortallguy) but none of it should be taken as the final word or “cannon” of the world. While I certainly like these theories and worldbuilding ideas, “Age of Exploration” players and storytellers should NOT feel constrained or restricted by anything I’m posting here. 

Why am I taking the time to write this whole intro? Because in these posts, I’m going to be writing these thoughts and theories as if they are fact, and not speculation. (Believe me, after starting some early drafts, doing this allows me to keep the wording MUCH simpler than constantly adding qualifying statements like, “according to this theory...” or, “so my thoughts on this are...”) 

This post will also serve as a kind of master post that I can update with links to all of the Worldbuilding Journal posts below the “Keep Reading” area. 

OK, so with that out of the way, let’s get to some worldbuilding, shall we?