#world creation

Kind 1:

Kind 2:

Kind 3:

Want to read the third kind of story, try Christopher Buehlman's The Necromancer's House, Hal Duncan's Vellum (you need to read this anyway) or John Bellaris's The Face in the Frost. I'd argue that Steven Erikson's Warren/Hold magic system in The Malazan Book of the Fallen works like this, mostly because nobody in the goddamn series is really sure how the magic system works. Not really a spoiler there, you kinda realize it the deeper you get into the series, but also as the characters learn more about it themselves.

Nobody knows how that big flying fortress flies. It just kinda does. Art by Felix Ortiz (@FelixOrtizArts )for his incredible work on Gardens of the Moon cover for the Broken Bindings edition.

The thread mentioned.

And Lincoln Michel's Worldbuilding advice (read his book The Body Scout if you like cyberpunk, limb-repossession by brutal corporate interests, and/or baseball. Excellent book.):

XXI. Chaos.

In your world, black can be the color of love. Horns can be a symbol of corruption. Hooves can be the sign of loyalty.

"First-- Nothing. Just still Deepwaters, & quiet, & darkness. Then, suddenly, a great bird breaks Height and drowns in Depth, becoming nutrients, for in her stomach held is a single seed: Oris, the Roots of what is to become the very essence of our world."

-- excerpt from the Orisian Cosmic Hymn, trans. Et. Longmaul (354PR)

& thus begins the Creation Myth of Yuwen, paired with two metaphorical "maps" of before and during this event, as depicted in a series of drawings by Pre-Rending Galmerean artist Winkle Featherspit, which was initially penned to paper in 232NE as a part of a devotional to the major divinity Mirae.

its not finished

I can't believe I've been at this for over six months, and nothing. Oh God.

...............

‘The human body is subject to an exchange of electrical potential difference between the atmosphere and the earth, that is, it is constantly traversed by electrical charges that it then absorbs and expels.’

-University of Valencia

—--------------

Carlos Rodriguez, a human with round glasses, wavy brown hair, and dark skin from the United Nations of Humanity, was very fascinated by the environment in which he found himself, and above all by being the first human to make contact with another world. It wasn't thanks to his contacts, no, (many told him that, he had no contacts) there was a contest among the seven tied in the tests and he had come out on top. That was a great achievement, no matter what his family said. They were on Earth and he was here, on this beautiful planet made of the same stars. Admitted humans must take a daily pill to be able to interact not only with living beings, but with the planet itself. Without that pill, a human or any physical being would simply pass through everything and be lost in space. Which was a little scary, but he had to be strong.

‘Physical changes such as unexpected hunger came to an end as soon as I entered this planet. As expected, the beings around me felt tired when they saw me for the first time, and it is still the same 27 days later. The days on the matter-energy separator ship were hard. There was nothing to do, and the meals seemed insufficient. They had little life or energy in them. It felt like I was eating air.’

He paused as he made his report, the screen in front of him flickering. Carlos hadn't thought about it, but it did feel like eating air. It filled his stomach but didn't fill him at all. It was intriguing, and everything scientific in him wanted more.

‘The other 15 humans have shown the same symptoms, losing muscle fat, and some even showed signs of severe malnutrition and have been treated by the galactic council of this planet. A rapid improvement is expected. The inhabitants have not yet found a possible cause or cure for our fatigue or hunger, not really, but I have a theory that I cannot share until I have more data.’

He dismissed the request for information. He had already read the available information and there was nothing, nothing to indicate that humans fed on environmental energy except for the aliens being tired and hungry while in a ship that isolated them from external energy. It was known that humans derive energy from their food, and they could exchange and use it according to esoteric science, but apart from that, nothing else, it was frustrating.

—

—So Carl, may I call you Carl? —

—Car, that's fine— The joking tone went unnoticed by the constellation of stars and galaxies in front of him, which simply wrote the preference in the air. Carlos found it fascinating how every being on this planet was a solitary star like the suns, which Carlos swore had some kind of gravity, what appeared to be planets, or simply constellations, galaxies and stars. it was like seeing micro universes in front of him, only they were very tall compared to humans.

‘Very well, sir... Car...’ He seemed unsure of how to pronounce it, which was fine, because to humans their language was music and random instruments with varied explosions. ‘Follow me this way and I'll take you to see our scientists. In general, we are very concerned about your feeling of hunger that persists despite your own time.’

Of course, they did not feel time at all. They were almost eternal beings, ending when their stars stopped shining, but they did not count down the days until their death. No. They simply lived and left happily, their death leaving behind another of their own kind. Carlos couldn't help thinking about all those translated books he had read. He had even asked for extras and knew that the science here was more magical than human science, but even so, it was incredible, something completely new to learn.

‘Yes, our people too.’ He let his eyes wander around the facilities. It was like looking at abstract paintings and made his brain ache, but it was all a unique opportunity. ‘We are very concerned that this will happen in more worlds, not only with your people. Although all the species we have encountered so far do not show great signs of fatigue, we realised that this varies depending on the time they spend with a human and the state of the human.’

The starry being, which reminded the human of the Andromeda galaxy, looked at him. It had no eyes, but he felt its presence simply focusing on his own being, causing a slight chill that his mind quickly filed away for later. ‘That's a difficult subject, but we hope our scientists can satisfy your hunger for knowledge.’

Carlos stammered, unable to say a word. Was it considered rude to look at everyone and everything? Had they found out about his ‘night-time’ outings to take notes on the environment and its people?

‘There is nothing to regret or feel humiliated about. We are here to deal with the area of knowledge. We will guide you and your people in whatever you desire.’

Carlos couldn't help but feel embarrassed...