World Building - Denying Seposition

[Ignitedstar]

This world has been carefully crafted by me for one purpose: To tell stories. I will not be writing this story (Gray's in particular) in the traditional sense. I will actually be drawing it as a comic. It's what I've been practicing for the last year. I think two years, now. A new medium is a challenge, but no matter what... everything starts with writing.


Denying Seposition? What does 'seposition' mean? This is very important. It is a word you seldom see. Some people claim it isn't a word at all, but it is.

The act of setting aside, or of giving up.

Then the theme of these stories is to not be set aside or to not give up.


What's the purpose being the title of this piece of fiction? Why is there a character's name in parenthesizes? Denying Seposition is a title for a collection of stories that happen in this fictional universe. In order to keep them all strung together— albeit rather loosely, they all take place on the same world, in the same universe.


I should also mention that all of the characters are anthropomorphic animals, termed Metazoans. What's the animal kingdom called? Animalia. Another word for it is Metazoa, thus the name for the people. As in matter of fact, if you really wanted to be tact, we are all metazoan. Look up what the word means.


Why metazoans? It's more interesting this way. I can break more rules that some deem unacceptable because the characters are human. So if they're half human hybrids, not as many people should care. And I can delve into topics that are far too risque for an all-human environment, whether it's other people or me.


Not to mention, since I wrote earlier I was going to DRAW the first story, I'm not gonna lie that I hit the uncanny valley really hard for human beings. Let's not go there. This also means that no humans will appear in any story at all. Human beings appearing alongside metazoans severely detract from the medium of the universe. I have thought about whether humans should appear or not in these stories for years upon years. Every one of the stories you see posted in here have gone through MANY revisions, some of which used to have humans in them.


The basis of the world will be written in this thread. The actual plots of every story... I am not spoiling those. You can read this entire thread knowing that nothing about the plot of each story will be spoiled. I will write all you need to know to understand the world, the time period, and the situation the plot starts in, but none of the sweet and juicy details that makes people cringe, cry, laugh, angry, and smile. It is difficult to get people to care about characters they have very little investment in... whereas if one were in my position.

 

[Ignitedstar]

Denying Seposition - Gray

​

The current year is 863 A.U. It stands for After the Union. 863 years ago, 18 countries banded together and formed a collection of nations. I suppose the best way to think of it is the collection of nations is sort of like the United Nations. The event was so revolutionary it started a whole new time period. There are times when the members of this collective are friends... there are times when they become enemies. The point of the collective was to empower each individual member through "core laws".


While they all have their own cultures, forms of government, rules to society, and whatever else, they all appoint a Master of the House. To some countries, the Master of the House is the leading member of a monarchy, the president of a republican entity, or a tribal leader. It varies from country to country. Every master has several titles. Master of the House (relative to location), Master of House [Country Name] (specific location), Master [First Name] (the Master of your country), and a fourth title is arbitrarily decided by each Master themselves. Sometimes the fourth title is chosen for them.


The "core laws" I spoke of earlier are what we call the essential human rights. To the Metazoans, this was the first time people were entitled to basic rights to life. Of course, Metazoans are still animal-people. And just like our lives, those essential human rights aren't always enforced and get compromised. Remember that these are only 18 countries, not the entire world. There are plenty of Metazoans who still hunt others as if they were predator and prey. There are plenty of Metazoans who believe themselves well above these "core laws". Then there are those who simply don't give a damn. It's a dangerous and relatively ruthless world to live in. Therefore, one should be thankful they are born as a citizen of one of these 18 countries.


Their world is pretty real. There's no sort of magic or properties that are etheric in nature. Everything is physically bound, much like ours. There are feats that get amplified for being half-animal, but the chance of dying is just as real as it is for us. If you want an estimation of a time period... it's difficult to put a relative time period to our own, because it's something like... a world where gunpowder was never invented, they don't have electricity yet... too many things that don't match up with our own technology and time periods where things we have exist but not for them in a strange way. It puts their world in a pretty unique situation. It doesn't translate well for real-world periods. It's a work of fiction, after all. No gunpowder... yet. Maybe. I don't know, yet.


This story starts in one of those 18 unionized countries, Kallione. Kallione is a relatively untamed land. It's rugged, it has its fair share of plateaus and mountains and canyons. It has its own mines and forested lands as well as flooded plains, bogs, swamps, lots of rivers... It's a pretty place, even though the climate is a bit on the warm side.


Let's move back about 20 years from the current date, so around 843 AU. The previous of Master of House Kallione is terminally ill. He's extremely old and they know that he's going to die in a few years. Kallione is an autocracy. One person has absolute power over all laws and people who live in this country. Anything bad happening to the Master is a huge deal... but only the Master of the House can choose their next successor. If they don't, then the title is up for grabs to any citizen.


That means a lot of people die. This Master of the House is a pretty decent person (not all of them are). He's well liked by his people, but there are a lot of people in the country who want that position so they have their country, their way. He feels pressured to pick a successor... but he can't because he believes that as an autocracy, anyone can undo any progress he has secured for his people. He is right.


There is... one person he thinks of. Let's go back to 20 years ago. Every 5 years, the unionized nations hold something called a The Great Cultural Exchange. It's a week long event that each country hosts in a repeating cycle. Anyone who can prove citizenship from one the 18 countries can participate in it. Like the name of the event says, all of the countries go there to show off the best they've got. The event itself is a reminder. Although the unionized nations may bump heads every once in awhile, sometimes rather violently, they're still together and need to get along when it really comes down to it.


This is also the only week where all 18 Masters of the Houses gather in one area. It's a very special event. A lot of people come to it just to see them all together. Oh, I forgot to list the names of each country. Their names are:


Jhorsonique


Empuridah


Paleontoli


Femurcianu


Jentima-Pol


Volescimune


Stacianille


Gargenwar


Elendian


Feaversek


Andlina


Suijinti


Deleveran


Ucepeles


Noxmaturn


Retelsing


Lunsolio


Kallione


These countries are listed from top to bottom, most to least influential. Isn't this story about Kallione? Why is it all the way at the bottom? It didn't use to be. It used to claim spot #3. Keep reading and you will find out why its at the bottom of the list.


Slave trading isn't illegal in this world. As in matter of fact, a lot of buying a selling of slaves is done during the Great Cultural Exchange. One of those countries does this a special manner, though. Gargenwar doesn't produce slaves. They sell "militarized units". They're essentially living weapons. They only sell one during the Great Cultural Exchange, and usually not even every five years when the event takes place. The buying price is atrociously high.


Why are these militarized units special? They are weapons, not people. Their purpose is to kill. They have no emotions. They have no feelings. They have no thoughts. They do exactly as they are told. Remember that one person the Master of House Kallione was thinking of, the only person who he thinks is worthy enough to take his place? That person is one of those militarized units. The Master of House Kallione was already terminally ill at this time, so in order to ensure the future of his country, he buys the militarized unit being sold during the GCE 20 years ago. It costs him so much money that it blows off a huge chunk of Kallione's wealth.


Kallione's government is an autocracy. The Master of House Kallione can do anything he wants with all of that money, most of it from taxes. He did it in the service of his country, so he claimed it was a valuable investment for the country's security in the future. The purchase inflicted a devastating blow to Kallione's finances and as a direct consequence, their economy. Many people, from the farmhands to the rich nobles, were intensely upset about using all of that money to buy— what essentially amounts to a person who does anything only the Master of the House says. Many people left the country, almost leaving it to collapse and rot slowly, causing Kallione to use lose much of its influence within the union and hitting rock bottom on the list pretty quickly.


So who is this 'weapon' the Master purchased? It took 3 years for it to arrive from Gargenwar to Kallione. It didn't have name nor an identity. It knew nothing of where it would be taken or who would be using it. All it was made for was to obtain orders and execute them to the letter. It could speak— not that he would ever, read— but not understand it very well for being too literal, and write— as if turning in a rigid report. This seemed like the limit of its attributes as a person. It was also a hulking 9'2" alligator dude. The Master of House Kallione gave him a name. Something easy, but characteristic to the giant's appearance, yet ambiguous enough so it fits his unknown origin inside of Gargenwar, but emphasizes his presence.


He named him Gray. A giant alligator dude named Gray. Now what? The Master of House Kallione felt, as Gray was right out of the box, would make a terrible Master. He wouldn't do anything unless instructed to. Gray would just stand there and not do anything until the end of time. How do you get a person who has lived their entire life being told that they are nothing but a weapon and can't do anything unless told to, to lead a country? This is what the Master and many of his subjects were trying to get the Master to-be to learn throughout the next ten years. It took the first two years just to get Gray to consider that thinking for himself was okay.


Ten years passed, seven years away from current times. The Master of House Kallione dies (you learn about why it took so long in-story) and Gray becomes the new Master of the House. Before that can happen however, Gray has to take the oath. They couldn't knock out all of Gray's militarized unit behavior, so an oath was created for Gray to obey as the new Master. The oath came in three rules:


1. I will protect my people.


2. I will protect our country.


3. I will protect our sovereignty.


This story begins seven years later, the current times. Kallione is well underway recovering from its financial disaster. New faces show up wondering what all of the buzz is about the new Master of the House... and just exactly who he is. Then, two days travel away, a 16-year old girl is getting ready to take the exam to work at Kallione Manor, where the Master lives.


Her name is Kali. She's also an alligator metazoan, but a shortie compared to Master Gray. She is the view-point character for the story. She is named after her country of birth, which means she's a native to Kallione. Kali is also the same name of the Indian goddess of destruction, so this girl comes with all of those merits. I also really like the name itself in general.


This is where some design choices come in place. Why am I choosing Kali as the viewpoint character, and what does that mean? The viewpoint character has many names. Some people call it the audience surrogate— the person who asks questions that the audience would ask. This entire work takes place in a fictional world barely anyone knows. Kali is young and inexperienced, so she would ask the questions that would seem obvious for other characters, but not so much for the viewer.


Why isn't Master Gray the viewpoint character? He already knows everything. It wouldn't make sense for any character to be explaining anything to Master Gray. That sounds really dumb. Also, Master Gray doesn't talk very much and he doesn't have any thing in the manner of inner dialogue. He was a militarized unit, so he doesn't think... but he does. It's... he's a complicated character.


Never forget Master Gray is the main character. Kali is the POV character, the person who we see their world through.

 

[Ignitedstar]

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/324/a/5/chapter_1_page_001_s_by_ignitedstar-d874i60.png

How's that?

 

[Ignitedstar]

I've recently been wanting to really write a story. Haha, recently. I've had this story in my head of years. Only recently have I really gotten an itch to write about it.


The main character used to be a gang leader that become quite infamous in the neighborhood, but after he hits a certain age, he ups and leaves to go somewhere else. So while he's the sort of the emo brooding type (this is probably not even the right description) that needs to be VERY carefully applied so I can show people the main theme of the story, which is: YOU make the choice to surround yourself with a certain group of people. And those people say a lot about the kind of person you are, the person you used to be, and the person you want to become.


The story goes all of the way from his late 20s to his 50s. A small amount of time isn't enough. A life lesson like the one I want to convey takes decades to see.


I know of some details. Let's see what else I can pry from my mind...


His name is Culverin, Latin for "snake". His street name that people knew him as was Varin... which I have no idea if it means anything. I just like the name. A lot.


The main antagonist of the story was his best friend and partner in crime, another man named Samuel, which means "God has heard", but Samuel's street name was twisted into Samael, which means "the poison of God."


What are snakes usually known for? Poison... although if you wanted to be scientifically correct, snakes are venomous. They are not poisonous. It fits Varin well, because he's not poisonous... not like Samuel.


They also named their gang members after words and types of poison. Toxic, Acid, Venom, Cyanide, Kerosene... stuff like that.


Culverin and Samuel grew up in an improvised neighborhood. It's usually where a life of crime starts. These two were no different. But they started young. Really young. Culverin's parents were killed when he was around 8, which left him on the streets to fend for himself. Soon afterwards he met Samael, who is the same age, and the two started a life of crime together.


They learned the ropes very quickly... mostly because Samael knows way too much how to steal and commit crimes for a boy his age. It's how Sam was born and raised. They got away with a lot of things because Samael knew his stuff. The neighborhood started calling them "those two boys". They didn't realize they had earned themselves that kind of title.


But these two made the mistake of thinking that title meant respect... so after they were about 13 or so, they officially called their twosome a gang. Samuel was the brains of every operation they ever did. Always made sure to steal from places where they couldn't fail... which usually meant that somehow, he was rigging things in their favor.


Their gang didn't really get much bigger. No gangster wants to be ordered around by two teens, no matter how successful they were. But they did gain a small handful of members.


Around 16 or so, they recruited Michael, because he was in a car crash. Varin and Sam brought him to the hospital, as they should've... Unfortunately for Michael, the car accident left his brain damaged and the poor guy would need meds for the rest of his life. As soon as Michael was admitted out of the hospital, they were told that Michael needed to come back so they could do a more thorough examination of what exactly was wrong with him. The boys never came back.


Then Varin has sex with girl of questionable consent, which forces the girl's parents to no longer want her and they throw her out. Since it was Varin's fault, they are forced to take her in. Samuel learns to make the best of it.


Then when they turned about 18 or so, Samuel convinces an ex-priest to join their gang. Samuel convinced him by telling the poor man that he was exonerated from his congregation because it is a test from God. He believes it wholeheartedly.


Their group never got any bigger than five. Things were really good for them, until Varin turned about 23. Then all of a sudden Varin starts questioning why they are still doing what they are doing.


Samuel never saw as what they were as wrong. Their lives have been situated where they have to live as criminals, and since Samuel is so GOOD at it, Samuel never questioned why. At the time, Varin said that he was tired of always evading the police and wanted to do something else with his life. Samuel declines, very adamantly.


So the two start to fight. Varin thinks that they turn themselves in and really, turn their lives around to do something good instead of robbing, killing, and jerking people off. Samuel thinks that Varin is stupid for thinking it's that easy. Law enforcement would have them dead than to think that they could turn their lives around, especially since they've been committing crimes and getting away with them since they were little boys. Samuel has every right to be furious. He’s the one who has to spend the majority of his life working his ass off to make sure that they can get away with what they do in the first place. Then after all of this time, when they’re finally adults and they’re getting real respect, for their leader to suddenly start having second thoughts about their very way of living?


So, after a long session of verbal shouting and getting physical on each other, Varin ups and leaves.


Varin wanted to get away from all of it. He wanted to go to another city so far away from his hometown that no one would know who he was so he could... try to start something new.


Things don't really end up well for him. He's basically just another thug from the street. He doesn't have any job skills, he's a wanted criminal so he can't exactly go anywhere or do anything that requires a background check... It's hard for him.


---


Now, then. Let's talk about design.


This story shares a similar theme naming as Gray's story, so I would assume that it takes place in a similar world. I've even contemplated whether Varin's story takes place in the same world as Gray's, but a different time period. Honestly, because of how I wrote the outline, it could stand all on its own and still be a story worth telling. That's a good thing, because I can choose to integrate it IF I want to.


There are a lot of things that I have to get away with that I feel I can't get away with if this story took place in a more realistic setting, like on our little ol' Earth. First of all, I highly doubt law enforcement would ever give someone like Varin a chance. Ever. The PD and whoever else is involved would probably kill Varin outright, so I need a world that is a little more lawless, but not terribly so.


I don't see this story taking place during the digital age... and once again, I'm stuck with the fact that I can't use a time period in human history to "match" the time period I envision, because nothing would be able to satisfy the conditions I need for this story to work. Saying it's inspired off of film noir or a period in the 1940s or 50s is flat out wrong— I barely know what film noir even is. Hell, I barely know my 1940s and 50s history. Our history carries way too much context I don't want.


None of that was my inspiration. THIS was, what you saw at the beginning of this post. I started with this prompt:

The main character used to be a gang leader that become quite infamous in the neighborhood, but after he hits a certain age, he ups and leaves to go somewhere else. So while he's the sort of the emo brooding type (this is probably not even the right description) that needs to be VERY carefully applied so I can show people the main theme of the story, which is: YOU make the choice to surround yourself with a certain group of people. And those people say a lot about the kind of person you are, the person you used to be, and the person you want to become.

Only when Varin is quite old could I realistically solve the plot. It's practically Varin's whole life and I not only want it that way, I honestly feel that I NEED it that way. I want to create a story about someone we care about, but it needs to fulfill the goal in my prompt. Surrounding ourselves with people that tells us about who we used to be, who we currently are, and who we will be... I don't know how to do that with only a few years of someone's life. I don't think I can even do that with a decade of someone's life. It requires time, lots of it. It just doesn't sound possible without cutting lots of corners, but then we'd have hanging plot threads and plot holes become easier... I already have plot holes that I don't know how to solve without knowing more about the world Varin lives in, but that's tough when I hardly know anything about that, either.


What intimidates me about this story is how LONG it is. This is a story about Varin that starts when he's six and ends when he's fifty. I originally started writing about Varin while he was in his higher 20's, but I couldn't justify anything he had done unless we could see what he had done in the past, to SHOW the reader that Varin used to be an evil bastard and while he was doing it, he was very proud of it. I also wanted to go into his fifties because Varin's life then on is also incredibly important (spoilers).


Most of what you see in this post was copy-pasted from a document I've written about Varin's story. There's about seven times more for just the outline of the story I've written. Most of it is plot details and very spoilertastic, which is why I didn't write down more of it.