Ummm, I suppose I’ll post a lil update regarding my post in November, and, well, maybe set some goals (that I don’t know if I can accomplish) for this month.
The good news is- I know which WIP I will do. The bad news is, I’ve rewritten the prologue like 3 times since then.
It’s just… I don’t know, I am dissatisfied with the way I incorporate the lore in my story. I feel it’s too dry & fast-paced; hence the rewrite. But even the rewrite feels a bit rushed. It’s possible that I am being overly critical, but at the same time, it’s really a lot of information to present (which is all plot-critical).
Details- contain the plot of the prologue & lore. Skip if you don't want to hear me loredump
TW: fantasy racism
I am writing about a world where people have two names- one serves as a moniker, while the other is the True Name. True Names are carved on their chest upon birth, and usually only their parents (or trusted friends) will know, since knowing one’s true name will grant absolute power over that person. If you are familiar with the Earthsea setting, mine is akin to that.
Another thing about this setting- the known world is largely under the rule of the Imperium (think of it like the Byzantine Empire), but there are two races living in it: thryxes and humans. Thryxes largely look like humans, but they have wings and gemstone-coloured hair and eyes (like aasimars, if you know DnD). They are considered directly born from the gods whereas humans are the gods’ creation. They also live longer, are better than men at almost everything (such as magic and fighting), and are generally considered wiser. Naturally, thryxes look down on men and consider them second-class citizens.
To make it worse for the humans- about 1000 years ago, a human attempted to alter his True Name to mean “god”, so that he may lord over the world. But such an act violated the fundamentals of magic and caused a world-wide catastrophe called Cataclysm. The original gods- the sacred trinity- sacrificed their essence to seal away the damaged world. They become the Wall that protects the Imperium from the chaos outside, but they can no longer walk amongst mortals to perform miracles.
As such, humans are banned from practising magic (called Wordweaving) to prevent them from causing a second Cataclysm. If anything bad happens, they are the first to receive blame, no matter the true culprit. Some humans accept this as punishment for their ancestor’s sins, but others are angry- yet helpless- at the thryxian oppression.
The story begins with a coronation ceremony. A young thryxian prince is about to become the co-emperor of the Imperium, and he is unlike any of his predecessors. He doesn’t blame humans for the Cataclysm; instead, he wants to mend the rift between the two races. Against his brethren’s wishes, he elevated several humans into nobility as a gesture of goodwill.
One among the new nobles is the MC’s father’s associates, a man named Velius (his exact relationship with MC’s father is dependent on MC’s chosen background) who just came back from an expedition outside of the Wall (or so he claims). To thank him for bringing back a relic of the Old Imperium, the prince gifts him a title and an estate.
This, of course, makes other thryxes angry. Some suspect foul play, and indeed, they discover traces of mind-altering magic on the relic. Thinking that Velius tampered with it, they decide to interrogate him, and the man confesses that your father is the one who helped him. In reality, your father is innocent. Despite the evidence being circumstantial, MC’s whole family is sentenced to death- to make an example, or so the thryxes say- and there’s nothing they can do about it.
As MC faces the executioner’s sword, they hear the voice of a mysterious being. They offer to help MC, and if MC follows their instructions, they will feel the blade cutting them open and pass out. Then, they will up again- unhurt and very much alive. Everything seems normal, except that they don’t have a True Name anymore.
This concludes the plot I planned for the prologue, and the next step will be the MC seeking revenge against the trio of thryxes who falsely accused their entire family (only to find they are being killed by someone else first)- which is the plot of Act 1. In the prologue, I am hoping to get across three critical pieces of lore: 1. What are the thryxes and their stature in the Imperium; 2. The creation myth of the world, the gods, fundamentals of magic, and the Cataclysm; 3. Importance of True Names. For point 1, I have to state it as soon as the prince makes the entrance- he is a thryx, after all- along with the explanation of what a thryx is. This makes the opening a long blurb of lore dump which I am unhappy about. For point 2, since the first scene is the ceremony, I figured that I could let some priests talk about the creation myth as they crown the prince. This ideally solves it, but it’ll be a very long speech and may bore my readers. As for point 3, this is the most difficult- it has something to do with both point 1 & 2, so I have to slip a hint at the priest’s speech, then properly talk about it after MC discovers that their true name is gone. If I only talk about it after the True Name is gone, it’ll be too abrupt. But if I talk about it during the priests’ speech, it’ll make the speech even longer.
So yeah, here’s my conundrum. My ideal way of presenting the info is to sprinkle it between plot arcs, but so far, the how eludes me. Does anyone have any idea?
I’ve decided to set this aside and write Act 1 instead, assuming that I’ve done all the lore dump in the prologue. Then I’ll go back and look at it with fresh eyes. Maybe that’ll fix the problem. Hopefully.
So the goal(s) of this month:
- At the minimum, finish sub arc 1 for Act 1.
- If I have time, go back to the prologue and do some more rewrite/editing.
I am hoping to finish Act 1 before publishing this WIP, but at this rate, it seems only possible after March 2025. Fingers crossed for a miracle lol.
So I just calculated those as 5-word days) ~1185 words! For me, that’s a pretty good month. And then I read Mr Cataphrak’s post about consistency (thank you Eiwynn, always, for the cool articles you share), and I think I’m gonna set a daily quota of 5 words. I don’t think I’m gonna start that just yet, but I’ll probably implement that later this month.