SC 2024 Pledge and Prep

Summer Camp is my favorite event here on World Anvil, because the community is so freakin' awesome. The challenges are great, and it's so inspiring to read others' responces to the prompts. It's been a hot minute since I've done much writing on WA. But, I've been keeping my eye on the calander, looking forward to SC prep. And here we are. June. Summer is only a promise here in Seattle - daily temps are still in the 50's. So I'll stoke the fire and warm myself at the forge, and dream....

Themes

Change

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

— Lao Tzu

In 834 Post Divergence, much of Exandria is moving into an era of new ideas and new technologies/magic. Recieved knowledge is being re-examined, and orthodoxy is being challenged.

Catalysts:

• Movable-type Printing Press
• A hunger for reform, waining appeal to ancient authorities
• Advancements in travel technology

Refuge

Even if I know I shall never change the masses, never transform anything permanent, all I ask is that the good things also have their place, their refuge.

— Richard Wagner

Violence in its many forms creates the need for refuge.

Belief

The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

— Terry Pratchett

Religious belief has certainly been a central part of the life of most people in Exandria. When gods do grant power for divine magic, it is hard to ignore them. The ruins of Aeor and the chaos of the God Wars are a clear and ever-present warning to anyone considering challenging the gods, though this will come up in a few decades when Ludinous attempts to free Prodothos.

In this age, though, new beliefs are growing - beliefs about freedom, personal agency, the ability of thinking beings to understand the world around them. The question "what do you believe in" is less about your theology and more about your values. If some people gravitate towards aligning themselves with a god, it's less about awe, and more about shared values and goals.

Decay

Although decay is kinda gross, without it we'd all be up to our eyeballs in dead bugs.

— traditional Druid aphorism

Exandria is an old world. Old enough for a civialization to develop the technological and arcane prowess to challenge the gods, be thrown down, and pass into half-forgotten legend. In the ruins of the mightiest city, stasis bubbles can be found that defy the laws of entropy and decay. Perhaps they were a last ditch attempt to protect the citizens? There is no reliable documentation of anyone sucessfully breaching one of these bubbles

There are gods among the prime dietys that could be said to support decay. The Wild Mother surely understands the need for death and decay to release nutrients necessary for new growth.

In general, though, unless you're involved in agriculture, most mortals bend their powers towards stopping or at least delaying decay. The obcession to attain immortality seems to crop up in just about any culture. Even more universal is a much more mundane quest to preserve food from decay.

Camp Feral Badge by Strixxline

Homework

Week 1: Get Organized!

1. Theme: Change. Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.
2. Complete the Summer Camp Pledge
3. Organize catagories and tags.
4. Update the Meta.

Week 2:

1. Theme: Refuge. Consider what kinds of refuge would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.
2. Find a community—whether that’s our Discord server, Facebook Group, your RPG or friend group, or something else.
3. Find ways to improve styling and layout in your world!
4. If you’re a CSS wizard, maybe take the time now to give it a polish!

Week 3:

1. Consider what kind of beliefs would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.
2. Create a bank of inspirations! Quotes, music, description of experiences and shower thoughts, etc.
3. Find art and pictures that inspire you, and grab a map if you don't have one (and need one).
4. Check your inspirations again. Are they still relevant? Can you find any that better represent the current state of your project?

Week 4:

1. Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.
2. If you like special tea when you write, stock up for a month. Tidy your office, make a “do not disturb” sign, and think about any other last-minute strategies to optimize your writing space and time!
3. Review your world homepage to hook potential readers!
4. Take a look at your author profile and pillar articles on your world and polish them!