Summer Camp Reading Challenge 2024

Well, well, well, if it isn't the month of August once again and time for reading everyone's summer camp articles. That is to say, certainly not everyone's right now — I'm glancing at the 200+ notifications from just the few worlds I follow — but it's time to make a small dent. This year I tried to keep up a bit with just reading articles from one world first (it's Istralar btw, Hanhula is my hero), but even that didn't work out because apparently my brain just has the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to reading articles, despite my excitement for them! (Yes, this feels eminently unfair) Fortunately other lovely folks have been publishing their reading challenge articles by now and damnit, I want to write one too and shine a spotlight on the amazing people that inspire me daily to create stuff. With that opening waffle out of the way, here are some amazing articles that caught my attention in various ways and I highly recommend you check out.

Reaving Thirst

I really enjoy this article for how macabre the condition seems and the delightful sense of creepiness it inspires. Every slight sense of thirstiness while reading this article (somewhat inevitable when reading about so much salt) causes an uneasiness in me that to me is the mark of a great creepy article! Plus the way this turns salt from a symbol of hospitality into something potentially horrific is great.

Limitanei

This is such a fun article about the frontier soldiers of an empire. It gives a really nice, clear overview of the logistical and organisational sides of things with lots of fun details on equipment and tasks and even some of the folklore and attitudes surrounding these troops. It's actually quite a long, in-depth article but it's so readable I just zoomed through it. The art is also super cute and fun and clearly shows the details mentioned in the text.

The Dark Monks

I'm a sucker for spies and similar so secretive church agents was bound to appeal to me. I especially enjoyed the dark reputation, name, and (probably) aesthetic of this faction contrasted with the work they actually appear to be doing. At least I'm assuming that rescuing lost people and prevent demon summonings is mostly a good thing - but who knows if that's all...

The Theenor Accord

The article itself is so sparse, just the contents of the document and some brief details in the sidebar. But from what little I've read of Goxrenxia, this is a really important point in history - ending the formal war between their elves and animal folk, but also the basis for much of the current continual tension in the world. I really love for it that reason, and somehow the related reading blocks in the sidebar underline how central this is to the relationships of this world.

Valtena by Alishahr

I actually couldn't choose between these two articles in Alishahr's world Valtena. They are both short and simple and both get right to the core of the matter, painting a vivid picture of what they describe. Of course I caved for the secret society again and come on, "Society of Agreeable Philosophers", what a name! The soft shell fungus made my little biologist heart happy with the the great description of the effects and life cycle of the fungus and simultaneously cringe in sympathy for the Duugaths. I was very relieved to read of the cure at the end! (Can I once again mention they achieved this in under 400 words with no images or fancy layout?)

Tikijitoa - Ceremony of Ashes

This beautiful article really evoked a sense of a comforting funeral tradition for me - lovely descriptions of the decorations and rites surrounding a death, which also incorporated some nice insights into the culture and societal structure of the people involved. Those cultural descriptions plus a little vignette also grounded the article so it still very much had the solemnity of death and not just pretty descriptions. The layout and use of colour in this article is amazing, it had an immense visual appeal to me which further amplified the sense of comfort.

Tale of the Greedy Swain

This is an excellent myth that evokes all the feeling of a real, traditional folk tale and yet the article also incorporates its likely propogandic origins. The story itself is very good, with all the traditional elements of privation, temptation, love and greed and a lush imagery. Surrounding that is information about its history, variations and its integration into cultural traditions which grounds it more into the world and increases thet sense of true history. Also it's quite sad and a bit creepy and I enjoyed that a lot.

Plague Island Disaster

Imagine being worried about a migrating, floating island delivering you screaming, hungy birds and then getting a plague on top. The folk in this article did not have a good time, but there's also a lightheartedness introduced by the element of the insatiable screamer-birds. I really like how this article combined several circumstances of the world to produce the effect of the plague: the floating, migrating islands; the effects of the weather on the island; the screamer-birds; and the loran birdfolk. TJ's world is also just so beautiful, it cheers me up every time I see it.

The Erudite Elk Estate

This article features a luxurious den of corruption (and devilry?) with an nicely assonating name. I especially enjoyed the history section of this article, where the writing really drew me into the story of the building and left me with several questions and a sense of wanting to know more.

Dryath's Cove

An article that did a great job of fulfilling the sheltered geographical place and thereby feeling like a refuge. This one describes a very sheltered cove, inhabited by pirates and a coven of sea witches. It's not a particularly short article and yet its sections are sparse enough that they left me with intrigued questions about the inhabitants and asking for more details about the look of the place. I also like the hints about the undead protectors of the cove.

Mhahar'ane - Traveler’s Date Cake

First of all, I adore food worldbuilding and this article exemplified why: it's a little sensory feast called forth entirely by words. Very sadly for me, I don't actually enjoy dates but this article is an excellent example of why I wish I did; they sound so delicious when described and all the more so as a component of a cake! I really enjoyed that there was a recipe included and even more so that it was written in the "measure by your heart" style that many old recipes were. Also, an honorable mention to Tyrdal for being the one to inspire me to finally write this reading challenge article!