Summer Camp 2023

My first Summer Camp! Given the hype this has in the community, I cannot help but go a little feral myself.   For Summer Camp I will work on my first, and only world thus far: Focis or Tai'Sans Hearth.  
Tai'Sans Hearth

the orc world

  Since I don't have any experience with prior summer camps, I do not have a baseline to estimate howmany of the pledges are doable for me in July, and additionally, I will be on my first month in a new job. I have decided to shoot for diamond and if I don't make that ambitious goal, to not beat myself up about it.   This article will update throughout June as I do the homework/prep for July.  
Update!
Since the release of Themes 2 and 3 everything in this Summer Camp seems to be pulling me towards one specific area, time period and culture, so as a result I am diving in head first into that. The following is a completely rewritten pledge document.
Camp Feral Badge by Strixxline
Learn more about the World here:  
A Primer for the Uninitiated
Generic article | Aug 28, 2023

Lost on where to start reading? This is good place for that!

Week 1: Power!

  Alright, with two new themes revealed, I have a much more clear picture of my plan, so I should redo the stuff I had written before.   I have decided to zero in on the contintent Noria during the Era of Dice. The main two powerhouses on Noria (that I am aware of at this point, are:  
  • Jadira, a loose kingdom of seven major and many minor oases, ruled by a small caste of lords.
  • Aruël, a kingdom rule from a central capital, whose king is backed by a strong faith and an entire demographic of landed and unlanded knights.
  • Vasylana, the jungle/rainforest, which is home to Thulion, one of the 12 proto-elves and his people, a population that is nowadays majority halfelven, due to an affliction plaguing the fullborn elves.
  Jadira out of the three strong players is separated from the rest by a mountain range infested with dangerous giants, so they are less involved with the others. Because of this I have not defined alot about them, but I think this actually will work in my advantage in this case. Any prompt that will not fit Vasylana or Noria can be done, or should be doable at least in Jadira.   With this general stuff out of the way, time to define powerful organisations, specifically the ones in Noria, which is by far the most developed of the three. For Noria in particular, I will focus on political power and machinations as much as the prompts allow (for reasons I will explain later in this pledge).  
  • The house of Terána is the formal name of the house of King Felipe III of Aruël. While nominally the king is supposed to not show favoritism among the noble families, his direct relations effectively have a strong position for negotiating favourable deals or just claiming important positions in the realm.
  • The church of the Trinity is the official and only legal religion allowed to humans inside Norian borders. It enjoys major support from the crown, partly because it is one of the main factors that contributed to the
  • The Aruëlian Knights are technically not a formal organisations and they dont act as one unanimous body, but their presence and support is crucial to Aruël as a country. Without the support of the cavalry the knights provide militarily, no noble house can field enough strength for any of the major goals they are persuing.
  • The largest three cities are Tennet, the capital, and Frenia and Elion the two port cities at the mouth of the Morin. Each of them is home to several noble families which hold great cultural sway and political influence on the decisions of the crown.

Some free space here for when i make more organisations in Aruël.
Aruël and the surrounding areas.
The great kingdom of Aruël during the reign of Felipe III. The map was likely made in the year 512 AR, given that the western mountain range is still fully intact.
  Outside of the direct biosphere of Aruël, there are several other organisations also worth mentioning:
  • The Family of Thulion is the name of the population of Vasylana. They form autonomous communes that only respond to calls by Thulion their progenitor in times of dire emergencies, like an invasion or natural catastrophe. The most recent case was a few centuries ago with the attempts of Aruël to claim parts of the Rainforest, which the Elves and Halfelves met with vicious resistance and guerilla tactics. As a result there exists a formal peace treaty between Aruël and Vasylana, in which the exact border between the two countries is defined and both sides commit to shed no further blood.
  • Orcs of the Norian Mountains are the orcs which have not fully integrated into Aruëlian society. They live in small settlements in the hillsides near and within the mountain ranges of the Norian continent. Some of them consider these their ancestral homes, but others were more recently displaced when Aruël formed. Most tribes harbor resentment for Aruël as a country and some will continuously take out this frustration on smaller settlements on Aruëls western border.
  • Finally living in the northern wildlands are the Aduëlian Tribes. Culturally they are cousins to the Aruëlians, but that doesn't stop the Nobles of Aruël from conquering single tribes at a time to expand their reach northwards. More on this conflict in the next part. For now it should be noted, that the tribes of Aduël are scattered and feuding with another, so there has never been a real challenger that could stop Aruëls supremacy on the eastern half Noria.
  For the second part of the questions, powerful individuals there are five people who come to mind:
  • Thulion, is perhaps the person who wields the most power in sum, since he is perhaps the mightiest elf who ever lived, a demigod with eons of experience and leader of Vasylana. With the exception of King Felipe III (see below), who has even more political influence on the continent, Thulion is unchallenged. His only true weakness perhaps is that he is not concerned with the happenings outside the rainforest of Vasylana, which leaves him blind sometimes, but more importantly limits the effect he has on Norias history.
  • Karragka is the current Lor'Tai of Lor'San, the sacred valley, which is the most important cultural heritage of the orcs on the continent. Her tribe and any visiting orcs are charged with the protection of the site, but what even most orcs in Noria are unaware of, is that Raka, as her closer confidants call her, has been negotiating alliances with other Chiefs in the area. At the moment, she is biding her time, but eventually she is going to claim the title of Orag'Tai of the Razorcrest and perhaps pursue even higher goals.
  • Uraca of Frenia is, at face value, just another lady of Frenia, Aruëls second largest settlement. But behind closed doors, she is far more dangerous. While nominally her elder brother Rigo of Frenia runs the family, which holds great sway in the city, Uraca has inherited a large network of spies, assassins and thiefs, and it is thanks to her tireless work, that Rigo all but controls the cities council. Uraca enjoys this arrangement greatly, because it gives her all the intrigue and power she wants, while at the same time allowing her anonymity on a level the powerful of Aruël can only dream of.
  • King Felipe III of Aruël, the current crowned ruler of the Kingdom of Aruël is not an imposing man, but wields far more power over the fate of the continent than any other, because of he has a tight grasp on the politics of his own kingdom and its neighbors and the will to bend things in his influence to his liking. A shrewd and cunning ruler, Felipe III is more than just a custodian of his families line, he seeks to propel them to even higher spheres.
  • Lisandro Orazios, is the current persona of the nameless Ksrizka that leads the doom conspiracy, the eternal cult that seeks to destroy the world. He has been pulling at strings for centuries now, though not always in this current form as a historian and researcher, and his plans are about to come to fruition.
 

Feature: Diplomacy Webs

  All of the above I have organised within a whiteboard (which i have since removed since i couldnt get it to display properly ^^). From it I could see that there are three overlapping groupings that sort of make sense. First of course Aruël and Vasylana could use their own tags so I can display them on their own. Secondly the interactions with Vasylana and Aruël should be fleshed out further in the near future, so having a tag ready for that would help.  
With all these powerful players now laid out, and appropriate tags done, I want to implement one web as a test.
 
 

Extra Credit: World Meta

  I recently have already revisited the meta, so there are no changes needed at the moment. I will say however, that I could give it a bit more meat, adding more context and extensive explanations. Also for an orc-world, I definitely have not done enough on the orcs yet. Two more things to put on the to-do list for now.  
Meta updated! I definitely will do at least some orc stuff for the prompts, as much as they allow me.
  If you want to, you can read more about the meta here!:
by Ninodonlord (via Midjourney)
 

Week 2: Frontiers

  The main thing that would count as a frontier is what is north of Aruël, but only one that people would voluntarily go.   First as mentioned above, Aruël is expanding its northern border every decade or so with small campaigns, so to Aruëlians, this would be a frontier. The reasons are quite varied for them to seek them out. For the nobles its expansion of their power, new subjects and lands. To the knights fighting the battles, there is glory to be won and loot to be spoiled. Finally of course to those without land or future, there can be possibilites of finding a new home in recently conquered lands, especially considering arable land is rare north of the Morin.   Secondly, to the Aduëlians this is no frontier at all, but their homes being forcibly taken by a giant enemy they have no hope of defeating permanently. Most of them have no choice but assimilate to the new ways, as much as they may hate it. The few that don't are forced northwards where a whole different beast of a frontier lies. Far north are The Bear Wastes, an icy taiga, which would enable one to travel to the inside of Focis, if it werent for the guardians of the wastes, the giant Bruín, the worldshaker bears. Humans dont go to the bear wastes, at least not with the expectation of survival.  

Feature: Maps

  The map above is the main one of the area yet. I have made one more detailed map of one part of the continent before, but not for the frontier. Until that is done, I will attach the map of the other area as a placeholder:   Here is the new map of the wildlands! I have already included some unnamed settlements and new places of interest that can be used during the prompts of week 2! What do you think I should call the new villages or the big lake in the northwest?  
The Wildlands north of Aruël
North of the kingdom are only wastelands of endless hills and forests. The wild men that live here have no king and worship strange gods. This map shows their lands with major settlements up to the northern end where the bear wastes begin.
 

Extra Credit: Spring Cleaning

  Fortunately (T.T) i did not write alot since the last time I did a tagging run and sorting everything into the categories, so there are currently only 7 untagged, 6 of which are are also not categorised, but that is it. Once I tagged and categorised them, I can mark of the to-do item.  
Update: All articles are now tagged properly and organized into their respective categories!
 

Week 3: Relics

  Relics is where things come full circle and this is also why I needed the rewrite. Aruël, and honestly the entire era "Age of Dice" was created for a TTRPG campaign. Which was centered around political intrigue, exploration and relics of an forgotten era. Hence the decision to really focus in on this part of the map and timeperiod.   The main relics in question are the reliquaries of Rombalion, which I originally described in the article that got me nominated for best worldbuilding article in the WAWA.
 
Ksrizka
Species | Jan 24, 2023

Ever feel like the entire world has conspired to make your life as miserable as possible? Chances are its because of the Ksrizka, the shell people. Learn more about the ultimate conspirators and infiltrators here

  Rombalion, who is only one of the eminent figures of this ancient and lost time. For ease of access I am copying over my notes on his relics from the Ksrizka article:  
  • Rombalions Eyepatch: This steel eye patch is obviously of Dorralian making. Its outside is adorned by gold leaf and crystal ornamentation depicting a butterfly. On the inside are fine runes that shine a dim white, which can be seen when wearing the eye patch. If the user of the eye patch looks at a Ksrizka or its remains, the runes where the Ksrizka would be in the field of view of the eye glow red instead of white. Ksrizka remains lose this glow shortly after moulting, but keep it after death. The eye patch does not show Ksrizka hidden by magic or anything worn by the Ksrizka. Even thin layers of clothing also disguise a Ksrizkas aura.
  • Shelldaggers: Shelldaggers are finely crafted daggers, which never seem to lose their edge. The blade is not magical, but the hilt is. When wielded against a Ksrizka, the dagger cuts with malicious intent, leaving grievous wounds which do not heal. Ksrizka instinctively fear shelldaggers, because they feel the magic intent of the weapons. Inexperienced Ksrizka may fail to mask their hatred or fear for the wielder of a shelldagger.
  • Bonejaw: Bonejaw are orcish amulets crafted from Ksrizka bones, forming a spiral resembling a dream catcher. They protect their wearer from the psychic abilities of a Ksrizka making resisting a wail easier.
  • Shards of Grivins Doom: The shards are the twelve splinters of the emerald gemstone, which once adorned the crown of Grivin II of Osylana, the last king. When Ksrizka are near, the gemstones show the hatred Grivins ghost had for the infiltrators. The gemstones heat to a level that is painful to touch with bare skin.
  • Ksrizka Tongue: The tongue of a Ksrizkas true form can be harvested in a ritual and embalmed. Putting it into ones mouth, any humanoid can emit a Ksrizkas wail. Doing so consumes the tongue.
  These are all relatively well defined already, so they may not fit the relic prompts very well anymore. Thankfully there are two lost peoples that still echo through, linked to the time of Rombalion.   First there is the jewel of the Stormcoast Dorralia. It was a joint settlement of elves (though not Thulions elves) and dwarves, in which thaumaturgic devices powered by the strength of thunder and lightning were fabricated. It was so mighty in its prime that to this day, the ruins of Dorralia inspire awe and refuse to vanish off the earth. Here is where I can place any strange relics that performed magical functions in the past. Even today, whenever a strange magical artifact is found, people will first guess it to be Dorralian, even if they don't even remember what the term means.   Secondly, there is the Realm of Osylana, which dominated the continent not unlike Aruël does today. To all but the most obscure human scholars, Osyalana (having vanished off the earth several tens of thousands of years prior) is not even known anymore. Claims of ancient human civilisations are generally rejected and fall on deaf ears. The elves of Vasyalana and the Orcs do remember this period in time, but neither see reasons to inform the humans of this chapter of the past and so nothing remains known about Osylana.  

Feature: Timelines

  I already have a timeline for Aruël, but I definitely should revisit it this month, to check if it is up to date and can be improved. Another point on the to-do list. I trimmed it down to the bare essentials so we dont have overcrowding. By doing so, I can now focus the timeline on the parts of history (Osylanian or Dorralian) that are relevant to the relics I'll be making. The relics of Rombalion are linked to Osylanas downfall, which is why I left two of the entries of that event in.   Here it is: The History of Eastern Noria for ease of access.  

Extra credit: Images/Art

  This is a bit of a sore/problem spot for me. I have two left hands when it comes to drawing, and I currently cannot affort to restart a midjourney subscription. I will however go through all my art thus far and consider how to resort it. Once that is done i shall mark it off in the list.  
Sorting is done: Below are the sorting categories I have decided on. Thanks to an amazing suggestion by the lovely Line from my chapter, I foraged through the online catalogue of several museums, which contain art pieces in the public domain. An excellent alternative to AI and more so, comes without the pesky moral questions of AI. Totally worth it. Judge the results for yourselves:
 
Art that could fit Theme I: Power

 
Art that could fit Theme II: Frontier

 

Art that could fit Theme III: Relics

 
Art that could fit Theme IV: Communication

 

AI stuff I made earlier, that may see reuse if appropriate

 

 

Week 4: Communication, the umms and uhhhs

  Communication as a theme is both the broadest to me out of all 4 and at the same time hard to pin down. I suppose things will be more clear once the actual prompts are here, so for now lets focus on the major channels people can use to communicate across Noria.  

Aruël

Aruël our poster child is in many ways exactly as you expect communication in fantasy to be. Mostly, its verbal, but among the wealthier of society, those who can afford to spend some of their days teaching their kids writing and reading or having them be taught, written communication is flourishing also. Many important people maintain or outsource a network of messengers on horseback or ship to send important messages to the people they cannot reach easily. Apart from a small group of intellectuals or sages, not alot of people use the written word to note down their own thoughts.   Magic in general has not been fully explored on Noria and as such, communication via magic, which does give insane advantages in speed specifically, is not widely employed. News travels as fast as the messengers do, which does give me a lot of freedom creatively.   Moving along, a different perspective is the social norms of who you are and are not to speak to. While legally the King is required to hear any citizens request during at least a portion of the day, many other nobles make use a specific rule: Society dictates that people are generally to communicate with people of equal standing. Whenever there is a differential in social status, the person of lower status is expected to wait until spoken to. This gives rise to some powerful dynamics between characters depending on how they interact with or ignore expectations in this area.

Vasylana

Meanwhile in Vasylana, things are by default a lot more relaxed, mainly because the elves live in small communes/villages in with people are free to speak and interact with each other as they please. This is in part because of the small pool of people in the direct vicinity, but more importantly communication in the rainforest is far different, because of the existence of Thulions Meld, the hivemind all true elves can easily tap into. They experience the minds of the other elves, no matter where they live within Vasylanas borders, which of course has sweeping implications both in the way the elves communicate (alot of nonverbal stuff) and in the implications of informations travel (instantly knowing about things across the forest).

Orcs

For orcs I ought to briefly talk about their values. Orcs communicate almost exclusively verbally and do so on a understanding that while respect is owed to the other person speaking, this does specifically not mean that one ought to speak respectfully. Orcs believe that anyone should always be allowed to speak their mind.   Oh and Orcish language is nongendered because their society does not enforce gender norms (at all).
 

Feature: Dictionaries

  With this one, Im sort of ahead of the curve. Because of the Age of Dice are primarily made for a TTRPG campaign, I made the executive decision to not make any translations for Aruël, because knowing myself, I would have started to add that to the stuff I tell my poor players about. As a result, while Aruëlians speak Aruël (the language) and Aduëlian tribes speak dialects of Aduël (both very creative names i know), they are used as stand ins for English for now.   That being said, I do have an out for my language needs built in: Orcish or at least Norian Orcish is something that I need for other projects anyway: I only have about 20 words laid out for now and a super rudimentary syntax, but maybe theme IV will force me to expand: I've linked the language below:  
Norian Orcish
Language | Jun 24, 2023
 

Extra Credit: Reading old articles.

  For this I have picked out three old articles from last year (this world is relatively young on worldanvil) and will give some brief thoughts once I have actually read through them:  
Tai, great orc chief
Rank/Title | Dec 27, 2022

A Tai is the highest military leading position of the orcs. Becoming one takes a goal, effort and willpower. Staying one takes even more of these three.

In this I first established the Orcish hierarchy, which should help, if I need to talk about the orcs in Theme I (Power). Orcs have a difficult history with power in my mind, because I want them to be powerful, but without giving the impression of the stereotypical crude brutes, that orcs are often depicted as.
Orc sled
Vehicle | Jan 18, 2023

Getting down from the mountain quickly, the orcish way.

Short and sweet and iirc the first article actually talking about the orcs (indirectly). I wrote this during Worldember and I still love the almost whimsical, insane feeling this gives the orcs, which otherwise may come across very serious or dark.
Definitely need to try and capture the same spirit when talking about the orcs of the region.
Natural and Supernatural Forms of Energy
Physical / Metaphysical Law | Feb 13, 2023
This definitely holds a special place in my heart for bringing all the fun physChem / thermo-dynamics into my world while linking it to magic. I am still unsure about magics role to do in my world, so this is another aspect I can flesh out using the Power or Frontier (science/knowledge) prompts. This form of magic definitely still has the genes/bones it inherited from this world spawning from a TTRPG ruleset. Maybe this article could be an in universe thing even more, in that it contains misinformation/false assumptions?
 

To-do list

  Week 1
1. Create the Pledge article
2. Fill out Pledge certificate
3. Theme Preparation: Power
4. Feature: Relationships and Diplomacy webs -> Organise the Aruëlian organisations into groups (perhaps with a whiteboard?), then make tags for them, so I can use diplomacy webs
5. Extra Credit: Revisit Meta -> Have some more thinks about the orcs so that I can solidify their concept.
6. Submit Homework
  Week 2
1. Theme Preparation: Frontier
2. Feature: Maps ->Update the Map of Aruel, and make a new one for the frontier (then maybe make a map for Jadira)
3. Extra Credit: Spring Cleaning -> Tag and categorise the newer articles.
4. Submit Homework (see above)
  Week 3
1. Theme Preparation: Relics -> List all the relics already defined for Aruel and think of new concepts to explore
2. Feature: Timelines/Chronicles. -> Double Check Aruels Timeline
3. Extra Credit: Sort through images
4. Submit Homework (see above)
  Week 4
1. Theme Preparation: Communication
2. Feature: Dictionary -> Add all the new vocab of the recent articles into the orclang
3. Extra Credit -> Read 3 old articles
4. Submit Homework (see above)
 

Final Update before SC!

  The amazing Graylion has created a tracking sheet by which one can track their progress on site!   I filled out the themes already and will use it to further track my progress during the event.  

Event Name

Summer Camp 2023

Author

Ninodonlord

Progress

Copper - Power!
9 out of 8
113%
113%
Silver - Frontier
8 out of 8
100%
100%
Gold - Relics
8 out of 8
100%
100%
Diamond - Communication
7 out of 8
88%
88%


All Articles
32 out of 32
100%
100%

Copper - Power!

8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Intrigue and Power within the Kingdom of Aruël are at an all time high. Time to flesh out the major players in the game and to figure out how Aruëls neighbors figure into the ensemble.

Silver - Frontier

8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
Aruël is a machine of production and it hungers for land and bodies to work it. How fortunate that there are vast swathes of wilderness north of the twin peaks. Every few decades a new strip of land is conquered from the godless Aduëlian tribes and with it Aruël grows larger. Time to learn more about the frontier of civilization as it crawls and crushes its way forward.

Gold - Relics

8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
History still echoes forward from a time where a great halfelven kingdom reigned the continent of Noria. It fell milennia ago and its people were wiped out by a fell plague shortly after. But nonetheless their cities survived even to this day. Aruël lives in the shadow of something greater and perhaps even envies the skill their predecessors possessed. What ancient relics will we uncover?

Diamond - Communication

8 Prompts
2 Wild Card Prompts
Theme Description
There is a reason people in Aruël fear their southern neighbors. Rumor has it, that the elves of the rainforest are joined in spirit, communing with each other over vast distances in an instant. Surely this unnatural connection has warped their mind. Surely the ability to hear and speak with everyone all the time is detrimental to ones mind. Lets find out throughout the end of July together!

Prompts

Copper - Power!

Prompt 1
Organization
A powerful Organisation in your world
Prompt 2
Settlement
A Seat of Power (any kind!)
Prompt 7
Rank/Title
The title & responsibilities of an important person in your world

Silver - Frontier

Prompt 2
Settlement
A settlement at the limits of the "known" or "civilized" world
Prompt 3
Profession
A job that takes its practitioners to remote or faraway places
Prompt 6
Material
A material or natural resource that comes from a dangerous location
Wild Card Prompt 10
Document
A letter sent in secret by a well-known person in your world

Gold - Relics

Prompt 3
Settlement
An ancient city that is still inhabited today
Prompt 7
Species
A species now considered extinct

Diamond - Communication

Prompt 3
Language
A form of silent communication
Prompt 4
Organization
An organization for which recruiting or preselytizing is important
Prompt 6
Character
A character who excels in manipulating others


Article Staging



 


Cover image: by WorldAnvil Team / Nino (filling it out)

Comments

Author's Notes


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Jun 4, 2023 17:24 by Mochi

Best of luck!! :D

I hope you have a great day!   Explore the endless planets brimming with life of the Yonderverse! Go after creatures, discover new places, and learn about the people you find along the way.   Come prep for WorldEmber with me!
Jun 4, 2023 18:02

Thank you! To you as well Mochi :)

Yours truly, Nino.
Its Worldember!I am building out a spooky world, which you can read about here! (psst, its a link)
To learn about my main world click on this link! (if you want to ;) )
Jun 6, 2023 23:30 by Jacqueline Yang

Hey, best wishes during Summer Camp. I can't wait to see what you will create!

Jun 10, 2023 01:03

Thank you! The feeling is quite mutual!

Yours truly, Nino.
Its Worldember!I am building out a spooky world, which you can read about here! (psst, its a link)
To learn about my main world click on this link! (if you want to ;) )
Jun 11, 2023 13:26 by TJ Trewin

Woooo CAMP FERAL!! And your first summer camp! You're going to have an absolute blast :D Good luck on your quest for the diamond badge - you can do it!   What's your favourite kind of article to write about?


Journals of Yesteryear


I just finished some new art in my latest article: Pinecrest College of Aviation!
Jun 19, 2023 18:50 by Jada T

I love the layout of your article!! Very smart to include a to-do list at the bottom to help keep track of everything you've completed and to see what you have left to do! It's my first summer camp as well, I hope we both reach our goals!! :D!

There's so much worth loving in this world. You are one of those things.
Jun 20, 2023 11:01

Have loads of fun this Summer Camp! \o/

Jun 27, 2023 20:41

The first time and straight from zero to one hundred, that's what I call an announcement. I wish you lots of luck, fun, success and an amazing SC 23 :).

Stay imaginative and discover Blue´s Worlds, Elaqitan and Naharin.
Jun 28, 2023 21:15 by David Worton

Great work on this article. You've laid the foundations for some good work next month.