World Ember 2021 Pledge and List of Articles

List of Articles Published

Articles are sorted by worlds (Empire of the Covenant, Portal to Sérannie, Divine Tyranny), and themes (character, species, politics, technology and magic,religion, medicine, and culture and tradition). Look at the table of content on the left to jump to a specific section.

Empire of the Covenant

Character

Most of my articles this month contain quotes from the POV of Oriane Merisse, a ruthless woman who has claimed an Estate and is ruling it with an iron fist. If you want to learn more about her and read her story in order go here:

Species

Articles set in the Orage Mountains, a zone filled with violent storms and the strange wild-life that has adapted to them.

Articles directly linked to Book 1 and the characters there. The Clysseme creepers is an account of a plant linked to a political controversy in the book.

Politics

Political articles, with the nobility article explaining some of the foundation of my setting: the power of the nobles and their link with the sentient Land. The foundation act of the empire, the senate article (with excerpt from Book 1 ) and the government article highlight how limited the power of the government actual is and what is its use. The mage squadron article explain how war is waged in a world with teleportation magic and big magical power differences between people.

Articles directly linked to Book 1 and the characters there. Light vs Dark is written in prose from the POV of my MC when she started learning about politics.

Technology and magic

An article explaning the consequences of having magic on everyday life for an average person in the empire, one explaining weaving magic and the type of clothes that can be done with it (from the POv of the planned MC of book 2, featuring background event from Book 1), one on family magic, and an overview of technology and its impact on trade, infrastructure and farming.

Shorter articles about material used for crafting magical artefacts, coins (short article), and the magical equivalent of Braille (short article, from the POV of the planned MC for book 6).

Religion

Religion articles with an overview of ancestor worship (with quotes presenting the MC of Book 1) and of particular celebrations, an article on cults, and an overview of technology, trade, agriculture etc.

Medicine

Medical articles, with one explaining healing magic and its limits, and one written from the POV of a healer character (planned ot be the MC of book 3) giving a seminar on the disease which is inspired by fibromyalgia.

Culture and traditions

A series of shorter cultural and technological articles about "horrible" sea monster fairy tales, food, the legendary flooding that occurred shortly after the foundation of the empire (short article), languages and translation magic (short article), the Red Lion inn used by the nobility, and the imperial calendar (short article).

Portal to Sérannie

Set in my portal fantasy world: my MC went to another world through a portal to help them defeat their Dark Lord, but once they were done she was betrayed and send back to our world. She is angry and planning to go back and in the meantime she is writing down what happened to her. The defeat of the Dark Lord presents the background for the novel and is a good introduction. The palanquins is a short article.

Divine Tyranny

Set in a new world with evil gods inspired by anvilites, include the most glorious and blinding sun god Q!:

Project

Since I've been working on the same world for Summer and Nanowrimo, I feel like switching my focus and doing something different for World Ember. I'm going to go back to my Empire of the Covenant world with the goal of finishing making articles about the worldbuilding I've already done while writing book 1 and further developing what I need for the rest of the series.

The World

The Empire of the Covenant is a High Fantasy series with strong romance subplots. It is set in a millennia-old federal empire spread over a whole continent and gathering around 600 independent Estates.

Each Estate is ruled by a powerful mage who is linked to the ancestral magic of their Lands. The series focuses on exploring the conflicts between the two main political partis, the Light and the Dark, and between the powerful mages ruling the empire and those that are subjected to their rules. Each book tells an independent story with an overlinking conflict. Each book has a different POV character from a different side of the conflicts and shows what particular solutions to those conflicts they come to.

Goal

My first major WA event was last Summer Camp, during which I wrote a lot very easily: 88k words in total. However, I only managed that because I took 3 weeks holidays during which I did nothing but write. I'm not sure if this will be the same for World Ember as there won't be the motivation/pression of doing one article per day. I also won't just spend all my time on writing and will be distracted by traveling back to see my parents and by family meetings, so I'm not sure yet how much free time I will have to write.
In addition, the world I will be focusing on is not an alternative history setting like my Summer Camp world was (The Engineering Corps), and so I will not have as much historical and science research to do to write articles. This is likely to reduce the word count of each article but also to increase my writing speed, so I'm not sure what the end results is going to be in term of productivity.
And since I'm also already doing Nanowrimo in November, I might be tired by the end of the month, or want to continue working on the novel if I don't manage to completely finish the first draft by the start of World Ember.
All of this is why I don't have a specific goal for World Ember. I just plan to do as much as I feel like and have fun with it without pushing myself.

Focus Points

My main aim is to develop more the everyday-life aspects of the world, how the magic and technologies available affect what is and is not possible. I have also made a list of elements I will need for the rest of the series and hope to write as many articles on that list as possible:

To do List

Magic based on weaving and embroideries (magical gift of MC of book 2)

Important: Need to make a list of potential familial magical gifts.

More fun magical artefacts? Something to be made by the industries and that can be traded.

Healing magic, how it works, limitations (magical gift of MC of book 3)

A few diseases (including something with an insect?), one of the article will be written as a seminar given by MC of book 3 (a healer)

This world version of Braille, words give a magical impression in the mind when touched

Clyssenne creepers, a plant used in blood magic, subject to a political controversy in book 1

Something about a mushroom? Maybe using it to extract a compound that can be used as medication?

How common people worship their ancestors, thus explaining the whole religious system and its link to magic and the link between people and the Land

Solstice and equinox celebrations (religious and magical events)

Strange magical weather patterns in the mountain next to where book 2&3 are located. Could also combine that with a section on the violent weather in the Western Sea that makes navigation super difficult

Red Lion, a restaurant for high society with duelling chambers and rooms for practising art

Develop the Estate where books 2&3 are located

Overview of the military organisation of the empire

Overview of Light vs Dark political factions, presented as a lesson given to MC of book 1

Overview of Technology, Agriculture, Industry and Education

Food traditions

Cat character