WorldEmber 2023

We've been working on some other projects, but I, Jyliet, with Maddy's help, am ready to continue working on Mutania for this year's WorldEmber 2023. We were originally going to write a novel for NaNoWriMo but ended up shifting our plans because we weren't ready for a fantasy novel outline. Instead, we'll be working on this world that we hope to fill with many stories.

Week 1

I will focus on the histories of the four major cultures that are present on Fuma. I can populate the history with individual characters, religious practices, relationships with magic, food and drink, languages, and many other things besides, which will give me the flexibility I need coming back to a project after so long. I'm very interested in culture and it's one of my primary motivating factors for creating this world, as I want to try my hand at decentering a lot of the supposed "realistic" elements of worldbuilding, such as the inevitability of war or the "chosen one" character.
I would like to compete again this year in the Language category. This will be challenging, but I proved myself capable when I won in that category in a previous year. This year I will be working with completely different alien anatomies to consider! I believe I'll be working on a language spoken by the Sela, who are modeled after elephant seals.
My pledge:

This image is not showing up sometimes on this article. But, to put a text version: For December 2023, I pledge to write 10,000 words of worldbuilding on Mutania. I make this promise to myself, my readers, my fans and the world which is made better by my creative spirit. Signed by World Anvil founders Janet Forbes and Dimitris Havlidis and username zpires (that's us!)

Week 2 - mini meta

scope

I plan to focus on the Yalisi Empire and the Kingdom of Raro. The people who live in the Yalisi Empire are the Teronura, who look like six-legged giant otters with two sets of eyes and tails that have rattles. Rarites are ostrich-like creatures with three eyes and tails like kangaroos. They both have unique cultural elements that relate to their geographical and biological characteristics.

themes and mood

The Yalisi Empire is expanding and spreading the gospel of the wormstone, and the Kingdom of Raro is in a Golden Age after suffering through generations of a hypersaline lake devoid of life. Things will be good, so there will be opportunities for people to meaningfully share with each other and demonstrate respect during cultural exchange.
In line with the theme of bodily mutation and transformation, I'll write about the default mammile biology. In The Yalisi Empire, the primary sapient species is the Teronura, who are like six-legged giant otters with four eyes and tails with rattles on them. The Kingdom of Raro is home to the Rarites, who are like sapient ostriches with three eyes and kangaroo-like tails.
I want to write about changes that will be occurring at an individual level, such as a particular character's wormstone mutations, or on the societal level, such as the introduction of the Rarites to Yalisi religion.

goals

If I write 10,000 words, I win, but I will try to write 50,000 words. I did not do NaNoWriMo this year to focus on WorldEmber instead, so I think keeping that wordcount is appropriate.

inspiration

I'm inspired by the illustrations of the Ildoar and the Sela that our spouse has made for us. These illustrations are so cool and demonstrate the uniqueness of the world in a fun way. I'm so excited to bug them to draw the Teronura and the Rarites for me once I finalize their appearance. They're so talented and any opportunity to see my ideas come to life is amazing!

week 3 - review your homepage

I've updated my homepage a bit, but it's a bit sparse without any recent or published articles. I still think it looks good from when I last touched it, which is a relief.

week 4 - last minute prep

All of this prep is last minute! Others in the House were doing other projects, which are also neat!
I looked a little into the chapters that exist on World Anvil, but I don't think I'll join one just yet. Once I can be more reliable, that will be better. Of course, I could use a group to help make me more reliable, so I'm staying open to the idea.
I'm hyping up my project to some of our friends and trying to get them to participate as well. If not, that's okay; I've established myself as an amateur worldbuilder and I want to live up to that reputation. I also have a support network that I can lean on: my other system members, our spouse, and our qpp. They all support my work and I'm excited to be able to show them. And hopefully others will find the world entertaining, too. :)