Summer Camp 2024 - Prep

The Bible has The Flood - Dendralis has The Separation

Week 1: Change

Assignment 1: Consider what kind of changes would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Change is not a new experience in Terramora. For hundreds of millions of years the continents and oceans have shifted across the face of the planet. Life was born, species evolved, and sentience was gained. The everchanging land, ecosystems, and lifeforms that defined Terramora moved through the ages in a dance around symbiosis, as if guided by the gods. (Or literally as some faiths believe).
Many of these changes were instituted by man, elf, dwarf, etc. The Second Era turned on the widespread adoption of written language across the globe, while the Modern Era turned on civilization becoming truly interconnected via seafaring for the first time.
However, not all of these changes were for good. The turning of the First Era rose from the darkest sentient-lead event in Terramoran history.
The Separation ripped the continent of Dendralis apart, a tectonic event of unnatural sources ripping stretchmarks open across the land, leaving scars behind, some healed and some still festering, all while sending shockwaves of water around the northern hemisphere, causing catasrophic flooding in low-lying and coastal areas.
This change event left an indelible mark on the land and people of Dendralis, particularly those of The Greenwood, where our current focus in the world lies, and where

Assignment 2: Decide how many prompts you'll go for during Summer Camp. Then, download the pledge document and fill it accordingly!

Summer Camp 2024 will bring at least 8 new articles to the world of Terramora! The efforts will be centralized on the continent of Denralis, with a heavy focus being on the ancient history of Dendralis, ideally further enriching the history and culture of the people of The Greenwood. (See Pledge Document below).
A note, June 27: The pledge was kept modest so as to remain viable against non-writing commitments. However, the plotting that has already taken place is proving to be deep enough that doubling the pledge will likely be attempted, so long as time allows.

Assignment 3: Get your categories and tags organized!

Updated June 16: Completed tags and settled on using categories vs nested articles based on survey from a handful of first time users.
Updated June 26: Categories finalized on home page.

The process of tagging and categorizing is underway. Tagging is undergoing a patient development so as to not require retagging. The world's articles are categorized well, but there is a strong debate between nesting articles under other articles, or within categories, as the World Atlas in particular has the potential to become a labrynth of folders.

Week 2: Refuge

Assignment 1: Consider what kinds of refuge would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

For millenia, the need for refuge was a rare occurrence within the Elderwood. Prior to The Separation, the continent-spanning Elderwood was the refuge for it's inhabitants. However, the dark, era separating event demanded of the land what had never been demanded before - a refuge for all across Dendralis.
The catastrophic tectonic event that ripped the greatest forest on Terramora apart, left nearly all living things scrambling for safety. The heart of the Elderwood, the region today known as the Greenwood, served as the only portion of the continent that truly was a refuge from the quaking land. The ability to proivde this refuge paved the way for the cultural traditions of the Elderwood to carry on to the modern day.

Assignment 2: Find a community—whether that’s our Discord server, Facebook Group, your RPG or friend group, or something else.

Terramora is part of a very small analog writing community that will help maintain consistent commitment to Summer Camp.

Assignment 3: Find ways to improve styling and layout in your world!

Styling has been an area of concern from the introduction to Terrmora. The use of AI has been employed to fill the role of all non-map immagery for the world, while articles have leaned almost exclusively into templates to help keep the articles crisp. However, this has still resulted in a few walls of text (though well punctuated). As Summer Camp continues, there will be a concerted effort to try and clean up the layout in a more aesthetically pleasing fashion.

Week 3: Belief

Assignment 1: Consider what kind of beliefs would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Belief is a central part of life within The Greenwood. With life intertwined directly to the land, it is only natutal that the inhabitants weave their spirituality in with the land as well. Tel'Varna, meaning Roots of Life, is the dominant spiritual practice throughout the Wood. Featuring rites and rituals that are tied to the natural cycles of the year, the lessons of Tel'Varna not only enrich it's followers spirituality, but provides them with important knowledge and understanding that allows Varnans to thrive and maintain balance of life within an otherwise less-than-hospitable land.
However, not all belief systems within Dendralis are based on the principles of harmony. As previously mentioned in Week 1 of Summer Camp Prep, Dendralis underwent grave change in the ancient past. The Separation, a massive and violent tectonic event was incited by means seated in the occult and dark arcane.
While Tel'Varna and its denominations are already being explored, we will look to delve into the dark beliefs that lead to the most impactful event in the collective societal memory of Terramora.

Assignment 2: Create a bank of inspirations! Quotes, music, description of experiences and shower thoughts, etc.

Music sets the scene and creates the energy for a story in ways that little else can, beyond an actual walk in the woods. The following playlist, while not yet complete as of this writing, helps set the stage for each of the four themes covered in this year's Summer Camp.
Summer Camp Playlist

Assignment 3: Find art and pictures that inspire you, and grab a map if you don't have one (and need one).

Inspirational images for the setting of The Greenwood are plentiful. The subtropical forest that resides in the heart of Dendralis draws upon the karst-filled forests of China, and the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the lower lying southern portions that are heavily decidious. The Fertile Valley and The Darkwood - two additional regions of Dendralis that will likely be featured heavily through this project - are yet to have their inspiration defined, which will be the primary focus of any inpiration collecting.
As for maps, an intensive world map making project was undertaken during a four week span between April and May of this year. Using Madeline James' Worldbuilding Guideas a primary resource, along with a dozen or so additonal resources, the land of Dendralis was built from the tectonic plate level upward. The world of Terramora is being revealed in a very slow, regional method, allowing for every decision regarding the world to be malleable up to the point where it is published into the public sphere. Thusly, the Eastern Greenwood is the only portion of Terramora which is set in stone in any way, though the greater Greenwood, the Fertile Valley, the Darkwood, and The Fissures are all near their final stages of development. The maps used to create these regions and more will be heavily referenced in future writings, both during and after Summer Camp 2024.

Week 4: Decay

Assignment 1: Consider what kind of decay would fit in with your world's themes, genre, and other foundational points.

Decay - the process by which the perished organic becomes new - is anything but simple. Decay redistributes important nutrients throughout the land for the next generation of growth. It lays the groundwork for the new. But it can also lay the groundwork for that which brings disease and death. Decay can be quick, and decay can be a long, slow, monotonous path, dragging the quality and viability of the ecosystem down until it is no more, leaving behind a waste that can only be replaced by significant changes.
The instigators of The Separation centralized their powers in their homeland on the eastern shores of the Elderwood. As the land stretched and the Elderwood split, the forests of the east fell dark and dank, the weight of the dark energies clouding the region in decay. The trees of the once mighty Elderwood grew bleak, the canopy remaining thick despite the abundance of rot, the lushness of vitality begin replace with the ichor of decay, green giving way to blacks, browns, and in the best of cases, dark teals.
In the modern day, the Darkwood remains a place of extended decay, both of the land and of it's inhabitants, whose culture has strayed far from those of the ancient Elderwood, leaving the land dark and foreboding to all who enter.

Assignment 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!

The tea cabinet is stocked, and the writing space is cleared. For now...

Assignment 3: Review your world homepage to hook potential readers!

The styling and layout of Terramora admittedly leave a lot to be desired, but the time to focus on story over appearance has arrived. The vastly incomplete Players' Handbook for Terramora has been removed from the homepage, and replaced with a quote from arguably the greatest historian, theologian, and scribe in the history of The Greenwood - one who's name is yet to be recovered.

Summer Camp 2024 Expected Themes

Change: The Separation
Refuge: The Greenwood + its earliest settlements and inns
Belief: Tel'Varna & Tel'Mair of the Greenwood & the black arts of the Darkwood
Decay: The Darkwood - Decayed forest, and home of the black arts

SUMMER CAMP PREP COMPLETE - June 28

Updates:

June 11

▪︎ Summer Camp 2024 Prep Submitted

June 15

▪︎ Week 3 Assignment 1 Completed

Week 1 Assignment 1 Updated

June 16

▪︎ Week 1 Assignment 3 Completed

June 17

▪︎ Week 3 Assignment 3 Completed

June 27

▪︎ Week 2 Assignment 1 Updated

▪︎ Week 4 Assignment 1 Completed

▪︎ Week 4 Assignment 2 Completed

June 28

▪︎ Week 3 Assignment 2 Completed

▪︎ Week 4 Assignment 3 Completed

▪︎ SUMMER CAMP PREP COMPLETED

Cover image created with Bing Copilot Image Creator