Imagine a world in which King Arthur, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Vainamoinen, the Golem under the Old New Synagogue, and anyone else who got hit with the Jesus Imagery Juice returns in their country's Hour of Greatest Need. What would trigger something like that? Nukes that could destroy the world.

This is the founding question behind the pure aesthetics and storytelling of my world -- though it began there, it quickly began to become its own setting. The setting takes elements loosely inspired by the 4th Century, 16th Century, and the First and Second World Wars and then remixes them with the mythology of heroes, the unique geography, magic system, and a pinch of "rule of cool".

LWOF will be available on December 15th for just $9.99 for you to find out. Follow me HERE on itch.io so you know EXACTLY when you can buy it!

You see, heroes fascinate me because of their stories -- and their stories, in turn, shape their societies. I had a teacher once tell me, "The story you tell about yourself to yourself and to the world is the most important story you'll ever tell." I've believed it ever since. If I tell a story about how I overcome hardship through hard work and friendship, I'm more likely to believe I can do more in the future. The story that the United States tells itself is that, "Once, we were oppressed. But then we rebelled and now we're more equal and free!" Then, we reenacted this story again and again -- ending slavery, women's rights, black rights, etc. (And I think one of the big reasons for political rifts in the USA today is because different political parties are telling such different stories, but that's not the point of this devlog XD)

This is a highly simplified view of this theory, but it's the foundation of my world. I began by writing the stories of heroes similar to the ones in mythology. Then, I built cultures around the idea that these stories are the most foundational to the way their society works -- with a good, healthy dosage of speculative ecology and sociology to make them feel grounded.

So the North reveres a King Arthur-like figure, the Once and Future Emperor, Riavh Solais. (His name comes from a portmanteau of the Irish word for "King" and "Future" and then I re-spelled it so my mostly English-speaking audience would read it right.) Riavh was born blind in one eye, so he could see magic -- thus, he passed the trial to become the Emperor and successfully wielded a magic sword. Then, through military might and incredible PR, he led his country to unity. Until it all fell apart at the hands of his treacherous son. Half of the north took this to be a story of striving to be a good person would lead to the return of their greatest Emperor. The other half took it to be a warning of how foolish idealism leads to one's downfall. These places became Saegenheim and Nouveau Thuille respectively.

The South largely worships a God-like being, Dyeus, and Their daughter, Yeulia. Yeulia's is a story about a girl born on seafoam to an old pair of childless Tsars. She's silent for many years and only speaks when she can reveal the future to them. In this way, she saves them from many disasters. She dies, leading an army against invading Demons, but Dyeus promises to bring her back to lead her people again. Theirs is a story of cycles, of life and rebirth -- and the culture of their agrarian communities of witches reflect that.

However, the conquerors of the South -- and arguably the leaders of the world now -- is Telethenians. Theirs is a story of using human ingenuity, equal opportunity, and democracy to build an AI Philosopher to lead them. And how their AI Philosopher didn't succeed. And how that didn't stop them from building another one even better. Now, their Philosopher King has led them to conquer the world. Is theirs a story of the folly of man? Or of man's persistence and pursuit of perfection?

In LWOF, the fate of the world is in YOUR hands -- leaders, heroes, movers, and shakers. What kind of story will you tell? What story will the world tell about you?

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If you want to learn more about my worldbuilding or read the webfiction I've been writing over the last three years (and slowly posting), come visit my website and take a look around! It's a bit of a work in progress but I think there's still plenty to see: https://bellefarmer.wixsite.com/worldoffates