The World of Man in the Blade

While it's more or less an abandoned idea at this point, Man in the Blade has really entertained me in its run, and I'd like to share a bit of the worldbuilding with you.

As far as basic location goes, the story takes place in The Territories, an area similar to the American "Wild West." Overall, population is sparse, but most settlers are in small towns. A bounty system is maintained by the head government off in the east, and Hora's town is basically taken care of justice-wise by an organised group with Arck at its head and The Gentleman as his second-in-command (although they're prone to inventing a few murderers and such to meet their quotas when crime drops). Gangs are an issue, but they're not particularly big on recruitment in Hora's town.

And now for the fun stuff.

The word "Blade" technically refers to an inhabited weapon and its inhabitant, but it's often casually used to refer to the spirit alone. In order to be inhabited, a weapon must be at least 75% iron, sharp enough to draw blood from the average human forearm, and a volume of at least 8 cubic centimetres. (They've been well-studied, in part due to the cooperation of Blades like Cahokia.) Aside from that, it can be in any form—sword, dagger, sickle, something sharp but not typically thought of as a weapon. The weapon does not have to be under any particular circumstances of location, blessing, or any other things in order to become a host for a spirit.

When a weapon is inhabited, humans may communicate with the Blade by assuming a "Blade Stance" (feet spread a bit, back straight, Blade held horizontally at eye level). After entering this stance (if the Blade is willing to let others in), the weapon user will be transported into the Blade World. Blade World are different according to the different style of the weapon—Ur's is desert-like, while Cahokia's is forest-like—and a larger weapon corresponds to a Blade World with a greater area. The Blade spirit takes up residence here, although it can still view the outside world.

In battle, each combination of Blade and weapon (if a weapon is shattered or somehow made to longer be able to house a spirit, the spirit will flee to another weapon) can use a unique Veneficus spell. The usefulness of more typical spells varies depending on the style of weapon and strength of the Blade.

Blade and wielder can also undergo a process called Internalisation. While the Blade technically remains attached to its weapon, it also fuses with the wielder. The wielder gains access to any physical (chi) or magical (aura) strength that the Blade had as a human. The two also gain the ability to communicate in all situations, and the wielder often experiences appropriate hallucinations of the Blade standing/sitting nearby as they converse.

That's at least a good outline, but, if there's anything else you'd like to know, go ahead and ask.

World-Building... in Space

For this update on my world-building activities, I will be detailing some aspects of the world of New Fiction Idea #17 (not Macbay Transportation Services this time).

Tevyne

Tevyne is the home planet of Liutas. Our lion-man is of the planet's dominant species. Due to the general environment, most groups are nomadic. There is a long history of warring tribes/clans, and the society is collective and honour-based. By the advent of the Human Empire (which, incidentally, branched off from Earth's "lost" colony and doesn't actually involve Earth), most of the planet's technological level was similar to ours today. By now they've caught up to the rest of the Empire and usually work with the military (although only if they're accepted with the rest of their family or friend group).

Salynas

Salynas is the home planet of Kaliause. It is mainly water, with most land masses being archipelagos. As a result, many different genotypes, cultures, and languages are isolated; they adopted English as a planetary language because the Human Empire found them before any native language spread significantly. Around Kaliause's part of town, the culture is individualist, although family units are a very close second in importance culturally. The language is primarily based on a musical scale, but different vocalisations with the same "tune" have started to come up, especially in slang. They were at about medieval-era technology before the Empire found them, and they've (some archipelagos more than others, mind you) pretty much caught up with the high technology of the time.

Domus

Domus is the home planet of Stannum. First colonised by humans, it has been terraformed and contains a mostly human population, although some smaller, "uninhabitable" areas have been taken up by other intelligent species, and some species more physiologically compatible with Earth conditions live in the cities. As such, it's very similar to Earth of the same time period, plus the extra diversity. Stannum was once an average businessman with a small household he didn't particularly like, but he died of heart-related issues. As is common in highly-populated areas in the same galaxy as Valka, his body was kidnapped and "reclaimed" to work endlessly in the haunted graves.

Valka

Valka is the main setting of the story. It's been war-torn for some time due to outsiders trying to secure its natural resources (by blowing a lot of it up, but let's not question the ones with the guns...). Even before battles started breaking out, it wasn't a particularly pleasant place. Some sale of resources has led to a very corrupted upper class and government, and its cities are nearly entirely underbelly. Its original dominant species was pterodactyl-like, but it hosts a large diversity now.

This is a very vague summary, but let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to hear. I'm still in the process of fleshing these places out a bit, so I'll be glad for an appropriate challenge.

The Annals of World-Building III

We zoomed out on the last instalment—now let's get a bit closer to our most important characters from Macbay Transportation Services and their families. Perhaps a bit too close, but so goes the Infinite Vortex of World-Building (and this was an assignment for Novelist Boot Camp, which I've since more or less abandoned, but it was a nice read).

Bartholomew Macbay (Son of Hamilton and Mabel Macbay)

Hamilton Macbay was born to Walter and Dorothy Macbay on July 12 in Wickport. His sister, Monica, was 4 at the time. When he was 6, Hamilton’s parents divorced over Dorothy’s adultery. Walter took both of the children, and Dorothy was not heard of again. Shortly afterward, Hamilton entered school, where he preferred to stay alone. At the age of 15, his home was robbed, and Walter and Monica were both wounded by the robber. Walter recovered, but Monica contracted an infection and died the same year. A month later, the family moved to Avalanche City. Hamilton withdrew more at school but did graduate at 18. He worked in a shop for a while before meeting Mabel when he was 20. He chose the military over her a year later, but he was sent back home to recover from wounds at 24. A year later, he was married to Mabel, who had waited on him. At 25, his father died of cholera. When he was 26, Bartholomew was born. Two years later, Loretta was born. Leaving the kids, Hamilton rejoined the army at 32. Aside from a few yearlong breaks, during which he didn’t do much but preach the glory of The Empire and its conquest, he remained fighting. At 43, he died in a land mine incident.

Hamilton had always been rather detached, from his community as well as his family. He was capable of infatuation with Mabel but usually leaned more towards resentment. He had a pretty big vendetta against the colonists, especially after his severe injury at 24, and was disappointed at being assigned to the units in the Lesser Colonies later.

Mabel Selby was born to Peter and Alice Selby on November 5 in Avalanche City. She was about as sickly as her already-deceased siblings had been, but she survived. She was homeschooled for her first unit of schooling, to avoid too much contact with other children. By the time she was 10, Mabel was healthy enough for her parents to put her in a normal school. Despite not being used to other people being around, she was quite social within months and made friends with several girls, including Tabitha Key, Barbara Smythe, and Margaret Pemberton. Mabel graduated her second and final unit of schooling at 14 and began dating at 16 with Robert Pickle. She did some work sewing, still looking for a husband, until she found Hamilton at 19. She dated him for a while until he suddenly left for the army. She went back to work, now at a factory, at 20 but refused to give up on Hamilton, even as her condition started to deteriorate again at 22. Hamilton returned from the colonies about the time she would have had to give up working, and she kept after him until they were married (she was 24). Her father died of a heart attack a few months before Bartholomew was born, when she was 25. Her health declined more sharply after this, but she continued to care for Bartholomew and had Loretta at 27. At 31, Mabel was left to take care of the children alone. When Mabel was 38, Loretta contracted a bad fever, but the caretaking had to be left to Bartholomew due to Mabel’s condition. The same year, Alice died. Mabel was normally bedridden by the time she reached 39 and was intermittently taken care of by her children and old friends. When she was 44, her husband died. At 50, she witnessed Loretta’s marriage and today relies on Virginia Reeves, help hired by Loretta’s husband, for her caretaking.

Mabel is quiet and has been easily pushed around, but she loves her friends, family, and in-laws very much. She somewhat regretted marrying Hamilton when he left for the army the second time, but she was easily able to fulfill herself by caring for the children. She always wanted better health, but she is content with what she has.

Loretta Macbay was born on April 12 in Avalanche City. At 6, she entered her first unit of schooling, making friends with Theresa Bernard and Maude Parker. One year later, Loretta’s father left for the army. When she was 10, she entered her second unit of schooling, making friends with Joanna Armistead and Steven Skinner. A fever almost took her life at 11, but she pulled through. In the same year, her grandmother died. Loretta graduated her second unit of schooling at 14 and went to work at a clothing store. She had her first date at 15 with Albert Mundy. They broke up a few months later, and she went on to date Randall Goode and Nicholas Coke within the next year. She decided to focus on her job for a while until her obligatory two years of factory service at 18. Her father died during this span, but she was unable to take time off to mourn. At 20, she was unable to secure her old job again and when looking for work found Albert again. He convinced his family business to hire her as a secretary, and he proceeded to woo her again. At 23 (Albert was also 23), Loretta was married. She continues to work as a secretary for the Mundys but will quit when her first child is born.

Loretta is kind and giving but is frightened easily. She can be determined and sometimes holds a grudge, but she isn’t much of a fighter for things other than her family and friends. She is rather optimistic and always looks forward to letters or visits from her brother.

Loretta May Franklin (Daughter of Roderick and Gabrielle Franklin)

Roderick Franklin was born to Luke and Modesty Franklin on November 30 in Ricken. His older brother Cedric was 5 at the time. Roderick entered his first unit of schooling at 6, making friends with Gerald Crewe. At 10, Roderick entered his second unit of schooling, making friends with several boys, including Randolph Nowell. Roderick entered his third unit of schooling at 14, making no long-term friends. He had his first drink of alcohol at 15 at a school party. His first date was at 17 with Ellen Sparks. When he was 18, his mother died of unknown causes, and he began drinking more regularly. Shortly thereafter, Ellen, unsuccessful in convincing him to put down the bottle, broke up with him. After graduating at 18, Roderick began work at a military factory and soon found he had become an alcoholic. He met Gabrielle Mathers at a grocer’s at 19. The two began dating, Roderick concealing his addiction as well as he could, and he was wed to Gabrielle when he was 20. They moved to Jamber straight away. At 22, his alcoholism started to overrun him, and he beat Gabrielle for the first time when she brought up his habit’s effect on their finances. A year later, Loretta May was born. Roderick took up residence in the factory for a while and at 25 returned home. He was 27 when his wife had a miscarriage. He managed to restrain himself from abusing his daughter until he was 31. His addiction went further form his control, and he quit work at 32. When he was 34, he nearly killed Loretta May and brought her back home once he found her. Five years later, his wife died from wounds he gave her. Roderick drank himself to death shortly after Loretta May left the house for the last time.

Gabrielle Mathers was born to Theodore and Gwyneth Mathers on June 19 in North City. At 6, she entered her first unit of schooling, making friends with Lisa Acker and Magnolia Hume. When Gabrielle was 9, Lisa was killed in a train accident. Gabrielle continued to her second unit of schooling at 10 but didn’t try to make friends for another year. At 11, she made friends with Susan Deadman and Charles North. Gabrielle finished her second unit of schooling at 14 and went to work making hats. Her first date was with Charles at 15. When she was 16, Charles joined the military, still corresponding by letter. A year later, Charles was killed by colonists. Gabrielle quit her job but had to find a new one within a year. At 18, she began work at a goods factory in Ricken. A year later, she met Roderick. The two were wed when she was 20. At 22, she was first beaten by her husband. About a year later, she gave birth to Loretta May. Gabrielle convinced an overseer at the factory to convince her husband to stay there, but she was only able to raise Loretta May for two years before he returned. Gabrielle was still beaten, though she only had to put herself in place of her daughter once, when she was 26. A year later, Gabrielle has a miscarriage after an attempted suicide. At 31, she wasn’t able enough to keep Loretta May safe from Roderick. At 32, Gabrielle had to find work again since her husband quit. Two years later, she helped Loretta May run from home. Gabrielle was 39 when she succumbed to injuries inflicted by her husband.

Maximilian Webb (Son of Winfred and Erin Webb)

Winfred Webb was born to Kenneth and Mariana Webb on April 25 in Mayport. His sister Patricia was four at the time. Winfred had a relatively normal childhood in the city, completing all three units of schooling. He graduated at the age of 17 and went on to Mayport University the following year. He went through several girlfriends but did not marry Erin Wyman until after graduation at 21. A year later, he began his education at The King’s Institution. He finished in four years. At 25, he lost a political election to the war-scarred Hugo Stenger. A year later, Winfred moved to Perry; at 27 he became deputy major of the city. At 30 he failed to become mayor of Perry and moved back to Mayport. About this time, Max was born. Winfred was able to secure a spot at the colonial conscription office later that year. At 33, he finally became the Manager of Conscription for the Lesser Colonies. He hung on to this position until the age of 59, when he died of a burst aneurysm.

Erin Wyman was born to Graham and Themis Wyman on March 2 in Anemolis, Saricum. The family moved to Wickport when Erin was 7. She began her first unit of schooling then, staying a year behind. Due to struggles with learning the language, she did not move on to her second unit of schooling until she was 12. At 16, she graduated and succeeded in being accepted for a third unit of schooling, working at a clothing store for extra funds. She graduated at 19 and applied to several universities. She was only accepted to Mayport, so she moved there at 20 and began her studies. She dated Eston Stewart for a year but broke it off after he demanded certain things. At 23, she dated Winfred for a month, dropped it to focus on schoolwork, and later returned to him. She graduated from the University at 24 and married Winfred shortly afterward. While Winfred went to complete his political education, Erin worked as a schoolteacher, especially catering to students from a similar background to hers. She moved to Perry with her husband and began teaching there. She gave birth to Max at the age of 31 after she and her husband moved back to Mayport. With the support of some friends and colleagues, she was able to devote her time to raising Max until Winfred got a stable job three years later. Erin then continued to raise Max with her husband’s support until Max left the house. Since then, Erin has returned to teaching. Her husband died when she was 60, and she still mourns him a bit, but she loves life.

Viola Robbins was born to Frederick and Elizabeth Robbins on September 22 in Fog. Despite some difficulties in the way of intelligence, she managed to get through her first and second units of schooling by 14. She began work at a clothing store later that year. At 15, she had her first date with Cleveland Harrison. They broke up within a month, and Viola went through a few more boyfriends before meeting Max when she was 16. They fell madly in love, and in two years, they were married. When she was 20, she had her first child, Fenton. A few months later, Max left for the military, leaving Viola in Fog. She stayed there during his time in the military and at The King’s Institution. At 26, her husband finally rejoined her in Fog, and he became mayor. A year later, Max moved back to the capital for conscription duties, and Anthony was born. Viola today devotes her time to raising her children, still in the less urban Fog, and she doesn’t fuss much with her husband’s activities, though she still comes to visit when Max has time.

The Annals of World-Building II

In the first edition of this series, I went through some of the characteristics of The Empire's homeland. Now it's time to time a wider look at the world. 

I apologise for my handwriting and the quality of the picture.

It's difficult to see, but shaded areas are those under the control of or otherwise claimed by The Empire. This includes the following:
Alt!Eurasia: Cynilann (The Mainland), Helmalann, Crudeland, Mulsha, Silkland, Saricum
Alt!Africa: Brickland, Rubberland, Southern Holdings
Alt!Australia: New South Donnelon
Alt!South America: Errin, Trinon, Minctor
Alt!North America: Springland
Alt!Antarctica: Australia
Islands (left to right): Prover Islands, Saina, Mictan, Sealand, High Island, Limacle, New Rinheart, Lesser Colonies, Red Islands, Flail Islands, Stark Islands, Bay Islands, Fire Islands, Asman

Helmalann was where civilisation originated, and they originally colonised Cynilann; however, society and technology grew so much faster in Cynilann that in a matter of time they came back and conquered Helmalann.

Cynilann has had especially good trade relations with Silkland and has rather recently declared dominion over them, as well as Crudeland. (Most nations here ending in -land were dubbed as such by Cynilann because they couldn't pronounce the native names. Crudeland stays somewhat true to the real name, which is something like Khudan, but Cynilann doesn't have as much respect for peoples not so closely related to them and just names them what seems appropriate.)

At the same time, Cynilann rather respects Saricum, since the latter has pretty much always been the cradle of knowledge on the other side of the river. (Their Hetalian personifications are totally crushing on each other, just saying.)

Cynilann's claim over Brickland, Rubberland, and the Southern Holdings is almost entirely economical, though they keep enough of a government there to ensure they will continue to milk the area dry (and that nobody else is going to step in and try to share). This hasn't been entirely successful, and there have been some extremely threatening border disputes with Scewoa (belonging to Faxir), but it would have to be more of a problem before they would go to war over it. These three colonies are some of the most recently established of The Empire.

New South Donnelon, obviously named after the southernmost island of Cynilann, is a more appreciated colony. The majority of the native population (which wasn't large) was killed in a tsunami and subsequent (unrelated) plague a few decades before the Cynilan people landed there, and the few who remained were quickly assimilated when the Cynilan people colonised. The Cynilan population there now surpasses that of mainland Cynilann, though they're not quite as urbanised.

Errin was gained via a Cynilan citizen's marriage to the local royal family and Cynilann's subsequent passing of bills to secure it nationally. Once Cynilann had a military presence there, it quickly took over Trinon and Minctor by force. Cynilann claims that Stalmid, right in the midst of their territories there, is too worthless a piece of land to be worth the trouble of conquering it. Then again, they do lay claim to Australia, which is worthless for anything but scientific research. Perhaps the Stalmidians are just rather troublesome...

Cynilann had established trade connections with Springland, notably the part of the continent as far as possible from Grema. From there, they peacefully took over. Springland is a very popular tourist spot on top of having great tropical farmland.

Most of The Empire's islands were taken militarily, with the exception of Sealand. It was uninhabited previously due to surrounding currents being extremely difficult to get through. It's still rarely visited (quite a few of the islands are really just claimed without being taken particular advantage of). The Lesser Colonies, or "Coal Islands," however, got their popular nickname for a reason. One of the most strictly-guarded colonies of the Empire (in fact, it was there that Macbay did his military service), it has oodles of coal, mined both by Cynilan people and the effectively enslaved natives. The Bay Islands are a good source of sugar and molasses. The Flail Islands have massive guano deposits.

During the actual story, war has broken out. A minor conflict over Opalia (fought between Balaccia and Ganoria, the Iberian peninsula-ish country and the Britain-ish country to the south) escalated, got some colonies involved, and then allies. Cynilann was dragged in via Saricum and is now on the side of Ganoria and Lichper (and their colonies). Balaccia is allied with Vitrina and, more importantly, Cerdisa. Cerdisa and Cynilann have had bad relations and a lot of cat fights over colony ownership, so it wasn't hard for Cynilann to really get into things once Cerdisa stepped in.

On the other hand, Grema (which has considerable influence over the other nations on its continent) was once Cerdisa's colony and still has a good relationship with them. Together, they're nicknamed the "Twin Beasts of the North," and it should suffice to say Cynilann really hopes Grema stays neutral over there. Certainly Cynilann is still sure they'd win, but it's enough to concern them.

This is only a rough map of the world, and several of the smaller nations and islands were cut out, but they don't play big roles in the time of the story. This is enough for now. The world isn't *entirely* fleshed out, but considering the actual story is limited to one island of The Mainland, I probably shouldn't be too worried.

The Annals of World-Building I

As I mentioned in its standard writeup, I've been doing some extensive world-building in the world of Macbay Transportation Services. I figure I could use as much feedback on that as on any other part of the story, so why not do a little sharing?

The map of the mainland is one of the first world-building exercises I did. Apologies for my handwriting, and for the image size (I tried the "X-Large" setting here, but the words weren't legible).

I did some slight naming changes after scanning it onto the computer (Lavil to Havil and Helmland to Helmalann), but otherwise the original ideas haven't changed much. Lines represent major roads (usually alongside railways), though they're not all in great condition, as Macbay can attest. Rivers and lakes should be obvious; major bridges are double lines over expanses of water. The triple points are mountainous/very hilly areas, the sets of three lines are swampy areas, and the clustered circles are forest. Cities with blank circles are less populous. Mayport is the capital.

Macbay is from Avalanche City on Donnelon Island, Loretta May is from Jamber way up north on Rinheart, and Max is Mayport-born-and-bred. None of the mains represent Milsin Island, but it's not that important and is colloquially referred to as "Vet Island" since a whopping amount of war veterans settle down there.

There aren't many natural landmarks, but Wickport has a rather famous and ornate lighthouse open to tourism. Setchport has a clocktower, and Mayport has "Statue Park," a large field monument with various statues of leaders and warriors in a chronologically-ordered winding line of bronze statues.

Havil is the coal center of the mainland (though the "Coal Islands" or Lesser Colonies are that for the whole Empire). Central City is the tech city of the place, while most immigrants stay near Wickport. Fog (named that for a reason) has the nation's best university, although Mayport has its own uni and a good law school (which Max attended). Kinnick is a big producer of fish, though it's not that heavily populated.

Rinheart Island may have a lot more farmland, but Donnelon is the one associated with the country bumpkins. Near Central City and Mayport, those from Rinheart are generally considered snobs, while there's not a solid impression of those farther north or south. "Easterners" and "Westerners" are from the respective sides of Donnelon, while "Northerners" and "Southerners" are from Rinheart.

I don't have a good handle on distances, so I haven't provided a scale. As of now, the place is a bit larger than Japan, though that could change as the plot needs it (don't want Macbay to get to his destinations too awfully quick).

So that's the basic writeup for our mainland. Just wait until I post their world map...