In a world where fantasy has been turned on its head, you will enter a new culture and a new world. Here, anything is possible... whether you choose it, or I do.
WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THIS?:
I am going to start writing a new novel, the premise of which I shall soon explain. However, I also decided to complement it in a way – before I start writing, I want to flesh out the world I'll be using a user-based, interactive system in the form of a CYOA in order to see what you, the reader, want to see.
What's a CYOA?:
A CYOA (which I have chosen to pronounce “SIGH-oh-ay”) is an acronym for Choose Your Own Adventure. What will happen, is I will explain the world so far, and then set the stage. You, and the rest of the site, will use a voting system in order to create a character, and then decide what that character will do. This will be represented as a multiple choice. I will give options A, B, and C, then leave D as “other” – you can choose, and explain, D at any time, and if a specific extra choice gets enough votes, it will be put into effect. Be sure to be specific – you can also add details to your choices at any time.
What do I want from you?:
I want you to test me. The purpose of this is to take the world I have been hatching up and put it into motion, using trial-and-error and user-based input in order to decide how I want to change and sculpt this universe and storyline. CONTACT ME BY PM if you see a name, idea, or concept that you find stupid or boring. If you give me a good reason for it and explain your feelings, I may change it in the end product.
Test me, challenge me. Force me to make decisions that will change or shape the world. Think of it as beta-testing for a fantasy world. We're working out bugs.
What do you get out of it?:
You get free, interactive entertainment. Also, provided enough character and world development, you actually have a chance to help shape and alter the world and plot points that I'll be writing with... and, if you're lucky, maybe your character can have a cameo or supporting role in the finished product.
OKAY THEN. WHAT'S THE WORLD LIKE?:
Our recipe starts off with a basic fantasy world. The four civilized races – Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Elanu – live a basic life of sword and sorcery. Magic is strong, and serves all of the world's needs. However, as time passes, it becomes apparent that magic is cyclical... and it's starting to wane. While the elves still seem to have some control over the increasingly-unstable magic, humans and dwarves begin to develop technology, which is greedily accepted by the mundane masses of laymen. Around this time, the savage Troggon'esh, unsatisfied with a bloody life of marauding and pillaging, begin to join civilized society by trading and exposing their new discoveries in the medical and alchemical fields.
Centuries pass.
Bring the timeline up to approximately... “modern”, times. Technology is advanced, but mostly used for creature comforts, entertainment, medicine, and transportation. Despite being at an all-time low, magic is still used exclusively for the purposes of attack and defense. The Troggon'esh (or trogs, for short), have integrated with the rest of society, and though they still have a history of savagery, they have adapted and become near humans on a physical and mental level.
It is now that an alien invasion by the monstrous, intelligent creatures known as the Vendroll, strikes this alternate earth. We win the war, mostly due to the effort of the magic-advanced elven armies. When the war ends (leaving much lost or destroyed, along with certain other things left behind), the elves take a central role in the world government, as their population, culture, and technology has suffered the least setbacks after the war ended. The rest of the earth treats them with an envious respect.
The war, however, has left things behind. A new race of alien hybrids known as the vendrolings now populate the world in surprisingly large numbers, though without cities or culture to call their own. Unusual types of fallout and diseases from space are complicating what was once a smooth medical economy. Weaponized technology is being developed for the first time in order to avoid another alien war. Seeds of prejudice and panic become sewn in what was once a nearly-utopian society.
Forty years have passed since the Vendroll invasion, and things are adjusting. But in the city of Calhana, where you live, there is intrigue around every single corner... not to mention the fact that magic's cycle is just about to renew itself.
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YOU WAKE UP.
Your head is pounding. You wiggle slightly in your position, eyes still closed, and try to remember what happened last night. Why you're laying on the couch, your arm draped off the side, fingertips tickling the familiar texture of your carpet.
Why is your head throbbing? What happened last night? Why were you – drinking. It starts to flood back to you. Last night was your birthday... but how old did you turn?
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Choose your gender!
Choose your race!
A. Human. While they are not as old a race as the elves, dwarves, or even the elanu, when they hit the scene they changed everything forever. Especially as pioneers of technology, the highly-diverse and short-lived humans move quickly, think quickly, live quickly, and leave their mark on the world's progression.
B. Elf. The tall, slender elves are masters of magic, seemingly able to tame it even as this natural force becomes more weak and wild with each decade. They hold a high position within government, culture, and history, and are the oldest living race. Expect some attitude though – the elves seized a great deal of power after dealing with the Vendroll Invasion, and are resented by many.
C. Dwarf. The dwarves are the salt of the earth. Workers, merchants, and businessmen, the short, stern men and women of this race are known for their contributions to the advent of technology, in addition to their military strength and industrial weight. The wealthiest race, dwarves still tend to be overlooked (sometimes literally) by the other races.
D. Elanu. Forged in the caves of the cold north, the blue-skinned, white-haired elanu are nearly blind. Their society is martial, yet peaceful, and shows great insight into alternative uses of magic. Due to sharing an underground environment with the dwarves, these two races share a friendly rivalry of sorts. The elanu are also nearly-impossible to differentiate by gender – only those educated in their society and culture can detect the differences in tattoos that mark females from males.
E. Troggon'esh. After generations of blood and marauding, the troggon'esh (or trogs), began to straighten up their act when a certain leader, Onash Kahg, steered them away from violence, encouraging them through his own might to develop their primitive alchemy into something that would eventually make them relevant to the rest of society. Tall, heavy, gray-skinned, and brutal, the trogs have grown more and more delicate and soft over the centuries. Now, some specimens (with a bit of cosmetic surgery), can be made indistinguishable from humans, which allows them to escape the prejudice of their gory past. However, between purists, and those too obviously trog to change themselves, those who attempt to abandon their race are considered traitors, and risk prejudice from both trogs and humans.
F. Vendroling. After the Vendroll invaded, they began to secretly breed infiltrators within their warships – Vendroll/Human hybrids with horn-like antennae, pale, mottled skin, large, dark eyes, thin tails, and chitinous hooves. The war ended before it was ever seen whether or not these infiltrators were in any way effective, but large numbers of vendrolings still ended up on earth after the Vendroll were driven out. Now in their second generation, they still lack a culture or home to call their own, and are mistrusted by the majority of the world, despite (or perhaps because of) showing unusual insights and abilities.
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Things have been advancing. For newcomers, you are a FEMALE / ELANU / EX-SILENT BOUNTY HUNTER.
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