Definitely not a game dev pretending to be a writer. Aro/Ace
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Alterra Update!
Alterra Update!
This week! HELL,
A few weeks ago, I posted a world map of Alterra. If you looked closely, you may have noticed some orange dots in various places. Those “dots” are actually giant pits that lead directly into Hell, specifically the wrath ring. You can Imagine the world of Alterra being similar to Terraria, where Hell is directly under the normal world.
My version of Hell is kind of a mix between the Hell from Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss, the Hell from Terraria, the Hell from Doom, and my own interpretations of the Greek Underworld.
The wrath ring is the unyielding armies of Hell that slowly conquer and consume worlds and realities, much like in Doom. Many other worlds have been taken over by these demonic hordes, but Alterra is in a somewhat equilibrium. Most demons under the surface still do not dare head to the surface due to an ancient race of powerful monsters called the Firath. Even though the Firath went extinct from an unknown cause over a thousand years ago, most demons still believe it to be far too great of a risk to invade the surface. This is mainly due to a great warrior dawning a massive suit of armor of Firath design that occasionally appears in Hell to slaughter untold amounts of their numbers. Whether or not this entity is a Firath is unconfirmed, though it’s use of their tech is. Any attempts of invading the surface while the warrior is in Hell results in immediate death by ancient Firath war machines.
Some of the demons have begun to worship this creature, calling it the Second Slayer. The lord of the ring of wrath is very much against this practice and comparison.
Whenever a mortal being dies, the god of death has no choice but to send it to the rings of Hell, as the afterlife was destroyed along with the gods. What the rings of hell decide to do with the souls is practically random, either becoming a mindless demon the demonic hordes, or turning into a natural-born person of Hell named an unholy. Unholy species have no memory of the life their soul used to belong to, and are entirely their own person.
This is where the Hazbin Hotel inspiration comes into play. There are several different types of unholy depending on which ring the manifest in.
Unholy born in the Lust ring are either a succubus(female) or an incubus(male), and are freely able to leave Hell. Since Lust it the highest Ring apart from Wrath, it’s where most of the souls end up, and is home to large cities to accommodate almost every denizen of Hell. Despite popular belief, they are not just purely embodiments of lust, and are almost entirely like mortal people. They tend to have light skin tones of pink, red, or very rarely a shade of purple, smooth black / red horns that arch backwards, and thin tails of the same color that end in a heart shape. Both succubi and incubi possess the natural magic ability to charm or seduce people, though this only works on certain people. If a person is resistant to psychic attacks in any capacity, seduction will not work. Meanwhile, if a succubus / incubus attempts to seduce someone who is not one to engage in such activities, such as aromatics or asexuals, it will achieve the opposite effect, and put the victim in a bezerker-type rage.
Lust unholy rarely use seductive magic without consent, but that doesn’t stop the heavy discrimination against them. Very few Lust unholy actually ever leave Hell, due to the fact that they are often captured as slaves. There is a massive underground slave market across the whole universe for succubi and incubi due to the fact that each of their “fluids” function as very potent anti-depressants. Their horns can also be ground up and mixed with mineral water to make “love potions”. Due to this, most of them hide their true species or choose to stay in the Lust ring, though hunting parties that delve into Lust still ensure that being a succubus or incubus a very dangerous thing.
The ring of gluttony is actually the agricultural sector of Hell. Home to a species called “The Kappa,” which are based on creatures called Kappas from Japanese folklore. In the original folklore, they are water demons with incredibly elastic arms that attract people to their pools to drown them. In my interpretation, they instead use their water magic and incredibly strong and stretchy arms to farm crops. Gluttony provides the food for every Ring of Hell except for Wrath. Despite the general suspicion of anything that comes from Hell, there are still plenty of commonly used commodities that originate from Gluttony, such as wheat, pigs, and of course pomegranates.
The Ring of Pride is the entertainment industry of Hell. It is law to visit the Pride for at least 6 hours per week to incentivize creativity and decrease the suicide rates. Writings from Pride occasionally find their way outside of Hell, and are often the basis for entire religions in the mortal world. The Unholy have been taught to write in a text that automatically translates into whatever the reader understands, but this only applies while in Hell. If a piece of Hellish writing leaves the underworld, the time it is read will cause it to magically translate one final time before losing it’s properties.
The Ring of Envy is kind of like the jungle of the underworld. If a soul gets sent to this Ring, it becomes either part of the vast plant-life, or a non-sentient creature of Hell. The creatures of Envy are almost entirely docile, only attacking if harmed or heavily provoked. This Ring was created by the Goddess of Unholy to produce “pets” for the inhabitants of Hell in response to the vast amount of denizens with severe depression.
The Ring of Greed is very interesting due to the fact that it isn’t actually a Ring at all. It’s actually a central station where Unholy can travel between the different Rings or leave Hell entirely. This is also the only direct way into any of the Rings of Hell apart from Wrath. Unholy cannot enter the Ring of Wrath, nor can Demons from Wrath enter the Ring of Greed. This was a direct decision from the God of Death and his wife, the Goddess of Unholy, both of whom live in a separate Ring called Limbo or the underworld.
Limbo is a very strange part of Hell, inaccessible to all but the gods. The strangest part is its similarity to the Greek’s interpretation of the underworld. It’s an endless garden surrounding a single castle with 5 rivers flowing away from it. These rivers are liquefied embodiments of sentience and consist of almost pure energy. The first river is Memory, it’s waters glow pure white and it is said that every soul must first pass through these waters to be cleansed of their former lives. The second is Perspective, a golden stream that provide souls with the ability to discern and judge your surroundings, and is often confused for anger. The third is Identity, a blood red river that grants the souls with their base personalities. The forth is Feeling, a river of flame which allows the soul to feel the world around them. And the last is Emotion, a clear blue river that completes the identity of the soul, making it ready to be recycled into a new creature.
If an Unholy dies, it’s soul immediately joins the demonic hordes of Wrath as an unthinking soldier. While having, on average, a higher lifespan than mortals, they still die of old age eventually, unless the Goddess of Unholy decides their life is essentially to the happiness of Hell. No known religion has an accurate depiction of the Goddess of Unholy, but the closest interpretation is Persephone, Greek Goddess of the underworld. She liked the name so much, she took it for herself, having no true name previously. Persephone is in charge of managing all of the Unholy in Hell, due to her husband being to busy harvesting souls.
This is my interpretation of Hell for my novel, I’d be happy to hear you thoughts on it!
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More Posts from Writingalterras
As long as the romance is optional, THIS SOUNDS AWESOME!
New IF
Ten years ago you escaped from your oppressive homeworld and an arranged marriage after being granted refuge aboard an alien starship and in so doing you became the first member of your species to venture into space. Since then you have embraced your newly gained independence and explored the galaxy in your own ship as a jack of all trades. Smuggler, mercenary, pirate, and one-time diplomat, you have done it all in your time amongst the stars. So when what should have been a simple delivery goes bad you are not that surprised.
As you attempt to not only keep yourself alive, but discover who botched your job you find yourself working alongside the crew of the ship which first pulled you off your primitive world, a deposed Queen eager to regain her throne, a fellow mercenary who also happens to be your bitter rival, and your very dour AI Liz.
When you discover a grand conspiracy to destroy the Wardens and plunge the galaxy into chaos you find yourself racing across the stars in an effort to save not only the galaxy but your own homeworld as it becomes the center of the galaxy-spanning struggle.
This story takes place in the Warden Universe and is set roughly a millennium after Time Warden on the eve of the 26th century. Take on the persona of an alien from a primitive world granted sanctuary aboard a Warden ship after fleeing her oppressive family. Learn to navigate the galaxy and make something of yourself before being thrown into a galactic conspiracy revolving around your homeworld.
Play as one of four different alien species, each with unique customization options.
Be a cis or trans woman.
Customize both your physical appearance, clothing, and the appearance of your ship.
Decide how you get things done, whether it is being stealthy, talking your way out of trouble, or just blowing up everything in your way.
Romance a dedicated and brilliant doctor, a shy weapons expert, an arrogant but surprisingly tender Queen, or your most bitter rival.
Gain control of a very cuddly, yet deadly, cybernetic monstrosity.
Try to deal with the fact that you are shorter than almost everyone around you.
Lorrie Lane | 72 | ENFP-A | The Doctor
The first alien you ever met and the CMO of the Warden ship aboard which you fled your homeworld, Lorrie was the one who helped you adapt to your new life for the few months you spent aboard her ship. The two of you became close during that time but shortly after you left to find your own path you lost touch.
Lorrie is incredibly dedicated to her job and does her best to keep the crew in perfect shape, even going so far as to make house calls on the incredibly rare times she hears a crew member is sick. While she likes to pretend that she is stern and reprimands the crew over minor issues it is very easy to tell that she is simply poking fun at whoever she is assisting and she sometimes has the tendency to mother the crew.
Kimba | 23 | ISFJ-T | The Weapons Expert
Ensign Kimba is the new weapons expert on the Warden ship when you find yourself back aboard and for some reason, she seems to follow you everywhere you go. Despite several alien species active in the galactic community, she seems entranced by you specifically. Kimba spent the majority of her early life sequestered in her home being taught by private tutors and despite knowing about the few space-faring aliens that have been contacted, you are the first non-human she has ever met.
Kimba comes from a very old Warden family, though she refuses to tell most people which one as she does not want to deal with the fawning that her siblings all seem to enjoy. Most of the crew like to speculate which family she comes from as for someone to achieve her position at such a young age is practically unheard of. Only the command staff, Kimba herself, and a few trusted friends know her true lineage.
Her Majesty Helene Renaud | 201 | ENTJ-T |The Deposed Queen
Her Royal Majesty Helene Renaud, first of Her name, Defender of Arctis V, Prosecutor of the Imagin Campaign, and according to Herself stone-cold badass. Helene Renaud inherited the throne of her homeworld at the age of 34 and held onto it until an uprising when she was 197. She does not know why the uprising happened, or who led it but she suspects her overly ambitious cousin who now sits on the throne had a hand in the coup.
Helene’s attitude tends to be on the domineering side since her exile as she believes that she is owed everything and anything she wants simply because of who she is. According to her handmaiden, she was not always so harsh, but the coup changed her. She practically saunters onto your ship and claims it as hers, saying that she is commandeering it for her own purposes, getting her to leave is impossible however as she simply walks away whenever the subject is brought up.
Grim | 42 | ESTP-A | Your Rival
Your rival, one-time paramour, and general pain in the ass. Grim was the one who introduced you to the mercenary life but subsequently turned on you, leaving you for dead after a botched mission. Since then the two of you have frequently crossed paths, on a good day it ends in insults, on a bad, blaster fire is usually exchanged as the two of you try to off the other.
At first, her personality was harsh, but likable, since she turned on you she has changed. She is cold, and distant, even to your shared contacts with whom she was once friendly. Obviously, something has changed her but you have no idea what it may have been.
For years you have struggled to understand why she betrayed you or the reasons for her continued hostility and you long ago gave up trying to understand her. Unfortunately, the strange conspiracy has thrown the two of you together in a mutual attempt to survive the coming storm and if you can not resolve your differences it may mean both of your deaths.
Liv | Your AI
Liv is a fragment personality of the Wardens galaxy-spanning AI Lizzie. You discovered her aboard a wrecked Warden ship falling into a star when you were providing security for a salvage run. Being cut off from herself for nearly a hundred years Liv grew into a unique individual separate from her progenitor. After you saved her and she reconnected with Lizzie she refused to reintegrate having become an individual.
Lizzie was not as disappointed as you would have thought and now considers Liv to be a younger sister, constantly trying to connect with her on some level whenever the two of you make port. What Liv thinks of this is rather obvious as she rolls her eyes whenever Lizzie’s bubbly voice comes over the comm. Yet despite her apparent disgust for her upbeat sister, you know that Liv does care for the loveable Warden AI, in her own way.
Captain Torian
The captain of the ship which brought you into the stars. Torian is an easygoing individual who does not make too many demands of their crew beyond what one would expect. They are the kind of Captain even the lowliest member of the crew can come to with their problems and they will lend an ear, and share a cup of tea as they help the crewmember work out whatever is wrong. They will go to any lengths to protect their crew and in defending them they are a holy terror in a fight, dropping enemies quickly and without mercy.
Along with the Doctor, Torian helped you to adapt to your new life among the stars and quickly became as close to you as any of your siblings.
Your Family
Having fled your homeworld you left behind your mother and three older siblings and while you would not change your mind if given the opportunity you do miss them and frequently wonder what they are doing. Your father on the other hand, well you have mixed feelings. On the one hand, when you were younger he was doting and went out of his way to spend time with you, but as you grew older he became distant and eventually stopped talking to you altogether except when giving you orders.
It was your father who arranged your marriage in an effort to tie your family to someone powerful despite your mother's protests. Being the leader of his country was never good enough for him and he was constantly making choices to gain powerful friends in other countries and businesses.
The Rik’taan
An arachnoid-like species the Rik’taan were once more like Earth arachnids than the semi-humanoid form they now hold. Having evolved in the deepest caves of their homeworld the Rik’taan were slowly forced to the surface as a series of quakes changed the subterranean ecology resulting in the Rik’taans primary food supply going extinct.
The form they now have is a drastic departure from what they were. Their humanoid upper body supports four arms and a mostly human shape, while their quadrupedal lower half has four more traditional arachnoid legs set equally around their hips. Two of their arms are larger and set at their shoulders much like a human, but each ends in a hand with two fingers and a thumb, each with a large, deadly claw at the tip.
Their second set of arms is mounted on their rib cage and is much smaller and more delicate. Females of the species use them to spin the delicate silk that they produce from their fingertips into a variety of items, while the males simply use them for the sign language that makes up the species' secondary language.
Females of the species are much larger than the males averaging around six feet in height, whereas the males grow to around 5’5” at the tallest. Despite not being mammals females of the species do have breast-like growths but these are where their silk glands are contained. One of their more unique differences from other species in the galaxy is that the females have penile genitalia, similar to the Neotrogla Curvata family of insects on Earth.
All members of the species have four eyes with a smaller set positioned above their larger, human-like eyes, four venomous fangs in the same position as the Human canine and lateral incisor teeth, a pair of vestigial mandibles contained in their mouths, and a head of chitinous hair.
Finally, their legs and the larger set of arms are covered in chitinous armor, whereas their torsos, smaller arms, and heads have more traditional skin, except for chitin running up their backs, protecting their spines.
The Draqitor
Easily mistaken for humans at a distance or in the dark, Draqitor is a unique reptilian/mammal hybrid that has dimensions nearly identical to that of humans. The primary differences come from what a human would consider dragon-like features. They have scales covering the back of their calves, the inner thigh, the spine, the shoulders, and the back of their forearms. Their digits are all tipped with deadly claws that were once used in tests of strength.
While males and females both have scales on their faces they differ in position with males typically having them running down their nose, and across the chin, whereas females have them across their cheekbones and have delicately scaled tips to their ears.
Both Humans and Draqitor have naturally bright hair colors such as pinks and blues, however, the Draqitor have always had them, whereas Humans have only gained them through genetic manipulation. Draqitor scales are incredibly tough and can easily deflect blades and light arms fire. In most cases, they are darker shades but some have developed brightly colored scales. Males and females do not have a distinction in height and can both reach up to 6’2” at the most.
The Lankin
Closely resembling the satyr or faun from Earth mythology the Lankin are a bipedal species with furred ungulate legs, hooves, and small antlers, however, the resemblance stops there. Lankin are carnivores and had once been pack hunters using their wickedly curved claws and teeth to tear prey apart. With their unique leg structure, they are capable of achieving incredible speeds and making great leaps without difficulty.
The Lankin eyes are sometimes disconcerting for Humans to look at as they have two pupils in each eye similar to polycoria in humans. However this does not have any negative effects and in fact gives the Lankin incredible perception, a much larger ability to perceive color, and as a species they have never had the same vision problems as Humans have in the past. Their eye colors are also much more varied than what Humans have.
Lankin females are massive when compared to the males, growing upwards of 6’5”, whereas the males typically only ever reach 5’. Their culture has gone through several changes in the last few centuries that saw the female-dominated species shift from a matriarchal structure to that of being a patriarchy. Ask a hundred Lankin how this happened and you will get a hundred different answers, but many believe that the sudden increase in female births may have had something to do with it.
At one point only three in every ten children were born with female reproduction abilities and each female typically had a harem of males under her control, but as more and more females were born the balance began to shift which allowed the males to take control of the species as their value in a harem fell and more of them found their way into jobs typically held by the females of the species.
The Rilla
A smaller species the Rilla evolved from a rodent-like ancestor. They are covered in a fine layer of fur which is incredibly soft when cared for properly and typically only top around 4’5” at the tallest. Their fur typically has dull colors ranging from brown and black, but red and occasionally white are also seen from time to time. Their faces are almost Human like but have small muzzles filled with sharp teeth they use for their omnivorous diet and tipped with very sensitive noses.
With their digitigrade legs and long prehensile, whip-like tails the Rilla has incredible balance. Like their ancestors, they have tiny claws on the tips of their three-fingered hands and three toes but in the last millennia these claws have begun to grow smaller overall, but their thumbs still retain an incredibly sharp claw.
Despite their patriarchal culture, Rilla are still very social, and entire generations of families typically live together with grandparents, parents, children, and even extended family sharing a home. Sharing a sleeping space is not uncommon in most cases with couples trying to have children only having their own space until the pregnancy takes, at which point they will rejoin the rest of the family when sleeping.
The Rilla’s ears resemble that of a Lynx with a wide triangle shape topped with long tufted fur and are quick to swivel towards unexpected sounds. Their hearing makes up for their generally poor eyesight, though the use of glasses to make up for this is becoming more widespread by the time the MC leaves the world.
We are on strike. I wish it wasn't happening, wish that the producers would negotiate in good faith, and support the strike 100%.
How do dragons in your world view the passage of time with such a long life expectancy? Is everything painfully slow for them or incredibly fast?
Most dragons aren’t immortal, with anything less than a purple dragon living only a few centuries. But the ones that live longer tend to focus much more on hobbies and relationships. Many of the night dragons are in kahoots with some of the most powerful kingdoms in the world to go over historical events and correct them.
Draconic literature is also quite popular in places such as Kio and Corkus, where dragons are idolized. However, in places like Runa, dragons are not considered welcome and are often hunted for sport.
I also forgot to clarify in the original post, but the dragons of Alterra are able cross-breed with certain humanoid species, which lead to people with a lot of draconic features. These include long lizard tails, subtle horns, wings (whether or not they are functional depends on the type of dragon), long black tongues, and small patches of scales in the color of the original dragon. Red dragons have the unique ability of granting human-red dragon crossbreeds a draconic form that is slightly larger than any of the lesser dragons. They can change form between hybrid and draconic form at will, but this takes a few days to a week to learn, and months to gain full control over.
To answer your original question, dragons tend to see time faster than we do, but still live life to the fullest.
Ending your Novel
When ending your novel, there are a few things to consider.
You’ll want to build up tension during the climax, and wrap things up during the resolution. Don’t forget to conclude your main storyline and finish up your subplots as well.
There should be some room left for readers to interrupt things on their own, such as the fate of certain characters.
Not only is it important that your ending makes sense, but it should also evoke emotion.
Knowing how your novel will end sooner than later will help guide you to its finish without wandering too much on pointless scenes.
📚 Here are some endings you can consider:
1) The Classic Cliff Hanger
Done wrong, this can leave readers unsatisfied. But if it’s done carefully, it can leave your audience yearning for more. Your protagonist’s main quest/goal should be concluded by the end of your novel, but leaving questions unanswered or a problem unresolved can be an intriguing cliffhanger. Cliff hangers don’t have to be groundbreaking, they can be small.
For example, Katniss survives The Hunger Games (concluding her main goal) but by tricking the Gamemakers into allowing two victors, we are left wondering what the consequences will be. Not only that, but we question what will come of her relationship with Peeta as he painfully realizes all of Katniss’s affection towards him was simply for the cameras.
2) End where you started
In a symbolic circle of events, you could potentially end your story in the location where it began. However, now the protagonist has newfound strengths or knowledge and can reflect on how they started. This cyclical ending can also work with a mirrored scene (ex. starting and ending with a sword fight).
3) The What-If Ending
Instead of a direct cliffhanger, this conclusion focuses on leaving the ending up to the reader’s imagination. In The Giver, Jonas successfully leaves behind his town and approaches Elsewhere on a speeding sled. He is barely holding onto consciousness and we are left wondering if he will make it there alive—and if it’s even a real place to begin with.
4) The Twist
An unexpected (but planned) ending that can excite and surprise your reader. While a twist should be unexpected, when a reader goes back, there should be breadcrumbs and hints that make it intentional.
5) Simply… Resolved.
There are no open-ended questions or cliffhangers. Everything is wrapped up neatly in a satisfying way for your readers.
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Writeblr of the Month: an event
kindly inspired on @authoralexharvey 's "Interview With A Writer" event <3
WHAT IS THIS?
An event to promote writers in this site! On the 15th of each month, I will upload a post with a different writeblr, linked to their work, as well as reblogging their post and providing feedback (or simply just gushing about their writing)
HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
Just fill the google forms linked below and reblog this to spread the word!
WHAT WILL IT FEATURE?
Basics! such as name or pen name, the name of the blog and where else you might find them
WIPS! a little intro to their wips as well as links to their intro posts. Basic info like genre, and warnings will be displayed.
Excerpts (if applied)
Cool graphics or other thematic posts (if apply)
"I WANT TO SUPPORT TOO!"
Wonderful!! Just reblog everything you want/feel like, and most importantly, leave comments! Honestly, everyone loves to receive comments on their work, let's be kind to each other.
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PLEASE CONSIDER REBLOGGING THIS TO SPREAD THE INFO AROUND. FIRST WRITEBLR OF THE MONTH WILL START ON MARCH 15TH