Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding

Outline by Qwen 2.5 from even more detailed personal notes I voiced dictated using Whisper.

I. Introduction to Worldbuilding Notes

A. Overview of Metaphysics/Magic System

1. Core Concept: Monadology-Infused Universe
  • Inspiration: Leibniz's monadology.
  • Key Idea: Monads are self-contained, featureless entities that give the illusion of causality through each having a simulation of the rest of the universe within them.
2. Magic as Willpower
  • Willful Manipulation: Strong-willed individuals can manipulate matter and physical laws by exerting will on surrounding monads.
  • Limitations: Overlapping spheres of influence may lead to conflicts or paradoxical outcomes.

B. Worldbuilding Implications

1. Accessibility and Flexibility of Magic
  • Widespread Practice: Willpower and focus are key, making magic accessible to a large portion of the population.
  • Common Uses: Physical enhancement, healing, and matter manipulation in everyday tasks.
2. Social and Economic Impact
  • Worker Rights: Unkillable, superhuman workers leading to strong trade unions and guilds.
  • Warfare: Physically devastating but not as lethal due to common physical enhancements.
  • Healthcare: Reduced need for medical care among the general population.
3. Technological and Architectural Implications
  • Steampunk/ Clockpunk World: Limited technological advancement, with precise manufacturing techniques.
  • Buildings and Structures: High-level magic required for complex constructions; rare but possible buildings that bend physical laws constantly maintained by powerful mages.

C. Two Examples of Magic in Practice

1. Meteorology People
  • Mathematical Manipulation: See monads as atoms with real nature, manipulate constants to control weather.
  • Willpower Focus: Equations help focus and make precise their will.
2. Followers of Clevain LaRue
  • Piousness and Faith: Conceive magic as beseeching a higher entity; prayer focusing willpower.
  • Underlying Mechanism: Essentially exerting will on the world around them.

II. Character Descriptions

A. Clavain Larue (Primary Antagonist)

1. Background
  • High Calvinist Reformed Christian: Extreme moral system, impossible to live up to.
  • Obsession and Hatred: Judge others harshly; obsessed with willpower.
2. Magical Abilities
  • Incredible Willpower: Extremely powerful practitioner of monadology.
  • Great Magics: Reducing cities to ash, warping spacetime for teleportation.
  • Magical Symptoms: Eyes opening and bubbling as he performs magic.
  • Scriptures: Small black book with abstract doctrines.
3. Core Emotional Struggle
  • Condemnation and Guilt: Constantly tormented by his own moral code, leading to a deep sense of guilt and self-loathing.

B. The Mother (High Mage)

1. Background
  • King of a City-State: Annihilated by Clavain Larue; survived by sheer willpower.
  • City in Himself: Contains the souls of his city's residents, making him powerful but context-dependent.
2. Magical Abilities
  • Willpower and Souls: Can vary in power based on consent from the souls he wields.
  • Neutral Actions: Stronger with protective barriers, healing, and transportation.
  • Preparation Time: Power increases with time spent consulting his people.
3. Core Emotional Struggle
  • Regret and Loss: Haunted by the destruction of his city and the lives lost under his rule.

C. The Scion

1. Background
  • Last of the Scions: Revenge mission against Clavain Larue; preserving old religion.
  • Unique Drive: Focus on revenge and religious preservation, no desire to convert others.
2. Magical Abilities
  • High Mage in Her Own Right: Focused on morality and compassion but poor focusing instrument for this magic system.
  • Need for Help: Requires assistance from others due to her doctrines' limitations.
3. Core Emotional Struggle
  • Vengeance and Redemption: Driven by a desire for revenge, yet haunted by the moral implications of her actions.

D. The Prisoner

1. Background
  • Northern Tribe Warrior: Traditions of negating magic; indestructible willpower focused inward.
  • Enslavement and Grudging Respect: Enslaved by being conquered, then bought by the Last Scion; grows a grudging respect for her religion over time.
2. Magical Abilities
  • Immunity to Magic: Warriors' traditions make them impervious to magic.
  • Vulnerability: Can be killed if his brain is taken out; unkillable zombie-fied wife.
3. Core Emotional Struggle
  • Survival and Dignity: Struggles to maintain his dignity in captivity, eventually finding a sense of purpose in the Last Scion's religion.

E. The Wife and the Wife That Was

1. Background
  • Resurrection of a Zombified Wife: Resurrected with an artificial binding, resulting in untillability.
  • Unkillable Terminator-like Bodyguard: Unkillable but unable to heal herself; forced to forge a new body.
2. Magical Abilities
  • Zombie-Fied Wife: Immune to magic and unkillable; high strength and reaction speed.
  • Prisoner's Vulnerability: Completely oblivious to magic, vulnerable to it like normal practitioners.
3. Core Emotional Struggle
  • Existence and Purpose: Exists solely as a weapon without purpose or identity, struggling for some form of meaning in her existence.

III. Summary

A. Core Metaphysics/Magic System

  • Monadology: Self-contained entities giving illusion of causality through each having a simulation of the rest of the universe within them.
  • Willpower Manipulation: Strong-willed individuals can manipulate matter and physical laws.

B. World Implications

  • Accessibility and Flexibility: Widespread practice, common uses in everyday life.
  • Social Impact: Strong trade unions, reduced need for medical care.
  • Technological and Architectural: Steampunk/clockpunk world with limited technological advancement.

C. Character Profiles

  • Clavain Larue: High Calvinist antagonist; incredibly powerful monadologist.
  • The Mother: Surviving king with city in himself; context-dependent power.
  • The Scion: Revenge-driven, religious preservationist; needs help.
  • The Prisoner: Warrior turned slave; grows a grudging respect for the Last Scion's religion.
  • The Wife and the Wife That Was: Resurrected with an artificial binding; unkillable but vulnerable.

This should provide a comprehensive overview of your story, including each character’s core emotional struggles. Let me know if you need any further adjustments!