Jump to content

Artifice Wars - Hub and General Discussion


Recommended Posts

Hey, so a couple people asked me for some details about the Artifice Wars world/novel I'm working on. I'd love ideas, etc. Especially in places where I mention that I haven't found a satisfactory name. This is still almost all in concept phase, so nothing I write here is set in stone. Here are some basics of what this story has, without going into too many details. As I expand on this, I'll keep links to more specifics in this post.

Artifice: (Artifice Wars - Artifice & Infusions)
The magic system is called Artifice. In fact, There will be some cultures and stories where the word "magic" isn't in the dictionary. It revolves around infusing Soulfire into Entities. By definition, anything that is alive will have a Soulflame, which grows proportionally to how large it already is. If you expend all your Soulfire, your Soulflame dies and so do you. Infusions are Infused into entities using incantations (might remove that), allowing that entity to access the infusion to spend more Soulfire and do something specific, like fly, shoot fire, or glow green. The more Soulfire has been infused into an entity, the more Soulfire is required to continue infusing it. Core to Artifice is the concept of the Sentient Progression: Storage => Soul => Sentience => Synergy. Each affects how infusions are used. They all build on each other, and thus always come in that specific order. Any similarity between this system and Warbreaker's is a complete coincidence. This system came about from a completely different direction and evolved into what you see here.

The World:
Artifice Wars is not intended as a book, or even a series. Eventually I want it to mean much the same thing Cosmere means for Brandon's Works. The stories, books and series will all be part of the same world (which has yet to be named), happening in different places. It would be like having a story going on in Europe while another one happens in China. They will have different societies, and different technologies. In this case, technology is essentially all the different ways Artifice (the magic system) can be used. In some places, everyone flies. In others, they think it's impossible. In some places you have universities where Artifice Scholars try to discover new infusions, and in others Artificers are hunted and killed. For most of the world, we are leaving a medieval style of war and intrigue towards the renaissance era, and a little of the steampunk or industrial era in some parts of the world, where Artifacts are starting to become common (think a little like the Age of Legends for the Wheel of Time).

Current Series:
The story revolves around a set of 5-7 heroes (profile pictures in progress) who will have to try and stop a 700 year old Conquering Witch-Empress named Fyutsa. Her growing empire is fueled by her discovery and invention of <living-constructs> (really need a name). These <living-constructs> are metal robot-like entities that she has given Storage and Soul to, and in a dozen cases, Sentience and Synergy too. These are designed as her puppet armies, and her generals. The title of this 5-book series will be whatever name I give to these living constructs. Please give suggestions for the name. This is set in a part of the world that much like Australia is almost completely separated from the rest of the world. As far the the people in this part of the world know, their little corner of the world is all there is to mankind. 

I have a lot of stuff written, and a lot more just sitting in my head. Depending on where the conversation goes, I'll be posting more of it on this forum, so keep an eye out for other posts with the tagged  "Artifice Wars".

Edited by Lord Maelstrom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, if I'm getting this correctly, Soulfire is kinda like Nen from Hunter X Hunter mixed with breaths from Warbreaker making sentients with an Incantation required(possibly)? I might need a few more detail, or a very specific example of its use.

You mentioned that the Soulfire is directly proportional to the size of an individual/being. If this is true, it might cause a problem where people who are already naturally physically powerful(tall, and strong), are now overpowered in comparison to those who are already naturally weak(short, and petite), unless additional components are added, for instance a Soulfire's density/purity/consistency.

I'd like to hear more about the cultures, and characters you have planned out as well. Perhaps start with whichever one is the main focal point for now, and we can expand on it later. Also need to learn more about this Empress Witch, like what is it that makes her inherently evil, and what is her ultimate goal?

So far, I like the skeleton you have shown, and am looking forward to seeing the rest of it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Zeldan said:

So, if I'm getting this correctly, Soulfire is kinda like Nen from Hunter X Hunter mixed with breaths from Warbreaker making sentients with an Incantation required(possibly)? I might need a few more detail, or a very specific example of its use.

You mentioned that the Soulfire is directly proportional to the size of an individual/being. If this is true, it might cause a problem where people who are already naturally physically powerful(tall, and strong), are now overpowered in comparison to those who are already naturally weak(short, and petite), unless additional components are added, for instance a Soulfire's density/purity/consistency.

I'd like to hear more about the cultures, and characters you have planned out as well. Perhaps start with whichever one is the main focal point for now, and we can expand on it later. Also need to learn more about this Empress Witch, like what is it that makes her inherently evil, and what is her ultimate goal?

So far, I like the skeleton you have shown, and am looking forward to seeing the rest of it!

OK. To begin, it says "anything that is alive will have a Soulflame, which grows proportionally to how large it already is." The "it" here is referring to the Soulflame, not the person/entity. The more Soulfire you have, the faster it grows.

As for cultures, and characters, I have a lot of stuff in my mind, with a little on paper. Since I don't have that much time to spend on this per day, I've had to choose what I work on. Empress Fyutsa is probably my most developed character, which means that I want to write about her soon, but it will be hard to understand her without understanding Artifice, so for now my first step is definitely writing about that. Please this post for that: Artifice Wars - Artifice & Infusions. Tomorrow or the day after I will be posting about Witchcraft and Druidism. That will set the groundwork for Fyutsa's backstory, since she is a very powerful witch.

All the rest of your questions are mostly answered in that Thread, so feel free to ask more questions when you get there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, why "Fyutsa". I'm intrigued by names, and hidden meanings within them, although I can't find that this is an actual name anywhere, so I'm curious if this is merely a fabricated name, or if it ties into anything.

Guess I'll have to wait for your other articles to be posted for my remaining questions for now. I did read your "Artifice & Infusions" article, and it's beginning to make more sense to me. Still looking for some examples of how it can be used, although the methods are understandable now. At the moment, the only practical use that I can see is bringing inanimate objects to life, however I know you mentioned other uses such as flying, or glowing green, so my question is, how is this accomplished with the use of Artifice?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Zeldan I am basing my names off of words in archaic languages. Here is where some of my main names come from:

Beorick Hildsen [beōrĭk hĭldsen] (HO) – Old English: BEORN + RIC (warrior + power) HILD + son (son of battle)

Doristelo Ankorus [dōʁĭstĕlō äŋkōʁus] (AR) – Ancient Greek: DORON + ARISTOS + TELOS (gift + best + aim) ANER + KURUSH (man + far sighted)

Sindarr Heladis [sĭndär hĕlädĭs] (DW) – Old Norse: SINDRI + ARR (small + warrior) HEILA + DIS (heal + goddess)

Akotep [äkōtĕp] (AD) – Ancient Egyptian: AKHEN + HOTEP (spirit + peace)

Willelm Steele [wĭlelm stēl] (WS) – Old English: WIL + HELM (will + protector/helmet)

Meredyth [mĕrĕdĭθ] – Welsh: MEREDYDD (great lord)

Fyutsa [fēyōōtsä] (AC) – Ancient Egyptian: FY + SUTEKH (viper + dazzle)

 

Some of these names still bear resemblance to the words they are based on. Others (like Fyutsa) don't really.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for, and I like your adaptations with the names. I've always liked how a little bit of study can tell you about the character, or, if the author is ironic, have their name mean the complete opposite of what they actually are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...