So, I'm Trying to Write a Thing

[Amrynn]

Okay, so I got an idea for a story, but I need help on world building. Sooo I'd appreciate questions about the world, characters, etc.

Here's the basics:

Setting; Medieval-ish, but not like real Earth medieval. No magic system.

On the main characters:

-Cynthia: She's 17 and has lived in an asylum for most of her life because she hears voices. These voices are, in reality, deities vying for her attention. Some of them try to help her survive, others trying to bend her to their will. This constant demand on her brain has made her loose her eyesight to allow her brain to process the voices.

-Ezra: He's 24 years old and takes Cynthia under his wing after visiting her and seeing her condition. Unable to just leave her to be in the asylum for the rest of her life, he decides to help her get rid of the voices, or at least lessen her condition.

I'd be happy to give more detailed descriptions if asked, but that should be the basic information. Any world building, character, and backstory questions are much appreciated. Thank you!

Edit: Plot questions are now accepted!

Edited March 15, 2016 by Amrynn

[Eagle of the Forest Path]

-Who put Cynthia in the asylum?

-Does Cynthia herself believe she is crazy?

-What was Ezra doing in the asylum to begin with?

-Why is Ezra just allowed to take an inmate out of an asylum?

-Who runs the asylum (priesthood, government)?

-These gods Cynthia hears, are they worshiped in any way?

-Is there an organized religion in your world? Monotheist, polytheist?

-Medieval is a pretty broad period (1000 years in our world), are we talking right after the fall of the West-Roman Empire, during the Viking age, or closer to the Renaissance? This might have repercussions on the 'tech-level' of your world.

[Amrynn]

-Cynthia was placed in the asylum by her parents who were unable to help her or care for her. They transported her to a neary town where there was an asylum and supplied the caretakers with money as long as they needed it to take care of Cynthia, though this slowed to a trickle as they grew older and passed away, leading to minimal supplies for Cynthia's well being.

-Cynthia is aware that others don't hear voices and does know that something is wrong with her, but probably wouldn't refer to herself as insane.

-Ezra makes it a point to visit infirmaries and asylums in the towns and villages he passes through in an attempt to make up for the past attrocities he commited

-Ezra is allowed to take Cynthia because he still has the emblems of the order he left and poses as someone sent to bring people similarly affected as Cynthis to a better facility farther up north. This, coupled with the lack of funds, persuades the caretakers to let him take her.

-This particular asylum where Cynthia is held is independantly owned and opperated by a couple who wanted to help others. Other asylums, though not common, are typically headed by religious figures.

-(answering 2 questions in 1) The gods that Cynthia hears aren't worshiped or reveared by Cynthia herself, but are very widely known in northern regions. The way the North is divided and ruled is in loosely defined theocracies, each theocracy being based on a monotheistic religion worshipping one of the gods Cynthia hears. She has no knowledge of this, as she is too far south of the theocracies' reach, though Ezra knows of this because he was a soldier for one of them, but left.

-The era of "medieval" that relates the closest to the setting of my book is probably the early middle ages or "dark ages"

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

-Why did Cynthia's society choose to put people like her into asylums, rather than utilizing harsher methods of reform or removal? 

-What is a typical day in her asylum like? 

-How long has Cynthia been blind, and how has she adjusted? Or has she adjusted well? 

[Amrynn]

-The majority of people who would be considered insane aren't institutionalized, but killed in any number of ways, often as an example used by priests as people who've strayed too far from the so-called "righteous" path of their god/goddess. The institutions are mainly for those who were higher up in society and whose families were wealthy enough to avoid public shaming. Cynthia was able to be put in an asylum because her family lived outside of the theocracies and she could be paid for by her parents (until they passed away, that is)

-Her typical day in the asylum is very lonesome and not very eventful. The voices never entirely stop, going into unintelligible white noise when not speaking to Cynthia or the other voices. She spends a good deal of her time tracing the carved patterns and symbols on her wall. These are practice slabs of wood used by the town's carpenter for apprentices and practicing more complex patterns. He donates them to the asylum as per their request, noticing Chnthia's fondness for tracing patterns.

-Cynthia has been blind since she was four as a result of the onset of the voices. She's not completely helpless, however, as one of the voices, named Theia, passively describes Cynthia's surroundings. So, though she cannot see with her eyes, she can see theough Theia's descriptions, which she's never been given any reason to doubt.

[Curiosity]

How does Cynthia tell the difference between the voices in her head and real people?

 

What happens in the South? Are the deities limited regionally? What's the religious/political state in the South? Are there other regions in the world?

 

Are all of these deities "known" or identifiable in-world? Do the Northern theocracies recognize the existence of the other gods central to neighboring religions?

 

How are the gods different from each other? Are they representations of different virtues or elements? Do they share a common mythology? Or does it vary from place to place? Is there a limited pantheon? Or is it a changing roster? 

 

Why did Ezra leave the North? How does he support himself now?

[Amrynn]

-When Cynthia first started hearing the voices, it was difficult for her to tell if they were real people, but she eventually learned through a combination of the nature of the voices (they feel like thoughts, but those of another person and of another voice) and by the responses from her caretakers when she asked things like, "Who are the other people?" And, "You didn't tell me there were visitors."

-The South is much more self-contained than the Northern areas, with individual villages and towns being self-sufficient, while the Northern cities rely on trade to keep the economy flowing. The deities aren't locked by region, but they've been preoccupied by religious wars and asserting their control in their territory. This time of more relative stability has given them the opportunity to try and reach the South, though this is more difficult, as those regions have experienced religious freedom for so long. While there are other regions, the story will focus mostly on the North and South, mainly because the West is dominated by heavy desert and the east leads to a coastline.

-These deities are known by most, but the Northern priests (for the most part) don't recognize the gods of the other theocracies because they each believe that their god is the only "true" god. There is, however, a sect of people who recognize that they are all existing gods, but these people aren't very well liked and are societally shunned.

-Each of the gods represent different emotions or concepts, such as fear, deception, safety, or compassion. The roster of gods is the same, for the most part.

-Ezra leaves the North because he, during his time as a soldier, witnessed his role turn from defensive to offensive. Eventually his missions of religious teaching turned to raids to slay the "blasphemers." When he confronted the head priest of his order, they said that such was the will of their god, that he was a holy knight, purifying the land. Ezra refused to see this, and left in the night. He's now labled as a traitor and is sought after as such, though not by all theocracies. He was progressively making his way into the South, until he found Cynthia. Unable to just leave her to spend her whole life in an institution, he decided to help her to the best of his ability.