Artifice Wars - Hub and General Discussion

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom he/him]

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 May 7, 2017 by Lord Maelstrom

[Zeldan he/him]

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!

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom he/him]

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.

[Zeldan he/him]

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?

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom he/him]

@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.

[Zeldan he/him]

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.

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom he/him]

Necro-ing this thread with an update:

Artifice Wars is still a Work-In-Progress. So, unpublished, but not ignored.

I've since (heavily) refined the magic system, including using anti-matter as the underlying mechanic (though my version of anti-matter is both simpler and more symmetric than reality). It's also funny how 90% of what I wrote about it 7 years ago is still accurate. While the explanations, nuances, and uses of the magic system have all expanded, the core rules have largely stayed the same.

I've set aside the story I was originally working on. It was a little too ambitious a story for a first project, and I want to come back to it once I have the experience/skills required to do it justice. (See lower for current project)

I've expanded Fyutsa's backstory a decent bit, including a description of how she was part of a research team that discovered how to use Synergy to become (functionally) immortal, and how their discovery kicked off a series of events that culminated in the extinction of her people at the hands of her and 6 others of the original researchers, now called the Undying or Haltatlah. Unbeknownst to them, there is one other survivor, a man named Tettomer who was also from the same research team and thus also carries the secrets of synergistic immortality (which is a bit of an oxymoron, but hey, it fits).

Most of the stories I am working on in this world revolve around one or more of the 7 Undying, and frequently include/showcase Tettomer's efforts to undermine, counter, and/or kill the Undying. Or in one case, exploring the havoc left behind by one of their experiments.

Each of the undying has some specialty or theme in how they use Artifice:

• Fyutsa makes living constructs/automatons, potentially out of a combined loathing of humanity and a longing for companionship. She largely follows a "watch the world burn" arc.
• Another is fascinated with trees and plants and spends centuries giving them sentience before eventually becoming a sentient tree/forest himself. 
• Replishir is a sadistic monster who manipulates his host into doing whatever he wants, being obsessed with getting them to walk down a path that runs counter to their nature/character. He is the main villain for the Randorin Tales, my current project.
• We have one who set himself up as a local deity, with a religious structure built to address most of the practical challenges of synergistic immortality. The irony is that he died within a couple of centuries, but the religion he set up is still going strong almost a millennia later.
• Another (who is gifted as coopting/hacking infusions) eventually notices artifacts that Tettomer had put in place centuries earlier (to counter a different Undying) and starts to follow his trail/hunt him down. Only, he spends enough time focused on Tettomer, his actions, his journey, and (particularly) his efforts to make life better for the people around him, that it kicks off a redemption arc.... or at least an attempt at one. He is set to make an appearance as an unexpected (and potentially unwanted) ally in book 3 or 4 of the series mentioned in the original post.
• While I have some ideas more ideas, I have yet to settle on what to do with the other two Undying.

The current Artifice Wars project is a trilogy called "The Randorin Tales". It was originally inspired by idle wonderings around a "what-if" of Anakin killing Palpatine instead of joining the dark side. It features one viewpoint character per book, with the trilogy exploring a coup d'etat within the Randorin Warriors, first from the perspective of a promising recruit (Roran) who was manipulated into killing the head honcho (his mentor, who is also Tettomer's Host), then from the perspective of the chambermaid (Megan) who tried to hold it all together after being passed the torch (Tettomer) by said head-honcho before he died, and last from the perspective of the man who coordinated the whole coup d'etat under the direction of the voice in his head (Replishir), who turned out to be much more than just a voice.

I'm writing it somewhat similarly to Kingkiller Chronicles, with all three characters narrating their story after the fact to a specific audience. It allows me to (strategically) have the three stories shift, adapt, or even contradict each other, in part due to who their audience is.

1. Roran, who has just returned home, telling his teenage brother (then the whole village) about his heroic vanquishing of the corrupt leader of the Randorin Warriors (note that he left for home right after, and didn't stick around to see the aftermath of his actions).
2. Megan (now old) telling her story to her ward (the crown prince of a completely different land) in hopes of being able to recruit him as her successor (ie, wanting to pass him the torch). I haven't decided if I want her to tell it as a single tale (told all at once) or as a series of connected stories (told over the years), nor if I want her to tell it as her story, or as a legend/myth from a "time far ago in a land far away".
3. Hiero (recently deceased) telling Death Incarnate the story of how he realized too late that the voice in his head was no friend, of the brief struggle when he confronted Replishir, and the agony as Replishir proceeded to use his hands to spread death and mayhem while he watched helplessly. Incidentally, the whole book is essentially a postmortem therapy session with Death Incarnate to help Hiero find peace before he moves on to the next part of his life.

If I find the time (between being a full-time student and a father of three) I want to come back here and type out a bunch more, be it about Artifice, about the history of the Undying, or about the Randorin Wars.

Edited September 11, 2024 by Brightlord M. Alhstrom
Minor corrections / expansion.

[Shardwatcher01 he/him]

I know I'm 7 years late to this discussion but this is really interesting I love where this is going, and I love that you've been able to stay on the project for so long