writing

A Bridge To The Quiet Planet – The War

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Let’s get to know more about the setting of my upcoming novel, A Bridge To The Quiet Planet.  It’s out late this fall but you can find out about the world now . . .

The War

Few things have shaped recent human history than the complex event simply called The War.

Happening some 300 years before A Bridge To The Quiet Planet, the War was a gigantic geopolitical conflict that lasted some fifty years until the Alliance and the rise of the Great Cities ended it. At the end, a great deal of the planet was war-scarred, 3/4 of the population had died (or in the case of the Lost Continent of Yeen, vanished), and the gods had rethought their role in the world. The start of the Reformation is considered the end of the War, but conflicts dragged on for decades, and inter-Province fighting was not unknown until 100 years ago.

The War to a human of the modern age (about 250, AR – After Reformation) is seen as a singular event in most cases. To scholars and to actual history it was a series of interlinked events; many of these are portrayed in popular media. If one discusses “The Battle of Pemmelock Vale” one discusses distinct events; but in the end to many it just becomes The War.

Discussing The War is made more difficult by the fact that, except for parts of the Unaffiliated Regions, the concept of a Nation has fallen out of use. Thus many people who don’t discuss the War in a scholarly context, or in the case of a specific book or piece of media, the world is usually discussed as battles among regions – The North, The Central Region, The South, etc. Often this obscures the subtle politics of the event, though it’s hard to talk subtelty when cities were flattened and cybernetic dragons terrorized the populatce.

Also, discussing Nations casually is seen as bad luck; some gods weren’t happy with them, wandering spirits of the dead might hear of them, and its terribly impolite.

A citizen of Telvaren or its affiliated worlds would probably describe the War as thus:

Over 300 years ago, the were minor conflicts among the different nations. Though held back my trade, by guilds and churches, and by common sense, they festered. In time, the creation of Bridges shook the world – the chance to reach other worlds provided new territories and thus new conflicts – however there were many old battles and old scars that were the real reason. Soon conflict intensified.

The great power of the Central Region, the Dragon Kingdom asserted itself at this time. The oldest Nation, it wielded magic and technology that was arguably the greatest in the world, from sorceries to dragons altered with metal and crystal. They allied with smaller Nations and decided to enforce a peace – on their terms.

This was not met well by any of their neighbors except nations of The South, who had been locked in their own civil conflict. They were glad to have a stabilizing force, though they also planned to stab the Dragon Kingdom in the back as soon as possible. To be honest, no one ever liked them.

In time, the conflicts exploded, with the Dragon Kingdom deciding to “pacify” its neighbors with it’s forces. Some Nations battled against it, others spread their forces. At this time, the first inklings of the Alliance arose as major metropolitan regions, the centers of commerce and immigration, made attempts to quell the wars. They called upon anicnet guilds and schools and other concerns to help them.

Things all changed when the Northern nations (indeed there was only one major nation, spoken of in whispers as Amallakon) made a push against the Dragon Kingdom with the help of the Confederation of Solu in the East. Much to everyone’s surprise, they won, but the war was bloody and vicious. The North, frightened of the weapons of the Dragon Kingdom, was indiscriminate in their use of armaments – great airpower, missiles, and magic.

It was hoped that was the end of the war, but it was only the beginning. Indeed, the gods themselves who had stayed out of the conflict were horrified – but also could not agree on what to do next. The great War Goddess Boldira had found the fighting honorable if messy, but her children and fellow gods disagreed – and indeed she felt unable to cope with the modern age.  The gods found changes moving too fast for them.

With a power gap, The South, now unified, asserted itself, and quickly became belligerent much to everyone’s surprise. What was unknown at the time was that one of the smaller vassal nations, a center of hight technology but under the thumb of the greater nations, had been manipulating and bribing their way to power. Much to their surprise, they found they had several high-placed officials on their side. However they had also unleashed a wave of corruption and manipulation as their puppets were manipulated by different forces.

At this time, Vasikon Zek, the great experimental city on the sea, withdrew from all the nations sponsoring it. This is regarded as the inspiration to form the Alliance of Great Cities, though it rarely gets the credit for it as they idea had been brewing for some time. Indeed the Alliance would prove crucial because the South and the North came to blows.

With the Central Regions a mess, with the East recovering and the West trying to make peace, the North and South wished to be powers as the powers to order the world. However vicious the North had been, the North had showed some restraint in the weapons used. The South, armed with techno-biological weapons, having focused on making sure any war against them would be devastating, was not so kind.

The South had terrible weaponry, often based on plants. The worst was the Red Willows, infectious spores that, when breahed, quickly grew inside a person, bursting out of their bodies.  The South begant o make belligerant threats.

The North and the growing Alliance ran separately to contain the threat. the North witih threats and displays of their missiles on supposedly uninhabited areas, the Alliance used politics. The growing Alliance, ironically, won – and lost.

Revolutions were fomented against the ruler of the South, who had gone slowly mad and called himself The King Of Green after a famous legendary figure. These were, however erratic and unfocused, as well as bloody – the corruption in his government had led to many interests battling it out, often with propaganda. In time the King committed the most horrific act of the war; fearing deposition, he unleashed the weapons of his country on The South, slaughtering millions.

To this day it is called the Silent South. There are ruined cities filled with plants growing through bones, poisonous weapons left behind, toxic foliage that was weaponized. The only reason demons were not spawned from this horror was it was too deadly even for young demons.

The North’s reaction was simple; it was time to unify the world. Under them. It was not an inarguabe stance, but it was made worse because of divisions among the gods. The Marksman, son of Boldira, Goddess of War, incarnated in physical form to lead the military. he felt he would end this conflict that others could not.  The Young god declared he would unify the world – by force.

The Alliance of Great Cities knew a battle was coming, and wearily assembled the remaining militaries of the world. Tired, scattered, they felt they could resist the North. They wanted peace, but not under the foot of someone else; they had grown weary of Kings and Nations and the like. They proposed a more regional alliance, but the North would not have it.

What could have happened in the final War was often estimated, and it would have likely been decades more of conflict. Except The Marksman, the god in human form, was assastinated – one of his fellow gods had given secrets and advised a legion of human assasins how to disrupt his physical form. It was said it took twenty-five people, none of whom survived, to inflict enough damage for The Marksman to die.

When he died, like all incarnated gods, he greated a great Wound in the world – in the middle of a major miltiary base outside a major city.  The ground twisted, madness struck people, communications were disrupted.

The Alliance’s loosely aligned military was ready. One of the great northern cities, Kalstaff, had joined their alliance and happily provided enormous amounts of military information. The North was bombed, spelled, and blasted into submission in what eventually turned into a bloody campaign of simple rage and fear. Refugees streamed away, many meeting a horrible fate.  In the end, the final battle of the War was as awful as anything else that had happened.

In the end, attempts to make peace were brokered by Boldira, goddess of War. Ashamed, she appeared before the leaders of the gathered armies and a summit she had called. She dropped her weapons, crying red-ruby tears, and whispered secrets to some of the leaders. What she said is unknown, but the war ended.

The Goddess of War, often now called Boldira Repentant, had decided War had to change. But, showing her bravery, so did she. War had to be remade for humanity to survive.

The War had ended as Boldira walked the land, weeping. Her solid tears are sought by her clerics as a sign of faith.

There was much to do. The Alliance gathered, the Twelve Great Cities were recognized. Demons still plagued humanity, feasting on the soul-fragments of the victims until the final battle at Pemmelock Vale when they were cast into the sky to Pandemonium.

But, humanity had won. The gods had won.

It just didn’t feel like a victory.

Thus to this day, people are still recovering from the war. Old spells and ancient technology is unearthed. Secrets are found – and sometimes re-hidden. Scrappers still tear apart devestated cities two centuries later while Delvers dig into hidden places looking for knowledge and treasure. Humanity has ventured slowly outside of the Great Cities, because the Cities were all that was left for long they were reluctant to go forth.

 

– Steve

Finishing Flawed Fiction And Processing Piecemeal Prescriptions

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

As I edit A Bridge To The Quiet Planet to get it ready for my awesome professional editor, I reflected on what I went through to write the book.  I see now this could have been faster if I hadn’t spent time editing as I went, chapter by chapter until the halfway point.  In short, I actually aimed for quality too early.

At first this violated my expectations.  Being into Agile, I figured that doing it piece by piece, making chapters available to prereaders, would result in better quality.  It’s something I’ve read about authors doing before, and I’d read several articles on how instructional writing (which I’ve done for awhile) can be released in modules.  Shouldn’t a story be something you can release chapter by chapter and get good feedback?

Not entirely.

Now I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to make fiction available to prereaders in parts, but I’ve come to the conclusion that’s of very limited value.  Here’s why.

Instructional and nonfiction works are often something we can break down – and indeed, should break down – into pieces that almost anyone could edit.  Yes, some may miss context or seem borderline useless on their own, but nonfiction is often very modular.  We process instructions, history, documentation, etc. in discreet chunks – we think step-by-step.

Nonfiction works are a lot like modular software or dishes where you can sample individual ingredients and get an idea of their combined taste.

But fictional works?  They’re different.

Fictional works are much more of a whole.  They’re intellectual and emotional and literary, requiring many modes of thought and feeling to appreciate them.  They often have mysteries and callbacks and references – indeed, deception is part of some some fiction writing.  Fiction is hard to evaluate apart from the whole of the work – to truly “get” it you need the whole experience a complete work.  Finally, as fiction involves imagination, you often discover your work as you write it.

Fictional works are like software that requires a lot of code to be done before it functions or a crude alpha before it can be evaluated.  They’re like a dish that you can’t appreciate until it’s done, or ones requiring careful tweaking to get “just right.”

I now realize that I could be delivering A Bridge To The Quiet Planet to you quicker if I’d decided, as opposed to editing chapter by chapter, I’d just run on and pushed myself to finish the thing and accepted it wasn’t perfect – maybe put out one or two chapters to get my groove.  Now that I have a complete work, all the edits are far more richer, far more revealing, far more coherent – and much of my best edits were made when it was done and I could see the whole thing.

When I write fiction in the future, I think I need to accept that my initial effort is basically going to be like a piece of alpha software.  Good planning and thought can make it a very good alpha, but my focus should be to get it done so I have enough to work from.  Many things in fiction writing only become apparent once you have the whole picture.

Again, I don’t think this means you can’t put unfinished fiction up for review.  I just think people need to accept the limits of such things – and ask what delivers the most value for them and the audience.

I also find this very satisfying to think of.  I can accept that fiction starts imperfect because of all its factors and charge ahead, admitting it won’t be perfect.  It’s just that when the imperfect version is done, the perfect version follows more easily.

(By the way that title took me forever to come up with so I hope you appreciate the attention to alliteration.)

– Steve

A Bridge To The Quiet Planet: The Twelve Great Cities

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Let’s get to know more about the setting of my upcoming novel, A Bridge To The Quiet Planet.

The Twelve Great Cities

The Twelve Great Cities are the major regional, political, cultural, and economic powerhouses of Telvaren. They are the result of the decline and death of the Nations during the War, where major regional powers banded together to stop the War, band people together, and try to recover from the conflict that killed 3/4 of the planet’s population. The fall of the South is regarded by many as “the final straw” that caused the formation of the Alliance of Cities.

Each City controls a large region known as a Province. Outside of the Province are the Unaffiliated Territories, which include everything from small Nations to wastelands to toxic remnants of the War. Thus each City (though they’d never admit it) is essentially a small nation.

Each City controls it’s Province with a Guard, made up of citizens, many of which are actually reservists who serve occasionally or in emergencies. The Guard acts as a military within the Province and is equipped as such, though most Cities have a limited amount of Air power and, except for Vasikon Zek and Olanau-Kao, very little sea power.

The Cities are bound by the laws of the Government and in theory will assist The Military when called upon.

Occasionally the Cities refer to themselves as part of the Alliance, but that term has fallen out of usage. Now there’s just the Cities, The Government, and The Military.

There is some debate as to what adding other Great Cities would constitute. The other colonized worlds, Gellitar and Lindhaem, each “count” as one City for purposes of representation, but there is some discontent over this. Lindhaem, which bosts two large cities similar to Great Cities, is especially annoyed by this.

The Twelve Great Cities Are:

Allanax – The capital of the Great Cities where Parliament meets (in a nearby smaller city), and former capital of one of the Nations of the West. Allanax is noted for its history, libraries, and it’s legal scholarship. It’s a city steeped in politics for centuries and perhaps aeons, but also has a strong hand in publishing and news (and muckraking news at that). The city is very vertically oriented, with great skyscrapers with above-ground traps, and the famous Spiderguard, exoskeleton-using Constables that walk up buildings. It is also considered an extremely clean city and it takes its health and garbage collection very seriously.

Brightguard – Brightguard is home of the premier schools of magic, collectively known as the Universities of Brightguard, of which the High University is the most known school of magic. Brightguard is infamous for high rent prices, which is sometimes accurately blamed on the fact there’s an enormous wasteland to the east from the last battle against the Demons. Home to many bookstores, magic shops, and similar establishment, some of which even engage in legal commerce. Brightguard has suffered gentrification in the last few decades as a desirable place for high-level technical, magical, and scientific commerce.

Grand Ivar – A diverse city that was an early member of the Alliance, Grand Ivar is known for its many cuisines, subcultures, and impressive architecture. Often feeling in the shadow of its nearby Cities Allanax and Brightguard, and having no one thing that makes it distinct, there’s a peculiar insecurity to the city’s culture – it wasn’t to stand out for One Big Thing. Grand Ivarans often pick odd rivalries with other cities. Despite the insecurity, the city is well-respected for its architectural schools, Polestar University, emphasis on frugality, and its liveability and reasonable rent and home prices. Grand Ivar is actively expanding its Province as of 253 AR.

Highpoint – The remnant of the old Confederacy of the East, Highpoint basically cheated its way into the Alliance (and rebuked its own government) by renaming a cluster of several cities as a single Great City. This cheeky action led to some bad feelings among traditionalists that persists, but many respect both their gumption, their decision, and their aid in ending the War. Highpoint arguably has the largest Province, as it “city” is still widely distributed. Highpoint is known for its mineral wealth and its cooperation with the Alliance – almost to the point where they’re obviously seeking more influence. There is occasional rivalry between Highpoint and Grand Ivar for no other reason that they’re trying to stand out, but Highpoint’s culture is FAR more relaxed about it.

Kalstaff – An old city that has wielded financial and cultural power for over an aeon, Kalstaff was the last addition to the Alliance, and helped end the War by undermining the militarized government of the North. Kalstaff is home to the only Bank on Telvaren not run by a City and several major financial interests, provides a place for information exchange, and is known as a very cultured and intelligent city. There is occasional mistrust of Kalstaff due to its financial influence and the fact it turned on its own nation (even though the mistrustful ignore that Kalstaff risked all to do so).

Mindarion – Midnarion is the undisputed mistress of manufacturing and fabrication, both in what it produces, but also as a site for innovation and research – and has a growing media industry. Mindarion produces many vehicles, pieces of equipment, enormous aerobarges, and even some of the trains for Zafrel. Mindarion is very valuable to the Government and the Military as it supplies a great deal of military equipment. The city is quite livable and has worked to control any pollution and industrial waste, and is considered amazing to fly over if one’s prone to air travel – the factories and fabs and roadways are almost artistic in their own way.

Nasharex – Nasharex is more of a high-tech and high-magic city that creates personal and smaller technology, computers, information tech, and magictech. Nasharex and Mindarion have a semi-friendly rivalry as they clash over who is best at what – and who provides what. Nasharex’s culture is an unusual mix, having formed from a mix of Refugees from the South, the old Eastern Confederacy, and Central region magic. There’s a vague distrust of Nasharex among some of the older cities due to its experimentation and some of its founders came from a fallen Nation that maniuplated their rival in the South, the King of Green, before his breakdown and devastation of his people.

Olanau-Kau – A coastal city and the only city of the South, Olanau-Kau survived the techno-magical biological weapons unleashed by the King Of Green when he felt he’d be deposed and turned on both allies and enemies. Olanau-Kau has had to evolve, at times unhappily, first being a major techo-magical center, then a high-walled refuge, and now has become a major location for research into agriculture and botanomancy – albeit involuntarily. The inhabits of Olanau-Kau push out into the South every year, reclaiming territory from the plague-twisted and verdant horrors unleashed – this does not always go well. The city’s personality is a strange mixture of grim practicality and enthusiasm. They are a site of a recent expanded space program.

Sabillon – The undisputed media capital of the Alliance, Sabillion is also arguably the last major center of Central culture after the Dragon Kingdoms fell during the War. Allied with Nasharex, Minadrion, and Triad True, Sabillion’s major industries are publishing, television, and art. Fashion tends to take off from Sabillon, though depending on how elaborate it is, it may not go that far.

Triad True – The Theopolis of Triad True (the name is actually a mistranslation but no one admits it) evolved during the War and then exploded as the gods tried to reconcile with each other and with humanity. Though there are strict zoning laws, it has exploded into a mass of churches, seminaries, libraries, museums, and vacation spots for the religiously inclined. Many clerics train at Triad True, and the universities of all Cities visit to go through the voluminous libraries. Triad True tries to be an authoritative cultura center, and sometimes that even works when the hundreds of gods can agree on things.

Vasikon Zek – The only city built upon the Ocean, Vasikon Zek is a pinnacle of techno-magical engineering, having gradually been raised over the centuries out of the sea or by merging small islands with geomancy. A joint experiment of several fallen Nations, the city declared its independence early, though it earned a stingy reputation when it had to stop taking refugees. The City is known for its efficiency and engineering, and there’s a rivalry between its premier arcitectural academy, Pyram’s Academy, with the Grand Ivar academy the Parabolan Academy.

Zafrel – Zafrel is a major central transportation hub, though in origins it owes more to the North than it does to the Central regions. Zafrel is a hub for the trains that cut across the main continent, the old canals still in use, and major Skyports. Zafrel is a place of shipping, storage, some vehicle manufacturing, and commerce – and politics. The inhabitants are considered practical, straightforward, and usually welcoming – hard work and an honest word goes far in Zafrel.

– Steve