so i've got an idea...

[catrinachang]

So I’ve been throwing an idea around lately in my head. See, outside of FIS, I write fiction. I started when I was the ripe old < {sorry, brain fart} young age of seven, and I wasn’t too hot either. But as my age doubled, so quadrupled my writing skills, and I’m at least decent now compared to way back when. Practice doesn’t always make perfect, but it does make presentable.

Here’s the idea < {that’s ironic since it’s the name of my prologue :D}

Ready? Take Earth. Now take the trees and paint the bark dove white. Take the leaves and splash them with a spectrum of blue. Take the soil and thread it with goldenrod. Take the water and sky and daub them with turquoise. Take the hoofed ones and give them an extra tail, a few hands’ worth more height. Take the feathered ones and give them another foot and longer feathers.

Now take the humans. Take their hair and streak it with dashes of very dark indigo, of violet, of white, of gold, of silver. Take their eyes and fleck and band them with any color you can think of. Take your own right hand and hold it up; look to the right side of your thumb. There should be stamped a silver or gold insignia, a few centimeters wide and tall, proclaiming your initials.

And now take the sun and let it dim. Because, yes, the sun is dimming. Very slowly, but it is. And the authorities of this world, the heads of the nations and the top scientists, arrogant that they are, are the only ones who notice for the first five years. It’s fine, they assure each other. Why should we tell our people? We’ll have this problem solved in no time. Look how far we’ve come, after all — pocket-sized laptops that fulfill their namesakes and cars that run on the magnetic field. We’ve got this covered.

[catrinachang]

{5 After Dimming to 200 A.D.} But they don’t, and those first five years pass, 1825 days after the first day when the authorities noticed, the Dimming Day. They’re in no specific hurry to find a solution, for the scientists have predicted that at the rate that the sun is going, they have a few hundred years before the sun’s light is too weak to sustain any life and their world dies. It’s a well-kept secret, the Dimming, passed down from authority to authority on deathbeds and appointments, and for two hundred years the authorities are still searching for an answer. The people are not blind, however, and stargazers slowly realize what’s going on with the sun.

{250 A.D.} Two hundred fifty years from the Dimming Day, the people go to the authorities with their epiphany. Huh? The sun is dimming? Oh, thank you for telling us! We never would’ve noticed without you. It’s not like we’ve known for generations now or anything. We’re on it, don’t you worry your little heads. The people are hesitant at first, but then they completely fall in step with the authorities. Of course you will. And they too congratulate themselves on their accomplishments as the authorities did, pointing to their genius and not the looming problem before them: the glaciers have started to freeze up harder than ever, and the water around the coldest regions has turned to oceans of ice.

{325 A.D. and results from 5 A.D.} Seventy-five years pass, and the people grow uneasy. Why haven’t you come up with a solution? We trust you, but show us that you’re actually trying here. And the authorities, licking their wounds and the blow to their pride, work harder than ever to figure out why the sun is dimming and stop it. But the world’s back is covered, unbeknownst to the authorities and the people, for some of the authorities — the few who have a sense of humility and realize that their comrades’ pride could easily be the world’s demise, known as the Eight — have devised a back-up plan.

{5 A.D. to 325 A.D.} They’ve built a gigantic spacecraft, one that can hold some five thousand bodies, and people it with orphaned infants and children. The Eight have had to call on some favors from friends in the orphanages and have pentachecked that these orphans have no links tying them to their planet so that (1) they won’t be missed and (2) they won’t be essentially stolen from any who love them. And so begins the Evergreen Keep. As those first orphans mature to adulthood, they’re informed of the entire situation and given a choice: go back to the world and live for themselves, severing ties from the Keep; go back to the world and be a Retriever; or stay in the Keep and help run it. Those who choose the first are horrified at what the Keep has done and at their lost childhood, and their memories are wiped before they’re sent back. Those who choose the third are heartily welcomed. And those who choose the second, to be Retrievers, are given the job of going amongst the orphanages and selecting the brightest and most fit of the orphans under the guise of being medical examiners who ensure that orphanages are humane and hygienic. The Keep is picky, and should the world come to an end they want the survivors’ chances at life to be high; chances are highest with the smartest and strongest. In this way the cycle of the Keep goes on, with young ones coming in and older ones watching over them, and the inhabitants’ numbers increase steadily as the number of years since the Dimming Day climbs.

{350 A.D. to 360 A.D.} The people are really panicking now, because winters are getting very harsh and summers very cool. The polar regions are wastelands of ice, and the skeletons of their inhabitants have shattered from the bitter cold. The deserts are cool as forests and the oceans are just plain cold. The authorities have no solution. We’re going to die, they whisper to one another. It starts snowing all the time. Slowly the people come to accept their inevitable fate, discarding all hope that the authorities will come through, and demand that a keep be formed like the Evergreen Keep. The authorities refuse out of pride but bend when the people revolt, and in the midst of it all they discover the Evergreen Keep. Thousands beg to be let on board and for their children to be taken in, but the Keep is already crammed full.

{360 A.D.} At last the day comes, the Extinguishing Day, when people scream in terror as waves of fear crash over them. The sun is too cold. The world is too cold. Death comes silently and quickly, and the world becomes a wasteland populated by skeletons. There is redemption, however. No one to this day knows where it comes from, but as the people of the Keep, who come to be known as the Keepers, watch in horror as their world ices over, there comes whizzing through the black starry expanse a thing. They all see it, thinking it to be a shooting star at first, but when it collides with the sun all hearts know that someone on their dead planet has managed to restart the sun — and restart it does, with a golden burst as the “shooting star” pierces its core. The world warms slowly, but warm it does, and sadly down go the Keepers to clean up their broken world.

^ Gosh, that was a lot, and I'm not even done yet! :D Keep reading!

[catrinachang]

{0 After Extinguishing to 100 A.E.} After the Extinguishing Day, a nation forms, peopled by the five thousand or so Keepers who survived the Dimming. They call it Fledge, and themselves Fledglings; their world they christen Havenne (or should I just keep it Haven?) So they grow, and have children and grandchildren, but they never, ever forget who they are.

{100 A.E. to 700 A.E.} Generations pass, and the Keepers are put to rest, but their legacies of resilience and nobility remain. The Keepers were taught well by the Eight to possess and uphold good characteristics such as patience and peacemaking and humility and all that good stuff, and the Keepers' children pass that down to their own children, and they to their children, and those to their children. But slowly, as Fledge grows in might, that evil worm of old we call pride creeps in some of the Fledglings' hearts. And they begin to worship the Eight, calling them gods and goddesses and silly things like that; and from the outside it all seems juvenile and idiotic, because they are mere people. But as we all know, when one is in the heat of things, anything can seem possible; and so it does to the Fledglings.

{825 A.E.} Many of the Fledglings have been taught not to worship the Eight, as the Eight had originally pound this into their children's brains. And so begins a great debate, an then a quarrel, and then the makings of a war, until Fledge splits roughly, the majority flocking to the worshiping side. The few who remember the Eight and refuse to worship them call themselves Leilente (lay-lent. I got it from combining lig and lente, which respectively mean light and spring in Afrikaans). Those who insist on idolizing the Eight call themselves Rillow (rill-oh. a combination of skaduwee and rilling, which respectively mean shadow and shiver in Afrikaans.)

[catrinachang]

I've also figured out some speak and customs that the Havenners hold true to. (In case you're confused, remember that Fledge was the big nation and Havenne was the world, and that Fledge broke up into Leilente (against worship of the Eight) and Rillow (for worship of the Eight). Here's a short list:

Firstgreen is the season of spring, “when the earth opens its eyes, flowers, and doors to a world freshly decked in green.”
Goldentime is the season of summer, “when the air shimmers with warmth and the sun sighs with contentment.”
Burningsteps is the season of autumn, “when the rosy-cheeked leaves weave tapestries with crisp threads of scarlet and bronze.”
Palesky is the season of winter, “when the skies weep cold white feathers and put the earth to sleep with their sorrow.”
An ARC is a month; a RING is a year.

A hospital is a blend of an apothecary as well as an infirmary or a hospital. Usually the apothecary makes up the lower level of the building and is found to the sides; a very wide lane is provided straight from the doors to the chutes for convenience when the hospital is dealing with emergencies. The apothecary provides medicine in the forms of powders, pills, and plants and is a pharmacy of sorts, though it’s a store — the medicine must be bought if no prescription is presented (otherwise, the medicine is free). On the upper level or levels or the building can be found the infirmary or hospital (an infirmary is small, while a hospital is as big as a hospital in real life), where doctors, nurses, and surgeons bustle about trying to make patients comfortable and well.
A smithery can be a specialty or a joint. A specialty smithery deals with a certain type of smithing and that alone, such as blacksmithing or furnishing. A joint smithery includes more than one kind of smithing. The eight different kinds of smiths are the blacksmiths, the cabinetmakers and furnishers, the coopers, the goldsmiths, the jewelers, the masons, the metalworkers, and the silversmiths. Many joint smitheries include a pair of jewelers and goldsmiths and/or silversmiths.

Better than never is better late than never.
Fresh-off-the-petals is an adjective referring to a beginner. This can refer to a budding business or society or a newly appointed novice/prentice. It doesn’t mean amateurish, though; fresh-off-the-petals is a phrase tied in with beginnings, not inexperience. Origin: seeds and pollen come from the petals of a flower and give birth to sprouts.
Hollyhock and poppycock means nonsense. Only poppycock actually meant nonsense before the phrase was invented, but somehow hollyhock got entwined with it too, probably because of the rhyme.

Leilentans have a custom of tattooing their children’s initials on the right sides of their babies' right thumbs about a week after birth. This is a national tradition, and if neglected, it is thought that the baby’s guardians look down on Leilentan custom and therefore Leilente itself. If the neglecting guardians prove that there was no way possible to tattoo, then they’re accepted back into society, and the guardians tattoo the baby as soon as possible. If it’s known that the neglecting guardians had a way to tattoo but didn’t, they’re given silent treatment for the rest of their lives, and their children are often the victims of teasing as a result.

Havenne is a kind of medieval world, and yet it's also technologically advanced too. Havenners, both Leilentans and Rillowers, prefer cobblestones on their streets and horses for their transportation, but they also have plumbing and sewer systems too -- no chamber pots for them. They usually use electricity instead of candles in their homes. Havenne homes often have a parlor as a living room, filled with comfy sofas and a cozy fireplace for hanging out in (although Rillower homes often put figures of the Eight on pedestals and hang the Eight's mug shots on their walls.) It's commonplace for any Havenner to have a horse companion, and toddlers are often paired with baby horses as young ones and therefore grow up with their equine friends. Because of their close friendships, it's not uncommon for companions can form empathic or telepathic bonds.

What to do for apprenticeship? Here are two ideas:
(1) Call it novitiate (that's the actual term, but I'm thinking of making it "noviceship" for easier remembering) and call apprentices "novices".
(2) Shorten "apprentice" to "prentice" and have the term "novice" be exclusively for captains' apprentices. Captains are police officers and soldiers in one; they keep the peace on the street and in the nation. Captains are especially known for their skills with horses, as every captain goes through training with his or her horse companion, and are self-appointed guardians of the beggars and orphans. Many of them once were beggars or are orphans and so defend these poor people with passion.

There are many different jobs available out there, and almost every working person takes on a novice/prentice. I'd post a list of these jobs, but it's pretty long, and this thread looks pretty intimidating already, at least to me...

That's what I have so far. Any questions, comments, or suggestions on any of all this? I know it's a lot. :D And thanks for reading!

[Jay~]

What are you planning on making this into?

I would love to read this as a book, it sounds so interesting!
But I also think it would make a fantastic roleplay

It is explained really well and everything makes sense. I can see this actually happening. Your writing is amazing! ^^

[catrinachang]

Thanks, Jay! You warm my heart :D Yes, I'm planning to make it into a book ~ I've got the prologue down already (I'll post it if you want) and I was debating about making it an RP. On the one side, an RP would broaden Havenne's horizons and give me more ideas and such, but I'm not sure about putting it out there since I'm planning to publish this and I'm wary of idea stealers D: But an RP would be fun! If I decide to do one, I shall surely let you know. :)

See, I'm also trying to incorporate supernatural powers somewhere in it, like maybe the authorities secretly knew about the Keep and put animal DNA in the orphans that would manifest many generations later. And then later there could be some strange event that gives them supernatural power too. This would be a worldwide thing, so powers ("gifts" or "endowments") would be commonplace. Any thoughts?

I shall update the posts as more ideas float through my head! ^^

[catrinachang]

Oh, and also...

Let’s start from the head. Well, actually, you’ll have to look a little higher than that. Remember how the Keepers were the strongest and fittest? I’m not saying that height automatically equals athletic epicness; don’t get me wrong! But it’s true that Havenner adults’ average height is six feet. And they’re also stronger than the average human. Don’t ask me why, since not all of the Keepers were that tall. Ask the genes! Maybe they had seizures or something! I don’t know! D: Okay, calm down, Whisper…

Take almost any random Havenner and you’ll find that the differences aren’t that drastic between Havenners’ and humans’ hair. The normal range of colors for we on Earth is the same for Havenne, save the fact that Havenne hair is almost always streaked with a combination of very dark indigo, white, gold, and silver. This may or may not be prominent during the daytime, but at night, moonlight catches these streaks so that they gleam with iridescence like natural flashlights. Like tigers’ fur, streak patterns are unique to every person; no two are alike.

This human-Havenne similarity doesn’t apply with eyes, however. A Havenner’s eyes can be any shade between yellow and violet (yellow, green, blue, violet) as well as brown and gray (there’s no metallics either): take olive, cerulean, and lavender, for instance. Pupils are always black, like humans’ are.

Continuing down… a Havenner’s heart and lungs are bigger than a human’s, since a Havenner has a bigger body than a human. Everything else, though, is exactly the same with humans and Havenners.

It’s common for parents to make trips to a christener to give their toddlers first names. This is known as Christening. A christener is a person who records the origins and meanings of words and names and makes up new ones — like a Webster’s dictionary and a baby-names site rolled into one. Havenners hold fast to the belief that a child should name him- or herself, as Havenners always look into the meanings of names. For instance, a gentle and kindhearted girl might be named Adelaide, which means kind and noble, while a hotheaded and energetic boy might be named Aiden, or little fire. Before a child’s Christening, a substitute (Prechristening) name is created — Little, Doll, even something completely random like Cuckoo or Tigger if parents dare. Teenagers often tease each other with their Prechristening names and use them as nicknames, so discerning parents try not to name their kids anything that will bring blushes to their kids’ cheeks in the future.

Surnames are given by a novice’s mentor at the end of novitiate (noviceship). These can be either (1) compound words such as Lightlaugh or Lionheart or (2) a noun or adjective like Storyteller or Gentle. Once added on, names can be said either (1) Aiden Lionheart or (2) Aiden the Lionheart.