THE WORLD OF DREKODINN AN INTRODUCTION Drekodinn is a continent ruled by medieval societies, fueled by fantastical threats and psionics (supernatural abilities controlled by the mind). There are no elves or dwarves – There are only humans, and variations brought forth by mutation, psionic reaction, and other such phenomena. The world of “Wraith” is meant to be dark fantasy centered around godlings, psionics, and survival. Long ago, humans discovered that through the “Ritual of the Godlings” they could temper the lands and bring forth a sense of balance. By joining with the land, beings known as “godlings” could help contain the chaos of nature and keep the beasts and plants from rising up against the settlers. WHO (AND WHAT) ARE THE GODLINGS? In a manner of speaking, the godlings are the "gods" of Drekodinn. But there's more to it than that. During any given timeframe, there are two godlings – one who maintains the north (plants, animals and the virtues of life) and one who maintains the south (earth and the primal forces of nature). They are not deities who demand prayer or sacrifice – they are simply heroes of men who are destined to give up their lives as humans and become something much more. By becoming godlings, they feed new energy into the land, they help manage the choas in nature, they create “ley lines” of power that radiate new life and make it possible for psions to exist. (“Psions” are those who have psionic abilities.) When two godlings are reaching the end of their lives – a span of three to eight hundred cycles – it is time for two new humans to step forth and replace them. They must be devoted to their cause, and they must be immensely powerful, talented and trained in psionics. These godlings then go to their designated temples and “bond” with the land – By giving their lives as mortals they become something far greater – they become living batteries and personalities for Drekodinn itself. While a godling is bonded to the earth, his followers do everything in their power to make sure he is protected and obeyed all throughout his days. Their temples (ie. The place where they have bonded) are well-guarded and hidden from unwelcome eyes. Few ever see the temples, much less the godlings themselves. Though they are spectacularly powerful through their influence and design, the actual bodies of the godlings are very vulnerable - were a killer to ever actually find the resting spot of a godling unguarded, he could easily end their life. Were this to happen, a replacement godling would be needed immediately, otherwise the balance would be thrown and the opposite godling would be filled with more power and responsibility than he could handle, possibly driving him mad. Currently, SEN is the northern godling. His temple is hidden deep in the mountainous forests of Surya. His body is underground, surrounded by walls of radiant plant life – he’s “bonded” to a great tree and its many thick roots. Were one to look upon him, they would see that his flesh almost looks as though it were one with the bark of the tree. Sen’s followers are known as the Saeyand, and they’re often recognized as wearing shades of blue and grey. The common Symbol of Sen is a circle featuring two hands – an open hand fronted by a sealed fist. DREKOTH is the southern godling, buried deep in the Catavan wastelands. His temple is beneath Tasida Keep, hidden in the rocky caves – His body is joined with black stone, giving him a statuesque appearance. Drekoth’s followers are known as Drekothians, and they’re known to wear red colors, a tribute (some say) to the protective, fiery waters of the Demonshore Sea. The common Symbol of Drekoth is a reaching claw within a triangle, which is meant to represent “power within the mountain.” For all simple purposes, Sen is the “good” godling, and Drekoth is the “bad” godling. ~~~~~~~~~ TIMELINES IN DREKODINN In Drekodinn, years are referred to as "cycles." (Strangely enough, "Farscape" does the same thing, but I was using the word before I ever watched "Farscape," so I'll just keep using it.) Every time the “Ritual of the Godlings” takes place, a new timeline begins – It is marked by a name given to the godlings’ era (in Sen and Drekoth’s case, it’s “Yendet”) and then the number of cycles that have passed. The year is Yendet 568 (or Y.568 - see map). MONEY Generally, Drekodinnians use coins, though in some of the larger cities they’ve started using printed slips called "drings" (such as our dollars). 1 CROWN (gold piece) = 10 SILVERSCRAP. There is also COPPERSCRAP, which is both a small copper coin and a common insult. “You’re copperscrap!” or “You’re ‘scrap!” DOES MY STORY HAVE TO BE PG-RATED? Nope, you can do whatever you want with it – if you want violence or sex, put ‘em in – You’re the author, it makes no difference to me. I figure the book would probably be R-rated. WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW? I’ve tried to leave the world open to ideas, so if you want to do something, but don’t know if it jives with my idea of Drekodinn, just ask me. All I’m doing is creating an outline, and the rest of it is an open book. After seeing the LOTR movies, I really want to stay away from stereotypes – I don’t want Drekodinn to be another Middle-Earth – everyone copies LOTR, and I want Drekodinn to be different. “Wraith” should be dark and epic and cool and fantastic, but it should also be original. Write something that YOU would love to read.