Wednesday World-building Workshop Part 3

Update

Hey guys. It's been a while since I did a World Building blog.

I have begun with my new and improved wall design. Back when I did this two years back I used a lot of lined paper which I marked out using various round shapes. Now I have a printer and symbols help a lot.

Introduction to the Wall Works

Before I go any further and I show what i have been doing with my wall build let me explain a bit about what I am doing here.

I do a lot of world building for my writing. There is extensive background for everything going on behind the scenes that makes it all fit together well. Organizations, buildings, empires and so forth that are important and have a long standing history have been covered extensively in this regard.

This current build is regarding the architecture of the Towers of Magic, the most important center for the learning of the arcane in the World of Kedra.

Why do I do it with paper stuck to a wall and not sketch it or draw it on PC?

I actually do. However, using more than one medium stimulates the brain. Besides that this method allows me move things around on a physical wall before me. Make a change and go to bed. Tomorrow when I wake up there is this massive display of architecture to look at.

Perhaps I will think of something new to add, or something that needs to change. Perhaps I will be inspired by the shape of the layout to do something in my writing.

Besides all of this, one of the most important factors is that I am not just creating the building as it is in my story at that moment... I am creating the building across all time. By knowing what was once there and what came after, I show a gradual growth into the complex structure that it is now. It is a landscape rich in history and information.

What the layout tells us right now

As mentioned in the previous WWW post, the Central Tower used to house all of the Magi. At the time they had but 4 elements and in that time they believed that each Magos could only have one single affinity to an Element. This changed with the discovery of Kinetic Magic. It gave them a 5th elemental school as well as the discovery of having multiple affinities.

Only the most powerful and skilled Magi can use two Elements. On rare occasion a third weaker affinity may be discovered as well.

Right now I am still constructing so I enhanced this image for visual purposes.

The Basic shape

What starts from the central Tower the five Elemental Towers were built in a pattern around them. Each one of these Towers would house the Magi with the Affinities strongest aligned to that Element. In between the towers at first a roofed walkway was constructed. There were wide open spaces in between and Magi and non-Magi serving the Towers built small homes in these areas.

Eventually these walkways were built out of stone. Often, it was the Earth Magi that brought about majority of the alterations to the structure. This formed a pentagon, each of the Elemental Towers having been spaced equally apart upon their construction. The walkways from the Central Tower to the Elemental Towers were constructed first and then between each of the outlaying Towers to each neighboring Tower.

Branching out

Later still the traffic and population of the Towers increased and both the Archives and the Magic School were moved out of the Central Tower. The Central Tower now had been given completely over to Administration duties and the Tower of Acolytes and the Tower of Artifacts were built. There was also a Great Library constructed which was manned not only by Magi, but non-magical Scholars. More paths and built hallways were built to connect the new Towers to their nearest neighbors.

At this time the Central Entrance was also constructed and ran from the road to the nearest port all the way to the Central Tower. This main thoroughfare was used for official arrivals and non-Magi on the ground floor. The passageway was extended another two stories running along it's top. These higher passages were used by the Magi themselves.

The spaces between the main walkways became more developed until little communities were created. Sections were turned into housing blocks, public schools for non-magical servants and young scholars, there were places used for the growing of food and the washing of clothes etc.

The Towers in the "current" timeline

Right now the current timeline will be regarded as the time frame around which Raiders of the Middle Sea and Nations Under Siege is based. I have however created so much content and background that I could easily begin writing at another time. The layout of the Towers surely show this.

At its current the entire space between the outer walls are being used. Everything is at least three stories high.

In a practical sense however, the current timeline benefits extend past having a nice organically grown building that evolved over time into its shape. What it also gives me is a place to stick down the location of certain characters within the story. I use prestick for everything so items are loose on the cupboard.

Councils, locations of persons at the time of an incident, these can all be controlled from this board. I can also visualize the sights better. When a character pops his head out of a certain Tower facing a certain direction, what does he or she see?

Work in progress

As you can see the design is not yet complete. In fact I had not yet caught up with the old design and that was not complete yet either.

However, the Towers of Magic were not built in a day!

I will just do so patiently and with great care and thought.

Until next time,
Regards

Zak Ludick
@zakludick