[Original Story Concept] Thy Kingdom Come

[Acyl]

Okay. It's called "Thy Kingdom Come".
I've been toying with this idea, in several forms, for about...I dunno, almost eight years now. Mind, it's evolved greatly over time, and the current version bears little resemblence to my first notion...
But still, this is literally, the only novel-length original concept I've ever had. I've had lots of ideas for long fanfic, mind you... and serial episodic-style original stories. But this is my only novel-length story idea. Never had another, before or since. I've always wanted to write it. But...
Well, there's problems. The story demands that it be set in an original fantasy universe. And I'm not terribly good at the whole world-building bit. Especially since the concept demands that I come up with effectively two worlds... what was before, and what exists now.
I'm good at inventing characters, at weaving themes and subtext into my narratives... but worldbuilding details escape me. So I need help with that. I've finally broken down and decided to ask on a public forum. I need people to press me on things like geography, political entities, heck, even economics. I need to think about these things, and it doesn't come naturally to me.
I'd also appreciate any comments about my characters. Do you have any questions? The act of answering those questions, that's probably gonna force me to think. They're important, critically important, and so I really need to get their portrayal right. Especially since they aren't your typical fantasy character archetypes.
(Heck, I'm posting this largely 'cause I spent a lot of time talking with Valles last night, and he made a lot of brilliant suggestions that...have already made my story better.)
Alright. Enough ramble. Now it's time to describe the world itself.
But before I do that, the following post contains the opening scene of the story. The setup, as it were. I wrote this bit...two or three years ago, and never really edited it. It's a bit raw, a bit clumsy, definitely overwrought...I ought to rewrite it...
Still, it sets the stage. So...
-- Acyl

[Acyl]

TKC: Rough Draft 2
I used to dream of adventure. There's nothing terribly surprising about that. Adventure's something many people yearn for. That's why we have books, movies, and games. Fantasies, all, fantasies that let people play a role, to be heroes, to be something more than their mundane lives.
But things change. People change. Or maybe I never did, and just didn't really know myself. Maybe I just never knew what I really wanted. It took an...experience for me to realise the truth: it wasn't fantasy I cherished, but normalcy, the life I'd rejected. Boring, perhaps, but also predictable. Comfortable. Safe.
So that's my new dream.
And I'm happy with what I have. An apartment, a computer, books and music. A life I've grown used to.
It's a good life. Good enough.
I used to think that wasn't much to ask for. But it is. It IS a lot. I didn't appreciate that, once upon a time. Now I do.
Things change.
Though now, my most fervent wish is for things to stay the same. Normalcy, mundanity, the slow stately march of a peaceful everyday life.
I get up every morning. I make breakfast. Coffee, toast. Maybe some eggs, bacon, perhaps fruit. It's a ritual. Some days I need to drag myself into the kitchen, forcing myself to move. but I do it. That's what routine is. And there's something comforting about it, something that eases the soul. I've learnt to appreciate routine, and all the little acts it entails.
Maybe those are deep thoughts to have over morning coffee, especially when I'm still drowsy from sleep. Maybe. That said, they're important to me, and I can't help but think them.
Especially when something threatens to disrupt my routine - and everything it stands for.
I'd felt it since stepping into the kitchen, a whisper at the edge of my senses. Took me a while to figure out what it meant, but when the realisation hit, I damn near scalded myself on my coffee. The shock hit my system harder than the caffeine. It just about turned my stomach - not a sensation anyone needs before breakfast.
With a faint clink, I set my mug on the counter. Rubbing my face, I concentrated on the disturbance, and frowned. I wasn't mistaken, and my memory wasn't lying to me. No, the feeling was dead on. I had no idea how or why, but it was.
Fists clenched, involuntarily. Shoulders shaking, I left the kitchen and turned towards the door.
Any moment now, and...
...a knock. A quiet one.
I frowned. That was...surprising. I'd expected my front door to explode in a massive fireball or something. Compared to that, the little knock was almost embarrassingly anticlimactic. Almost. It actually made me even more apprehensive.
I didn't want to answer the door. Yet there was no point in postponing the inevitable. I could feel the presence on the other side, standing in the corridor. No doubt, my visitor could feel me too.
And hell...I admit, I was morbidly curious.
Walking over, I unlocked the door and opened it. I didn't bother looking through the peephole, because I knew who I'd see.
Or at least, I thought I did. Probably a lesson there, something along the lines of 'never assume'.
Sure, the feeling I got, that was familiar. The face...wasn't.
She stared at me, looking up with fearful, expressive eyes. When I scowled, she reeled back, as if struck, a tremble running through her slender frame. She was a classic elfin beauty, down to the quivering pointy ears rising from a fall of cerulean hair. Literally elfin.
No, she wasn't what I was expecting. Only one detail fit - the robes she wore, elaborate garments of white and blue, with symbols embroidered in silver thread.
I knew those robes. Just as I knew what my senses were screaming about her identity.
I knew...but wanted her to speak first. It wouldn't do to tip my hand, not before I heard the rules of whatever game she was playing.
She spoke.
"Lord Novak?"
The question earned her a murderous glare. "Gideon," I corrected, curtly.
"Ah..." she flushed, taken aback, stumbling over her words, "...Lor...Lord Gideon, then. I apologise for this intrusion...I beg pardon, milord, I...I..."
Faced with stony silence, my wordless demand for explanation, she drew a shuddering breath, and composed herself. "I am a third-ranked adept of the Church of Senica, milord. My name is Zastra, and I beg an audience." She gave a sudden start, as if remembering something, and fell to her knees. She blushed an even deeper shade of pink, and refused to meet my eyes.
I blinked. That was...new.
We would have made quite a sight, were anyone around to see it. Quite a picture - an elf maiden prostrating herself at the feet of an unshaven tousle-haired guy clad in pyjamas. The girl was damn near kissing my fuzzy slippers.
I had to suppress a burning desire to kick her.
"You do realise," I said, quietly, "that I killed your mistress?"
Zastra stiffened. She started to raise her head, then stopped herself. Keeping her eyes low, she mumbled, "N-n-no, milord, you are master now. The Church is yours."
A snort. "Mine? Huh. News to me. So what, do I have to claim you people as dependants on my tax return?"
"Milord, I...I don't understand..."
She really didn't. I could feel the fear and confusion underlying her tone, and part of it was even genuine.
Sigh.
It isn't any fun when they don't get your references.
"Forget it," I grated, "whatever. Just get up. I'm not in the mood for your games."
I stepped aside, and just stared at her until she got the hint. Hesitantly, she climbed back to her feet. After another long pause, she shuffled past me into the apartment. I slammed the door once she was through, earning a gratifying squeak of alarm. Then I headed back to the kitchen, leaving her standing in the living room.
Her unwelcome appearance might have ruined my appetite, but I was damn well still going to have breakfast. Matter of principle.
After sticking a couple slices of bread in the toaster, I rummaged around for a frying pan, then set it on the stove. A few moments past before I felt eyes on my back, and turned. Zastra was peering over the counter, the bar-like tabletop separating my apartment's kitchen and living space. She seemed puzzled at my activity.
In a mild voice, I asked, "Coffee?"
Zastra didn't respond. Shrugging, I poured a mug from the coffee pot and handed it to her. She grimaced at the proffered beverage, like she expected it to kill her. But she accepted it anyway, clutching it with both hands. She took a tentative sip...and her face scrunched up at the bitter taste.
I snorted, and retrieved my own mug, the one I'd been drinking from before being interrupted by her knock on the door. I took a drink before returning to the task of making breakfast, dropping some butter into the frying pan and letting it melt.
Behind me, Zastra found her voice. "Lord Gideon," she asked, "please do not take offence...but why are you preparing a meal in this manner? Do you not have servants?"
"No," I growled over my shoulder, "no servants. I hate the idea of ordering people around."
I gave her a significant look, but she seemed to miss it. Pity.
"But milord," Zastra protested, "even so, with your magic..."
Squinting at the stove, I cracked a couple of eggs into the pan and watched them sizzle. Off to the side, the toaster gave a faint musical 'ding'.
"Yeah? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a decent meal from magic? I'm not gonna waste power on something like that."
Zastra bristled. "And yet, milord," she countered, "you have five battle spells hanging ready, all directed at me."
The rejoinder was the first sign of assertiveness I'd seen from her. Her exasperation made me smile. "So," I replied, "you DO have a spine. But...no, you're wrong. I don't have five spells..."
"Milord," Zastra hissed, "you have no need to deny..."
"I'm not," I said, cutting her off, "there's seven, not five." Waving a finger, I traced a sigil in the air, and shrugged. "But I like cooking, okay? And I'd rather not have the smell of your burning flesh ruining my breakfast, understand?"
Zastra gasped, nearly dropping her coffee mug. She bowed her head in submission, ears drooping. She probably figured my words a threat. Perhaps they were. But I considered them more a bland statement of fact.
Besides, I'd just cleaned my apartment a few days prior - and really didn't want to mess it up with elf debris. No, removing her would be far too much trouble.
Flicking the stove off, I slid the eggs onto a plate, and added the toast. A couple dabs of fresh butter completed the picture. I carried it to the counter, taking a seat across from my visitor. I motioned for her to do the same, and she sat, regarding me with wary eyes.
"Alright," I said, biting into a piece of toast, "you didn't come here just to disagree with my living arrangements. Talk."
Though from the look she was giving my meal, maybe she WAS here to criticise my lifestyle choices. Or maybe just the eggs. The concept of domesticated poultry was likely alien to her. It took a moment before she pulled her attention away from my breakfast, revulsion evident on her face. She had her gag reflex under control by the time she returned my gaze.
"I am sorry, Lord Gideon. Please forgive me. I...I am here to warn you, milord. You are in great peril, there is...there is danger, and..."
I held up a fork. "Is this where you announce some twisted revenge kick and try to kill me? Because I told you, I'm not in the mood."
Zastra blanched, panic written across her features. "No, no! Lord Gideon, please! I am not your enemy! Milord, you must believe me! I am in your service, my life is yours!"
"That's funny," I said, flatly, pointing at her robes, "because I thought I'd destroyed every last one of you. I'm surprised YOU survived."
She flinched, but didn't look away. "A few remain, milord. You are our master now."
The absurdity of the situation was almost more than I could stand. Shaking my head, I poked at my eggs, and mulled over her claims. "Fine, let's suppose I believe you. What's this danger, then?"
Zastra paled. She swallowed, wetting her lips. "It is...not on my order that lives, milord. One of the Chaos Gods is still alive."
I laughed.
My reaction seemed to throw her completely off-balance, and for a moment I almost pitied her.
Almost. Not quite.
"Yes," I replied, smirking, "of course. Which one?"
"Rak...Raksis, milord," she stammered, "it is Raksis, and he is moving."
Oh my.
I understood, then. Her words explained the whole charade. I had to hand it to my old enemies. It was a pretty good attempt. Were I just a little more gullible...but I wasn't, was I?
So.
I could refuse to play, of course.
But that wouldn't be any fun.
"Well then," I told Zastra, "we'll just have to stop him."
I smiled.
"Been a long time since I've slain a godling."

---

-- Acyl

[Acyl]

His name is Gideon Novak. Most people call him Deon.
This is Deon's story - the tale of a man very far from home. It's also the story of Zastra, an elf who's...a little more than what she appears to be.
Our tale takes place in the world of Tianan. I'm not entirely satisified with that name, so it's subject to change. I'm open to suggestions. 'Tianan' is derived from the Mandarin phrase 'Heavenly Peace' - but it's also part of the name 'Tiananmen' (Heavenly Peace Gate). As in 'Tiananmen Square'. And all the political irony thereof. I like my allusions, you see.
Anyway. Before the start of the story, Tianan was a fairly standard fantasy world. D&D, Tolkein, that sort of thing. Swords and sorcery, feudal governments, and magic as a background fact of life.
The world is populated by a few fantasy races. Elves, dwarves, trolls, orcs, and so on.
However, and this is important, there are no humans. The widespread ubiquitous role played by humans in most fantasy settings...instead falls on the elves. They're the most common species, and in this setting, not particularly long-lived. There's a few varieties of elf, including the so-called "dark-elves"... but they're pretty much just, well, the elven version of black folks. It's not like everyone has blond hair and blue eyes, 'know.
There is a certain amount of racial discrimination against dark-elves in some parts of the world. A minor plot point - Zastra is pretty much a caucasian elf, and she has that bias.
Anyway, a human turning up...would be referred to as an elf with funny ears. Deon gets this a lot.
There are no hobbits or halflings, either. No such race. This is also significant.
Most of the major races have a nation-state of some kind, or are at the very least regional.
There's several elf-dominated countries, including an Elven Empire (which I haven't yet named) - though it's probably better to describe it as a Theocracy. Religion and the Priesthood used to hold power there, with the royals pretty much figureheads. Old, stable, traditional. Think Imperial China, crossed with Roman Catholic and British motifs. The Empire was big, powerful, and the proverbial giant gorilla nobody else could ignore...
...these days, it's in decline. But we'll get to that. Zastra is a priestess of the Empire, and the way Deon treats her should make it obvious that, well, he doesn't like them. His annoyance with the Empire had, in the end, rather dire consequences.
No Dwarven Nation to speak of, but rather a bunch of clans mostly tending to their own affairs, though this may change. The orcs and trolls, traditionally the 'dark' races, held sway on the opposite end of the world's major landmass... ie, away from the elf-dominated 'light' nations.
(I'm assuming there's one really big landmass that's settled - there's probably island nations and so on, colonies and suchlike on other continents, but most of the action takes place across what we'd consider Europe and Continental Asia. The 'light' races hold Europe, the 'dark' hold mainland Asia, if it's a decent analogy.)
This is the situation...when it comes to the material world.
There's also Gods in play here.
Two sides of the coin. The Gods of Order, or the Order Gods. They are humanoid entities, worshipped mainly by the elves and dwarves. Chief among them is the Light Goddess Senica, is the patron of the Elven Empire...and plays a rather direct hand in running the place.
Their counterparts are the Gods of Chaos. The Chaos Gods. They have mostly animal forms, with a somewhat more totemic motif. The Dragon God Raksis is the most powerful of the Chaos Gods. They don't have a leader, but Raksis is the leader they don't have. The Chaos Gods don't really have worshippers. Some orcs and trolls venerate them, also some goblins, but the Gods of Chaos don't really care.
This is not a traditional good-and-evil split. Quite intentionally, I'm playing on tropes here.
There's a long-standing Cold War between the two camps. Occasionally, this war gets very very hot indeed.
The Gods of Order claim they are the defenders of civilisation, peace, all that is good and true, and they must save the world from the depraved evil of their counterparts. This theme turns up an awful lot in their theology - in the context of the story, Zastra's the one who quotes bits of this. She's a priestess of Senica, after all.
What the Gods of Chaos feel about this is unrecorded. They don't have priests, and nobody goes around preaching sermons in their favour.
This is where our protagonist comes in.
His name is Gideon Novak, a freelance journalist and computer geek. He comes from Earth, our world. From the present.
One day, he gets rather rudely yanked across dimensions, and thrown into the world of Tianan.
He is told, by the Gods of Order, that he is the one who must save the world. The Forces of Darkness are planning to unleash horrors this world has never seen, he is the chosen one, the hero of destiny...
Yada-yada-yada. You've heard this before.
So he asks them, quite frankly, okay, what the hell do you expect me to do?
And he's told, he must go on a quest, attain an ultimate power, and use it to destroy the Gods of Chaos.
Okay, so, he says, you want me to kill your enemies. Fine.
Then he asks...
If I do this, can I go home?
Because that's his major concern. I WANT TO GO HOME, DAMN YOU.
If I do this, if I win, can I go home?
This is your standard fantasy trope, after all.
Now, the Gods of Order tell him... yes, yes, if you win, the ultimate power you wield will allow you to go home.
But what he discovers, some time later, is that...they lied to him.
He can't go back. Ever. It's impossible.
So.
That's when our story opens.
You've read the opening scene there. With Deon in his apartment, getting up, doing his morning routine. Grabbing coffee, making breakfast, checking e-mail, and so on. In a modern apartment.
Here's the trick. He's not on Earth.
He's still in Tianan.
Subsequently, when he and Zastra leave the apartment... they emerge onto the streets of a modern city. Cars going by, high-rise buildings, traffic lights...
Of course, there's the fact that everyone he passes on the street has pointy ears, or is short and has a beard. Or is tall and green-skinned. And he's still the only human around.
Okay.
It isn't obvious, what he did was...he gained ultimate power, and proceeded to, eventually, destroy the Gods on both sides.
And then he remade the world in his image.
Why?
Because...Deon is selfish. Well. Okay. That's not entirely fair. He's not evil, mind you. But he's not good, and he certainly isn't altruistic.He's got the same 'never say die, I will fight til the end' quality that is standard for all fictional fantasy heroes. He has that determination and bloody-minded drive. But he doesn't have the fluffy noble morals to go with it. What he -wants- is not truth, justice, or peace. What he wants is a comfortable life, in the manner -which he is accustomed to.
He doesn't go for half-measures.
He wants quality coffee. An Internet connection. Comic books. Video games. Flushing toilets. And if they tell him he can't go home...damned if he's going to spend the rest of his life in this backward godforsaken primitive excuse of a world.
So the obvious solution is...change the world.
The thing about the change is... it hasn't affected the memories and personalities of the natives. Just their lives. That is, everyone in Tianan remembers the transition - the day the world changed. Deon likes to keep a low profile, so very few people are aware that he, specifically, is the one... but most people know that somewhere out there, there's a man called Godslayer who did all this.
This means that basically, one day, everyone woke up to find themselves in new occupations. Some corrolation between 'before' and 'after', of course.A guardsman becomes a city cop. A tavern keeper finds himself the manager of a coffee bar. A well-known bard, now a rock musician with record deals. And so on.
But there are people who've slipped through the cracks, as it were. The change is not...complete and all-encompassing. A telltale sign is geography. The shape of the world, continents, borders, mountains, land features, and so on...is the same. More or less. Accounting for things like highways and rail lines. The infrastructure, though, isn't quite up to scratch yet. There's no air travel, at least not yet, and while a lot of...say, small villages were converted into modern oil fields, mining industries, and so on... it doesn't mesh perfectly. Picture something like first-world development and urbanization with third world infrastructure.
(I would appreciate suggestions on possible problems with this setup - issues that could arise, and be discussed in-story. Like Terry Pratchett says, when you're designing a fantasy city, the first thing you need to figure out is how the fresh water gets in, and how the sewage goes out. Trouble is, Deon didn't think about details like that when he uplifted the world. He focused on the end result he wanted - which was a city to live in. So the infrastructure, due to this...is somewhat spotty.)
Anyway.
At this point, Deon basically holds almost all the power once wielded by the Old Gods - the Gods of both Chaos and Order. Mind, he doesn't really do much god-stuff in the story...for all intents and purposes, he is simply an extremely capable battle-mage, and he does get injured, even nearly killed. It's quite possible that most of his power can't be used, since it's invested in holding the world together. Or maybe his true power's still recovering from completely rebooting the universe like that. Only Deon knows for sure.
But if one of the Old Gods is still around - remember what Zastra says about Raksis still being alive - this may endanger everything he's done. He certainly doesn't want his alterations to local reality to unravel.
And that's why our heroes set off on a quest to find, and slay, Raksis.
Or so it appears at first. That's not actually the core conflict of the story. As the introduction makes clear, Deon believes there's something else going on. He's right. Zastra isn't what she appears to be. She has her own agenda, and one that isn't in Deon's best interests.
She isn't lying about Raksis, though. Raksis really is still alive. And he's got his own angle too. Of course, what the last surviving Chaos God is doing...isn't what Zastra claims.
Then again, it's not like Deon believes most of what Zastra is telling him.
The core conflict of this story is between Deon and Zastra. Neither are heroes, not in the traditional sense. They're both plotting rings round each other. For example, Zastra's trying to manipulate Deon. But though she's got a fair bit of contempt for him...she's afraid of him as well. What if he knows she's playing him? But if he does, then why hasn't he killed her yet?
At Valles' suggestion, I'm going to be switching viewpoints. About half the narrative will be from Deon's perspective, the other half from Zastra's. This is important, since the whole subjectivity and 'things aren't what they seem' angle is pretty big here, and it's also important that...
Well, Deon and Zastra aren't perfect lovable figures. But they're not evil, either. They have redeeming qualities. And it's important, though I'm deconstructing the notion of the fantasy hero, that the reader still feel some connection with them.
Deon, for instance, is not a nice guy. That's true. But he is overwhelmingly loyal to those he considers his friends and equals. Of course, there's a slight problem with that...the 'considers his friends and equals' bit.
The eventual 'hero party' of main characters is Deon, Zastra... and adventurers named Ain, Kaige, and Tias.
Towards the end, when someone refers to them as Deon's minions, he says this:-
"No. That's not quite right. Yes, those two..."
(Deon points to Kaige and Tias)
"...they're minions."
(Suddenly, Ain appears behind the person Deon's talking to, and does something very nasty with a knife.)
"She, though...she's my partner."
On the subject of characters...
Deon is the chief protagonist, as should be clear. Glasses, blond hair in a ponytail, brown overcoat with many pockets. Turtleneck, jeans, brown boots. Sardonic smirk. Deon has the confidence and bravery of the standard fantasy hero, who will fight against all odds. What he lacks is the commitment to ideals and justice. This isn't to say that he's evil - he isn't. He does have morals, but his morality is...a theoretical, intellectual thing, rather than something he passionately believes in. He is human, but is often referred to as a lop-eared elf. He is an accomplished battle mage. Well, actually, he's far more than that, but he doesn't advertise the fact. It should be said, at this juncture, that while many consider Deon to be a God... he doesn't. He considers himself a mortal. In fact, as far as he's concerned, the beings he killed to gain power weren't really Gods either, just arrogant bastards using the name.
Zastra is an elf, and the secondary protagonist. Possibly chief antagonist, actually. Classical fantasy priestess impractical garb. Fanservicy. Flowing light blue hair, robes of blue and white. Shy, demure, gets into trouble... but flashes of temper if pushed hard enough. Her shy retiring thing is mostly an act, after all, and she's far smarter and Machiavellian than she lets on. She's the kind and compassionate one, the voice of conscience. But then, she's got a very big streak of arrogance, it's just...well hidden. She claims to be a Priestess of Senica. This is true, more or less. But it isn't the whole truth. Throughout the story, she casts mainly healing and support spells. She says that's all she can do. In reality...she can pretty much match the level of power Deon displays - not his full power, of course, but certainly all the "regular attack magic" he uses.
Kaige is the dumb muscle. He's a dwarf swordsman. Of course, modernization being what it is, he has no beard, just five o'clock shadow. He wears skater pants, a sling belt, and a baggy T-shirt with '133t' emblazoned across the front. This tells you all you need to know about his personality. He isn't very smart, he's pretty silly, and he asks all the very stupid questions. It should be obvious why Deon calls him a minion. Notably, Kaige doesn't take offense at this. After all, he calls Deon "Boss". And he gets to hang with the Godslayer, how cool is that? His gloves have runes that let him summon weapons from pocket-space storage, and generate a kind of magical forcefield in lieu of armour.
Tias is a small shapeshifting creature. Roughly cat-sized. Perhaps cat-shaped, I haven't actually decided on a firm design. Furry, wings, that sorta thing. He's actually a familiar, an artificial magical construct. Broadly speaking, he's Deon's familiar, at least these days...though Deon didn't build him. He's just made modifications. Tias is the smart, sensible one. The voice of reason. Of course, nobody -listens- to him. Well, Deon does, sometimes, but, we all know who's boss. Tias and Kaige have a sort of 'henchmen duo' dynamic going there. They're buddies. Tias has a larger feral creature battle-form with claws and teeth...but spends a fair chunk of his time in his third shape. A large black SUV. Yes. He turns into the car. It isn't a fantasy story without a road trip, after all.
Ain is the last one. Most people assume she's some kind of undernourished dwarf, or a very short elf. She is, in fact, a halfling. Mind, I noted earlier, there's no hobbit or halfling race in this world. Like Deon, she's unique. She dresses vaguely punk-goth. Dark jeans, leather jacket, silver pendant of some sort. Shaggy black hair. She doesn't talk much. When she does, it's brief, clipped, terse, and to the point. She has an unnerving tendency to stare at people. She is also, bar none, the most lethal member of the party. Gun-toting assassin ninja, also extremely fond of sharp objects. It gradually becomes evident that she isn't entirely sane.
Ain is firmly supporting-cast, but she's more critical to the story than Kaige or Tias. She's the only member of the group whom Deon really trusts. Remember, all the hero cast knows that he's the Godslayer.
Now, at some point in the story, there's an argument. Deon basically loses it and yells "THIS IS FINAL!"... and everyone gives in. Instantly. They're not going to argue. Not with him. Except Ain. She just looks at Deon, and says "No."
And Deon backs down.
If the characters were more heroic, Ain would be Deon's conscience. Since they aren't, she's more like his shadow.
The core conflict of the story is between Deon and Zastra, but Ain has a fairly important impact on that dynamic. Deon trusts Ain. Ain scares the crap out of Zastra - in some ways, she's more afraid of Ain than she is of Deon. Yeah...there's reasons for that.
Alright.
So.
The story takes the form of a road trip...on the way to the final confrontation with the last surviving Chaos God, Raksis. The road trip, though, is mainly an excuse to draw out the character dynamics within the main party ... and reveal the heavy ramifications of the changed world... how it's affected the lives of all the people living in it.
(The road trip is also an excuse within the logic of the story. Kaige: "Wait, dude, can't you just snap your fingers and teleport us to..." Deon: "Yes, yes, I CAN do that. But I'm NOT. For the last time...the road trip is part of the plan. Okay? So SHUT UP, and don't tell the elf. Okay?" Kaige: "Ohhhhh, yeah. Sorry boss." Deon: "...idiot.")
The conclusion is basically a three-way clash between Deon, Zastra, and Raksis about the fate of the world. It isn't so much a fight, as it is a...debate about what it means to be a God. About the true meaning of compassion, responsibility, morality, and a writer being overambitious in pushing metaphysical themes.
Okay, maybe not that last bit. But that's the gist of it. I've left quite a lot out of this writeup... there's a bit more to the cosmology than what I've described, and the nature of magic and godhead in this universe. But that's critical to the final plot twists and conclusion, so I can't say it. Likewise, I can't really say what Zastra is really up to, that's too much of a giveaway. Heck, there's Raksis too, his true motives need to remain secret.
Valles made a pretty good guess, though. Wrong, but a good guess. Feel free to speculate. But what I really need from you nice folks is...well, general thoughts. Questions, points you think need clarification. Suggestions on bits for the world I've got set up...well, y'know, that kinda thing. There's a LOT of ramifications, in a traditional magical fantasy setting suddenly uplifted with modern technology ... and everyone living there still remembering what came before. And do note, magic still works.
So...thoughts?
-- Acyl
(I should probably do a post on 'The Villains/Antagonists of TKC', subsequently. I haven't nailed most of them down, admittedly, but Raksis has a very firm character design. There's also Jager, a Knight of Valin, Valin being one of the dead Order Gods.)
-- Acyl

[Foxboy]

How has "Old Religion" meshed with "modern media?"
Like does the Japan equivalent have violent anime using, f'rinstance, the Religious background of the England analogue like Hellsing?
How many Traditional Artists got to keep their original media versus NEW digital stuff?
And... The old world's Power structures WILL have bearing on the new world. What part of the world is Gideon from? If he's American, he'll have done VERY different things from a Briton, likewise if he's Aussie, Hong Kong born, etc.
Just gotta get my licks in before I reorder our discussion last night for a "Tailchaser Vic" thread.
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[deadpan29]

Thoughts
What they should see on the road trip should be how things work, or in many cases don't work, in this altered world. One big thing about having a "city to live in" without the full infrastructure out in the contry is that we need highways, modern agriculture, refrigeration, preservatives, etc. to feed the people in the cities.
On the other hand, a classic medival-type society tended to have about 90% of the population involved in food production, with the slight surplus by that 90% going to feed the remaining 10%. Likewise, most of the population was in scattered farming vilages a few miles apart. When the world was rebooted, maybe a bunch of folks from the vilages got moved into the cities or maybe the population distribution stayed as was.
That leads to problems. Maybe there isn't enough food. Maybe there's a lack of means to get food to the cities. Maybe lots of farmers are now sitting on farms with tractors and such, and they can produce massive amounts of food, to the point that food prices are going into the basement and farmers are going out of business.
Social structure leads to questions: Are there still kings, emperors, and other nobles with the ability to rule as they see fit? A constitutional monarchy? Representative democracy? If the political system changed, do the people in office really know how to and want to work a system like this, or is it going to look more like the sort of "democracy" you get in the third world or maybe current Russia?
Medival societies and fantasy worlds tend to be violent places, ruled by some sort of warrior class, unless the warriors can't compete with a magic-based social class. Despite modern concerns about crime, briandry and piracy were more common back in the day. Do all those outlaws now have modern para-military gear? Is the warrior/wizard/priest class still in power?
----------
No, I don't believe the world has gone mad.  In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.

[Epsilon]

First you shoudl decide if you are writing a Character story or an Idea story.
A Character story is about the personality and development of a person. Its about their growth (or degeneration) and how it effects their lives and the lives of those around them. It starts at the moment when the main character chooses to change their world, and ends when that character either succeeds or fails.
An Idea story is about the expolration of a idea or question. It focuses on exploring the details of this question and how the implications of the possible answers effect the world. It starts when the main character first encounter the question and ends when the question is answered.
The reason you want to decide which this is is because that will tell you how to treat the story. If the story is about Character then the main character must undergo a process of personal discovery and exploration, with lesser amounts devoted to other characters. The important part is that this change and evolution is mandatory in a Character story.
If the story is about the Idea then exploring the Idea is the important part. In such a case, you choose which characters represent which potential "answers" to your central question. Then you craft their character based around that and use them in that roll. The important thing is that in this case, change is not mandatory.
The reason I'm bringing this up? Because your story is NOT a milieu story. The setting of your story really isn't important to the telling of your tale. Its a stage on which your characters get to talk to each other. Thus, you don't have to sweat the details too much. If your story is a Character story people will accept it so long as you pay token attention to details and don't violate the "rules" of your setting. If your story is an Idea story then the setting elements can be used allegorically to represent the core concepts of the question and its various permutations and once again the readers won't mind.
So, unless you plan on turning this into a milieu story (ie, the roadtrip is what's important) don't sweat the small details of the setting. Paint in braodstrokes and don't go into too much detail except where it creates emphasis either on the thoughts and actions of the characters or the way they express the central idea.
For instance you mention Gideon not giving much thought to "how the sewers run". Well, perhaps you can explore that idea if you think it will emphasize the Idea of the story. If your central tenant is that "godlike power is bad" than point out how Gideon's selfish actions have led to blocked sewer pipes, growing disease, starvation (due to lack of irrigation), pollution and other factors that are (just now) beginining to adversely effect the world. This will emphasisze in the readers mind how selfish and childish Gideon's understanding of the world is. If you want power to be seen more as a blessing, then have the sewers and such work... despite how poorly thought out they are. Things like overflowing and backwash and disease and water reclamation aren't problems because Gideon doens't WANT them to be problems, so they aren't. This will emphasize to the readers that despite his claims to the contrary this world NEEDS gods because without them it will break down.
Constantly look at each part of your world with an eye towards how this part will emphasize the story you want to tell. A powerful set piece can very easily tell more about the characters and the idea then a poorly chosen one would. Do NOT fall into the trap of including setting pieces "just because". Every location in this roadtrip should be chosen to emphasize what is happening with the group. If nothing interesting happens at a location, cut it.
That being said, here is some general advice:
Establish how magic works and establish this in your story EARLY. Make the rules, then never break them. You have a grace period, about 20-30 pages in which the reader is willing to let anything go. After that, unexplained surprises and asspulls will do nothing but annoy them. This means that you have to introduce the concept of Gideon's divinity EARLY and establish what his limits are just as early. You can leave in the air whether these limits are externally or interanally imposed, if you want. But at this stage you are forming a contract with the readers and if you violate it they will be (rightly) pissed off at you.
Since religon is such a major part of your story you should put a LOT of thought into it. Does this world still have god worship? In what forms? Is their atheism? Monotheism? Does the Godslayer have a cult, or even a fully organized religon? How do the normal people view religon? Is it seen as immoral to be areligious? Is it seen as immoral to be religious? Even people in the modern world have lots of strange superstitions, so the people in this world are bound to have lots more (worse yet, many of these worked up until X years ago).
How do the normal people view the reality shift? Are they, by and large, happier? Do they understand how eveyrthing works or are they just stumbling through the motions. Modern medicine is a great boon, but if the "doctors" only know that if you stick a persona with symptoms A and B with Needle C to make them feel better and have no deeper understanding of disease and biology then the system will fall apart rather fast. Similarly electric lights are great, but if people don't understand the physics involved they'll be lost. Maintaining power plants will become ritual, not understood. It will take on religious implications (see above). On the other hand, if Gideon downloaded a complete understanding of modern science (as far as he understands it!) into the brians of all the scholars and enginneers then things will be much easier. People will innovate and explore in ways that Gideon never imagined, because people are like that. They may even start innovating in ways he doesn't LIKE.
Magic is the other magic leg of your setting tripod. You have to decide how it works. What can magic accomplish? How much does it cost? Is it inherent, learned or mystical? How does it interact with technology? How COMMON is it? If ever Tom, Dick and Haragon has magic, it loses some of its wonder. If its limited to wizards and preists, it becomes arcane. If its VERY rare, it becomes mythic. How do "normal" people view magic? Distrust? Worship? Despair? Is magic an amoral force, or does it have higher moral underpinnings? Even if it has none, this is a VERY important question since it changes the answer to the question and the way the characters grow.
Consider magic carefully. A magic that is more symbolic might help emphasis Ideas in your story more, while one that is more freeform will express itself more in the personality of the Character who wields it. Think of magic as another part of the setting. Each piece of magic should serve to emphasize a part of either the characters development or the question.
What this boils down to is that the answer to your question here shouldn't be hard and fats laws. The answer is always "what makes for a better story here?". As long as you don't violate your own continuity, the type of story you are telling allows you to get away with a LOT of handwaving of small details.
-------------------
Epsilon

[CattyNebulart]

big question that will have a major effect on the world, did Deon relocate people or did he leave them mostly where they where? This will have a potentially hughe effect on the geography, since in fuedal times far more people lived in the country. Also if the oupations stay roughly the same what happened to the farmers? They should be around 2/3'rds of the population, in the modern world it tends to be 1/50'th or less.
Edit: related to that was land ownership redistrubuted and how did people deal with that? (in the ourtroom:"Hey dude this is my piece of land." "Not anymore the godslayer gave it to me." Judge: "....")
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[Bob Schroeck]

That's a hell of an idea, Acyl. I'd buy this in hardcover in a New York minute.
Some thoughts:
Is Deon's city the best city? Does the uplift have a gradient centered on where he was when he did it? Or is it evenly distributed (loosely speaking)?
Others have already made comments about food, about relocation... I just want to share an image which will dovetail with a lot of those comments. Peggy and I spent our honeymoon lo these many years ago in Mazatlan Mexico. To American sensibilities, it was more like a very big town than a city, with run-down edges and a beautiful "center" (which was really a line -- the shoreline). In general, it was a reasonably prosperous place to live. But go five minutes -- hell, two minutes -- out of town on any of half a dozen roads, and you were were in abject poverty -- shacks made of scraps of wood and metal were the norm.
How far from Deon's city (or cities) do you have to go to find abject poverty, either original flavor or imposed by the new world order?
Someone above has already asked about the established political order, governments and whatnot. What about the secret societies, hidden cults, and other mysterious movers and shakers that are behind the scenes? Did they change with the obvious powers, or are they still the way they were before the change?
How much of the change depends on Deon having been aware that something existed and needed change? It sounds like the less conscious of something he is/was, the less it changed -- what secrets hidden from him didn't change at all?
Are there political/social movements who want the world changed back? If so, are they big movements, or fringe? Are they peaceful, are they angry, are they terrorists striking out randomly with magic and/or tech in the hopes that they will force the Godslayer to change things back? Do they have opposite numbers who battle them in the street/debate them on the air?
Who is looking for the Godslayer so they can cozy up to him and find a way to make him change things again, only to their specifications? And what means are they exploring to make sure they get what they want?
-- Bob
---------
Visit beautiful Boston, proud successor to Seattle as
"City Most Scared Of Its Own Shadow

[Acyl]

Foxboy:

---

How has "Old Religion" meshed with "modern media?"

---

Interesting question. Would there be an equiv of "Hellsing" and religious themes in anime? Possibly. Would any traditional artists have kept, or continue to work in old mediums? Some.
The thing is, there's gonna be a fairly large number of people who insist on clinging to the old ways. The old culture, the old attitudes. You're definitely going to have traditionalists who'd reject the changes imposed by the worldshift. I imagine that being particularly prevailent among the nobility - or former nobility. Or whatever. That might turn up in manner of dress, people who refuse to wear the crazy newfangled clothes. Traditionalist conclaves. And yes, in art.
Conversely, there's folks who'd view the changes in a positive light. Social liberation, of sorts. All that considered, I'll probably have to work in, somewhere in the background, a couple of references to...yeah, an in-story animated TV show, produced by some studio in the elven territories, that is in fact sympathetic to the Chaos Gods - who are, of course, vilified in mainstream culture for that region.
It's a rather strange situation, all in all, because people in this world know that the Gods exist - or at least existed. You'd have to be stupid to deny it. And they know a major world-changing event has occured. Though naturally, there's people who refuse to believe that the Old Gods are really dead...

---

And... The old world's Power structures WILL have bearing on the new world. What part of the world is Gideon from? If he's American, he'll have done VERY different things from a Briton, likewise if he's Aussie, Hong Kong born, etc.

---

Deon is American, though not one particularly enamoured of politics in general where he comes from. That said, you're right, it makes a difference.
The old power balance has...actually taken a serious hit from the worldshift, and the events leading up to it. Mmm... I need to actually sit down and work out a concrete list of all the nations involved here. To be perfectly honest, I've only actually identified three discrete political entities of the 'light' nations, and two for the 'dark' ones. There are probably more.
Probably the most relevant thing to the story is that Deon, whether intentionally or not, has pretty much destroyed the the old Empire that ran most of the European analogue - what's left of the central capital government is no longer a powerful force, and there's the beginnings of a new somewhat more democratic entity springing up on the former border regions. For a given value of 'democratic', anyway. Perhaps 'embracing capitalist economy' would be a better word.
Deadpan29:

---

On the other hand, a classic medival-type society tended to have about 90% of the population involved in food production, with the slight surplus by that 90% going to feed the remaining 10%. Likewise, most of the population was in scattered farming vilages a few miles apart. When the world was rebooted, maybe a bunch of folks from the vilages got moved into the cities or maybe the population distribution stayed as was.

---

A lot of them were moved into cities. Existing major towns were converted into much larger urban centres, and when that happened, they absorbed nearby agricultural villages to make up the population numbers - a geographic relocation for many people. The remaining farmers left in the countryside now have the benefit of modern technology, knowledge of agricultural techniques, and the actual land itself has been converted, in a large part, to modern farms. Though it should be noted that the further you get from the cities, the less 'changed' the countryside gets.
You're right, however, in identifying that food supply is going to be an issue. I don't want it to be too big an issue, certainly not one that eclipses the story. But there could well be concerns about prices, supply, and a possible coming crisis. I'll have to mention something of the sort.

---

If the political system changed, do the people in office really know how to and want to work a system like this, or is it going to look more like the sort of "democracy" you get in the third world or maybe current Russia?

---

Developing world democracy, yes. Within the story's timeframe, nowhere on Tianan does there exist anything even remotely comparable to the mature democracies of the Western world. There are no truly functional representative democracy by any stretch. After the immediate dust settles, we're talking places mostly dominated by single-party systems and no credible opposition in government. A fair amount of corruption and the like. You can implant the ideas and roles into people's heads, but that doesn't fully change the people.

---

Despite modern concerns about crime, briandry and piracy were more common back in the day. Do all those outlaws now have modern para-military gear? Is the warrior/wizard/priest class still in power?

---

Mmmm...good question. I hadn't thought about a lot of this. Uh, in the 'light' kingdoms - the ones venerating the Gods of Order, and so on, the ruling power was more a Mage-Priest Class. Religion was far more of a going concern there, and this is a world where the Gods do have power, and do take a rather active hand.
This wasn't the case for the 'dark' nations, the ones nominally belonging to the Gods of Chaos, who took a rather more hands-off approach. The 'dark' nations were, before the change, generally less civilized...fewer cities, lower technology level, more tribal in social structure, and so on. These days I imagine they're rather more prone to being the sort of country dominated by military juntas, or flat out military rule.
As for bandits and outlaws, I'm not sure. One thing to consider is the ripple effect lessens as you get further from the big cities, as I've noted before. But I'd imagine that outlaws would have a haphazard combination of modern firearms (and the knowledge to use them), as well as whatever spears, bows, and whatnot they had before.
I do need to think about this, because a reoccuring antagonist we'll meet in the story is Sir Matas Jager. He and other Knights of Valin have basically gone outlaw themselves, due to profound inability to accept what's happened to the world.
Epsilon:

---

The reason I'm bringing this up? Because your story is NOT a milieu story. The setting of your story really isn't important to the telling of your tale. Its a stage on which your characters get to talk to each other. Thus, you don't have to sweat the details too much.

---

Huh. You're right. It's a matter of form and function. The form is relevant insofar as it fits what I'm trying to do, and the message I'm trying to convey. It's definitely not a milieu story, no.
As to whether it's a Character or Idea piece...well, using your classifications, what I'm writing is an Idea piece. The key focus is really the themes and questions... concepts of morality, religion, and so on. That was always my plan all along.
The thing is, I planned on using conventions that fall within, well, what you'd consider a Character story. There's a reason I chose a first person narrative, after all. There's a certain amount of development and change that both Deon and Zastra undergo...well, Zastra more than Deon, actually, but still. They're not quite the same people at the end, compared to how they start.
But the process of change for both characters is...essentially a vehicle to convey the overarching themes that the story is about. Heck, originally, Zastra was the only one to undergo any sort of transformative process...Deon would have stayed Deon throughout the whole thing, rather pointedly not becoming any different. I've moved away from that, and my current plans will see some changes for him. It helps to humanize him a little. which is necessary.

---

This will emphasize to the readers that despite his claims to the contrary this world NEEDS gods because without them it will break down.

---

That's interesting. The sewage thing, hadn't thought of that. It's the kind of thing that Zastra might throw in Deon's face, as a counterpoint to his philosophy.
Then, of course, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it, but Deon isn't as happy about what he's done as he originally seems to be. He's got a few second thoughts - he's done a really big thing, and he's hurt a lot of people. He's conscious of that. Showing how the new world's failing, or where it breaks down, highlights this issue of guilt and responsibility.

---

Establish how magic works and establish this in your story EARLY. Make the rules, then never break them.

---

Revealing to the reader precisely what it is Deon did, and exactly what he is now was always part of the plan. The introductory scene has a very large aura of mystery, but it's not like I can sustain that for long. The whole 'guy changed entire world' thing is supposed to come out in relatively short order.
The rules of magic in this world...well, okay. I hadn't actually planned to establish them explicitly. But I've got them worked out, and you're right, they need to be on the table early. In fact, given some plot twists I wanna put in with regards to the Old Gods, and their nature, it's probably best I lay as much groundwork as possible.

---

Does this world still have god worship? In what forms?

---

Monotheism would be all but unknown, and atheism equally rare. The old religions mostly venerated one God above the others - the Elven Empire was dedicated to Senica, for instance, and Valin had his own religious orders. But the religions generally didn't try to claim their deity was the ONE TRUE God, and didn't deny the existence of other Gods.
Most people generally took it as a given that Gods, in general, did exist. Certainly there's enough proof of that, since these are deities who occasionally took an active part in world affairs.
All of this has...somewhat crashed in the aftermath of Deon's actions. Precise attitudes would vary greatly from region to region, and run the whole gamut. Some people would cling desperately to the old beliefs, and refuse to acknowledge that their Gods are dead. Conversely, in some parts of the world, being religious would now be a bad thing - burning of churches, lynching of priests, and so on. It'd be a great source of social turmoil, yeah.
The Godslayer would have a cult, yes.
This isn't the one that Zastra belongs to. She's a Priestess of Senica, and she claims that the Church of Senica is now loyal to the Godslayer. This isn't true. What's left of the Church is split. Some believe that Senica can't be dead, this is all a lie. Some believe Senica is dead, and that makes the Godslayer the greatest evil ever. Others try to worship the Godslayer.
So there's probably some kind of new religion forming around the Godslayer, yeah... though I haven't really considered what shape and form it'd take. I do know that their very existence greatly annoys Deon, who doesn't like the idea of being worshipped.
It should be noted that...no worshippers really bother him directly. It isn't public knowledge that "Gideon Novak" is the Godslayer. The Godslayer is this big legendary figure to most people. Zastra's appearance at his doorstep is a very unusual event...but then, Zastra has access to information most folks don't.

---

How do the normal people view the reality shift? Are they, by and large, happier? Do they understand how eveyrthing works or are they just stumbling through the motions.

---

Well, your newly-minted doctor does have full medical knowledge downloaded into his brain. Same thing with physics, and so on. Even though Deon himself wasn't an expert in scientific fields, he knew that the world needed such people ... and so he created them. He had that much power. So yeah, this new world comes equipped with people who not only know how to do their jobs, but have the full and complete education that comes with it.
Theoretically, he could have given himself the knowledge too, but he intentionally refused to mess with his own mind. He didn't want to be omniscient, or anywhere close to it.
Thing is...
You can take a village healer, and turn him into an MD overnight. You can. But the new knowledge he has doesn't erase everything he believed before, all his life experience. So it's quite possible for a stubborn individual to reject it all and go back to bleeding patients with leeches. Or still view electricity as magic, despite knowing the basic theory.
I hadn't considered people innovating in ways that Deon didn't plan on, however. Newly minted scientists figuring out things he doesn't like... that's interesting. I need to do something with that.

---

Magic is the other magic leg of your setting tripod. You have to decide how it works.

---

I have to prepare a proper document on this, if only for my own reference. Hm. Broadly speaking, anyone in this world is theoretically capable of performing magic. It doesn't require any specific talent. Magic is a background force of this universe, and any sentient individual can tap into it - even some non-sentients, if they can frame the proper thought.
That's why Deon, who was born...somewhere else...could come to Tianan and be a mage. The magic was never in him, it was always in the world.
But the training is restricted. The secrets are closely guarded. It's possible for someone to teach themselves magic, but that's pretty rare, and the odds of hurting (or killing) yourself is pretty high.
There's a few implications here. With regards to how magic interacts with technology... well, yeah, it can. A mage can enchant any object, but they've got to have a fairly good grasp of how the thing they're enchanting operates, and how the enchantment changes that. It's all in the visualisation, y'see. Complex techno-magic is thus hard, since you'd need both skill in magic and a fair understanding of the object you're trying to alter... though as time goes by, it'd probably become increasingly common.
(Incidentally, Tias, as a fully sentient magical construct, is basically a self-sustaining spell. By this point, he's a piece of spellwork that's casting himself.)
Magic in this world is very strongly rooted in feelings and visualisation, which makes it more a vehicle to convey things about characters and their personalities, as you put it.
Zastra, for instance, is the healer of the hero party. Deon has at least as much regular magical aptitude, but he doesn't normally heal. See, the act of healing requires a certain mindset...usually empathy and compassion, though there are other ways to power a healing spell.
-- Acyl
EDIT: (I'll get to Bob and Catty's questions later. More thought needed.)
-- Acyl

[Acyl]

CattyNebulart:

---

Edit: related to that was land ownership redistrubuted and how did people deal with that? (in the ourtroom:"Hey dude this is my piece of land." "Not anymore the godslayer gave it to me." Judge: "...." )

---

As I mentioned in the other post, there was some physical relocation of people involved in the change. A lot of folks went to bed on farms out in the country, and found themselves in apartments the next day, as it were.
...aaannnd, jeez, I hadn't considered land ownership kerfluffles. That's brilliant. Yes, there WOULD be problems like that. Bwah hah hah. Poor legal system...
Bob:

---

Is Deon's city the best city? Does the uplift have a gradient centered on where he was when he did it? Or is it evenly distributed (loosely speaking)?

---

Uh. There's something of a gradient, yes, but it doesn't begin from where he was when he made the change. Actually, think of the world as a white paper with a bunch of diluted ink droplets on it. Each ink dot, that's a city or major feature of some kind (ie, oil pipeline, etc). The area of stained paper around it, that's the effect radius, and it decreases as it moves outward.
So...

---

How far from Deon's city (or cities) do you have to go to find abject poverty, either original flavor or imposed by the new world order?

---

Not very far. I just haven't decided how far. That's a particularly evocative image, by the way, the one about Mazatlan Mexico.

---

What about the secret societies, hidden cults, and other mysterious movers and shakers that are behind the scenes? Did they change with the obvious powers, or are they still the way they were before the change?

---

Most of them have been destroyed. In my last post, I mentioned how the Church of Senica has been split by the changes. The thing is, as this big religious-political entity devoted to the most powerful Goddess... they had a lot of shadow elements as well, and those are equally divided. Some remain, but...
More importantly, though?
There's a lot of new 'shadow elements' dating from the change, as remnants of old power groups go underground. I've mentioned Jager a few times. He was a Paladin-type figure, a champion of Valin, one of the Gods of Order. With the world shattered (from his point of view)...Jager and his knights, some other loyalists, have pretty much gone underground. They're trying to fight the good fight. Against the madness that has struck the world.
Raksis, the surviving Chaos God, has built up a new mortal power base. He's adopted a humanoid guise (he looks like a dark-elf), and is now the President and CEO of a large multi-national corporation with headquarters in one of the former orc and goblin territories. I haven't named the company, but I do know it has a dragon on the logo. Gotta keep your motif, right? I mean, he's been the Dragon God for so long, it's not like he's gonna give it up. Not entirely.
Besides, sticking a dragon on the company crest, that's funny. Raksis likes his little jokes.

---

How much of the change depends on Deon having been aware that something existed and needed change? It sounds like the less conscious of something he is/was, the less it changed -- what secrets hidden from him didn't change at all?

---

Yes, that's an important point. Mainly what's going on with Raksis and Zastra. As I've noted, they both have their own agendas...and Zastra is arguably a greater threat to Deon than Raksis is.

---

Are there political/social movements who want the world changed back? ... Who is looking for the Godslayer so they can cozy up to him and find a way to make him change things again, only to their specifications?

---

I've touched on this in the last post, and some in this. Yes, such movements exist. Some of the clashes are violent. Notably, Jager and the Knights of Valin are operating almost like a terrorist organisation by this point, with appropriate acts of violence ... Jager's getting desperate, but he really does believe he's doing the right thing.
Jager is supposed to be an antagonist who has a genuine grievance with Deon. The fact is, the worldshift isn't an entirely good thing. Sure, it's improved standards of living, medical care, infant mortality, education... but there's a lot of bad things too, as a result. Then there's the fact that Deon changed the world like this...basically out of selfishness.
As for the latter, yes, as well. This isn't what Zastra's doing, mind you. She isn't simply trying to play nice with Deon for her own ends. She's got...somewhat bigger plans. But then, she's a special case. Most people wouldn't know how to find Deon in the first place...
-- Acyl

[Sirrocco]

- How vital were the Old Gods to the running of the world? If he'd just killed them and left it at that, would everything have collapsed?
- What kind of morons *were* the Order Gods, anyway? "Let's tell this guy he can go home when he's done, get him empowered to the point that he can kill Gods, have him actually kill the Gods of Chaos (and absorb their power?), then tell him he can't go home after all." What did they *think* would happen with a guy who Could Kill Gods, Couldn't Leave Anyway, and Felt Horribly Betrayed?
- How strong a motivator is guilt for Deon? Assume for the moment that he's Not A God by choice. It's awful hard to live a "normal" existence when you're a God. If he comes across a point where his lack of clue/attention has really screwed things up for people, is there a chance he'd miracle it fixed? Would he try to hide/deny it if he did? Would he get caught in the act? (incidentally, one branch this particular train of thought can be followed pretty quickly into a Character-based story, as his resolve to Not Be God breaks down. Not that you want that, or anything.)
- When he's pursuing his almost normal existence, does he have a job? What does he do with his day, other than eat breakfast? How firmly has he integrated himself into the local economy?
- So, Deon gets called in, gets his initial Gear And Info, heads out questing, acquires enough power to kill gods, kills all but one of the Gods of Chaos (I assume you already know why that one was spared. If you don't, you need to. Also, if he's the only one Chaos God alive, why would Deon need to ask which Chaos God it was?) and heads back. He heads back, triumphant, meets with the Order Gods... and they tell him he can't go home after all. Some time later, he's killed all of them, and remade the world. The block of time, starting just before he says "send me home" and ending with him taking his place in one of the cities, is Very Important. Questions include...
-- How did the Gods of Order deliver the news?
-- What, exactly, drove him to kill them all?
-- Was it a Grand Melee In The Throne Room deal, or did he have to hunt them down one by one?
-- Did he remake the world before or after they were all dead? Was it in the heat of the moment, or the depths of despair? What exactly was he thinking? Why did he remake the Entire World, rather than just enough (a single city, say) for him to live in?
- If he wanted to live in his original world, and had Ultimate Power, why didn't he just turn the elves into humans?
- What happened to the Dwarf nations? Our world doesn't exactly have a template for "massive numbers of people living out their lives underground". In particular, the food-creation technologies are going to be rather different.
- Are the Chaos races by nature any less moral than the Order races?
- It's worth knowing - there just aren't as many people overall in a primarily agrarian society. The land can't support them. Even if you take most of the farmers out of the fields and put them in the cities (with appropriate divinely-installed job skills), you *still* won't have terribly populous cities. In some cases the infrastructure might be strange and ineffective because he doesn't know much about how it's supposed to work, but in a lot of cases it's going to be tremendously overbuilt, because it's designed off of his perceptions of infrastructure intended to handle an order of magnitude or two more population.
- People are very good at figuring out how to stay alive and functional - and he *did* (By Fiat) give out enough of the right job skills for people to know how to fix the broken things. By now they *probably* would have ironed most of it out - though some might be in rather odd ways.
- He had this habit of teleporting people around and giving them new identities. Did he leave power structures/social class more or less intact, or were there noblewomen suddenly waking up in cramped apartments with secretarial skills? If he put a new government's worth in place without reference to the old government, that could have gotten ugly quickly.
- Did he also impart basic high-tech life skills? Do people know how to drive cars? Do they understand the dangers of credit cards? What about dangers that don't really exist so much in this world (The STDs and food-borne illnesses will be different, if nothing else.)
- Did he take the opportunity to make any improvements while he was at it? Did thieves pick up high-tech skills along with everyone else?
- What was his job originally, back in the real world (assuming he really was from the real world)? (This will give at least one place where he'd *know* how things worked, and thus one aspect of the cities that would work well. It also gives some insight into his nonmagical, nondivine skills.)
- Are/were Dark elves of the Chaos races?
- Did he put in any cultural artifacts other than "urban america"? Did he suddenly make people literate, and if so, is it all in one language, or multiple different ones? Did the world have a unified language to start with, or are there now people who can only communicate through God-given literacy?
think that's enough for now.
Edit: Wasn't quite enough. Also, formatting.

[CattyNebulart]

ok then some more questions about legal and financial systems, did peoples wealth massivly change? Such as suddenly gaining a few million shares of some some stock or becoming a CEO or whatnot? Or are all the CEO's former nobles and the wealth imbalance would still be at medival levels rather than current levels. How do people deal with the changed ownership? How does the lagal system deal with it. How much did laws and punishments change and how much are those changes respected?
Also a question about the old world if the gods where essentially just extremly powerfull mortals why where they venerted as they where? did they set it up, or did the priests do that to gain political power or.... lots of possibilities there. Also the venerations of gods has changed by cultures how did the people feel about gods? did he followers of the chaos gods have a different opinion? what is stopping a powerfull mage from just declaring himself a god?
What about old people? it used to be that grandparents shared the house with the sucsessive generations, but with modern financial tools that is not nessearry, and historically as soon as it was feasible to live seperate from the kids people moved out to their own homes. Did the change take care of that or are the large clan households breaking apart during the story?
What about schooling, farmers used to strongly oppose sending their kids to school because the where needed to help on the farm. In the end I think you will have to give people a predisposition to use the new knowledge and moral code that is implanted in their heads rather than the old system, though that shouldn't stop some stubborn people to cling to the old ways they should be the exception otherwise the system will break down quickly.
Did Deon account for magic when making the new world or is magic changing the way the world works as new inventions make their way around. Suppose forinstane that I enchant a tube that converts any water that flows through it to steam, presto a steam engine for which I don't need to shovel coal once I add a few more tech bits (which is why I never understood the tech and magic don't mix rules, tech can take almost any effect and make it usefull, never mind a stone enchanted to have lightining playing over it's surface forever, infinite bateries are nice.). Our world would be quite different if even just a few simple enchantments, and if more complex enchantments are allowed I can just see a illusionist/programer make up a simple to visualize computer protocol for communicating with a 'holoprojector' and then enchant a dongle or something to cast illusions based on that protocol. instant holodeck, or at least a holoprojector.
How are villages handeling the breakup of their comunity or their transplantation into the big city? How do people deal with the new neighbors? How did online communities get their content? Did people just remember that they used to write blogs and continue it? Did anyone have a blog, forum, website, whatever filled with oppinions they disagree with just after the change? Did lifelong friends suddenly know each others phone numbers and email adresses? And here omes another kicker for the legal system how do you deal with billing? Did the first month count in full? did it count in part? what about those people that had unpaid internet or other utility bills that they did not have pre-change do? (Though that is kinda mean of Dean creating unpaid bills... but debt colletion agencies also need work otherwise a lot of those working for them wouldn't be able to feed their family. There are quite a few moral quanderies like this when going from a fuedal fiscal system to a modern one without any transition.)
What about curencies, do people trust the new money or was there a major spike of inflation just after the world changed?
What about some edge cases, such as a guy who was getting his arm amputated at a healer shack during the change? Is he suddenly in a modern hospital under painkillers?
What about cows and other livestock did they mutate into givving current yields or are their yields still like they where in the middle ages? There has been a meassurable difference.
Another question about biology, how are elves different from humans? Their ears are different but is anything else different? Do their brains function the same way? Do the doctors remember elven physiology or human? what about Orc and Dwarves and the other races, how different is their biology and how has it affected soceity? Humans are tropical pack hunters specializing in very large prey and that has had a noticable effect on our soceity. Just think how different the world would be if we had a mating season like most non tropical animals have.
What about privateers (pirates that have been granted the right by a king to prey on the ships of enemy nations.) did they suddenly become part of the navy of said country?
The new military technologies would also change the balance of power, since some geographical features would become less or more of a hinderance. What about castles where some of the converted into tourist destinations complete with tour guides?
What about other continents, how have they been affected? How do the colonies react to the fact that the homeland can reach them so much faster with modern ships? And now that their entire financial basis for their existence has changed what are they doing? What modern financial systems have been substituted?
Are programers atually familiar with the code they where supposed to have written? If not then there should be a significant upsurge in proper documentation practices, as well as a significant drop in the output of the industry for a while.
In general did the godslayer try to make the world better than it was or did he try to have it just like home?
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[Norgarth]

I'd assume the reason Deon didn't know who the survivor was would be because he thought he _had_ killed them all.
which brings up the possibility that Zastra is another surviving god, possibly from the Order side of things.
She could be setting up Deon to fight Raksis (removing the last Chaos God) in hopes that he'll be weakened enough that she can take him by surprise and kill Deon (and then become the world's sole deity).
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[Bob Schroeck]

Actually, I'd suspected that Zastra was, if not Senica incarnated, carrying some fragment of the dead goddess' essence and/or mind.
-- Bob
---------
Visit beautiful Boston, proud successor to Seattle as
"City Most Scared Of Its Own Shadow

[Kokuten]

---

Deon didn't plan on,

---

Speaking of Deon Didn't Plan - how's he feel about the rabid, zealot-y Atheists running amok, now?
Is there a Dwarven of Goblin nation that's gone all national socialist, but is doing it right? (our unity to the fatherland brings us Strength, our Strength brings unity to the fatherland! What they do the next country over, well, we don't care so much about that... )
That brings up another thought - is there anything, any 'sociopolitical tropes' that D-man purposely tried to bring into existence? Did he fail?
man, this poor guy.. Utena should read this, shows ya what happens when you actually get to Revolutionize The World.. .Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Acyl]

It'll get messy if I try to quote everything when answering, so here's a sorta blanket reply to various points Sirrocco, Catty, and Timote raised.
On Gods:-
Sirrocco asked what would happen if Deon had just killed the Old Gods, and then left it be. Would the world collapse, are the Gods intrinsic to its survival?
Well, er, yes and no. The world under the Old Gods was a stable environment, not really needing continual handwaving to support. Remove the Gods, make no changes, and it can continue indefinitely.
(Assuming Deon gave up his own 'godhood', though, there'd be zero mechanism to prevent the ascension of someone else to godhood, under the right conditions - it's not really the sort of thing you want to leave lying around.)
Contrast this to the world as-is now, though. It's relatively stable, but still not entirely settled from the changes Deon's made. In a few hundred years, the world might be stable without Deon. If someone managed to kill Deon now though, it's anyone's guess what would happen.
Mmm.
Anyway.
Sirrocco asked how stupid the Order Gods were, trying to fool the hired help like that.
Well. Um. Okay, see, the Gods of Order didn't actually expect Deon to destroy their opposite numbers?
They didn't expect him to succeed.
They kinda hoped he'd kill one. Or at least severely injure one. Maybe two. That sort of thing. They expected Deon himself to die in the process.
The Godslayer thing was a con job. They just wanted a weapon against the other side. Deon wasn't the first schmuck they pulled into doing this...
...he was, though, the last.
The Gods of Order had a particularly big blind spot when it came to mortals. Overwhelming confidence in their own superiority.
As a newly-minted godling himself, Deon is understandably wary of this. His guilt, such as it is, is related to this. He's concerned about hubris, megalomania, and suchlike. How he deals with it... that's mostly for the story.
I've sort of hinted at it here and there, but to a certain degree the Gods are merely the ultimate expression of the magical system of this universe. That is, given enough steam, any mortal can become a God... well, any extremely capable mortal, under the right circumstances. Granted, those would be exceedingly rare circumstances, but...
But you can see from my description of Deon's world-changing action... that the exercising of godhead is a matter of visualisation, emotion, and...well, the same as casting any spell within my magic system. Just on a vastly larger scale.
A spellcaster is someone forcing their will on the magical environment. A God is part of the background magical environment - they themselves are magic, and thus their will is part of the universe.
This fact isn't widely known, however. Even magical authorities and priests believe that the Gods are on an entirely seperate level, not simply... the top rung of magic, as it were. True, that rung is a lot further from the other rungs, there's a big gap in the ladder...but it's still the same ladder. The whole worship thing might work out somewhat differently if this were common knowledge. But it isn't. So.
Incidentally, anyone can be a Godslayer under the right conditions - but those conditions are pretty much the same as the ones for one to be a God. If you can kill a God, you basically are a God. The trick the Order Gods were trying to pull with their Godslayer, though, was to keep him from realising it.
The Old Gods have been around since before recorded history, thousands and thousands of years. In fact, recorded history started with Senica. It was her idea...
The Gods of Chaos are somewhat older than the Gods of Order, incidentally, and tend to view the Order pantheon as johnny-come-lately's. Until recently, they saw this whole civilized culture thing as a newfangled whatchimacallit.
Again, it's all a matter of representation, yes? Chaos and Order. Nature and Civilization.
(As an aside, Deon asks Zastra who the last remaining Chaos God is... not because he's unaware of the situation, but because he wants to see what she'll say. He already knew about Raksis.)
On Deon's Apotheosis:-
Sirrocco also asked about the pre-story period, and Deon's ascension. Briefly...
After Deon was summoned, he actually did the Godslayer quest thing for a while. He had to hunt down and kill the Chaos Gods. During this process, he met Ain, and realised the Gods of Order were lying to him.
He then he proceeded to finish off the task of killing the Chaos Gods - and then, equipped with their power, returned to the place he first entered the world in... a sort of local equiv of Mount Olympus. Not where the Gods actually live, but the top of a symbolic mountain. The Order Gods manifested, appeared before him...
There was a confrontation. He actually got 'em to emit they were playing him... but by then, it was a very hostile exchange, in any case. So he took 'em out, with Ain's help. Senica was the first to go, taken out with his first attack. This was a pretty good tactical and strategical decision - eliminate the leader first. 'course, Deon targeted Senica mainly because he couldn't stand the bitch, but...
Valin and some of the others - I haven't really determined who - ran, and Deon had to hunt them down. Valin was the last to be destroyed.
After destroying Valin, then he remade the world. He did this only after all of 'em were dead. Why wait? So there was no opposition when he did it. It wasn't a heat-of-the-moment thing, he'd planned for it.
(Mind, he was somewhat mistaken about this. Deon realised, post-change, that he hadn't killed them as dead as he thought. Some remnant of Raksis was left, for example. But he'd removed them as any sort of credible threat, at least.)
Why the entire world? No half measures. If he'd just done a single city, it wouldn't be enough, and there'd still be factors in the outside world, be they social and political, that would endanger and disrupt his life. Better to change it all.
(I should note at this point that Tianan is a pocket universe of sorts - heck, it's probably not even a planet, it may well be a flat world. I doubt there are elephants and turtles, however.)
Why not erase the entire universe and replace it with one identical to where he came from? Well, that'd be mass-murder. He can stomach mass-brainwashing all of Tianan's people, not wiping 'em out. Why not make a copy of Earth, and cite it in the pocket universe next to Tianan? Well, it still wouldn't be real - and that doubt alone might torpedo the construct. Also, there are limits to what Deon can do.
It should be noted that Deon, strangely enough, doesn't really care about race. Zastra, a Tianan native, is more of a bigot than he is...far as Deon's concerned, elf, dwarf, orc, whatever, they're just different shapes of people. So he didn't feel an overwhelming need to reboot everyone into a human shape.
Just a modern human society.
On Deon:-
Deon was a journalist before being yanked into Tianan. Some print, some radio. He was technically unemployed when he was summoned, though he'll tell you that he was freelance. He's thus got a fairly broad base of knowledge to draw on, but very few specific technical skills.
(I chose this because I've done some work as a broadcast journalist, so it's one of the few things I can describe if need be. I tossed round other options, but this made sense.)
In a post-changed Tianan, he does mostly the same thing. Granted, he doesn't need to work for a living. He cheats, as it were; one of the deliberate interventions he made when changing the world was ensuring a large degree of property ownership for himself, a healthy bank account, and so on.
He's also, even without god-powers, one of the most powerful magicians in the world - he could theoretically settle all his basic material needs with conjuration. Though as he points out to Zastra, it's tiresome to magic up food.
On Tianan:-
I'm not sure what happened to the Dwarves in the reboot. Well, I mean, I saw 'em becoming industralised and a major manufacturing power, but I hadn't really thought about the ramifications for, well, them living underground. I suspect that Deon gave them a city on the surface. So there's towers and a few skyscrapers and such. But also extensive underground rail networks, shopping complexes, housing ...
...and the surface-city's probably utterly dead in the daytime, when the sun's up. Because that kinda light just ain't natural, man.
The so-called 'Chaos races' are orcs, trolls, goblins, and dark-elves. They're not evil, they're just somewhat more...well, by our sensibilities, primitive in terms of culture and social development. Lower technology level, essentially the barbarian threat to the Roman Empire. Or Imperial China, if you prefer. Their Gods have a far more hands-off approach.
A hands-on approach would be somewhat out-of-character for Gods of Chaos, after all. Actually, technically speaking, the Chaos Gods don't identify themselves as 'Chaos' - that's a name the other side gave them. But Gods of The State of Nature doesn't have the same ring to it.
...
Yeah, the fact Deon's switched an agrarian society for an urbanized one means that most of those big cities are terribly underpopulated. This is a good point which I hadn't considered. Thanks, Sirrocco. Worth mentioning somewhere in the story.
As for whether he left power structures and social class more-or-less intact, when he changed the world? For the most part, yes. The fact is, unless Deon specifically willed it otherwise, most people got jobs that roughly corresponded, in some way, to their past lives. A scribe becomes a librarian or bookseller, a farm labourer ends up working in a factory. Some people fall through the cracks, but there's a rough correspondence. So nobles used to lording it over people...end up as highly-paid executives, and so on. Mostly.
I say for the most part, since Deon had a particular grievance against the Church of Senica - his change went through the Elven Empire like a red-hot knife... and so on, so forth. The 'gotten ugly quick' situation that Sirrocco describes, with reference to sudden unexpected revolution...yeah.
There are some legal issues arising from property ownership and so on in the changed world, though... well, everyone woke up knowing what they're supposed to own now. But everyone also remembers what they owned then. The disgruntled folks, however, would mostly be former nobility ... and generally speaking, they're still upper-class even in the new situation.
This isn't to say there aren't kerfluffles, however, legal or otherwise. And since Deon intentionally screwed the ruling class of the Empire, the situation may be particularly bad there.
However, I suspect the default legal ruling in most situations, most places in the world is... well, possession is nine-tenths of the law. That is, this is the case now. If you don't like it, that's your problem.
Everyone living in the new world has the knowledge to live in it, which means, yeah, folks know how to use credit cards, go online, and suchlike.
I note that Deon's worldshift is, in some ways, a situation-specific uplift. He's given new doctors medical knowledge, for example, on par with doctors back on earth. But that knowledge isn't the same knowledge. Elves are basically humans with weird ears, but trolls, f'instance, and goblins, have quite different anatomies. But he accounted for that, so there now exists information on troll genetics...
One point he might have goofed on, though. Sirrocco brought it up, someone else did as well. I forget. But, yeah, he also uplifted criminals. Some of them are probably in legitimate jobs by now, but there's probably more than a few amazing ninja D&D-style thieves who...currently possess modern electronic bypass skills, and the ability to dance past laser-sensors to the Mission Impossible theme.
As for the issue of cultural artifacts... well, yeah, he did kinda make the whole damn world resemble "urban America". He didn't totally erase existing languages and literature, though - public libraries in, say, an orc community would have old tribal lore written down in...whatever the hell it was orcs wrote in. Orcish pictograms, I'm guessing. The city Deon's chosen as a hometown used to be a colonial trading port of the old Elvish Empire - it has an 'Orctown', in the vein of 'Chinatown'. Also a 'Little Cavern' neighbourhood with a lot of Dwarves.
However, everyone also speaks and writes English now.
Catty brought up a very interesting thing about the breakdown of the family unit. Families used to live together in multi-generation clans, but... well, smaller families are the norm nowadays, with urban living. I agree, you're totally right, that is a change. Hmm.
Actually, hell, Catty's post had a lot of brilliant things, and I'm not sure sure how to answer a lot of those questions.
I'll try, tho. Okay. I'm not so sure that people had any sort of compulsion to use the new knowledge they've gained...
Hmmm.
I suppose it boils down to how I handle the moment of the change. The 'fringe shock', as it were - a lot of the situations Catty has postulated... unpaid bills, a possible inflation spike as people don't trust the new money ... how I resolve those things depends on how, well, whacked out and rocky I want to make the transition.
Mind, I like the idea of there being a lot of hardcases who rebel against the new lives they've been given, and refuse to adapt.
After all, Zastra and Jager are supposed to be examples of this.
Everything ELSE that Catty suggested, though... about lifelong friends suddenly getting each other's e-mail addresses, yeah. Probably. I also like the idea of cows and livestock magically turning into modern breeds with better yields. =D
(I'd already decided that fields and farms were replaced with modern crops, you see, even in some cases, GM ones...so why shouldn't that apply to the animals, too?)
Privateers would have become part of a country's modern navy, the one that granted them the...I forget the phrase, letter of marque? Outright pirates, however, without any alliegence, would remain pirates.
The idea of some old castles becoming tourist attractions just cracks me up. So yes.
I'm not entirely sure how the changes of faster communication, travel, and trade have affected international economics and the financial system. It may well be a background detail I do not want to explore in the story - if I handle it, it'll only be in passing. I don't have any answer to that, though. If someone wants to offer a suggestion, it'll be welcome.
And Kokuten, I like the idea of National Socialist Goblins. e_e I will use this. The Dwarves I see as somewhat more Marxist, really...
As for 'sociopolitical tropes' he tried to bring into existence - yes. Democracy, freedom of speech, racial tolerance, freedom of religion, human rights ... you know, all those values taken for granted by Americans and Westerners in general.
He's finding that, well, not everyone agrees with him...
On The Dream:-

---

In general did the godslayer try to make the world better than it was or did he try to have it just like home?

---

He was trying to make Tianan comparable to his home, but not precisely it.
On Zastra:-
Yes, I'm being intentionally cryptic with regards to her identity, and what she is. Zastra's agenda is supposed to be a plot point, so I can't really say.
But...Zastra isn't a goddess.
Yes, that statement can be read in several ways. Do I mean...she isn't a goddess yet? Do I mean she isn't a goddess anymore? Do I mean she isn't and never was a goddess, and never will be? Well, you get the idea. That's all I'm saying, though.
Though I'm sorely tempted to joke that... no, she's NOT a GODDESS...
...she's a GOD in a cunning GENDER-BENDING DISGUISE!
But that would be cruel.
Nevermind the fact I seriously considered that in an earlier iteration of this story.
It's too cruel. No, poor Zastra isn't a trap. She's definitely a mortal female.
-- Acyl

[Acyl]

I should probably do some character sketches and post them, at some point. I mean...artwork-style stuff.
I've had firm visual designs for Deon, Kaige, and Ain for years now.
I've just, er, lost my drawings. But I can do 'em again...
-- Acyl

[CattyNebulart]

---

Mind, I like the idea of there being a lot of hardcases who rebel against the new lives they've been given, and refuse to adapt.

---

if 1% of the people rebel against the new world order it's definitly noticable, if 5% rebel soceity will be strained near the breaking point. This is particularly true if as a general trend stronger willed people are in more important positions such as judges.
This makes me think of another interesting case, what happened to the drinking age? What about the people who where married at 15 and now are running a farm? Did they suddenly start going to college or what? Imagine our world where most 15 year olds are married and have a kid already or one on the way.
As for people mostly keeping their old jobs, 90% of the farmers are not farmers anymore so what jobs did they wind up with?
What about Privateers with more than one letter of marquee? Such as permision of the english and the dutch to raid spanish ships. Sure it limits your targets but it also makes far more ports available to you, and makes it harder for one country to screw you over.
What about spies? How did they fare in the transition?
You mentioned the world being flat are there any satelites? They are critical for modern communications and military operations, and lets not forget the applications of GPS.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

[drakensis]

Mention was made that knowledge of how to use magic was kept fairly centralised. However, under the new circumstances, a lot of people will know far more than they did (although not, I assume, about magic). And they're going to see how the new stuff measures up against the old - farmers testing farming the 'new way' against the old way, soldiers seeing that these tanks are pretty neat...
Information is power and there's a lot going on. So what's happened at the universities that sprang up everywhere? Are there courses about magic, and if so then who is picketing them as obsolete and who just doesn't want the secrets to get out.
In all probability, the peasentry couldn't write. Now most of them have the equivalency of what, high school? Probably an awful lot of people are seeing opportunities to get ahead in the 'new order' and get out from under the old lords and what not.
D for Drakensis

You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.

[Sirrocco]

Aha! Yes! That, too is one of our "newfangled values". *Self-improvement*. Right up there with Self-determination, Liberty, Equality, Pursuit of Happiness, and so forth. Meanwhile, in a world where Order was not necessarily Good, the old leaders (who are frequently *aslo* the new leaders) will have built up a whole *lot* of resentment, held in check only by "there's nothing we can do about it." Once you take *that* away...
Also, does Deon believe in the Second Amendment? Did large numbers of those previously oppressed farmers wake up suddenly owning rifles and shotguns?
How oppressive were those lords, anyway?
Incidentally, what did Deon do to the preexisting *magical* infrastructure? (was there such a thing?) What about any ancient tomes of magical lore/focusing crystals or whatever?

[Acyl]

Catty:

---

if 1% of the people rebel against the new world order it's definitly noticable, if 5% rebel soceity will be strained near the breaking point.

---

I think this would vary from region to region. There'd be relatively less turmoil among the dwarves, for instance, and goblins. The orcs would have a short period of extreme chaos, and then settle down relatively quick. The various elven nations, I'm not sure on.

---

This makes me think of another interesting case, what happened to the drinking age? What about the people who where married at 15 and now are running a farm? Did they suddenly start going to college or what? Imagine our world where most 15 year olds are married and have a kid already or one on the way.

---

Yes, that's an issue. Though not as big an issue as it could be...average life expectancy in Tianan was higher than the technology and development level would otherwise indicate. This is mostly due to the presence of magic. While I've noted that magical knowledge was restricted (at least in the Order nations, Chaos is different - more later), the...
Well, f'example, the Church of Senica was always pretty big on healing. They'd have had priests and priestesses out among village communities and so on. Not in every village, definitely not, but...not a bad regional saturation. That goes...a fair way, as an equiv to medical care. A lot of these village priests found themselves rebooted into doctors, post-Deon.
(As an aside, this does mean that...since she still wears the robes and regalia of a priestess, Zastra is well-treated and respected wherever she goes in the Elven nations. People are polite to her. People remember. It annoys Deon a little, though.)

---

As for people mostly keeping their old jobs, 90% of the farmers are not farmers anymore so what jobs did they wind up with?

---

There's a lot of blue collar or relatively low-wage support and service jobs that a society needs. However, it's possible some - probably those already closer to cities - found themselves upgraded to middle class. And as time progresses post-shift, the middle class is only going to grow, as is the general pattern for urban society.

---

What about Privateers with more than one letter of marquee?

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I think ultimately it would depend, a bit, on the identity of the sailors involved, and how they saw themselves. Like I said, some privateers would have found themselves part of new navies, and so on. Some, tho, might have remained pirates... some might promptly go AWOL, which might be interesting if they'd been shifted into a modern destroyer crew or something.

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What about spies? How did they fare in the transition?

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Probably converted to members of modern intelligence services - which raises a whole other set of issues, yeah.

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You mentioned the world being flat are there any satelites? They are critical for modern communications and military operations, and lets not forget the applications of GPS.

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Um. Hm. I don't know. I had decided that there isn't cohesive air travel yet ... the first planes and so on are only beginning to get of the ground. Literally. Much less space travel and space technologies. But there may well be satellites already up there as part of the reboot, and let's just hope none of them break down before we get our act together and can replace 'em. I have no idea how a satellite would orbit a flat world, though, if I choose to use that idea... =)
Sirrocco:

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...the old leaders (who are frequently *aslo* the new leaders) will have built up a whole *lot* of resentment, held in check only by "there's nothing we can do about it." Once you take *that* away...

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Yeah. The Elven Empire is a bit of a special case, since the Revolution, as it were, was built in as part of the worldshift ... Deon actually went and replaced the government in the transition. Well, more correctly, he 'shifted the Priesthood and Nobility out of power. I think he kept the surviving Elven royal family as constitutional monarchs - though largely because the royals didn't piss him off as much, and they were already figureheads in the old empire. He didn't intervene directly elsewhere, though ... so local Barons ended up as Mayors, Chieftains as Presidents, and so on.
But it's quite likely that within a relatively short time, post-shift, a lot of these newly educated and...'liberated' lower classes are going to, well, have pent-up resentment boil over. Especiall now that they've got better economic opportunities. Literacy. Knowledge.
Though it depends on whether there was much resentment and oppression in the first place.
It's not exactly a universal thing. I'm picturing relatively peaceful transitions for the Dwarven Clans, for instance. Perhaps some strife for the Orcs, since they've always been a rowdy bunch - but the former Chief-of-Chiefs, now President General, would have been able to crush any coup attempts relatively quickly. On the other hand... yeah, I can see trouble for some communities further down the line, post-shift, especially a lot of the Elven areas.

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Also, does Deon believe in the Second Amendment? Did large numbers of those previously oppressed farmers wake up suddenly owning rifles and shotguns?

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Within reason, to a degree - yes. I hadn't considered that, but given his personality and general beliefs...yeah, he'd be in favour of private firearm ownership. Especially when it's practical - and it is, he knows a fantasy countryside isn't exactly a safe place. I'm not sure he explicitly included this as a clause when he changed the world... but it'd have slipped in, certainly.
Deon himself would be a fair shot with a rifle, but not handguns. Different skill set.

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Incidentally, what did Deon do to the preexisting *magical* infrastructure? (was there such a thing?) What about any ancient tomes of magical lore/focusing crystals or whatever?

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Well, no, there wasn't much magical infrastructure. Well. When I think 'infrastructure', I consider big magical artifacts, giant crystals floating around, that kind of thing ... and there was never much of that.
Magic in this world is concentrated more on the individual, rather than physical constructs, see? It's not impossible to make a magical artifact, but it's rather tricky to make one that's self-sustaining, one that can function without the user having to think very hard at it.
This isn't to say that such artifacts don't exist. But they're relatively rare. What did exist hasn't been erased by the shift. So yeah, they're still out there.
Infrastructure in terms of information and knowledge... well, magical lore in the Order Nations was always concentrated largely in the hands of a few specific organisations. The Church of Senica, the Knights of Valin, the Blackrobes, and so on.
I think the Chaos territories would have a rather more liberal view with regards to magic... that is to say, they didn't have groups of wizards and priests jealously guarding secrets in quite the way the Order folks had. Not so big on organisation. So they have a lot more local mystics, tribal shamans, and so on... but due to that lack of cohesive governing bodies for magic, as it were, the study of magic in the Chaos nations isn't as advanced.
I imagine the collected knowledge of the Order nations' magical scholars isn't lost, and some of the magical orders may still exist. Those who were in and around cities might find themselves reorganised or wiped out... the Church of Senica suffered a fair bit. The Knights of Valin found themselves rebooted into soldiers in a modern army. I should note that this...wasn't exactly to Deon's advantage, because it now means there's an underground freedom-fighter/terrorist (depending on who you ask) movement that...
a) has magic, and...
b) also modern weapons and training
On the other hand, there's the Blackrobes. They were a sort of quasi-monastic mage group that weren't actually associated with any religion - they still exist in unchanged form, partially because most of them stayed away from towns and cities, partially because Deon actually liked them.
drakensis:

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Information is power and there's a lot going on. So what's happened at the universities that sprang up everywhere? Are there courses about magic, and if so then who is picketing them as obsolete and who just doesn't want the secrets to get out.

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That is...interesting. I hadn't realised that. Under the new world order, as it were... with modern communications, literacy, and the freaking INTERNET, it's going to be damn near impossible to keep a lid on the magical secrets.
Especially since...well, magical lore was never really a hidden thing in the Chaos nations. Now they're online, you're going to see shamans and suchlike setting up discussion forums that people over in the old Order nations can read as well. Then there's going to be rogue mages from the Order nations who start leaking stuff on the 'net ... and ones, as you've suggested, who might wanna start teaching college classes on the subject. Yeah. Heh.
-- Acyl

[Kokuten]

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But it's quite likely that within a relatively short time, post-shift, a lot of these newly educated and...'liberated' lower classes are going to, well, have pent-up resentment boil over. Especiall now that they've got better economic opportunities. Literacy. Knowledge.

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Hrmmm... if I was Deon, there would have been a bit of Chaos (ha!) after the transition, and I would have done some spot-checks and patches, using the Power To Revolutionize The World in smaller matters - namely, to tie up the power squabbles and mini-revolutions that would be generated by this pent-up resentment.
Of course, _I_ would take the Eyrie Route wherever possible, making sure that the people involved _understood_ that Revenge Is Not The Answer, and that the best person for the job was left running the joint...
I don't know if Deon would, though.
And, either after things had shaken down a bit, or as part of it, I'd offer a general amnesty for people that wanted to 'come in from the cold' and give up their life of crime or of revolution... the fact that you face a life sentence or worse for your crimes is a damn good reason to keep committing them, or at least keep you from getting into the positive, law-compliant lifestyle that would prevent you from committing more crimes.
An amnesty can fix that, allow a blackguard or revolutionary to 'give up the lifestyle' and either fix the system from within, or just.. live again.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Acyl]

Oh, the Eyrie Productions version of Cephiro is definitely fun. I'm a great fan of EPU stuff, myself. =)
But that's not what I'm doing here.
What Deon did was basically make this giant world-sweeping change... and then settled into obscurity. He didn't take any action afterwards. No action at all. He changed the world, so to speak, but didn't continue changing it after. No going around and ramming things down people's throats over and over again ... or if you wanna put a kinder face on it, no going around to smooth over disputes.
Why he did that...well, partially it's a matter of character and personal philosophy. But it's also interesting to consider that before Deon came along, the world of Tianan was shaped by two opposing camps of deities, roughly representing forces of Order and Chaos.
The two terms are oversimplifications, and they're terms coined by the Order Gods themselves, besides. But they'll suffice for now. So, Order and Chaos Gods.
Deon replaced both of them.
-- Acyl

[Kokuten]

so, he's an Apathy God..
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Epsilon]

I should note that combining
1: The fact that magic will become more available really quickly thanks to the internet
2: The fact that there are lots of people with a sudden understanding of science and medicine that dind't have it before and
3: The fact people are going to start innovating in ways Deon would never guess
Will lead to something very interesting.
I'm certain Deon very well might be horrified the first time he realises someone has come up with a magically enhanced version of the Hydrogen bomb. Or worse yet., starts fucking around with the idea and well... things go wrong...
Yeah.
Of course, you don't have to have it be that bad, but it COULD be.
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Epsilon