Blog Post #5: Ah, I Hate Modeling
M. 10/7/2024
(3 hours)
I worked on the religious aspect of the worldbuilding for this project. I had notes on this magic system based around emotion and supernatural patrons— the Obsidian vault got lost in the fire, but I still have the commonplace book with scattered notes throughout. I was able to recreate a satisfying amount of the lore. I’ll post it here, as well.
In the living Ettingrad— filled with humans alone— there is one cell of supernatural beings that grant mortals with power. They are called “Sadists,” because they feed off of powerful emotion— usually suffering— and catalyze that energy into their own strength. The Sadists do not exist in either the Mortal Realm or in the Epilogue; they exist somewhere out in the Aether, watching, watching.
In ancient times, lives were offered as blood sacrifices to the Sadists— offered in gruesome spectacles designed to evoke visceral emotion. The rituals to create such a link between the otherworldly and the mundane have long since been lost, but the blood-soaked stone altars remain potent sources of connection with the bloody patrons. The stone of the altars (stained red) have been carved into wieldable artifacts known as “crucifixes.” Those crucifixes are engraved with literary “Passages” that evoke a particular emotion. Magick, Bloodletting, Martyrdom— they’re all names for the very specific brand of spellcasting that acolytes of the Sadists employ. To successfully cast a spell, the martyr has to empathize with the emotion of the Passage, which then creates a magical effect dependent on the content of the writing.
Bloodletting is a sacred practice, and is held and employed by a very insular group of citizens in Ettingrad. I am attaching a chart depicting the situation.
Let me break it down.
Not everyone knows about the Sadists; in fact, very few do. There are martyrs (casters) who, yes, do know (Ym); there are martyrs who, no, do not know (Nm); there are commoners (Co) who are not spellcasters at all.
I: Industrialists; value industry. The few who do know about bloodletting— even just a miniscule amount of speculation regarding unexplainable effects— seek to turn that into a power source for their industrialization.
C: Cultists; value Sadists. They seek to pervert others to the Sadists’ cause, typically through the use of crucifixes with dried “marrow.”✝
R: Religious; value community/the people. Very few religious clergymen and followers know about the Sadists. There is a religious sect in Ettingrad known as the “Common Faith,” which ignorantly takes tales originating from bloodletting and creates sacred rites and practices around them.
W: Witches; value bonds. All witches are only Ym (which is why they aren’t in the chart). Witches seek to create implements of spellcasting devoid of corruption. They do so by breaking the “Taboo of Erosion”— grinding crucifixes to dust, mixing dust from multiple crucifixes, and using that to cast— and by breaking the “Taboo of Masochism”— engraving Passages on bones of martyrs— living and dead. As they regularly break these taboos, witches function in small groups (usually three or less); they cannot trust most.
✝ “Marrow” is the residual blood remaining in crucifixes. It serves as a human filter for the corrupting influence of the Sadists. Cultists purposefully induct new initiates with dried up crucifixes to allow for this to occur.
Let’s talk about the misguided faith of the Commoners.
The Common Faith is the religion that the majority of the citizens of Ettingrad subscribe to. It maintains cultural aspects of bloodletting— primarily with the continued use of Old Runic— the language used by the sacrificers of yore to communicate with the Sadists— in its sacred rituals. There are “saints” of the Common Faith— people with supernatural powers. A significant portion of these saints are Children of Stone.
When a martyr dies, but the emotion coursing through their veins at the time of their death is potent enough, that Essence— everything that made up that person— is sucked into the crucifix they were using. That Essence within a crucifix is known as a “Motive,” and, if wielded by another martyr, influences the casting with its personality and memories. The unfinished business that ties its Essence to the Mortal Realm can be absolved, but only if the Motive consciously “gives up their ghost”, sacrificing their pain for someone else’s good. The most iconic of these Motives are known as “blood giants”— golems formed of bloodstained stone that move of their own volition. Tales are whispered about blood giants— about their vicious nature, lashing out at anything that moves— but to most, those are folktales. Regardless, if a Motive “gives up the ghost,” the stone of their crucifix vessel cracks open, and an organic child is borne forth. These are the Children of Stone.
Children of Stone are unique in a number of ways. They do not retain memories of their past selves; they are a blank slate. And, as creatures who have transcended their suffering, they can perform magical effects without the patronage of the Sadists.
Seeing as they don’t know the cause of their powers, it makes sense why people would flock to these individuals— ordinary in all ways aside from one.
There is a small cult following a purported Child of Stone named Clay Reaper. He is, in fact, not a Child of Stone; he merely coerced a witch into carving runes into his bones, and sewing him back up— giving him supernatural powers as long as the wounds cause him to suffer.
Ok I actually need to start answering the assignment prompts.
Any Gods/Spirits/Supernatural Beings
Sadists.
At least One Story (Creation, Love, etc.)
The spellcasters of a thousand years past sacrificed hundreds of people on their stone sacrificial altars. The suffering evoked created an indelible bond between the Sadists and the mortals. Now, with the sacrificial rites long since lost, the stone of the bloodsoaked altars is used as the base material for various magical implements, known as “crucifixes.” Passages evoking powerful emotion are carved into the crucifixes in the ancient language, Old Runic, to implore the Sadists to give the martyrs power.
At least One Custom (Marriage, Wedding, etc.)
When a martyr dies, their corpse is riddled with lingering soulful magick. It is seen as desecration by some, but for the crafty witches, the death of a martyr presents the opportunity to create new, organic crucifixes constructed of the dead martyr’s bones. This additional layer of humanity offers a buffer between the corrupting influence of the Sadists and the next spellcaster.
At least One Holiday
The Day of Industrious Fortification. Multiple times a year, ne’er-do-wells are rounded up and placed in the “Cathedrals” located throughout the city. These were actual religious cathedrals, but the city was forced to sell them to the industrialists to pay off its debts. The industrialists repurposed the vaulted grandeur into a confined arena. Seating in the higher alcoves provides the eager audiences with a view into the bloodbath below, as the proclaimed “sacrifices” are forced to battle each other to the death.§ Channels and pipes funnel the blood of the sacrifices out through a series of aqueducts, into the river “capillaries” snaking throughout the city. On the Days of Industrious Fortification, the rivers run red.ꟸ
§This was proposed to welcome acclaim by one leading industrialist, Alister Vaunt— an individual with a thirst for ancient lore that drove him to understanding the base aspects of the blood sacrifices of yore.
ꟸAt least one famous cryptid arose from these occurrences: the Old Man of the River— a bloated figure that stares hollowly out from reflections of the rivers streaked with blood. Casual passersby are in for a shock, when a purposeless glance into the water below reflects not them, but an obese old man mirroring their movements. To go further into the lore, the Old Man of the River was one of the leaders of the sacrifices a thousand years ago. His acolytes— crazed and bloodthirsty— one day chose to pin him down on an altar positioned over a spring, and sacrifice him. His blood ran down the altar, into the bubbling font.
Any Beliefs or Morals held by the people. (At least 3)
The Taboo of Erosion. Stone naturally erodes, and thus it is superbly disallowed to carve new runic Passages into existing crucifixes. The resource of bloodstained altars is nonrenewable; it must be preserved.
The Taboo of Masochism. It is taboo to carve runic Passages into organic material— living and dead. There is no “marrow” to filter the corrupting influence of the Sadists; living masochists often become possessed by a mindless drive to inflict suffering upon others.
The Taboo of Corruption. While a distinct sect of cultists to the Sadists do this, it is generally taboo to present new martyr initiates with crucifixes devoid of “marrow.” This is— similar to the Taboo of Masochism— to prevent the corrupting influence of the Sadists upon unsuspecting new initiates.
Description of Education and Worship
There are two aspects to this. 1) The education and worship of those of the Common Faith. 2) The education and worship of martyrs.
1) The Common Faith raises its acolytes from birth, overseeing naming rituals, bonding rituals, and rites of passage. The Faith finds itself no longer in grand cathedrals, but in humble temples erected throughout Ettingrad. The clergy promotes love for the collective— for the people— and selflessness above all. This often took place in the form of group mind-melding— a form of collective meditation, directed to further a sense of oneness. In the time of the Great War, even cynics flocked to the temples to seek guidance. What they did not realize, though, was that it was collectivism that caused the atrocities of war.
2) The Martyrs are— and were— scholars by trade. Traditionally, martyrdom and the process of bloodletting is not passed down by familial lines. High ranking scholars and professors in the universities of Ettingrad single out promising writers and artists— as well as linguists— and guide them through an exceptionally limited trial casting. It is never enough for the candidate to extrapolate and fill their gaps in understanding; they would never be able to deduce the intricacies of bloodletting by these trials. If the trial goes successfully, and the candidate resists the corruption of the Sadists capably, the elder moves forward to induct the new initiate into the myriad ranks of martyrs.
Martyrdom is diverse and varied in its practices. There are conservative casters, using ancient crucifixes pre-written with Passages. There are reckless cultists, imposing their chaotic wills upon unsuspecting newlings. And, among others, there are witches, isolated crafters and innovators, hoping to preserve the bonds of humanity within martyrdom.
Conservatives do not worship the Sadists. They study them, and they study great literature of the past, to better understand and empathize with pre-written Passages.
Cultists do worship the Sadists. They perform ill-founded rituals, attempting to recreate sacrifices of yore. They educate initiates through séances, opening their unshielded minds to the eldritch influence of their dark patrons.
Witches are agnostic, and actually have many similar values with those of the Common Faith. They cherish community— though they are excluded from it— and aim to preserve human bonds above all. Their practices are secretive, and witches do not easily trust newcomers with their knowledge. They do take pity upon those who have tried to do what they do— innovate bloodletting and protect martyrs— and in those rare and tragic circumstances, can be swayed to allow a witchling into their ranks.
T. 10/8/2024
(5.5 hours)
I researched ten folklore creatures for the assault scenario. I’ve included the list below, compiled from watching this video.
A-Senee-Ki-Wakw: a race of stone giants from Abenaki folklore; made of stones
Onocentaur: a bipedal centaur with its only two legs being donkey legs
Kee-Wakw: a giant part-human, part-animal cannibalistic forest dwelling creature; horns of a deer; covered in shaggy fur
Fish Man: an entity of Spanish folklore that looks pretty much just as expected
Bannik: a Slavic guardian spirit of bathhouses; he appears as a small, naked, long-bearded old man; he is covered in birch leaves (left over from bath brooms); he pours boiling water on intruders— or strangles them.
Psoglav: a Balkan mythological creature, described as having a human body with horse legs, a dog's head with iron teeth, and a single eye on the forehead; man eating— even going as far as digging up bodies to eat
Indus Worm: a giant, white, carnivorous worm, with a pair of large teeth; lived in the Indus River
Scorpion Man: a race of creatures similar in structure to the centaur— but swap horse parts for scorpion parts
Oozlum Bird: a spiritual bird that, when startled, flies around in decreasing circles, until it flies up its own backside— disappearing completely
Fachan: in Scottish folklore, described as having a single eye in the middle of its face, a single hand protruding from its chest instead of arms, and a single leg emerging from its central axis; it uses an iron spiked club to chase away anything that comes near it; it hates life, and will destroy entire farms in a single day
This took about 20 minutes.
One of my goals for this sprint is defining ten folklore creatures for the assault scenario, so this is good! I specifically chose a variety of creatures that won’t necessarily upstage Nøkken. I want the creatures to be recognizable, but not too easily.
Idea! Bena has a well or perhaps a large bath in her hovel— the Fish Man erupts from the water.
Later.
I was just working on the Spooky Horsey House map whitebox for like three hours— saving consistently— but it crashed again and the file upon reopening had none of the progress that I made. I feel really bad saying this, but I doubt Adam reads this blog— I’ve realized that I hate modeling. Like sculpting? Yeah, love it. But this recreating blocky shapes— first off from a map that I did not make the final version of— is arduous, challenging, and makes me want to slam my skull through the desk. And then it crashes, and removes all of the meager progress I’ve made.
A main challenge is that this 3D visualization necessary to take this tiny map and make it a big 3D one— it’s not something that’s coming easily to me. I have to fly back to the foyer and view the entire map from that perspective— then fly over to where I’m building the next room, build it wrong because I lost that perspective, and have to rebuild over and over again.
I asked in the project Discord whether it’s possible to import the 2D map as a reference into the whiteboxing level— blow it up, and put it on the ground plane. That would help so much!
Even later.
I remember this scene from the first Fablehaven book where fairy tale creatures are assaulting the attic where the main characters sleep. I think that scene is a big inspiration for the hovel assault scenario. So, I got the book on my Kindle, and started rereading it. I hadn’t read it since I was a kid; I was surprised by how not-low the reading level it is. Like, it’s definitely a YA book, but it’s still pretty good. It holds up. (2 hours).
W. 10/9/2024
(2 hours)
I went to bed last night at like 2am (I was reading Fablehaven), and I woke up at 6:45am.
During Studio, I worked on filling out the asset list, and finding references for each to put on the Miro. Adam said that he’s going to do the whiteboxing. I am eternally grateful.
Later.
I just spent an hour and a half trying to ZSphere my MC, Alice. I figured something out— but overall it was a frustrating waste of time; nothing to show. The thing I figured out is that I can change the mirror center through Transform —> Set Pivot Point. So even if the mesh isn’t in the center, I can make it the center, and do Mirror X Axis.
The reason why it was a frustrating waste of time was that the spheres kept moving out of alignment— so I would have to re-align each of them; I also had to restart three or four times because something happened that I still don’t fully understand— but it messed up the mesh so badly that restarting was the only option. I really hate modeling. Once I get to the sculpting, I’m golden. But getting to that point is really quite awful. I would continue working on it, but it’s late, and I still have to do my Ultimate Self Confidence Mindvalley quest lesson for the day. I intend on getting up early— not as early as today— and working on my projects tomorrow with a clear head.
