July 2021: Miscreants but faster

Goals

- 650 words a day on this draft
- Hopefully I might reach chapter 8??? by the end of summer?
- The number above wasn't calculated, by the way, I just also will have an essay to write for my summer course so I'm going for what I was usually able to do during NaNo (while at the same time having finals, etc.)

Okay, but what actually is Miscreants anyway?

Miscreants: Inauguration

Allegedly, book I of a trilogy

The Kingdom of Woodlands has just been through a long war against its former king, King Korvus. Now with a new Queen coronated, there is much political shifting around. In the midst of this, a member of the Heroes' Guild wants to start reforming her organisation to avoid the mercenary-like members from potentially wreaking havoc on the local populace, now that they no longer have a common cause.

My usual character sheet I put on my wall every time I post a new chapter part:

Golzar - (she/her) young bold and charismatic commander who is considered a "stowaway" by older heroes, partly because she's from outside of Woodlands and partly because she has unconventional ideas. Commander of the Grey Hounds company, aka the Miscreants.

Bryn - (they/them) Golzar's more reserved second-in-command, who is a bit of a loner and doesn't like politics. Former scoutmaster. More senior than Golzar both in age and in being a member of the Miscreants.

Gerhard - (he/him) the former Commander of the Miscreants who decided to step down after the end of a war he helped to win against a tyrant king. Oldest amongst the three, Golzar's advisor/mentor, Bryn's friend and the mother hen of the Miscreants.

~

Raymond Tonguard - (he/him) the Lord Steward, who takes the second-highest position in governance besides the Queen of Woodlands. From a young upstart family in Tome, where coal deposits have recently been discovered.

~

Also here: Richard [he/him] (the troublemaker), Tanya [she/her] (the baby of the group), David [he/him] (scoutmaster who was upgraded to that position after Bryn became second-in-command)


Note:
This character sheet is currently missing Lucretia, the main antagonist, because she is too ~herself~ for me to summarise in three lines off the top of my head (but I'll get to it eventually)

I also come up with side characters on the fly because my brain works like a JRPG, so the 'Also here' list will get progressively longer.

And also, this is a first draft that I'm putting up here on the site. No plans for formal publishing at all, but when I revise this, I might make it available as a pretty little pdf, with character art, and maybe a map if I ever figure out how physical space works.

Sounds cool Lim! I love that you know your characters so well and I love the idea of making it available as a pdf with character art when you're all finished with it. Great manageable goal with the rest of your summer obligations, too! Good luck with it!! 💜

Thanks so much, @Carlito!

Day 1: Worldbuilding

The story is set in the kingdom of Woodlands, a medium-sized monarchy with a long history. It is located in a temperate woody area with many rivers. Lumber is one of the inhabitants’ main industries, though the plot takes place around the time when they are first discovering coal in some northerly areas of the kingdom. Woodlands is bordered by Zenith, a newly-formed kingdom with a more arid climate.

The primary religion in Woodlands is the cult of the Mask-faced Goddess. Its leaders are the High Priestess Pulcheria, and its clerics are divided into three groups: the priests, the Old Wizards and the Forest Witches. Whereas the priests are the ‘original’ branch of clerics and maintain the temples, the Old Wizards and Forest Witches were formed later on in Woodlands’ history (but have a lot of influence), dealing in exegesis of the Scripts (styled after the ‘script’ of a play) that narrate the story of the Goddess. For Woodlandians, their religion praises values of deference to one's betters, enforcing a class system.

Said class system is based on land ownership, traditionally. There are serfs, who are tenants of land on the estate of a lord, and have to work for that lord and pay them a portion of their crop each season. Then there are freepersons, who live in towns and are usually either merchants or craftspersons. After that, there is the landowning aristocracy. The priests, Old Wizards and Forest Witches constitute a fourth class. The heroes, since the war, have made up a fifth class, elevating many of them from being serfs but also not quite having the same power as aristocracy.

The heroes were formed in the resistance against the former tyrant king, King Korvus. Most of them were former serfs coming from various regions of Woodlands (for example, Ariga’s Seafolk all come from the same group of fishing villages). They are traditionally quite decentralised, but operate on a strict code of loyalty to individual company commanders. They are popular in the local culture, as figures of songs and myths, and in the capital city Lucrece, are subject to a seasonal popularity poll held by a poll guild. The Heroes’ Guild is the sole thread that links all the different hero companies together. The companies associated with the Guild Councillors tend to be more of a united front than the rest, and the Guild also has its own traditions and subculture, tending to be rather distrustful of outsiders.

Spoiler

But to tell you the truth, a lot of this was modified along the way and writing this makes me realise there's so many worldbuilding gaps I need to fill! Here's just a list of SOME of them:

- other hero companies besides the Lions, Seafolk and Miscreants + their 'official' titles, because fun fact, these are supposed to be popular nicknames and not what they're actually called by the Queen, for example. The Miscreants are actually 'The Grey Hound Company' and the Lions are really 'The Sable Steed Company'.
- which hero company does William even lead anyway?
- what are some of the other rules in the Guild Constitution beside the plot-relevant one
- is Woodlands just a random list of locations, spread vaguely across 'north', 'south' and 'southeast', or is there some logic to it? find out next time, on Lim is writing most of this off the top of her head, even though she did do quite a bit of planning earlier on, she's just generally very spontaneous

Oh no that whole spoiler is so very relatable XD

Day 3: Villainous lament

Lucretia's lament (as an apology for not including her in the character list above)

The stars that were supposed to line
Upon my date of birth
The birthmark of the ruling sign
A scar without its mirth.

If I do not eclipse the world
What else then have I?
The silken string must still unfurl
My fate cannot deny.

How many years my waiting rage
As sharp and cold as steel?
Now is the time to turn the page
Of this accursed reel.

But now inside this den of thorns
I suddenly see doubt.
My heart is heavy and I mourn
The days of past without!

Yesssssssssss we love a good villainous lament 😌

Day 1 of CampNaNo in my timezone

767/650 words~

Spoiler

With Lucretia’s nod, the meeting progressed. Throughout it, she had a strong awareness of how uncomfortable many of the nobles were. They were unused to windows as large as these. After she had been coronated, Lucretia had left the original throne room alone, and opted to set up a well-crafted chair in the centre of this former dining hall. The windows were made in the latest fashion, letting in as much light as possible, and giving full view of the swaying cypresses that were planted in the garden.

If a branch so much as scratched the glass, a few heads would turn in panic.

Well, Lucretia thought, as she leant forward and stipled her fingers together underneath her chin. They would just have to get used to it.

Off to a strong start!!! :bicep emoji:

Lim you're already off to a great start, but I'm here to give you encouragement anyways! Political thriller and fantasy vibes, this sounds really interesting. I hope you reach your goal and I'll be rooting for you! And, worldbuilding is rough, but it's awesome you've found some holes to look into patching for the future ^^

Thanks, @BluesClues!

Thanks @Vincian! Yeah, I'm hoping to use some of the PlanMo prompts to do that in between drafting @_@

Day 2 of CampNaNo in my timezone

762/650 words~

Day 3 of CampNaNo in my time zone

832/650 words~

I have finished the first scene with Lucretia's POV in it!

Day 4 of CampNaNo in my time zone

553/650 words~

Finally more of Gerhard's POV after a ~long~ time!

Look at you exceeding your daily word count goal almost every day so far!!