Tenebura & the Between

This is just a place for my worldbuilding. I’m mostly working on the main city, Tenebura, and I may also mess around with a conlang, finish my magic system, or just whatever is in my head at the moment. Might turn into an actual story sometime, but for now I’ll mostly be posting WIPs.

I don’t really have the setting fully figured out yet, which is why I made this thread. For May, I’m just going to try to write about the city. My hope is to eventually have an actual image in my mind of Tenebura instead of just fog lol.

What I have so far:

- The city feels layered, with the old and the new. Tenebura is (supposedly >.>) built over the ruins of a much older city, Penhuzara. Buildings are mostly wood and stone, maybe some metal. Magic tech exists, whether that’s gadgets or built into the buildings themselves.

- I think I’ve mostly locked in the time period, or more like an “advancement level”. The city has advanced similar to us, but using magic instead of electricity. It behaves like modern tech but batteries and electricity don’t exist.

- There’s also a bit of metaphysical/magical stuff about the Aerenglass and the Weave, but that’s for later.

time period (rough)

I thought about writing something like "what a street would look like", but the time period thing kept stopping me. The world could technically be late medieval era, but using labels don't seem to help lol, I have a specific taste in mind I'm trying to get it to work.

The world definitely doesn't have electric tech. Magic tech is still advancing and it wouldn't make sense to "discover" electricity, like it's just a waste of time to make electric light bulbs if there is already magic light bulbs.

I can imagine cobble streets, maybe even concrete. Muddy medieval doesn't seem to fit either, I think most of the streets would be pretty clean.

amendestil

amendestil - material

- looks like black agate, but deeper than it should be
- cool to the touch, a little rough
- acts as a medium for spell code (placeholder term)
- used in most magical devices, usually as a core and thin interface sheets

amendestil is basically what most magic tech is built around

some spell code mechanics

- spell code doesn't create energy from thin air. usually its redirecting energy already there, e.g., heat, motion, light
- spell code is written on to Nodes on the Weave (which acts kind of like a magical network) and then bound to a physical object
- amendestil easily accepts spell code
- you can draw energy from the Weave, but it's dangerous and unstable

this is still a rough idea, but it feels real to me

control over magic in Tenebura (rough)

Tenebura is ruled by a bureaucracy, and it doesn't feel like a fantasy kingdom. its more like a system.

magic tech is tightly controlled, permits are required for creating and distributing magic tech.

drawing energy from the Weave is illegal. allegedly, people who were found doing this disappeared...

Central Authority

I've started working on government structure without getting too caught up on details, mostly just names and purposes.

structure (rough):

Central Authority

- really just the umbrella term for the whole system
- oversees all major divisions

Central Council

- small group managing the larger system
- not public facing most of the time

Major Divisions

- Records Department
- Civic Works Division
- Ministry of Finance
- Office of Layer Administration (O.L.S.A)
- Licensing Office
- Civic Transport Division
- Commission of Public Protection



Here are some images of how I made it in an obsidian canvas:

olieidstil

olieidstil - material

- pronounced o lee ADE still
- rare metal, very durable
- used in trade sometimes
- while sensitive to magic like amendestil, it's rarely used for devices
- high level or government groups sometimes use it

currencies in Tenebura

there are two main currencies in Tenebura

each serves different purposes:

coins
- for common everyday use
- small, round amendestil discs with square hole in the middle
- coated in copper to protect amendestil
- each coin has spell code embedded to ensure authenticity

paper notes
- for larger and more official transactions
- also has spell code for authenticity
- amendestil powder mixed in during paper process makes it ready for spell code
- can be redeemable for coin or olieidstil

code reading devices are used to check coins and notes for spell code authenticity.

I'll work on the denomination, engraving and printing details later when I have other stuff figured out.

some public power stuff

a lot of Tenebura runs on solar energy thats collected from solar panels. it's not electric solar energy, I haven't gotten an exact process down yet (the panels are most likely made with amendestil).

it could be that a special kind of energy that we don't have comes from the sun in that universe, but I find it easier to picture the "magical power" in this world being redirected energy (like I mentioned earlier)

energy is stored a lot of the time in magical "batteries". maybe they're made with plates of amendestil inside (can you tell this material is used everywhere? lol).

there are city controlled solar plants and reserves, so outages can happen. but those that have the money sometimes install their own panels and banks (usually the middle class or rich)

it's said that the O.L.S.A. is secretly in control of massive power banks from Penhuzara

rooftops in Tenebura (poem)

sunlight cascades over the city,
and the fog begins to dissipate

the rooftops, covered with dark plates
make the whole city glimmer

lower levels stay shadowed,
the color of the morning sky
and the dark walls contrasting