LMS VII: Silver and Silk

hello this is a very big wip right now! This is the second attempt at Silver and Silk. The first attempt was LMS VI and I got 25k or so (I don't remember) but stopped writing on it because I was unsatisfied with the direction I was taking the story.

I am working more on the lore but also just writing freely, in a notebook and when I have time. I just want to get words on the page and finish a draft, and only work on the lore as something to focus on the second draft.

Eventually, this will be more organized, but at the moment I just wanted to put something out. If you're here, thank you for being a part of the journey! I will not be posting my writing on the site, as I feel it is a more personal story.

WIP:
- Premise
- World & Map
- Magic
- Main Characters
- Min Myar Staff & Students
- Life at Min Myar
- LMS Start

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The World of Laven is an ancient world built on the ruins of an age long past, with the scars of a different world etched in the continent. The scars imply some kind of impact site within the Wartides, with canyons spreading out from that location to all around Laven. Because of these scars, the connection between living things and palmar, the font of magic, is strong enough for humans to connect to the palmar and manipulate magic.

Over the centuries, several nations have come and gone, brutalizing the land around the palmar and exposing the land below which is full of magic in its raw and tangible form. This land has been mined and warred over for so long that the land has been nicknamed The Wartides.
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The Wartides is a patch of land in the middle of the continent that many have considered a remnant from the world before. The location of the most tangible palmar on the continent, The Wartides is a scarred no man's land. Over the centuries, this land has been the centerpiece for countless conflicts and wars over valuable resources for the Afflicted and Mages, who were more prominent in early periods. As the reliance on magic lessened in recent times, the control over The Wartides have been less contested. Currently, Brythalon controls The Wartides and uses it as a form of labor camps from prisoners of war.
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Brythalon is the oldest nation around, containing massive amounts of ancient arid land in the northwest. Within the past three hundred years, Brythalon experienced a massive revolution that overthrew its old government (for better or worse) that left the country economically shaky and its natural resources devastated. With a fledgling republic that held no money and little resources, Brythalon grew corrupt quickly. Many families looking to get rich and power in a vacuum that existed flocked to the country, hoping to take advantage of the situation. One family in particular, the Azhora family, hooked its claws in the political scene, eventually rising to the point of effectively running the country behind the scenes.

Brythalon struggled to recover even with the influx of old money. The natural resources were devastated from a brutal internal war, and The Wartides limited any expansion to the east. Brythalon managed a fragile trade alliance with Skathyyth, but it wasn't enough. The nation of Skathyyth is a small nation with limited capacity to produce the much larger needs of Brythalon. The nation of Brythalong was at a breaking point.

Fourty years ago, the leaders of Brythalon were brutally removed from office in a midnight coup, lead by the Azhora family. The matiarch at the time decided to take things into her own hands by her children, and thus the Brythalon government was toppled for the second time in as many centuries. This time, it was without war, without even so much as public revolt. The coup was not even publicly known for months, as the Azhora brothers who took over were already generals in Brythalon's military. It was called a martial lockdown, and the public was only known when they were thrown into war. Brythalon, in a decision that shook the world order, invaded the south and took over Skathyyth.

With the influx of resources and a tighter grip on nobles, Brythalon was once again a world power. They turned to The Wartides and Farsohr in the east. However, Hirvanc was ready for war.
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Skathyyth is an ancient civilization living in the thick forests of the southwest part of Laven. Built around even more ancient ruins deep within jungle areas of the forest, Skathyyth is a highly religious and self-isolating nation that believes in the sanctity of the land. In this fashion, they believe that magic is stripping the land of its natural resources, as the Skayth people believe that all magic usage actually drains the existing magic from around the land. So, Skathyyth does not have any (public) magic users. They have more rudimentary technology than their neighbors and focus on sustainable methods of resource gathering. When approached by their northern neighbors, Brythalon, for assistance, Skathyyth was more than willing to help, believing this would be a short exchange as Brythalon got back on their feet. However this was not the case, and Skathyyth began experiencing their own resource shortage because of Brythalon needing and eventually demanding more and more. In modern times, Skathyyth is a completely different country. Completely under Brythalon's control, the land is being ravaged for the occupying nation's needs. Much of Skathyyth's native population are either under forceful servitude or have abandoned the nation completely, pilgramaging to the ancient lands in souther Hirvanc. Skathyyth's government structure was never highly structured to begin with, and it dissolved almost immediately under occupation.
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Farsohr is a fledgling nation that separated from Corvasia around one hundred years prior due to a period of financial hardship from the mainland. Farsohr had high success maneuvering this financial hardship by trading with Hirvanc and even traversing the Wartides to manage trade with Brythalon. Corvasia relied on this one-sided financial fortune too heavily and a rebellion ensued, splintering Corvasia into two distinct nations. Since then, Farsohr has had relative peace and much of Corvasia's wealthy population relocated to Farsohr. As such, Farsohr became a nation of plenty and relative peace until Brythalon threatened their nation with occupation. Farsohr's population was dwarfed by Brythalon's. While they attempted to put up a resistance alone. So, they hired mercanaries from their neighbor to the east, Hirvanc. Hirvanc's ruthless warriors combined with Farsohr's knowledge of the Wartides have been able to keep Brythalon's advance at bay... for now.
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Hirvanc is a semi-nomadic nation in the northeast of Laven that originated from the land of what would eventually become Corvasia, from a mass pilgramage hundreds of years prior. The Hirvank people built a sophisticated traversal system between the treacherous snow-capped mountains of the high north that hold the ruins of a lost civilization (and the basis of the original pilgramage) to the south, where their main villages lay. The Hirvank people are religious and hardened from the conditions they live in. They believe that people must fight to survive because even being alive is a testament to defiance of nature. They must prove their right to live as the belief was that all living beings are alive because of magic, and that magic's original state was inorganic. Because of this, Hirvanc's culture heavily revolves around a militaristic upbringing and a tight knit community that can be tough to outsiders. While Hirvanc is militaristic, they do not often fight wars. Their warring experience is ceremonial for the most part. They ususally make it a point not to intervene in global affairs (which adds to the standoffish belief) and prefer to focus on their own nation. The Hirvank are a proud and hardened people. When asked by Farsohr for assistance, Hirvanc did not hesitate to do what they thought was right, albeit for a price.
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Corvasia is a feudal monarchy settled in the southeast of the continent. Nestled in salty plains and dense forests, Corvasia is sparsely populated and loosely connected. Most of the large cities have a strong local government with lords, with only a fledgling formed monarchy system that oversees them all. Corvasia used to be a series of towns-countries, with only a smaller Corvasia to the north being an established country with world influence (less so after Farsohr broke off from Corvasia), but after Brythalon's civil war the states organized enough to form a combined country. Both the larger cities and smaller villages still hold local leadership in higher regards than the monarchy in Cyvalia.

Once Brythalon invaded Skathyyth, Brythalon bolstered their government and military with a conscription lottery, much to the annoyance of local lords. Corvasia in general is having an internal struggle between its tiers of government as the monarchs attempt to garner more power and influence. The northern part of the country is more developed than the southern part of the country. Fishing and naval commerce is a popular part of the country for those who aren't religious, and it's more popular in the north. North Corvasia is built on soft land, plains and thin forests. South Corvasia is built within a dense, old growth forest. Most people in Corvasia do not consider themselves Corvasian, but rather local, especially in the South. Corvasia deals with a lot of internal power struggles that inhibits their ability to expand and become a country of power.
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WORK IN PROGRESS, JUST PUTTING THOUGHTS ATM
The magic system of Silver and Silk is based on palmer creases, the creases on the palm of all human hands.

Right now, my thoughts on this are that Inflicted people's magic types and specialties are based on the creases in their palms, and that inflicted's magic comes from the strands of the well of magic that is left on human's hands. it is said that all humans and magical beings have touched the well of life before being born, and that is what causes afflication. Magic pulls from the well and materializes in silver silken strands -- that is the color and look of unrefined magic before it is transformed into whatever the afflicted needs.

There is a niche group of afflicted that have extended their strands to other places on their bodies to forcibly increase their magical capacity, but end up disfiguring their body. The most extreme of this group puts the strand on their face to directly increase their senses, like sight and hearing.

Much of the magic is elemental based and most of the afflicted who are classically trained to become mages are elemental weavers and benders. In addition to elemental manipulation, the strand can affect living beings with the exception of fungi. An advanced subsection of afflicted trained into mages are trained to manipulate living beings.

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Min Myar is an Academy for Afflicted Boys, and one of the last magical academies to exist. Its knowledge is kept a secret aside from those close to it, and its location is purposely difficult to find for anyone not Afflicted. Min Myar's security features have increased in the past few years due to the ongoing war between Brythalon and their neighboring countries, and the genocide of Afflicted and mages in general. During most times of the year the academy is hidden from the public eye and isolated from the nearby town, Vayle. Min Myar is located at the southern tip of Corvasia which is why it is one of the last remaining academies.

Min Myar accepts boys after they have gone through puberty as that is when most magic shows itself. Once a boy goes through puberty and shows signs of an Affliction, they may get noticed by a Myarin scout, where they are recruited to go to the academy. Otherwise, applications only happen if a renowned individual associated or once associated with Min Myar notices someone's Affliction. The boy's parents or master are informed of this Affliction and told about the academy in general and vague terms. It costs to send an application to Min Myar, so not all families of Afflicted boys are able to actually attend Min Myar. If their application is accepted and paid, they then journey to Min Myar to stay and wait for the initiation process.

Min Myar's initation is not a test meant to trick or meant to fail. It is an evaluation and inspection of the boy's capabilities, based on ancient customs. The initiation tests the boy's capability of their affliction, as it varies from person to person, and what type of magic they are most attuned to. After initiation, if Min Myar deems the boy afflicted enough to teach, they stay at the academy and live at the academy until they finish their learning. The average age a boy enters the academy is 12-13, and the average age a boy leaves the academy is 20.

Life at Min Myar is much like dedicating one's time as a regular academic, mixed with some armed training. The mornings start early with classes. after luncheon the afternoons are spent with official training. The evenings are the students to do with how they please. One day a week is free for the students to relax or study. After a student becomes adept in their field of study, they are grouped with a master mage for more detailed study, like a more advanced set of classes. Once they become a journeyman mage, they directly apprentice under the master of their affliction specialty, like a traditional apprenticeship.

In Initation, Min Myar Professors asses the level of magic the Afflicted currently posseses and the potential upper limit of their abilities, as well as which direction the strands of the afflicted go towards. The professors then give a rank to the person that indicates the ability of the person, which they will address them for the rest of the time they are at the academy until they graduate. (ie Mage Malair) at which point they will call them Master as a title. Is it a flawed system? Sure, but it is the system that works. In the history of Min Myar, this system has been accurate to the reality of students potential for the most part, and this ranking system helps guide what apprenticeships students may be appropriate for. The more potential in a person's magical ability, the more opportunities they have in life.

The grounds of Min Myar are deceptively large and include all the basic necessities for the students living on its campus. It houses dorms, classrooms, and lecture halls. It boasts a large library with books dating back hundreds of years and older. It has a sparring ground, several different gardens, a couple of astronomy towers, and old walls that surrounds the entire castle. The castle itself is a combination of several different smaller castles and towers connected over several hundred years. It is clear that Min Myar existed long before Corvasia, its build style varies vastly, but all builds seem much older than anything surrounding it. The castle is not without its secrets, as, throughout the many years of expansion, Min Myar has developed sprawling hallways, twisting staircases, doors that lead to dead ends, and unknown passages.
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