While I’m not officially doing NaNoWriMo, I figure I’ll post stuff from my project from time to time. Keep in mind it’s not finished stuff and is subject to revision in the future. As for any fraks out there, don’t steal!
This is the project I’ve found daunting over the couple of years. I have from time to time written notes on the milieu, which is Ourin, an Earth-like world orbiting Mintaka. Ourin’s solar year is approximately one Earth millenium and the Mintakan calendar system refers to a year as such (e.g. Year 1, Year 20, or Year 26). The most habitable area of the planet is around the equator, as the northern and southern hemispheres are given to extreme winters and summers. There are several nations, but the focus is primarily on Itán and Sután (ancient name Sutá). Sután is one of the oldest nations in Ourin, which had gone from being a small collection of city states centered around Tlon in Year 1 to large, decadent and declining empire by Year 18. The Itani, a group of aboriginal tribes subjugated by the Sutánese, turn against their conquerors, appropriate their culture, and then develop into a powerful nation state by Year 20.
Sután’s culture during Year 18 is close to the level of late Renaissance European culture. Arts, science, and literature flourish and they begin to build sophisticated machines, yet they have not moved into an industrial mode similar to the 18th century. The machines and their components are created by artisans. Sután, especially Tlon, becomes known for many wonderful devices, ranging from the printing press to autmota. An adding machine, similar to the one invented by Pascal, is also in use. It is this kind of culture the Itani adopt when they take over Sután. By Year 20, the Sutáno-Itánese culture is similar to that of 21st century Earth.
Much of this project takes place during Years 18 and 20.
The people, like those in Ursula K Le Guin‘s Ekumen worlds, are human or something like them. Telepathy is a normal human trait for the Mintakans, though various cultures and religions have dealt with it in different ways. Some have have enforced taboos against telepathy, while others have practiced it more freely. There have always been some people, the “gifted,” who demonstrated powers way beyond mind speak (telekinesis, the ability to heal, the ability to bend physical laws), and this too has been approached in various ways.
Tlon, the ancient capital of Sután, is considered one of the earliest cities on Ourin. Much of its early history is shrouded in myth and legend, especially how the city was built around a large rock called the Stone of Memory. which was considered sacred, but many have also believed it was sentient, that it drew people around itself. Many of Ourin’s religions had origin in Tlon, including the School of Wisdom, which was devoted to the pursuit of enlightenment and also founded some of Sután’s and Itán’s oldest universities. The School also took responsibility for the “gifted.”
That should provided some basic background for this project. More to come soon.
Dave Gahan, best known as the frontman for Depeche Mode, has been interpreting Martin Gore’s songs for years until recently. He did a very un-Depeche album, Paper Monsters and even wrote some songs for the last Depeche Mode’s last album, Playing The Angel. This time around, we’re treated to a more electronic work by Gahan, Hourglass.
