Sep 19, 2017

A World a Day #2

It's time for another World A Day, where I use my worldbuilder to generate the bones of a setting, then fill in the dots. I'm trying to do one of these per day; this is day two, you can read day one here.

Check out the tool if you're interested!

--
Setting: A steampunk version of Victorian Europe.

Tone: It’s a bit wild and exuberant, with the heroes throwing themselves into dashing sky-battles, scarves fluttering in the wind. When they return from battle, they’re the heirs of dynastic European families, with treacherous advisors and scheming siblings trying to get between them and True Love™. Think of it as a shojo version of Gundam.


Leslie of Wales leads the fight against the Whispered Ones, a faction of British nobility that’s devised state of the art tech, and plots to turn Britain into a totalitarian state. The Whispered are devotees of the Whispered Wanderer, a mystical woman preaching of a dark Gaia. Her teachings draw on ancient Celtic imagery to reinforce the British nature of the religion, twisting the old ways into a totalitarian style that deifies women elders and demands total conformity. Sex exclusively for procreation is one of the Whispered Wanderer’s commandments, reviling those who love in LGBTQIA+ ways. Although the Whispered Ones are a secret organization rather than directly controlling Britain, they’re still extremely powerful because of their advanced steampunk technology, plus the funding provided by the converted Prince of Wales.

Leslie of Wales is the leader of the Diamond Wing, a combined pilots/special operations unit that flies steampunk fighter jets, which Leslie stole from her father’s estates. She organized the Diamond Wing from fellow adventurer-nobility of Europe, people she’d met growing up, and made an alliance with the Austrian government and German freemasons on the continent, who are also moving against the Whispered Ones. Because she has family among the Whispered Ones, she’s determined to try to save as many of them as possible, either by kidnapping them and removing them from the Wanderer’s brainwashing, or convincing them mid-battle to turn against the real enemy. She’ll often be heard mid-dogfight arguing philosophy, and the crazy thing is, sometimes it works. In addition to being an ace pilot, she’s one of the best covert operatives working against the Whispered, as she’s able to mold her features and those of her enemies, tapping into a power known mostly to the Whispered to instantly change her face. It’s proven to be dangerous, though: When escaping her father’s estates, she’d had to take the form of Elyse to get through the lines and reach Anita in France, but Anita’s guards attacked her before she could explain who she really was. She carries a scar above one eye as a result, but she doesn’t let it get her down. There’s some possibility that Leslie will fall in love with Elyse as the series progresses. If so, the B-plot may likely be trying to redeem and save Elyse.

Elyse: The bastard daughter of a British royal house, she was one of the first devotees of the Whispered Wanderer. As the series progresses, she’s becoming more and more obsessed with the idea of taking the Wanderer’s place, but for now that’s just the seed of an idea. She fights through infiltration and politics, and is currently in disguise in the Austrian royal court. Expect lots of scenes of her and the Diamond Wing at the same masquerade ball, with Elyse smiling behind her mask as she convinces lovers into betrayal, or Austrian bureaucrats into withdrawing funding. She knows that Anita is the glue that keeps the Austrians tied into the alliance with the Diamond Wing, so she’s especially looking for opportunities to assassinate or kidnap Anita.

Anita Habsburg is the second major protagonist of the series. She’s desperate to prove herself a match for the famous Habsburg women of the past. Leslie came to her with evidence of the Whispered Ones trying to take over Britain’s government, so Anita petitioned the Habsburgs to support the Diamond Wing. With the threat of a heretical cult running the greatest world superpower, the Austrian government has agreed, and keeps the Diamond Wing fueled and armed. Anita’s the team hothead, determined never to give up, and always ready to throw her badassness in the face of people who underestimate her. She makes a point of wearing her pilot’s gear as much as possible, scandalizing the nobility who think she should stick to ballroom dresses. She’ll make fun of her fellow flyers, but when the chips are down, they’re the most important thing in the world to her, and needing to protect them is what drives her to fly at peak performance.

No comments:

Post a Comment