Blog – Page 2 – Aerone Grey

The Cultivation Realms are as follows:

Body Strengthening

[Soul Expansion
Martial Agility
Soul Condensing
Martial Power
Soul Refinement
Martial Manipulation] repeat

Soul Expert

Soul Master

Soul Ancestor

And the Magic Realms are:

Elemental Detection

[Mental Strengthening
Elemental Movement
Mental Agility
Elemental Acceptance
Mental Power
Elemental manipulation] repeat

Magus Expert

Magus Master

Magus Ancestor

The middle 6 stages, of both types, would be repeated as many times as possible until only a negligible amount of difference was noticed. The higher that number was, the more powerful the Cultor (a general term for Mages and Cultivators). This number is reflected in the name of the stage a Cultor was in. For example, a Mage that had gone through those stages 6 times, and was currently in the Mental Agility realm, would be referred to as a 6th Stage Mental Agility Realm expert. The same naming style would be applied to a Cultivator as well.

Even in the latter stages, the number of cycles through the middle stages would be referred to as, for example, a 6th Stage Magus Expert. A mage in that realm would also be more powerful than a mage in the 5th Stage Magus Expert Realm.

However, the middle stages weren’t suitable to be cultivated indefinitely. The years of puberty were the best time to grind through as many repetitions as possible, as beyond 20-23 years of age it would become impossible to advance to the latter stages. As such, the average number of repetitions was limited to 7-10.

I decided to write a blog to give an idea of how an author like myself goes about creating a story and a world. Of course there are many valid ways to go about creating such a world, and my process will probably seem rather slapdash and chaotic in contrast.

I’m not the sort of author that likes to plan my stories too much before writing, as this takes a lot of the fun out of it for me. I like to travel along with my characters and discover the plot as they do. As a result, I often only have a few key ideas in my head at the beginning of the process. As I go along, various parts will begin to flesh out, and I will spot parts that need more developing (even if I never end up putting it into the book). It’s only with those parts sorted out that I can create a consistent story.

In this particular story, I’m trying to keep a lot secret from the reader at first, so (to avoid spoilers) I can’t reveal too much of what I’ve already sorted out. Of course, I’ve dropped hints from the very beginning, but I think it would be nice to let the reader speculate before it’s finally revealed in it’s entirety.

Before I ramble on for too long, here is a rough sketch of my completed map for Axis. It helped me to solidify how my world works, and makes it easier for me to plot a course for my characters as they move about. Once I’m done writing the story, I will plot on key places as well. This is a fantasy story that follows two men as they try to find out what happened in their pasts.

Axis is bowl shaped, and this is the inside view.

There’s an interesting explanation behind why the planet is this shape, so I can’t wait until it’s revealed later in the series. I may not plan the actual plot too much in advance, but I make sure the backstory and world building is clear. This helps to solidify the world in my mind, and I have my own fundamental rules to follow so that things don’t get too out of control.

Category: Blog

Axis Cultor Realms

Axis Map