Myth Tech University Closing Remarks: The Many Corners of Castorhaven

You’ve seen this image already - it’s on the websites home page! But why am I reposting it here? Well, one thing I neglected to mention in my blogs is where and how Myth Tech is made. The answer lies above: in Castorhaven, the Great City of Mages. This city was founded with the idea of spreading Myth Tech to the world, and using magic as a means to enrich the lives of those who can’t cast it. This city is home to nearly every single domain and branch of magic within the Seven Aspect Magics, and each Mage of their respective branch serves a functional role in Castorhaven’s infrastructure. The Staff Lines are managed by Sorcerers, the Runekeepers by Hydromancers, but the Castless (Non-Mages, the majority population of Kisharia) have a role in its infrastructure as well. They can interact with almost all Myth Tech devices, but they can’t make new ones - that role is reserved exclusively for Mages. So, Castorhaven is ordered in a top-down structure, where magic and myth are maintained in a delicate balance to help enrich the lives of its citizens, and of the world. Castorhaven is the most powerful nation/city in all of Kisharia. They have the highest concentration of Mages and Guilds, and is home to the Council of Global Mage Affairs, who manage international relations with other countries and even whole continents.

Myth Tech had its origins, here, and while I won’t yet elaborate on the exact history of why this is, again, I will offer you some enticing hints: necessity breeds innovation, and often through war.

My second book, The Wandering Order: Corners of Castorhaven, features Myth Tech quite heavily, as well as a great deal of Castorhaven’s inner structure. The great City of Mages is never not full of splendor, wonder, and amazement. Even those who live here typically never see all it has to offer. Castorhaven is like a puzzle box that never quite fully unravels, but you can explore it yourself in my second book.

That wraps up my presentations! I do hope you enjoy the epic, mythical journey that is the Wandering Order. Even though my tagline is quite catchy (GoTG meets Final Fantasy is its most accurate descriptor), it doesn’t quite capture the other aspects of what my series is, which you will hopefully get to experience yourself alongside me as this series continues.

And please don’t forget to get in touch and subscribe to my Patreon! It’s voluntary, but I need support to continue this series.

https://www.patreon.com/c/rhymingrooster/membership.

Myth Tech Device #5: The Prismatic Image Projector

Myth Tech Device #5:

The Prismatic Image Projector

And here we are, the grand finale of my Myth Tech devices! For this semester of Myth Tech University, that is. This is one I am definitely most proud of. What you’re seeing is Kisharia’s answer to cable television. The Prismatic Image Projector is a wall-mounted, torch-like device that has 6 Wonder Crystals roosted in a metal holster. These crystals harmonize together to control the range, size, and frequency of what’s called a ‘Recall’ - or an illusory recollection of a recorded event. These recordings are made with what’s called an Orbuculus - which is a Palantir, for those familiar with Tolkien’s epic works. The Palantir is a seeing stone that allows wizards to see things from far away. All I really did was reverse engineer that concept into a more mundane functionality: a security camera, or recording device. These stones are used to make Kisharia’s equivalent to movies, as well.

The Staff Lines I mentioned in an earlier post circulate these Recall’s as well. Now, while being able to cycle through a few automatically projecting illusions is nice, how about when you want to watch something more specific? A good romance, like the Princess and the Peasant, or an action thriller, like King Lance’s Nine Trials? That’s where the Phaiso Disc comes in.

These little discs were inspired by real Phaistos Discs, which were clay discs from ancient Greece with various images carved on them. Whether the images were a story, or some form of poetry, we don’t know, but I first looked at this disc and thought “That looks like a DVD! I’m going to make that into a Myth Tech device,” and voila! I made that. The images carved on it help you navigate your place in the Recall/film. From the top and downwards in a clockwise motion, the disc slowly spins when placed behind the PIP. Each symbol ‘glows’ once its passed through the right phase of the film (which also inspired its shorthand nickname), all the way until it reaches the climax: the center of the disc.

The Prismatic Image Projector is intimately tied in its functionality to the Read Screen. You can’t use one without it, in other words. In order to ‘pair’ the Read Screen, PIP, and Disc together, what you do is this: you overlay the Read Screen’s… screen, over the Phaiso Disc. This will ignite the Wonder Crystals embedded inside the disc that actually have the Recall illusion enchanted into it, and a prompt will appear on your screen, allowing you to control your place in the film, halt the illusion, as well as widen the COV (Cone of View). The illusion projects outward three-dimensionally - you can think of it almost as augmented reality or virtual reality, rather than watching something on a flat screen. The most immersive Recall’s are the one’s that have a wide COV and let you ‘interact’ with it in unique ways (like maybe the flowers brush aside when you tap them).

Phew, alright, that one was a lot. The PIP, despite its complexity, is still my favorite! That marks the end of this first semester of Myth Tech University. Stick around for future entries, as with each book, I will feature different devices! And thank you all for reading these posts, I hope they were immersive enough to garner your interest in my debut epic series.

Myth Tech Device #4: The Read Screen

Myth Tech Device #4:

The Read Screen

Ah, cellphones. What would we do without them? They’re simultaneously an essential need and possibly a death knell to the human attention span. Twitter scrolling takes up far to much of my time - time I could spend writing or making more Myth Tech devices. What you see above is Kisharia’s answer to the cellphone: a Read Screen. I designed it to take the form of a scroll in the interest of having it blend well with TWO’s High Fantasy theme, but the functionalities are similar. Those little crystals, called ‘Wonder Crystals’ (these are everywhere, practically), are essentially arcane divination crystals. You can think of it as like enchanted quartz - which in traditional magic has many divine qualities. Arcane Sorcerers, who belong to the Mind Magic domain, use these smaller crystals to create an illusion that functions similarly to a cellphone. The illusion is called ‘S.M.A.R.T.’: the ‘Social Market and Recall Telecommunicator Illusion’. This is a minimally invasive illusion that is casted into the minds of pretty much anyone who interacts with these screens, allowing them to almost ‘psychically’ connect to someone via the screen. The illusion is further circulated by what are called ‘Staff Lines’ (power line equivalents). These Staff Lines transmute the many variations of the illusion, as well as other illusions, through an established circuit around any given settled area. You can’t see someone’s face or ‘facetime’, as it were (that’s another device that will be featured in either Book 3 or Book 4 - I haven’t decided yet), but twisting the crystals alters the illusion slightly, allowing you to message someone like a good ole fashioned text, access the market (fantasy Amazon), get a map-wide layout of your general location, and access the Town Square: a forum for citizens to participate in collectively (social media). These are its basic functionalities.

For those wondering, you write on the screen by either scribbling on it with your finger, or closing the handlebars closer together and using your thumbs (texting!). The screen itself has a slight warp effect to it, which is generated by the metal bars as magic circulates through it. If you had this screen in front of you, and touched it lightly, it would ‘bend’ around your finger, slightly, making it easier to write on. You can, however, stick your hand through it as well, and it won’t really affect it, since it’s still technically an illusion (if you want to use the term hologram, go for it, but that’s a little more science-fiction. Holographic is a very accurate descriptor of what it would be like to interact with one of these).

One last thing. You may be wondering: who’s casting the illusion? How is it maintained? And while I’d love to give you the answer, now, that unfortunately will be explained by another Myth Tech device in the future.

I’ll give you a hint: they’re spheres.

This is one of my favorite Myth Tech devices. It actually was the very first Myth Tech device I ever made (almost 8 years ago now), and the first I also understood in its totality.

Myth Tech Device #3: The Ferven

Myth Tech Device #3:

The Ferven

A fitting follow-up to the last post, this is what’s called a ‘Ferven’ - or Kisharia’s Myth Tech answer to the dryer. The device is actually quite simple: those two ‘Aeolian Shards’ you see in there are an enchanted form of fulgurite (sand struck by lightning). How they’re made essentially works like this: a large ritual stone is hollowed in the center and packed with sand. A metal rod is stuck inside of it, and the stone’s face has a Rune of Air (or an Aspect of Wind, another term for the same phenomenon) carved onto it. These ritual stones are typically placed out in the middle of thunderstorms, where lightning is common. Once the lightning strikes the rod, the aspect of wind is empowered, transforming the sand into a glassy, crystalline type of fulgurite that naturally circulates air at its two dipoles. Usually, these crystals are tied up inside little bags to create a ‘Bag of Winds’ (hence the origin of its name - Aeolius from Greek mythology). However, you can also use these crystals to circulate air in a Ferven. A reverse-engineered blacksmiths bellow is used to pump air into the shards a few times, giving them a charge that lasts for around 30 to 40 minutes. Those little drake pearls you see warm up with kinetic energy, but they don’t necessarily get hot. Toss a couple in there, and you get circulating warm air to dry off your clothes (or other soft things). Those pearls are often accompanied with a little ‘pop’, just like real dryers!

Stay tuned for the last two Myth Tech devices - as they’re definitely my favorites.

Myth Tech Device #2: The Hydrol

Myth Tech Device #2:

The Hydrol

Washers. What an easy and convenient way to wash our clothes at a much faster rate than the old fashioned way. I just recently did my laundry and wondered to myself: why does it spin? Does the spin shake off the nasties? Surely there was a more efficient and less potentially destructive way to do it. As I’m not an engineer, I didn’t fully understand the mechanics behind it - though I’m sure my father would chastise me for even voicing the thought of ‘shake off the nasties’. The concept for the Hydrol, though beyond my mechanical understanding, is functionally the same. The Hydrol is a hollowed out Kappa shell filled with water. For those of you not familiar with a kappa, they’re a mythological, humanoid turtle-monster from Japan. They cradle water in a shell on its head, which gives it consciousness. When I was first researching this idea for my Myth Tech device, I got the idea of reverse engineering one of their shells from the way it ‘sloshed’ water on its head. It also had magical properties, apparently, as the water it held on its head was pure.

The Hydrol here became then the perfect means at cleaning things off. Although it’s primarily used for cleaning clothes, since we don’t want to damage the shell, kappa shells are renowned for their cleansing properties, and can serve to purify water for more general purposes as well. What you see there in the schematic above is a ‘Mermaid Tear’: a gemstone made of aquamarine, sea-shell essence, and sea-foam extract (specifically from tidally intense waters). Combining these three ingredients in an alchemical mixture, and slotting this little gemstone into a water rune charges it with a small amount of magic. The effect is this: when placed near small bodies of water, it causes that water to ‘cry’ and ‘stir’ - hence the name Mermaid Tear!

Putting these two together, and we have a Hydrol: Kisharia’s Myth Tech method of cleaning off one’s clothes, resembling the way we do it in our world today, yet still keeping that traditional epic fantasy theme.

I hope you enjoyed this Myth Tech presentation, and keep reading the remaining ones.

Myth Tech Device #1: The Runekeeper

Myth Tech University Device #1:

The Runekeeper

Refrigerators. I’m willing to bet many of us don’t really think about how truly amazing modern technology is, especially something like the refrigerator. It singlehandedly solved one of humanity’s biggest issues when we were just hunter-gatherers roaming the plains: food preservation. For thousands of years, the best we could do to preserve our food was to either eat it immediately, or salt it and eat it a few days later. Nowadays, we can keep items in the refrigerator for months on end without risking any environmental degradation or exposure. So, if a convenience like the refrigerator could only be made through magic, and nothing else, what would it look like? That was the idea behind the Runekeeper. In order to understand how it functions, I must first explain the magic behind it.

In the world of the Wandering Order, there are seven divisions of magic, collectively called the ‘Seven Aspect Magics’. These aspect magics are apart of what’s called Emanation Theory - the fictional origin of where and how magic was disseminated into the world of Kisharia. These divine emanations each cover at least one aspect/domain of the natural world. Each division has some overlap, in the sense that some magic compliments, some counter, while others have neutral effects on each other. If you were a Mage in this world (Mage is a general term that refers to anyone, regardless of their domain, that wields magic), you would only be able to cast magic through one of these domains. You can think of it in RPG terms, if you will: with sufficient training, you ‘attune’ to this magic, and learn how to wield it from there.

Having said that, one of these divisions belongs to the Elemental Wizardry branch. This is actually the ‘lowest’ branch of magic, and is, as a result, the most common. It also has the most divisions within it - four, to be exact. Those divisions are: Pyromancy (Fire Magic), Hydromancy (Water/Ice Magic), Aeromancy (Air Magic), and Geomancy (Earth Magic).

So, how does the Runekeeper work? It’s actually one of my more simple Myth Tech devices. Basically, a Frost Mage/Water Mage carves a set of three frost runes, locking them into a grid, and with the corresponding sigils, said runes will ‘draw in’ ambient magic that is attuned to their magic, making anything surrounding it cold. You stack these runes up in just right the order, put them into an iron box, line the interior of the device with iron as well to help keep it cold and prevent degradation, and voila! You have a Runekeeper.

But that’s not a satisfactory answer, still, is it? What the heck is a rune, and what the heck is a sigil?

Runes are (for those familiar with Arcane - this concept is basically the same) essentially ‘footprints’ of magic made manifest in the world of Kisharia. Seven very basic runes exist for the Seven Divine Aspect Magics. There’s a Dark Rune, a Light Rune, a Frost Rune, and so on and so forth. Sigils are essentially a magical lettering system that serve to ‘bring forth’ specific outcomes. So, you could have a sigil that says ‘Command!’ or ‘Draw forth!’ or ‘Rise’! There are many variations, and they do not have a universally functional purpose in the world of Kisharia. However, in this case, a Frost Rune, typically carved onto a natural medium (a circular stone is the preferred base) by a wizard of their corresponding magic, can help ‘guide’ magic into the rune with the corresponding sigils written around it.

If done so successfully, the rune becomes ‘activated’.

And that’s it! Entire industries in Kisharia are centered around rune and sigil manipulation, but the elemental branches of magic oftentimes provide us with the most functional usage.

I hope you enjoyed this Myth Tech presentation. Feel free to comment any questions.

Myth Tech University Orientation

Welcome all to Myth Tech University! This thread of blogs will serve as introductory world-building to my debut epic series: the Wandering Order. The world of Kisharia is vast and expansive, yet oftentimes, we only get just a glimpse of its many wonders. This mock-seminar will provide curious readers with specific details behind the origins of what I called ‘Myth Tech’ - otherwise known as ‘Technology through Mythology’. Myth Tech is the Wandering Order’s answer to Magi-Tech. For those who are familiar with Final Fantasy, you will know exactly what this concept is! It’s essentially a form of modern-ish technology that, instead of being powered by electricity, oil, or other scientific means, it’s instead powered by magic or a magical substance of some kind (aetheryte in the case of Final Fantasy).

So, let’s get started with a brief overview.

Kisharia is a world of what I call ‘Mythical Modernism’. It exists in a traditionally medieval High Fantasy setting, but with a few twists: it’s very high magic, and said magic has been advanced far enough to where medieval technology has thusly been modified, in its appearance and functionality, to something that resembles modern day technologies we have today. The only difference being: these technologies aren’t powered by oil, or gas, electricity, or aetheryte, but rather strictly through advancements made with magic. Oftentimes, these advancements take the inspired form of many mythological concepts and items in our real-world history.

The idea for this system was to explain the ‘How’ of Magi-Tech, as opposed to ‘Why’? In Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, or Arcane, magi-tech typically answers the ‘Why’ of something works. In Final Fantasy, you have cars and air-ships that work alongside traditional magic systems. Why? They’re powered by aetheryte! In Arcane, the same could be said for its Steam Technology: why does it work? Because of Shimmer and Hextech. In the Wandering Order, each Myth Tech device will have a ‘How’ attached to it, as well as a ‘Why’.

So, let’s take for example a relatively simple, yet familiar magical item found in many mythological stories: magic carpets. Whether it’s Aladdin or King Solomon, in either scenario, the magic carpet was a much better and faster means of traversing the world in their stories - effectively making them a ‘Myth Tech’ advancement upon the standard horse-drawn carriage. Or, how about long-distance communication? Are there mythological equivalents to a ‘cell-phone’ of some kind, or a radio? Believe it or not, there actually is, and you will be seeing future Myth Tech devices inspired by those very ideas as the series progresses.

The above example should give you an idea of what we’re working with, here, in Kisharia. As the series progresses, I will add more schematics and their associated blogs, and as more Myth Tech devices are revealed. But for now, this short introduction behind the idea should be enough to entice you to read further.

I hope you enjoy these readings thoroughly, and I will attempt to address any questions in the comments below.