My Fictional Universe

So, in case you didn't read my first blog post, I stated that Shining Force I and II were one of the main inspirations behind my fictional universe (which THE STRAY SCALES is set in). I want to delve a little deeper into the universe, and briefly explain how one of my favourite videos games inspired it, and mention various other media that influenced the shape of the universe!

So first and foremost. You're probably wondering what the planet in the universe is called.

Is it:

1. A ridiculously long fantasy name that no one can pronounce?
2. A frankenstein of words?
3. Some random name I dreamed up that turned out to be something entirely inappropriate in another language?

If you guessed the third one, you're wrong. In fact, none of these are correct. 

The correct answer is simple. The name is as generic and boring as it sounds. Tellus.

But wait. Isn't that just Latin for 'Earth'?

Yes, it is. It was meant to be temporary but it’s kind of become on purpose. The fictional universe, at its basic core when I began further developing it, was a 'What if Earth was more magical, but instead of the fantasy creatures adapting and manoeuvring around us, we adapted to them instead?'.

As I said in my first blog post, it simply started with fantasy personas of all my friends. These personas weren't just living in a white void! They lived in lands based on real life countries (as well as those inspired by pre-existing fictional countries).

The fact is, many events and characters from my fictional planet are loosely based on history, folklore, and pop culture that exists in our blue rugby-shaped planet. Like what would the Pied Piper of Hamelin do if he wasn’t the only one with magic? What if humans could be just as powerful, if not more, than the Fae Folks?

While I debated changing the name throughout the years, it just kind of stuck. The world is basically a homage to the only planet that holds life (that we know of). It's like a less boring twin in a whole other universe. A magical reflection of Earth.

Anyways, enough about boring little ol' name of Tellus. What is the world actually like?

Well, as I said, it's a little wacky. It is, by all essence, a speculative world. Not like a Galaxy Far Away, but not like Middle Earth either, and it's not like there aren't other worlds where technology and magic haven't met before (Runeterra).

Runeterra is probably the closest example to what my world is like (make sense since LoL is one of the inspirations). There's magic. There's technology. You have people embracing newer technology, and have people that are completely fine with the older technology they have.

My world is basically a smash of the past, present and future, where technology is ever growing, and the old ways are still going strong. You have people with plasma guns, and people who only need to use their fists. You even have people combining both tech and magic together. It’s basically our world…except we don’t have magic (that I’ve seen clear evidence of) and plasma weapons (maybe someone is making them right now).

But wait, there's more! There's an entire island dedicated entirely to stardom! Don’t ask me why. I did say the world is a little wacky. Also, there are elves, cowboys, and beastfolks.

It's a weird little world. But what were the inspirations behind the way the world works and its characters? (besides League of Legends, of course).

Well to be blunt with you, there are a lot of inspirations (particularly for the characters). From various mythos, to fairy tales we know and love, many of the characters are loose inspirations of what already exists. I was always completely fascinated with Myths and Legends as a kid, and that hasn't changed at all. I’ve always wondered how characters or elements of iconic Pop Culture would fare in our world

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, for example, is a notable inspiration behind a certain group of people in my world. Not because they're pulling off cover model poses (I mean, they can if they want to), but because their main powers are inspired by Stands (combined with extinct animals such as Deinosuchus or Titanboa!).

I also have characters inspired by notable figures from French literature such as Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchbank of Notre Dame. And while we’re at it, I can’t forget European fairy tales, such as The Little Mermaid, which THE STRAY SCALES is a fractured retelling of.

There's more, but as I said there's loads of inspirations for my characters (including inspirations that are super minor) and I'll be rambling all day. So, I'll just skip to actual main inspiration that inspired the foundations of the world.

HOW SHINING FORCE I AND II INSPIRED TELLUS AT ITS CORE.

In both games you control a group of characters who traverse lands to defeat evil, and eventually slay the final big boss. This isn't a unique thing, but this was the first JRPG game that I had ever played. I enjoyed the group of characters I got to play with, ranging from humans, to elves, and to centaurs (there’s even a beastman that becomes a full-on werewolf in terms of appearance when you promote him lol).

So how did this game inspire my world? I knew straight away when I was developing it, that I didn't want only humans occupying the world, but I also didn’t want it to be like every other fantasy starter park. So I quickly populated my world with like every species I could think of (Fae Folks, Vampires, Demons, Gerudas, Belus...etc), as well as making some of my own.

I really enjoyed going from place to place in Shining Force, and I knew I wanted the world to be diverse and big. Rather than just one land or a group of islands close together with different kingdoms duking it out, I had lands loosely inspired by some of our own continents, countries, and regions!

And from there, I just kept developing the world in regards to the inspirations of my characters, and where I think they would live! With how big the world, and how many characters there are, I wasn’t surprised at how many story ideas I ended up having. Some stories are closely connected to one another and the main storyline, while others work perfectly fine on their own, and while not contributing much to the overall narrative, would still be a fun way to explore some of the world.

I would delve more into other things (such as plot points) that the game inspired, but that would mean going into spoiler territory, so I'm afraid that's all I can say for now.

Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble and all over the place. I didn't want this post to be way too long. Perhaps, in another time, I'll come back to this topic again later. (I cannot guarantee that though 😂)

Anyways, catch y’all later.