Category: Brainstorm

 

I watched this bullshit video about a mysterious space object. Speculation around it is supposedly all made-up crap, but it’s interesting regardless. We could have a mysterious object like this in the story, relating to the origin of the world.

Extremist groups are interesting to study. When a society has problems and huge disagreements, there tends to be a rise of extremism which the established power structure tries to suppress, creating the very demons they try to exorcise. These groups can be very complicated and difficult to define. The story should definitely have a few extremist groups that the brothers meet and interesting characters within these organizations they interact with.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/23/proud-boys-extremism-book-00057703

For example, since we have crazy cults that worship murderous gods, we could also have groups that champion freedom of religion. Perhaps the aristorcracies are attempting to ban religion, as these cults are getting more powerful in the wake of famine and social problems increasing, but this is opposed by other groups who view religion as a positive.

I read an interesting article on Helsingin Sanomat. A famous writer suggested that nations fight for stories, the leaders creating myths around them and their nations. This could be an interesting angle. https://www.hs.fi/visio/art-2000009075238.html

The snake god has been worshipped by numerous cults and in organized religions. Bloody sacrifices have been made in its name. Ancient temples from different eras built in its honor can be found throughout the lands. However, no towns are built around these temples, as the rumors say, people will go mad in their proximity.

The snake is not the only pagan god that has inspired mass murder. Unspeakable abominations have been depicted in statues and artworks by reclusive communities hidden in the darkest forests of the world. Fang and claw and long heads, lizards with holes in place of eyes. Smiling fanged mouths. Worms with wings. Like some unspeakable nightmares that artists failed to fully captivate in their waking hours. Something so primal, it escaped the senses.

The magic of this world is unrestrained. Once you know the words of spells, you can cast them without restraint. So long as you can speak, at least. All magic is oral. But this poses a challenge for societies. While magic allows societies to develop rapidly, they also implode quickly. It doesn’t take more than the discovery of a few spells for rogue wizards to destabilize a society. One wizard with ambition and some social skills can rally angry lower class peoples into terrorist organizations and start fighting for power. This likely destroyed many prior civilizations. It could even be the real reason the history of the world is steeped in bloodshed and the technology stuck at medieval level. No society has been able to restrain magic enough to advance beyond a certain level. Hence the world is so polarized, with extreme potential and extreme destitute.

The brothers sneak through the ranks of the undead to speak with the necromancer. They try to solve the situation diplomatically, to prevent further violence. They seem to have the upper hand, with their newfound ally cutting through ranks of zombies with his battlehammer. The magic of the brothers is also fierce enough that they feel confident they can undo the rogue wizard’s shambling army. But then, the necromancer tells everyone to shut up. It’s his turn to speak.

In his possession is a journal. From it, he insinuates, he has learned spells that none of them have encountered before. Uttering just a few strange words, his shambling army is suddenly equipped with black armor and spears. The heroes are literally fucked.

One way the characters could survive is that the villain feels so superior, he leaves them behind unharmed, because they pose no threat to him. i’m thinking he has studied magic so deeply, he’s unlocked teleportation magic. he teleports right into the middle of the city the main characters were trying to protect from him, and he kills everyone.

after everyone is dead, the order of the reapers kills him and the zombies. but why didn’t they act any sooner?

I always imagined this world as being medieval. But why would they stay that way after thousands of years? I had this idea that the world is very static and that’s one of its core problems. While it’s a paradise, it’s a very stilted world that’s dying to its lack of innovation and reformation. Advanced technology could even be hoarded away by the kings and aristrocrats who want to remain in power.

Perhaps magic is so potent that most things can be done with it. Nobody needed to create machines. Perhaps the normal people have grown corrupt and lazy too, because there is always summer and crops grow around the year. This could cause all sorts of problems. And lack of a seasonal cycle would affect the cultures. Has there never been any natural disasters, really? Could there be a couple ones that happened and they were a big deal, because they never happen? How would people even interpret such events?

The secret organization battling the strange plague would be ancient, with long roots. Do the have political affiliations? Sponsors? Are they independents? Are they corrupt and bought, or independent agents?

I’m thinking the FBI with teleportation powers and some dark arts magics and cool scythes. Grim reaper secret police!

What’s their hierarchy and internal structure? Are there leaders, specialists, scholars, field agents, medics even? How large is the organization, where do they have offices? Do they make money somehow? Do they have dayjobs? Is “reaping” a freelancing gig?

Do they kill people? Probably. Do they have prisons for the undying? North Korea style concentration camps?

The brothers will investigate reports of a necromancer abusing the dark arts to summon himself an army. Anyone with such powers is bound to have studied ancient texts to unlock them. They have to devise a plan to defeat him and take whatever scrolls and books are in his possession.