#brdim coalition collection

[artistic-m3nace]

Like I said in the Tartarus map post, I have MANY maps. Introducing Heran Manor, the ancestral home of the royal family of Talki, the Herans!

Heran Manor is a frequent story location in a lot of the little things I write and a great deal of the official stories. I introduced Fin in a recently previous post (linked here), so check that out for a big ol' infodump about how much I adore him. But because he's such a developed character, he's also a focal character in BrDim, and as such, lots of stuff happens at Heran Manor.

Now this is the general layout of the place, which is to say, it's been busted up quite a few times across the 140+ years of Coalition Collection it's not exactly. But the pocket dimension map stays roughly the same, and the layout of the palace is functional/accurate enough. (That said, I am not an architect and should not be allowed to plan buildings. But this works well enough for my purposes lol)

Some notes:

There are SO many trails around the Manor. The military branch that operates out of there, along with the Heran Manor Guard, use them for PT and some use them for casual long runs. The upper plateau trail that goes all the way around the top tier of cliffs is at least 5 or 6 miles as a loop. (Evansen Stark uses this to their benefit CONSTANTLY.)

There's a road that goes from the warp pad to the bridge.

Taerin is the nearest city outside of the Manor, and is recognized as a strategically important location relevant to the defense of the Manor portal/access point. That said..

Heran Manor exists in a pocket dimension because it was the easiest way to make it more defensible without rebuilding the whole place. Given how dug in they are (the barracks, I've decided, are HUGE. That cavern under there is MASSIVE) and the historical/familial ties to it, and how it's viewed by the people of Talki, this was not in the Herans' best interest. So what Syne Heran did, sometime around 600 E-10 when she'd kicked everyone in her family's ass well enough and disbanded the remains of the Tritaran Empire* to instead rule a chunk of it, Talki, she decided to "move" her family's ancestral home. She has friends in high places (Hectis Eagriss is literally the next Nathan Shasear, he has magic out the wazoo and is capable of some insane things) and essentially copy-pastes the entire stronghold and its surrounding landmarks. Yes that is possible. The Manor itself was uprooted from Tartarus centra's reality plane and reconstructed magically in the pocket dimension. The only way to get in is with warp codes or access to the portal/access point, which is where to original warp pad rests.

The landscape inside the pocket dimension is different than what remains around the ruins of the original Heran territory in centra. It's been over 1400 years since Syne moved it by the 2000s E-10. And it's Tartarus. That shit changes.

All of Fin's siblings are buried somewhere in the pocket dimension. He had 5 total, none of which he met, 4 of which made it to adulthood. One of his aunts is buried there too (Syne's sister-in-law, who she was close with), and there are monuments to his cousins, Farlan and Kirose, who aren't dead but might as well be since Adira made them vanish around Crisis 9.

I am, unfortunately, the only person who really knows what the inside of the Manor looks like because currently it only exists in my head. I need to make a moodboard for it someday.

[artistic-m3nace]

Introducing Finlay Heran, the Arv'hein of Talki, Tartarus - better known as my other favorite oc

Fin is, when counting all iterations of him, my oldest character out of the entire cast of the entire Broken Dimensions project. He came to life when I was 11 or 12 and I created a side character for a homeschool writing project (yes I was homeschooled for two years, don't ask me about it), and has pretty much been around ever since.

I adore him.

He is also a little shit. ( Read below the cut for why lol )

So some background on who Fin is as a character:

Arv'hein of Talki from 1906 E-10 onwards, inherited the title from his mother Syne when she abdicated the throne to him, cut her hair, and disappeared off the face of Tartarus to go run a freedom trail because running Talki was, at the time, incredibly stressful. She did not prepare Fin for this at all. Him learning to deal with that - and with her - is it's own continuous story within Coalition Collection, and he doesn't like her very much. (His dad, on the other hand, is Viridian Eagriss Heran, who is a sweetheart even if he's had to temper Syne's impulsive tendencies for over two thousand years. We love Viridian. he does also leave tho in order to chase down Syne.)

Botany nerd. Closeted botany nerd until the 1990s E-10, but a botany nerd nonetheless. He loves Tartarus's weird flora (and fauna, but it's easier to fight the plants). He loves it so much that it does, in fact, almost kill him several times and eventually gets him cursed. But y'know, that's just how it is.

Book nerd. I like to think he'd enjoy adventure novels, like Indian Jones in book form, or action/mysteries, if those are a thing (maybe they're a thing in his universe, idk). But he'd also read romance, erotica, and like, monster fucker erotica, which totally exists in abundance in Tartarus, a world of horrific beasts, megaflora, and magical demon people. And I think he'd be super secretive about it - like "hide the real cover with a book jacket from a botany book" secretive about it.

Starts out very "punch (stab) first, talk later," then slowly tempers that. A little. The reverts after getting cursed and goes a little crazy for a bit, but it wasn't his fault (that he got cursed. the stuff he did is pretty much his fault and he makes up for it)

MASSIVE flirt. Also bi, even though they don't use most terminology of that sort in the BrDim universe.

Bilingual - Talkian and Common Tongue, though he does know some conversational vocabulary in Mercishan, some words in Trivaalian, and most swears and endearments in Aetherian (eventually). (Does all that technically make him a polyglot?)

Is transmasc!! Uses he/him pronouns exclusively and can and has fought people for misgendering people on purpose. Not stealth, but also doesn't usually tell people. Like his close friends know - Hiro and the Chirrells knew him pre-transition, Alkaline Aviligne knew him during his transition, Ev finds out naturally - but it's not something he broadcasts. Though he does walk around and spar shirtless often enough that I'm sure everyone knows and it's like, fun background knowledge the entire North Tartarun Coalition uses to gauge the trustworthiness of outsiders lol

His chest scars are actually scarification not surgery scars. Transitioning in Tartarus (whether it's transfeminine, transmasculine, or tweaking until you reach your desired level of adrogeny) is as easy as a potion or potion regimen, accompanied by some medical magic (literally) to help the process along. (Other places in the BrDim universe have advanced technological ways to do this, should one so desire to medically transition. Tartarus is just partial to magic)

Adept fighter in multiple styles of combat, including several BrDim swordforms, whatever combined style of martial arts the Talkian military teaches, and others. Natural fire magic user, and should be a natural at Shadow magic because of his dad, but doesn't use it frequently enough until the 2040s E-10.

Can be an snarky and overly sarcastic and loves to poke fun at his friends, but isn't actually an asshole. He cares very deeply about his friends and those he trusts, so much so that the people who turned against his mother eventually grow to respect him once he settles in and takes over. He's fiercely protective of his people (those under his rule as well as those he identifies with and loves) and tries to do what's best for them by listening to his advisors when he can, and handing it back to them when they're full of shit (in the years right after his mom abdicates, they are often full of shit. He gets in some fights).

Very tactile with his friends and with his partners. So much so that you often can't tell who he's fucking vs who he's just really good friends with. He flirts with both parties, he hangs off of both parties, the biggest difference is that the person he's dating with usually react differently, or occasionally they'll both disappear for a bit and come back looking like they just shagged in a closet (which, yk, they might have). That all changes slightly after the 1960s E-10, by which he's learned what the loss of very close friends is like and cherishes time with them more - and presses romantic ventures with them much, much less (which is sad). Still very tactile though. Lots of hugs here.

Served three years in the Talkian Armed Forces before becoming Arv'hein (joined at 18 after completing a general education, was crowned at 21). He should have served until he was 25, which is when Tartaruns consider people fully grown (13 is a teenager, 18 is a young adult, 25 is a new adult, 100 is a true adult. Tartarun life expectancy is around 500 years, unless you're Syne Heran and took an anti-aging spell as a 130 smth).

He also has several tattoos!

The armor ref sheet (aka the most polished full-body peice I have of him that's also up-to-date) doesn't show any of them, but the sketches I included above show his double arm bands. Haven't decided 100% what they mean, but I like the idea of them having originally read something in Basic Tartarun (a conlang script alphabet I made a few years ago) that he then covered up with two blackout bands.

His mother's stylized crest on his back shoulder (because he thought she was dead for a few years)

Half a dozen little tattoos his squadmates gave him in the TAF or his friends on city night excursions

"Bite me" in BT on the inside of his right thigh

culturally-significant tail tattoos (in gold)

He gets Ev's "Razienne" sigil tattooed on his lower back as a joke, but turns out it gives them both a little shock when Ev touches it. So naturally they do the two-finger taser thing to him all the time.

He has a rose tattoo on the back of his neck/down his spine that's twined with magic and runes and activates the Arv'hein's crowns above his head (Syne has a similar one)

- Fin undergoes a lot of change over the course of Coalition Collection, though most of it is internal. His friends don't see it as clearly until he or someone else points out how he's changed and matured. That said. He's 163 in Book 2 (2040s E-10) and that's roughly the equivalent of being 25, mentally. Which means we've got this interesting dynamic where he's developmentally in his late twenties, but he's also been through 125+ years of war, politics, and emotional rollercoasters. Which is! Complicated!

But yes, I adore Fin. I'd love to meet him and ask him to teach me how to throw a punch if he was real lol

- As always, questions (here or in the ask box) are more than welcome!

[artistic-m3nace]

Project Breakdowns: Coalition Collection

Masterpost here.

Coalition Collection (CC) is a work-in-progress collection of short stories, chapter-like shorts, and longer things that explore and detail the lives of the crew I consider to be the Broken Dimensions main cast. With the exception of the members of Wolf's Eye (discussed later), most of this cast of characters (listed below) are the biggest and oldest names on my roster and are near and dear to my heart. While "Book 2" was written first and has spent years more being under development that CC, CC is still probably one of the most important things I've ever written in terms of worldbuilding and character development in the long game-sense.

The main cast is made up of 10+ characters: Finlay Heran, Evansen "Ev"/"Vans" Stark, Alkaline and Ameria Aviligne, the Chirrell family, Aviera Lance, Thelia Sparkes, and Shire Paloran.

Important secondary characters include: Talis Errison, Cole and Reina Hackerie, Axel Varriett, Corrin Merinak, the Aetheria Council Triumverate ("the trifecta"), Amperoney Para'sier, and Erasha Sarrdin (amongst others with varying appearance frequency).

CC takes place over approximately 130 years in Era 10, starting in 1906 E-10 and ending in 2043 E-10. The event that kickstarts it all is Ev's impromptu, unfortunately-timed rise to power as the Emperor of the New Aetherian Empire in 1906, immediately following their death and resurrection via VDR (see the Void infopost thing here for that). It's a loosely-planned collection, which I say somewhat cheaply because I do, in fact, have an MASSIVE Milanote board filled with the detailed BY DECADE outline for this collection... but nothing is entirely set in stone. It's been a joy to finally start writing, and hopefully I'll grind out a little bit of art for it over winter break.