#feruchemy round 2

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

The Cognitive metals. Would you rather have zincminds to control the speed of your thoughts, or copperminds to store your memories?

[alyssa-orowane]

Fantasy tropes to avoid (and ideas to reinvent them)

Hello aspiring writers of Tumblr! How is it going?

This is my first post on here and I decided to dedicate it not only to the genre I am writing in, fantasy, but also to a crucial topic, which relates and affects every genre in different ways.

TROPES.

It's lazy to build stories on something that has already been written a million times before. I don't like tropes at all as a reader. If I wanted to read the same stereotyped story all over again I would just stick to the previous book I have read with that same plot, so I would also spare myself the trouble of learning the unpronounceable names of these new stereotyped characters.

On the other hand, as a writer it might be tempting to give in and use tropes. "Why not? After all everybody uses them and I am already SO busy writing the actual chapters of my story."

I tell you what: every time a trope threatens to slide into your story, crush the page and throw it across the room, yelling:

Seriously, though: tropes are just general, undeveloped ideas. That's what you need to do, develop them. In this way only will you ever be able to unleash their hidden potential.

Without further ado, may I present you three of the most common fantasy tropes and hints to reimagine them.

*Keep in mind that this is only my personal view on the subject and you can either agree or disagree with it.

1. The chosen one

This one is the most obvious one and I am also quite sure that you expected to find it on the list. Interesting, Watson: I guess that it makes this article stereotyped too…

Well we all know those characters. Those characters that were meant to be the one. The prophecies had spoken about them long before they were even born. They might as well be the only one capable of using magic or wielding a certain weapon. This character is either the only one who pushes forward the storyline or that one protagonist who does everything except choosing anything actively in the plot. There is no in between. Either way, they only possess notable qualities. Of course there is no trace of flaws. I mean, they are the hero.

Have a side-kick (or co-protagonist) be the chosen one instead

A great idea, if you really want to insert this trope in your story, is to use it to your advantage and surprise the reader with it. Who could ever expect that the protagonist was actually never the chosen one? Or that another character is the chosen one from the start?

To see this trope well recreated I recommend watching the BBC TV series "Merlin" in which a young sorcerer, Merlin himself, must help the future heir to the throne, the prince Arthur Pendragon, to fulfill his destiny and become the greatest king who has ever lived. Arthur has no clue of what has been foretold, nor that he even is at the centre of a prophecy. All of Merlin and Arthur's choices will determine either the glorious success or the tragic failure of the quest; all of this while Merlin hides his powers from Arthur and everyone else as magic is condemned in Camelot.

2. Overused fantasy Races

...which translates mostly into putting Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, dragons and any of the Tolkenian elements and creatures in your own story. Now, don't get me wrong. Tolkien is one of my favourite authors, hence I am always captivated by those fantasy novels that display these Races in their stories. But I don't want to read a copy, I want to read your own masterpiece.

That's exactly why you should:

Redesign the well-known fantasy Races and adapt them to your world and to your theme or just create brand new ones

Personally, I absolutely LOVE to craft new fantasy Races. I believe that it adds depth and realism to the world-building (which does not consist only of geography). Each civilisation brings their culture, their traditions to your story and that's what makes a world truly breathe. In my opinion, the purpose of fantasy is not to focus just on the epic deeds narrated or on endless battles enriched with magic and legends, though those are very important part of this genre and they must be just as equally developed. The reason why I write fantasy is to spread awareness around the vast variety of themes that coexist in our society nowadays, in the first place global warming, the racism that still today people experience, LGBTQ characters which are often unrepresented both in literary fiction and TV. What better genre than fantasy is there to represent diversity and multiculturalism? On these latter points I will never not be thanking and loving the works of Steven Erikson which are part of the high-fantasy series "Malazan Book of the Fallen". Diversity and the brand new variety of intriguing Races are a huge part of what makes Malazan such an awesome fantasy series. I refer to Steven Erikson as the main inspiration of my writing and I recommend you to give a try to his books, if you have the chance. I warn you though, that it is not any light or easy reading.

The other option might be to reinvent the well-known Races. Tolkien himself did not "invent" the Elves of Middle Earth, rather he made a legend of his own after having studied the myths and ballads of ancient civilities. Then he developed their language, their history and their culture as if they were a real existing population. Every single aspect of Tolkien's worldbuilding can be read in his Silmarillion. I think it is a must-read for anyone who is looking forward to reinvent the traditional fantasy Races or just to know more about them.

3. Unfailing magic systems

Magic can be anything you want. That doesn't mean, however, that it should be your escape point: stuff in your story should happen because of your characters, not only because of magic as it is simpler to put it that way. A magic system should be rational and engaging. The reader needs to be able to understand exactly how, when and why does magic work in your world. No, the answer should not be "because it's fantasy."

Set rules, limits and costs to the magic in your world

How do character gain magic abilities? Is magic accessible to everyone or is it elitist? Is it taught in specialised schools or is it something that resonates from within? Are wizards free to practice magic or is it banned? Or maybe are there only specific areas of magic that are prohibited? What is its source? Does magic come from higher beings or are spells more powerful the stronger the mage's will? Does magic need a catalyst (such as a talisman, a weapon etc.) to be casted? If not, do wizard recite spells? Do they need to trace specific symbols? Otherwise is it necessary to make specific hand gestures in order to release their powers? Does it exist only one system for all mages to use or are there multiple kinds? Last but not least, what are magic users in your world called? It's all up to you to decide. Ask questions and let each question lead you to another one. You need to know exactly how your magic system works and so does the reader.

What I love about crafting magic systems is the freedom to establish the boundaries and the natural laws that apply to your world, as magic is a huge part of the story if you're writing fantasy. Well, this could also lead to another question: is your world actually ruled by magic forces or do magic abilities have just a marginal role in the world building?

Remember that magic should not be used as an excuse to fill eventual plot holes in your story. Your magic system should function correctly and it should always stay true to itself. In other words, it must be believable.

And I can hear you thinking "but it‘s magic!"

Then guess what? You need to make the readers believe that magic is real!

First of all, set the rules, the limits and the costs that apply to your system. Having done that, you'll have finished most of the work that concerns the use of magic in your world. Most, not all. If you are a bit of a perfectionist like I am, consider the importance of developing your system furthermore by asking yourself questions, such as the one I have written above.

Rules: decide what makes your system work and what magic can be casted for.

Limits: decide what kind of tasks your magic system cannot perform.

Costs: decide from what kind of source is magic obtained from and, literally, what does it cost to mages to obtain their magic from this source (as Rumpelstiltskin of OUAT wisely says: "all magic comes with a price.")

The most excellent and well-rounded magic systems I have ever come across are the ones created by Brandon Sanderson in this "Mistborn" trilogy: allomancy, feruchemy and hemalurgy. All three magic system permit the magicians to use a wide range of abilities based on the metals they can "burn". Magic originates in the Shards and from Preservation and Ruin, two god-like beings. If you're already interested, I definitely recommend you to check Sanderson's novels out: they are a useful resource of inspiration.

I hope this post has somehow given you the inspiration to go and write right now. 
If you have questions about some of the points or requests for the next articles, don't be shy and send me a message! I will try to cover your topic as soon as possible and as best as I can (and I will also tag your profile, if you agree). 
Thank you all for your attention. Bisous^^

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

The Physical metals. Would you rather tap super speed or super senses?

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

Feruchemy: Round 2 RESULTS

Steel continues to dominate this tournament- it’s now the only metal still in play on both sides!! Feruchemical-Steel (Steelrunner) beat F-Tin (Windwhisperer) with the largest margin in this bracket, 76.9%.

Gold (Bloodmaker) and Duralumin (Connector) both scored 61.5%. Both are pretty cool powers, and we’ve seen them a lot more than their counterparts, Feruchemical Bendalloy (Subsumer) and Chromium (Spinner). So these victories made a lot of sense.

What really surprised me here was ZINC (Sparker), which beat Copper (Archivist) by the slim margin of 54.2%. Given our sample size, that equates to a difference of only 2 votes- but that still came as quite a shock, since I was predicting Copper as the winner for the whole Feruchemical side of the tournament!!!

-

Feruchemy: Round 3 will begin TONIGHT (3/15) AT 7PM EST.

Allomancy: Round 3 is currently ongoing!!!

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

Last Day for Feruchemy: Round 2 Polls!

Steel or Tin?

Zinc or Copper? (this one is a close race!!!)

Bendalloy or Gold?

Chromium or Duralumin? (also a pretty close match!)

These polls will close tomorrow morning, 8AM EST on Tuesday 3/14.

Below the cut are descriptions for each of these powers (sourced from coppermind.net). Which would you rather have?

STEEL (Steelrunner)

Steel is used to store physical speed. Then, by tapping their steelmind, a Steelrunner can move many times faster than a normal human, even one burning pewter with duralumin, as well as burn metals faster. While storing speed, a Steelrunner is very sluggish and is described to feel like moving through molasses. Steelrunners can withstand the Gs they are put through, but they can't ignore wind resistance and friction and will burn up if they start running too quickly.

TIN (Windwhisperer)

Tin is used to store sensitivity of senses. One sense may be stored each in a tinmind. Unlike an Allomancer burning tin, it does not allow a Windwhisperer to see things that would be otherwise unobservable; instead, it compounds the potency of their senses currently available. While storing senses, those senses become weaker.

Tapping sight causes the edge of the Windwhisperer's vision to blur, and sacrifices immediate field of vision in favor of a more distant, binocular view. Tapping too much sight can induce nausea. Storing sense of smell dilutes a Windwhisperer's sense of taste.

It is possible for a Windwhisperer to store more than the five traditional senses in a tinmind. An example of this would be the the ability to feel pain. It might be possible to store Allomantically granted senses like bronze sense.

---Link to Steel or Tin?

ZINC (Sparker)

Zinc is used to store mental speed. It allows the Sparker to think very quickly and come to conclusions faster. While filling a zincmind, the Sparker will be dull-witted and slow. Storing does not affect the Sparker's ability to take in physical information, but it does increase the time it takes to process that information. For example, a Sparker filling their zincmind will perceive words without delay, but will take longer to parse their meaning. Tapping zinc has the odd side effect of making the user hungry.

COPPER (Archivist)

Copper is used to store memories. Since the memories in a coppermind do not degrade with time, it is perfect for the collection of enormous quantities of facts. When an Archivist stores a memory in a coppermind, it immediately disappears from their memory. Memories stored in a coppermind are filed individually and are not seen as one whole memory to the Archivist. The best users of copperminds would create indexes to find memories much faster. Finally, the longer a memory sits outside of a coppermind, the more it degrades, though this is due to the brain's own imperfections, not any quirk of the magic. Copperminds can not store muscle memory.

 ---Link to Zinc or Copper?

BENDALLOY (Subsumer)

Bendalloy is used to store nutrition and calories. While filling a bendalloymind, a Subsumer is able to eat large quantities of food without becoming full. Tapping such a metalmind will allow the user to go without food. A separate bendalloymind can be used to store fluid intake.

GOLD (Bloodmaker)

Gold is used to store health. A goldmind can be tapped to both heal at an accelerated rate or to heal from wounds that would normally be fatal. It is hard to fill a goldmind, due to the fact that it requires the Bloodmaker to spend time sickly and weak. Gold does not heal diseases as efficiently as it heals wounds.

Gold healing works by aligning an individual's Physical aspect to their ideal self as recorded in their Spiritual aspect. This does not prevent them from aging or certain genetic diseases as those are considered part of the ideal.

Damage to the soul, such as that caused by Hemalurgy, can be healed by Bloodmakers, though it would take a lot of health, i.e. compounding, to regain the stolen ability. A Bloodmaker would also be able to heal a wound from a Shardblade, or being withered by a shade.

---Link to Bendalloy or Gold?

CHROMIUM (Spinner)

Chromium is used to store Fortune. A Spinner filling a chromiummind will be unlucky, and can tap it to increase their luck.

DURALUMIN (Connector)

Duralumin is used to store Spiritual Connection. Filling a duraluminmind can be used to reduce other people's awareness of and friendship with the Connector, as these Spiritual Connections become stored away. Tapping it would strengthen Connections or allow the Connector to form relationships faster.

Southern Scadrians use unsealed duraluminminds to enable them to communicate with others on foreign lands. This ability can be used on other planets, though it does not grant the ability to travel between worlds. Tapping a duraluminmind would also allow someone to overcome the location restriction on Selish Invested Arts; for example, an Elantrian could use Aons at full power regardless of location, though there are also easier ways to achieve this. It could also allow a person to become a squire to multiple Orders of Knights Radiant, though there are, again, easier ways.

A duraluminmind would be able to interpret rhythms, albeit not very accurately.

---Link to Chromium or Duralumin?

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

The Hybrid metals. Will you choose bendalloy to store and tap Energy, or gold to have Wayne’s healing power?

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

The Spiritual metals. Would you rather use chromium to spin the wheel of Fortune, or duralumin to Connect with people and places?

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

#feruchemy round 2

Thanks to everyone who voted in Round 1! The second round of voting will go up at 8AM EST tomorrow (March 7) and will run for a week.

The Feruchemy: Round 2 matches will be:

STEEL or TIN?

ZINC or COPPER?

BENDALLOY or GOLD?

CHROMIUM or DURALUMIN?

And don’t forget about #allomancy round 2 -- those polls are open now through Thursday, March 9 at 7AM EST!

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

ALLOMANCY: ROUND 1 is LIVE!!!

Which is the best metal??? Voting will close at 7PM EST on WEDNESDAY 3/1.

IRON vs. STEEL

TIN vs. PEWTER

ZINC vs. BRASS

COPPER vs. BRONZE

CADMIUM vs. BENDALLOY

GOLD vs. ELECTRUM

CHROMIUM vs. NICROSIL

ALUMINUM vs. DURALUMIN

EDIT: Round 1 is now closed, thanks to all who voted!

Find more polls at Feruchemy: Round 1 and #allomancy round 2

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

It’s Time for Allomancy: Round 3!

The Allomantic Round 2 results are in! The closest match was Nicrosil, which beat Duralumin with only 61.3% of votes. The biggest victor was Bendalloy, beating Electrum with 83.9% of votes.

The next round of Allomantic metals will begin tomorrow: Saturday, March 11 at 11AM EST. There will be TWO matches at #allomancy round 3.

(#feruchemy round 2 is still ongoing!!)

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

Stats from Best Metal Tournament: Round 1

The first round contained a total of 16 matches: 8 for the Allomantic metals and 8 for the Feruchemical metals.

In both categories, Steel vs. Iron was the most decisive victory:

Allomantic Steel (Coinshot) beat Iron (Lurcher) with 89.3% of votes.

Feruchemical Steel (Steelrunner) beat Iron (Skimmer) with 87.9% of votes.

The closest competitions in each category were:

Allomantic NICROSIL (Nicroburst) beat Chromium (Leecher) with 59.2% of votes.

Feruchemical ZINC (Sparker) beat Brass (Firesoul) with 64.3% of votes.

Metals that have been completely knocked out of the competition:

Iron, Pewter, Cadmium, and Aluminum.

Metals that have won for both Allomancy and Feruchemy:

Steel, Tin, Bendalloy, and Duralumin.

Thanks to everyone who voted! Choose your Round 2 favorites at #allomancy round 2 and #feruchemy round 2

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

Feruchemy FINAL ROUND begins now!!!

Which will be the Ultimate Feruchemical Metal???? Vote for your favorite in:

ZINC or GOLD?

#feruchemy final round will run until 12PM (NOON) EST on SUNDAY, APRIL 2. Reblogs and propaganda are welcome. May the best metal win!

(The Feruchemical winner will then face off against the victor of #allomancy final round...)

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

#allomancy round 2

Round 1 has concluded and a new set of questions went up this morning at #allomancy round 2 !!!

Voting will close at 7AM EST on Thursday, March 9.

The matches are:

STEEL vs. TIN

BRASS vs. BRONZE

BENDALLOY vs. ELECTRUM

NICROSIL vs. DURALUMIN

Feruchemy: Round 1 remains open until 7PM EST on Saturday, March 4. Follow @cosmere-metals-tournament to stay updated!

[cosmere-metals-tournament]

Allomancy: Round 1 RESULTS!

STEEL triumphed over iron with 89.3% of votes. Sure they’ve got a lot in common... but Steelpushing lets you fly.

TIN beat pewter with 65.4% of votes. Spook for the win!

BRASS beat zinc with 73.2% of votes. Breeze has influenced us all.

BRONZE beat copper with 63.2% of votes. Hey, didn’t Vin do that too?

BENDALLOY beat cadmium with 77.5% of votes. Marasi did her best to make cadmium cool, but it still can’t beat the power of speed bubbles.

ELECTRUM beat gold with 75.4% of votes. Take that, atium burners!

NICROSIL barely beat chromium with 59.2% of votes. That was a close match!

DURALUMIN beat aluminum with 63.4% of votes. Equally sad as Misting powers, but Mistborn have a clear favorite.

#allomancy round 2 will open at 7AM EST tomorrow, March 2.

(Feruchemy: Round 1 remains open until Saturday.)