#mundus rimor

[nikolaraftis]

In what way will Zena become powerful? 👀

Like, does she have powers of her own?

Zena does indeed have powers of her own. She has the same abilities that all Mundus Rimor have: to interact with the walls between worlds and use weak points to travel between them, as well as within a world (so, a bit like teleportation, except she and all the others can't do it like a blink in the air -- they literally have to walk/fall/jump/climb through these weak points, and they come out the other side. There's a lot more detail to this, but that can wait for the book). Mundus Rimor also have a certain skill with tracking (as you might have seen me demonstrate the start of in a draft), more in the sense that they have internal compasses and are tethered to the places of their birth which helps guide them (i.e. their own kind of true north). If magic is something that evolves in a species (well, I am my own worldbuilder, so I guess I can say it does), then this way to find home (and sometimes to track/find their own kind) is an evolutionary survival skill. But those are about the limits of that ability. I don't want Rimor to be able to track anything and everything, that just makes the powers too convenient, and there are also a number of rules for travelling between worlds, which are explained in Bones Of A God.

Because of certain decisions Zena makes throughout the series, her powers begin to manifest in a more rare fashion. The meaning of her full name, Zenaida, is a clue to that. It's not all that significant plot-wise, just something cool to look forward to!

Edit: also, most of her power is not in terms of, well, powers. These abilities are one aspect of her as a Mundus Rimor, and her eventual ability to wield weapons another, but power is also an interesting topic where Zena is concerned because, at one point, she has to cheat her way into it. More on that in the later books though ;)

[nikolaraftis]

Character Profile: Geronimo

Artist unknown.

Name, age, gender: Hieronymos “Geronimo” Sotiriou alias Jerome, 24 (immortal), male

Physical appearance; how the character feels about their physical appearance: fair skin with gold undertones, copper jaw-length wavy hair, pale Verdigris green eyes, Grecian nose and sharp jaw, tall and hunched stature, lithe figure, a scar running across his nose, more scars litter his body, impassive face, always wears an heirloom gold necklace with a compass star on it from his mother; he is absolutely beautiful yet he feels ugly and unsightly since he has not seen his own reflection for a while, though he used to feel that he was good-looking. Clothing: button-up shirts and a variety of waistcoats with suitable trousers and boots underneath. Wears suspenders under waistcoats. He won’t admit it, but for formal events, he will wear a men’s corset underneath his attire. Over top he wears a grey trench coat (casual) or overcoat (formal), but he starts the story in an Inverness cape that is quickly ruined.

Race, class, ethnicity: human, middle class, Mundus Rimor.

Childhood experience – family relationships, friends and key figures, lifestyle, education, activities and interests

Family relationships: all of Geronimo’s family are dead. His father, Konstantin Sotiriou, died before he was born, and his mother, Helen, raised him until she died when he was 16 from pneumonia. He had no extended family and was taken in by the Moralises until he reached adulthood.

Friends: Thaddeus Moralis was his best friend, and he was good friends with Echo whom he knew since he was a boy (and Echo’s name was Barbatos back then). He still knows Echo, but the two do not talk much anymore. Geronimo has since befriended Ryota Kurniawan who comes into the city to trade at the farmer’s market, and he’s agreed to bring groceries every month. Jezzabelle is another immortal whom Geronimo has known for a while, though they are not particularly close.

Key figures: Peregrina is the goddess of Mundus Rimor, and Geronimo is her champion. When Mercer attempted to steal from her pyramid of stars, Geronimo killed him, and returned the stars, and so was granted a wish in return. He wished for immortality, and he received it – but with some unforeseen twists.

Lifestyle: disabled, not very well maintained, he is pretty much completely blind and can only see faint lights/shadow. Though he has his own ways of getting about and living, his house tends to be a depression nest mess.

Education: Geronimo attended the Trouvaille Academy and learned many subjects, though much of his literary knowledge is now behind by 200 years.

Activities/hobbies: ceramics, weapon wielding, listening to the radio, animal care.

Interests: music, sculpting and ceramics, history, art (specifically really into textured paintings), animals.

Attitudes and moral beliefs: Geronimo’s attitude is cautiously ambitious and perfectionistic. His moral beliefs centre around what does right by the most people, but also what keeps him alive.

Current relationships – parents, siblings, romantic partners, friends, children, etc.: no parental relationships, no siblings, no current romantic partners, few friends, no children.

Religious background and current religious beliefs: not a particularly religious background, he just worshipped Peregrina, Hermes, and other gods like most Mundus Rimor until immortality began to weigh too heavy on him.

Occupation; relationship to boss and coworkers: retired self-employed detective and adventurer.

Main aspects of personality – introvert/extrovert, pessimist/optimist, thinking/feeling, etc.: Geronimo is an introvert, recovering pessimist, thinks more than he feels and yet he feels a lot – just keeps it bottled up until it leaks out in the only avenues possible.

What are they proud of? Ashamed of?: Geronimo has only ever been proud of his knowledge and skill, and he is ashamed of his failures and cowardice.

State of health: Geronimo’s health is perfect (except mentally).

Fears: death, sickness, forgetting, being lost, going deaf, claustrophobia, wolves/werewolves, never waking up.

Sense of humour: surprising, teasing, wry.

Core characteristic: representing the moon in his moodiness, the swells between calm and wild, his close but misunderstood connection to humanity and other creatures, he’s mysterious, cool, and has a subtle kind of friendship/familiarity. The moon also relates to his ‘sleeping’ curse (the twist to his immortality). His core characteristic is his self-preservation.

Inherent contradiction: Geronimo’s inherent contradiction of character is his fear of death and desire to bring an end to his life – since he does not register it as wanting a change in his life. He is stagnant because of his fear.

Favourites: jade green, pomegranates, Barn owls, spring, thyme tea, cold baths, duels (swords) (sport), sun showers, midnight.

Dislikes: dark chocolate, dancing, honeyed tea, coffee, itchiness, coughing.

[nikolaraftis]

@manawari Something else I completely forgot to mention: Mundus Rimor are naturally gifted at learning languages. Not only that -- sometimes they can adjust and some understanding comes by more magical means. An example of this is the way Zena (in the first chapter of the current draft so far) reads Macedonian as if it's reflected backwards, because this is in another world directly opposite the one she came from. As time passes, the letters rearrange the right way. It takes a longer time to understand the word she is reading and hearing from those around her. It only lends itself to a limited degree though. Many other Rimor already know Macedonian, Greek, and Turkish (and Vasileyan (alternate Latin, of a sort)), but Zena did not grow up with these languages. Rimor also have a greater capacity for the languages they can know fluently.

There is one, Echo, who knows the most out of any Rimor. The rumours say he knows every language to exist ever, period.

In what way will Zena become powerful? 👀

Like, does she have powers of her own?

Zena does indeed have powers of her own. She has the same abilities that all Mundus Rimor have: to interact with the walls between worlds and use weak points to travel between them, as well as within a world (so, a bit like teleportation, except she and all the others can't do it like a blink in the air -- they literally have to walk/fall/jump/climb through these weak points, and they come out the other side. There's a lot more detail to this, but that can wait for the book). Mundus Rimor also have a certain skill with tracking (as you might have seen me demonstrate the start of in a draft), more in the sense that they have internal compasses and are tethered to the places of their birth which helps guide them (i.e. their own kind of true north). If magic is something that evolves in a species (well, I am my own worldbuilder, so I guess I can say it does), then this way to find home (and sometimes to track/find their own kind) is an evolutionary survival skill. But those are about the limits of that ability. I don't want Rimor to be able to track anything and everything, that just makes the powers too convenient, and there are also a number of rules for travelling between worlds, which are explained in Bones Of A God.

Because of certain decisions Zena makes throughout the series, her powers begin to manifest in a more rare fashion. The meaning of her full name, Zenaida, is a clue to that. It's not all that significant plot-wise, just something cool to look forward to!

Edit: also, most of her power is not in terms of, well, powers. These abilities are one aspect of her as a Mundus Rimor, and her eventual ability to wield weapons another, but power is also an interesting topic where Zena is concerned because, at one point, she has to cheat her way into it. More on that in the later books though ;)