7 And 45 For The Writing Asks >:) I Know You've Done Some Really Meaty TES Worldbuilding And I'm Always

7 and 45 for the writing asks >:) I know you've done some really meaty TES worldbuilding and I'm always fascinated by how people can extrapolate so much on what bare bones we're given

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

GRAMMAR. And punctuation. I couldn't properly use a comma to save my LIFE before my benevolent and patient beta readers pointed out all of the things I was doing incorrectly. From dialogue tags to dangling participles, I feel like my grasp on grammar has improved leaps and bounds within the last 6 years that I've been writing fic regularly. (And getting feedback).

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

Oh lord this is a tough one. I've really enjoyed working with the Falmer, obviously. I was very excited to make the connection between a blind race adopting sound magic (Tonal Architecture) into their culture. Especially since it's a reclamation of sorts. Re-taking the power that their slavers used to subdue them.

But I also had A LOT of fun with...ah fuck I just went looking and realized IT'S NOT EVEN PUBLISHED. Okay, random snippet from "Ex Oblivione" below the cut on the Daedric realms and traveling between them. Explained to us by none other than my favorite teacher who never asked to be a teacher, Neloth:

“I’ve been to Apocrypha,” Aerik argued. “I know what it’s like.” 

Neloth tutted and shook his head, a smug smile curling the corners of his mouth. “My dear boy, you’ve accessed Apocrypha through a Black Book. Your physical body remained here, on Nirn. What you perceived as ‘Apocrypha’ was simply a single tome. The full realm stretches the length of Tamriel, if not Nirn itself.” 

With a quick gesture, Neloth procured a glimmering, ethereal map in the air before them—a map of Tamriel. 

“Think of the planes of Oblivion as such…” He pulled his hands apart, and the map separated into multiple layers of different colors. “They exist in parallel to our own world, overlapping and congruous. The Daedra did not create their realms, for they are incapable of creation. Instead, they used Mundus as a sort of… blueprint, if you will. Each plane mirrors our own in this sense. Fargrave, by comparison…” Another gesture and a diagonal map appeared in the center of the planes, dissecting the others. “Fargrave is an anomaly. None can say how it originated, if by Aedra, Daedra, or other beings entirely. But its position allows access to almost any known plane of Oblivion.”

“This is great,” said Aerik with a nod as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I’m a visual learner, so this is helping me a lot.” 

Neloth waved the maps away and they dissipated like clouds of shimmering smoke. “Because of this overlap, it is not guaranteed that we will arrive anywhere nearby the location we need to be in order to find Miraak. We must be able to locate the approximate area of Apocrypha that corresponds with Solstheim, since this appears to be the seat of Miraak’s power and the point at which he is attempting to break into our world. This will be the most difficult task, and it may take time to calculate.”