Week 3: "I had chosen to play the detective—and if there is one thing that unites all the detectives I've ever read about, it's their inherent loneliness"

Welcome to Week 3 fellow partners-in-crime! Today I plan to do something slightly different from all the previous blog posts I’ve written so far. Instead of just brief glimpses and minuscule hints, I invite you on an epic journey, Fellowship of the Ring style, that traverses beyond the land of reality and into the fictional world of Themedior. Sit tight, wear your seatbelt, and enjoy the show!

I. Setting

It is said and believed among most that magic first appeared in the land of Esojnas centuries ago, a gift bestowed by the Goddess. All of a sudden, the vegetation of the villages encircling the Ossein mountain range thickened in verdant foliage. All of a sudden, if one wanted to guess what the little object in the sky was (Is it a bird? Is it a plane?), one could not rule out the possibility of an occasional, wild human. Any living spectators near this “mysterious fortune,” whatever it had been, had gained mystical powers.

Among those spectators, three families became infamous for their supernatural prowess: the desert-born Mystrals, renowned for their idyllic charm and ability to manipulate the senses; Rivettons, formerly known as the Gottglieds, who focused on the industrial application of magic; and Crows who emerged as symbols of misfortune and death. With great power, came wonderful resources but not responsibility. Each lineage inherited innate magical talent and, as centuries passed, acres of territory that constituted their wealthy estates. This revered yet feared trio evolved into what is now known as the Triad, an alliance between the three most influential noble families in modern-day Esojnas.

As their dominions expanded, folks devoid of magical essence, and commoners born with magic but not noble blood sought a land free from the Triad’s influence. Strategically positioned at the center of the three noble estates (Crows to the north, Mystrals to the west, Rivettons to the east), a land previously unoccupied by the three families due to fears of territorial disputes, Prospera was envisaged as an independent sanctuary, a place of unity and safety amidst the sprawling lands of power and familial strife. The city was architecturally designed to be a haven (check out my Week 2 blog post) and, for safety measures, a ban on magic was placed within the central district where the Council is positioned.

Just like Prometheus with fire, the Goddess had brought a blessing to the human realm. But these origin stories were simply the narrative the Triad had spun. One must wonder, did magic really blossom from the Goddess’s benevolence? Or was it a Pandora’s box, its contents ravaged not by divine intervention but by the dark design of vulturous humans? In the eyes of commoners, magic was a status symbol, a mark of distinction for those desperate to climb the social ladder. However, for the nobility, magic transformed into a darker, more sinister commodity, a trendy currency worth more than its weight in gold.

II. Characters (pt. 1)

Cynefin Alcestis: M, 27 (in the prologue)

• – Our stern and determined protagonist!
• – Magical ability: glimpse into the instance a photograph is taken
• – Husband of Everly Crow –> They married the year the prologue starts!
• – Born upper middle-class in a neighborhood under the Rivetton territory
• – Orphaned after a shipwreck that killed both of his parents when he was 9
• – Worked as a city guard in Prospera since he was little, promoted to Themedior at 27

Everly Crow: F, 28 (in the prologue)

• – The reserved, kindhearted victim harboring undisclosed secrets
• – Magical ability: Unknown to Cynefin (but she deals with the future)
• – Famous painter under the pseudonym E.M. Clockhart
• – Ran away from the Crow estate and her father Albion Crow & met Cynefin when she was 20
• – Disappeared in 2XX13 with little to no traces

Once again, thanks for scrolling this far! As you can probably tell, parts of the setting are still not finalized and several names mentioned above are just placeholders (Esojnas is backward for San Jose if you haven’t noticed). If you have any name suggestions, let me know in the comments. I also don’t want to reveal too much about the characters this early, so be on the lookout for more information about their backgrounds in the future.

Next week, I plan to introduce a couple of other characters who may or may not be the perpetrator of Everly’s disappearance. I’ll tell you all about it when I see you again!