A lot of the time I’ll start drafting systems/countries that will support one of the integral parts of a novel. In this case, I’ve started writing a story based on a dream I had that surrounds a magickal dictatorship.

There were two big castles side by side that were basically prisons but were labelled as ‘schools’. This country was kidnapping/removing magickal children from their parents and homes and putting them in these institutions to turn them into weapons. One of them was for females and the other was for males. They called them ‘Adams’ and ‘Eves’ and the idea was that everyone is born with an ‘other half’ and putting these two together make more powerful mages.
I was only young, about four or five, and they had suspected I had great potential and so sent me to live with another mage where I would find who my ‘other half’ was and basically grow up to be a nuclear weapon for them (something about the longer you live and bond with your other half, the more powerful you become).
So, my guardian was a man who looked like Waver Velvet from the Fate/Stay Series (an anime). The ‘Adam’ school picked six or seven boys who they thought had the potential to become my other half (it wasn’t exactly clear if this was a ‘true love’ thing or just good compatibility). I had flashes of how the boys were harshly treated, chained and locked up and beaten into submission. Some of them were isolated because of their abilities. The only powers I actually saw was pyrokinesis, and the boy that possessed that was constantly chained up in an isolated and frozen cell because he often tried to escape. Their ages kind of fluctuated between eight and twelve (you know how dreams don’t care for linear progression).
Well, what happened was that mages brought the boys to the estate where I was staying. The idea was that I see a ‘shimmer’ on one of them and tell my guardian and then that boy was picked as my candidate for my ‘other half’ and the rest would be sent back to the ‘Adam’ school. At the end of the day, when I was told to say which one had a shimmer, I knew what happened at the ‘Adam’ school and so lied and said I could see it on all of them to prevent them from having to go back to that hell. And, for some unknown plot reason, the mages were like “uh, that doesn’t make sense but yeah, let’s go with that”. They guessed that I would eventually bond more strongly with one of them and they would come back when I was older (and not so young, dumb and confused) and take the other boys back. What ensued were snapshots of a chaotic upbringing that only has to do with platonic love between a little girl and the six-to-eight older brothers she forcefully adopted. Some of them were mean at first, not understanding what my intentions were and not willing to ‘play the part’ of a candidate, but over time, real bonds developed…

…and then I woke up and the idea just kept developing.

I had this dream almost a week ago and so I haven’t written much (though I do have the beginning, middle and end already decided (for now, because that’s how drafts work)), but I thought it might be good for my confidence in my idea/exploring new developmental process by sharing a little bit about how I start structuring a world. A lot of the time I’ll have an established idea of what I want and there’s something about systems that I just love putting together. I think it also helps establish the status of the work, making obvious political tensions, especially in the context of Bryldum (where this story will be taking place). It also gives me a foundation to start putting my characters in. Sometimes I make dolls and then realise there’s no dollhouse to put them in, and that’s why I started doing a lot of writing about the setting and exploring more mature aspects like politics, government, country management etc. I’m trying to give my works a lot more substance when it comes to the setting, something that I’ve been developing from playing DND really.

It might be a bit of a mess, as it’s just early drafting of the system that will underpin this story, but here’s what I did this morning:

Glossary Guide

Magick – the result of using magick
Magicka – mana in use
Magickal – to describe something of magick, such as use, system or person
Mana – refers to the physical/spiritual construct of magick inside of the body. Is often used interchangeably used with ‘Magick’, although ‘Magick’ refers more to outside ability, such as potions, spells, circles etc.

Changes to the Hierarchy Post-Dyarah

When Dyarah takes over Bryldum, she rips up the foundations of the Magickal Court and strips all titles that she can (only deities can strip the titles of Elder Mages|Grander Magus and it’s not possible to remove the title of an Archmage|Archmagus). She reinstates a Magickal Court, as they are important to the functional of a country, but names it the Magickal Garden

The Hierarchy

There are two noteworthy systems of magical hierarchy on the continent, the ‘Mage’ and the ‘Magus’. Bryldum uses the system of ‘Mage’ but two of the three border countries use the system of ‘Magus’ and so those who have traveled or studied abroad may often use these systems interchangeably.

Archmage|Archmagus

This is the highest title of magic and is not the same as an occupational title. This title is only earned by those with incredible power, whether they are a good person or not. They are often akin to gods and usually have blood-ties to a god or goddess. The title cannot be given or taken by a body of government but is automatically bestowed on those who receive the ‘Archus Brand’. The Archus Brand is a distinctive gem or tattoo that appears on the foreheads of magickal humans when they ‘ascend’ into an arch-status. Archmages|Archmagus are rare in number and when they finally die, the mana build up evolves their soul into an immortal being that can either reincarnate or share a body with a compatible mage.
It is common for a country to only have one or two Archmages|Archmagus.

Court Mage|Court Magus

Though Court Mages|Court Magus are often not as powerful as an Elder Mage|Grander Magus, they have more political/legal power and are the pinnacle of the mortal hierarchy. Most countries have a Magick Court, which is filled with elected officials that govern the magical side of things. This court often manages the country but it isn’t uncommon that they work beneath a monarchy. The structure and purpose of a Magick Court may differ from country to country, some being more administrative and others being dictatorial.

Elder Mage|Grander Magus

This title is bestowed on individuals of great power and achievement. It relies more on the innate manner of a person, rather than the amount of work they put in and so it is almost impossible for common magical people to earn this title. Similar to the Archmage|Archmagus, Elder Mages|Grander Magus are not elected or appointed the title by Court Mages|Court Magus, instead, they are usually blessed by a deity or Archmage|Archmagus and given the Elder|Grander branding, similar to that of an Archmage|Archmagus, in the form of a small tattoo on their neck.

Under-Court Mage|Minor Court Magus

This title is given to members of the Magickal Court that are not Court Mages|Court Magus. It is used for secretarial members, but is still considered to have higher authority than that of a Grand Mage|Grand Magus as they are often speaking for a Court Mage|Court Magus.

Grand Mage|Grand Magus

This title is bestowed on Mages|Magus that have significant achievements. It is often the final title for common magickal people, when they have made great progress in their career fields. Becoming a Grand Mage|Grand Magus is decided by the Elder Mages|Grander Magus. A mage|magus needs three recommendation from an Elder Mage|Grander Magus and these recommendations then need to be approved by six other Elder Mages|Grander Magus.
In Bryldum, Thorns and Roses cannot become a Grand Mage or an Elder Mage.

Hound-Mage

This is an exclusive title to Bryldum and refers to Mage|Magi who have great sensory magick. They are used to determine the potential of other Mages|Magi, usually The Thorns and The Roses. Other countries have similar individuals but they are usually members of the Magickal Court.

Attendant|Guard

This title is given to those who are assigned to be the assistant or guard of an individual of higher status. Their title is prefixed by the title of who they are serving. Though Attendants|Guards are considered to have very little agency, tethered to their masters forever, they are esteemed Mages/Magi and can speak on behalf of their masters, making them quite high ranking.
In some countries, these individuals belong to a family, in others they swear their loyalty to a single person.
In Bryldum, these are mostly come from The Thorns and The Roses, commonly serving the guardian assigned to them.

Knight Mage|Steel Magus

This title is bestowed on magical soldiers. They do not necessarily use armour and swords anymore but are still the guard of important individuals. This is an occupation title and can only be earned once. They can only follow this path once they choose it, unable to make any other career pathway, automatically becoming a civil servant when they are unable to continue fighting.
In Bryldum, these mostly come from The Thorns and The Roses.

Mage Commander|General Magus

These titles refer to those who manage the country’s military on behalf of the Magickal Court.
In Bryldum, The Thorns and The Roses cannot earn this title because they cannot be given power over others.

Scholar Mage|Papry Magus

This title is bestowed on Apprentice Mages|Magia if they are approved for magickal study by their guardian. These individuals either do independent study, study on the behalf of the Magickal Court or teach other Mages|Magi. It’s common to find Scholar Mages|Papry Magus in other countries, sharing information or learning from them.

Military Mage|Magia Militia

This is a common title given to general members of the army if a country.
In Bryldum, this is not an esteemed title and is the usual pathway of The Thorns and The Roses.

Apprentice Mage|Magia

When a Mage/Magi enters the field of Magickal study or work, they are often taken on by a Scholar Mage/Grand Mage/Elder Mage|Papry Magus/Grand Magus/Grander Magus. When this happens, they are given this title by the Magickal Court of the country.

Child-Mage/Mage|Magi

This is not always an official title in countries but refers to children born with natural magicka talent. They retain this title until they either earn another title or come of age at nineteen.