Over Thanksgiving, after an impromptu art lesson I hadn't planned on participating in, I discovered that I rather enjoy painting. One sketchbook purchase later and it turns out that I'm pretty good when it comes to drawing if I look at a reference photo.
I'm pretty proud of how my frog turned out. I'm going to continue nurturing my art skills now that I'm not spending my time looking at my work and comparing it unfavorably to others' as I did through my youth. I spent a long time hating that my art wasn't like this person's or that person's, but now, I've realized it's okay. I'm proud of what I can do when it comes to drawing. My fiancé wants me to sketch out things on their canvases when they paint and our roommate wants me to draw a frog on a canvas for them too.
I mentioned that I finished the timeline for the random project that I started in November. I'm now in the process of culture building. First, though, I think I should mention a couple important events from the timeline. It's still lacking dates, but it's in order.
The first event: The creation of the national religion of Preycia, one of the main countries that is involved in the main conflict at the start of the novel. The Oracles of the Attuned is a polytheistic religion that preaches that the ruling family, the Arnuanna family, are blessed by the gods above all others and the Oracles of the gods.
Preycia is a country on a peninsula in a northern portion of the world. They have a large navy, which following the discovery of helium reserves, includes airships that also serve as airborne aircraft carriers (which is based on the USS Akron and USS Macon, which were operated by the United States Navy in the 1930s). Preycia also pioneered the invention of luxury ocean liners and airships. While they have a substantial navy, they don't have much in the way of an army. They have royal guards, but no real army.
The second and third event, which blend together: The creation of the national religion of Vesmain and the creation of the nation of Vesmain itself. The Order of the White Wolf is a monotheistic religion that focuses worship on the god, the white wolf Fenris. It forbids graven images of animals and people (with the exception of the white wolf depicted on their flag) as creating the images robs Fenris of his worship.
At around this time, Aeson Vesmain, the founder of the Order of the White Wolf, led his army on The First Crusade Against Heresy. Those who would not convert and could not flee to neighboring countries were killed. By the end of this bloody war, Aeson Vesmain declared the land his army cleared as their nation and named it Vesmain, after himself.
Vesmain, as a nation, kept its military and religious history. They have a large standing army and maintain a military dictatorship with strong ties to the church. They have also continued their history of expansion through conquest. But that is a history lesson for another post.
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