Weekly Rants: February 27, 2013

Greetings Fellow readers! Welcome to another round of Weekly Ranting. This week is the conclusion of 'Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes - The Four Universes'. Now that you got to know a little about teh Four Gods, it's now time to tell you how I shaped out the Four Universes.


[Arcana Magi Behind the Scenes – The Four Universes Part 2: The Elemental Wheel

     The Elemental Wheel is not entirely new. This is actually something featured in games be it Video or Trading Cards. Basically the idea is that elements would be stronger to one element and weaker to others. I now I know that sounds weird because this is not games but literature. How does this work? For this it is quite simple. Remember last week how the Four Gods reside in four different directions, that made it easy for the Element Wheel to work. To put it simply, Seiryu to the east and Byakko to the west oppose each other and Suzaku to the South and Genbu to the North oppose each other. In fact this was the first image I posted up in Fictionaut when I first created the 'Arcana Magi Universe' Group Section.

           This was made for 'Arcana Magi' Main Series which featured the Sentinels. This is the actual origin to how the layout works. In the Main Series, the idea as to have Alysia, Chisame, Brie, and Danica both oppose and aligned with each based on the Element they represented and along with it their personalities and traits. Eventually, I expanded this into the Universe itself by applying the concept to the stories themselves. Basically each Universe has it's own destinctiveness from its opposing Element and shares traits with other Elements. 
            Here is the Walkthrough, please use the image above as guide to see where everything lies. Please NOTE that writing Four Universes is difficult to upkeep and what originally intended could contradict. I will always do my best to keep up my own rules to assure that all of you will enjoy 'Arcana Magi' to its fullest. Also in this walkthrough, I will scarcely use characters names due to the fact that I can add more stories to each Universe in continuity, hence why there are 2 different stories in 3 universes.

            Suzaku Universe - Arcana Magi

            The Suzaku Universe is influence by the fire element, hence why the main character casts Fire Spells. Fire is an uncontrolled and unpredictable element, and not even so much an element by science standards, but it does have a sense mysticism. But fire is not something that can be contained in a sense nor suppressed. It burns but provides warmth and protection. One could say that fire itself is innocent since it's formed against its will. It never asked to be fire, and yet there are people who try to harness and weaponize it without any understanding of the repercussions that come with it.
             
             Byakko Universe - Arcana Magi Rush, Arcana Magi Divine 

             The Byakko Universe is influence by the earth/metal element. Since technology is made from the earth and metal, this universe utilizes such things to its fullest. It is also a slow universe, and I use the word 'slow' very strongly as the universe progresses storywise. Earth is a patient element and metal is one that tends to represent 'might' in most Fantasy stories. It is also land based and even though I haven't wrote enough in this universe, only 2 Short Stories, when this universe becomes fully realized, it should captivate the imagination of the journey and the wondrous world, if it had not done so already.

            Genbu Universe - Arcana Magi Memorial, Arcana Magi Cross

             The Genbu Universe is influenced by the water element plays on the concept of knowledge, wisdom and the unknown. Water is known to help with healing and has the ability to become anything. It is adaptable, and can be unpredictable. It can even nurtured those in need. People will take the time to learn and understand whatever peaked their curiosity. It can even be aggressive if people push it too far.

         Seiryu Universe -  Arcana Magi Zero, Arcana Magi Pure

         The Seiryu Universe is influenced by the wind and wood. Wind invokes philosophies and thought. Nature is its ally and spirituality is carried by words through the air. Nature is most aggressive in maintaining the purity of life trying to avoid any changes that is forced upon it. Wind itself has the ability to move around spaces and change its movement at a moments whim. It can also promote growth for all of life, how do think some pollen get around the world?

          Yeah so I got a little flowery, but now the comes the fun part. How are they all connected? If you haven't read all of them, I really encourage you all to do so, the universes do share things but when they oppose each other. I could go through the whole the list, but what's the fun in that. This is where you can all get overanalytical and find the similarities and differences. However, I will throw a few examples so you can get an idea of where I am going with the Four Universes. WARNING there will be SPOILERS, so again if you have not read anything, read them now.

          Suzaku Universe <--> Genbu Universe:

          It does come off obvious that Fire and Water oppose each other, but to make it easy on all of you, here's one that makes them different; In the Suzaku Universe the earth knew nothing about the Magi or that Merydia exists and now they are outraged at the end of the story. However, in the Genbu Universe, everyone knows about the Magi and Merydia and everything co-exists, hence Ciel coming from France and having diplomatic immunity. 

          Seiryu Universe<--->Byakko Universe:

          Here is something that should be obvious by now, Seiryu Universe has no robots, but technology reigns supreme in Byakko Universe. There is no magical technology in the Seiryu Universe unlike Byakko. This is more a nature versus technology thing. The Mana rules also stand out in that in Seiryu Universe there is a spiritual sense while in the Byakko Universe does not as seen in Rush. You can go ahead and write out your own theory of what's going in the Byakko Universe until I write more stories for that universe in the meantime.

         Now that you have an idea of how the opposing universe work, now it's time to talk about the Allied Universes. Basically 3 Universe allied with each and share a common things, like areas, people, themes, rules, and so on. I won't get into too much detail because again, SPOILERS. This will be in the form of list rather than explanations. It should be self explanatory.


            Merydia: Byakko Universe, Suzaku Universe, and Genbu Universe

            Madam Karyn Mayweather: Seiryu Universe, Suzaku Universe, and Genbu Universe

            Unstable Mana: Genbu Universe, Byakko Universe, and Seiryu Universe

            Teams/Clans: Suzaku Universe, Byakko Universe, and Seiryu Universe

That's the Four Universes in a nutshell. I want all of you to read all the stories and write your own articles of what is in these universes and over-analyze the heck out of them. Remember to have fun when you're exploring the Four Universes.]

Thank you all for joining me this week and listening to my rants. Next Week is March which mean 'Thoughts on Writing' will be back. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Until Next Time...
See Ya.