Vivaan Kaushal
Art

Worldbuilding · ongoing

Baroque

This is my long term world-building project. It has no long term goal and I simply continue to add to this because of my passion for creative writing. As a kid, I'd always imagine and continue these stories in my head and I finally wanted actually turn that real. Things are subject to change and my writing style will mature overtime. This is just as much of a journey for me as is it is for you.

Baroque is a huge world filled with many different regions that are all drastically different. There are sky islands, plagued swamps and civilizations that live in Volcanos. Some people in this world have special powers which you can read more about in the Power Core System entry which is located in the codex. I don't want to spoil much and encourage you to explore.

Stories

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The Blind Boy Chariot’s backstory. A ten-year-old in Nivora idolises the Glacier Force, until the night a hunt arrives undetected. Foolish Old Man Runox’s backstory. A young man who cannot tame a Tarkan confronts his father about being a body with no use for itself. Zorak's Wrath Draven Zorak walks into the gladiator ring to face five men, in front of a crowd chanting his name.

Kingdoms

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Nivora A poor, frozen fortress-village in the Sub-zero Summits, under permanent siege from the Snowbiters that surround it. Segovia Home kingdom of Draven Zorak. Barely sketched out so far. Suryatale empty The Luxian Empire The wealthiest and most technologically advanced kingdom in Baroque, built on a resource-rich Sky Island and ruled by an All Father-worshipping monarchy. The Virethorian Empire A barbaric, isolationist stratocracy grown out of a swamp refugee camp, known for taming Tarkans into living aircraft.

Regions

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Plagued Zone Rotting sky islands beneath the Sky Islands, corrupted by plague, resource-rich and home to the Tarkan. Sky Islands The largest region in Baroque — a world-spanning archipelago of floating islands saturated with rare ore. Sub-zero Summits A mountain region of killing cold, stripped of vegetation and ruled by the Snowbiters. The Hades Chasm A deep volcanic chasm. Barely sketched out so far.

Locations

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The Cradle Above empty

Characters

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All Father The god of Baroque. He decides who is born with a Power Core and devours the rest to feed a hunger that cannot be satisfied. Chariot The Blind Magician. A Glacier Force warrior whose Power Core awoke the night Snowbiters killed his mother and took his eyes. Draven Zorak Gladiator of Segovia. Work in progress — his story is told in Zorak’s Wrath. Emperor Blitz The Thunder Berserker. A Luxian emperor in heavy berserker armour who channels lightning through his palms. Gothex A slave holder plotting to level her own nation with the Kamikaze Kizawa twins’ lava giant ability, in revenge for the man she loved. Runox The Crimson Harborer. A Luxian discarded as a defective child and raised Virethorian, fighting for revenge with the Orbs of Crimson.

Groups

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The Glacier Force Nivora’s military and de facto government, who run the Snowbiter expeditions nobody else will take on. The Luxian Elite Force The best military generals in the Luxian Empire — the best of the best.

Creatures

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Scorch Slime empty Snowbiters Saber-toothed pack predators of the Sub-zero Summits, intelligent enough to build igloo communities and coordinate their hunts. Tarkan Pterodactyl-like reptiles of the Plagued Zone, tamed by the Virethorians and fitted with engines to make Tarkan Jets. Zippercadia Dragonfly-like insects of the Sky Islands that chain electricity between one another, weaponised en masse by the Luxians.

Power Core

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Power Core Codex Index of named Power Core abilities — the Orbs of Crimson, Han-Zen and Man of Myth. The entries themselves are not written yet. Power Core System How Power Cores work: where they come from, the law that fixes their power, the four classifications, and how a core can be stolen.

Codex

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Attack Codex Reference for combat techniques. Currently covers the four tiers of Hyper-dash.