Story World

So I recently came up with an idea for a new story world, and I thought I would share it here.  It is a modern day fantasy setting.  The basic premise is that there are two planes.  The one we know is the physical plane.  It is ruled by physical laws and order.  The opposing plane is the non-physical plane.  There nothing has physical form, and all is instead ruled by will, imagination and chaos.  There is a place, tiny cosmically speaking but still vast enough no one has explored it all, where the two planes meet and the energies of both mingle and merge.

Creatures of the non-physical plane seek, for many reasons, to invade into the physical one.  Some simply seek chaos and destruction, others want power, others have stranger reasons still.  To do so, they must cross through the meeting point.  To enter this area, they must take on physical form and thus become vulnerable to harm or death.  However, they still retain their ability to created changes to reality through will, more commonly thought of as magic.  To defend their home plane, some humans find their way to the meeting point as well.  There they take on magical form, and thus gain the ability to fight the creatures who seek to invade the realm.

In order to join the fray and take on magical form and abilities, a person must first be given a glyph.  A glyph is a magical symbol that acts as both identifier and as a catalyst.  Only humans have glyphs, and the glyph grant the human access to magic and power.  However, a person can only be given a glyph by someone who already has power.  The person giving the glyph chooses what they will inscribe, and thus chooses what form and powers the new person will receive. 

A glyph is a collection of symbols, each symbol representing a word.  To inscribe a glyph, a person must know the correct symbols and how to properly connect them and have the ability to inscribe them.  A person whose form is of an ice elemental will only be able to inscribe ice related glyphs.  A person who has weak magic will only be able to give weak magical abilities.  Most forms are human or humanoid, but there is no restriction.  The final abilities will be a combination of the glyph being inscribed and the magical strength of the person being inscribed.  Glyphs can only be inscribed with the permission of the person.  They can not be forced upon a person.  Once inscribed, a glyph can not be removed or changed.  It is permanent until death.  Glyphs are invisible to anyone who does not have one of their own.  When a person who has a glyph steps into the connection between the planes, they immediately change into their magical form.

Ideally, as each new person arrives, they would be introduced to others, find a suitable mentor who will teach them, then work with them to create a glyph ideally suited to their needs and desires.  However, not all who find their way between the planes is interested in joining the fight.  Some simply decide to leave.  Others, for whatever motivation, have decided to seek their own selfish desires.  There are those who seek power for themselves, to accomplish their own goals.  However, since glyphs can not be altered or changed, they can not increase their own personal abilities.  Instead, someone long ago began the practice of finding new people and tricking them into accepting a form that can be controlled.  There are different ways of doing this.  Someone who can control certain creatures could give people the form of such a creature, for example.  Most commonly, though, is to add a “control clause” into the glyph, some combination of symbols that builds a means to control the person right into the magical form they have.  It is literally a part of them at that point, and they are forced to become a servant to another.  These have become known as “dark glyphs”.  By building up their number of servants, people can increase their own power base.

The inspiration for all this came from this image:

I came up with the setting and rules to fit the story outline I came up with for this image.  I don’t have any specific details written for it, just a general idea of where I would go with it.

The idea is that he is a young man who finds his way into the battle between the planes.  He is tricked by a another person and given a dark glyph.  This person, though, isn’t content to just increase his power.  Since he can choose the new form for his servants, he has decided that he’d have sexy female servants who must obey his every whim.  The main character is changed into the above form, and forced to be both weapon and sex toy.  His magic may or may not be sexual in nature as well, I hadn’t decided.  One idea is to use “tantric magic”, which means his spells are fueled by sexual energy.  Or his new form might just be easily aroused and stimulated.  The newly made woman must endure her new situation and sexuality.  However, eventually, due to a mistake made by her captor, she is able to escape his authority.  It may be due to overconfidence, or perhaps inexperience.  If inexperience, it is possible that the inscriber somehow managed to make a mistake, which caused the glyph to go slightly haywire.  This allows her to escape, but also twists the magic that changes her form, so that when she leaves the middle plane, instead of reverting to her normal self, she reverts to a normal, but still female, human.

As I said, I don’t really have any specific ideas at this point beyond what little I’ve added here.  But it has potential, in my opinion. 

My usual disclaimer about use and credit applies.