Tag: World Building

Crafting Fantasy: The Creative Journey Behind The World of Pillar

D. Michl LoweLeave a comment

The World of Pillar is the larger moniker I have given to what I assume is going to be a trilogy of books. The first of these has been given the title The Gunslinger and the Beast, with the next in line being titled The Mamon Engine. It might seem odd at first that I know the first two books’ titles, but oddly enough, I am more sure about the second book’s title than I am the first. That is because, currently, the second of the books is nearly done, and the first is about a third of the way done. In the beginning, these first two books were just one volume. However, after hitting just over 110,000 words in the book, I decided it might be better to split the story into two and allow each of the two main narratives to breathe a bit more on their own.

The current plan is to finish this first story and publish it, followed by finishing up the second and publishing it. After those, the third story will combine characters and storylines from the first two as the main story arc concludes. Below, you will find some of the notes on the story and the world I have been playing with. Enjoy this look into the creative process I am working on.

I have envisioned that The World of Pillar is, in fact, Earth far into our future. I have long been a student of the fantasy genre, and many of the classic and modern writings have entertained me for years. When I was in my undergrad, I started reading The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan and later finished by Brandon Sanderson. It took me years to actually finish the series, not only because it wasn’t finished being written yet, but because it was a very thick tale to move through.

I love Jordan’s fantasy world! While I could never hope to write something on his level, he inspired me greatly. One of the aspects that I really enjoyed was how Randland used to be Earth, but it was in the far future, and the world had been broken to the point that no one remembered it as it had been before. Jordan was sneaky, though, and gave hints throughout the books about the world’s previous status. A lot of the prophecies and histories also provide hints.

When I sat down to write my fantasy, this was a path I wanted my world to trod as well. However, while you really have to look closely at Jordan’s novels, I wanted mine to be fairly obvious if you took the time to really look at the world I was revealing. So, while my text doesn’t come out and say that the world is Earth and nothing overtly yells it out, you can infer the reality of this through many aspects of the story and world. One of the main aspects of this is shown in the map of the surface of Pillar. I created this map and had an artist draw it up from my creations.

Maps and Other Drawings:

The map of Pillar was created using a flood map from the YouTube channel called Worldostats and their video titled USA Flood Map | Sea Level Rise (0-4000 meters). If you watch the video and stop it when the sea level is at 280 meters, you will see the main area of Pillar pop out. I have included a screenshot of the video and placed a grey circle around where Pillar was then pushed up out of the earth, seven miles into the air, after all the flooding.

YouTube video from Worldostats, that I paused to create my first map.

I actually laid a piece of tracing paper over my laptop screen to trace the general shape of this map onto paper. Then, once I had the general shape, I bought a full-size map of the eastern coast of the United States and began coloring. In an evening or two, I had a rather large map that I could use to really look into the details of travel and areas that I could play with. It’s interesting to me that with a couple of crayons and a cheap map from Amazon, one can give life to a world that is as vast and intricate as The World of Pillar. Here is that map.

The real world map that I destroyed to create a full-size map of Pillar.

This map hangs above my table downstairs in my basement, where I have written most of the story. Other pictures are hanging in the same place. I photocopied pictures from historical texts from when I was still in college, and other things. There are character sheets and timelines, as well as other drawings of armor, weapons, and even flying ship floor plans.

The folding table in my basement is surrounded by my maps, drawings, and ideas. This is where I do a lot of the writing for my books.

Where did the story come from?

When I was back in college, I had two fantasy stories in my head. One of them was a grand fantasy that would take place on top of a huge pillar up in the sky. I was inspired by the video game Chrono Trigger and the Kingdom of Zeal in the Antiquity timeline. I loved that idea of a place separated from the rest of the world, up in the sky. The other story was a much more personal and down-to-earth fantasy that involved animals in a time far in the future when there were no more humans. This story was going to feature mainly dogs, but also other animals like deer and cats.

In the end, I took both ideas and combined them into a single world and story. The dogs, of course, remain, and the use of other animals as well, but I have chosen to place them into a more grand and far-reaching story in the future, where the creation of a giant plateau in the clouds has nearly destroyed Earth. When the ideas were still new, I first envisioned a female protagonist who was a magic user but never aged beyond twelve. I wanted to play off the idea that wizards were usually frail in physical form but powerful in magic, and using a young girl played into this idea nicely. However, the more I got into the story and started really detailing some of the plot points, the more I got uncomfortable placing a young girl in some of those situations.

I split that character into two separate characters. Thus, the characters of Christoph and Meshiah were born. At the beginning of my writings, Meshiah was a human throughout the story. Still, the more I wrote about her and Schalk (a Brown Dog), the more I really wanted their relationship to be able to blossom into something more than just a friendship. While interspecies relationships are mentioned as being a thing in the world, I didn’t want to directly tackle that sort of ethical difficulty in the main storyline. As such, allowing Meshiah to be changed into a brown dog species in the beginning created a fun narrative beat and also a direct connection to Schalk as a romantic interest in her new life.

Meshiah and Schalk. I commissioned this picture before I switched her to being a Brown Dog.

The Magic of Creativity:

Magic has captivated me for as long as I can remember. As children, we all dream of possessing powers beyond our reach. I recall a neighbor friend standing on a tree stump, arms outstretched, convinced she could feel herself lift off the ground. She’d rise onto her toes, only to “lose it” and fall back down, claiming she just needed more practice before she could truly fly.

I believe this longing for the fantastic is hardwired into us. Yet, as we grow older and reality settles in, many of us lose touch with that wonder. It’s a tragic loss, really. But there are still moments when we allow ourselves to indulge in that innate desire for magic, like when we become emotionally invested in a great movie, a compelling book, or a great video game.

Take Old Yeller, for example. (Fair warning: spoiler ahead, though the Disney film is over 65 years old, and the book is even older.) In the story, a frontier family faces hardship when the father, Jim, leaves to sell cattle, entrusting his son, Travis, with the responsibility of the household. During Jim’s absence, Travis meets an old yellow dog who proves his worth by saving his younger brother from a bear. Though Travis initially dislikes the dog, their bond grows strong, and eventually, he loves the dog.

At the story’s heart-wrenching climax, Old Yeller fights off a rabid wolf. During that time, there was no cure for rabies. When the dog shows signs of the disease, Travis’ mother hands him a rifle, knowing what has to be done. With a heavy heart, Travis shoots his beloved companion, breaking not only his own heart but the hearts of countless readers and viewers.

However, the story doesn’t end on a hopeless note—Old Yeller had fathered a pup before his tragic end. Though Travis initially resists bonding with the puppy, he eventually recognizes Old Yeller’s spirit in the pup and names him “New Yeller.” My retelling may be simple, but even now, the memory brings tears to my eyes. The emotional impact of a boy having to put down his best friend is a wound many of us still carry, who have seen the film or read the book.

Why do stories like this affect us so deeply? Why do we cry over fictional characters and events? After all, we aren’t the ones forced to kill our beloved pets. Yet, we feel it as if we are. The emotion of it is real.

That’s the magic of storytelling. When we watch a film, read a book, or play a game, we become a part of those worlds. We are Travis Coates. We are Master Chief, Frodo Baggins, Chrono, Rand Althor, or Link. For a time, we embody their struggles and triumphs, feeling every loss and every victory. It’s why we choke up when Samwise Gamgee declares he can’t carry the ring, but that he can carry Frodo, lifting him to his shoulder.

In these moments, we’re not just spectators—we are the heroes. I may never save the world from an evil sorcerer in reality, but through stories, I can be Link, fighting to protect Hyrule from Ganon’s grasp. I’m only a school counselor and author in the real world, but through the boundless creativity of humanity, I can rule kingdoms, save worlds, lose them, and live a thousand lives.

This is the true magic we all possess: the ability to connect to infinite worlds through our imaginations. It’s what makes us truly human. Magic is real—alive in every story we tell, in every fantasy we explore, and in the infinite potential we hold within ourselves.

D. Michl Lowe

The Mammon Engine: Ch: 27

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The first scene of Chapter 27: A Northbound Train

Character Perspective: Bedlam, Balor, and Mentia.

In this first scene, we get to have an insight into a character that is a chimera. This is a creature with the body and head of a lion, another head of a goat, and finally, the tail ends with the head of a snake. We’ve met this character before through the eyes of others, but not from their perspective. I wanted to play around with the aspect of having three persons within the same body and how that would work from a mental perspective and a gender perspective since one of the persons is a female, one is a male, and the other… is something else. This is an evil character within the book, but fascinating for me to write about. Let me know what you think.

Getting himself and the rest of the troops from the Cront’s main city of Creo Tera boarded onto the elevator deep within Pillar had been a trial. It was a large platform elevator, and there needed to be tons of equipment, soldiers, and supplies brought up from the Cront tunnels and onto the surface of Pillar proper. Organizing all of that had taken a lot out of Bedlam. Using Smoke was not taxing within itself, but pulling that much of it from his surroundings had required continual concentration. Keeping the Cront in line and working had proved to be a more difficult job than they had initially thought it would be. The enormous steam engine off to the side of the shaft started up and the platform jumped before beginning the slow ascent towards Pillar above.

Bedlam, Balor, and Mentia were a three-in-one creature. Most of the time, when asked, they just called themselves Bedlam, but in reality, it was more than that. They had the body of a lion, with a tail made of the head of a snake, and beside the lion head, was the slain head of a goat. They had heard someone refer to them as a chimera once, but really that didn’t fully encapsulate what and who they were. Dumont had created Bedlam, all three of him, soon after being awakened. Balor, the goat head of themselves, never really spoke much. She tended to provide the power for whatever Bedlam wanted to do. Occasionally Mentia, the snakehead person, would require some form of Smoke power for something, but they were mostly quiet as well, only occasionally putting in their thoughts or wishes.

It was odd to them that they would occasionally think of themselves as a he or she. Clearly, Bedlam thought of himself as a them, working to consider the whole of themselves, all three. But also, Balor was clearly a she, even without really speaking much. There was a feminine aspect to her thoughts and feelings. Mentia though… Bedlam wasn’t really even sure. he did refer to himself as a “he”, but he was just more of Bedlam, just like Mentia. They were all the same person, not distinct. So, they found themselves thinking of themselves in a fluid state of being. Sometimes a they, sometimes a he, and other times a she. Other times, they were just an it or a thing. Could someone be a they, if they were created by another?

Now the Cront were not that intelligent, not really, but using a hypnotic Smoke on that many of them was challenging. Bedlam would place a renewal of the spell on each of them, every week or so and that seemed to keep them in line and working. As it happened, they only really needed to control the leaders, most of the time. They would then direct the majority of the troops to accomplish the task at hand. That wouldn’t work on the Flemi or on the enlightened races on the surface of Pillar, they were too smart. They would rebel against unjust leaders. He could take control of a single individual, with effort, but it was a chore and took weeks of torture or manipulation to achieve. With the Cront, they didn’t question authority, just went along with it. Convenient that.

The rails on the side of the elevator platform squealed as it continued up. Inside his head, he heard Mentia speaking to him. “We will need to be careful upon the surface,” Mentia said within his mind. “Those above are far more difficult to deal with than those below have been. They will see us as a monster and shy away from us. No one will come to our aid without the help of Dumont.”

He was right of course. There was no other creature within all of Pillar, Bolster Heart, or Creo Tera who came close to being anything like Bedlam. They were unique and that was dangerous in more ways than one. They had been imbued with the ability to use Smoke, just like Dumont, but unlike Demont, they were not a dragon. They were something else. Something the world had never known before. The shaft heading up to the surface of Pillar had not originally been an elevator shaft. Originally, it had been a cloud shaft that led to a cloud tower on the surface. Some years ago, though, the Cront, or maybe more likely early Flemi from Bolster Heart had used that shaft to create this elevator. If it had been the Flemi though, it had long been forgotten. Which was odd, he thought, since traveling the outside stairs was such a troublesome task. If they had remembered this device, it would have made trade and travel between the two lands of Pillar and Bolster Heart much easier.

Dumont had promised Bedlam a place at his side, ruling both of these lands. He had made a lot of promises honestly. So far, many of them had actually come true. The Cront city of Creo Tera was essentially his to rule even now. Looking up, they could see a bright light above them coming closer. As they neared the top of the elevator shaft, the troops began to shuffle about in anticipation. Most of them had never been to the surface, it wasn’t something the Cront typically did. As the platform settled into place, level with the top floor, he saw now the numerous trains, waiting in the tunnels that would be just below the surface of Pillar. They ran across the entirety of the surface but were almost completely unknown to the people who lived up there now. They had built extensive train systems above out in the sun, but these underground trains had been completely forgotten in the years and years after the creation of Pillar. Or so Dumont had claimed.

Bedlam left the elevator platform and walked towards the leading train, green stripped, and tall. At two stories, it dwarfed normal trains on the surface that were only one level. These double-decker trains had wheels on the roofs as well as below them and would ride on the rails below them as well as some above them, once they left this depot. Several Flemi carried their crates and bags for them as they walked over to the train. In the numerous raids, they had taken many slaves. These were easily controlled and made to believe the sun and moon set with him. Over time, they would need less and less Smoke to continue the control. Over time, the spell would just embed itself into their soul and they would just believe their devotion to them was just a normal aspect of who they were. They had always been this way, they would think. It would just make sense to them.

What a nice thought. These ones who needed them so badly could find their true purpose in serving him. At first, before they had really embedded their desires into these others, the others had worried he would eat them. It had made him laugh out loud. The “they” that was Bedlam, Balor, and Mentia could understand the sentiment though, he was part lion of course. But oddly enough, Balor’s appetite for vegetation was the predominant desire they found within themselves. Hay, vegetables, and the occasional fruit was what he desired more than anything else. It was silly when they thought about it, but that’s how it was. They were a creature of three, and each aspect of themselves was equally notable.

D. Michl Lowe

Looking Through the Window that’s Not Really There

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If you look at the picture above, you might be remiss to think I stare at the wall all day and to some degree you would be right. However, the pictures haphazardly taped to the wall around me are all important parts of the creative process from my book. You might not be able to fully tell by looking at it, but the maps have minor and major changes made to them. The one on the right has the most.

The black and white pictures on the left are mostly armor, clothing, and weapons from throughout history. I admit, I would rather have a nice bay window behind my desk to glance out of, but I like my little corner. The temperature is cool down in the basement and at times even quiet. So there’s an allure to the basement space that makes it nearly ideal for a writer.

However, I take some umbrage at saying I don’t have a view. I do have a view. In fact, I have a very unique view. My view is a window into a world where I am God. I don’t say that lightly either. Writing is an interesting pastime. Writers spend a large portion of their lives creating story and character. In other words, they make people who live out lives in worlds of the writer’s creation. Whatever happens to them, at them, by them, all of it, is the design of the writer.

We get to play at being God. I was talking to a new friend of mine and we were discussing different books we had read. This new friend and I suddenly realised we had both read the same book and nearly at the same time exclaimed, “man, that character was messed up!” speaking about a particular character who had a rough life growing up. When we read a story, or watch a movie or tv show, we allow our brains to move us into that reality. We become.part of that world, if for only a little while. It’s a truly magical and wonderful ability we have.

So I do have a view. I view the World of Pillar. The Mammon Engine is not just a book, but a place I feel I watch through the window of the computer screen. I am getting to know the characters of Thistlewart, Dasa, Christoph, Meshiah, Nicodemus, and Schalk. I watch them and listen to them. They speak to each other and in turn, they speak to me. I get to spend to each of them and talk to each of them through the mouths of the other characters. At times, these characters are more real to me than people I see on the news or people I pass on the street. I am intimately aware of Meshiah’s doubt. I feel Thistwart’s shame and Christoph’s anger at God. Dasa’s loss and depression are at times my own. Dasa is pictured below.

Maybe someday, when I finally finish this book, you will fall in love with this world and these peoples as I have. Maybe for you, you will begin to understand why staring at the wall has been so fascinating to me. Maybe you too will feel the shame and anger and adventure I feel. I hope you get that chance, and soon.

D. Michl Lowe

Being an Author with ADD

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As a writer, I am often split in my attention. While I might be talking to someone or doing a task, my brain is always going over some aspect of my book. Maybe I am considering some part of the world of the book, here recently that’s been the magic system and religions of the people there. How do those things work? Why are they the way they are? Who are the major characters which will interact with those aspects of the world? How will the plot play into these things I am thinking up? All these types of questions are constantly running back and forth in my brain. I even dream about these things. The other night, I woke up and had to grab my phone to write down parts of my dream that would play into the story.

I have been told since I was a kid that I have my head in the clouds. Every single report card I ever got in grade school said that, “Michl is a great student, very smart, but he has his head in the clouds”. I get that I was ADD as a kid (it was undiagnosed), but I think that might continue today, but with very different distractions. Sometimes my wife will talk about how I don’t listen to her sometimes when she is talking. That might be true, but sometimes I think some of those times might be me being in my own head, running through characters, plots, world building, magic, and other things. Now to be clear, this isn’t a huge problem in our marriage, Alicia and I are actually doing pretty well.

However, I wonder if other authors have the same process in their minds. I keep notes on my phone and in my computer, but these things are never ending. There are always more notes, ideas, and characters to dream up and think about. I get inspired by a lot of things and new ideas constantly come into my brain.

I was rewriting a section where one of my characters is teaching a class. I decided to have the character open up to his class about a different part of his personality that I thought would be neat to explore. The issue was, I hadn’t written out that aspect of the character yet, so for the last couple of days my brain has been running through that part of his nature. I finished writing that new section yesterday and feel good about it, but it just makes me realize how much more I need to unpack the characters beliefs.

Am I alone in being borderline obsessed with the book worlds I am creating? I feel like it’s hard to talk to people about my ideas though. Partly because I don’t want to always be talking about my books, but also because there’s a part of me that doesn’t believe my writing is good. I think every author feels that way sometimes, but it’s still something I am acutely aware of. Does anyone else have feelings like this? Let me know in the comments below.

D. Michl Lowe

Smoke, Magic, and Books in the World of Pillar

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Smoke and Magic:

In Warrington and the other countries that make up Pillar, Smoke when capitalized and spoken of in reverent tones should not be confused with a common substance coming from a common camping fire. When referred to most often on Pillar, Smoke is referring to a substance that is present in nearly all permeable things in the world. However, depending on what the thing is, Smoke reacts differently with that thing. Even within larger subsets of things, like biological life, Smoke appears to function differently within each of them. As an example, within Enlightened beings, such as Humans, Brown Dogs, Flemi, and other Enlightened Races; it is understood that Smoke causes those beings to combust and self-cremate fifteen seconds after their death. However, in non-Enlightened biological creatures, while it is believed they contain Smoke, just like Enlightened beings, they do not combust upon death. Smoke is present in plants and even within microorganisms within soil. However, so far as can be understood, Smoke has no effect on these things. Smoke does not appear to be in inorganic objects like rocks, metals, or actual soil. However, since smoke can travel in the air, it does appear to be in a small concentration in air and water. Smoke should not be confused with normal smoke as when a person burns wood or paper or other things. The Smoke within a person is different from naturally occurring burning smoke. Not only do they smell different, but they appear different as well.

Smoke from a fire can have an acrid smell depending on what is burning and chokes a person who breathes it in. However, Smoke from within a biological thing is not acrid smelling at all. It is hard to distinguish between the two Smokes when, for example, a plant is burned since both types are produced, but when a human is combusted, there is no smell at all. In fact, scientists have done experiments with this Smoke and it is possible for a person to breathe this Smoke normally as if it were normal air. Religious communities condemned this scientific experiment when it was conducted, however, given that most religions believe that a person’s Smoke is akin to their soul. So, it is believed that breathing in a person’s soul was sacrilege in some way. As such, few other experiments were done on the subject. However, what is without contest is that normal burning smoke and Soul Smoke are two different things, both by smell and by how they behave.

To speak to differences in behavior, Smoke is often seen as aware in some sense. Because of its apparent ability to understand when an Enlightened being has died and then it is believed that the Smoke itself is what causes combustion within enlightened beings, to some degree, the Smoke appears to understand when this happens and then to also react with combustion upon realizing this. It also appears that while Smoke does inhabit plants and none-enlightened creatures, it does understand to not combust those. As such, Smoke has some form of awareness.

While it is not widely understood or common knowledge in any sense, Smoke is also able to power certain devices and allow certain devices and/or persons to achieve certain outcomes depending on the circumstance. More on this topic in the Section below on Magic Books and the connection to the Smoke and the section entitled The Beasts and Smoke.

Combustion/Self-Cremation:

Upon the death of an enlightened being, fifteen seconds after death to be precise said being’s flesh will be consumed in fire. However, the fire is never large enough or frenzied enough to catch on to other things or people around them. Often, even the person’s clothing is largely unburned. It is recommended that if a person combusts while another person is touching them, they withdraw to several feet away, just for general safety, but honestly, physicians usually regard this as unneeded since the fire is very inward directing and largely safe. There has never been a report to the local fire authorities about a structure catching fire due to combustion. As far as is known, only enlightened biological creatures combust.

Magic Books and the connection to Smoke:

While there are traditional books within the World of Pillar there are other books that do not function like normal books. These are known as the Opus and Opuscula books, and while there are many Opuscula known to exist, the full scale of how many there are is not known. Specifically, the Opus and Opuscula books use Smoke to achieve something. The pages of these books are known to change. The words often scroll across the pages or change outright. There are limited pages in the books, but the knowledge contained in the books is not limited to what is currently on any one or all the pages. The books often rewrite the pages within them, depending on the needs of the user.

Many of these books are locked. Often, metal brackets and locks keep these books closed until a key is used to open them. This can be a physical key or some other form of device or word that can unlock the pages within. Until the book is opened, only limited options are available for the user. Verbal commands are often used by the books themselves to interact with the users. This is not to imply that the books are sentient, merely that interacting with these texts can take place in a verbal manner. The user is required to speak, but the books themselves can speak directly into the minds of the users if that user should so desire. Asking for information or for specific text to be displayed on a page is just some of the reasons verbal commands may be needed.

Opus Books use Smoke to achieve whatever they do. The initial interaction with a book, specifically when a book is closed, will utilize the user’s personal Smoke to create additional Smoke to create an effect. Even something as simple as awakening the book, bringing up knowledge on the pages, or having an Ash Fairy verbally presenting knowledge will draw power from the user’s body. The Smoke of the person will then the book will utilize personal nutrients to accomplish its functions. When the person has used all their personal nutrients in their body, the book will prompt the person to transfer use of the book to another person so that their nutrients may be used. If the answer is yes, the book will begin using any nutrients within that user to create new Smoke for utilization.

If the person goes further in using the book to accomplish tasks and the user’s nutrients are used up, the book will then warn the user that these stores have been used up. If the user attempts to continue, the book will warn them that continuing could result in physical harm, and then ask if the person wants to utilize vital biological stores. If the answer is yes, then the book will begin to utilize the person’s fat within their body to be converted to Smoke to continue accomplishing tasks. If the user continues beyond this, the book will again warn the user and upon obtaining permission, the book will begin using the user’s musculature and internal physical structures to create Smoke to accomplish the tasks asked of it, even to the point of the death of the user.

Depending on the task presented to the book, the book may or may not be able to accomplish the task asked of it, depending on if the data is available to it within one of its chapters. As an example: Nicodemus’ obtains an Opus underneath Riggleman Manor and it is an Opus of Conception, but specifically only contains chapters on Cooking. Since the book is locked, and only has access to minor cooking spells, he can accomplish only a couple of things;

  • Create a jet of steam, reaching a maximum of 6 ft.
  • Set a small fire, like striking a match.
  • Create a small jet of fire, reaching a maximum of 6 ft.
  • Conjure a chef knife, as hard as a diamond and much stronger than a steel knife of similar make. 
  • Conjure a stream of water, as if from a garden hose.
  • Heat something, like how a stove might heat a pot.
  • The book can also dictate numerous recipes.

Currently Known Types of Opus Books:

Opus Quotidian: These are general texts with the purpose of providing limited knowledge. They function as a real book might, but the pages are non-permanent in the sense that the words can change. There are many of these known to exist, but many of them have also been lost. They range in size and scope of the content.

Opus of Fate: These books provide a generalized understanding of possible futures and how to obtain those futures. It does this based on probability models of known events and situations. As a user of this book journeys with it, it will gather data about the user and the world and circumstances around said user, and its predictions can become more accurate. However, outside forces and unknown circumstances can create unforeseeable outcomes or randomized outcomes. Use with a degree of caution. Nothing said by an Opus of Fate should be taken as complete truth.

Opus of Conception: These texts allow a person to connect to the Smoke in the world around them and through the book, they can manifest certain abilities and functions. Smoke is the substance that allows everything to function and enables the forms of manipulation of reality we see when people use an Opus of Conception to create spells. Opus of Conceptions only have certain “chapters” in them. While closed they only have limited access to those chapters. Like a guest account on a computer. Additional chapters can be added once a book is opened, and when placed in a Mammon Engine and the proper chapters are available within the memory of that Mammon Engine. Only certain chapters are available at each Mammon Engine.

Fixed Opus Books:

Some of these books are directly connected to machines within the world and cannot be removed from these machines. Normally one would see them either directly connected to the machine or near the machine affixed to a pedestal of some kind. They operate as a control for the machine.

Opus of the Eternal: The ultimate book. This book has a direct Smoke connection to the Eternal Information. As such, not only does it allow access to all known knowledge, but also access to all known power as well. However, knowing of power does not guarantee unlimited power, since the power is still limited by the abilities of Smoke itself.

The Beasts and Smoke:

The Beasts of Legend are synthetic biological creations. Originally, they were created to combat the threat of the Armatites; large ten-story creatures genetically engineered to combat humanity and to create Pillar. The Beasts are several tons in weight and including the length of their tail, are said to be around 100 feet in length. They have long necks and large heads. Their bodies are covered in a layer of soft down, interspersed with feathers. They have wings that are also covered in feathers and appear like the wings of large birds of prey. Their heads are often described as a dog’s and/or horse’s head combined. They have four legs and the feet of each leg are dexterous, like the hands of a human. Their tails make up the bulk of their length and are prehensile. Some have been seen to have horns or spikes around their necks that protrude backward toward their tails.

The Beasts are mentioned here because they also contain a different form of Smoke than what is normally observed. Beasts can manipulate Smoke to create effects much in the same way that an Opus of Conception does, but instead of drawing in Smoke or using their own Smoke to create effects, it appears as if the Beasts are able to change Smoke into a different form. As such, whenever it has been observed, the Smoke which Beasts use is white instead of black. It is hypothesized that this form of smoke has unique and yet unknown properties when compared to Smoke in other situations. There are rumors of other synthetic beings as well which possess similar abilities to those shown in the Beasts. These rumors however are largely exaggerated and most certainly untrue.

Known limits on Smoke Magic:

  1. Ordinary people can only use smoke magic if they have a proper channeling device; IE: an Opus.
  2. The smoke within a person is limited and in the cases of enlightened beings, required for life. As such, an enlightened person may not get rid of their smoke without causing death in said person. Additional smoke will be created within the person by use of nutrients first, body fat second, and finally the vital structures and organs of the body itself; even to the point of the death of the individual if said individual pushes the use of smoke to that limit.
  3. The use of an Opus is limited to what chapters are available within said Opus. An opus without a chapter on the creation and use of fire will be unable to produce said effect.
  4. Use of smoke by a book that has not been cleansed, will not pull smoke from the person, it will use the person’s personal smoke to consume their body in the creation of additional smoke.
  5. Use of smoke to the point of allowing the Smoke to cannibalize your physical body will result in several physical signs that it is destroying your body. Over time, the following physical symptoms will result; hair loss, slow wound healing, frequent sickness due to loss of immune functions, dry and/or rough skin, easy bruising, swollen gums, depression, muscle pain, night blindness, infertility, and blood clots under the fingernails. As such, continued use of Smoke in this fashion will result in permanent damage to the body or in extreme cases, death.

Ash Fairies and their Connection to the use of Smoke:

Ash Fairies are semi-intelligent entities that are somewhat common throughout Pillar. However, it is a well-known fact that a single white Ash Fairy will always be with a Beast. It is not always visible, but they are frequently seen alongside them. Also, users of Opus Books are also known to attract a singular Ash Fairy. However, their Fairies tend to be black or grey in color. Opus users have stated the Ash Fairy works as an intermediary between the book and the user, providing verbal and/or mind communication to the user. Synthetic humans like Christoph are followed by a white Fairy as well. Ash Fairies allow Christoph to access certain abilities he would be unable to use otherwise.

Ash Fairies and Summoning:

Ash Fairies are sometimes connected to an entity within Afterlife. These entities are dormant until called upon by a fairy to be used. In this case, the fairy then takes on the aspect of this entity and in essence, becomes this entity in the physical world. These entities often take the forms of elemental demi-gods, but can only remain in the physical world for a short period of time as their physical structure is made up of only Smoke.

Nicodemus Pandit, Head Librarian for Riggleman Manor Archives

Taken from On Smoke and Magic, by Nicodemus Pandit, Chapter 6, Section 3, Year: NL20317