Halcyon [world info]

Milo is the leader of a small task force, consisting of only 3 people.   In such a small group, you need a great variety of skills, and the   ability to juggle many priorities at once. He's a skilled strategist,   able to think quickly and make snap decisions on how to progress under   pressure. Yet even though his decision-making is praised, and his two   team members have never protested his orders (well Ren always argues  but  that's another problem), Milo has a constant fear lingering in the  back  of his mind every time he makes a choice they can't back out of:  what  if he's wrong? What if this is what leads his group into failure?

Doubts   cloud judgement, but his judgement creates doubt. He can't exactly   confide in his friends that he's not confident in his own decisions,   choices that all three of their lives sometimes relied on. A leader's   role is to march forward with bold certainty. With no one to talk to,   these thoughts have no escape within his own head, swirling around and   around. Ignoring the problem was a dangerous option. Admitting his   weaknesses meant he would lose all he had, that he could no longer work   with his closest friends. But if he did not confess, then what if that   one wrong decision took everything away from him in the worst way   possible? Yet if he spoke up and gave away his position, someone   inferior might take his place, and lead his friends to ruin while Milo   could only watch from the sidelines. What to do?

Milo is hailed   as someone who can see the future and pick the best route. But in   matters of his own heart...he sees only dead-ends.

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And extra for Milo: https://www.chickensmoothie.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4597906&p=135496536&hilit=fluffybirdie#p135496536

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Halcyon - denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.

The Halcyon Empire

The Halcyon Empire is a dystopian/futuristic country that greatly values  efficiency. Every citizen is assigned a Number from 1-300, which  determines how valuable they are to the Empire. These people are also  called the Numbered. This Number is a rank, so multiple people can have  the same Number, and it influences a person's quality of life greatly,  such as their incomes or the facilities available. Your value is  determined predominantly by your job and abilities, and as such, if you  suffer an accident that makes it impossible to do your work, your Number  drops. There are no second chances, not even if you've been loyal your entire life, or the King himself.

This system makes Halcyon attractive to many, as the Empire does not care about your past or who you are. All that mattered is your talents and abilities. As such, skilled criminals and other people on the run flock to this country, seeking a fresh start. Yet this system that accepts anyone based on ability, also discriminates based on ability. Those injured at or outside of work and people born with a disability are completely disregarded and often unable to attain higher Numbers. Regardless of your circumstances, if you cannot work, you do not stay.

The Numberless are what those without an assigned Number are called, and they are regarded as the dregs of society. These people live outside of the city walls and are essentially left for dead - no help is given to them whatsoever.

History of development. Years are a bit rough. Basically a word dump rn

2019

-  Kaizo, Canan and Sin were the first ones in this world, and the idea of  Russian Roulette. Russian Roulette began as a gang in a dystopian  world, maybe post nuclear war. Developed an idea for a healer, but he  doesn't have a visual design. Roughly began around when this TH profile  is made, in 11 Aug 2019

- Had the idea for another healer type in RR

-  The number system, or a society that ranks you on how   useful/vital  you are, was actually made in July 2017, kept in a word doc on my computer.  Ofc the actual numbers/ranks themselves shifted,   and military wasn't  such a big theme then.

- found it again in 2019 ish, and decided  to join RR with this number system. A bit blurry what else happened but  the Halcyon Empire started to form. 

- The general character (Xander) was made, and linked Sin, Canan and Kaizo into the military.

-  Various ideas was bounced around, eg 2 other members being born  Numberless, and another one was a runaway prince? Adrian became the  servant of this prince, who was still in the Empire.

2020

- Idea of a rebellion group using a (potentially legitimate) child of the king formed. 

-  focused more on the royality, i.e. the princes. Started with Ephraim,  then pulled in Galahad. Was thinking for there to be 4 princes. This  idea was more developed mentally, never wrote it down much.

- Made the Xander character into Kaize.

- idea of royalty being the only ones with wings, plus more misc world development/ideas

2021

-   Originally called Halycon (Hey-lee-con), was aware it was a   mispelling  of an existing word but thought the pronunciation sounded   cool.  Then in 2021 decided to finally look up what "halcyon"  meant  and thought  it fitted well, so did a big "find-and-replace" on  the  whole thing. Also when I started to record how this developed, hence why  this year is more detailed.

- really considering on making this  into a novel (lofty dreams). And that means really honing down into the  plot. I think it would revolve around Sin, Kaizo and Canan, if not just  Kaizo being the main main, because their story seems the most  interesting. The royalty aspect with the princes might go onto the  backburner, as the main antagonist would be Xander/Kaize perhaps?  There's no clear plot, just a series of events that I want to happen.  That's generally how I make stories haha. So far, the solid idea is  Kaizo found something about Halcyon, got kicked out with Canan and Sin.  And Kaize losing his voice because of a rebellion group and being kicked  out too. Not solid ideas are would RR be linked to the rebellion? Would  Kaize ever join RR, even if I really wanted him to? Who's the boss of  Kaize? Other RR members? Should I scrap the royalty aspect altogether?

-  Also I want to change Kaize's name. its too close to Kaizo, our  protagonist. And also maybe Sin and Canan's too. Especially Canan. Will I  even rehaul the whole name of Russian Roulette? Because why would they  name themselves that? idk. probably doesn't matter but I can't help but  ask. Also I'm constantly changing their personalities, especially  Sin's. 

- I'll also have to develop generic human appearances for  them, since just getting into how Canan has wings or Kaize has goop is  just too much. And pointless, since I don't really want to incorporate  that into the story. I want to focus on a sci-fi dystopian, not really  into fantasy. I also can't use the designs commercially anyway. So their  designs are almost unofficial appearances. Which sorta defeats the  point of having characters in the first place huh, if I'm going to  disconnect them.

- Started the NaNo prep, since I want to try out  Camp NaNo in July. This involves moving all the info from TH to Google  Docs, splitting it up into plot, world, and characters. Also a rehaul of  the plot, as its pretty shallow (see above) and hard to write. The  characters have no goal, theres no arcs or things happening in between.  I'm removing the Russian Roulette idea altogether, as with the goal of  making this story into a novel, it doesn't fit, as far as I see it. I do  want a dystopian gang, but it won't be in Halcyon. I'm doing a wipe on  characters besides the main 3 and Xander: the healer, the 2 born  Numberless, the princes and Adrian the butler. They might be  reintroduced later, but I don't want to focus on them rn.