30 Days of World-Building - Day 13 - Plot Hooks

Exercise 13 - If you have some idea of your plot by now, get out whatever plot notes you have and write down ten things (minimum) that your speculative element can do to your plot.

1. Sorcerers would constantly be at risk of possession by dark, other-worldly forces. They would also live much shorter than lives that most other people, simply due to the strain on their mind and willpower.

2. Some might seek to obtain the taint for different purposes other than spell-casting. And fewer still might wish to use the taint to further more nefarious plans.

3. Sorcerers who lose themselves to the Shadow Realm are transformed into vicious dark creatures, similar to the ones that invaded Kasova nearly three decades ago.

4. The dark creatures can sometimes manifest themselves on the mortal realm. They hunt down sorcerers and other interlopers to their world, in an attempt to weaken humanities understanding of them, and further their quest to enslave the mortal realm.

5. The various gemstones that warriors employ could possibly be connected to the Shadow Realm, similar to the association of magic with darkness.

6. Gem-forgers at the University of Brel are highly respected and feared, as their craft sometimes involves direct confrontation with the Shadow Realm and other magical creatures.

7. Dragons were among the first creatures to harness the power of the Shadow Realm to make these magical gemstones, and some even embed numerous gemstones into their scales. These dragons are informally referred to as "Gemscales" by other dragons. An urban legend exists that the first Gem-forgers were originally of dragon-blood, and that the family line died out during the Shadow War.

8. Nobles and other men and women in power go through great lengths to acquire these gems for their clothing and jewelry. Typically, the more gems you own, the higher your status. But for them, the gems must be authentic. Normal gemstones are held in lower-value than magical ones.

9. The more rural regions of Kasova denounce Brel as a breeding ground for dark creatures, and the more zealous of the North-Eastern tribesmen even go so far as to disrupt the gem-forgers. And after the events of the Shadow War, who could blame them?

10. The protagonist could discover one of these gemstones on accident, and as a result, drag him into the on-going struggle between the sorcerer's and the Shadow Realm.