Lets A some Qs!

Thank you to everyone who sent me questions (whether as a comment, email, DM, or in person!). This little world I made can be kind of complicated sometimes, but thanks for sticking around anyways!

Part of the Q&A requests was asking for a sort of back of the book breakdown. Hopefully this would suffice!

Astra is a planet in turmoil. Holy wars scar the land creating thousands of miles of barren wastes. Hidden inside the fog of war are holy sites blessed by gods, supernatural creatures, desperate animals (both familiar and unfamiliar to the reader) hiding and scavenging, and city-states armed to the teeth in hopes of protecting themselves from their enemies. The Trials of Astra is an anthology series that explores how people in the world survive and try to make something of lives that would otherwise be lived in fear of powers far beyond their own. Whether through technological advancements or discovering magical abilities within themselves, The Trials of Astra tells the stories of how mortals and immortals alike react  to and live in a hostile world. 

Q: How long have you been developing these stories?

A: I wrote the first story that took place in this world on April 10th 2019 - so wow over four years ago! That being said, One of my favorite characters in the world (someone who hasn’t been utilized in any of my posts so far) was originally part of a collection of short stories I wrote in 2018 about figures of death who presented themselves as unassuming figures that guided people in the end of their lives in gentle and loving ways… a very strange time, but it was a fun premise. So 2019, but also sort of 2018!

Q: How long have you been writing generally?

A: As long as I’ve been able to write words with crayons. I used to want to be an artist too, but I quickly realized my words came out better than my drawings so, well, here we are! Which, with that in mind, Substack strongly encourages you to include art with your posts and uh - yeah I don’t have the capabilities to do that, nor the money to commission anyone, nor would I like to utilize AI. So for now my page will remain artless to my own disappointment. 

Q: What genre is this exactly?

A: The Trials of Astra is sci-fi fantasy. You will see some futuristic elements like solar powered weapons and electricity utilized in advanced ways. I personally enjoy integrating things from cyber punk, solar punk, biopunk, sci-fi-fantasy, and cosmic horror. You'll also see fantasy elements like magical people, gods that interfere in mortal dilemmas and situations, and heavy inspiration from mythologies around the world (my favorite mythologies to pull from is African, Native American, and Chinese). There’s also locations in the world where things are less advanced and may seem strictly like fantasy, but this could be for any number of reasons that are explored within the stories.

Q: What are the major conflicts in Astra?

A: There are quite a few major events/conflicts in the world. I think the most important one is The End. The End acts as a turning point in the world in which all the wars, religious conflicts, and divine spats converge leading to a multitude of changes in the world. Other than that, the world itself is in constant conflict with overlapping wars. Of course there was already a story about Faren and Tarn, but my favorite actually is a war known as the Southern Calt - a war that ended prior to The End  - and brought disgrace to many involved. There is also a much older conflict known as the Disappearance of the Valley - this was a time when a hyper advanced society practically disappeared overnight. That’s actually something an upcoming story will be covering!

Q: What time period is Astra set in?

A: Astra’s timeline doesn’t have a specific year setting. Technologically, they’re ahead of where we are but because of the lack of uniformity of nations, there isn’t an agreed upon date. Instead, things either take place before The End or after The End. The three stories I’ve written so far take place leading up to The End - so within 2 to 3 years of this cataclysmic event.

Q: Is Astra a monarch society?

A: Astra is actually made up of a collection of warring city-states, so they are not a uniform society. Rather than large countries, there are cities and their surrounding lands that are constantly at each other’s throats. Some of those city-states might be monarchies but I have not written any monarchies into the world as of yet. So far there are democracies, communal societies, authoritarian police states, theocracies (lots of these), and council-based governments - and some of these mix and match a little with each other.

Q: Why was Tarn at war with Faren?

A: I like to think that hundreds if not thousands of years ago, the war between them was actually centered around religious disagreements, but at this point the war has gone on for so long and is so out of control that they don’t even know why they’re fighting anymore other than for one of them to be the winner. This is actually relatively normal in Astra; wars are started to please a god or some other powerful figure but as the war goes on, the people lose track of why they were ever fighting to begin with but it doesn’t remove the need to win. It is important to note that the Tarn-Faren conflict was a small micro example of something that is happening all over Astra. This is the norm in relation to almost all city-states in Astra with very few exceptions.

Q: What is each main character’s role?

A: At this point, each main character’s role is only as far as they’ve been described in their stories. Oran-Koh is a god who was exiled to the mortal realm for an unknown amount of time, Dev was a soldier transporting supplies to a war front, Norichi was the youngest member of the court that ruled over their homeland out to prove something, and Chand was a champion to a god and advisor to Norichi. 

This was not asked, but the previous question made me think it’s important to discuss it briefly.

Q: What sort of magical people are there in Astra?

A: There are quite a few forms of magic users in Astra. One of the important differentiations is where they draw their powers from.

Champions - Champions are chosen by gods to serve them as magically imbued mortals that do the will of the god who chose them in the mortal realm.

Sorcerers - sorcerers are mortals who have a supernatural connection to the realms that the gods are from. Because of this supernatural connection, they can utilize the powers from that realm to any end they please. Unlike champions, their powers aren’t derived from gods, but rather tied to the other dimensions/realms where the gods live.

Witches - Witches are very similar to sorcerers, but instead of deriving power from other realms, they actually derive their power from Astra itself. Witches have a deep connection to the world around them, and this power presents itself in a multitude of different ways depending on how and what they are connected to in the world.

Avatars - avatars have no magical ability but instead can act as vessels for a god. Because gods can’t survive in the mortal realm for extended periods of time, they can have vessels that they take over the body of and can survive inside of indefinitely. It almost works like possession.

Demis - Demis are basically just demigods. They take many forms, but in all forms they are extremely powerful and extremely destructive and typically while more powerful than other magic users, have a much harder time controlling the power. My favorite example of this is from my unpublished and untitled novel with a character who is quoted thusly (spoiler alert to those who have copies of the manuscript): 

“It’s not every day that someone with the power of ‘10 orbital plasma cluster missiles’ enters the city limits.”

Oracles/Divinators - these are people who can foresee the future by connecting to other realms or connecting to the fates - the fates look much like a rainbow mix of stars in the sky, but they often read the winds of the future and bet on the endless outcomes to determine the best options. Magic users who connect to the fates often get the consensus of these evasive mythical beings.

Q: What is the shape of your world like? Is it a traditional planet or is it something else, maybe an egg shape? Or is your world set in a place that isn’t a planet at all?

A: No. It is not egg shaped.

BUT this is a great opportunity to discuss something interesting so thanks for the nonsensical egg shaped question. Astra is a typical planet, but the world itself is mostly a Pangea-like supercontinent with some separations (such as the northern tundra) and islands dotted around outside of the continent. I have never actually made a map of the world, but I’d really like to! Maybe that should be a goal by the end of the year… Either way, no eggs. Mostly typical.

In conclusion…

Wow it turns out Q&A’s are kind of fun! I only expected to get like 1 question, so this was gratifying. I’m glad people are enjoying my work so far! Thank you to everyone who has engaged, given feedback, left likes, or just enjoyed what I wrote. If you didn’t enjoy it then well… thank you still - but also I’m open to feedback! Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled weekly release next week. Thanks for chatting! If at any point I get more subscribers, maybe I’ll do a Q&A again to talk more about the world.