!!!! WARNING!!!! This lore guide contains tiny spoilers for the Brona book series. This guide will be updated regularly to reflect happenings in the book series.

The World:__________________________________________

Geography

The world is set on the inner surface of a spherical construct. There is a sun which burns and regenerates in the centre surrounded by floating stones. The stones circle the sun in various paths, creating the effect of ‘nighttime’ when they completely block its light.

There is no such thing as ‘cosmic space’ (no other planets, no stars, etc) in this universe. There are small floating stones and crystal structures in the air space, however, which reflect the light of the Sun at nighttime emulating stars. If a person were able to propel themselves upwards at a speed which exceeded the expansion rate of the world (see below), they would find themselves at a landmass on the opposite side.

People of this world just call the cluster of lands ‘the growing world’ since it, the floating stones and the sun, are forever expanding uniformly in all directions. Land masses and masses of water just appear, sometimes causing destruction of existing settlements. Despite the law of conservation of mass which dictates the physics of the inner world, the growth factor is an occurrence which cannot be explained. The growth speed of the world also varies.

Economy & Culture

There is no money among Distorters. Exchanges for goods or services is either voluntary or for access to knowledge or secrets. There are no schools for children, only recommended curricula provided by the province which a child is expected to read from and learn with little intervention from adults. The province provided curriculum includes mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, reading comprehension (for young children only), recent history, how to forage, how to hunt, faithful representation drafting (drawing realism), social skills and Ouroboric study. Learning from the curriculum is not mandated although it is expected that there is an alternative knowledge source if the curriculum is rejected. Libraries exist in every Distorter (see section: People, Races) settlement if further knowledge is desired.

Food is all plant-based and sourced through gardening and foraging. Plants are all grown locally in multiple small (~10m x 10m to ~30m x 30m) gardens strewn about the province. Gardens are maintained passively by civilians. Food is not distributed but expected that it will be picked from the plots by the people themselves. It is not taboo to consume animal meats, but in order to have meat, they need to be hunted by the individual. It is a shared cultural sentiment in the growing world that an individual needs to understand the moral pain and difficulty that comes with acquiring meat.

The Leavers (see section: People, Races) have a more primal civilization, still entertaining the concept of ‘money’ to structure their societies. Education in Leaver settlements is provided through learning centres where children are mandated to attend.

Province of Late Sun

A landmass which is both a town and a province amongst the grouping of land masses known as ‘The Square of Eagwith’. Late Sun was a self-regulating province until Callum aligned it with the political ideology of the nearby provinces. The province of Late Sun is the amalgamation of four land quadrants which were pushed to a higher elevation, some ten kilometres above the origin point landmass below. The water supply to Late Sun is from a nearby creek which flows upwards on the South side (due to a Distortion) and flows downward (naturally) on the North side. Additional water supply is provided by rain and ponds.

Twenty-five years before the events of ‘Brona & the Task Curse’, the province of Late Sun was called ‘Titan’s Table’ referring to the high elevation of the landmass looking like a table for a giant. It was renamed as Late Sun when the town developed the curious phenomenon of seven hour dawns. Since the Task Curse developed in Late Sun, there has been some debate to change the town’s name to ‘Unleavable’.

There are no sex-specific expectations or roles in Late Sun. Males and Females are unequivocally equal socially, politically, and academically.

Land cannot be owned, but it is expected that privacy is respected, and that the home is a sacred space to an individual which should never be invaded.

The days have no names (no Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, etc.), nor do the months. People of Late Sun refer to past and future days as ‘however many days before today’ or as ‘however many days from now’, respectively. Seasons, however, are categorized as Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

There are no surnames in Late Sun, only geographical indicators if extra context is needed. For example, Brona can be called ‘Brona of East House’, since her home is the Easternmost in Late Sun. Although Callum has a last name from his outsider mother ‘Tenefrit’, he can also be referred to as just ‘Callum’ or ‘Callum of the West Estate’ in Late Sun. These contextual titles can change over time as well if for example, a more Western house is built than Callum’s. In which case Callum could be newly referred to as ‘Callum of the House before Westfield Pond’.

Magic System___________________________________

Terminology

Ouroborics:

The system and study of the manifestation of will. For every take, there must be an equal give. What defines equality of exchange is subjective to the individual since there are varying degrees of String frequency and closeness.

For example, for the average Distorter, to animate a boulder may require the exchange of a litre of blood, but for a Braided Distorter, they only need exchange a drop.

While subjective Exchanges exist, there are also time-tested sets of Exchanges that have been identified to produce certain types of Distortions that Distorters can study with 75% likelihood of success. Although it should be noted that these ‘predetermined Distortions’ can be tedious to perform, time consuming, and they will limit the creative freedom of the Distortion itself.

The Sun is the only true source of manipulative power for Ouroborics. Distorters are only conduits which can call upon that power through Exchanges.

Strings:

The tendrils of manipulation woven into the land mass and people which originate and end at the centre of the Sun. Distorters pull on one or more Strings to manifest their will.

Braids:

A harmonious relationship between Strings. It can be unto a Distortion or Distorter. This type of relationship is associated with strongly Ouroborically capable people or powerful Ouroborics. A Braided Distorter can offer less in exchange for a Distortion since the Strings are nearer to them and it requires less energy to pull them. Brona and Grendt are examples of people Braided with Strings.

Knots:

A detrimental, unstable relationship of Strings. It can be unto an individual, not always a known Distorter. The more a Distorter attempts to undo a Knot with their Distortions, the more the Knot is strengthened and reinforced if the Distorter fails. If a Distorter is Knotted with Strings, it can cause them to have to overcompensate in their Exchanges (relative to the average Distorter), or lead to unforeseen effects in their Distortions. Curses are an example of unintended effects of a Distortion by a Knotted individual.

Slips:

An easily unravelable Distortion if the Distorter knows where to pull on the String.

Weave:

A shared network of Ouroboric stamina between multiple people. There is a Primary Distorter which is remains aesthetically unchanged, while his/her disciples develop an entirely black eye. The Primary is at danger of being drained of stamina if his/her disciples have less stamina than him/her.

Exchange:

The action (or set of actions) required to pull a specific String (or Strings) towards the Distorter to perform a Distortion.

Distortions:

Manifestation of will by a Distorter. There are five groupings of Distortions: Rand, Dorin, Voki, Issept/Essept and Qa (see section: Types of Distortions) which can be pulled alone or in combination to achieve a desired effect.

Distorter:

An individual capable of performing Ouroborics by pulling on the Strings in their blood and bones. Pulling on the Strings is achieved by Exchanges.

Durnann:

Disciple learning under a master Distorter.

Circric:

The language of Ouroborics. It is the language of the sun, and therefore, the language of the Strings. Distorters have only identified a few words in this language, but haven’t even begun to understand the complexities of the grammar structure. It is theorized that if Circric is decoded, it can be used to evolve of Ouroborics.

The Laws of Ouroborics:

1) For every take, there must be an equal give. That is, in order for the Distorter to manifest their will, they need to exchange either in an offering of time allotted familiarity, printed composition, sound, physical constituents/ingredients, carnal shapes or patterns, or a combination of any of the aforementioned items to pull on the String(s) necessary for their Distortion. Since exchanges are also subjective to the individual, there can be other paths to achieve the same Distortion depending on the individual and their relationship to the Strings.

2) Ouroborics cannot alter time, predict future events, or stimulate maturation.

3) Ouroborics cannot control other autonomies.

4) Ouroborics must adhere to the preservation of matter.

5) Ouroborics can and will evolve.

Performing a Distortion:

The general process for performing a Distortion is as follows:

 The Distorter thinks about the will they wish to manifest.

Example (1/3): The Distorter wants to Distort their bucket into moving.

 The Distorter offers an exchange. This exchange can be a time-tested exchange with 75% chance of success, or the Distorter can try an exchange at their own discretion and see if it equals an equivalency. Over-compensating will always allow for an exchange.

Example (2/3): The Distorter knows that the exchange of physical pain can call upon a String to evoke an Essept Distortion (see section: Types of Distortions, 4b), so they bite themselves.

 If an equivalent or overcompensating exchange is made, a String or set of Strings will be pulled towards the Distorter, and the Distortion will manifest.

Example (3/3): The bucket begins to move on its own. How well the bucket moves depends on the skill level of the Distorter.

It should also be noted that in the heat of the moment, sometimes a Distorter won’t have time to perform a time-tested exchange (such as a complex illustration of patterns). The time-tested exchanges conserve stamina, but they can be tedious to perform. Often in battle, Distorters shed their blood or bite themselves as exchange for all Distortions since it is the fastest path to manifestation (but also the quickest to deplete stamina).