Hey, great work on helping to design the alchemical symbols for the six elements.
Are you ready for part two?
Did you all know that the elements go deeper than just representing the six magimystic materials that make up all of existence?
Did you know that they also govern the six parts of magimystic consciousness? The Six Houses?
Light - The House of Exploration
Aether - The House of Humanity
Ore - The House of Creation
Tides - The House of Purpose
Thought - The House of Reflection
The Wild - The House of Change
What do you think? Do the names of the six houses fit the guild and element they align with?
Are the six houses a solid representation of magimystic consciousness?
They’re all up for discussion.
Also…
What if you were to explore those houses in writing or art, or maybe even write verses based on them that would summon them or allow you to reflect on them, kind of like you did the elements in the Call The Corners spell?
Houses, elements, guilds~and they are all connected. I’m living for this. The Houses sound like beautiful buildings filled with artifacts and tomes and information, almost like the wings of a museum!
And they could each cover two zodiac signs! (Presuming we’re talking western zodiac system)
…do you think they’d take turns and cycle through twice in a year, or just divide into sixths and cycle through once? (I’m almost leaning toward two cycles, then there’d be a chance of the solstices and equinoxes lining up with our sunrise/sunset guilds)
Can I suggest a small tweak on Ore? Rather than Creation, what about Creativity?
Ore is, at its core, a seed. Unrefined. A fragment of an idea. It’s the image of a future that could be. To me, creation puts an emphasis on the end process. Something already developed, refined. Creativity is about the ability and desire to create something. It is a skill that is honed over time, through practice. So for Flinterforge, for Ore, everything starts with the spark of an idea and that inspiration is followed through into some end result.
As a slight tangent…There are so many reasons why I dislike the Forge/Blacksmith/Tolkien Dwarves imagery, but I think another aspect of it is because it’s shortsighted. It puts the emphasis on a tool - for a singular and rare profession - rather than the reasons one uses said tool. That’s not the heart of Flinterforge. Flinterforge aren’t afraid of hard work, but that’s not all they are, they’re not defined by manual labor. They’re not defined by a tool. It’s the hours spent daydreaming, of sketching and outlining and building patterns and diagrams. And believing in those ideas so strongly that they gain the persistence to see it through. To me, that’s the heart of Flinterforge.
Anyways, I should probably hop off my soapbox, because I’m not sure I fit in this guild anymore. But it’s the guild I’ve mainly thought a lot about, so there’s my 2 cents on it.
Also I know this is weird, but when I thought about the houses, I immediately made the association with colleges? Like you know how in a university, there’s a college of arts and science, or a college of business, college of art and design, etc. I kind of like it because it connects the fact that the elements/houses are built around a certain ideas, but that doesn’t mean they don’t intermingle with the other houses. A person could primarily live and learn in the House of Humanity, but also spend time pondering in the House of Purpose at times.
I’ve never thought of Flinterforge as dwarf-related, and I… made it all up?
Flinterforge has a ton of lore that I can’t release for a year or so, more than most, but I’ve mentioned previously that the name “Flinterforge” was a name from a previous era and while other guilds fuss and fret over their identity, Flinterforged are too busy making the world better through creation and creativity to worry about what they’re called. It’s more an honor to the past than their indelible identity.
Yeah I just… every time people do something Flinterforge (or All-Guilds) related, it ends up being condensed to one of three words: Forge. Dwarf. Blacksmith. Which is not an aesthetic I’m into, or want to engage with? I dunno, it’s led to a lot of identity crises, “Do I just not fit into any guild?”, etc for me.
Haaaaaa, I’ve read all of that stuff and really feel your aesthetic is more the overarching vibe of Flinterforge. The creative, techno-magimystic artistic vibe. But I also think some people dig the more Tolkien feel, which isn’t something I intended but also understand. I think there could definitely be room for both… like Ebenguard has a more principled, righteous, and militaristic side, but also a scrying, sensing, sifting through the sands of time vibe.
Personally, I take Forge as being a crafter. Any sort of craft from smithing, to tailoring, to brewing, to anything in between. And I like how all the houses and guilds are multifaceted. It really lets us just find our own place within the broadness of its facets.
Mn, the best way I can explain that would be if I said I see Guards as warriors. From knights to police officers to lawyers, and anything in between. For a lot of people, wouldn’t that imagery be problematic and ill-fitting?
Likewise, it would be like saying all Gossmere are fluffy, huggable hippies who can’t stand up for themselves and are total pushovers. I know of at least two people who would be quite annoyed with that assertion. (I don’t agree with either of these portrayals, I should say)
There isn’t an equivalent name-annoyance outside of “Forge”, as far as I know of, but hopefully that makes sense.
Personally, I always headcanoned (which in my case is just canon, I suppose) “forge” to be the verb definition: to form or make, especially by concentrated effort.
I definitely infinitely prefer that definition haha. It’s just unfortunate that the blacksmith affiliations are so strong.
@grimangel53 Sorry if I got a little salty at you. Aforementioned identity crises related to the Dwarf/Forge/Blacksmith thing are making me a lil more passionate about this discussion than I might normally be.
I always tried to be clear that Flinterforge was full of tinkers and artists, all doing different things with passion and creative purpose, for betterment of all and the thrill of creative exploration. Maybe there are some blacksmiths in the mix, if that’s what they’re passionate about, but I don’t think one concept precludes the other. There are tinkers and dreamers.
Nah. You’re good. It more comes down to my understanding. Cause I have been prone to pigeonholing the guilds a bit more narrow than normal. So all perspectives are welcome and appreciated in my thoughts and headcannons. People of all types are present in the guilds. And while i have been prone to saying i tap back to a particular guild if I’m doing something I saw as in their vein, i can also see how all of us call to our guilds. We all should be accepted, and bring our own styles to our guilds and houses.
Or at least I think so… if that makes sense.
Never mind that in ebenguard, I’m someone who would fancy themself an artificer…and that’s not completely in the “image” that’s brought up with the description.
But it’s the guild I’ve mainly thought a lot about, so there’s my 2 cents on it.
I’ve read all of that stuff and really feel your aesthetic is more the overarching vibe of Flinterforge. The creative, techno-magimystic artistic vibe. But I also think some people dig the more Tolkien feel, which isn’t something I intended but also understand. I think there could definitely be room for both… like Ebenguard has a more principled, righteous, and militaristic side, but also a scrying, sensing, sifting through the sands of time vibe.