New Story Choice I: Underland (Dark Fantasy)

Hi guys,

Here is the first choice among the two potential web serials. The winner will start publication right after the Perfect Run finishes. The poll will be updated tomorrow, after you have the time to see the two choices.

Without further ado, I present you: Underland! 

Art by Ricardo Emig.

The Whitemoon blocking out the sun.

A thousand years ago, the world was a verdant paradise teeming with life. Mankind worshiped the stars, and raised great cities reaching out for the skies. Then came the dreadful Whitemoon, a rogue, eldritch moon which blotted out the sun and cast the world’s surface in eternal darkness. Monster followed in its wake, turning the planet into a frozen, alien-infested wasteland.

Overland ruins.

Mankind retreated beneath the earth to escape the chilling cold, warring with other subterranean civilizations and establishing the powerful empire of Azlant. Ruling this underground realm are seven warlocks known as the Dark Lords, led by the greatest of their number, the Eternal Empress Atrara. But though mankind has conquered the darkness, men still yearn for the lost Light that they now worship.

Magic is Underland revolves around the power of the Blood, which grants mastery over life and death, and through them, the soul. The sorcerers of Azlant have learned to create chimeras to fight their wars, to raise the dead as workers, to strengthen the living through mutations, and even create dream worlds. The technology is roughly late Renaissance-level/early industrial age, though heavily altered by the world’s local magic; biomancers creating new breeds of mushroom forests to feed the growing population are common, alongside oniromancers shaping dreamworld pleasure resorts, or necromancers storing the deceased’s souls to preserve their knowledge.

Church of the Light necromancer commanding undead workers.

In their ceaseless quest to find a way to bring back their lost light, the Dark Lords have pushed the limits of science and magic to new heights, linking cavern realms through spatial portals, and even contacting alien realms... heedless of the dangers ahead.

Portal to other worlds...

Among the empire’s most promising citizens is the young Valdemar. Although a talented engineer, polymath, alchemist, and aspiring magician, Valdemar had the misfortune of being born poor. His only heritage is a journal belonging to his maternal grandfather, speaking of a distant world where the sun still shines in the skies. Determined to prove this world’s existence, Valdemar turned to illegal activities to fund his research.

Caught and sentenced to the salt mines, Valdemar’s scientific and magical talent is recognized by one of the Dark Lords of Azlant, the lich Och. Intrigued by the journal, Och spares Valdemar a grim fate and takes him under his wing. Together, master and apprentice set out to explore the secrets of Underland, and to find this mythical world called ‘Earth’...

Biomancer creating new life. 

Taking inspiration from works like Bloodborne and Berserk, Underland is a gothic fantasy taking place entirely in an underground world, the titutal Underland. The Empire of Azlant is only one of the multiple civilizations inhabiting this enormous maze of caverns and subterranean ecosystems, including reptilian troglodytes, an advanced steampunk derro kingdom, and lovecraftian horrors. The setting is thus something very different from classical fantasy.

Azlantean city.

Underland’s tone would be similar to my story Never Die Twice, mixing serious and philosophical moments with occasional humor, and develop themes I left unexplored in that story; namely, how does a society where death has been largely conquered functions? How would a civilization teeming with undead evolve? How a 'magical industrial revolution' look like?

Valdemar himself is something of a fantasy Leonardo Da Vinci, a crafter/scientist first and a mage second. A polymath, a large focus of Valdemar’s story will be the creation of new technology, the study of magic following rational principles, archaeological exploration of ancient civilizations, and his apprenticeship under Lord Och. Think of it as a non-dysfunctional Sith apprenticeship, with a young techno-warlock learning the trade from a morally ambiguous master. Neither are heroes, but they aren’t villains either.

Valdemar and Lord Och.

In short, pick Underland if you want a rational, dark fantasy story in a novel setting, with a focus on exploration, worldbuilding, crafting, and magic.