Welcome to Gaia! ::

Update: Okay, Illuminato holding onto this idea now. Check out the new thread and huuge concept change. :3
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/t.61231355_2/

Update: Thanks for accepting this, Queen Aradia!


Hey everyone, Contained (a friend of Alette) writing here.

Due to Alette having to withdraw from Gaia for medical/scholastic reasons, Fabula Carte is up in the air in terms of ownership. Mayamei (as the other artist) has kindly agreed to hand over Fabula Carte to whoever is truly interested in putting the currently finished work to use.

The new owner would be free to use the files as they please. They will have complete freedom to alter or change the artwork, concept, or anything else to their desire.

Currently, it seems that there are seven "showcase" cards done, some "bestiary" done, and some card backgrounds.


Uh, personally speaking here...unless the new owner is going to want to do a lot of pixel work (or recruit artists), there's still quite a bit to be done if you want to continue Fabula Carte as Alette had going. However, it looks like the main framework is pretty nicely set up...so I think there's potential.
That said, it's always possible to downsize the project...convert to regular minishop, whatever.

If anyone is interested, please send me (Contained) a PM. Do not PM this account (Alette).

Thank you!

Note: obviously subject to revision. Each update will correspond to a "chapter" of the book, Carte d'Autras.

Cards, in Autras, were immensely popular; they were crafted to summon a likeness of the being it depicted, so people loved to collect them as pets and companions, or even for use in challenges or fights!
But the most coveted of the cards were the ones of the spirits. Spirits often chose to inhabit innocent objects- such as strange flowers, or pretty lanterns. Wanderers frequently stumbled across them unknowingly. When this happened, some spirits chose to flee, but others choose to stay with their discoverer, whether it be for curiosity or for the joy in company, or for other reasons of their own. The card, then, became their home of convenience.

The book tells tales of a boy, who is unnamed but is referred to as "the Traveler", and his adventures across the world of Autras. The story and actions of the traveler are mostly irrelevant to each owner and their spirits, but serve to define the world and unveil locations as he explores, etc.






Chapter 0: The Beginning

The wish was simple enough, one shared by many: the desire for fantasy, realized through daytime dreaming or children’s play, or through exploring another’s epic tales or virtual lands, delighting in imagination and ingenuity. The creativity in our hearts spin stories of worlds about which we could only dream, immersive and grand, designed to answer that call of adventure.
The jaded might call it impossible to remain in constructed Neverlands; once children grow up, they are accepted into the world as “adults”, who work and do not play and are not allowed to imagine. Once an adult, there are only pictures to look back upon and memories to keep in the heart. Once an adult, happiness is different, and dreamers are only dreamers.
But they are wrong.

Behind the pages of every storybook lies a world.



Dalton Meriett subscribed to the belief that the fantastical could be true, if one were to make it happen. He often played in little acts; coffeeshop time loops, curio store petrification…he participated in it all. Such performances inspired dreams, he figured, and provided a break from the monotony.
It was that old text that gave him a reason to believe in the fantastic. He’d found it in his grandfather’s study, in its worn and yellowed glory. Containing stories of the world called Autras, it told wonderful tales of great forests and eerie castles and of magic.
But the end of the book, he noticed, appeared unfinished and incomplete. It was messy; the type contained many errors, cross-outs, and revisions.

…Linking…
…then the gate portal pathway connnection betueen the worlds was near complete. Travel between the worlds
Travel between the worrlds could finally take place. The gate was placed built within Neir, to start; others were planned for each of the Towns. The people rejoiced;
company! New worldes, infinite, limited only by imagination?
The only thing step left was

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer convallis euismod dui, id tempor orci vestibulum sed. Morbi et ante diam. Nam nisl urna, aliquet nec pellentesque ut, vulputate quis dolor. Sed sollicitudin quam id arcu elementum convallis in a quam. Nunc hendrerit commodo nisi, iaculis tempus nulla convallis sed. In at nisl a magna tempus dapibus. Aenean neque mi, aliquam eget faucibus ut, dictum nec elit. Fusce non ante non arcu consectetur vehicula. Donec faucibus ante et justo commodo tristique bibendum tellus tincidunt. Donec eu ipsum vitae tortor ultricies volutpat. Pellentesque nulla erat, accumsan vel faucibus at, semper sit amet eros.

The standard dummy text implied continuity; the ending was clearly not intentionally left as fragmented as it was.

Dalton played with the idea of completing it. Perhaps that was a mistake; who was he to presume to finish another’s work? But the thought of no closure nagged at him until he took it upon himself to create an ending, to his own satisfaction. Tearing out the paragraph, he began anew.

…Linking…
…then the connection between the worlds was nearly completed-
Travel between the worlds could finally take place. The gate was built within the forest of Neir, to start; others were planned for each of the Towns. The people of Autras rejoiced; company! New people to join them from other worlds, infinite, limited only by imagination? So they eagerly awaited the arrival of their new friends.
The only step remaining was the literal; those with adventure in their hearts
would find that gate leading to Autras. Perhaps near their childhood playground…or tucked away in that dusty spot in the library. Or maybe that path would be laid out before their very eyes! The new world was waiting.

And now, to find it.

Dalton leaned back, satisfied with the ending he penned. Gently spinning his chair, he turned…and was almost disappointed that no forest was there to greet him.

But the gate existed.
A week later, it was found.
The world of Autras…sprang to life.



I.

The beauty of the untamed is a balm to the soul.
In the sweeping forests that sprawl out, and beckon to the adventurer within each being,
In the stately mountains that, imposing, impress the wanderer searching for solace,
In the lakes and rivers and brooks and streams that breath life into its neighbors,
In the rolling sea whose soft echoes belie the dynamism beneath its waves,
In the silent stars that gaze upon us, and shine so brilliantly,
The Traveler finds his joy.

He will explore the world.
















Idea Gathering

I have a ton of ideas bouncing around for tying the Bestiary and the Showcase portions together, but nothing's set in stone right now. Any suggestions are welcome!

Some ideas to kick things off:

- Run the Bestiary as a game of chance. Each possible creature has a set of numbers assigned to it. After using the random number post function to generate a number and checking what it corresponds to, the person could decide whether to keep it or not. If that person didn't like it, they could reroll or give up at their own leisure; but if they found one that they wanted, they'd send a trade and post the order form we'd have available. This would hopefully keep at least some activity going and some thrill of chance for finding that one awesome card while doing a regular rp post or whatnot. xD
If not that plan, then at least some form of distribution needs to be worked out. I intended for at least some level of immersion, but any roleplay requirements can be worked out depending on the staff.

- At least one Showcase card is required to participate in the Bestiary portion, and have the Bestiary act as pets or companions to them.


- Or allow anyone to get Bestiary cards but have Showcase cards as the big prizes.


- Owning certain combinations of Bestiary cards entitle the owner to get special accessories for their Showcase card. (ex: owning all gel cards entitles owner to add a "gel mob" to their Showcase card)
- And if so, would a guild be a good idea? Let each owner create their own display thread and maintain it, while this account would keep a post in there to list the accessories.


- Regular story quests happening at any given time, managed through RP (or something) with prizes given at the end.

[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/t.55290393/][IMG]http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad225/fabulacarte/link1.gif[/IMG][/url]

_______________________________________________________________________________

I wanted to add Frogs' Legs but there's no banner link in yet? :<

Haha, I'll definitely add it when you do! :)


Oh, and thanks! Yes, I did- but it was a rush job that I'll probably be revisiting several times. xd

I tried to do a pixel map until I realized that it was just...way...too hard. xd
I wasn't sure of how to get my usual level of detail (that I use for backgrounds / scenery) into something so large-scale, then the color blending got weird, and it just turned into a trainwreck. So I bailed and got behind a smudgy one instead (ahaha).

...Though perhaps I could do a color count reduction to get a pixelly look at least...



But anyway, do it! If not an organic looking map, then maybe just do one that only shows some sort of icon with the name of the area? I find that maps help with world building and sense of immersion- but that's just my own preference. whee

That sounds like a great idea! And psh- I did notice your original frog and prince piece; the background and castle look amazing! I'm sure you could do it. 3nodding