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Wardens of Ivalice: The Meta Post
Now that I've posted the first part of my Final Fantasy XII/Dragon Age crossover, I wanted to step back a little bit, think about the world I'm creating and how it's going to work. Spoilers for DA:O, FFXII, and also for the story itself behind the cut. Thoughts and suggestions are more than welcome!
So when![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
renay first suggested this idea to me, I assumed it would be too hard to bring the two universes together. I'm not one who can just throw together characters from different canon settings willy-nilly -- I need to have an explanation for why they're in the same place at the same time. But the concept settled in the back of my mind, and the next time she brought it up I had the following epiphany:
-- Darkspawn emerge from beneath the ground.
-- Ivalice is filled with caverns, mines, and other underground settings.
And voila, I had a mechanism of connection. That was where my vision began: darkspawn bursting from the Zertinan Caverns, with Grey Wardens not far behind, Queen Ashe and Warden-Commander Elissa Cousland coming together to make a stand against the enemy. (I never even considered using any other Warden in that role. The idea of these two women working together was just too appealing.) Of course, there are many factors to consider when you combine two worlds and stories that are so different. These are some of the thoughts I find the most interesting.
1. Magic. How magic works may be the largest gulf between the two universes: it appears that anyone in Ivalice can learn how to cast spells, whereas only those Thedans born with a connection to the Fade will have any magical ability at all. I brought this difference up in "The Joining" but didn't even bother attempting an explanation. I have a feeling I'm going to need to get into a little more depth in Part Two, especially if Alistair and Ashe (whom I always consider a paladin-type) go into battle together. Nathaniel brings up the possibility that Alistair may not be able to use his Templar abilities to dampen magic, and I haven't decided whether or not that will be a problem. Will the Fereldens be able to learn magic here? Does the Fade even exist in Ivalice? Questions I have not yet answered, and which will take more pondering.
2. Merging different levels of technology. Ivalice is an odd mix of high and low technology, and in truth I've always had a hard time deciding what tech they're likely to have in any given situation. Airships and aircars exist, but the common people seem to mostly walk or ride chocobos. Do the people of Ivalice have electricity? Computer tech? Long-range communications? Are the "technologies" we see mostly driven by magic?
Meanwhile, Dragon Age is a medieval tech world beyond doubt. I underplayed this aspect in Part One because I didn't really want to deal with the implications of the Fereldens being overwhelmed by wonders at every turn, but I may do more with it in the future. Have to admit, the business with Nathaniel and Alim's first ride on an airship was a lot of fun to play with.
3. Mist vs. Darkspawn Corruption. One of my first thoughts when pulling these worlds together was the potential to draw a parallel between the way a Blight corrupts the land and the devastation at Nabudis. This led to other ideas, such as the darkspawn going out of their way to avoid the Wood, and Fran's ability to sense the taint (and it's really too bad that I can't write her as romantically involved with Balthier, because how delicious would *that* angst have been?). I see a connection to Mist here, and maybe nethicite, but I think I need to do more research to figure out how that's going to work.
4. The Occuria as "Old Gods". One of the big questions, of course, is why the darkspawn have been drawn to Ivalice in the first place. If the archdemons are the Old Gods of Thedas, then might it be logical for the Occuria, or one of their number, to serve the same function here? I've thought of involving Morrigan or Flemeth -- Morrigan, especially, although whether she would be working for or against the Wardens isn't clear to me -- but that leads me to the question of why either of these women would take an interest in Ivalice. Magicite, perhaps, or the Occuria themselves? This is probably the aspect of the merger I'm fuzziest on.
So, that's where I am right now, at least in terms of bringing the worlds together. I have a lot of thoughts on the characters, too, and why I created the connections and teams I did, but that can wait for another day.
So when
renay first suggested this idea to me, I assumed it would be too hard to bring the two universes together. I'm not one who can just throw together characters from different canon settings willy-nilly -- I need to have an explanation for why they're in the same place at the same time. But the concept settled in the back of my mind, and the next time she brought it up I had the following epiphany:-- Darkspawn emerge from beneath the ground.
-- Ivalice is filled with caverns, mines, and other underground settings.
And voila, I had a mechanism of connection. That was where my vision began: darkspawn bursting from the Zertinan Caverns, with Grey Wardens not far behind, Queen Ashe and Warden-Commander Elissa Cousland coming together to make a stand against the enemy. (I never even considered using any other Warden in that role. The idea of these two women working together was just too appealing.) Of course, there are many factors to consider when you combine two worlds and stories that are so different. These are some of the thoughts I find the most interesting.
1. Magic. How magic works may be the largest gulf between the two universes: it appears that anyone in Ivalice can learn how to cast spells, whereas only those Thedans born with a connection to the Fade will have any magical ability at all. I brought this difference up in "The Joining" but didn't even bother attempting an explanation. I have a feeling I'm going to need to get into a little more depth in Part Two, especially if Alistair and Ashe (whom I always consider a paladin-type) go into battle together. Nathaniel brings up the possibility that Alistair may not be able to use his Templar abilities to dampen magic, and I haven't decided whether or not that will be a problem. Will the Fereldens be able to learn magic here? Does the Fade even exist in Ivalice? Questions I have not yet answered, and which will take more pondering.
2. Merging different levels of technology. Ivalice is an odd mix of high and low technology, and in truth I've always had a hard time deciding what tech they're likely to have in any given situation. Airships and aircars exist, but the common people seem to mostly walk or ride chocobos. Do the people of Ivalice have electricity? Computer tech? Long-range communications? Are the "technologies" we see mostly driven by magic?
Meanwhile, Dragon Age is a medieval tech world beyond doubt. I underplayed this aspect in Part One because I didn't really want to deal with the implications of the Fereldens being overwhelmed by wonders at every turn, but I may do more with it in the future. Have to admit, the business with Nathaniel and Alim's first ride on an airship was a lot of fun to play with.
3. Mist vs. Darkspawn Corruption. One of my first thoughts when pulling these worlds together was the potential to draw a parallel between the way a Blight corrupts the land and the devastation at Nabudis. This led to other ideas, such as the darkspawn going out of their way to avoid the Wood, and Fran's ability to sense the taint (and it's really too bad that I can't write her as romantically involved with Balthier, because how delicious would *that* angst have been?). I see a connection to Mist here, and maybe nethicite, but I think I need to do more research to figure out how that's going to work.
4. The Occuria as "Old Gods". One of the big questions, of course, is why the darkspawn have been drawn to Ivalice in the first place. If the archdemons are the Old Gods of Thedas, then might it be logical for the Occuria, or one of their number, to serve the same function here? I've thought of involving Morrigan or Flemeth -- Morrigan, especially, although whether she would be working for or against the Wardens isn't clear to me -- but that leads me to the question of why either of these women would take an interest in Ivalice. Magicite, perhaps, or the Occuria themselves? This is probably the aspect of the merger I'm fuzziest on.
So, that's where I am right now, at least in terms of bringing the worlds together. I have a lot of thoughts on the characters, too, and why I created the connections and teams I did, but that can wait for another day.
Re: BTW, totally playing Dragon Age 2 now.
I mean, there's a lot of sketch going on in Kirkwall and the only good people that are left to stop it are fighting each other.
I think that the magical influence in Ivalice can lend its inspiration to Eastern attitudes of the supernatural. Like, if the Mist is something that's always part of the environment, then using Mist can be just as natural as training your body if that makes sense. Like, being able to use the energies of your surroundings and combining it with your inner chi so that it'll be concentrated into a form of power. I think that magic in Ivalice has greater unity in the mind and body for it to be able to be used in almost everyday life (at least for the adventurer). I mean, I'm willing to bet that if street urchins Vaan and Penelo can learn it then anyone can.
In contrast, I think that the Fade tends to be more spiritual and psychological, since that's the domain of spirits and dreams. Spirits and demons that are there seem to emulate the virtues and vices of the mortal realm, but I don't think that the entirety of the supernatural can be so simply explained as being personified human values. But perhaps it is? Perhaps the Fade is really the collective unconscious of all conscious beings in Thedas. That would certainly be supported by having dreams taking place in the Fade. I also like to think that spirits and demons as they are aren't powerful until when confronted with something from the physical world. For example, I think Pride demons would truly manifest their characteristics only when a person has communicated with it and that person would act as like a mirror of itself. I mean, if there weren't mages running around tempting magical beings with their mere existence, what would those demons/spirits be doing? Would a Pride demon just be arrogant at its worst or boastful at its best? Would a desire demon just look around for conscious vessels to fulfill its need to desire something? Justice really would be just a concept until it actually experiences life through Anders' eyes. In contrast, it seems as though the Gods and Espers of Ivalice seem to maintain a kind of individuality as well as being able to exist in the mortal realm without the aid of humans pulling them out.
But I digress. I have read both vieralynn and yours' discussion and I agree with both.
Re: BTW, totally playing Dragon Age 2 now.
That is a really interesting point, and I will have to think about the implications! Hmm. I also like the idea that Mist is "native" to Ivalice in a way that the Fade is not.