In my very first blog post I introduced the plane of existence where the Kyanite Aliance headquarter is located. I envisioned the island of Roanaa as a truly beautiful and special, almost utopian world. But what happens when one is forced to live in the exact opposite of it? Let’s take a look at the specifically distopian world where the story begins and where our heroine, Kyra comes from !
Imagine a community whose members live in the most puritanical conditions possible! They don’t just give up the unnecessary luxury in order to live closer to nature. They wear gray rags, barely eat any food, and their identical houses are furnished by uncomfortable, basic objects. Their lives consist of endless physical labor until their forties when they ask for death in complete weakness. And worst of all, is that they are incapabe of dreaming or experiencing feelings. Why? This pattern is simply ingrained in them from the moment they were born without anyone ever questioning it.
There are only two people who are an exception. Obviously, one is Kyra, who has been in possession of the factory’s defects from the beginning. It is considered unnecessary by the other members of the colony living in the Village. The other is a mysterious old man named Custodis Animarum who is viewed with both fear and contempt. Why are they the two who have broken out of this endless Sisyphean cycle? This will only come to light much later, in a subsequent part of the Warlock series. I would also like to turn to another question that has occured to me while creating this dreary world.
What makes a world a dystopia in our eyes?
The meaning of the word dystopia is quite easily defined. It is an idea that paints a worse picture of the world than it is now. But how does the one who was born in this see the other world? For them, this is obviously a natural state, and it doesn’t even occur to them that there would be anything wrong with it. Members of the colony are perfectley satistied with their dull lives. They only show an imitation of the feeling of anger when something threatens their usual, everyday world.
As outsiders, we probably find the life of the Village pathetic and absurd. At the same time, without enough awareness, our lives can become just that. The straightest path to this state leads through indifference. When we let the greyness of everyday life grind us, not caring about the needs of our body and soul, our loved ones, or people in general, our world becomes a little more dystopian.
Just as indifference and negligence are the most certain way to make our lives fade to colony grey, so love and enthusiasm are the way out of this state. First, we need to love ourselves so much that we dare to ask the question: am I really living my own life? If the answer to that question is no, it’s probably time to change a few things. We need something that motivates us to get up in the morning. It could be our profession, a calling to creating a home for our family or even a hobby we do with heart and soul.
This makes it easier to rise above the feelings that drag us down if they stay with us for a long time. In addition, we can regain our inner peace in case we lose it for a while. If there is peace within us, we can turn to others people with a more open heart, and we can also cope more effectively with difficulties outside of us. If we can make our own world livable and amazing even if the external circumstances are more and more similar of an Orwellian novel.
All of this, of course, requires a lot of work. But it’s worth experimenting with developing some internal ammunition, because we can only win with it. So good luck to you all!
