After several false starts, I'm beginning a new 'fic, my first-ever Slayers
story, "The Homeless God". At the rate I write, it should be complete in
2002, though I'll try to go a little faster than usual. :-) I have to
admit to being a bit nervous, since this will be the first time I've
ventured into a universe that's already well-fan-written, although by the
time "Mother's Day" was finally finished, the same could be said about
Tenchi.
I have a few questions, and I would be very grateful for whatever answers I
can receive.
-- It is very important to the plot that a character suspect that she's
pregnant, without knowing for certain. Although the fact that she's "late"
is one clue, I need something else. For reasons I don't want to get into
here, her belly will never swell, despite her apparent condition, so what
does that leave me? I was thinking morning sickness. Does anyone know at
what point in a pregnancy that usually occurs? The pregnancy in question
advances at an accelerated rate, so I'm hoping I can make this work.
-- Question #2 is about Slayers geography. The Slayers world is pretty
well mapped out, which hampers me somewhat, since my story requires two
nations at war with one another and I don't want to use existing
city-states for continuity reasons. My plan is to have the characters
leave the continent and go elsewhere. The question: *is there* an
"elsewhere", or is the Slayers world a disc with finite limits? (Sitting
on the back of a turtle, no doubt.) If another continent is out of the
question, I'll invent a large island for the armies to fight over.
-- Spells. Buncha questions.
-- What's a good resource describing them and, most importantly, listing
which spells are in Lina's arsenal? I don't want to write her throwing
"Elmekia Lance" if she doesn't know it.
-- I've never written a spell-battle before. My plan is to stick to the
more common spells from the anime, rather than confuse the reader with the
obscure stuff. However, if a case occurs where I really need to, I'm
planning to invent spells. I'll be less likely to do that with Lina than
with other characters. Do people have any problem with this? Keep in mind
that I would only use such a device to *develop* the plot, not as a deus ex
machina.
-- Sorcerors in the military. I'm imagining any military worth its salt
in the Slayers universe would have to have sorcerors, just as they do
archers, calvary, and foot soldiers. I'd just thought I'd make sure
there's nothing contradicting this, some pact that sorcerors follow that
keeps them from military service.
Thanks in advance for any answers!
------RM