JayF
The Idol Producer
Exorcist Academy.
Doing some brainstorming for a story, and I want to see if there's any issue with the world building.
I'm brainstorming an urban fantasy world where Exorcist act as law enforcement/ paramilitary forces defending humanity from hauntings like in several horror movies.
I plan to focus first on an Academy for the Exorcists, and the instructor staff will be several disciplines including frontline combat where spells and blessed items are used. Alchemy where the spell reagents and ritual tools are created and Indoctrination through religious drilling like paladins in fantasy fiction, though trainees are not expected to choose a religious teacher so long as he has one to fortify his mind from mental attacks.
How would a model Academy be structured if the stories set in the US? More of a posh elite boarding school, or more like boot camp for ghostbusters. If experienced and powerful Exorcists can reliably train a Haunt into a training aid like using a trained attack dog in a K9 units, would it make sense for instructors to subject trainees to Hauntings? How would the relationship of the schools be like with their local communities. Distrust because several Exorcist appear/are scarier than Haunts, or friendly because having an Academy means more Exorcist around in case of a Haunting?
Just fishing for some thoughts and opnions on the world building I have so far. Any flaws or illogical things you spotted?
Let's start off with the world at large first.
The Haunting of the world.
In 14 July 1950 CE, an unknown star streaked across the skies of the world in a trace of fire. Soon after, reports of hauntings began to flood emergency lines across the world. In any place where death happens and the victims are not laid to rest properly, people reported beings straight out of their myths and legends wreaking havoc. Some of these reports correspond to records of the old legend, but other reports indicate these monsters have distinct behaviors and weakness of their own. Initial reports of these incidents were suppressed in the wake of Cold War paranoia, and both sides brushed it as planted propaganda from the enemy.
But the Korean War broke out, and soon sputtered to a halt when armies of both sides found themselves swarmed after dark and even in day time by these spirits. Long suppressed supersitions and folk remedies were burst out to deal with the threat, some worked and some did not. In 1951, 28 Feb the UN General Assembly announced the existence of the Haunts and Hauntings, officially clarifying what the world knew existed. Effective counter-measures were documented as were Haunts, and those people found to be most effective against them were called Exorcists.
Fast forward to the present day, 2018 CE. It's been six decades since the Hauntings began, and in this world Exorcists play a vital part in everyday life. Every police department has an Exorcist unit attached, everyday tools are checked for curses and infestation by haunts and Exorcist training schools to train a new generation of these defenders of humanity have spawned the world over.
Haunts are classified into several Classes, with the higher numbers being more dangerous. Most Haunts manifestations are inline with local cultures, though in the dying years of the 20th century Haunts once limited to their areas of origin have manifested elsewhere following large scale population movements.
Class 1- The result of an unattended death by natural means. Hospital morgues for the poor and unwanted are breeding grounds for these. Attached Exorcists to hospitals are typically those too old or injured for battle with more dangerous haunts, and they do rotating shifts to pacify and excise the Haunts. Typical countermeasures include specially prepared cameras that can capture the time a Haunt is formed, and funerary rites performed by the Exorcists. NGOs attending to disease outbreaks in under-developed nations are typically plauged by them, and almost always have either an accompanying Exorcist attachement, or the use of any local Exorcist.
Typical activity of Class 1- Semi transparent sightings, hallucinations, chills and sickness after prolonged exposure to their presence with two weeks continued exposure for healthy adults as the threshold. They're also known to infect items, rendering them Class 1 haunts themselves. While some may engage more physical challenges to the living such as moving doors and furniture, these are slow and easily visible. Staying alert of your surroundings can prevent accidents resulting in such action, and most Class 1 cannot directly physically harm a human directly. Immediate pre-Exorcist countermeasures include removing sharp and small blunt objects, ensuring all wires re firmly secured and using Haunt observation tools like blessed cameras and recorders to observe and record.
Exorcist response- an Exorcist patrol of one full-fledged Exorcist of Corporal rank or local Order equal and an apprentice accompanying. Followed by local law enforcement to secure the scene post exorcism and securing of any mundane suspects uncovered during the course of pre and post exorcism investigations. All objects, including personal items of any person who entered the scene are subject to an Exorcist inspection for Haunt contamination.
Class 2-Caused by Class 1 Hauntings left unattended, resulting in death or violent deaths like suicide, murder and accidents. Class 2 Haunts are immediate threats to the living in their vicinity, directly assaulting them usually in a bid to recreate the circumstance of their death. Possession, where the Haunt overcomes a person and ultimately replaces them by wearing the once human as a skin suit is common. Conventional arms treated by an Exorcist are the immediate response by mundane law enforcement, followed by deploying of Exorcist reinforcements. A confirmation of Class 2 Hauntings will result in a qurantine of the building or site where it originated from.
It's important to note that Class 1 Haunts can and often do manifest Class 2 behavior the longer it's been ongoing and if there are victims of the Haunt. Most Exorcists are trained to expect a Class 2 response when attending to a Class 1 Haunt report.
Typical activity of Class 2- Class 2 are violent, but are almost always linked to their place of origin (place of death) and or person (person responsible for their demise). Most initial reports of Hauntings in the press are Class 2 due to their sensational nature. Local responses are deployment of SWAT with AH (Anti-Haunt) weaponry and a squad of Exorcists of usually five Exorcist of various disciplines from the local Order. The make up of the Exorcist team is dependent on the nature of the Class 2 Haunt. Post Exorcism always involves police investigations in a bid to uncover the cause or perp, and almost always ends in a trial. A priority to Exorcist response is the containment then exorcism of the Class 2 Haunts. Class 2 haunts retain much of their human intelligence, but with an utterly malevolent personality. They're also likely to attempt escape from an Exorcist team if they're left to fester long enough to be able to break from their place of origin.
Those that escape, end up classified as
Class 3- Class 3 Haunts usually warrant a national level response from the countries affected on par with an invasion and natural disaster. Class 3s are unique, and they are not geographically bound. A number of Class 3 use specific medium to spread their influence, from television, radio or even running streams of water. Exorcist response is to ID the transmission medium and minimize or cease the spread of them. Class 3 Haunts warrant a response by local and national level Exorcist Order Masters, and the UN Haunt Commission is notified when a Class 3 is confirmed or suspected. Martial Law and other emergency rules are the norm in government response to Class 3 appearances.
Class 4 Haunts- The final class of Haunts currently known. Haunts like these are a threat that's global or continental in nature, and the Haunt Commission usually coordinates the collective response of all the major Exorcist Orders. Weather pattern changes that may lead to permarnent climate shifts, displacements or disappearances of entire populations are the expected symptoms of a Class 4. Exorcist Orders suspects that cultists worshiping Haunts actively strengthen Class 3 or even rumored unsealed Class 4 Haunts banished or restrained in the past. A Class 4 Haunting was the reason that ended the Korean War, and led to the founding of the Haunt Commission and standardization of Exorcist Orders worldwide.
Exorcist. Excise the Darkness and Fear.
Exorcist or their local equivalent was adopted as the official name of Anti-Haunt law enforcement responders in the 1954 Paris Declaration at the Second Haunt Commission General Assembly. Conducted the wake of the first recorded Class 4 Haunting, Exorcist are exhorted to Excise the Darkness and Fear. The universal symbol of the Exorcist, with local variants recognized, is the sun peaking out behind a mountain pushing against a pitch black night.
While anyone can aspire to be an Exorcist, Sensitives find themselves often lacking a choice it's either legally mandatory or heavily socially expected for thise people who are naturally attuned to the presence of Haunts and their works to be railroaded in Exorcism.
Exorcist typically find their discipline with a year or two of formal training at Academies, and are funneled into the specialized curriculum or schools where they're nurtured. Other remain generalists throughout their entire Exorcist careers (lives), and typically end up as frontline Exorcist responding to lower Class Haunts. The power of an Exorcist is determined by how resistant he is to the attacks of a Haunt. Late Class 1 and 2 Haunts are known for attacking the thoughts of Exorcist through voices into their heads in an attempt to dominate or possess them once their minds breakdown, and prevent the Exorcist from using their blessed tools and ritual effectively neutralize Haunts.
For a frontline Exorcist, a Haunt is only a threat until the correct tools and rituals are deployed properly against it, whereby the Haunt usually become helpless. For Class 3 Haunts, only Exorcists who have shown a track record of being able to resist effectively Haunt manipulation and attacks or have undergone simulations conducted by subdued Haunts of their local Order Master will be allowed to deploy in a frontline position.
Exorcist, particularly Sensitives who live long enough to retire in good health are rare. Most Exorcists either die in the line of duty, are injured in mind or body or end up in a mental institution closely watched by their still sane counterparts.
Exorcist Order Masters.
An Exorcist Order Master, or the OM in the lingo of more militarized Orders are Exorcists that have pushed the practice and study of their respective fields of Exorcism yet. These are the select, an Exorcist who survived and trained long enough where they are almost as far from humans as upper class Haunts. Order Masters spend most of their days perfecting their craft, and may select a successor and heir from the ranks of their Order when there are no Hauntings justifying their intervention. Order Masters who weren't part of the Haunt Commission are immediately selected for the Haunt Advisory Committee,but numbers of active OM fluctuate with death, derangement and rarely a healthy retirement to a principal post at an Exorcist Academy
Exorcist Academies.
Founded in the wake of UN General Resolution #54, commonly referred to as the Haunt Resolution, the Academies were the first efforts to secure and train Exorcists in a systematic manner. While anyone can in theory be trained as an Exorcist, there are those who are more likely to sense a Haunt or it's workings before it's solidified to the extent of a classified Haunting, which anyone can see and feel. Sensitives in the initial chaos of the Hauntings were lynched especially in the under-developed parts of the world where hysteria hindered government response.
An Academy is basically a boarding school for aspiring Exorcists, and in parts of the world where being lynched and shunned for being a Sensitive is high government agents and fully fledged Exorcist devote much time and resources to finding and securing Sensitives. Other more fortunate children may be sent to an Exorcist Academy once they're old enough for primary education, and even have a relatively normal social life. Non-Sensitive children and even teenage students are not unheard of, but they're at a learning disadvantage and most Academies do not wish to divert extra resources to their schooling.
Academies are staffed by both Sensitive Exorcist who are either retired from active Exorcist frontline duty, or whose talents are attuned to making and blessing instruments and equipment from Haunt infestation. Not all Exorcist end up on the beat, responding Hauntings upon graduation. A proportion of Exorcist end up in government departments or large corporations ensuring daily life is free from Haunt manifestation by acting as inspectors of food, household items and the general infrastructure such as plumbing and power grid. Others upon graduation further their studies by joining more religiously inclined Orders, which both boost the morale of the population at large that a Haunt is not necessarily your fate after death, and also because intense religious faith benefits Exorcists, who require iron will and focus as they recharge and grow stronger.
/x/
End world building.
Doing some brainstorming for a story, and I want to see if there's any issue with the world building.
I'm brainstorming an urban fantasy world where Exorcist act as law enforcement/ paramilitary forces defending humanity from hauntings like in several horror movies.
I plan to focus first on an Academy for the Exorcists, and the instructor staff will be several disciplines including frontline combat where spells and blessed items are used. Alchemy where the spell reagents and ritual tools are created and Indoctrination through religious drilling like paladins in fantasy fiction, though trainees are not expected to choose a religious teacher so long as he has one to fortify his mind from mental attacks.
How would a model Academy be structured if the stories set in the US? More of a posh elite boarding school, or more like boot camp for ghostbusters. If experienced and powerful Exorcists can reliably train a Haunt into a training aid like using a trained attack dog in a K9 units, would it make sense for instructors to subject trainees to Hauntings? How would the relationship of the schools be like with their local communities. Distrust because several Exorcist appear/are scarier than Haunts, or friendly because having an Academy means more Exorcist around in case of a Haunting?
Just fishing for some thoughts and opnions on the world building I have so far. Any flaws or illogical things you spotted?
Let's start off with the world at large first.
The Haunting of the world.
In 14 July 1950 CE, an unknown star streaked across the skies of the world in a trace of fire. Soon after, reports of hauntings began to flood emergency lines across the world. In any place where death happens and the victims are not laid to rest properly, people reported beings straight out of their myths and legends wreaking havoc. Some of these reports correspond to records of the old legend, but other reports indicate these monsters have distinct behaviors and weakness of their own. Initial reports of these incidents were suppressed in the wake of Cold War paranoia, and both sides brushed it as planted propaganda from the enemy.
But the Korean War broke out, and soon sputtered to a halt when armies of both sides found themselves swarmed after dark and even in day time by these spirits. Long suppressed supersitions and folk remedies were burst out to deal with the threat, some worked and some did not. In 1951, 28 Feb the UN General Assembly announced the existence of the Haunts and Hauntings, officially clarifying what the world knew existed. Effective counter-measures were documented as were Haunts, and those people found to be most effective against them were called Exorcists.
Fast forward to the present day, 2018 CE. It's been six decades since the Hauntings began, and in this world Exorcists play a vital part in everyday life. Every police department has an Exorcist unit attached, everyday tools are checked for curses and infestation by haunts and Exorcist training schools to train a new generation of these defenders of humanity have spawned the world over.
Haunts are classified into several Classes, with the higher numbers being more dangerous. Most Haunts manifestations are inline with local cultures, though in the dying years of the 20th century Haunts once limited to their areas of origin have manifested elsewhere following large scale population movements.
Class 1- The result of an unattended death by natural means. Hospital morgues for the poor and unwanted are breeding grounds for these. Attached Exorcists to hospitals are typically those too old or injured for battle with more dangerous haunts, and they do rotating shifts to pacify and excise the Haunts. Typical countermeasures include specially prepared cameras that can capture the time a Haunt is formed, and funerary rites performed by the Exorcists. NGOs attending to disease outbreaks in under-developed nations are typically plauged by them, and almost always have either an accompanying Exorcist attachement, or the use of any local Exorcist.
Typical activity of Class 1- Semi transparent sightings, hallucinations, chills and sickness after prolonged exposure to their presence with two weeks continued exposure for healthy adults as the threshold. They're also known to infect items, rendering them Class 1 haunts themselves. While some may engage more physical challenges to the living such as moving doors and furniture, these are slow and easily visible. Staying alert of your surroundings can prevent accidents resulting in such action, and most Class 1 cannot directly physically harm a human directly. Immediate pre-Exorcist countermeasures include removing sharp and small blunt objects, ensuring all wires re firmly secured and using Haunt observation tools like blessed cameras and recorders to observe and record.
Exorcist response- an Exorcist patrol of one full-fledged Exorcist of Corporal rank or local Order equal and an apprentice accompanying. Followed by local law enforcement to secure the scene post exorcism and securing of any mundane suspects uncovered during the course of pre and post exorcism investigations. All objects, including personal items of any person who entered the scene are subject to an Exorcist inspection for Haunt contamination.
Class 2-Caused by Class 1 Hauntings left unattended, resulting in death or violent deaths like suicide, murder and accidents. Class 2 Haunts are immediate threats to the living in their vicinity, directly assaulting them usually in a bid to recreate the circumstance of their death. Possession, where the Haunt overcomes a person and ultimately replaces them by wearing the once human as a skin suit is common. Conventional arms treated by an Exorcist are the immediate response by mundane law enforcement, followed by deploying of Exorcist reinforcements. A confirmation of Class 2 Hauntings will result in a qurantine of the building or site where it originated from.
It's important to note that Class 1 Haunts can and often do manifest Class 2 behavior the longer it's been ongoing and if there are victims of the Haunt. Most Exorcists are trained to expect a Class 2 response when attending to a Class 1 Haunt report.
Typical activity of Class 2- Class 2 are violent, but are almost always linked to their place of origin (place of death) and or person (person responsible for their demise). Most initial reports of Hauntings in the press are Class 2 due to their sensational nature. Local responses are deployment of SWAT with AH (Anti-Haunt) weaponry and a squad of Exorcists of usually five Exorcist of various disciplines from the local Order. The make up of the Exorcist team is dependent on the nature of the Class 2 Haunt. Post Exorcism always involves police investigations in a bid to uncover the cause or perp, and almost always ends in a trial. A priority to Exorcist response is the containment then exorcism of the Class 2 Haunts. Class 2 haunts retain much of their human intelligence, but with an utterly malevolent personality. They're also likely to attempt escape from an Exorcist team if they're left to fester long enough to be able to break from their place of origin.
Those that escape, end up classified as
Class 3- Class 3 Haunts usually warrant a national level response from the countries affected on par with an invasion and natural disaster. Class 3s are unique, and they are not geographically bound. A number of Class 3 use specific medium to spread their influence, from television, radio or even running streams of water. Exorcist response is to ID the transmission medium and minimize or cease the spread of them. Class 3 Haunts warrant a response by local and national level Exorcist Order Masters, and the UN Haunt Commission is notified when a Class 3 is confirmed or suspected. Martial Law and other emergency rules are the norm in government response to Class 3 appearances.
Class 4 Haunts- The final class of Haunts currently known. Haunts like these are a threat that's global or continental in nature, and the Haunt Commission usually coordinates the collective response of all the major Exorcist Orders. Weather pattern changes that may lead to permarnent climate shifts, displacements or disappearances of entire populations are the expected symptoms of a Class 4. Exorcist Orders suspects that cultists worshiping Haunts actively strengthen Class 3 or even rumored unsealed Class 4 Haunts banished or restrained in the past. A Class 4 Haunting was the reason that ended the Korean War, and led to the founding of the Haunt Commission and standardization of Exorcist Orders worldwide.
Exorcist. Excise the Darkness and Fear.
Exorcist or their local equivalent was adopted as the official name of Anti-Haunt law enforcement responders in the 1954 Paris Declaration at the Second Haunt Commission General Assembly. Conducted the wake of the first recorded Class 4 Haunting, Exorcist are exhorted to Excise the Darkness and Fear. The universal symbol of the Exorcist, with local variants recognized, is the sun peaking out behind a mountain pushing against a pitch black night.
While anyone can aspire to be an Exorcist, Sensitives find themselves often lacking a choice it's either legally mandatory or heavily socially expected for thise people who are naturally attuned to the presence of Haunts and their works to be railroaded in Exorcism.
Exorcist typically find their discipline with a year or two of formal training at Academies, and are funneled into the specialized curriculum or schools where they're nurtured. Other remain generalists throughout their entire Exorcist careers (lives), and typically end up as frontline Exorcist responding to lower Class Haunts. The power of an Exorcist is determined by how resistant he is to the attacks of a Haunt. Late Class 1 and 2 Haunts are known for attacking the thoughts of Exorcist through voices into their heads in an attempt to dominate or possess them once their minds breakdown, and prevent the Exorcist from using their blessed tools and ritual effectively neutralize Haunts.
For a frontline Exorcist, a Haunt is only a threat until the correct tools and rituals are deployed properly against it, whereby the Haunt usually become helpless. For Class 3 Haunts, only Exorcists who have shown a track record of being able to resist effectively Haunt manipulation and attacks or have undergone simulations conducted by subdued Haunts of their local Order Master will be allowed to deploy in a frontline position.
Exorcist, particularly Sensitives who live long enough to retire in good health are rare. Most Exorcists either die in the line of duty, are injured in mind or body or end up in a mental institution closely watched by their still sane counterparts.
Exorcist Order Masters.
An Exorcist Order Master, or the OM in the lingo of more militarized Orders are Exorcists that have pushed the practice and study of their respective fields of Exorcism yet. These are the select, an Exorcist who survived and trained long enough where they are almost as far from humans as upper class Haunts. Order Masters spend most of their days perfecting their craft, and may select a successor and heir from the ranks of their Order when there are no Hauntings justifying their intervention. Order Masters who weren't part of the Haunt Commission are immediately selected for the Haunt Advisory Committee,but numbers of active OM fluctuate with death, derangement and rarely a healthy retirement to a principal post at an Exorcist Academy
Exorcist Academies.
Founded in the wake of UN General Resolution #54, commonly referred to as the Haunt Resolution, the Academies were the first efforts to secure and train Exorcists in a systematic manner. While anyone can in theory be trained as an Exorcist, there are those who are more likely to sense a Haunt or it's workings before it's solidified to the extent of a classified Haunting, which anyone can see and feel. Sensitives in the initial chaos of the Hauntings were lynched especially in the under-developed parts of the world where hysteria hindered government response.
An Academy is basically a boarding school for aspiring Exorcists, and in parts of the world where being lynched and shunned for being a Sensitive is high government agents and fully fledged Exorcist devote much time and resources to finding and securing Sensitives. Other more fortunate children may be sent to an Exorcist Academy once they're old enough for primary education, and even have a relatively normal social life. Non-Sensitive children and even teenage students are not unheard of, but they're at a learning disadvantage and most Academies do not wish to divert extra resources to their schooling.
Academies are staffed by both Sensitive Exorcist who are either retired from active Exorcist frontline duty, or whose talents are attuned to making and blessing instruments and equipment from Haunt infestation. Not all Exorcist end up on the beat, responding Hauntings upon graduation. A proportion of Exorcist end up in government departments or large corporations ensuring daily life is free from Haunt manifestation by acting as inspectors of food, household items and the general infrastructure such as plumbing and power grid. Others upon graduation further their studies by joining more religiously inclined Orders, which both boost the morale of the population at large that a Haunt is not necessarily your fate after death, and also because intense religious faith benefits Exorcists, who require iron will and focus as they recharge and grow stronger.
/x/
End world building.