The Dominion Realm

Copyright © 1996 Patricia C. Wrede. Fantasy World Building

Basics

Are the laws of nature and physics actually different in this world, or are they the same as in real life? How does magic fit in? How do magical beasts fit in?
Physics work as magic - the programing code the Grimms learned from Chester is actually Dominion's magic. Sorcery as code.

Is this generally an earth-like world? Is it an “alternate Earth”?
Alternate Earth = it's a dimension not a planet

Are there different human races, whether or not there are non-humans like elves or dwarves? How does the cultural and ethnic diversity of this world compare to the real world?
Definite slant to white - minorities and non-humans are not trusted by humans. It is a problem throughout the series. It varies in extreme from township to township

How long have there been people on this world? Did they evolve, or did they migrate from somewhere/when else?
The original Dominion planet and it's history is lost. It's somewhat of a flat world partial realm. They are confined to the continent with no sophisticated ship building tech to see if there are other continents.

How many people are there in this country? How does this compare with world population? What is considered a small town/large town/city in terms of number of people?
2-3 million dominion wide. A normal town is a couple hundred. There are "cities" with a thousand or so and "realms" where there are "tri-city" collabs.

Where does magic power come from: the gods, the “mana” of the world (as in Larry Niven’s “Warlock” stories), the personal willpower or life force of the magician, somewhere else? Is magic an exhaustible resource? If a magician must feed his spells with his own willpower, life-force, or sanity, what long-term effects will this have on the health and/or stability of the magician? Do different races/species have different sources for their magic, or does everybody use the same one?
Magic exists as science does - it's part of the physics of Dominion. It can - in part - be manipulated by genetics - the Chesire Cats, other magical creatures. The Grimms are unique in that they can rewrite other people's code and even the realm's base code. However as it is a science - the altered code must be sound. They can't create a duck from mud, but they can create a mud statue of a duck. Trying to create a duck - there are too many things like internal organs - whatnot - that can go wrong. They cannot create matter.

This is what Rebecca tries to do and fails with Jack. No life, is no life. Ryan actually fails with Dante as well. But Dante - as a Cat - has nine lives. What Ryan does is activate another life.

Are there non-human inhabitants of this planet (elves, dwarves, aliens)? If so, how numerous? How openly present? What areas do they occupy (examples: dwarves in mountains or caves, elves in forests, etc.)?
There are Chesire Cats, Jinns, Pixies, Giants, Wolves, Bears - there are several talking beasts, actually. Not to be confused with the regular non-talking beasts. That no one ever questions why some Wolves can talk and pretend to be human and others are actually canine is something that will boggle the Grimms.

All fairy tale creatures exist somewhere. Some of the more contemporary monsters - Aliens, Predator, Vampires - are not in Dominion but might bleed through from other dimensions.

How does this world differ physically from earth? Is it the same size (same density, same gravity), same ratio of land/water, same atmosphere, etc.? Does it have more than one sun or moon? Rings? Are there spectacular constellations/comets, etc. visible at night or by day?
Kat says:
ooooooooooooo
Does the Dominion have multiple moons or rings?
No - not multi moons
Sara says:
rings? like Saturn?
Kat says:
cause I'm gonna mess around with Big Bad Wolfs
but yeah - I might mess with skies
Sara says:
nice
Kat says:
I'm thinking maybe there are auroas
from where it used to be a planet but is now just kinda existing solely on magic
Sara says:
yes
Kat says:
where that hits "normal" universe is a constant light show
Sara says:
ooooooh
Kat says:
HEE
THAT'S HOW THEY KNOW AN AVVIE'S COMING
Ryan: *looks up* Wow. That's beautiful.
Everyone else: Oh goddammit….

Are there non-human inhabitants of this planet (elves, dwarves, aliens)? If so, how numerous? How openly present? What areas do they occupy?
How are the continents laid out? If there is more than one moon/sun, how does this affect winds, tides, and weather generally?
How much land is there, and how much of it is habitable?
Is the axial tilt and orbit the same — i.e., does the world have the same seasons and same length of year as Earth?

They have seasons - but they are set. Like clockwork. It is always X degrees on the harvest day. There is always a blizzard in January. ALWAYS.

SNOWED IN DANTE/REBECCA EP.

Magic In the Dominion

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