em writing queer myth ⛲️#WritingWonders Day 27!
The world of #ThoseWhoCreateAndDestroy is more or less our own, so it shares our own world's human rights issues. But the book focuses in on a magical wainscot society that does have its own unique problems (in addition to being behind the times on a lot of the same social inequities we face).
The most privileged mages belong to the so-called "First Houses" of the dominant faction, Ordo Arcanus, whose ancestors arrived in North America with European colonizers. Other factions wield less power in the Alliance, and "Rising House" magi who have joined Ordo Arcanus in recent times are afforded significantly less power within the order. Non-faction-affiliated mages are greatly legally restricted in their practice of magic and denied many rights and access to resources.
Jules is a rare First House mage who's aware of and cares deeply about these issues, in no small part thanks to his close friendship with Rory—a Rising House (and later factionless) mage—when they were kids. Jules is often seen giving his conservative politician father an earful, for example in Thorsten's campaign meeting in Chapter 31: https://readformandvoid.com/the-nullweaver-cycle/those-who-create-and-destroy/chapter-thirty-one/
Rory naturally cares about these issues too, though he has less platform to agitate for change, due to both belonging to the underprivileged class and having defected from the magic world, rendering himself a political non-entity (though this changes as the series continues! For now, see his rant to his sister Abby about the dark history of Ordo Arcanus at the beginning of Chapter 3: https://readformandvoid.com/the-nullweaver-cycle/those-who-create-and-destroy/chapter-three/ )
Magic society is also not known for its humane treatment of "mundanes" (non-magic users), and Auctoritas Magicae enforcers regularly mind-wipe and occasionally even dispose of mundanes who "know too much." Both Rory and Jules care about this—especially after they both fall for the same mundane girl.
#AmWriting #WritingCommunity #writing #fantasy #UrbanFantasy #DarkFantasy #SFF #QueerFantasy
