Sprouting Nonsense
sproutingnonsense.bsky.social
Sprouting Nonsense
@sproutingnonsense.bsky.social
Australian fantasy writer (amateur) and role-playing game enthusiast. Blog is at https://sproutingnonsense.com, posts Monday 8AM AEST every 2 weeks.
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TALES FROM KARATERA

An ongoing set of eight short stories set in the desert world of Karatera, where monsters, warlords and dark spirits reign supreme. This post will be updated periodically with links to each story as I post them on my main Wordpress blog.
#NovemberWorldbuilder 15
Well, I can't in good conscience answer this one with anything other than the Black River of south Karatera. Named for the fertile dark soil that it deposits, the Black River is widely regarded as the cradle of human civilisation in Karatera.
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Welcome to our third week, #NovemberWorldbuilders! This time we're talking about important RIVERS or LAKES in our world! But, tbh, any sufficiently important body of water will do. Also, don't feel obliged to answer; sometimes I cover niche topics that aren't for everyone!
November 16, 2025 at 12:43 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 14
Honestly, the morals in Karatera are pretty similar to Earth's, specifically the morals we practiced in the Middle Ages. Y'know, public execution, serfdom and all that. I'd say that sexism and homophobia aren't really present in Karatera (with the exception of...)
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What's up, #NovemberWorldbuilders peeps! Have you dared to get a little freaky with your worldbuilding? Does your fictional world's society believe something to be good or evil which societies on Earth (generally speaking) do not agree with? How did you come up with that idea?👀
November 14, 2025 at 11:56 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilder 13
Depends on the region and the religion. The Old Faith (which I yapped about back in August) holds sway on the Black River and a few other southern regions, and is all about enforcing order over chaos. Proper burial rituals are especially important to them.
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It's #NovemberWorldbuilders time! We're talking about the concepts of GOOD and EVIL in our fictional worlds this week. Tell me: what does your world's authoritative figures say about morality? Is there a church or governing body that tells people how to live? What do they command?
November 14, 2025 at 1:16 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 12
Well, since none of my short stories really have antagonists in the direct sense, I'll just chat about the ethics of the three main faction leaders, since they're the closest thing to villains.
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Hey there, #NovemberWorldbuilders! It's GOOD and EVIL week. Today, tell me about the ethics/morals of your VILLAIN. If you don't have one of those, talk about another character, particularly one who might deviate from protagonist's moral philosophy
November 13, 2025 at 10:08 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 11
Bit late to this one. Since I've got multiple stories set in Karatera, I'll go over the ethics of the MCs of the stories I've posted so far.

- Fayiz from A Soldier's Lot;
- Chloe from Spiritbinders; and
- Dumu from Clanless
Greetings, #NovemberWorldbuilders. Tell me about the ethics of your MC or any character who is important in your world's lore. Are they morally good? Morally grey? Do they have a belief contrary to what others around them believe in? Are there any acts they refuse to do?
November 12, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
No, I fear I will die before I can write them all 😭😭😭
Writers, do you ever fear running out of story ideas? This is one fear I don’t have #writingq #WritingCommunity
November 10, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Question for the #WritingCommunity: I'm trying to promote a series of dark fantasy short stories that I'm writing, but I'm a bit concerned that nobody's actually seeing them. Does anyone have any advice on how to expand my "reach" with my stories? Relevant hashtags or things like that?
November 10, 2025 at 9:20 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 10
King Ergon Caspio I, who ruled some 70 years ago, was renowned for revitalising the faith of the First Eye in the desert regions and for leading expeditions into the ancient ruins that dot the Violet Sands. From those ruins, he retrieved hundreds of artifacts...
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Heya, #NovemberWorldbuilders. The last two days were for characters seen as pure good or evil. Now for the morally grey stuff: are there any historical figures or events that are debatable whether they were good or bad? Who are the controversial people/events in your world's history?
November 10, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
My third short story, Clanless, is now out! Dumu, dragonkin warrior, joins the Bluebane Alliance in an effort to free the slaves of the Red Sands, but starts to doubt the motives of his superiors. Check out the link below if that sounds interesting to you!
Tales from Karatera 3: Clanless
"Posts Monday 8AM AEST every 2 weeks" Yeah, that turned out to be a load of nonsense, didn't it? Anyway, my third short story, Clanless, is finally out! Dumu, dragonkin warrior, joins the Bluebane Alliance in an effort to free the slaves of the Red Sands, but starts to doubt the motives of his superiors. You can read it…
sproutingnonsense.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 9
There's quite a few villains in Karatera's past, big and small. The most well known villains just so happen to be ancient kings from the Dark Ages and before.

The Seven Cruel Kings are among the most notorious villains. These despots ruled the northern Coastlands...
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Hello, #NovemberWorldbulders! We're talking about morality in our fictional worlds this week. Today's prompt is the opposite of yesterday's: are there any characters in your world's history/lore who are considered evil? Whether ontologically evil or someone who made bad choices. Who were they?
November 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM
My third short story, Clanless, is now out! Dumu, dragonkin warrior, joins the Bluebane Alliance in an effort to free the slaves of the Red Sands, but starts to doubt the motives of his superiors. Check out the link below if that sounds interesting to you!
Tales from Karatera 3: Clanless
"Posts Monday 8AM AEST every 2 weeks" Yeah, that turned out to be a load of nonsense, didn't it? Anyway, my third short story, Clanless, is finally out! Dumu, dragonkin warrior, joins the Bluebane Alliance in an effort to free the slaves of the Red Sands, but starts to doubt the motives of his superiors. You can read it…
sproutingnonsense.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:02 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 8
So we're going to go into the recent past rather than the ancient past, and talk about the heroic band known as the Four Blades, who once roamed Karatera righting wrongs, slaying monsters, and occasionally causing havoc.
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Hello, #NovemberWorldbulders! This week’s theme is GOOD and EVIL where we share morality in our fictional worlds. Today's question is about HEROES from the past. Do you have any characters who lived and performed acts of heroism before the main story starts?
November 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 7
Onyx is a BLACK gemstone that is strongly associated with undeath. Virtually every ritual that creates such abominations requires one to place a piece of onyx in the chest of the body to be raised, often destroying the gem in the process.
Heya #NovemberWorldbuilders!
We're talking about COLORS in our world this week. Tell me about something in your world that's BLACK. Do you use it symbolically? Do you have any special black objects or animals or magical items in your world? Tell us about them!
November 7, 2025 at 11:56 PM
My third short story, Clanless, is coming out Monday, 8AM AEST! If you enjoy stories about dragon people confronting the horrors of war, be sure to head over to my blog and have a read once it drops!

#amwriting
November 6, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
That is a payout of one trillion, 50 billion dollars.

Like to charge, repost to cast. Summon the Etsy witches!!!
November 6, 2025 at 3:18 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 6
WHITE is the sacred colour of the Path of the First Eye, the state religion of eponymous Providence of the First Eye, which rules over Karatera. The priests of the First Eye wear white robes, their churches are made of white marble, and their religious doctrine...
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Hello, #NovemberWorldbuilders friends!
We're in COLORS week! Tell me about something in your world that's WHITE. Have you used it symbolically? Any special white clothes, rocks, animals, or magical artifacts you'd like to talk about?
November 6, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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ZERO POINT SURVIVOR UPDATE 5
URANUS: THE FINAL FRONTIER
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#indie #indiegame #majorupdate #steam #zps #zpg

store.steampowered.com/app/3476600/...
October 31, 2025 at 7:11 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 5
The Violet Sands, the western region of Karatera, is named such because its sand dunes shine and sparkle with a variety of colours, predominantly in shades of PURPLE.
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#NovemberWorldbuilders
This week's theme is COLORS! Tell me about something in your world that's PURPLE. Do you use it symbolically? Do you have anything special in your worldbuilding that's purple? Maybe an animal, jewels, a garment, a flower, or something more strange and magical?
November 5, 2025 at 8:22 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 4
A cactid is a carnivorous plant that resembles a small, GREEN ball cactus. When its prey draws near, it latches on with its thorny tendrils and drains the moisture from its victim. It often grows of patches of a dozen.
Hey there, #NovemberWorldbuilders!
It's COLORS week! Tell me about something in your world that's green. This one is probably more common, since green is so strongly associated with nature. Do you have any cool greenery in your world? Or maybe you've used it for an object? Tell me about it!
November 4, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
It was always about the "right" politics in video games, and the silence of video game companies is defeaning.

An extra episode of Unpacked is available now from @nickjcal.bsky.social.
It Was Always About the "Right" Politics in Video Games | Unpacked
YouTube video by Second Wind
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 PM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 3
Orichalcum is a strange metal with a yellow-orange colouration, often appearing slightly corroded. Often referred to as "rusted gold", orichalcum is renowned for its ability to interfere with magical spells and phenomena.
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It's #NovemberWorldbuilders!
We're talking about colors in our worlds! Tell me about something in your world that's YELLOW or ORANGE? I find that these two are often underrated/underused in worldbuilding, so I'd love to hear what you have. Maybe something symbolic of the sun or made of gold?
November 4, 2025 at 5:11 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 2
King Gharamax is a huge blue-scaled storm dragon, and the leader of the Bluebane Alliance. Charismatic, cunning and cruel, his dragonkin forces treat him and his brood as living gods, which isn't far from the truth of it.
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Heya #NovemberWorldbuilders!
Continuing with COLORS! Tell me about something in your world that's BLUE. Do you use it symbolically? Do you have anything special in your worldbuilding that's blue? Maybe an important object symbolic of the sea or sky? Tell me about your blues!
November 4, 2025 at 5:10 AM
#NovemberWorldbuilders 1
The desert of east Karatera, known as the Red Sands, is a vast expanse of rust-red stone and soil, dotted with ancient canyons and rocky spires. It’s said the desert's colour comes from the blood of an ancient khorgul war god.
Welcome to #NovemberWorldbuilders!
This week's theme is COLORS! Tell me about something in your world that's RED. Do you use it symbolically? Do you have anything special in your worldbuilding that's red. Maybe an animal, jewels, a garment, a flower, or something more strange and magical?
November 4, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Okay, Clanless has been edited! Didn't have time to work on the final copy last week as I was busy moving out, but I'm settled into my new place, and I think I should have time to work on it this week! Looking to post it either next week or the following one!
#amwriting
November 2, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Sprouting Nonsense
"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"
October 28, 2025 at 10:46 AM