Update

Been a while since I posted here. In between times, I've managed to decide that I will either be writing the Heart of the Storm for nano, or I'll do a complete rewrite (without looking at any of the previous material) of Soulreaper. That way I'll be able to end up with a full first draft to work off.

At the moment, I'm leaning more towards THOTS (The Heart of the Storm) since I had a number of brainwaves as to how to create this fantasy modern world. At the moment, I'm especially working on the races and this is what I've come up with:

* The Aelfin - Elf-type creatures, they are the only ones to have 'magic'. They are a very spiritual race, who once had a theocracy. However, during the last war, their land was totally poisoned and they are now nomadic, kind of like the Jews after the Diaspora.

* The Dwelven - Dwarf-type creatures, they are as short as normal dwarves, but relatively low-tech compared to some of the others. Though they do have their own lands, many are captured and enslaved, used as slave labour by the other races.

* The Huld or Huldrae - Trolls/Ogres. They are shapeshifters and changelins, whose initial form is the hulking giants of legend. They are the most powerful race in the Old World, highly intelligent, with lots of tech.

* The Genossans - Goblins/Gnomes. A small race, kin to the dwelven, but thinner and more twisted. They are the most intelligent, and have developed most of the tech that the others use.

* The Urchs - Orcs. Ugly bastards, they are a very honorable warrior race. Kind of like the Turkish Empire in the early 20th century. Very cultured, but decadent.

The Virii - Basically plant-people. These are the least developed, but I think the most interesting. There are so many different types of plants, I think these could be pretty cool.

So there we go, the six races, to which we must add the humans. All seven races are living in a 1920s type world, so tech level will be steam-based river boats and trains, the first combustible engines making their appearance, blimps, high skyscrapers appearing, etc. And behind all of this in the deep past is a classic fantasy situation, with a Dark Lord, etc... who was defeated about 2000 years before.

So that is the basic world in which the Heart of the Storm will be set.

Now for the plot!!! :)