Behind the scenes of building Astrylis
Writing updates, worldbuilding deep dives, AI-assisted creative methodology, and behind-the-scenes from the 33-month journey of crafting The Ethereal Web saga.
On a train from Gdańsk to Warsaw, an AI proposed a piece of jewelry that already existed on my live website — worn by a different character. The resolution wasn't a retcon. It was a lineage. This is what happens when you iterate with AI against a published world.
Why the best AI-assisted creative work happens between a Bird of Paradise bloom and a cup of coffee — and what that teaches us about how humans actually think with machines.
A five-step creative framework born from ADHD thinking patterns, morning coffee, living plants, and AI conversations. Named, documented, and proven across 28 cities, 30+ characters, and a four-book saga.
How a confident AI answer almost split my city into two — and what I learned about staying in control of my own world.
How a companion character, an intelligent parrot, and a visual creation pipeline emerged on the second day of AI-assisted worldbuilding — while planting a Bird of Paradise on the balcony.
From morning coffee to evening petunias — how I used two AI tools to build a new character for The Ethereal Web in a single day, without losing creative control.
Over 4,000 AI-generated images. One fantasy world. Here is the creative pipeline that turned a personal archive into a working codex — and the correction most people miss about who created what.
Love is the spark. Curiosity is the engine. After 40 months of building a fantasy world with AI, here's what actually drives the creative process — and why most AI criticism misses the point entirely.
A city name that sounded like Game of Thrones led to a foundational myth, a dragon god, and a repeatable creative method — built in real time with two AI systems and one human who refused to settle.
Not every race starts with a problem or a placeholder. The Hai'bito — ash-skinned people with burned-branch hair and multicolored eyes — came from nowhere. I just saw them. That's a different kind of creativity entirely.
40 months. 181,000 words. 7 continents. 40+ races. One human. Several AIs. Zero copy-paste. Go ahead — call it slop. But first, look at the numbers.
50+ forbidden words. 11 style rules. 4 character voice profiles. One principle: the AI serves the author, not the other way around.
From a generic expelled mage to one of the most complex characters in the saga — a case study in AI-assisted character development with real data.
I documented 12 of 13 Council Elders before touching the leader. That was not an accident. Here is why deliberate design order matters — and how 40 months of AI-assisted work compares to Tolkien, Sanderson, Herbert, and Martin.
I built the most emotionally complex love story in my fantasy world while studying for an AI vulnerabilities exam. The gear-with-a-ring proposal, the sentient construct, and the split heart that became a saga-defining secret.
Two AI systems with different strengths reviewed the same worldbuilding document. They disagreed. Then they converged. Here is the pipeline that emerged — and the data that proves it works.
A practical scoring system for measuring worldbuilding quality — developed through 40 months of AI-assisted creation, with real data from 13 Elder documents.
The science behind why breakthroughs happen during walks, breaks, and quiet moments — and how AI changes the equation without replacing the magic.
What happens when you use two AI systems as a writer's room — and where the human stands at every step of the creative process? Here is what I learned from 40 months of AI-assisted mythmaking.
How collaborative AI worldbuilding leads to emergent discovery — where contradictions become hidden layers, and a fantasy world starts behaving like real history.
AI systems end responses with suggestions that feel helpful but subtly steer your creative direction. Here is how to recognize them and stay in control.
What happens when your AI assistant puts your private creative process on a public website — including the parts you definitely did not want published.
The story behind the story — why I'm opening the workshop doors to share the 33-month journey of creating The Ethereal Web.