While I’m still working on Innocence Seekers: April Light (I hope to have the final episode of chapter 3 finished by the end of June), I’ve decided to take the time to announce a new side project. What is unique about this project is that it will actually be entirely written in Namari. Its title will be Five to Save the World (Namari: よお そくお たん えつつ Yō Sokuo tan Etutu, Japanese: 世界を救うために五つ Sekai wo Sukuu Tame ni Itsutsu), and it will follow five pairs of sisters (aged nine and ten in Earth years) as they try to save everyone in their world from a strange force that “froze” them by venturing into another world.
So far, I only have the beginning planned, and I haven’t even decided whether to have the beginning set in Japan or Namari. However, it will be split into five parts, with an as-yet-unspecified number of chapters. The parts are named as follows:
- Part 1: Spring (Namari: Payu)
- Part 2: Summer (Namari: Natu)
- Part 3: Mid-Year (Namari: Nakadoshi)
- Part 4: Autumn (Namari: Aki)
- Part 5: Winter (Namari: Pui)
If you haven’t figured it out, the number five features quite prominently in the story. Five pairs of sisters, five “processes”, and so on. Each pair of sisters represents a Chinese classical element (which are really “processes” rather than “elements”), and the part names also allude to the elements.
So far, I’ve only conceived of the main cast, the five pairs of sisters:
- Kohaku and Fūka Konohana (Namari: このはな こ゚ぱき (3), このはな ふーか (1); Japanese: 木ノ花 琥珀, 木ノ花 風香)
- Himari and Moe Himiya (Namari: ひみや ひまえ (1-n), ひみや もえ (1); Japanese: 火宮 ひまり, 火宮 もえ)
- Sora and Ruri Chihama (Namari: ぢはま そや (1), ぢはま るい (1); Japanese: 地浜 そら, 地浜 瑠璃)
- Hikaru and Suzu Kanahashi (Namari: かなはし ひかゆ (1), かなはし すず (1); Japanese: 金橋 ひかる, 金橋 すず)
- Umie and Yukiho Mizumachi (Namari: めづまち おみゑ (1), めづまち よきほ (1); Japanese: 水町 海恵, 水町 雪帆)
Note that the Namari names are associated with a number; this is the declensional class (1: first declension, 1-n: first declension with -e changing to -in in the dative, 3: third declension). Also, there are slight differences between the Namari and Japanese names; traditionally translations use the Japanese names, although some Namari names are ambiguous (e.g. るい Rui can refer either to Japanese Rui or Ruri).
In order, the sisters represent Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each girl also has a specific element in which she specialises:
- Kohaku: Thunder
- Fūka: Wind (also includes plants)
- Himari: “Bomb” (explosions, basically)
- Moe: Fire
- Sora: Heaven (things like meteors)
- Ruri: Earth
- Hikaru: Light
- Suzu: Metal
- Umie: Water
- Yukiho: Ice
The magic system of this story resembles that of Innocence Seekers, although it is not identical. If I were to adapt this story into a video game, it would have the above ten elements, as well as the “unaligned” element “Darkness”.
I will post more later, but that will be it for now.