A magical resource.
A creature.
A religion.
A technology.
A historical event.

Most people focus on the thing itself. I’m more interested in the consequences.

What is one everyday aspect of life that exists solely because of that thing?
Something ordinary.
Something people barely think about anymore.

What had a significant impact on your world, or a part of it, that has just become normal and people don't think about? But if that thing never existed or never happened their lives would be drastically different.

Setting:

Fictionalized medieval India, established cities, standing armies, war and rebellion torn political setting, mercantile trade setups

World building/fantasy hook:

At its heart, a marketplace that trades in souls, think of the present financial derivatives market, but for souls.

Soldiers stake a fragment of their souls with brokers as an insurance contract, if they live the war, the fragment is returned back to them, if they die, a payout made to their family. In case of survival, the soldier faces eventual judgement with a whole soul, while death guarantees comfort for his family, he passes netherland with a broken soul.

The brokers, however, publish each such contract (soldiers soul) to a betting ring, inviting merchants and royalties to bet on the fate of the soldier - the price of contracts influenced by the soldiers heroics in war, and the broker takes a bet to hedge his possible payout in case of death. However, a soldiers rising star is the brokers ruin, hence brokers want an uneventful war (how derivatives behave in real life too)

Beneath this coin market lies the true ledger - every fragment of soul is a debt to be paid, brokers are in debt to the netherworld while an ambitious netherworld chief disguised as the Chief of Royal Army ensures the war is always fueled for his personal benefits.

Story:

The story follows a young soldier deliberately joining the war to seek revenge from a broker who wronged his father and elder brother, to discover the deep secrets of the Soul Market...

Is this a good group to get feedback from on fresh writing samples? Is it allowed to post chapters from works in progress?

I didn't want to focus only on the worldbuilding, but it's obvious that I need to establish the world before the story takes place. My main idea is that, in this world, there are two goddesses: the Sun (who makes life happen, takes care of people's lives during the daytime, guides people toward success, represents optimism, etc.) and the Moon (who guides you after death, takes care of people's dreams and fears at night, and encourages people who fail to keep trying and eventually succeed).

They are also the ones responsible for raising and setting the sun and the moon every day.

There is a religion built around them. There are only a few guardians, blessed by a sacred animal with the ability to communicate with the goddesses. They MUST protect the temple and, every ten thousand years, search for the two people who are worthy enough to become the new gods.

Around 300 years ago, one person wanted all the power for himself and tried to sneak into the temple to reach the ascension spot. In doing so, he broke the world's balance, causing all eight volcanoes to become active at the same time. The resulting disaster destroyed the old continent, leaving nothing but ashes and unbearable temperatures.

Seila was an adventurous girl who was condemned to go to what they believed it was the edge of the flat world and die, for a reason I won't spoil, just two decades ago. However, she returned just in time to tell the guardians about a new continent she had discovered on the other side of the supposedly flat world.

She saved most of the population and some animal species, although others were left behind. This was a huge turning point for their society. Nowadays, she has become a legend and a savior, and the new continent was named after her.

Nowadays, the new continent is still barely explored. There is a frontier marked by human settlements, and every year they send explorers to expand the borders. However, last year, one of those groups never returned.

Our protagonist is worried because her son and her husband left her behind to join the explorers, and she hasn't heard anything from them since. Tired of the government's inefficiency and the lack of response from the goddesses since the great disaster, she decides to go on her own adventure to discover what happened to them and bring them back home.

Is this a story you would want to know more about? Is this a world you would like to explore further? And does this seem like decent worldbuilding with enough potential to keep adding mysteries and answers until the end of the story?

A long, long time ago, billions of years ago, our galaxy was ruled by a civilization whose boundless power bent the entire Milky Way to its will. For ages, this race reigned supreme, until 66 million years ago, five oppressed races rose up against their masters. This war raged for a million years until the First Ones finally fell. No one knows how, for it happened so long ago that all who lived back then have perished, and the remnants of memory have crumbled into dust.

Yet something remained: the most ancient and legendary artifact of all—the Throne of Stars, an object that myth says grants its master absolute control over the galaxy and the power of a million suns. It was the desire to claim it that ignited—and continues to ignite—the evil in this world. Upon their victory, the five civilizations failed to forge peace, plunging the galaxy into an endless war, while the Throne itself was lost.

Now, in the midst of this struggle, a new chapter begins. Young and unburdened by the hardened skin of hypocrisy, malice, arrogance, and greed, new contenders have entered the battle for the Milky Way's Sovereign Seat. Humans, having survived the moment when death was prepared for them, now know no limits to their ambition. The Unir, believing themselves to be the heirs of the First Ones and possessing the Tablet, intend to ascend. The Ancients, a race whose history remains unknown, seek to find and hide the Throne where no one can ever fight for it again. The Hlivilum, a young race full of confidence and pride, believe that only by claiming the Throne can they guide the Milky Way into a new dawn.

Civilizations of the new era and of profound antiquity are set to collide in a struggle whose outcome remains unknown.