Food of the Seven Kingdoms (Evandar)

 In my world building, I have thought a lot about food. It may seem silly to some authors and more than a few readers to spend my time thinking about what someone eats in a fantasy setting. Honestly, I didn't start out thinking about what my characters ate. At first, I just didn't consider it important. All it was to me at that time was background color for the story.

After all, I wasn't writing a cookbook. Then, as time went on and I looked at the fiction I had read and enjoyed, I realized that truly immersive settings were what I deeply enjoyed. These stories gave the characters greater depth and realism through the inclusion of daily activities. I have attempted to emulate these techniques in my writing. You can see a progression through the books that I have out as I included more details about the world.

I really think that it is forcing me to grow as an author. Asking questions about regional differences in the Seven Kingdoms lead to my describing clothing and climate. Then I found myself thinking no one in these stories sits down and eats. You have to eat to survive. I tried to put more scenes about food into my books. I don't think I've been as successful at that as I'd like to be. I acknowledge in some cases, it comes off as contrived and rather forced.

But, as I look at it all, I think about what the different regions have in common and what is unique to each one. I also have been thinking a lot about food because of my diabetes. Somehow, this turned into my questioning what food is popular in what region, what food is most common, and what do they use to season it. At one point, I started working on posting recipes that would have been served in the world of Evandar. 

I am going to pick that thread up again after some experimentation in the kitchen and a deep dive into the kinds of food you can find in our world. Research and experimentation is what promises to make a recipe work. It is my hope that I will stumble on to things that my kids will enjoy because they're picky eaters. I also hope that I will eventually have recipes that literally add flavor to what I'm writing. It's a tricky part of worldbuilding that most authors don't get to. I think, however, I am up for the challenge. Who knows, maybe a cookbook will come out of this fantasy series after all. Wouldn't that be funny?

World building: how much is too much? (spoiler alert: never too much)

 Dear Friends,

It has been quite a while since I have posted real content up here. I am looking at my journals and notes from the years I have spent working on my fantasy series. One thing keeps coming to mind, this is a lot of world building. I started working on this book series when I was in seventh grade. The first iteration of the first book in the series was a two page typed story. My grandmother was pleased that she was the first person I shared it with. She told me it had potential and I've been working joyfully on it ever since.

The core ideas in that first short story have been fleshed out and given more detail over the years, but so has many other things. Sometimes, I wonder if I have gone too far. I have literal volumes of material that never even made it into my books (published or unpublished). Then I stop and think to myself that all of this material can be carefully reorganized and produce more books.

I don't know if I am going to finish the 30 book series that I plotted out before I die. Other projects pop up and I get distracted. At the same time, my legacy of writing is going to be fun for my heirs to go through and see how it changed over the years. Unless they decide I am still boring. Having teenaged children makes you boring to them no matter what you do.

I hope that you find as much joy in world building as I have. And I hope that it keeps writing fun and interesting for you. It has for me.

♥

Setting as Antagonist.

 Dear Reader,

Here's a concept that may sound a little weird. Your protagonist is battling against the setting to accomplish their goal. Think of the dangers of extreme weather. An ice storm, for example, is a setting/event that creates dramatic tension, especially when at night. Your protagonist is left questioning if they have sufficient supplies to weather being cut off from civilization. They are wondering if tree limbs are going to fall on their shelter and if they're going to be without heat or power. Nothing is quite like the ominous noise of freezing rain pelting a window in dead quiet after the power goes out. Time ceases to have meaning in that moment until your protagonist has a source of light and, hopefully, a clock.

A hostile environment that the protagonist has to navigate has lead to some pretty interesting narratives. If one considers the movie Cast Away (featuring Tom Hanks and a volley ball), the entire narrative is heavily influenced by the environment. The interplay between Hanks's character and the environment is emotionally charged, which is projected into the character's interactions with the volley ball. The environment as the antagonist isn't just the thing of fiction, for in reading On Walden Pond, we find that the environment is fickle and even Henry D. Thoreau isn't immune to the challenges.

Many historical narratives of catastrophic environmental events are riveting because we see humanity pitting all of their skill and wit against the most merciless opponent, nature itself. We can follow the examples that we have from historical record and put our characters into positions where they are struggling to survive with nothing but the goods in their hands, the clothes on their backs, and their wits. Such stories can be triumphant or tragic, depending on how the author chooses to write the narrative.

Setting & Character development.

 Dear Reader,

The works of great fiction are filled with all of these details that can be distilled down to a simple set of rules.

1. Great characters must have more than the goal of the plot to motivate them. They need to have depth and multiple dimensions of interest. If that is not in place, they're little more than a painted puppet being moved across a screen. This can be entertaining but it won't really draw your reader in.

2. Great characters interact with their setting as if it were real, because to them it is. You can't conveniently ignore the major problems that you developed in the setting chapters before. Nor can you ignore the major benefits that you set up chapters before. These things need to carry forward because they will have a continuing impact upon the character. Even an interaction with a throw away side character can have major implications for your main character's development.

3. Settings must be more than a mere backdrop for the story. They need to be complex and have dimensional qualities that are going to pull your reader into the story. A simple tree can be ignored but a mighty oak gets a little more attention. Describe your settings as if you are walking through them yourself. The details that you note are going to be the ones that your readers would likely note as well. Don't forget the five senses as you are describing your setting. Many people stick to visual descriptions but you can provider greater realism in your story the more you incorporate other elements of sensory input.

If you follow these three rules, your character will develop and become more real to your reader as the book goes on. This sense of the character being real is what will make your book more memorable and special to your readers. And, there is one last rule that is very important. There are no rules on how to write your own special book. Do what works best for you. Focus on building your own voice. While these three rules can be helpful, they are a guideline not a hard and fast rule of writing like that i before e except when ... oh, you know that one already.

New Settings Section. :)

 Dear Reader,

I mentioned a while back that I was going to be combining the Flora & Fauna feature with the Settings feature in my weekly topics. What does this mean for you? Well, I hope to be hitting the following points going forward (provided life doesn't screw with me like it has over the last 48 hours):

• Descriptions of flora and fauna that can be found in this world, along with their uses (This will include pictures as I can get organized enough to sketch them.)
  
  
• Details of the Poisoner's Notebook - a subsection of the flora and fauna stuff that focuses exclusively on poisoning and nefarious things. 
  
  
• Place descriptions that are relevant to the plot of various books as well as just interesting locations (I will attempt to make maps but right now my cartography skills are hideously bad.)
  
  
• Character sketches of major characters in the series and occasional random ones that are just fun to write (I am still debating if I am going to work up a character sheet for each in the style of old school D&D.)

While I am enjoying creating this material (because it helps me brainstorm things to put into the books), I am super excited about the concept of people taking things that I have created here and using them to create their own fanfiction, fantasy gaming campaigns, or artwork. I feel that my books are an open-world experience. As I add to the series, you are following the main plotline of the story. There will be side stories (like the serial stories on here) that will come out to cover supporting characters or just be adventures through the world. 

I am issuing a formal invitation to you to join me in creating this dynamic world. It is as much yours as it is mine once the books are in your hands.

Flora & Fauna: The 'history' of Dragons

Dear Reader,

Dragons are amazing creatures. They are the cornerstone upon a great deal of fantasy literature is built. One could write a really informative and awesome post about the place of dragons in the genre. My first interaction with dragons aside from fairy tales was Anne McCaffery's Pern series. That, however, is all a tale for another day. The dragons of the Umbrel Chronicles of Evandar have always existed within that universe. Each culture within that universe has had some kind of contact with dragons and have different stories about how they relate to humanity and their origin.

The kingdoms of Evandar and Ranyth border each other. A mountain range that is named for dragons spreads along that boarder and then splits into two separate ranges along the northern borders of those kingdoms. The kingdoms share the same general religion, though there are regional variances in the practices. There is, however, a shared consensus that dragons are dangerous and to be avoided. In Evandar, they are said to be the children of the god of chaos and wind. In Ranyth, they are said to be servants of that god in his malevolent aspect. The folk memory of Ranyth recalls the Great War between the gods drawing out the dragons into combat.

It is a state secret, however, in Ranyth, that the royal household is under the protection of a great dragon. The marriage between Asriel and Erian included the royal family of Dakon-Bar, a sub-kingdom of Evandar, in the protectorate of dragons. This lead to the revelation of the dragon whose domain overlaps Dakon-Bar and gives the region it's name (for Dakon means dragon and -bar is a prefix that denotes a region as forested.) This is an ancient Evandari name for the place. At the heart of it all is a forest known in modern times as Dragonwood forest. Here is the dragon's lair, hidden beneath the hills and trees of the region.

In Ranyth, there are actually two dragons that reside in the region. In the north, is the dragon that is sister to the dragon of Dakon-Bar. This dragon is the matron guardian of the royal family of this kingdom. In the south, all but completely forgotten, is another dragon of a more malevolent nature. They sleep, hidden away within their lairs. For Ranyth was once a battleground between these two dragons during and prior to the Great War of the gods. That battle exhausted them and they have rested for over an Age. When they awaken again, as the dragon of Dakon-Bar has, they will reengage in their fight.

Locales: The Lonely Oak and the Grey Lady

In Evandar's sub-kingdom of Dakon-Bar (which translates to Dragon Wood in the ancient language of this sub-kingdom's people) is the forest of Dragonwood that covers the majority of the kingdom. In the center of the forest is a hill with a cavern entrance. This cavern stretches beneath much of the hill with a cleverly built and long forgotten second entrance at a gnarled and ancient oak tree known only as the Lonely Oak. The natural entrance of the caves is where a stream flows forth to a bog before winding away to meet with the larger Wyeck river that runs past the villages of Aldstone and Wyeck-on-the-Hill. (Both villages are well known for their mills. Wyeck-on-the-Hill is the site of one of Dakon-Bar's two substantial waterfalls.)

The Lonely Oak is featured in many stories of the region. It is said to be where Freyr Greenwood, lord of the forest host of elves, courted his bride Gerða. It is also said to be the tree where he laid to rest after being wounded in combat before mysteriously disappearing never to be seen again by his people or those of men. The Lonely Oak is also said to be the tree of the Grey Lady of the Forest, a benevolent spirit who lays claim upon the clanless folk of the forest and comes forth to advise the High King during times of great distress for the land. Some argue that the Grey Lady is a mortal woman and others argue the Grey Lady is some manner of magical being. Tales of the Grey Lady have seen a resurgence over the last several years since the rise of King Askemb.

The most prominent folk tale being shared is of how the Grey Lady brings a feast to the lost and the deserted before claiming them as her people. There are rumors of a powerful being within the forest that can be found within the cavern or at the Lonely Oak but none who have gone searching for them has returned.

Locales: The Great Dragon Mountains.

Photo from Pexels.com

Just as here on Earth, in the world of Evandar there are continental mountain ranges. The continent that the kingdom of Evandar is located is divided into thirds. One third is desert away to the west of Evandar. One third is relatively temperate which is where Evandar, Ranyth and several other countries are located. The final third is off to the east of Ranyth that is grasslands.

A massive chain of mountains divides the temperate zone in half and then spreads along the lower edge of the polar region (which is progressively more tundra like as you move away from the mountains) from the small grassland plain on the western edge of Evandar to the distant ocean at the far eastern end of the grasslands east of Ranyth. A small spur of mountains extends into mid-western Evandar. Another, somewhat larger spur of mountains extends down along the far eastern edge of the grasslands. The extensive chain of mountain ranges is known as the Great Dragon.

The various ranges that make it up have names pertaining to parts of a dragon except for the small spur that extends into the mid-western region of Evandar. The Dragon's Teeth is the portion of the northern range that moves from northern Tarsus into northern Ranyth. The Dragon's Spine extends from the southern edge of the Dragon's Teeth to the south until it reaches the sea. The Dragon's tail is a very long range that is actually made of several smaller mountain ranges (much like the Appalachian mountains here in the USA).

It moves from the north-eastern edge of the northern most duchy of Ranyth east across the border of the great grasslands. The spur that extends down along the far eastern edge of the grasslands where the continent meets the ocean is unnamed by the peoples of the Evandar-Ranyth region. The ocean is considered mythical by many. That, however, is something for another day.

Flora et Fauna: Source material.

At the right you see me holding a very small sample of the library I have put together regarding plants and one of my notebooks where I record things I have learned from other sources. It may seem a little odd to talk about research where I have been talking mostly about different plants and animals.

I wanted to give you some insight into my working process in today's post. Much of what I write in my flora et fauna posts is in a style that is relatively close to how one would find such things described in actual texts. I am attempting to create a body of work that can provide additional realism for the world I have created. I am also attempting to synthesize a modern simulacrum of the medieval texts focused upon fictional plants.

This project had its seeds planted early when I was a child and my late paternal grandmother was explaining plants to me. She had an earlier edition of Margaret A. Grieves A Modern Herbal (I'm holding volume one in this picture) and I was fascinated by how detailed the plant descriptions were. The line drawings that were sprinkled through out the pages were jaw droppingly stunning in their level of detail. It reminded me of the botanical and naturalist sketches and paintings from the 1800s by people like John James Audubon.

As I started to dream of my little world, I found myself looking at details in close attention. I was curious how a tree would grow in a bog so I studied bogs and trees for a time. I was curious how dragons would reproduce, so I studied dinosaurs, birds, and monotremes. I would think of an evolutionary niche and try to figure out what lived in it. In many ways, I was thinking about the world's story even as I was thinking about how imaginary plants like fireweed were used. There's a reason why my world building notes occupies multiple volumes.

Sadly, they're all disorganized. This is part of the reason why I haven't a new plant or animal for you today. I am still in the process of organizing them. But, my source material for inspiration is always at hand because it comes from the world around me. And our world is just as wonderfully magical as the world of Evandar. Indeed, an Evandari person would be awed by our world. Not just because of our technological prowess but because of the amazing diversity of the biology of our planet.

Flora et Fauna: Creature Genesis (Part 1)

If you are like me, you have a stack of notebooks. They are probably full of notes regarding plot,

Public Domain image found via Pixbay

characters, snippets of dialogue, and gods only know what else. You may even have a recipe or two that you scratched down off of a site you found via Pinterest when looking for menu ideas for dinner. (I confess, I have more than two written down. They're also on note cards shoved into notebooks as bookmarks. Because anything makes a good bookmark, except for ketchup. Trust me on that last point.)

Last time, I spoke a little bit about how I come up with plants for Evandar's world. I wanted to take a minute to give you some tools for how to create creatures unique to your world. This is going to be a combination of techniques that I've acquired over the years and a few things that I have shamelessly stolen from other authors. (Not plagiarizing them as much as finding the concept too awesome not to play with, i.e. the elves with exceptionally LONG lives and divine origins a la Tolkien.)

The first question that I find I have to answer is what purpose the creature (plant or anything else, to be honest) is going to serve in the story. In book four, for example, dragons come on to the scene. The presence of the dragon is not just to look cool. (Even though dragons do look cool! Check out the real one here! They're just awesome!) The dragon fills a role in the story. It explains various quirks about the setting. The first one that comes to mind here is the utter lack of apex predators in Dragonwood forest, but there are others that are less obvious. The dragon also explains details about the history of the region, like why is the place called Dragonwod. And the dragon interacts with the main characters. It serves to move forward the plot lines for individual characters, that specific novel, and the over arching story arc of the series.

The dragon in this story is as much of a character as they are a creature. Many of the considerations that are taken for this creature are similar to those taken in character development because this is a creature with intelligence that is somewhat akin to human and it has agency in the story. Creatures that become characters, no matter how minor, require authors to determine their role in the story and how it is shaped by the fact that they are not human. This can range from a stock antagonist that is limited in its forms of communication because it lacks the ability to speak (such as the Shadow Rider that is in book two, they get more developed in the later books) to a creature that has a terrifying but undeserved reputation on the basis of what they are rather than who they are (like the dragon named Gerða who is feared as monstrous when she is actually rather benevolent).

Then there are the creatures that are vehicles for plot but not strictly characters. The best example I can think of here is the Deamon Hounds. They show up fairly regularly but they are not characters. They are instead plot devices. They fit the slavering monster trope and hit the age old primal fears of the snarling predator in the dark buttons (ideally). They are a cross between generic cannon fodder and a recurring menace of an almost natural point. The Deamon Hounds are creatures that exist in the world as a work animal of sorts and don't merit much deeper thought than what their characteristics are and how you can use them to harry characters. Their depth is about the same as what is contributed to a faceless foot soldier in combat. Except they're not going to rate even as human. Given the generic hierarchy of what we're socialized to have empathy for, the animals are really low with the notable exception of the ones we're taught have a special place. (Check out the discussion of the Shoot the Dog trope to see what I mean.)

So, we have figured out what the creature is supposed to do in the story. Now, how do we figure out what they look like? How do we figure out what they need to fulfill their role within the story? And just how do we puzzle out what these creatures are like outside of that specific scene? Do they even matter beyond that scene?

These are four very important questions to answer. As tempting as it may be to jump to the details of what they look, sound, and smell like, we need to look at those last two questions first. Some of the creatures that you have may be recurring ones that show up for scenes far beyond the one where they are introduced. And some of those creatures are just there for a single scene. When you are considering the placement of a creature in the story, you may want to take a minute to pick how frequently you are going to use it. A single use creature is going to require less work, generally, than one that is going to show up many times. Thus, you don't need to worry about things like how that creature is going to play with your antagonist or if it is going to muddy up the details of your protagonist's next five plot points by simply existing.

Also, single scene creatures, if they're of relatively low importance to the plot line, can be described with minimal detail and not be terribly dissatisfying for your reader. If the creature is a background element that is there to serve as nothing more than window dressing or a secondary prop to the action unfurling, you can gloss over many details with relative impunity. Because your reader doesn't need to know that your exotic bird species have a distinction in the number of tail feathers for the males and the females of the species if that detail literally serves no point to your story. If those tail feathers, however, are crucial to the scene, you can include them and leave out something else that is non-functional to your story, like if they only eat red berries on Tuesdays in March. (It now strikes me that I am describing something that could have been in a Dr. Seuss book. I apologize for that, I've been reading a lot of that with my boys over the last two weeks. Gods save me from the Cat in the Hat.)

Now, let's say you have a creature that regularly shows up and is actually a part of your plot rather than a background 'image' to your story. How do you nail down the pertinent details and flesh it out? In my next post, I will share with you my check list of questions for creature development. I also hope to have some sort of a worksheet put together for you too. Because sometimes worksheets help, a lot. (True story: I forgot how much difference a worksheet makes in brainstorming until I saw my son working on one for his homework and how much easier it was for him with that bit of gentle direction. I've been out of school for too long, folks. I'm forgetting the basics now.)

Flora et Fauna: Development of Species.

This week's post regarding the lifeforms of Evandar is a bit of a departure from my usual format. I wanted to share with you how I develop plants for my world. I don't have an exceptional grasp of botany. I do have the beginnings of an understanding of herbalism. I have a small reference library and the all wise oracle known as Google to answer my questions. Fortunately, this is relatively adequate for what I am working on here.

I wish I could say that my plants were dreamed up on the basis of scientific theories and such. That, alas, is not the case. I start out with the question of how these exotic plants will be used. I look at what purpose they serve the story - which usually means how are they used by people. Some of my plants are developed to create unique 'flavors' for Evandar and the world. I want to present things in my world that are there for the purpose of making mundane matters such as cooking more interesting because most anyone can make a plain loaf of bread with a bit of time and effort.

At the same time, however, I recognize that most plants that arise do more than just influence food and drink. There are plants that have medicinal qualities and also serve as magical implements. If you consider the folklore that I devised around plants, you will find many parallels to English and American folklore regarding plants. There is, for example, a cognate to mandrake. Mandrake has a very rich body of folklore surrounding it. I have taken elements of that folklore and tweaked it a bit to  make it fit the folklore of Evandar. Still, I have retained enough of the parallels that it is still somewhat recognizable that this is something that serves a role like that of Mandrake.

I try to describe the plants as I would anything that I find in our world. I do my best to make my descriptions like those of many popular herbals that are out for people in the pagan community. I confess, I do this because these herbals were my first real introduction to descriptions of plants in common language rather than the scientific language used by botanists and biologists. My background as a student scientist, however, does color my writing about these things.

I try to assemble my information in a manner that makes logical sense. And I work hard to answer questions about matters like where these plants would grow and what role they play in the ecosystem. Sometimes the answers come fairly easily. More often the answers are difficult and require research. It may sound odd to say that I have to do research about a plant that I am creating for a fantasy world. My research is into plants that fill similar niches within the ecosystems of Earth to get a better understanding how the plants arise.

I hope someday to put together a book like the Voynich Manuscript. It is most likely going to be a purely artistic effort. My goal is to write descriptions of the things I illustrate (plants and animals) as well as put down other things that are typically found in medieval codices. If I can manage it, I want to include marginalia that is reminiscent of what is found in those ancient books as well. This may sound like a maddening degree of work just for a few interesting plants.

My codex is more than a scratchpad for ideas. I have a separate notebook for that, though I haven't anything for marginalia or drawings in it at the moment. No, the codex is in some respects an endgame project. My devising recipes, folklore, and mythos that are drawn from the well of medieval Europe's history serves the ultimate goal of somehow managing to recreate something of that world in my own life. One person stitched a Bayeux tapestry styled tapestry detailing the modern saga of Star Wars as an expression of their medievalist interests and their other passions. My codex would serve the same role in my own life. Or at least, that is my mad dream and the main driving force behind my particularly detailed descriptions of these elements of my world.

Flora et Fauna: Resemblance to Earth

Some would cry foul on my making the majority of the life on Evandar to be akin to what we find on Earth. It could perhaps be declared the penultimate version of laziness when the number of unique creatures and plants I devise are actually a very small percentage of the life forms that would be found on this world. If it is laziness, then I am going to do my best to make this the most glorious bit of laziness to be found in print.

There actually is a solid reason why I place so much in this world to make it a fantastic parallel to our world. Human beings arose within a fairly specific evolutionary context. While this is fantasy that I am writing and my humans are not going to be identical to those from Earth except by fiat or deus ex machina, I am not comfortable dropping humans into a fantastic world with out any of the evolutionary cohort they developed with. I could just cast such considerations to the wind and spin out my tales with out this often ignored or assumed aspect. Many authors have and done so with great success in their works.

I, however, felt the need to place my human characters into a situation where it was as Earth-like as possible with out being a complete copy. Humans have evolved with specific biological systems in place to process certain things for their survival. These things arose due to a specific set of ecological pressures, which promoted one set of traits over the course of evolution. You can not have a human with out those ecological pressures and traits. You will have something that will be human-like but it will not be truly human.

The world of Evandar is very different from Earth. It has a system of three natural satellites which influences things such as tides and nocturnal conditions. It is in orbit about a binary star system. (The second star is a ultra cool Brown Dwarf star and is not visible due to the glare from the larger main star of the system which is a Main Sequence star, like our Sun.) This also has an influence on tides but the combined effects of the triple moons and the dual stars serves to, for the most part, balance out each other and have oceanic tides that are for the most part like Earth's.

There are arctic, tundra, temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical zones. The continent that Evandar is located on spans a reach between arctic in the northernmost extremes to the tropics in the southernmost extreme. It is but one of several continents of varying size. All of these different climates and their myriad sub-climates (and countless micro-climates) have features both familiar to us and foreign. I do my best to keep the exotic elements in harmony with what we have in the real world so that my fantasy world is at least somewhat realistic. I am still in the midst of deciding the lay out of the other continents and the defining details of the different regions. I don't think I am a fool for following what I learn about Earth's climates and various regions.

Honestly, a good deal of what my exotic life forms are like is based pretty heavily in what sort of exotic life forms we can find in our own world. When we have creatures that live for an indeterminately long lifespan with out human intervention (I'm looking at you, Galapagos tortoises.) and creatures that clearly operate with a human like intelligence but in an alien fashion (ohai dolphins, how are you, you magnificent creatures?), is it really such a shock to consider that creatures of such a nature can be found on another world? Yes, my exotic creatures are strange and definitely alien. But if you take a peek in the ocean's depths or the florid complexity of the tropical rainforests, you can find lifeforms that are no less strange and alien.

History of the World (part 1)

I will confess, the title of this post is an homage to that hilarious Mel Brooks movie of the same name. If you haven't seen it, rent it and watch it. His take on the Spanish Inquisition is almost as off the wall as Monty Python's.

The geological history of the planet that Evandar is located on is quite similar to that of Earth's history. A cataclysmic event happened in the early epoch that killed off the very large creatures that lived during this time, except for a small population that adapted to the changes. They are scattered through out the world. The sentient population which was functionally decimated are what is known as greater wyrms or dragons. The population of the survivors that were not self aware (and actually were feed for the greater wyrms during the time of desolation that followed the event) are the lesser wyrms. The greater wyrms are solitary creatures, partly due to the vast distances between the enclaves that were present and partly due to their disinclination towards each other's company after spending the better part of no less than three Ages. (An Age is counted as 5,000 years. A day on this planet is approximately the same as a day on Earth and the orbit of the planet is equivalent to that of Earth's orbit about the Sun.)

There is buried evidence of the societies of the greater wyrms. The megolithic structures used by early humans were the ruins of their buildings. There is a language that the greater wyrms used to communicate during their time surviving the period of global desolation. It is unknown by humans, elves, or deamons. Because the greater wyrms are beings of primordial power and greater age than the demigods, they are regarded with great caution by the demigods. There was a period early after the arrival of the demigods in the world where the greater wyrms assisted them with the development of skills necessary to survive in the world. After ensuring that the demigods had what they needed to live within the world, the greater wyrms, for the most part, withdrew for interaction with the world.

The demigods watched over the rise of humans. There were groups of humans who worshiped the demigods as deities in their own right. This, however, came to a halt when the deities made their presence known in the world at the beginning of what is known as the the First Age. (Evandar at the time of book one is in the Fifth Age. It is in the beginning of what is the second Age after the Great War.) The deities of the world were more than those of Evandar (Sigurt, Roen, Kaileth, and Morguthu).

The Great War was a two continent wide war between Morguthu and Sigurt. It lasted for a hundred years. The Great War began when the deamons began a wide spread campaign to steal human children to warp with their magics and turn into slaves, which were eventually known as deamon thralls. During the Great War, the seven kingdoms of Evandar consolidated into the greater kingdom of Evandar. This was an attempt to prevent the destruction of the member kingdoms. The first high king of Evandar was an avatar of Sigurt named Sigurt the Gold. He was wedded to an avatar of Roen, who bore the goddess's name, who was a powerful sorceress. Through diplomacy and appeals to the continuance of human liberty, the seven kingdoms united under Sigurt the Gold.

Prior to their union, the forces of men were guided by the elves. Freyr Greenwood, the king of the elves of Dragonwood forest, was the principle agent of leadership. He held council with Agrimmon of the halls beneath the hills of Dakon-Bar and with the elfin queen of the north known as Sulia the White. Sulia the White's forces were drawn from the mountains in the north of Evandar and Ranyth. These forces, however, were among those who were slaughtered in the disastrous campaign on the Marches of Elspar and Corinth. That was the first of the grief that came in those lands. I have spoken of the sad fate of Llyrian and his kin earlier[1].

The battles about the Sea of Dreams (which is a byname for the sea which has claimed countless lives since men and elf has begun to sail it, its name among the elves is the Cursed Sea) were horrific. They lead to the breaking of nations. One battle, however, was particularly horrific. It was that of the Crystal city. Three of the elves were taken prisoner from the three armies that opposed the deamons in Evandar. Of the three, the youngest escaped the death that awaited them after the deamon Axeron had taken them into custody and attempted to learn what the movements of the armies were planned.

This union of kingdoms signified the beginning of a shift of the Great War in favor of the human and elfin forces. The deamons fought hard but eventually forced into the cursed marshlands known as the Darklands to the humans of modern Evandar. In that age, these lands were unnamed and uncursed, as far as holdings of the deamons could be considered to be uncursed. Within the Darklands, there was a city simply known as the black city or Mordri in the language of Evandar. This city was the site of the final battle of the Great War where in the deamons were banished by Roen's magics, aided by the elves, into the void space of reality known as the outer darkness.

After the Great War came to an end, the avatars of Sigurt and Roen brought peace and healing through the seven kingdoms. When they cast off their mortal forms, the spider politics of the council became even more twisted. It was not long after then that arguments arose within the southern kingdoms of Evandar. It was near this time that the people of Freyr Greenwood (who had died in the battle prior to that of the black city) withdrew from the world of men and ventured east. The youngest of them argued that the duty of the elfin peoples was to care for humanity. She was scorned. Thus, as her kinsmen traveled east, she remained within Evandar's boundaries in the place of her birth.

Background work in progress.

I've been busy with 'real life' over the last several days. Somehow, in the midst of it all, I managed to snag some writing time. (Update for Dacia's War is coming later this evening. I just have to get it typed up.) I started out in my journal writing about random stuff and what I saw at the diner I had lunch at. (If you're ever in Lakeville, check out the Family Diner. They're in expensive, have good food, and their staff are a riot. Seriously, these guys have a fantastic sense of humor.) Somewhere in the midst of finishing my cup of coffee and paying the check, I got the idea in my head to try to do some planning for how I am going to move forward with everything in Evandar.

(Yes, the prequels are coming. I have the plots drafted out. I anticipate a trilogy. Look for the first book in that triad next year around late September. ♥) I got home and sat down in a comfy chair with some Qntal playing (because you always need mood music, am I right?). As I spent the two hours I had free until the kids got home from school, I started drafting out details about my little world. I went back to an idea that I had way back when I attempted to write the very first draft of book one of the series. (This was in 1993, in sixth grade, if you're keeping score.)

I was enamored with Tolkien's world and especially charmed with the languages. In the first flush of enthusiasm, I came up with some random gibberish that was supposed to be a language. This was then forgotten as I built up world history and such. This afternoon, however, I sat down and gave it some serious thought. I realized that I had to fill in some holes in my story which arose from the lack of languages. I now have two notebooks. One is for the rules and development of words. The second notebook is for the devising of alphabets and how to write in my shiny new languages.

I don't know how long it is going to take to devise these languages and I realized I needed more than one. I am planning on posting some pictures as I work at it. Before I can start doing that, however, I need to work out the rules of my languages and how to put them together. I have a brand new set of pens that I purchased recently on a whim. One of them has a brush tip which will be great for the calligraphy style language I have decided is going to come into being and the sigils that will be magical short hand.

I'm not sure how the others are going to look but there is going to be at least one set of letters based off of runic and one based off of ancient Pictish glyphs. I figure if I do it right, I can probably come up with something that looks close to what people wrote in antiquity but with my own twist on it. First, however, I have to sit down and study my books about the development of the English language (which I have a passing familiarity with but I need to deepen it). And probably go through the couple of language text books that I have kicking around my apartment to work up something that is semi-functional before I start making letters to go with it.

Locales: Dragonwood Keep

The ruling seat of the petty kingdom of Dakon-Bar, Dragonwood Keep is a castle of great antiquity. In the first Age, it was a wooden hall with a palisade about it, sitting on the crest of the hill known as Sigurt's Knock, situated on the southern side of the mid-portion of Dragonwood forest. Dragonwood Keep was established in the first Age by King Sigurt I, the hero who was an avatar of the Storm Lord himself. The hall of his father, Eru the Bold, was initially known as Heirot.

Heirot hall was a large hall in the style of the communal halls of the pre-migration era Kordid. Heirot was said to have a hall large enough that three men could ride their horses into the building with out difficulty. It was a place of much feasting and gaiety in the years before the Great War. Heirot had a roof that was hammered copper, according to legend, that shone like a keen blade in the afternoon sun. The hall's door were massive things carved of black oak. Depicted in the engraving upon these doors was the scene of Sigurt's victory over Morguthu when Roen was rescued. Among the images about this scene were depictions of the famed deeds of Eru's ancestors. These doors were, strangely, among the few things that survived the burning of Heirot during the Great War.

The hall was large enough to seat all of Eru's band and their kinsmen. It was not, however, the primary home of his men. Eru, his wife, her brother, and their servants lived within the hall. It was, however, a place that once daily, all of Eru's band came together to conduct business. Heirot was a famed place where the elfin king Freyr Greenwood came and gave homage to king Sigurt I and asked for and received his blessing. Heirot still stood when Sigurt I assumed his father's place as a young man. For Eru died from a wound gained while hunting. Some say he was gored by a stag, others say it was a boar. When Eru joined the ancestral heroes in the green fields beyond death's passage, Sigurt I rose to kingship at the age of sixteen summers.

The burning of Heirot was a traumatic thing for the sons of men. The deamonic horde lead by Atrionac, Morguthu's eldest and favored son, fell upon Heirot when Sigurt was away consulting Freyr Greenwood's sorceress bride Gerda on how to best oppose Atrionac. Sigurt returned to Heirot and found that his bride, the sorceress Roen (who was also an avatar of the goddess of the same name), had been ravaged by Atrionac and blinded. The queen listened helplessly to the slaughter of her people even as Atrionac visited violence upon her person. She was left laying at the gates of the palisade on the edge of death for Sigurt to find.

Sigurt's anger was a terrible thing to behold. He swore that the hall of his fathers would be rebuilt and never suffer from flame's touch. The stone hall was built by the stone masons who were educated by Agrimonn's craftsmen, who lived beneath the hills. The stone hall was wide enough to seat a hundred men in comfort. It was fitted with benches of black oak wood and trundle tables of the same. The throne of Sigurt was carved from a lightning struck red oak and was placed at the head of the hall. Behind the throne was the private chamber of the king and his family, a wooden wall blocking them from the rest of the hall and accessible by a door with a finely wrought lock that bore three jewels.

About the hall was a wall of stone and then a palisade of wood. At the bottom of the hill, a stream ran and made a natural barrier for foes as well. As the descendants of Sigurt grew and the holdings of Sigurt's line increased until they ruled over the whole of Dakon-Bar, the palisade of wood was replaced by a wall of stone. Within the inner walls, a garrison was built. The village that once was within the walls moved outside of them to beyond the stream. Towers were built shortly after the second stone wall about the stone hall. They were built so that a person could move between the walls and as places where important figures would remain.

At the southern tower, since the first stone was laid, the Lord High General had his quarters. This person is no longer a permanent resident of Dragonwood Keep, for many generations. These quarters, however, have been kept in the spartan conditions he preferred. With King Askemb's assumption of power, this chamber is now where his spiritual adviser, Osgoth the White, resides. The eastern tower was once a place that visiting dignitaries were housed. It is now a cold chamber where Askemb keeps his prisoners of importance. The irony of this choice is lost upon the king but the servants of Dragonwood Keep and the thralls are not unaware. The northern tower was once known as the Queen's tower and was the place where the unfaithful queen of Sigurt III was imprisoned until she took the vows of the Order of the Twilight Rose and left to die in obscurity somewhere in the eastern lands. At the base of the Queen's tower is the entrance into the dungeons of Dragonwood keep, which were formed of laid stone and earth beneath the garrison along the inner western wall. The western tower is known as the Guard's tower. Here, the Marshal and the captain of the King's Guard have their residence. It is also where the armory of the castle is located.

During the reign of King Erian, his queen, the sorceress Asriel, used her magic to make Dragonwood keep larger. Stories say that when she became impatient with the builders, her magic set the great stones of the walls dancing into their new places. With these developments, a granary was built in the inner court yard of the keep. The great temple to the gods was built in the first Age and when Dragonwood keep was changed, glass windows were placed in it, beginning as gemstones and then transforming by way of Asriel's magic into larger windows of colored glass. Asriel's magic also worked to make the temple larger and in the fashion of the great temples in Tor Caldri.

The walls of the inner keep were transformed into larger spaces. Within them, there were passages hidden and secret rooms. The stone hall at the heart of the castle had two larger halls added to either side and joined to it. The hall on the western side held a chamber for the royal servants of the king and queen. It also holds the kitchens and laundry. The hall on the eastern side of the chamber held the queen's apartments, the king's study, the king's bedchamber, and the royal nursery. The hall on the eastern side has two stories. The hall on the western has one.

Locales: Graleryn

Graleryn is the smallest of the Seven Kingdoms that make up Evandar. Surrounded by the kingdom of Moesia, Graleryn is a land that lives under the constant threat of hostility. Once, Graleryn extended from the Rock east to the border of Ranyth. Moesia considers Graleryn a satellite kingdom. This leads to conflict between them at the High Council. Open hostilities between these two have not happened in a few generations. The war, however, is still remembered. Graleryn was not completely overrun by Moesia in that war because of the dangerous and wide rivers that lie on either side of it.

Graleryn is a kingdom divided as well. The northern portion of the small, but prosperous, kingdom is ruled by King Cagdas Agha. The southern portion of the kingdom as known as Gwohar and is ruled by Queen Asterith. Technically, these two rulers are wedded and the law of the land is divided between them. There is, however, sufficient tension between the two that Gwohar is recognized as a second seat upon the council in honor of Queen Asterith. This was a political move intended to bring greater stability into Graleryn. Thus far, it seems to be successful.

Graleryn is a region with rich lands. The warmer climate and very fertile fields allows the people of Graleryn to grow exotic produce and medicinals. The wealth of Graleryn comes from the trade of these products in the north of the kingdom and the sea trade in the port cities of the south of the kingdom. Graleryn is technically in an uneasy truce with Moesia but Queen Asterith seeks to regain the eastern lands they lost.

King Cadgas Agha, born of the line of the first king of Graleryn, only wishes to maintain peaceful relations with the surrounding kingdom. His grandfather, Cadgas the Wise, was the one who negotiated the truce with Moesia. Queen Asterith comes from a lineage that claims eastern lands as their due. In Graleryn, there is many petty nobles who lack lands but possess wealth due to skill in trade or ancestral wealth. The queen is descendant from one of the most powerful of these petty noble families.

King Cadgas Agha's power is not as far reaching as his Queen's. Thus, the representitives to the council have come under her power, giving her a double vote on the council.

Locales: Moesia

Moesia is the southernmost of the Seven Kingdoms. Stretching along the southern border of Evandar from the Shattered Mountains to where the Dragon's Spine mountain range meets the Vreth Sea. A narrow kingdom compared to the others of the Seven Kingdoms, Moesia's lands are primarily those at the edge of the sea. The major industries of Moesia are trade, mining, and fishing. To the north, Moesia borders Dakon-Bar. Near the heart of Moesia is the much smaller kingdom of Graleryn, all that remains of that kingdom which had once been the eastern border.

Moesia's fame lies in the blood stained history of the lands. The rocky lands to the east and western portions of Moesia are sources of great wealth and important resources. Many battles were fought over control of those resources. Prior to the establishment of the kingdom, there were also battles between those who lived along the coast and the inland people. Moesia was established as a kingdom during the Great War of the last age in a desperate attempt to preserve the people against the encroaching armies from the west.

Originally, it was half the size it is now, with the eastern most border falling at where the Rock peninsula is located. On the western side of the Rock, there are shallow waters and much of the fishing trade is poor. On the eastern side, however, the waters are deeper and the harbors are better suited to larger ships.  The sailors of the western coastal waters have a reputation as fierce raiders. This reputation is well earned, though the raiding parties no longer harry the eastern coastal waters but rather the lands elsewhere about the Vreth sea.

One of the warmer lands of the Seven Kingdoms, Moesia's climate is far more temperate than that of the northern kingdoms. The lack of substantial farm lands, however, puts Moesia in something of a disadvantage. The people of this kingdom are known for their hardiness and their ability to adapt to situations. This flexibility makes soldiers from Moesia particularly difficult to defeat because they are opportunists and will use unconventional means to achieve their goals.

Another reason Moesia is known is because it is the location of Gaulrin. The city of Gaulrin is home to a mining operation of exceptional cruelty and violence. The mining is predominantly done by prisoners and slaves. Gaulrin is known for hanging particularly violent offenders of their laws outside the city walls as a method of execution and a warning that they will not tolerate disobedience. This practice has had some infamous parties executed through it. It is also the reason why a noose is known as the Gaulrin necklace through out most of the Seven Kingdoms.

Flora et Fauna: Beggar's Purse

In the mountains of Evandar, there is a plant that blooms in the late autumn a few weeks before the first snows. It is a small plant that has little, if any, medicinal qualities. There are some who claim that carrying sprigs of it will bring good luck. Others say that it will bring financial ruin. Beggar's Purse is so named for the blossom that looks roughly like an empty bag. The blooms are a cream color and they smell musky.

It has broad leaves that grow in a spiral about the stem. During the warmer months, Beggar's Purse is easily confused with broad leaf Plantain. These earlier season leaves are smooth. As the summer wanes, however, Beggar's Purse puts out a second set of leaves. These have a fine down over them. After a minimum of three hard frosts, Beggar's Purse puts up a stem with its bloom. The bloom only lasts for a day. The plant, however, will have multiple blooms in succession on the stalk. It dies back once the leaves are covered.

Beggar's Purse is edible but it tastes very bitter. Cooking it twice over takes some of the bitterness out, but it is impossible to completely eliminate it. Beggar's Purse propagates by way of runners. It is possible to start a plant off of a cutting, but only if it is taken in early spring.

Edited Oct. 17,2017 to add this illustration.

Food of Evandar: Nursemaid's Sop

Just as there are special dishes in our world that are just for children (or the young at heart), there is food in the world of Evandar for the youngest of folks. Nursemaid's Sop is a dish that is given to children who have just stared on solid food, the infirm, and the elderly who have difficulty chewing food. It is an incredibly simple dish with a few variations. At its most basic, Nursemaid's Sop consists of bread that is toasted, crumbled, and soaked in a liquid until all the liquid is absorbed.

The variety of Nursemaid's Sop that is given to small children is most frequently a savory version made with broth from the stockpot. It is this version that is found through out the Seven Kingdoms, regardless of the station of the person being served. There is a spiced savory version that is served in wealthy houses and to the nobles. In addition to this, there is a sweet version that is made with almond milk and honey. This occasionally has spices in it, but only if it is being served for medicinal purposes.

Nursemaid's Sop is used as regular fare but it is also used as a vehicle to serve medicinal herbs to those who may not tolerate the herbs directly. Most often, the sweetened version of Nursemaid's Sop is used by the upper class to deliver these healthful herbs. The almond milk and honey are mixed with either the herbs directly or a tea made from them, dependent upon the herb used and the constitution of the person receiving it.

In the houses of the lower classes, sweet Nursemaid's Sop is a rare treat. In these houses, it is made with the fresh juice of pressed fruit or the liquid from stewed fruit. Most frequently, the savory version of Nursemaid's Sop is what is found in these homes. In some cases, Nursemaid's Sop is the only meal served along side porridge in an attempt to extend food resources. Old bread is used by the poor, when it is available, to make this dish as well. When made from dry, old bread, some people simply call it Sop, reserving the term Nursemaid's Sop for the variety made from toasted fresh bread.

Nursemaid's Sop is also just called Sop. Distinguishing between the different varieties of Nursemaid's Sop that one may find in their travels is challenging. Each region has slight variances upon what is served, dependent upon what grows there and the predominant livestock raised. Thus, Dakon-Bar's Nursemaid's Sop will be quite likely to have a venison broth base where as the Nursemaid's Sop that you could find in Aelethemer is more likely to have a mutton broth base.

Locales: Swavia

The kingdom of Swavia is the smallest of the Seven Kingdoms of Evandar. Irregularly shaped, the borders of Swavia follow the Shattered Mountains, bordering Aelethmer where the range begins. Surrounded by the mountain range, the hilly lowlands of the kingdom are places of mediocre quality farming. Swavia is not a very populous kingdom. It does, however, have a higher number of thralls per citizen ratio. This is because of Swavia's mining industry.

Slaves are predominately the source of labor in the mines. Swavia does not have a the same population of foresters within its borders as neighboring countries, such as Dakon-Bar (which lies to the north-east) or Moesia (which is south of Dakon-Bar and east of Swavia.) This is partly due to the fact that the forests of Swavia are not as dense of these kingdoms. It is also due to the policy that criminals are enslaved. The high slavery rate of Swavia is something that other kingdoms within Evandar are of mixed feelings on. Under the reign of Erian Talasid, prior to the incursion of the Cordid or the war with Askemb the Usurper, Swavia was a place that was tolerated due to treaties by kingdoms with low slavery rates. Tarsus and Dakon-Bar, with the lowest slavery rates, were consistently at opposition with Swavia in most matters during this period. 

The kingdom of Gwohawr, which wraps about the southernmost border of Swavia up to meet Galeryn, has the second highest rate of slavery, followed by Moesia, and has been Swavia's most staunch supporters. Swavia's metals trade and precious jewels trade makes the upper class very wealthy and the lower classes a bit more well off than those of the neighboring kingdoms. Swavia is divided by the Shadowmer river that cuts from Galeryn along a northeast to southwest track into Ackmere before returning through southernmost Swavia and running into Gwohawr. The Shadowmere river is the largest river in the western kingdoms of Evandar.

Along its banks and in its floodplains are prosperous towns, rich farmlands, and a few large cities. This region is in many ways the bread basket of Swavia. The prices for grain in Swavia are shockingly high compared to other regions due to the poor growing conditions there. The only kingdom that comes close in its prices for grain is the mountainous kingdom of Tarsus in the northeast of the Seven Kingdoms.