Category: World Building

Second Book?!

Second Book?!

Hello my wonderful readers! This won’t be a long blog post today but rather a little update about future works and blogs.

Blogs I still plan to write once a month, though April and May will likely be mid month posts as I will be away around the end of April, traveling and gaining more inspiration for my settings and characters. Previous travels have inspired city layouts, visions of the land or buildings whether small elements or large. Sometimes characters may be inspired by someone I have come across in my travels or it could be someone close to me. Not usually the full person is used as inspiration but maybe their hair color or one particular mannerism is incorporated into a new character.

For more exciting news, my second work has been completed! I still want to run it through some editing before I start the publishing process but I am hoping mid May I will be able to get that started and therefore hopefully have the book published on a similar timeline to the last one. This new story takes place a few years after the events of The Cardinal War but takes place in the newer city of Strongwater on the Eastern edge of the Frythiel Empire. The story, entitled Danger In Strongwater, will follow primarily the character of Reilynn along with her brother Artair and her best friend Mariel. Here is a little description to get you excited!

 

Far across the Frythiel Empire, lies the city of Strongwater, a simple fishing city resting on the shores of Ashside Lake with two Manors looming over its crystal blue waters; Lakeside Manor and Cliffside Manor. Due to its location, Cliffside Manor has less access to the plentiful lake and it falls on one particular family to assist in providing their daily fish. In addition to this chosen household, the city is filled with fishermen, market sellers and of course the nobles of the Manors.

Reilynn and her brother Artair were born into the chosen family that assists Cliffside Manor and the pair work hard to uphold this duty. While Reilynn’s best friend Mariel avoids this type of work, she excels in selling various wares at the market to earn some extra money. The two friends spend as much time together as possible and other than some bumps and bruises from exploring the Cliffside, life seems to be going well for them and the rest of Strongwater.

One day, what was once picturesque and simple living for Reilynn, Mariel and Artair soon becomes anything but. With an increase in fish demand but a decrease in supply, something does not add up to young Reilynn. Keyed into her intuition, Reilynn dives into the mysterious plot but soon realizes she is way over her head when her friend is in danger and mysterious men start appearing at every turn. Determination and a desperate message are all that she can rely on now to not only save her friend but also protect the balance of the city.

 

I hope you all keep your eyes peeled for this new and exciting story in Frythiel and if you haven’t read The Cardinal War, please have a read 😊

Keep reading and I will write again soon!

Coronation and Flight

Coronation and Flight

Wow, the end of 2021 already is upon us, and boy is the weather cold here in Alberta, Canada. Despite the cold however, the snow makes the trees look beautiful and winter can certainly be magical if you let it. If you read my previous blog post you will know that the Empire of Frythiel does not suffer the same cold and snowy weather as we do here in Canada, but that doesn’t stop the magic. So, today I want to talk about the two main ceremonies that occur in The Cardinal War: the gift of flight ceremony as well as the coronation ceremony. There will be SPOILERS in this blog so please finish the book before continuing on if you do not want to know more.

The first ceremony that is touched on in The Cardinal War is the ritual that occurs to allow an individual flight. In the briefest description, the ceremony is given to those of nobility who reach the appropriate age. We know as well that the messengers of Mordale, as well as other cities throughout Frythiel, have the gift of flight in order to rely messages and advanced warning of trouble. While only getting a glimpse of Cinnia having gone through the ceremony and later Eileen, it is a small event that generally only involves the one gaining the flight ability as well as those with the ability to grant the ability. It is such a closely kept secret that there is never even a witness as a part of the ceremony. What is known is that the power can be granted and taken away and in future books you will learn more about the specific group that is in charge of this ceremony (don’t want to give to much away too soon 😉)

The second ceremony that occurs in The Cardinal War is the coronation of Eileen near the end of the book. In the best circumstances, it would be a parent or the previous Emperor/Empress that conducts the speeches and crowns the next in line, however as Emperor Ithel had passed some time ago and was ill before his passing there was no opportunity for this to occur. Commander Quilan, as the lead commander for the Emperor’s guards, was the ideal choice to lead the ceremony. In addition to whomever leads the ceremony, the two messengers always flank that induvial during the ceremony both as a guard as well as a symbolic role. Eileen comments on only having a short time to learn what she must say and do in order for her to please the people and become Empress. Normally the heir would have months of study and practice to ensure nothing goes wrong but Frythiel had already been without a ruler for too long at this stage to allow for this preparation. Despite this, Eileen studied hard and performed excellently despite the distractions around her and the people agreed. What topped it off was the imagery of light surrounding and reflecting off of the new Empresses. This would not have mattered to everyone but the more superstitious of souls would have been hard pressed to accept her during another storm. In accordance with law, the two messengers are to be in full support of their Empress and dutifully guide her from the ceremony room. While not explicitly stated in The Cardinal War, Eileen would have gone through the flight ritual as soon as the ritual givers could be summoned.

This post is a bit shorter but I wanted to end it with engaging my readers. If there are any particular topics you would like me to touch on or even anything you would like to know about me or my writing process please comment. Depending what response I get I will do a bonus post in January or include suggested topics in my notes for the future.

Keep reading, Happy New Years and remember to keep doing what you love.

The Rain to the Dryness of Frythiel

The Rain to the Dryness of Frythiel

Hello once again my readers! It is almost the end of the November and wow has 2021 not flown by? Last blog post I spoke about Eileen and some of the details behind her past and who she is. I thought that this time I would broaden again and look at the Empire of Frythiel as a whole. The weather this week in Alberta has shifted from nice fall temperatures to the snowy cold so I decided that for this blog I will write about the weather in the different cities in Frythiel, not just Mordale.

As a general weather over Frythiel, snow is very uncommon in the Empire. While in real life I do not mind the snow and cold, I decided I wanted to focus on more mild temperatures in my stories with rain and storms being the focused precipitation. This also helped with my desire for the characters to have wings and the cold and snow would cause greater difficulties in terms of clothing and flight. Focusing down on Mordale, as it will be the city that is familiar to all of you, despite what you may have read in The Cardinal War, it does not rain ALL the time there, but it does provide good imagery don’t you think! Overall, the temperature is mild in this region of the Empire and temperatures range between say 10 and 20 degrees Celsius (my preferred heat). Not cold enough to get the snowy weather but not hot enough to dry the grass and other plants to much. Another interesting effect that the climate seems to have had on the inhabitants of Mordale, though it is not known why at this time (we will save that for a future book 😉) the wing colors of the people seem to be reflected in the region they are born. This mild climate as seen in Mordale does not hold true as we travel further South to Hiddar and East to Lirlen and we will see the wing colors change as well as we circle around the Empire of Frythiel.

As we move away from the river that runs near Mordale, we get an increase in temperatures, ranging as high 30 to even 40 degrees Celsius at times. This hot and dry climate causes less plant life to be available and changes the food source and water availability for the people of both Hiddar and Lirlen. While there is a mountain range dividing the two cities, there is great similarity between the two and much trade happens to support their resources. The closest large body of water to them is all the way in the North of the Empire at Ashside Lake so the two cities focus their energy on finding oasis’s and creating wells to support their needs. When looking at the inhabitants of these two regions, the colors of the wings tend to drift away from the dark colors of Mordale and shift to browns, whites, and bronze colors. These differences make it clear when people travel and trade between the cities, where one was likely to have come from. There of course is always exceptions but in general the people of Hiddar and Lirlen seem to have adapted their wings to the colors of their surroundings.

Next we drift back North of Lirlen to the city of Strongwater located next to Ashside Lake. The climate here is much the same as Mordale but there is an increase in the amount of storms and rain due to the proximity to the lake. Not always doom and gloom, the weather can be relatively mild majority of the time allowing for the outdoor markets and other outdoor activities to occur without issue. Shifting to the wing colors of the inhabitants of Strongwater, we see  more mixed color wings with the core colors being greys and silvers, as well as black and white.

Finally we head back West towards Mordale but hit the mountains along the way and a city called Orvale. Orvale is located in the heart of the Sandline Mountain range and it is much smaller with no current manors within it. I will touch on the history and specifics of Orvale in a future post but for now I will just mention that there is less color variety in the wings, ranging from light to dark browns and the wings are actually a bit smaller due to the limited space in Orvale. More rain falls here than Lirlen or Hiddar but much less then Mordale or Strongwater and the temperature seems to stay steady around 15 to 20 degrees.

Weather does affect more than just wing color, as it would also effect commerce, trade and other activities but those we be developed more in future posts as well as in future stories. As I watch the grey skies and snow covered trees out my window, I feel a longing to be in the warmer climate of Frythiel. Maybe some of you feel the same and will enjoy jumping into my creation to get a sense of the warmer weather.

Enjoy what the weather may bring you and happy reading!