Worldbuilding Maps and Illustrated History of the Midland Wars

Below are two new maps of Airthai which I have completed – the first is of a part of the Eastern Lands and the second of the Land of the Six Rivers. This worldbuilding history is already available on Kammastories in Afrikaans, and will be posted here in English from next week.

A Map of part of the Eastern Lands

Land of the Six Rivers

I've also made a pdf of the history of the Midland Wars – and it's illustrated! – which you can download by clicking this link: The Midland Wars.

You can also check out this Pinterest page for more of the maps of Airthai.

Medallion with courtesy of the Graphics Fairy.

Writing Experiments, Finish Year and Other News

New Technology, new experiments
No, I’m not referring to the Higgs Boson announcement, but to my own experiments with Pinterest. I have started using the boards not only for “pretty things”, but also for pictures which inspire stories (or may in the future) and now also things or people which reminds me of a WIP or finished work.
The first one for which I’ve tried making a separate board is the WIP called “Spilling Beans”. You can see the board here. Started after finishing the drafts, I find that these pictures, textures and people help me to get a firmer “hold” of the picture in my head.


Maps, maps and more maps!
I’ve been drawing some more Airthai maps – one for the Argavér and one of the southeastern part of the Southern and Eastern Lands of the Continent. This shows a closer look at the countries which are featured in some of the earliest worldbuilding I did for Airthai – and which are also being posted on Kammastories bit by bit before I translate these for Hersenskim (these were originally written in Afrikaans).

Map of Battle of the Shadow Plain and Argavér

Map of the Eastern Lands 

All the Airthai maps can be looked at over here. 

Finish Year
I’ve started on a new short story, known at the moment to me as “the clock story”. I’m writing the first draft before completing all of the research about the inner workings of clocks simply so I can get the story down without being side-tracked. However, some inspiration may just follow over here when I get the chance. I’m also submitting the short story “Spilling Beans” in the coming week for publication. I hope I have good news about it soon.

On the study front I am still busy with the paper I’m to give at the beginning of September. As this will only be twenty minutes long, I am a lot more focused on length than I usually am. I am enjoying myself thoroughly though. I guess that’s proof that I’m still on the right track!

"Library" by Louchiere

A tough decision
However, to place more focus on writing and studying, means that I have to scale down my blogging in order to be able to deliver proper posts, especially as I am also working on Kammastories. I have made the following decision: I will still do worldbuilding posts every Wednesdy, and then alternate Mondays and Fridays. This means that I will have sixteen posts per month (both blogs together), instead of twenty four. I think all bloggers can respect the time that this will open up for me. Thanks for all the readers who remain so supportive while I’m finding my blogging and writing feet.

"Library" courtesy of Stock Exchange. 

Mapping the Imagination

When it’s not a road map I’m consulting, I much prefer older maps. Those maps that are a few centuries old and which still leave some room for the imagination while showing important bits without worrying about getting every millimetre of those bits right.
Of course, these maps may also show only the ‘known world’ of the time, or speculate on what else is out there in the vast oceans. But it’s that vastness – or at least the feeling of it – which I love.
I buy the odd book of old maps when I have the money at my disposal and love to pour over the names, drawings and other details which make them unique.

Map by Daniel Reeve

Of course, when it comes to novels – especially fantasy ones – I love looking at the maps of the world the author has dreamed up. Following adventures in these worlds bring them to life as would driving along a street you would otherwise only see on a map. I that way, you start to feel at home, whether you are looking at a map of Middle-earth or of Karac Tor.

My own maps – the ones drawn for Airthai – also seem to cement the world in a deeper reality than not having the map. And so, I’ll keep on drawing them while drawing inspiration from maps real and imagined.







I also came across this lovely video about the Hereford Mappa Mundi – one of my favourite maps.

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Making Maps

Many of the fantasy world maps available on the net are beautiful computer renditions of the worlds. Mine, alas, is not. Well, not yet. One reason is that I don’t have mapmaking software. The more important reason is that I enjoy drawing them by hand. And while I’ve posted a few maps, I also make maps as I go along to map out certain places, cities or, in the case below, the site of the Battle of the Shadow Plain. This one was made in a notebook while I was plotting out the Midland Wars.

The map I refer to on this page is this one – three maps showing the Midland Wars:

The Battle of the Shadow Plain
And so it was that, in the fifty-fifth year of the Midland Wars, King Maeldra of Guldargan met the forces of Ikaira on Argavér, the Shadow Plain. The battle was terrible, but Ikaira was victorious and took up the crown of Guldargan. Maeldra was killed during that battle and the Fáll retreated into the Great Wood. A semblance of peace fell upon Guldargan for a short time and the skirmishes with the surrounding kingdoms petered out and many diplomatic missions were sent to the surrounding kingdoms. By Ikaira’s request, the Keepers of Théotriewe and Holt Haliern helped to bring peace to the north of the Midlands and secure what little was left of Guldargan.

But this was not the end of the Fáll, for they crowned Maeldra’s young son Markus their king and believed him the one true king of Guldargan as he was a direct descendant of King Gile. They built a great fortress on the blood drenched plain of Argavér and secured much of the land around it for themselves through their dark magic. Soon all the land under the Fáll’s control was called Argavér or the Shadow Lands.

Links to previous Midland Wars posts:
Part 1: First Strike
Part 2: Sanctuaries
Part 3: The Rise of the Fáll
Part 4: The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars
Part 5: The Dragons and Guardians’ New Home
Part 6: The Oath Breakers

To read more about Nasja and the other Guardians, read “A Dragon’s Freedom” or “The Price of Freedom” by clicking on the links.

Friday Fiction: Mapping History & a Sneak Peek

I’ve almost finished three small maps showing the changing face of the Midlands during the Midland Wars. Planning on adding the final touches this weekend (like adding colour) and scanning them in properly to post next week. The maps show the changing borders of Guldargan and the surrounding kingdoms mentioned in the posts covering the First Strike and Sanctuaries.
The Maps can be seen here.

Other writing news
I mentioned on Twitter during the week that I’m on the fourth draft of a WIP. I really love this piece, but am not really getting it just the way I want. I’ve changed the beginning a few different times and then realised the chronology I was trying to use is not working for such a short piece (about 2000 words). I’m really hoping that I’ll get a chance to work on it this weekend and finish the fourth draft. Here’s a sneak peak of the WIP at the moment:

I awoke at a sound outside the car window. A child wailing? It took a moment for my mind to clear. The dreams of death, makeshift pyres and graves faded slightly. Maybe it was just the wind. I kept my head down on the sweaty seat, pressing my body closer to the seat. I didn’t really want to find out. But the sound continued. Inside the car it was still dark. I rolled down the window ever so slightly, keeping my head down. Cold wind struck me. The wind, then. Not a child. Not this time.

And today there's also more maps over at Kammastories.

(Stock photo courtesy of http://www.sxc.hu)

Worldbuilding Wednesday: Festivals, Fasts and Feasts

With the year galloping towards its end and various celebrations being held all over the world, I decided to do a worldbuilding post about some of Airthai’s festivals, focusing on those relating to the Sundering.

For a brilliant podcast about holidays in fiction – and especially in fictional worlds, I highly recommend listening to this one by the team ofWriting Excuses.

With the Sundering being such a big part of the history of Airthai, there are various festivals across the lands of Airthai which in some way commemorate this event.

The most wide-spread festivals or days which are commemorated at the time at which the Sundering happened, which touched everyone on Airthai. The Coastal Peoples have, for the most part, the most or the longest festivals that has to do with the Sundering. Different days are added or removed depending on what had happened during the Sundering in that specific part of the world. 

Festivals of the Sundering in the Eastern Lands

In the Eastern Lands some of the biggest festivals are held by the Saerímavolk and their neighbours and are set around the events of the Sundering and the events thereafter. The Saerímavolk holds the Festival of the Sundering at the end of summer every year. This festival incorporates the following: the Day of Sundering, the Night of Fire, the Week of the Lost and the Day of Thanks.

The Feast of the Sundering

The Feast of the Sundering is made up of four different holidays, starting with the Day of Sundering. The fourth month of the year, when the plants slowly recede and lose their leaves, is a month which includes a week of fasting - known as The Week of the Lost as the loss of the Sundered Lands to the Shadow is remembered. The month ends with a great feast on the Day of Thanks to give thanks that the Continent was saved through the Sundering. 

The Day of Sundering

The Day of Sundering is commemorated in the third month of the year, at the end of summer, on the day before the full moon. On this day a fest is eaten and the beaches are readied for the Night of Fire.  

The Night of Fire

The Night of Fire was the night on which the Flotaferan attacked the coast of the Eastern Lands after the Sundering. The Night of Fire is commemorated every year at the first new moon after The Day of Sundering, at the end of summer. This night is commemorated by the lighting of bonfires on the beaches and has come to include mock battles and feasting, where the first nights were held in austerity, recounting the tales of the Sundering around fires on the beaches over a simple meal. 

The Week of the Lost

The Week of the Lost is held during the week after the Night of Fire. During this week people fast to commemorate the loss of Sundered Lands as well as those who still live there.

Day of Thanks

The Day of Thanks is the last day of the Festival of the Sundering, where thanks are given that the Continent was spared the Shadow of the Sundered Lands. On this day the week-long fast is broken and a feast is held to end the Feast of the Sundering. 

The Lands of Airthai before the Sundering

The Continent and the Sundered Lands after the Sundering

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Cities of promises and riches

Worldbuilding Wednesday & Behind the Story

In the next part of The Price of Freedom (to be posted next Monday), I return to one of the parts of Airthai I have only written one short piece about (that has seen the light of the blog). One of the flash pieces I wrote for NaShoStoMo earlier in the year, entitled “The City of Promise”, was set on route to one of the larger and richer cities of the Southern Lands – Marglóthborg.

City of Promise

While this piece started out with the quite cliché ‘young-man-with-father’s-sword-setting-out-to-big-city’, I wanted it specifically not to be epic or have the young man’s life influence a whole kingdom. He wasn’t going to overthrow an evil empire, dark lord or even gather great riches. He was simply a young man with an heirloom setting out to find work in a large city so that he could send money home to his family. I doubt there are many families on the whole of the earth that doesn’t have this story in some form or another in their family. His choice to become a guard for one of the rich families did mean, however, that he was able to send more money home than he would have if he had gone to work in the mines. I specifically wanted to write a fantasy piece where the hero of the story is simply a hero to his family because he could help care for them. Yet, he also makes a choice to go against his father’s wishes and becomes someone who earns his living with a sword.

Worldbuilding the Dry Bay – Marglóthborg and Black Harbour

Northwest of the lands of the Seafolk, after the Dragon Cliffs and Dhôr Mountains, lies a large, semi-desert bay area called Dry Bay. The land here is rich in minerals and metals and are known for its various kinds of mines as well as the extravagant lifestyle of the cities’ rich.

There are different kinds of mines in the parts situated around the Dry Bay. There are salt mines – some of the richest in Airthai and the salt of which is said to have health properties as well and are very costly and traded throughout the Continent. The most important mines, however, are those where dragon tears are mined – one of only two places in the whole of Airthai where this is done. The second is in Naeddre, where the tears of Skáhag is mined on a much smaller scale[1] and traded with the Northern Lands (the only time dragon tears have been mined where the name of the dragon is known). The dragon tears of Marglóthborg, however, have been laid down by generations of dragons before and right after the Great Sundering.

Black Harbour is named after the black rocks and sand found in the area – a reference of which is also made in “The City of Promise”. This is the most southerly part of the western coast of Airthai where this black ground and rocks are found and the harbour here is also the most southerly one from where ships can sail in relative safety around the Dragon Cliffs (accompanied by one of the southern dragons) to the harbour at Diuzisborg.

To read “The City of Promise”, click here.

A Map of Part of the Southern Lands

The Lands of Airthai after the Great Sundering

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[1] No pun intended.

Worldbuilding: Map of the Dragon City

I’ve almost finished a (proper) sketch of Duizisborg and its surrounds!

A Map of "The Dragon City of the South"

Unfortunately, there ended up not being enough space on this map to get all the names in, so I’ve reverted to using a numbered list.  I have yet to write them on the map, so here’s a separate list, for now:

1. The Northern Gate
2. The House of the Dragon Guardians
3. The Inner City (the richest part of the city)
4. The Eastern Gate
5. The Harbour
6. Lighthouse
7. Lighthouse
8. The Square/ Dragon Square
9. The Poor Quarter
10. The Watchtowers
11. Dragon Lake

The little triangles are the main fountains, as the city gets most of its water from an underground water network.

Read more about the city here, or read “The Price of Freedom” (part 1 to 5) here.

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Maps before and after the Sundering

At last I’ve put some time to good use to draw proper (meaning neater and without so many notes) maps of Airthai before and after the Great Sundering. And there is even a third one I’ve drawn and is using as a starting point for the tales in the Seafolk’s lands. Where the first tale about Nasja played out in the Midlands and had him leave his home at a very young age, the cities and towns now need to be much more concrete.

The first map is of the world of Airthai before the Great Sundering. There is only one continent and a couple of the larger isles. The sea dragons of the south are sound asleep in the depths of the ocean and the darkness of a fall turns slowly from rumours to a reality.

The World of Airthai Before the Great Sundering

The second map shows the world after the Great Sundering. The continent has been split in two to form the Continent and the Sundered Lands. More isles are visible, but also the jutting rocks that make it impossible for the (current) ships to sail between the Southern and the Sundered Lands. The Dragon Guardians live on the southwest of the southern coast and sea dragons roam the new-formed Southern Sea.

The Continent and the Sundered Lands After the Great Sundering

I’m using the third map for two short stories at the moment and it is a closer look at the Dragon Cliffs, the homes of the Dragon Guardians, ruins of Dhôr and other cities and town along this stretch of coast. 

Here be dragons of both land and sea!

On Monday I'll have some new Airthai flash fiction ready. 

Until Friday,

A Agrai tellarias or s’agrélar silássa.

Worldbuilding Wednesday: A Map of Airthai

The following map of Airthai was inspired by T-O maps of Earth. It is not supposed to be a realistic representation of the world, but rather a symbolic one. It was only drawn and used after the Great Sundering of the Lands.

Just as there are four directions (north, south, east and west) and four seasons, there are also four stars that aid travellers in finding their direction and Airthai is divided into four parts. Three of these parts (the Continent and the Eastern and Western Isles) are placed against the fourth; which is the Sundered Lands. The map is therefore also used to show that the Sundered Lands are only a small part of the world and that its people would never be able to overrun and rule the whole of Airthai.

Much later, a similar map was drawn of the Continent as a form of protest by a scholar from Trelkanor after the Khalvér and their Nightwatchers had infiltrated the country. In this map he placed the “Southern Lands” – of which Trelkanor is the farthest south – in the place of the Sundered Lands. He had hoped to get some sense into the rulers of the country and its people, but was stricken by the Illness shortly after the map was made public and most copies of the map was destroyed out of fear.

Other fiction: For Part 12 of Virgin for Hire, click here.

Woes Posts & Airthai Map News

Ek het begin om van my Afrikaanse skryfwerk by Woes te gaan plaas. Die skakel na my profielblad is: http://woes.co.za/skrywers/9581_CarinMarais.htm.


Een van die stukke is die vertaalde weergawe van Eldarion Whargahn, met aangepaste spelling om by die Afrikaanse skrywyse te pas. Ek gaan voortgaan om kort stukkies daar te plaas, en dink dit is veral 'n goeie plek vir die vertaalde dele wat hier verskyn. Hopelik is dit dan makliker om tussen die verskillende tale te beweeg.

I have started to put some of my Afrikaans works up at Woes. The link to my profile page is: http://woes.co.za/skrywers/9581_CarinMarais.htm .

One of the pieces is the translated version of Eldarion Whargahn, with the spelling fitted to that of Afrikaans. I'm going to keep on putting some pieces up there, and I think it is a good place to put the translated pieces that I put up here. I hope that it will then be easy to move between the different languages.

In ander nuus is ek steeds besig om die kaarte vir Airthai oor te teken en vind dit vat bietjie langer as wat ek gedink het. Om die hele gedeelte van die wêreld in een (A4) kaart te sit wat in "A Dragon's Freedom" verskyn is ook nogal moeilik – dit begin in die Suidelike Lande en eindig in die Middellande. Dit beteken dit strek oor 'n woestyn en 'n paar lande. Aangesien ek die Tellerassar insluit in die verhaal, moet mens ook darem kan aandui waar hulle land is! Wel, vanaand is dit ek en 'n paar penne om die kaarte klaar te teken! Dan kan ek dit hierdie week plaas.

In other news, I am still busy drawing the Airthai maps and finding that it's taking a bit longer than I have anticipated. To put the whole part of the world that is featured in "A Dragon's Freedom" into one (A4) map is quite difficult – it starts in the Southern Lands and ends in the Middle Lands. That means it stretches over a desert and a couple of lands. Seeing that the Tellerassar also plays a part in the story, you have to be able to show where that is! Well, tonight it's me and a couple of pens to finish drawing the maps! Then I can still post it this week.