World-Building June Day 3: People

Originally posted on Patreon in June 2018 and part of the Great Patreon Crossposting to WordPress.

It’s World-Building June! So I’m building Worlds! Here on Patreon, I’m building “Aerax”, the world of Expectant Woods. Over on WordPress, I’m working on Bear Empire, the world of the so-named story, and a new thing called United Space.

And it’s also June World-Building! So I’m shifting over to Inspector Caracal’s questions, but as I already had a few (a week) written on the first set, there’s some overlap.

🌋

3. Who lives in your world?

There are several groups just in the small region covered by the Expectant Woods.

The Sky Islands themselves are a loose confederacy of people. Only the central three largest were originally urban, and they have a certain feel to them that is different from the two ends; those nearest the ocean are inhabited almost entirely by people who came there from the cities or the further-into-the-mountains islands (although there is a legend of one warship of people that was risen up with one of the smaller islands). The mountain-ward are more independent people, not hearkening much to the laws of the central islands. And the first mountain-ward island after the three central is almost entirely devoted to academic pursuits.

Below there are the groups that those above call the tribes. Continue reading →

World-Building June Day 2: Geography

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Originally posted on Patreon in June 2018 and part of the Great Patreon Crossposting to WordPress.

It’s World-Building June! So I’m building Worlds! Here on Patreon, I’m building “Aerax”, the world of Expectant Woods. Over on WordPress, I’m working on Bear Empire, the world of the so-named story, and a new thing called United Space. 🌋

2. What’s the Geography of your world?

Twelve sky islands hang above the sea, forest, and mountains.

Each sky island has the same basic geography: It is roughly round, usually with four to eight rounded protuberances (thin overlapping petals). At the center of each island, the ground curves upward in something that might look like a small volcano.

This center is hollow in all cases, but only on the biggest islands is it big enough to admit a full-grown person.

The islands above the forests tend towards rich soil, hilly surfaces, and small rivers.

Those above the ocean tend towards relatively flat areas with sandy soil.

Those above the mountains are quite hilly and rocky.

This, of course, is because they were all lifted up from the ground beneath.

As for the Down-Below land: the Nevilla mountains are not impossible, but they present a very impressive boundary which comes rather close to the ocean. Between the ocean and the mountains, the ground rolls slowly down to the ocean-front plains, covered until the coast mainly in thick, dense forest and wild grasslands.

The ocean seems to stretch on forever to the west and to the east-south-east. There are no other islands visible save for the sky islands. Even from the highest island, one cannot see past the mountains.

Want more?

World-Building June: About Aerax

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Originally posted on Patreon in June 2018 and part of the Great Patreon Crossposting to WordPress.

1. Tell us about your world, what’s it about?

Sky Islands!

The world I call Aerax, or at least the continent that the story Expectant Woods takes place on, was the center of a massive Mage-War approx 500 years ago.

The notable remnants of this are a series of islands high in the sky, isolated from the forest, ocean, and mountains below, and ruins of places on the edges of where those islands once were in that forest and those mountains.

Magic is generally considered to be a myth on the islands, but it is still very much alive in the down-below world, although mostly in protected pockets.

Exploring the connection between these two is the subject of the story Expectant Woods; spoilers below.

The islands were raised up on gigantic flower-like stems, bigger than any tree on earth, long-lived and durable but still, in the end, a plant. Travel between the Sky Islands and the lower area is both nearly impossible and completely taboo, which means that the societies have been evolving separately for quite a while.

This land used to be fertile farmland and the heart of a city. Now… Now the ground below lies mostly in jungle and ruins, and the islands above make their own way, each one only tenuously connected to the next.

Want more?

The Second 2/3 of April in Patreon

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okay, I’m a little behind on this…

Last month’s theme was

Libraries and Librarians

Things marked with a * are free for everyone to read.

See the first 1/3 of April here.

Stories
The Library of Secrets There are two places in the Empire that are often called The Library of Secrets…
A Fairy Tale They said she was crazy….
The Expectant Wood: Chapter 22 — Learning and Knowing “She… Alyea… she ran off. She didn’t like me?”
The Portal Closed (A Beginning)*
Cataloged *
The Trouble With Bogong Island – Tales from the Trunk

From Eseme: An Excerpt from Other Duties as Assigned

Reposts
Book Store *
G is for Great Deals! *
Cya’s Printing Press *

Recipe: Chicken Salad Pitas

Blog posts, meta, etc.
Libraries – Series of Unfortunate Events *
The Morgan Library *
List of superlative trees *
Ed’s Museum *

First 2/3 of May on Patreon

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Posts marked * are free for all to read.

Stories
Lost Niece – Lilac woke up in the middle of the night with a strange feeling of loss and, at the same time, like something had just made her stronger.
The Expectant Wood Chapter 23 — A Lesson in Plants – She nibbled on the nutmeat, finding it as described. “You really are quite good at plants.”
Run – a trunk story – “Run.” Sona grabbed Ree’s hand and, matching actions to words, began running.

Reposts
Two Concurrent Stories of Zenobia *
Family Magic Revealed * Demifiction written in the Aunt Family by dialecticdreamer, back in 2014.
Kingmaker Cake *