I've developed a lot of background material for Imperfect Hope the last few weeks that have refined my vision of D'oril and of the larger world of the D'oril continent (Still groping for a name, but it will come). Some of it involves one of my earliest "myths" from the IFGS character history of Brandis was that of the birth of the stars, the battle of Dag'enkath, and the position of the K'tath within the greater political arena. In that very basic myth, I cast the creation of the stars as the pivotal event of the k'tath through a lengthy "history".
In that history, before Dag'enkath, there were no stars. There was also a balance between good and evil, darkness and light, so on set up in the aftermath of an earlier, world-devastating conflict between light and dark earlier. Unhappy with the stagnation of this world, Cy'te, (aka the gamester) introduced "shadow" to the forces of darkness, upsetting the balance. The forces of light were overwhelmed, until only the k'tath remained surrounded on the hilltop of Dag'enkath.
To shorten the lengthy story, Elorna, primary guardian of the k'tath, was prohibited (as were all guardians) from intervening directly (from the pacts made long ago after that earlier war between the gods). Her tears of sadness became the stars, from which the k'tath warriors drew strength to face the shadows, and restored the balance.
From that "mythical" tale, I've had to create a more believable "history" for both the k'tath, and the rest of the people of the world. Rather than force a rather unbelievable appearance of stars on the readers, I've altered the history to become "an awakening", that prior to Dag'enkath, the stars held no special powers to the k'tath, but after, their "talented" could draw upon Elorna's power through them. There's a lot of depth that I don't have the space to explain at this point, but basically Elorna has invested magical power in the memories of fallen k'tath associated with the stars. Other cultures have garnered their magical power from other sources (tides, ritual, intonation and/or gestures), all of which create an access point for the natural or unnatural powers that define their brand of magic.
The awakening of the k'tath is only one part of the new history. The long dark brought on by the shadow wars that ended at Dag'enkath also explains the collapse of the civilization south of D'oril. That Civilization is the one that had built the network of lighthouses which enabled them to navigate the hazardous ocean between their and the far western continent. Though the true power of the lighthouses has been lost, a couple of the merchanter houses still maintain some ships that can use (in a limited fashion) the navigation lines that the still function lighthouses provide. In the long term, rediscovery of that technology will be a major part of the latter stages of the confederacy/empire conflict.
All of this should help me keep Imperfect Hope consistant as I grind through it, but more importantly, the volume of material I'm putting together will keep me writing long into the sunset. I've already been able to place some of my other story ideas within the grand time scale I've put together. All told, the world of D'oril is firming up nicely...
As an interesting sidenote, I recently started reading "The Rivan Codex" by David and Leigh Eddings. The Eddings' wrote the Belgariad and Malloreon series (some 9 or 10 books, I believe), something I read voraciously 20 years back when they came out. The Rivan Codex is a glimpse on how he and his wife wrote those books, including background tales and how they put together the world of the belgariad. The first chapter seems to indicate that I"m on the right path, many of the steps he writes about having been key in developing the background for his tales are the same ones I'm grinding through right now. It has also given me new enthusiasm...
A second side note, a recent discussion I had with some of my co-workers had about writing abilities raised an issue that seems to be generational. Comparing how I learned to write 35+ years ago in the public school system to what is (and more importantly, what apparently isn't), and today's primary writing outlets (blogs, email, and <gasp> twittering) compared to what and how we wrote "back in the day", there is a huge gap in skill, intent, and comprehension. I believe I'll post about it next time, because it's ignited a firestorm of controversy (of sorts) within the control room, with us oldsters maintaining that writing has become a lost art, and the younglings under 30 holding to the belief that it has merely changed to reflect the times. I'll have to reinforce my soapbox for this one... ;-)
TTFN,
Jim
In that history, before Dag'enkath, there were no stars. There was also a balance between good and evil, darkness and light, so on set up in the aftermath of an earlier, world-devastating conflict between light and dark earlier. Unhappy with the stagnation of this world, Cy'te, (aka the gamester) introduced "shadow" to the forces of darkness, upsetting the balance. The forces of light were overwhelmed, until only the k'tath remained surrounded on the hilltop of Dag'enkath.
To shorten the lengthy story, Elorna, primary guardian of the k'tath, was prohibited (as were all guardians) from intervening directly (from the pacts made long ago after that earlier war between the gods). Her tears of sadness became the stars, from which the k'tath warriors drew strength to face the shadows, and restored the balance.
From that "mythical" tale, I've had to create a more believable "history" for both the k'tath, and the rest of the people of the world. Rather than force a rather unbelievable appearance of stars on the readers, I've altered the history to become "an awakening", that prior to Dag'enkath, the stars held no special powers to the k'tath, but after, their "talented" could draw upon Elorna's power through them. There's a lot of depth that I don't have the space to explain at this point, but basically Elorna has invested magical power in the memories of fallen k'tath associated with the stars. Other cultures have garnered their magical power from other sources (tides, ritual, intonation and/or gestures), all of which create an access point for the natural or unnatural powers that define their brand of magic.
The awakening of the k'tath is only one part of the new history. The long dark brought on by the shadow wars that ended at Dag'enkath also explains the collapse of the civilization south of D'oril. That Civilization is the one that had built the network of lighthouses which enabled them to navigate the hazardous ocean between their and the far western continent. Though the true power of the lighthouses has been lost, a couple of the merchanter houses still maintain some ships that can use (in a limited fashion) the navigation lines that the still function lighthouses provide. In the long term, rediscovery of that technology will be a major part of the latter stages of the confederacy/empire conflict.
All of this should help me keep Imperfect Hope consistant as I grind through it, but more importantly, the volume of material I'm putting together will keep me writing long into the sunset. I've already been able to place some of my other story ideas within the grand time scale I've put together. All told, the world of D'oril is firming up nicely...
As an interesting sidenote, I recently started reading "The Rivan Codex" by David and Leigh Eddings. The Eddings' wrote the Belgariad and Malloreon series (some 9 or 10 books, I believe), something I read voraciously 20 years back when they came out. The Rivan Codex is a glimpse on how he and his wife wrote those books, including background tales and how they put together the world of the belgariad. The first chapter seems to indicate that I"m on the right path, many of the steps he writes about having been key in developing the background for his tales are the same ones I'm grinding through right now. It has also given me new enthusiasm...
A second side note, a recent discussion I had with some of my co-workers had about writing abilities raised an issue that seems to be generational. Comparing how I learned to write 35+ years ago in the public school system to what is (and more importantly, what apparently isn't), and today's primary writing outlets (blogs, email, and <gasp> twittering) compared to what and how we wrote "back in the day", there is a huge gap in skill, intent, and comprehension. I believe I'll post about it next time, because it's ignited a firestorm of controversy (of sorts) within the control room, with us oldsters maintaining that writing has become a lost art, and the younglings under 30 holding to the belief that it has merely changed to reflect the times. I'll have to reinforce my soapbox for this one... ;-)
TTFN,
Jim
