December 2024
In the beginning was the Blue...
I first heard those words in a dream. It’s one of the few blessings of being a writer that sometimes we get to dream about our own works. I don’t know if other writers get to have that experience, but I assume they do. As a fantasy writer, it’s a bit like getting to live out a Lord of the Rings film first hand. It’s pretty amazing. Unfortunately, you forget half the amazing ideas you come up with, and the other half turn out to be just a collection of vague, disconnected rubbish. (Something about people in aluminum foil living on the moon?)
I’ve got some good news to share today. About a week ago, I finished the zero draft of my fantasy novel Elfborn. “What is a zero draft?” you might ask. Well, it’s not quite a first draft. It’s more like a super-long, overdone outline. Everything is there in broad strokes. The skeleton of the story. But there’s a lot not there. Much of the meat is missing. Lots of description. Lots of action, imagery. That sort of thing. You won’t get a lot out of reading the zero draft. It’s really for other writers to read and comment on. A reader wouldn’t like it very much.
The first draft is where things get interesting. That’s where it’ll start looking like a real novel with pathos and subplots and fleshed out whatevers. Once I get it as good as I can get it, it’s off to the editor for a full-body checkup and then, hopefully, I get the thing published. I hire a cover designer, book formatter, all that stuff. Get it professionally printed and ordered and shipped out to adoring fans worldwide and eventually conquer the earth for peace and justice.
And yes, I did just take a sip of coffee as I typed that.
Anyway, that is the plan. In honor of this milestone on the path to greatness, please enjoy this brief bit of mythology from the Tiranon region of Sarkan, which is the name of the fantasy world where Elfborn takes place. You’ll find mythology varies from region to region in my fictional realm, just as it does in the real world.
For those of you who could give a rat’s about mythology, enjoy the map of Tiranon at the bottom of this page. Pictures are fun too. Buckle in for some cosmology after the jump.
In the beginning, all was blue. And the blue was divided, above as below, the Skyking Azura and the Seaqueen Amaya. The Sky strove with the Sea to bring forth Grandmother Sarkan, first of the four sacred beasts. Next came Narkin Kingdragon, followed by Oorna Sunbird, and Vora Unicorn.
Narkin was lord of spring and father of all dragons. Oorna was the Phoenix of summer, assigned to the sky to bring light to the world. He is father of the elves of Lananor. Vora, the Unicorn of autumn, was the herald of change. Grandmother Sarkan, the World-Turtle, was the lady of winter. These four were the sacred beasts.
Before passing into his Eversleep, Great Azura peopled the land of Tiranon with the mortal races: The reptilian Makao who dwelled on the mountaintops and the humans who lived in the valleys. Then Great Azura slept. And the First Age passed.
In those days of the Second Age, the humans constructed cities. The greatest of these was Edinniae. Under Ayesha Khan, Edinniae flourished, and her influence spread to the edges of Tu Talen and to the foothills of the great mountains. The elves, leaving their home in Lananor, came to Tiranon and settled in the forests of Tu Talen and Ealdwode. They soon grew jealous of the humans’ growing power and made war upon Edinniae. In her wrath, Ayesha prayed to Nathrach the Fanged Death, calling him from Outside to take vengeance upon the elves. But Nathrach was cunning, and he gave Tiranon to his Drall for conquest.
During this time, the War of the Snake, various groups of humans, Makao, and elves allied against Nathrach’s army. While the other sacred beasts were hesitant to intervene, Grandmother Sarkan rose against Nathrach, but the Fanged Death spread his coils about her and cracked her shell. Quakes shook the ground, and Edinniae crashed into the sea. Then Oorna Sunbird, the Phoenix, challenged Nathrach.
The noise of battle woke Azura, who separated day from night and brought peace to Sarkan before returning to his endless dream. Nathrach was hurled back into the dark between the stars, and Oorna returned to her home in the sky. Grandmother Sarkan survived, but her shell was broken. The Unicorn no longer trod her fields and forests. The Second Age passed, and Life goes on in the Third Age for Drall, Makao, elves, and humans alike.
I made this map with Inkarnate. I have a pro account, which means I get to profit from their use because I’m too poor to be a socialist. Yay.
“Hey, William, what’s with all that blank space?”
Glad you asked! I’m leaving myself room to create.
Quite frankly, I don’t know what’s up there, and I can’t wait to find out together. Won’t you come and explore it with me?
Sarkan is huge. When I pass on, I firmly intend to open-source the whole thing, so other folks can contribute as they please. Make it their own. It’ll be fun. The public domain is shrinking. We need to do our part to feed it.