(This is the seventh in my series of worldbuilding posts for The Brightest Shadow, leading up to the release of the second book, A Hollow Mountain.)
Alright, it's finally time to talk about the bigger picture. Both in the first book and these posts, I didn't want to just throw a million ideas in everyone's face. But as I hope is obvious, the world I have in mind for The Brightest Shadow is much bigger than what's been seen so far.
Here's the world map, with only the areas seen so far revealed:
I'll be updating that map as future books cover more of the world. I know this probably seems overambitious, but I hope those of you who have followed my past work can look forward to the world I've been working on.
This post will quickly talk about three cultures that appear on the borders of the first novel. They have many internecine conflicts and variations of their own, but for now the story hasn't reached them.
"The Lands of Nol" are actually two large nations with many factions, but since they're separated from the Expanse by rivers and the Nolan Ridge, they're only experienced as travelers. Most Nolese in the Expanse are traders or warriors simply due to being far from home.
Nolese traditional arts take many forms, but most of them are significantly softer than the hard skills found on the Expanse. As such, they're known as martial artists and sometimes mistrusted by those who don't understand their arts.
Nol is the setting of the novella Blades Falling Softly.
To the east lie the Estronese lands. Though the people of Estronn are divided into smaller factions instead of kingdoms, they're a relevant power in the entire continent. To outsiders, they're generally considered the most advanced cultural group on Breilin.
Though the continent has many different groups, the Estronese come from further away than most, their light hair and skin standing out. They have a fundamentally different conception of sein than local cultures and as such develop different abilities. They're renowned as healers and their offensive skills include significantly more explosive skills than most local cultures.
Eraes Tor Yin hails from Teralanth, one of the most advanced nations in the world of Myros. They're currently locked in an ugly conflict with local mansthein, which will be explored in time through a variety of characters. Meanwhile, Teralanthan diplomats, merchants, and occasionally mercenaries can be found throughout the world.
Teralanth is known for crafting excellent weapons and building some of the worlds largest castles. Their warriors are usually set on paths that have been optimized for specific results over years of tradition. Though some know them for their airships, the secrets to that technology actually originate from a nation on Younten Trathe instead.
Yenith is commonly played in Teralanth, but it is widespread throughout the world. Though the origins of Yenith are unclear, most agree that it represents an ancient battle over a critical mountain. Expensive boards feature elevation differences or even carvings of terrain, while cheaper boards simply represent these by color.
Each piece represents a type of military unit, but different cultures have different names and explanations. In the Okeni version, each piece is a type of warrior, whereas the Teralanthan version labels some as beasts or structures. The movement abilities of each piece are mostly consistent across the world, but special movement rules around the center and corners vary.
Victory in standard play is achieved by defeating or trapping all three of the opponent's elite pieces. There is a major game variation in which victory is achieved by holding four of the five elevated positions. Regardless of exact rules, Yenith is considered one of the deeper strategy games.
With the three periphery cultures described, that concludes the introductions of the main groups so far! Though I have a great many other locations and cultures I want to talk about, I'll restrain myself. All of that will be introduced when it's necessary for the story. ^-^
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