The Brightest Shadow: Beyond the Chorhan Expanse

(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. ^-^

The Brightest Shadow: Three Cultures, Three Maps, One Region

(This is the sixth in my series of worldbuilding posts for The Brightest Shadow, leading up to the release of the second book, A Hollow Mountain.)

I like fantasy maps. Not just grand maps at the beginning of a book that encompass a story, but I also enjoy documents from the world and maps in general. To that end, I wanted to do something a little different for the maps of the first book.

Instead of a single objective map, in this post I present three different maps of the same region. Each takes on a different style and a different purpose, many drawing from the way maps in the real world have been used in different eras.

First we have Tani's map. The idea of seeing the world from a bird's eye view was actually uncommon in the ancient world, so instead many maps served as conceptual aids. This one gives you the Nelee view of the world and their neighbors: they're very familiar with Rhen tribes, but less clear about the differences in groups outside the Chorhan Expanse. If you've read the book, you can figure out why Tani took the route she did to get to Bundlin.

Second we have a "world map" from Corah, taking inspiration from the medieval mappa mundi and T&O maps. This map is even more of a conceptual aid for those focused on Coran matters, the sort of thing that might appear on a noble's wall. Like in the ancient world, far-off lands are places of mystery and the unknown. For those who stay within the Coran kingdoms, this is their view of the world.

Finally we have the map that might look the most familiar to modern eyes, a survey of the region for the sake of military exercises. The mansthein have a branch of Voidwalkers also skilled as surveyors who develop quite accurate maps, if a bit unclear on details that don't matter to their military campaigns.

I hope these maps offer a fun look into the world of Myros. There is a world map, but I won't be hinting at that until the final post in this series...

The Brightest Shadow: Oken

(This is the fifth in my series of worldbuilding posts for The Brightest Shadow, leading up to the release of the second book, A Hollow Mountain.)

The Oken are one of the most insular groups on the Chorhan Expanse, clustering by the western shore and advancing only somewhat into the mountains to the north. Their society is focused on the good of the group, with each person taking a role to serve the greater good.

The Oken are well-known across the Expanse for the quality of their fabrics and brightly colored dyes. They trade these frequently with outsiders, but within a given township, color and fabric are rigidly controlled. Each represents a different class, rank, or family (though the exact meaning varies slightly from township to township).

Traditionally, Oken always wear their mantle in public locations and do not wear it at home. The exact definition of "home" can seem strange to outsiders, as it includes some public markets and squares. Not following these customs is a source of gossip if not anger, though outsiders are generally exempt if they're allowed into a township at all.

Oken eat overall diverse diets, though generally heavy on seafood. This is true regardless of distance to the coast, so in regions where seafood is scarce it is restricted to the higher classes.

The Oken prefer to outfit entire companies with a single weapon, leading them toward generalist forms. Guards commonly use quarterstaffs, while warriors use the traditional Oken sword: a weapon capable of cutting, thrusting, and hacking in the hands of a sein-trained warrior.

The game of Shiil originated on the continent of Fareshel, but the Oken are the main culture that plays it on Breilin. There are several major rule variations, but all forms of the game are a conflict over control of the board.

In the original rules, whole groups of pieces can be removed or replaced if they become captured by opposing pieces. The primary Oken version only allows pieces to be replaced when completely surrounded, which is a rare circumstance. Generally pieces can only be placed in proximity to other pieces, but there is a major variant where this is untrue and the board can swing wildly even toward the endgame.

In all forms, Shiil is a game of strategy that requires long term thinking along multiple fronts. It has been said that the fate of kingdoms has been decided over games of Shiil, though such stories lie in times of legend.

The Brightest Shadow: The Rhen

(This is the fourth in my series of worldbuilding posts for The Brightest Shadow, leading up to the release of the second book, A Hollow Mountain.)

Though the outsiders call them the Rhen, in truth they are a diverse collection of factions and tribes. They were a single ethnicity in the distant past, but they have splintered into different niches around the Chorhan Expanse. Their leaders occasionally meet at a Confederation of Tribes, and if they united for war their forces would be formidable, but this has not occurred in centuries.

The Rhen are fiercely individualistic, so the above examples don't capture the full diversity of the tribes. It most directly represents the Nelee (Tani's tribe). War masks are more characteristic of the Kelfaa, however, and archery is most known in the western tribes.

Most Rhen village clusters are self-sufficient, though they freely trade with other groups. Each group has its own particulars, but very few Rhen are proficient in smithing or stonecraft while many tribes are known for elegant woodworking and embroidery.

Maturity isn't counted at puberty, but instead following a ceremony in which the youth affirms their decision to join the tribe and decides on their path in life. The exact rituals vary, but they commonly occur between 17-22 years old and involve a major commitment (such as Tani's Farwalk). Unlike some other cultures, the Rhen train nearly everyone in sein in childhood, though only the talented train beyond their formal induction into the tribe.

Rhen food is extremely diverse and generally eaten as many different dishes shared in a family or small group. Most eat whatever fruits and vegetables are local, though tribes that manage livestock can eat significant amounts of meat in season.

Most Rhen warfare takes the form of raids from which civilians are exempt, thus many favor light weapons. The Nelee are particularly notable for weapons with smaller reaches, given their history of forest warfare.

Each Rhen tribe keeps a closely-guarded set of traditions and techniques. In their own language, the word for sein is "wind". Though significant variety exists, in general Rhen techniques are known for speed and subterfuge. In their view there's no shame in learning techniques from other traditions, so long as the warrior has a clear vision of their path.

The sacred texts of their techniques are generally kept in special cases and held by a respected master of the tribe. Individuals are free to ignore the texts, but damaging the texts of any other group is deeply shameful. For some tribes, intentionally destroying texts is a crime punishable by death.