Dispatch #23: One Story Done + A Map Nears Release
Wherein I Keep On Keeping On...
[Estimated reading time: about 7 minutes]
Greetings!
Welcome to The Known World, where I post about my forthcoming book, The Other Side of the Sun, amongst other things.
Good morning!
It’s been a couple of months since my last post, so I wanted to check in with you.
I didn’t plan on it taking this long between Dispatches, but along the way during September and October I was laid low for several weeks due to a really nasty bit of flu. I’ve since recovered, but I was left drained for several more weeks thereafter, lacking any sort of creative energy. As I improved I took to drawing artwork (a side interest of mine) until said creative energy finally came back to me.
Luckily I’m back 100% now, and I feel quite excellent!
First, A Quick Programming Note
Me, the Missus and our Wondrous Daughter will be taking a previously planned trip to Central America and Mexico. So I will be out of pocket for a couple of weeks after today. (The vacation comes at a perfect time, believe me!)
When we get back home, I will intend to start posting dispatches more frequently while endeavoring to make them shorter in length.
In the meantime, just talk amongst yourselves, etc.
On to the updates!
About The Stories
I’ve written out the first short story for the book. For now we’ll call it Story #1, which is a short story about the young would-be Squire Rêvin when he was 12 years old, wherein he accidentally discovers the Skill (aka “magic”) and starts to play around with it. He randomly happens upon a young Mage’s Apprentice who teaches him a few tricks of the trade, but when a more sagacious Kryd the Archmage finds out what’s going on, said Archmage is rather alarmed.
To be honest I’m not unduly thrilled about how Story #1 turned out in first draft, but I’ve decided leave it be as a draft and come back to it after I nail down at least 2-3 other stories.
So I’ve set Story #1 aside for now, sort of putting it in the virtual top drawer of my virtual desk, and moved on to Story #2.
Story #2 is about another member of the Band of Five, namely the future Ranger Apprentice Lysela. In that story we find Lysela at about 5 years of age, when she wanders off the manor and gets lost in the nearby Forest of Meldûn. It’s a frightening experience for her, especially when she encounters a pair of very nasty bugbearish critters known as Okuru, who are about to move in on her for the kill when a very large yet kind woodsman named Gileon intervenes.
Gileon is a new character I came up with while I on the mend from being ill. I’m super excited about him and what I can do with him as a character in-story. Just how big is Gileon? Pretty big - probably as big as Hagrid in the Harry Potter series, though perhaps not as wide.
I have Gileon currently written down as follows…
A reclusive 7 foot tall woodsman noted for his exceptional skill with the bow and quarterstaff. Lives near Skarfalos [a waterfall and within the Forest of Meldûn]. Gileon rarely appears outside the Forest, but has on occasion turned up in Skar or Balero [two nearby villages]. Despite his large size, he seems to readily appear or vanish quite easily.
Gileon might be big like Hagrid, but his personality will not be Hagrid-like, as hopefully you’ll see once I post that story. I’m fleshing out his backstory about why he became reclusive, etc. I’m currently dealing with him as a human and not some kind of plus-sized metahuman species. I will say he’s not a fan of the Okuru, as said Okuru will soon discover… More will be revealed in time about that.
Upcoming Short Stories On The Boards
Long story short, I’m planning to initially write up 5 short stories: One for each of the Band of Five, each story being a sort of vignette from their respective early childhoods. (Is “childhoods” a word? Wiktionary says it is, so I guess it is…) After those stories are completed I will move on to sharing further tales about the Five, both collectively and individually, as they evolve into teens and then become young adults.
I also have introductory stories planned for several of the adult characters who will factor in along the way. I’ll get to them later, but I should note that the origin story for Kryd the Archmage will be very complicated, since he’s almost 500 years old. His backstory is probably going to be either Book #2 or Book #3. Long ways off.
Regardless, once I have become pleased with a given story, it will be published on this site and made available to subscribers. 👍
Now about the map thing…
About The Map(s)
As some of my early-subscribed Readers will already know, I like maps. I currently have 3 maps on the boards that are in development:
A continental-scale map of the entire Konatamundo (Known World) setting, which I fancy to be about the size of Europe and the Middle East combined;
A map of the Kingdom of Bryn, which is about the size of Switzerland or Czechia (or for Americans, roughly the size of Indiana or South Carolina); and
A Map of the Meldûn Borderlands, the baronetcy where the Band of Five were born and/or raised and begin their adventures.
The great news is that Map #1 - the Known World map - is in its very final stages. I am currently doing final reviews of its closeup details, removing imperfections and drawing glitches.
After I complete this review it’s ready to release. Once I finish this final review I will share it as a PDF with you, my Gracious Readers.
One question I’d like your opinion on is, do you like the color scheme of the map as shown above? Or should I make it more green/blue/brown… or make it more sepia-toned like an ancient map? Feel free to opinionate in the comments area.
A Quick Note About The Other Two Maps
The other two maps are coming along as well. Map #2 (Bryn) is technically done, but I’m cleaning up its appearance and putting in some better terrain graphics. It will probably roll out next.
Map #3 (Meldûn Borderlands) is a cat’s breakfast of a mess currently and still needs more work before it’s presentable as a whole. Like with the Bryn map I’m upgrading the terrain graphics for it.
Like with Map #1, once they are completed I will release them to you, Dear Readers, as a PDF for your perusal.
Shareable Ephemera
Nothing ephemeral to share particularly, other than I’m going on vacay for about 2 weeks, as mentioned.
Conclusion
That’s it for today! I hope you have enjoyed reading this Dispatch.
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Until next time, thanks for reading!
— B.E. Turpin