I'm actually still in the world building stages currently and have yet to write my first scene, but I've been given advice suggesting I should start creating “buzz” now. So here I go:
Basically, this started out as a gaming campaign idea, over ten years ago. I've been calling it The Pilgrimage almost that entire time, as far as I can recall. The gaming campaign has since evolved into an idea for a novel, and the more I flesh it out, the more I realize it will likely take more than one book to tell it.
Yarina Webster is a weaver in a small town on the edge of the Barrens in the Solar Hierchy of Kadri. Life in Kadri more or less revolves around the Solar Hierarchy and its tenets, observing festivals and attending service and what have you. It is expected that everyone will go on pilgrimage to the capital of Kadri at least once in their lifetimes. Yarina, though, was always a sickly child, and still has good and bad days now that she's grown. So she’s put off making the pilgrimage until her childhood best friend, Velian, now a priest, comes and cajoles her into making the journey with him.
On the way there, their little group of travelers is attacked by the Misbegotten, monsters that aren't supposed to exist outside of fairy tales. When the survivors try to report what happened, the Solar Hierarchy, eager to cover up the attack, sentences Yarina and the other pilgrims to death for heresy. Velian either smuggles them out, or is able to get their sentence commuted, I haven't decided which yet, but either way they end up in the Barrens, the dead wasteland that surrounded Kadri on all sides. There they meet Shan, a fellow exile who almost certainly can't be trusted, who tells them that the only way they'll survive is to make it to the Storm Wall, a mythical, magical boundary that provides the only source of water for the entire Barrens.
What follows is a tale of adventure, exile, betrayal, and trust, that tests not only their faith, but everything Shan, Velian, and Yarina thought they ever knew. There will be magic, and gods, new lands not seen in centuries, and old tales not heard in just as long.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I've been world building for this story for the past several days, trying to pin down character arcs, paint the broad strokes of a plot, and map all the places they'll go. At some point, though, I'll have to stop fretting over these details and actually get to putting words on the page.
Basically, this started out as a gaming campaign idea, over ten years ago. I've been calling it The Pilgrimage almost that entire time, as far as I can recall. The gaming campaign has since evolved into an idea for a novel, and the more I flesh it out, the more I realize it will likely take more than one book to tell it.
Yarina Webster is a weaver in a small town on the edge of the Barrens in the Solar Hierchy of Kadri. Life in Kadri more or less revolves around the Solar Hierarchy and its tenets, observing festivals and attending service and what have you. It is expected that everyone will go on pilgrimage to the capital of Kadri at least once in their lifetimes. Yarina, though, was always a sickly child, and still has good and bad days now that she's grown. So she’s put off making the pilgrimage until her childhood best friend, Velian, now a priest, comes and cajoles her into making the journey with him.
On the way there, their little group of travelers is attacked by the Misbegotten, monsters that aren't supposed to exist outside of fairy tales. When the survivors try to report what happened, the Solar Hierarchy, eager to cover up the attack, sentences Yarina and the other pilgrims to death for heresy. Velian either smuggles them out, or is able to get their sentence commuted, I haven't decided which yet, but either way they end up in the Barrens, the dead wasteland that surrounded Kadri on all sides. There they meet Shan, a fellow exile who almost certainly can't be trusted, who tells them that the only way they'll survive is to make it to the Storm Wall, a mythical, magical boundary that provides the only source of water for the entire Barrens.
What follows is a tale of adventure, exile, betrayal, and trust, that tests not only their faith, but everything Shan, Velian, and Yarina thought they ever knew. There will be magic, and gods, new lands not seen in centuries, and old tales not heard in just as long.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I've been world building for this story for the past several days, trying to pin down character arcs, paint the broad strokes of a plot, and map all the places they'll go. At some point, though, I'll have to stop fretting over these details and actually get to putting words on the page.
So, does this sound like something you would be interested in hearing more about? If it is, drop me a comment!
And of course, if you're willing, I'd love it if you could show your support for my work by buying me a "coffee" on ko-fi.com. No obligation, though! It's just sort of a tip jar for people who have said they want to thank me with more than just kudos and comments.
Hope you're having a great week!
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