The World of Traverne

Last year, around April, I finally scanned my pencil-drawn map of Traverne in. Traverne is the world that my fantasy stories take place on (or at least begin on), and I possibly missed a trick leaving such a reference point out of Grim Work and The Crystal Keep.

From The Vile Realm onwards, the map will become a staple. An overview of the world, and then a smaller section with more detail that covers the areas the books take place in.

I'm no cartographer (and anyone that sees those split rivers will tell you that), but this is a world with six-limbed, geomantically inclined creatures, so some liberties have been taken.

There's a story behind the design of world, and this will filter through future books. The simple version of it is that the people of Traverne believe the continents to be gods. Rosaria, Tarlicia, and Tarnikus. Rosaria and Tarlicia were sisters, and Tarnikus a being that coveted the sisters. He had both bear his children. The trio sought a world to inhabit, to give birth to their brood on. The impact was hard, the mothers split. The children were stillborn and floated out into the ocean world. All three gods gave their lives to the globe they slammed into, and from their deaths life flourished.

Simple. But, as with all creation stories, it's heavy on the bullshit.

The real story of how people came to inhabit Traverne is still pending a first draft, existing only in bullet points.

The pen-based drawing provided enough inspiration to set the scene in my stories, but was never quite enough. It needed more work before I wanted to be proud enough to include it in my works.

A black and white version (below) will feature in my both Kindle and printed books.