Novels

The Shadow-seas are not a location for casual travel, nor for relaxing vacations. Only the most dedicated explorers and scholars should consider journeying to its ink-tinted lands and sandy waters.

For those who are willing to take the risk, the Shadow-seas are a place of immense history and hidden secrets. Passage is allowed only on special dispensation; the travelers in question must each bear a Writ of Welcome, signed by one of the Netherthanes or their representatives, as well as one of the Netherthanes accepted foreign authorities or their representatives.

Finding a representative of the Netherthanes outside the Shadow-seas can be challenging in itself, never mind finding an authority that is acceptable to the Netherthanes. It is widely accepted that the High on High certainly applies, as does any noble of sufficient standing in the Belle Empire, but few other kingdoms are known to be regularly accepted.

Few of the servants in House Di Mattia knew that the sitting room on the top floor of the north wing was kept locked. Fewer knew that only the Countier, Countess, and Ladymaid Aisha held the keys. The few that did know also knew their place, and while curiosity tugged hard at their hearts, they kept their humility and allowed their Nobles their eccentricity.

Sarisa ran through the mansion, stopping only once in a panic when her fumbling failed to produce her key from around her neck. She found it a moment later, where it had bounced from her running. Gripping the key in both hands, she ran once more towards the locked sitting room.

When she reached the doors, she slipped the key into the lock, and entered their laboratory with a fimiliar mix of shame and pride.

Shame, because it was no laboratory worth the name. Indeed, the room’s only claim to the title was little more than intent coupled with a sincere effort. While the servants knew it had once been a sitting room, Sarisa didn’t remember the room’s previous purpose and didn’t much care to. It looked more like a storage room now, with thick wooden tables and chairs placed haphazardly across the floor, filling in the spaces between salvaged objects and their own manufactured equipment.

Pride, becuase it was theirs. Ever since the ruins had been discovered, Sarisa and the Countier had worked tirelessly to tease out their many secrets. Every step had been a new and frightening effort, seasoned with the knowledge that if the Church ever found out, they would be killed for their troubles, or worse.

It is difficult to describe the shear variety of insect-folk. It is thought that no less than seventy-nine separate species all fall under the heading of ‘insect-folk’, ranging from the tall and multi-limbed Aradonousi, to the short and carapaced Kkkki. The Xiaba, perhaps the most familiar people of insect-folk, have six subspecies, all distinct in minor ways, none of which are immediately recognizable to any but the most experienced observer of the Insect-Folk people.

As such, it will be incredibly difficult to explore the Insect-folk as a singular culture, though there are similarities and differences between the species that make a seperate section not only possible, but advised.

The Land of Och on the World of Tam is mainly famed for three things: its verdant peacefulness, its constant danger, and the ever-present struggle between the two.

It is a common saying in the Myriad Worlds that the Land of Och is trying to kill you, and it is easy to see where this sentiment comes from: the Land of Och possesses several hundred species of plant and animal that survive in a quite violent ecosystem. Even the small and passive keedee-flies that float lazily through the air have a virulent venom that can kill small animals and cause severe and lasting pain in larger ones.

This danger is shared by the weather: raging storms and sudden temperature changes are common in Och during the Hard Seasons, and many unprepared travelers have died to the antagonistic climate.

However, the Soft Seasons are the polar opposite, with temperate climes and mild precipitation. The Still season in particular is named so because even the more aggressive fauna become calmer and less territorial. Add to this the remarkably beautiful landscapes of Och, and you have a World that is both known for its relaxing atmosphere and its ever-present dangers.

The Countess Sarisa Di Mattia stepped through the opened door, and her heart sank. It was the same every time. She hated her drawing room. The rest of the Di Mattia Mansion was dreary — utilitarian at best — and infused with the staid airs and atmosphere she had grown up with her entire life. But the drawing room…

Alone, out of all the rooms in her father’s mansion, the drawing room had potential.

The fireplace was deep and made of grounstone — the fired mixture of resin, ground silt, and gravel. It felt heavy, squatting in the wall and spewing comfortable heat into the room like a demon. The walls were seasoned wood planks, with the distinctive smell of the forest in high-summer. She presumed some mold or fungus had settled into the planks back when the mansion was built, and now gave the room its distinctive smell. The walls themselves were covered with bookcases as tall as the room itself.

The bookcases…Sarisa grit her teeth as she walked to the closest lounge. The bookcases were abysmal. Only one had any reasonable number of books, and it was only after an evening of re-binding that the books’ contents — if not their covers — held anything of value.

Her eyes danced over the small collection of books. That was one joy she found in the room; she had met a great many lords, ladies, and dignitaries in this room since her father’s death, and none of them knew that the simple boring books that littered the room held heretical contents.

The Kit are a thin avian race. Four-armed and therefore four-winged, their leathery lizard-like faces are sprinkled with feathers of varying shades of effervescent green, blue, and red. Skin is leathery and light.

The Kit are sometimes called the ‘underclass’ of the Myriad Worlds. While many presume this is due to a natural genetic failing on the part of the Kit, it is instead due to a great number of misunderstandings and ignorance of the civilized worlds, especially during the first contact with the Kit.

The Kit are a tribal species, living in small groups of no more than fifty. Impressively nomadic, they have little use for large tools, instead creating harnesses and belts to hold what they carry. Claimed ‘spots’ may have makeshift ovens or standing utilities, but such things are luxuries and generally ignored or overlooked by the average Kit.

According to accepted historical record, the ThestleBreak Shore was first discovered by Duchen Yungus, the Bringer of Silk, on his journey to the north. Primary sources place the Duchen on the southwest corner of the shore, traveling north from the Dabadui river. Little remains regarding this discovery, and it is possible little concern was given to this aquanautical marvel. The traveling sages likely were not given time to explore the Shore, as sources claim the Duchen was in a hurry to reach Envik Klain, and continue his campaign against the Marauder King of Red.

Local lore, of course, places the discovery of the ThestleBreak Shore with the colonization of the continent by primitive travelers washed ashore, yet protected by the Shore itself. There is no evidence of this method of colonization, and little concern may be given to this theory.

At long last, the Six Bells rang Eve’nbell. The Ever Palace, once as vibrant and active as any anthill, was still and silent. Behind countless wooden doors, the populous of the Ever Palace ate their nighttime meals, finished their journal entries, and bid their fellows goodnight. The day was done, and all were at rest.

All, that is, save the Resolute Lady Tania Maar, Raugraf of the Sixth Region, Knight-Domina of the Twenty-Ninth Infantry Band of Resolution, Knight of the Arrow, and tenth Heir to House Maar.

Tania Maar was filled with anticipation. Tonight, all her plans, her efforts, her accolades and duties came to fruition. Tonight, she would receive her due. Tonight, she was summoned by the Ever Lord himself.

She had no concern over defying the Eve’nbell curfew. To worry would be a sin against the divine command of her Ever Lord. Instead, her attention was focused entirely on how to present herself; the letter summoned her in the name of the Ever Lord, but made no mention of who she was summoned as. Was she summoned as the tenth Heir to House Maar? As a Raugraf? As a Knight-Domina of the Imperial Honor?

The Forest of Rainbow Regrets is a often overlooked Traveler’s destination. While any reputable tourist guide will reference the Halls of Flaya, the Tower Gardens of Ketchiil, or the Crystal Keep of Werrfulk; the Resplendent Foliage is a land of equal beauty, peacefulness, and cultural richness.

Rather than besmirch other guidebooks for this lapse in judgement, I will instead encourage any readers who wish to travel partake of the Forest of Rainbow Regrets before other Travelers discover the region and it becomes too crowded.

The Forest of Rainbow Regrets is found adjacent a rural region of small towns and hamlets on the eastern edge of Swittershak province on the world of Jorjin. Bright and verdant, the region was named by King Nutarid during the last years of his Expeditionary Crusade.

Also known as The Machine Oasis and The White Valley, Kynvynryn is one of the most technologically advanced lands across the Myriad Worlds. If you wish to see the wonders that the scientific and alchemical arts can create, there is no better location to visit.

If you have never visited Kynvynryn before, the first and most important place to stop on your journey simply must be Goldenhein City. The most cosmopolitan location in the region, you will find the City to be filled with people from all across the Velvet, from all walks of life.

Here too will you find the wide variety of unique peoples of Kynvynryn; the proud Thinking Children as they clop through the streets, arm in arm; the vibrant and raucous Merchants of Quartz Plaza, who will call out to you in their own mathematical codes; the street-performing students of the Halls of Progressive Numbers, where three can be four can be five; musicians that fill the air with jigs, reels, waltzes, and scientifically precise wombols, played on lightning-powered prototypes of their own making; walking-chefs that pull their kitchens behind them, ready and willing to craft a full-course meal for anyone on the streets who cares to pay…truly Goldenhein City is a marvel of the age.