World Building Quest Writers Challenge June 2019

 The last challenge I accepted for June 2019 was the World Building Quest challenge hosted by, not a single person per se, but by the Great Western Woods Podcast. I hope you'll enjoy these responses, even though there are some overlapping items. 

#WorldBuildingQuest Writers Challenge June 2019

The prompts for this challenge were varied enough that I was interested to see how it would help me. Would OLUS be a far better book for taking on so many different challenges? It has been such a problem child...but it is a story I want to tell. I'm certain it will be worth all that effort in the end. 

• Day 1 - Genre & Setting - This prompt gave me a chance to create another inspiration board. I write YA fantasy. "Over Land & Under Stone" is set amid forests, mountains, tunnels, and in a garden. 
• Day 2 - Draw Your Borders - This one gave me a chance to get started on the map for book two. I've been trying to set aside time to get it done and it's just not happening...until now. I'll knock it out with this month's challenge prompts and do it in easy portions.
• Day 3 - Find Your Water Source - I'm so glad you can see all the pale lines in the maps. Those are rivers and the roundish shapes they enclose are the lakes. There are four major bodies of water on Y'Dahnndrya and many lakes and rivers on both continents. Si'Yinte Falls Shrine is an interesting place being a huge water garden. Several rivers feed into it and out of it and on it's northern side the rivers feeding in, do so with amazing waterfalls. The rivers drain out in another series of waterfalls through tunnels they've carved into a cliff. It's basically a lush crater. If you can picture it now, then I've done my job well.
  - The next thing you'll notice is that the photos for days four and five of this challenge match those of the #fantasywipjune challenge. The prompts aligned so I just used the same photo for each.
  
• Day 4 - Establish Your Capital - There are three capitol cities on my map of Emidar (the continent Genzet and Bot'ha share). Genzet is divided into two factions and each faction has a tentative territory. Turmali City is the capitol of Genzet in general and the place where the Guild, the ruling body of Genzet, meets. Kwarta is the (unrecognized by the Tanderali) capitol of the Drositiri area of Genzet. (More on Tanderali/Drositiri later) And the capitol of Bot'ha is Jin'Glaou. Kwarta and Jin'Glaou aren't mentioned much in book two but they will show up later on in the series.
  
• Day 5 - Survey Your Landscape - Well, as you can see in the map, there are mountains, forests, lakes, and rivers. There will be marshes and deserts and plains as well. I just haven't got that far on the map yet. This week is not looking good for any kind of map work or even writing besides my blog posts. <sigh>
• Day 6 - Natural Resources -  Tons...there are /tons/ of natural resources on Y'Dahnndrya. In Genzet alone, there are so many. They've learned how to harness the geothermic energy to warm their homes and water. They mine the mountains for gems, ores, minerals, metals, etc. In southern Genzet, there are many wild herbs used for health and wellness. There are vast forests which they carefully harvest for the wood and sometimes the roots and leaves, too. The Drositiri have also discovered how to harness the power of water to increase efficiency in farming, animal husbandry, and some manual labor. Their mountainous territory is also helpful in harnessing the power of the winds. I haven't figured out if or how they would store such energy yet...
• Day 7 - Sapient Species - The Genzettin are more substantial in build than these beautifully illustrated elves but they share their ears and strangeness. Griffi are similar to gryphons. The difference is they are completely feathered and all four feet end in talons. They have a similar sentience to dolphins. The Menteirria are one of the ancient races appoint to each clan. Their bodies are made from the mountains they live in.
• Day 8 - Food - Where food is concerned, I haven't really discussed much except jerked meat and flatbreads. In the current revision, the berry pudding I introduced as a Bot'ha dish has disappeared, I think, unless Liha writes to Zec about it. But they eat a wide variety of foods, including nuts, berries, veggies, meats, and grains. Edible fungi are one of their specialties, though.
• Day 9 - Farmed Animals - I don't discuss any particular farmed animals, though I do know they exist in the southern parts of Genzet where there would be more pastureland available. So I think this would be a strictly Drositiri vocation.
• Day 10 - Natural Predators - Animals factor into this story because my characters are traveling all over Genzet and parts of Bot'ha. But keeping track of them without my glossary is impossible. They don't play very strong roles. I found these two awesome art pieces on Pixabay. Each photo is linked to the artists Pixabay profile so you can check out their other awesome pieces. 
• Day 11 - Seasons & Climate - I've been calling a year a sun-cycle since I started writing this series and I really wasn't happy with that. For one, it's long...easy to say, but long. Besides, it didn't really have much connection to my Y'Dahnndrya. So I took the first few letters from each of the suns' names and added 'rik' on the end. Fun with letters! So a sun-cycle will now be called a 'tsimirik'. Just smoosh the 'ts' together as you would when saying "Tsar" and remember that 'i' has the long sound of 'ee'. I should probably upload a downloadable calendar and pronunciation guide for you guys... I'll get on that as soon as I can. I have to update my existing documents.
  - The photo in the slideshow includes words that show old spellings. Some, like the word for 'year', have been updated. Tsimirik becomes tsimik or tsimikin if plural.
  - Season is dahlsik(in). The moon, Dahl, is used to mark seasons. The seasons (dahlsikin) are Ik'shi (stormy), Y'ma (planting), Ek'shi (rainy), I'yam (harvest), Di'shi (windy), and Ni'shi (icy).
  - Month is minsik(in). The moon, Min, is used to mark these. The minsikin are: (Kozi'ik, Drom'ik, Grok'ik,) (Y'ara, Y'memshan, Y'nom,) (Zazin'ek, Fezin'ek, Shin'ek,) (Y'nat, Y'patom, Y'rom,) (Non'di, Raga'di, Mara'di,) (Shi'ni, Iri'ni, & Glok'ni). I put them in parentheses to denote they belong in the same season.
  - Week is nainda. It's made up of nine day-periods.
  - Day is usually referred to as 'dawning' which to them means a whole day and night. I'm working on words for sunset and sunrise, but they elude me so far. Maybe I don't need them at all. Koz, Mem, Ara, Zet, Mut, Za, Ki, Irsh, & Gok are the days of the nainda. 
• Day 12 - Trade Routes & Travel - Travel is accomplished by boat/ship/raft, by companion animals or cattle singly or hitched to a cart/wagon, or by foot. Trade is restricted. Only merchants and approved travelers may cross clan borders except in the case of Trade Days. (New name to come...) Trade Days occur during the first nainda of Memma & Yappat, as well as the last nainda of Fezek. Most foreign trade happens at port towns and border towns. But on Trade Days, trading happens at Aril in Genzet, Mapi'i (the largest island of Ikhel'dur), and Kitra in D'Koruyi. Once every five tsimirik, Mapi'I Island hosts the Great Gathering, an international trade day event with games, vendors, music, and more. 
• Day 13 - Important Trade Towns - All coastal towns are open for trade. Most of them sit near a river or delta. But not all of them are major trade towns. Of the ones I know, Rheiva and Korbek are Shinnoahn, and Kwarta is Genzettin. I haven't created all the Bot'hani port towns yet. Look for the empty blue circles in Bot'ha and that's where they're going to be. Aril, Mapi'i, and Kitra are more like interclan trade centers. No one lives there and they're only open for those special Trade Days I talked about in the Day 12 post. Zayd in southern Genzet is the only border town I have marked on the map so far. Chefvna is a Shinnoahn coastal town. It's open for trade but so far north, they don't see much action.
• Day 14 - Education - I haven't ironed out all the Genzettin Education details. But here's what I'm covering in my current WIP. All Genzettin younglings are expected to travel to Mt. Gild'n for one tsimirik (year) of career-specific training and another of military training. Before that, they do have some kind of reading/writing/numbers, as well as some religious, education.
• Day 15 - Law & Order - The Ka is a group of law enforcement officers who keep the peace in Genzettin cities. They are able to enter any home or business without notifying the occupants but most wouldn't do so without a significant amount of proof. They serve the Genzettin council and Guardian Bal Shif. Any person they take into custody has to stand judgment at the council chambers.
• Day 16 - Government Structure - I'm pretty sure I talked about this yesterday or the day before so I'll keep it simple.
  - The Guild of Masters are both law makers and judges.
  - The Guardian of the shrine of Genzet has the authority to stop any tyrannical actions the Guild might try to take. The Guardian's main task is to guide the people of Genzet in Andurdrao's way.
  - The Ka are subject to the dictates of both the Guardian and the Guild of Masters, though they usually work more closely with the Guild.
• Day 17 - Genzettin families are mostly patriarchal. When it comes to males seeking a life-mating with females, the former must present themselves before the female they wish to court. They have to prove their worth. The choice is up to her. Females take the last name of the males they choose as life-mates. There's a system of balance in place that affords both parties in a life-mating the respect they deserve as equals. Children are perceived as blessings in most families since the family line will continue through them.
• Day 18 - Gender Roles - Any Genzettin can hold any job, office, or position as long as they can handle the tasks/risks involved. Genzettin males are generally bigger than the females but all are taught the same basics. When it's time for them to choose a career, gender isn't so much a consideration as is the person's aptitude for the career they choose.
• Day 19 - Work - Work in Genzet functions much like the medieval apprenticeship. These are the guilds I've created for OLUS, but there are definitely more.
  - A student, eik'it, is chosen by a Master, Ken'narri, also called a teacher (iteik'i). The eik'it becomes an apprentice (prentikari), then a journeyman (jurnimi), then a lakavi which is just below Ken'narri. A lakavi works a long time before they can earn the title of Ken'narri. These are only a few of the jobs a Genzetti might work at:
  - Aetha - Healer;
  - Asazyi - Assassin;
  - Delvri - Miner;
  - Divini'I - Religious Guides;
  - Griffi Trainers;
  - Karvi - Gemstone Carvers;
  - Plysheri - Polishers;
  - Smaitha - Metal Workers;
  - Skori - Scourers;
  - Tak'kobi - Piercer;
  - Ver'therin - Military
• Day 20 - Classes & Social Mobility -
  - The Guardian garners the most respect in Genzet, followed closely by the Divini'I, then the Masters who can be elected to the Guild Chambers. All positions are supposed to be earned through merit, but there's definitely corruption at work in Genzet. The Guilds are ranked according to the importance to creating revenue for the whole Clan. So miners, polishers, carvers, metal-workers, and assassins are ranked higher while scourers and those who keep inns, are ranked lower.
  - There's some mobility between the ranks. Zec's parents are a miner and a polisher, both members of the Guild Chamber. He'd be expected to follow a career path that mirrored one of those. But his aptitude for carving shows up clearly early on in his life. So his parents did what was best for him and spoke to Tor, who is not only one of the most respected carvers, but also a guide. This is how Zec ends up as a carver. Ibin Etina's family were part of a very low ranking guild, menial labor. She determined on her own not to remain trapped there. Her parents refuse to speak to her, even though her honorable position and considerable wealth could ease their lot in life.
• Day 21 - Religion & Belief Structure - This was also a long post so I'll direct you to IG where you can read it. If you can't read it there, I'm hoping to do posts on specific things pertaining to each clan in future blog posts. 
• Day 22 - Magic - There's not magic in my world...yet. It's more like abilities. And most people attribute their abilities to the creator deity of Y'Dahnndrya. People of Genzet call this deity Andurdrao.
• Day 23 - Technology - It's rudimentary in most areas of Y'Dahnndrya, medieval or early Renaissance, maybe. But for Genzet, they've learned to harness the geothermal energy under their mountain homes to heat water and power blowers which circulate air. I'm not mechanically inclined so I've only touched on the topic just enough to fuel the imagination...I hope.
• Day 24 - Medicine & Science - As far as medicine goes, aethan (EYE thahn), the doctors, and erbrarin (airb RAHR een), herbalists, are the ones who take care of the sick. As for the area of science, there are several in practice including astronomy, physics, geology and cartography. Their basic scientific level is medieval/early renaissance but the most advanced is Clan Genzet.
• Day 25 - Weaponry - It's about what you'd expect from a late medieval/early Renaissance period in society. No small guns but some projectile weapons do exist.
  
• Day 26 - Historic Wars - There are two major global events that affected the whole of Y'Dahnndrya and the society that exists there. The Great Cataclysm was a fiery, apocalyptical type event that resulted in the formation of the clans that exist now on Y'Dahnndrya, as well as altering the face of the world. The only global war I've touched on happened at or around the mid-point between the current era and the Great Cataclysm. When two leaders of different clans joined in a life-mating, their lust for power overshadowed their desire to serve. They started a war that lasted a long time and resulting in the loss of many lives. By the end, distrust between the clans had grown and inter-clan life-matings became taboo.
• Day 27 - The changes happening socially in Genzet are slower in coming compared to the other clans. When it comes to revolution, it seems to be a specter looming larger as each dawning passes. The two factions of Genzet are being further fueled in their contempt towards the other by the two most prominent religious groups in their territory. It is a mercy the Ver'therin (vair THAIR een) answer only to Bal Shif.
•  Day 28 - Natural Disasters - This is about what you'd expect for people who live in and under mountains which are pretty tall and in a colder climate.
  1. Cave-ins
  2. Forest Fires
  3. Earthquakes (These can happen anywhere on Y'Dahnndrya, just like they do all over our own Earth.)
  4. Violent Storms (These happen globally, too.)
• Day 29 - Other Historical Events -
  1. The Great Cataclysm - This happened so long ago, it's only remembered in dusty scrolls and ancient chants and fireside tales. Essentially, the world burned and only a small portion of the population survived.
  2. The Clan Wars - I don't have a name for this, but essentially, a ruler from one clan married a ruler from another clan. The two decided to try ruling all the clans, greedy for power and wealth. They were defeated, but after all the destruction and division, certain rules were set up which each clan respects, even to the current time. One of these is no intermarriage between clans. (It's a stupid rule, but people make stupid rules all the time, right?) 
• Day 30 - Introduce Your World - Welcome to Genzet and Y'Dahnndrya! 

And now for the slideshow!