A quick tour of the kingdoms

This is not an easy task and even as I write this, I am internally thinking to myself ‘What the hell are you doing?’ whilst consuming Jaffa Cakes.

Let’s try shall we? Geography was never my strong point so bare with me and open your mind a little…

Imagine quite a large island of similar shape to Ireland…yes? Right now imagine the north and the south divided by a great mountain range, lets for example say the Himalayas…a little dramatic I know. Now to the west lies the ancient island of Summe which is about fifty miles off the coast of the kingdom of Taer. On this island live the ancient people of Summe, called the Sumaians. They are in likeness to druids, with a high priest called Anvin, who happens to be one of my favourite characters and the son of Merlin (Book spoiler!) Anvin is the high priest of the north and personal priest to the High King, Ballour (Galean’s father). The Kingdom of Taer is ruled over by a pretty ruthless King, Ravan. Ravan the pretender stole the throne from the great Queen Cathlen, the first female ruler in the history of Taer, a fact not many of her court faced with lightness, that and the fact that she had a child out of wedlock. There are three great cities in Taer, the greatest of them being Merelle where the King resides. Three hundred miles north of Merelle lies the ancient sea city of Bael and two hundred and sixty miles south lies the city of Taer. One would think that the King would reside in the city of Taer but no King has for over five hundred years due to a civil war.

 Next to the Kingdom of Taer lies the great Kingdom of Calnuthe, a Kingdom that has the greatest land mass out the three Kingdoms. At the very southern point lies the great city of Caci where the new and insidious King resides, Heidan. Two hundred miles east lies the city of Rhane and four hundred miles north along the border of the great Lake, Calhuni which borders all of the Kingdoms, lies the last free city of Ethe, held by Celestine’s only surviving cousin, Lord Elion. A great rive runs from the lake down through the kingdom, running through the great town of Mirth to the East and past the Rhane mountains and the great forest of Innovan to the West. To the East lies the darker Kingdom of Ruarr, smaller in size but with larger resources to fund it’s ever growing wealth. Four great cities line its coast, the first is Caer city to the south, near to the Icanni Mountains. The second lies about two hundred miles north, Mercia city, known for its great harbours and fleets. Three hundred or so miles north of Mercia lies Luthar city, where the newly crowned King Islaer sits, pondering his next move. It is called the grey city, it being made out of the great grey rocks that line the coast. Further north lies the smallest of the cities, Scareth where a young Lord Macbed resides, a man who is openly a supporter of Islaer but secretly a supporter of the lost King, Valdor. Lord Macbed hides the late Queen Aifi within the city. Now about a hundred miles south of Caer city lies the free island of Droti, lorded over by Valdor, the late King’s only son, unbeknownst to him. This island has long been protected by its natural defences including a great harbour to the west and it is for this reason alone that King Islaer has been unable to claim it, that and the great mass of free sailing fleets that protect it.

The Northern Kingdom of Meer…

To the north of the great mountain range of Calnuthe, lies the three Kingdoms of Meer. To the west lies Galgor, ruled over by the High King’s youngest son, Beon, now his enemy. Within this Kingdom lie two cities, the first being Balgor to the south west, close to the Galgor Mountains and north of the great and dark forest, Dulga. Further north, close to the great mountain range of Eerie, lies the King’s city, Gaul. The next kingdom lies to the north and is called Fiar. The second oldest son of the King, Loaki lords over this Kingdom and commands great respect from his subjects. There are three great cities of Fiar. Firstly the city of Fiar which lies north- west of the largest mountain range in the north, Dragna, where the great Dragna dragons live. South of Fiar lies the small city of Gul which lies close to the great river of Fiar. North east of the Dragna Mountains lies the ancient city of Drae which is greatly revered for its fighting men and light ships. Last but not least is the Kingdom of Dulthe, ruled over by the heir to the throne, Galean. Within this great kingdom are three cities, Ballor to the south east, Dulthe City in which the King resides lies south east, close to the shores of the great Lake Meerethe and upon the Northern coast lies the city of Dulgar.

Now at last comes…

Meerin Island.

Meerin Island lies in the centre of the three Kingdoms of Meer, surrounded by a great lake called Meerethe. It is on this ancient island, where the first High King was crowned and where the High King Ballor lives. Each year during the warm months, the great noble families come to live, close to the King in his palace, surrounded by ancient gardens. North of the palace lies the great burial ground of the Kings, and an ancient route connects this burial ground to the palace, and when the sun rises and sets, a great line of light shines directly from the palace to the burial ground.

Oiseile Island.

Oiseile lies to the North East of Meer, about two hundred miles off the coast. The residents of the island have never officially landed on the shores of Fiar or Dulthe but will do so during the series. Instead of kingdoms within this small island, it is ruled over by clans. The clans are as follows; Scallin, Tuall, Erimor and the largest, Dunadell. Lake Bhois lies in the centre of the island and from the lake, east to north lies the mountain range, Asoigoit. There are three small cities upon the island. To the North lies Laios, the North West lies Ulledel, the West lies Keig and to the East lies Bael (Yes there is another Bael in Taer, it’s no coincidence. I would love to tell you more, but I would in the end spoil what will be a grand entrée in the fourth instalment of my series. Watch out for Oiseile the clans will surprise you as they did me.

Seas…Yes Seas, they are an important element of any map and so I implore you to try and envision them.

The Bana Sea surrounds the east coast of Meer and Calnuthe.

The Black Sea surrounds the west coast of Meer and Calnuthe.

The White Sea surrounds the southern coast of Calnuthe.

To conclude…

If you have managed to read all of this blog then I am content.

I hope you can envision at least half of my description, if you can, congratulations!

I managed to consume a whole packet of Jaffa Cakes trying to keep it simple…

I would share with you my countless maps, but I would only be humiliating myself with my poor drawings. I hope this at least gives you a glimpse into Celestine’s world and maybe helps you to recognise some of the main cities if you read my book.

So if you are a fantasy writer, do you compose maps? If so did you find it easy or hard work?

Iseult x