Today, I’m happy to have fellow Mantle Rock author, Brett Armstrong on Fantasy Reads. Brett is here today to give us some fun facts about his world in his new epic fantasy series.
Welcome, Brett!
Thank you for having me on your blog, Erin! So, some quick notes about my book. Quest to Fire: The Gathering Dark is book one in an epic/high fantasy series I’ve started. Its world is like Narnia separate and distinct from our own. It’s collectively referred to as the Lowlands, and the primary focus of Book 1 is the northwest corner of the Lowlands. There’s a lot to discover about this world and I’m going to share a couple fun bits of it below, though if you really want to understand and experience it, you’ll absolutely need to read the book.
One of the most enjoyable parts of Quest of Fire is that is told in two separate timelines, but it’s a single continuous saga. The two timelines occur about three hundred years apart, with one protagonist, Jason, hearing of the events of the era of the other, Anargen’s, as though they’re legends. A major theme is how events pass into legend and are left behind as such. Because Jason’s era is something like an early 20th century society and Anargen’s is early enlightenment, I wanted to show visually the drastic changes across the landscape. The easiest way to convey that seemed to be through two maps.
The first map is from Anargen’s age and is geographical, while the second is from Jason’s and explains political boundaries of his day. Each is imagined within the story as being made by the respective protagonist. If you look from one map to the other, you’ll notice names changing, new ones appearing, and old ones dropping off. Every change is intentional and most bear some major significance to how the saga unfolds. In particular I thought I would highlight one change, as a kind of teaser for where the series is heading with the second book and its companion novella (both of which are in draft right now).
South of the extremely important island of Ecthelowall on Anargen’s map is a smaller land mass called the Isle of Geists. It received its name because it was believed by early Ecthel seafarers that a goblin escaped to the island and there cast a terrible curse: all who die on the island must haunt its caverns indefinitely. Those tales never escaped the imaginations of Ecthelowall’s people and the only settlement on the island is a tiny harbor, Kinsbane. It is meant to be a port for anchoring of ships in the passage from Libertias’s ports to Ecthelowall’s during winter. A sort of layover. Only the destitute choose to live there, doing so for a yearly grant of food for their families. Hence how the settlement got the nameKin’s Bane or Kinsbane.
By Jason’s era, the island is calledGeisle, because such tales are viewed as foolishness in his progressive day. Hence the renaming of both the port and island. But there was another reason as well. There was a time when the question of whether there was a goblin on the Isle of Geists was answered. And the island is haunted in a sense, though not by spirits of the dead. Rather by the memory of a horrific battle for Ecthelowall’s territory and very soul which took place there, and was lost.
I can’t explain much more without giving spoilers for both the present book and the next, but one thing I hope I’ve shown is the depth of this story world. Each timeframe is unique and distinct and if you’re willing to come along for the quest, you’ll discover each place on these maps has a purpose and place in the Lowlands story.
Worlding building is one of my favorite parts of writing fantasy. I love to hear how other writers come up with their worlds, and it’s fascinating to see this come to life through the maps.
Jason is an expert at running from his past. But when it catches up, he finds himself hiding in a peculiar inn listening to a tale from centuries past.
The story is Anargen’s, a teen who is pulled from all he loves to follow his oaths of loyalty to the fabled King of the Realms. Together with his mentor, Cinaed, he rides north on a special quest to mediate peace talks between ancient foes—the men of Ecthelowall and the dwarfs of Ordumair. Nothing goes as planned. Many on both sides of the dispute despise Anargen’s Order. Worse, an arcane evil has returned to the North. This “Grey Scourge” seeks to ruin the peace talks and ensure a lost treasure held by the dwarfs is never found by those for whom it is meant.
As Anargen’s story unfolds, Jason begins to wonder whether it is truly just a fable. He soon finds himself drawn into the conflict Anargen faced. A battle which has shaped and can destroy his world.
Brett Armstrong has been exploring other worlds as a writer since age nine. Years later, he still writes, but now invites others along on his excursions. He’s shown readers hauntingly sorrowful historical fiction (Destitutio Quod Remissio), scary-real dystopian sci-fi (Day Moon), and dark, sweeping epic fantasy (Quest of Fire – April 2019). Where he heads next is as much a discovery for him as readers. Through dark, despair, light, joy, and everything in between, the end is always meant to leave his fellow literary explorers with wonder and hope.
Before you go, take a moment and connect with Brett on social media and check out his brand new release, The Gathering Dark.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brettarmstrongwv
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BArmstrongWV
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BrettArmstrongAuthor
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ChristianKid044
Website: https://BrettArmstrong.net
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8281587.Brett_Armstrong
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/embed/t3KEBnl7E80?rel=0
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