to live and die in tria

Here’s how I know that participating in world building month is a good idea: I never would have taken the time to sort out these details otherwise. What I would have ended up with is a half-assed world that would inevitably require extensive work in later drafts that, in all likelihood, I would have been to lazy to do.

However, this was fun. I created a planet today. How many people can say that with a straight face, I wonder?

My planet is named Tria. Like our planet, it has a yellow sun and only one moon. However, Tria’s moon is considerably closer than ours, such that on a clear night, it never gets truly dark. The number of continents changes every few generations or so due to underwater seismic activity and the moon’s close proximity to the planet (and the tumultuous tides that result).

Present day Tria has four continents: Huojin, Fiarna, Penko, and Cres Chencia. Here’s a map (it was created in MS paint, so don’t expect anything fancy):

Since the story that I’m planning takes place entirely on Cres Chencia (as of right now), I’ll describe the Cres Chencian knowledge of the other three continents (but whether or not it’s correct is my secret!).

Huojin lies in the far north and is inhabited mostly by hunters and trappers. In the mountainous regions, there are several steel mines, and the Huojins blacksmiths are excellent at tempering the steel. Their swords are without rival. Nevertheless, the Huojins have rather simplistic, grotesque habits and are considered little better than barbarians.

Fiarna is lush with forests and grasslands and experiences a fairly temperate climate with four distinct seasons (much like most of North America and Europe). Fiarnians have moderate use of technology and can utilize the most basic principles of physics. Despite this, they are a savage people, highly skilled in combat–with or without weapons. They are best avoided.

Penko is a largely uninhabited continent due to its harsh climate. Roughly two-thirds of the land mass is desert. Several nomadic tribes are able to survive in the forbidding habitat, but it is yet unknown how. The savanna around the desert is home to fierce beasts of various kinds, and no humans are thought to dwell there. The southern tip of Penko opens up to grassland. It is believed that the farmers who inhabit that area are survivors from a continent that sank in past generations.

The details on the continent of Cres Chencia are much more elaborate, so I’m going to save that for the next post. Au revoir for now.

~ by aeronwy on August 2, 2008.