“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.”
― G.K. Chesterton
One of the things I love about writing fantasy is the world-building. When the world is entirely of your own making, you don’t have to worry about limits or conditions. Of course, entirely is a relative concept because it’s impossible not to be influenced by personal life experience and the reality you see every day. But that’s half the fun of it—finding a reference point from the real world before letting your imagination take over.
Today’s blog post is about the world-building for Xytovia, the setting for the Beyond Androva series. At first, I thought Beyond Androva was going to be a duology because Serena’s and Art’s character development wrapped up so neatly at the end of Engraved in Magic. Although I wanted to explore Kellan’s backstory, I didn’t feel like it was strong enough to stand alone (sorry, Kellan ☺).
That’s where Averine came in. She would be the link between Kellan’s past and his future, but more than that, she allowed me to explore what it was like to be a cotidian and an alchemist instead of a magician. And the world-building all started with a poem—two characters trapped in different Dimension Cells dreaming of something they didn’t think they could ever have.
After the poem came the props! I happened to be visiting a small town on the south coast of England famous for its fossils, and I discovered a shop selling all kinds of beautiful crystals. As soon as I saw them, I thought they looked magical and exactly like the kind of ingredients a Xytovian alchemist would probably use. Soon after that, I started writing Lost in Magic to continue the series.
Which fictional worlds are your favourites? In the past few months, my imagination and I have visited Elfhame, the Magnificent North, and Charmant, and I loved all of them! Thank you very much for visiting my blog today 💕.
Dimension Cell Dreaming
Every night he falls asleep
A promise he has sworn to keep
The line between dimensions blurs
No regrets, his heart is hers
Every day he wakes the same
Memories erased again
Knowing not how great the cost
Two prisoners, one love, divided, lost
Every time she sees him leave
She doesn’t know what to believe
She tells herself it isn’t real
Pretend, deflect, play games, conceal
They cannot ever be together
For one day he will leave forever
A maze of magic and mixed-up feelings
No future in Dimension Cell dreaming
― Alex C. Vick
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