Bet you didn't think I would have an O! haha.
The Orient is where my pirates live. There are the Orient Islands and then The Orient Sea, though it isn't the only sea in my world, it is the place I focus on. To the North, there is The Octent, which I never talk about really, but several people (like Tetherion's wife) are from there.
I'll start with the Orient islands. My list of islands are probably words some people will recognize...as most of them are versions of Spanish words. I originally had very different names, names that sounded more fantastical than they needed to be. I decided to go with more European sounding names. The only island that retained it's name was Silver Crest.
Maris - biggest island, most ports. It's where the King stays
-Ensis - The king has a castle here. It's often the place where the nobility go.
In the opening pages of CUTLASS, you'll see this type of scene described at Maris:
Oro Isle - has a lot of significance in the second book.
Silver Crest - pirate haven
Estrellas - this is a penal colony.
Arcarum - Arcarum has seven provinces.
Much of my inspiration for Arcarum comes from Italy. Pictures like this is what I always see in my head.
Aurum - Elvish territory
Conn - Jess often stayed here.
These are just a few islands that remain significant throughout the Trilogy.
The Orient Sea is a very interesting place. She has a spirit of her own and is often 'calling' to the pirates to sail. She also comes to their rescue in times of need. The Pirates know how she works, they know she can be both ruthless and loving at the same time. They never take the sea for granted because they know the government seeks to stop them from sailing (and has almost succeeded).
So...there's a little bit about The Orient! :)
Can you often find pictures of things you see in your head?
Interesting post! Yes, I've found some pictures recently of the setting in my MG project on Pinterest! I have a Stories in Pictures as one of my Boards. Pinterest is very helpful in that respect.
ReplyDeletePintrest is awesome! That's where Barbara found a picture from Italy that looked like Arcarum for me!
DeleteAfter the book is out, you'll have to have publish an encyclopedia for all the cool facts!
ReplyDeleteI might just busy myself with this. lol.
DeleteI agree with Elizabeth--you'll have to publish some kind of guide to go along with the book. And, yes, I often find pictures of things I see in my head. :)
ReplyDeleteI would definitely love creating it! It's it great? I love having visuals!
DeleteI've found a picture of one of my characters that was so similar to the image I had in my head of him that it really freaked me out. As for images of locations, I write contemp, so there's not a huge need for world building.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! And I imagine a little freaky, but that's how I reacted when I saw Ben Barnes in Caspian. I was like "WHAT?!?!" hahaa.
DeleteYour creativity delights! You've got some really cool stuff.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!! :)
DeleteI love you island names. Silver Crest is awesome! It is nice to find pics that match what's in your head. I write a lot about Mexico and couldn't believe how lush/green/jungley parts of it were. BTW, did you do the illustration at the top of your blog? I love that, too :)
ReplyDeleteThank you!! The illustration is done by my friend Brittiny Hines! She's amazing. I have a link to her artwork on the right. :) I didn't know Mexico had anything close to jungle lol. That's awesome!
DeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteSo in your book, the Orient means something completely different than our world?
Yes, lol. Although, I got the idea from our world. :)
DeleteYou know, in our world, the Orient pirates were some of the baddest pirates out there, right after the Barbary Coisars (can never spell that name)
ReplyDeleteAwesome setting! I like your island names. And, yes, finding photos to match my imagination is one of my favorite parts of worldbuilding.
ReplyDeleteCool! And I love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comments about putting together a sort of compendium. YOur character portraits and maps and explanations make me want to visit your world!
ReplyDeleteI love that you went with more reasonable names, sometimes simple works better.
ReplyDeleteI love finding pictures of stuff in my book. Its hard though. Especially with my characters. Its taken years to figure out who would play who or finding illustrations of what people look like lol.