Fantasy Tuesday | Visualizing a Fictional World
Welcome to the tavern!
For the month of March, I’m shifting my focus to Ireland and the Fenian Warriors. In creating this spin-off series from the Order of the Dragon Knights, I envisioned a realm beneath the Hill of Tara that mirrored to some extent the earthly world in Ireland. Yet this magical, mystical, Celtic Fae realm required a vivid imagination. I yearned to create a world where the foliage was larger and heavily scented, the sky more brilliant and beyond the hues of blue, and also giving a twist to this realm with two moons. This was only the beginning…
Within their world there were four centered markers or directional compasses. North represented the Crystal Palace of the Fae Royalty. East signified the great waterfalls of when a Fae entered life at birth. South was the Tree of Life, marking the entrance and exit into the human world, and the West denoted the ocean where the barge would take a Fae to Tir na nÓg—the land of forever.
I spent several years outlining, creating, drawing, and visualizing the Fae realm for the Fenian Warriors. Since I’ve always been fascinated with Celtic mythology, I developed and expanded the world of the Fenian Fae Warriors. Theirs was a world rich in legends, colors, and senses, and I based my own fictional account on the legend of the Tuatha Dé Danann—one of the invasions of Ireland. They were known as the Shining Ones or the Fae.
World-building—This is exactly what I hoped to achieve with the Legends of the Fenian Warriors. In addition, I created a Glossary of the Fae Realm which is inserted in the front and/or the back of each story. I’ll share more of this glossary next week.
Medieval Monday will return next month. Until then, I hope you enjoy these posts.
Snippet from Quest of a Warrior ~
Chapter One
Beneath the Hill of Tara, Ireland—Late Summer, the season of pleasure and growth in the Fae Realm
“To sit in silence requires a quiet mind and a peaceful heart.” ~Chronicles of the Fae
Conn clenched his fists so tightly, the veins threatened to burst, spilling his blood against the walls of his prison. A new day was dawning as the sun’s tentative rays streaked through the canopy of trees above him. They teased him as they inched closer—tormenting him with his confinement. Morose gloom weighed heavily on him with each breath he took. It splintered a piece of his soul.
Yet, he found he could not ignore the calling to greet the new day. It was in his Fae blood, seeping into every pore of his being. The land called out to him, and he responded in welcome, no matter the circumstances of his current situation.
Leaning against the crystal wall, Conn gazed upward, his body tensed in anticipation.
He willed the light to brush against the glass rooftop and touch him with its warmth. Watching as the last star blinked from his sight, he could feel the stirrings of rebirth—a new beginning, and he stepped away from the wall. With each step, the pulse of the bare earth surged through the soles of his feet, extending upward throughout his body.
Conn embraced the energy.
His hands unclenched, and he reached outward—stretching as far as he could to capture the flimsy radiance. Minutes passed, but he could sense the time drawing near. As the light shimmered through his fingertips, he absorbed the essence, breathing deeply.
Although fleeting, this moment was enough for him as he eased his hands back down. Collapsing to the ground, he pressed his palms to the earth in reverence. This was his daily ritual—one where he had lost track of how many times he had done so in this dungeon of a
room.
An area of space with four crystal walls, the earth beneath him, and a prism of glass above him, so he could witness each new day—each season within his prison.
Legends of the Fenian Warriors available HERE!
