The World of Caldor | A Project Update

Apparently last week I said I’d do some world building this week. Well, thanks to that, I actually had to do some seeing that I said I’d tell you about it today!

In my Camp NaNo Project, Flightless, the world is actually somewhat important to the general plot line. *gasps*  Mostly seeing that the whole issue is entirely political. (The two countries don’t get along, and neither do their guardians/protectors.) It is also the first fantasy world that I’ve made with logical geography. *grimaces at the memories of my previous attempts* So, may I now present to you, the land of Caldor!!!

The World of Flightless:

Caldor is actually a fairly large world, but I’ve only mapped out a little snippet, and the story doesn’t even use up half of that snippet. (Excluding right at the end where it goes off the drawn map, but y’know.) Don’t worry though, all that I’ve drawn does play a role, (people from different places and produce and assassins and things like that) so hopefully it isn’t just a waste of paper.

The Map:

Heeeeeere’s the map I’ve drawn! (Almost the entire story takes place on the Northern end of the Salt Melt River.)

Corohan:

This is where Caution comes from. The people on this side of the kingdom are protected by the great dragons. (Or at least, that’s what the legends say) And seeing that dragons do seem to come into it a fair bit, I think those legends were fairly accurate.

The Royal Family is designated by birth, and they are very traditional. The origin of the family stretches back to way before the story begins, when Corohan, a dragon, blessed a man with intentions that were for the good of the kingdom with a magical gift to be able to heal. The land flourished under his rule, and since then, whenever a new member was crowned, they too could petition for a gift.

Somewhere along the line, the royal family started to gain gifts before they held the throne. They also chose the name themselves after different virtues as a reminder of who they needed to be in order for the country to thrive.

And that brings us to the current royal family of Corohan!

King - Sagacious

His magical gift is that he can control the tides. This has made sea attacks virtually impossible, and has made trading smooth and the fishing industry is doing very well.

His blessing it that he has the ability to silence words. This makes him quite an adapt diplomat as he can ensure that he gets his say, and can stop rumours very adequately.

Queen - Humility / Eloise (Married and had name changed)

She has no fancy magical gifts seeing that she is neither ruling, or part of the bloodline. Marrying in does not score her a magical gift. *pats her* And her husband picked out her name.

Crown Princess - Caution

Our main character! Her gift is that she can grown wings and fly. This has also meant that she has become quite good at sewing and altering her clothes to account for the wings.

Prince - Courage

His gift is that he can make things glow. Or just project light. This comes in handy during the book, even though he’s somewhat jealous of his older sister’s wings.


And now onto Ahlonae:

I have baaaaasically nothing. *hides* I’ll do my best though.

They have the Etani as their equivalent to the dragons. They’re basically these big bear things that can move with decent speed and are known to grant wishes.

The Royal family? Uh, I have a bit seeing that they do come into the story.

King Jaseph is the king. *coughs awkwardly* Moving on…

Tane is his youngest son. He’s betrothed to Caution. He has elder siblings. I just don’t know them.

*runs away from my shameful lack of worldbuilding*



Anyone else? Who else has only built half of their world with only a few hours left???

Flightless | A Project Update

June just vanished. Very very quickly. And after June comes July. And last I checked, that meant Camp NaNo. So I figured that it was high time for me to give you an update of what on earth is happening in this head of mine.

Last you heard of my projects, I was writing a dystopian novel called Eyes of the Future, and I’m happy to say that that went well, but I’m leaving it to rest for now before looking back and seeing what may happen regarding edits and revisions and so forth.

Now comes the time for a new fantasy novel called…*drumroll* Flightless!

I completely forgot about Camp until nearly two weeks into June and ugh. That gave me a moment of terror as NOTHING had been planned. Zilch. After a fair bit of Pinterest scanning and scrolling through random ideas I’ve had in the past, I threw together something that vaguely resembled a story. Baaasically it is about a princess who has wings and is escaping an arranged marriage, an ex-prisoner dude who has decided to become her bodyguard, a rather bizarre girl who can turn into a dragon, and an assassination plot. (Shhh, that’s definitely a storyline and an actual idea. :P)

Back of Book Blurb:

Forced into an arranged marriage with a stranger from another country, Caution flees the palace to deal with the conflict between the two nations herself, her only companion being a silent stablehand who served under her father. Ancient legends spoke of a dragon who would assist those with a noble heart that strove for the good of the kingdom, and Caution intended to find them to aid her in her quest. 

Upon neither the dragon nor her companion being what they seemed, and another more sinister plot being revealed, her plans are thrown into the wind, leaving her wondering if she should have just accepted the marriage.

But how do you know if you can fly unless you first fall?

Le Cover:

Another fun thing it that I have designed a mock cover! *happy claps* I’m quite proud of it actually, even if it is quite a simple drawing. (Cover was drawn, the bookiness and title was computer generated.)

Characters, Collages, Snippets and Wonderful Things: 

Now, as I said before, a lot of my inspiration for this idea came from old snippets and half written things that I had lying around, some of which I may have posted parts of on here previously. But yesss, I figured I may as well let you all see a few of the sparks that brought this story into being.
HEADS UP: The snippets attached for were written prior to me actually working anything out, so their personalities may have changed. A lot. *cough* Caution *cough*


Caution: The main character! (Yay!) She came into existence during a word war. Basically, a friend asked to war with me, I said yes, and then realised I wasn’t working on anything, sooooo, I made it up. She’s a runaway princess from a family who all have slightly weird magical quirks. (not to mention the weird names.) Her ‘gift’ happens to be that she can grow wings. She’s very adventurous, but not super talented in anything aside from diplomacy as that’s all she was trained in.

I’m sure when people say “Throwing caution into the wind” they don’t mean literally. But trust me, my brother threw me into the wind.

Off a cliff to be precise.

Some people have told me in the past that my name was pretty cool, and a reminder. “Caution.” I still wonder what on earth my parents were thinking when they called me that. All it really resulted in was bearing the brunt of the jokes among the locals. ‘Proceed with Caution’ ‘Acting with Caution’ and ‘Throwing Caution into the wind.’

The last one no one had ever acted on until very recently. And now, looking back, I suppose Reckless (an equally unfortunate name) did know what he was doing, not just being reckless. After all, had I not been thrown off that cliff, I never would have known I could fly. Yes. Flying. Lots more fun now than it was then. Having had never have been an adventurous person, as my name sadly suggests, I had never been in a life threatening situation where sprouting wings would become really handy.

Anyways, the technicalities behind growing wings is always a pretty boring topic in and of itself, despite its rarity. So, let’s leave that conversation behind and actually discuss the whole purpose behind me manipulating you, dear reader, into reading this book.

My name is Caution. Join me in the wind and listen to my story.


Glayde: A very quiet character…in fact, he can’t speak, so, extra quiet. He was accused of trying to steal something precious to the royal family and was locked in the dungeons for a few years until they eventually let him make his case. He was found innocent, and pretty mad at the royal family. The King placed a spell on him so that he wouldn’t be able to speak and then hired him as a stablehand so that he could make sure that the story never got out.

I trusted you.

You shouldn’t have trusted me. I’m sorry.

I allow my eyes to close and clench the jagged stone tightly. At least something is still here. Pain is real. My eyes open and my gaze slides to where the stack of fresh parchment and a writing stick sit. I can still tell them my story. There is hope, even though I cannot speak.

I can still have freedom inside this cell.

My trembling hands drift over to the precious materials that I am to write my ‘crimes’ that I had committed. Once, I would have relished access to such rare items, but now I just wished they had left me able to speak. I shake my head and pull the pile of paper towards me. I can’t be healed, but maybe, just maybe, I can be freed. The blunt tip of the charcoal quivers above the pale sheet. How am I meant to begin this? With a plea? An explanation? My shoulders move back and I clench my jaw. No. I lower the stick and the sound of scratching breaks the silence that has lain over this cell for too long.

I am Glayde—the falsely accused and wrongfully silenced.


Suitini: She’s a sarcastic, grouchy teenage girl who can turn into a dragon, and has recently been promoted to “Dragon of Guidance” which means that she helps anyone who is embarking on a quest for the good of the kingdom. However, she’s extremely selfish and tends to only think about the payment. Throughout the story, she has to put up with the fact that she has to help humans and actually ends up growing somewhat attached to them.

“Basic etiquette when working with humans. Rule number one: Do not growl.” A low growl escapes my throat as I toss the book to the far corner of the room where it lands with a heavy thud. Who are they kidding? I’m not taking this job so that I can put up with a whiny human’s ‘noble wishes for the Kingdom’ with the heart of a saint. I can growl all I want. If they want a dragon’s help, then that’s what they get. I drag a hand through my shortly chopped hair and push myself to my feet, my eyes settling on the gleaming armour on the other side of the room. Well, kind of a dragon.

Minutes later see me at the training post, my dull practise sword slicing through the air and thudding into the leather-wrapped post. Why did Harani have to insist I learn to fight like this? Seems impractical. The sword bounced off the post, clumsily trying to escape my grasp. Claws are better. Always the best. I stab the blade point down into the ground, frowning as the dirt broke apart in chunks.

After all, who would want to be a human when you can be a dragon?



Sounds like I’ve got this all sorted, right? :P All I can say is that this is sure to be an awesome Camp, playing about with some interesting characters and some fun ideas…not to mention all of the crazy fight and flight scenes that are almost certain to happen. Hopefully I’ll get some world building done over the next week so that you can find out more about my oh-so-mysterious ‘kingdom’ that I keep mentioning… and the royal family and the countries and the—well…you get the picture. :P


What about you? What are you writing about for Camp NaNo? Anyone else doing fantasy?