Book Update – 07/05/2019

Greetings one and all! I hope you’ve been well and enjoyed the weekend. It’s time for an update on how work on Encyclopedia Sarcadia is travelling.

Things are going fantastic! I’m flying through the edit a lot quicker than what I anticipated. I honestly thought I might slow down a bit, but the writing has been non-stop ever since I got back from New Zealand. I guess I should go on more hiking adventures to keep the creative juices flowing!

My work on Sarcadia’s countries and continents continues and is nearing completion. This week I’ve finished two continents and five – yes FIVE – countries! I’m proud of how far well the encyclopedia is progressing, considering my “supervisor” has been micromanaging me…

As you can see, Zoya has made it her business to get involved in my business. While I do appreciate her support there’s only so much a cat can type with their paws. No offence to any feline readers out there! I’m sure you mean well but you need to let your human-slaves do their thing. We can take care of ourselves. Well, not as well as we take care of you…

Back to the book update!

It’s tough to summarise two continents and five countries in a quick update, but I’m going to give it a try! It’s time for a brief lesson of Sarcadian Geography 101!

Stagnum

Stagnum is a swamp continent that sits in the middle of Sarcadia. Within this murky land of slimy green live the lizard humanoids Reptilian and Draconian races. Reptilians are peaceful by nature unlike their larger Draconian cousins who are more aggressive.

Humans also live on the swamp wasteland though most of them were forced there due to their diseases or deformities. Stagnum’s most famous resident is the Cardinal’s Beatrice Ellsworth. The self-proclaimed “Duchess of Stagnum” controls the continent with her large army of ghouls and the gluttonous, disgusting Tenebites known as the Garlom.

Rykhart

Rykhart is the largest continent in Sarcadia. Those who live in the north experience colder weather than those living in the south. Rykhart is home to some of the largest animals in Sarcadia, such as giant boars, dire elk, and red bears. It’s also home to giants, humanoids who grow to an average ten feet tall.

Rykhart was once ruled by cannibalistic Ogres who enslaved the human population. The people of Rykhart eventually be liberated by Atriarch during his conquest of Sarcadia. When the All-Father ascended to the Realm of Light, Rykhart became home to Sarcadia’s bloodiest battles and power-hungry empires.

Rykhart is divided into two: West Rykhart which contains the countries of Rykland, Rusovania, and Strordom, and East Rykhart where one can find the countries of Hartland and Edaleen.

Rykland

Rykland was one of the most powerful empires in Rykhart, controlling West Rykhart at the peak of their prime. Their ruler and founder, Kaiser Rykard Heidermann, used fearful tactics to rule his subjects and defeat his enemies. This included the use of dire wolves in battle as well as the recruiting werewolves into his army.

Rykland’s empire would crumble following a series of rebellions from the people they oppressed. Today, the country is only a quarter of its former size as a result of been slowly conquered by Rusovania. Rykland believes the next invasion from the new West Rykhart powerhouse could end their existence.

Rusovania

Rusovania is the largest country in Rykhart. They are a proud, fearless nation founded by Ivan Rusov, who led a violent uprising against their Ryken suppressors. It has been a long tradition of Rusovania to heavily fortify their borders before launching a strong offensive. They’ll only launch their invasions of Rykland when the next “reincarnation” of Ivan Rusov is born and ready to lead them into victory.

Strordom

Strordom is the oldest country in Rykhart. They keep themselves secluded from the rest of the world, barely venturing out of from their borders. They’re allied with Rusovania due to their mutual dislike of Rykland.

Hartland

Hartland was once the strongest country in East Rykhart. It was made up of fourteen duchies who decided it was better to control the country together instead of fighting over it. For years the eight “superior” duchies of Hartland bullied the “inferior” six duchies. Civil war would eventually break out, resulting in the six duchies founding the country of Edaleen.

Despite losing a third of its land, Hartland continues to thrive and exists as an “elective monarchy”. The duchies vote for a “Grand Duke or Duchess” to rule Hartland until they abdicate, die, or if the duchies remove their leader after a vote of no confidence.

Edaleen

Edaleen is one of the youngest countries in. The Edalese were very peaceful people and their leaders were always fair and just. Many considered Edaleen to be a beacon of harmony until Queen Angelique Dubois came to power.

The fear of aging and paranoia about being usurped would drive Queen Angelique into the arms of the Cardinal. She would be turned into a vampire by Thomas Torino. Now under the bloody rule of “Night Queen of Edaleen”, Edaleen is now a haven for Sarcadia’s second largest vampiric population.

Well, I’m just as exhausted as you are, so I think we’ll stop today’s lesson! Remember, this is just a brief snapshot of the countries in Sarcadia. Keep an eye out for more detailed posts in the future once the encyclopedia has been completed.

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support.

Until next time, be safe and take care!

W.F. Thorne

Book Update – 29/04/2019

Greetings everyone! I trust everyone is doing well, especially after watching Avengers: Endgame and/or this week’s episode of Game of Thrones. I think it’s safe to say it’s been a very emotional week for everyone who is fan of either the show, the movie, or both!

It’s time for an update in relation to all things Cardinal! I’m happy to say progression with Encyclopedia Sarcadia is going extremely well, despite some minor distractions…

Yes, Zoya has once again become fascinated with my monitor and mouse cursor. One could argue she was just supervising me to make sure I was writing and not getting consumed by my love for video games.

Or one could argue she’s a cat and they’ll play with anything that catches their attention. Note to self: buy a laser pointer.

Where was I? Oh yes! Book update!

I’ve managed to complete information for not one, but two countries in Sarcadia! Allow me to give you all a very brief rundown of the two.

Un’Kabaal

Un’Kabaal is a desert continent located in southern Sarcadia. The people of Un’Kabaal, the Kabaalists, regard themselves as the most important country in the realm as Atriarch, Sarcadia’s deity, was born there.

Un’Kabaal is ruled by a monarchical government and its leader is referred to as the “Absentar” – one who rules on behalf of the All-Father. The system has worked very well as only a handful of Absentar’s have either stepped down or were overthrown due to their poor leadership.

The political stability in Un’Kabaal hasn’t saved it from its share of disasters. Not only have earthquakes destroyed some towns, over a third of their population was killed during a Red Plague epidemic. What’s Red Plague you ask? We’ll get back to that nasty disease in another update.

Currently Un’Kabaal has no political issues, unlike most other countries, but the Kabaalists live on edge due to the high vampire presence there. Not only to they need to worry about Magnar Blutfest’s clan, they also need to protect themselves from the Menagerie’s Rebekkah Zarkari and her brood.

Alibrium

Alibrium is one of the largest continents on Sarcadia with a rich history of treachery and civil war. The country was divided into thousands of provinces run by many families – known as the Alibrii Houses. Over time the number of houses would narrow down to two hundred and thirty-three and they would all rule Alibrium equally under the Alibrii Senate.

The title of “Imperatur” would be created by the Alibrii Senate who decided it would be better for one of them to better guide Alibrium. The Senators would serve as advisors and have an equal say though their power would depend on the Imperatur at the time. Some Imperaturs were happy to listen to their Senators while others expelled or executed those who disagreed with them.

The Imperatur role frequently changed hands between Alibrium’s four major houses. Eventually all four would seize totally power over Alibrium and rule it equally under the name of the “Imperii Council”. This would continue for many centuries until Darius Aventis and the Cardinal achieved victory in the Alibrii-Aventis War.

As a result of the war, Alibrium was divided in two:

North Alibrium was given to the Imperii Council. They would take all land from the northern Alibrii houses to better strengthen their positions of leadership. Currently North Alibrium is ruled like a dictatorship and is riddled with corruption and crime.

South Alibrium was taken by Darius Aventis, who readopted the old Alibrii Senate using the southern Alibrii houses. Darius also enforced strict laws in his country which has allowed coexistence between humans and vampires. As a result, South Alibrium is regarded as being one of the most prosperous and safest countries in Sarcadia.

I’m proud of how quick I’ve progressed at this stage. If Zoya stops sitting in front of my computer monitor, I think I’m well on my way to having the first draft of Encyclopedia Sarcadia completed by the end of May!

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support.

Until next time, be safe and take care!

W.F. Thorne

Book Update – 24/04/2019

Greetings everyone! I hope you’ve been doing well and, for those lucky enough, enjoyed the long weekend.

It’s been over a month since my last update so I’m going to make this a bit of a big one! What’s been happening since last time? Quite a lot actually!

New Zealand – Australia’s Canada!

I recently returned from an epic trip to New Zealand. I’ve never been before which is really slack on my part considering I live in Australia. I guess with New Zealand being so close to home I took it for granted.

I loved New Zealand! The country was beautiful. The people were extremely friendly. And, most importantly, the food was great!

My American mates flew all the way from New York City and joined me in Middle-Earth. Come on, you had to expect there to be at least ONE Lord of the Rings reference! Trust me when I say there were plenty of them on the trip…

We spent most of our time hiking around the national parks of the South Island which included Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, Mt Aspiring National Park, and Fiordland National Park. Unfortunately, some of the trails we wanted to do were closed off due to some recent storm damage. Regardless we still got to see some amazing scenery including this shot from Gertrude’s Saddle:

Despite being in New Zealand for a few weeks I felt like I was there for a few months. The fresh air and stunning natural landscapes put my brain into a creative overdrive. Though it was sad to leave New Zealand and bid farewell to my mates, I looked forward to coming back home so I could get back into writing.

Zoya – My Feline Distraction

As you might recall, I’m now the proud father (?) of a Russian Blue kitten called Zoya. She continues to follow me around everywhere and is constantly preventing me from progressing further with my writing! I mean, look at this photo for example:

You might be asking yourself, “Shouldn’t he be writing, and not playing Sekiro?” Yes, I probably should be writing but if she’s not sitting on my keyboard or walking over my keyboard… or sleeping on my keyboard… she’s standing in front of my screen and attacking the mouse cursor.

Now I think about it, I should’ve posted a photo of that instead…

In any case! She’s a little furball of fun and recently has grown bored with my desk.

Encyclopedia Sarcadia – Vampire Section Complete!

Since returning from my trip I’ve put in a LOT of work into the Cardinal’s Encyclopedia Sarcadia. I’m happy to announce I’ve completed the vampire section of the Encyclopedia Sarcadia!

In the last update I mentioned I finished working on the backstory for Octavian, the First Vampire, and Darius Aventis, the first human turned by Octavian. Since then I’ve completed backstories on multiple key vampire characters as well as various vampire clans in Sarcadia.

Here’s just a quick sample of some of the major vampire clans and who their leaders are.

The Cardinal are the most dominant vampiric force in Sarcadia. It’s their belief humans should be under the rule of vampires, specifically the Cardinal, in order to ensure humanity’s survival from supernatural threats and to save them (humans) from themselves.

The six founding members of the Cardinal were responsible for Octavian’s death. The factions & leaders within the Cardinal are as follows:

• House Aventis led by Darius Aventis (click here to see a brief rundown on him).
• Clan Magnar led by Magnar Blutfest, a feared barbaric warrior with a violent, short temper.
• The Duchy of Stagnum led by Beatrice Ellsworth, a Duchess from Hartland infamous for her cruel regime and ravenous appetite.
• The Torino Dynasty led by Thomas and Tabitha Torino, a pair of twins who pride themselves on their appearance.
• The Lyceum of Shadows led by Leverett Augustine, spiteful boy who loathes being trapped in the body of a child for an eternity.

The Menagerie are an aggressive vampire clan spread throughout Sarcadia. Initially the group was comprised of Octavian’s three hundred neophytes and their fledglings. The numbers suffered greatly due to the vampiric civil war known as the “War of the Blood Moon”.

Those still loyal to Octavian continue to fight in his name to this day. They’re bitter rivals of the Cardinal and are feared throughout Sarcadia for their ruthlessness. The Menagerie believe Octavian will rise again and will shroud Sarcadia in permanent darkness.

What’s next?

The next, and final, major section of Encyclopedia Sarcadia will focus on the countries which exist in my world. There’s a decent amount of work to do as each country has its own history, religious beliefs etc. that need to be fine-tuned.

Despite there being a lot of work ahead of me, I’m confident I’ll have this section completed by the end of May. I’ll be keeping you updated at least once a week with how things are progressing. That way, it should motivate me to write at a quicker pace!

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading and thank you for your continued support. Once I’ve completed the first draft of this encyclopedia, the real fun will soon begin!

Until next time, be safe and take care!

W.F. Thorne

Book Update – 19/03/2019

Hello everyone! It’s time for another update on how the editing for Encyclopedia Sarcadia is coming along.

Progression has slowed down a bit more than what I had anticipated but for a good reason! In my previous update I mentioned I was going to be getting a cat. Allow me to introduce to you my Russian Blue kitten, Zoya (the Destroyer)!

She’s been doing great and has settled in very well. She’s very playful, friendly, and purrs her head off constantly. She’s taken up most of my time (seriously, it’s like raising a child) but now she’s comfortable in her new home I should be able to start writing and editing again.

Fortunately, I do have a quick update this week! I’ve started to edit the vampire section with the aim of completing this by the end of the month. Here’s a quick summary of two important vampires in Sarcadia:

Octavian – The Fallen Son

Octavian was once the favourite son of Sarcadia’s deity, Atriarch. He was unique among his brothers as he took an interest in defending the innocent Sarcadians from Tenebris’ demons. Atriarch granted Octavian permission to assist Sarcadia, a decision he would ultimately regret making.

Octavian would be killed by an avatar of Elysia, the ruler of Tenebris, then resurrected as the first vampire. Atriarch was angered by Octavian’s transformation as he believed his son shouldn’t have allowed himself to be deceived so easily. Not only did Atriarch turn his back on his once favourite son, but he ordered the execution of all his sons, judging them to be weak and just as corruptible as Octavian.

Initially the Fallen Son tried to resume his normal life but Sarcadians throughout the realm violently drove him away. Octavian bared witness to his sisters slaughtering his brothers and it was then that he finally succumbed to his supressed rage and anger.

For over 300 years Octavian unleashed his “Menagerie” of vampires on Sarcadia and they spread his terror. Octavian’s demise would come at the hands of his own vampires who disagreed with his plans to eradicate humanity from Sarcadia. His death was orchestrated by the first vampire he created, Darius Aventis.

Darius Aventis

Darius Aventis is the first human turned into a vampire by Octavian. He originally served as a Senator in Alibrium and was highly revered for his progressive views and selflessness. Darius, like most of his Senators and the general population of the country, despised their ruler – Imperatur Mavos IV.

Darius was in talks with the major houses of Alibrium to install him as Alibrium’s new ruler, but this would never come to fruition. Octavian not only turned the Senator into a vampire, but also slaughtered Darius’ entire family. Darius stayed by Octavian’s side for over 300 years, slowly plotting and scheming his master’s downfall which would occur at the end of the vampire civil war.

Darius was too familiar with the dangerous threat of vampires and the supernatural. He also knew how cruel and heartless humans could also be to themselves. Along with the other vampires who helped him kill Octavian, Darius founded “the Cardinal” with the intention of protecting humans by ruling them.

Darius is regarded as the most powerful vampire in existence today and his faction, House Aventis, controls more than half of the continent of Alibrium. In doing so, Darius has established a haven for both humans and vampires.

That’s all for now! I’m hoping to have at least one big update before I leave for my trip next week. If not, I promise to post more photos of Zoya!

Until next time, be safe and take care!

W.F. Thorne