This will be a text thread. I am still working on Desert Lightning! But my real life obligations come first, I am moving to a new city this weekend and that’s a big deal. However, I wanted to share the stuff I have written in the background over time.
Worldbuilding
Terrain and Climate: Almyran cities are situated around the canyon/forest area in the western portion of the country. The capital is Caglar, which rests in the middle of Catal Canyon. Its palace is clearly visible from the air, and wyvern patrols fly in and out regularly, but if one is approaching from land, it’s hidden by the surrounding canyon. Unlike its fellow kingdom on the continent, Faerghus, there’s not a ton of noble houses with territory. Trabzon is in the northwestern portion of Kumalar Plains, and is the gateway to the mainland once trade is established, ships sail out of it around the Fodlan’s Throat mountains and can make landfall in Faerghus provided the ports are not closed by ice. Mardin is in the Kuyruk Woods on the southeastern bank of Kuyruk River. Markay is in the southern coastal region of Kumalar Plains and serves as a port to and from Abbas Island off the south coast.
Avise Desert is east of Catal Canyon and is racked by sandstorms year round. Further east, extending to the eastern coast, is more steppe like that in Kumalar Plains. There are no cities east of the desert, instead, homesteaders, farmers, and ranchers move throughout the area in a nomadic lifestyle with portable tents known as yurts, or they put down more permanent houses when they find an ideal spot. Visitors to the kingdom often make the mistake of calling this vast eastern steppe “East Kumalar Plains”, while the locals only refer to it as “The Wild” or “The Plains”.
Ethnic Traits: Almyrans are generally tan. Their hair is often thick, coarse, and colored in shades of brown and black. Both men and women tend to be, for lack of a better term, fluffy, with clear patches of fuzz on arms, legs, chest, and armpits, and both sexes also tend to have thick pubic hair. Men often have beards and/or mustaches of some sort. Some women shave their excess body hair, some do not. Woman fuzz isn’t as thick as man fuzz regardless. This is distinct from birth, with male babies tending to have more hair than their female counterparts. Almyran eyes are typically colored in warm shades: reds, browns, yellows, and oranges.
Names can be drawn from the Middle East: Arabic names, Turkish names, Syrian names, Persian names, Iranian names, that general area.
Silk is a common clothing material for the upper and middle class, lower classes will wear leather and burlap. Soldier uniforms consist of light plate armor or chainmail with leather, typically unisex to the point where a male and female soldier are indistinguishable unless they stand right next to each other. Cloth cowls and neck scarves are commonly colored to fit a faction identity, or worn by commoners without being dyed.
Language and Culture: For the native language of Almyra, I’ve been using Turkish, as Ancient Persia/Ottoman Empire/Turkey/Turkiye seems to be the biggest inspiration for the country. Also, Turkish uses the Western alphabet more than Arabic which is easier for my American keyboard.
They’re a polytheistic religion, with but not limited to a war god, a harvest god, a love goddess, a sun god, and a moon goddess. They believe that elk are the resting place for a soul who has led a full life and is preparing to run to the afterlife, so they do not eat elk. They will eat deer, moose, or antelope, however. Common food includes kebabs, falafel, shawarma, curry, and dried fruit/nut/jerky preserves.
They’re a proud warrior culture. While men are more often on the front lines of battle, lady soldiers do exist, as does the rare lady commander. Their military consists of mostly wyvern riders and cavaliers with either lances or bows, but there are some units of infantry and mages. Armies on the move will put up yurts for the night, with the leader’s yurt in the center and everyone prepared to wake up in fight mode if needed.
Royalty is hereditary, and only a man can take the throne. Kings are allowed to take multiple wives, and most have over the course of history. Everyone else is more monogamous, including high ranking nobles. A king will hand pick his successor out of his sons, or nephews as a last resort, and test him with a gladiator sparring match. It ends when one side yields, but it is not to the death as it used to be nearly a century ago. Once the successor has won, he takes the throne upon the death of the current king.
Economy and exports: Currency is interchangeable with the rest of Fodlan, with copper, silver, and gold coins. Trade operates on silk and spices with the occasional damascus steel, known as wootz steel in the mainland.
The local economy, as with every other country, depends on the exact area. Abbas Island and Markay have a lot of fishing. Trabzon also does fishing, but is mainly a bustling port town that brings in imports and pushes out exports. Mardin is an agricultural town that trades crops and meat from the woods. Crops are mostly beans and rice, with the occasional sweet potato or turnip.
Caglar, as the capital, is the most varied and wealthy. There are entertainers, dancers, and bards who perform in hookah bars and mobile venues. Military presence is heavy in Caglar and there are several armories that sell cutlasses, scimitars, poleaxes, tabars, harbas, halberds, and bows and arrows. There is a orchard at the palace with apple, apricot, peach, and pear trees. The palace gardens have raspberries and blackberries as well.
While mainland Fodlan has the central church keeping people reliant on the holy magic of the church monks and other types of medicine restricted, Almyra has some healing spells, but they mostly only work to stabilize an injury. They have what’s called “the good meds”. It’s common for half an army to be “higher than wyvern pizzle” in the words of His Majesty himself as they recover from their wounds.
Character Concepts
This works with a kind of blend of Houses and Hopes. A good amount of these will be in Desert Lightning!
Azar (Claude’s paternal grandfather): Previous king. Had three wives, but only one of them gave him a son. He was chill and wise, but didn’t know how to parent small children and was just around but not much else. When he was dying, he gave Boran the advice he tries to follow every day: “Son, you won’t please everybody as king, but you can make the decisions your gut tells you are right. Keep your friends close and don’t let your enemies win.”
Fatima (Claude’s paternal grandmother): Mother of Boran, Farah, and Nafisa by Azar. A short, stocky woman who at first glance, looks like a scullery maid, which she confused Tiana on, but still has some of her queenly energy from years gone by. She describes Azar as having been “tired all the time, didn’t do much, but he was oddly sweet.” If she has to fight, she does it with a small axe.
Boran (Claude’s father): Current king, earned himself the “Thunder King” moniker from his personality and the fact that thunder rumbled in the distance during his coronation. While he comes off as a total chaotic goofball when he’s comfortable around a person, when he means business, he commands attention and respect. He’s realized that his own father only paid attention to him on his deathbed, and he hates that, so he’s more hands on with his own children. He would take Shahid in if he was allowed to. He’s got a tender heart and ended up falling in love with both his wives.
Farah (Claude’s aunt): Older sister of Boran. As kids, they were gremlins who would run around the palace causing mischief and beating the crap out of each other. Today Farah is the king’s bodyguard, but he’s still her little brother and she will never let him forget it. She’s single, and while she had a fling with Nader in the past, she’s become more content with being the cool aunt.
Tiana (Claude’s mother): The outsider from across the border that nobody expected. But she’s here, and Boran loves her, and neither will give up their son for the world. She’ll carry around a cutlass and has stabbed the “riff raff” before. She also hunts with a bow. Naturally, she gets along well with Farah. She’s earned the monikers “Demon Queen” and “Red Vixen”.
Nader (Claude’s uncle figure/Boran’s retainer): He was like a big brother to Boran growing up and was dating Farah for a time until it got too awkward. He has so many stories about Boran being a little shit frat boy prince that he’s keeping to himself. Was Tiana’s first contact in Almyra and respects her.
Omar (Tiana’s retainer): Second in command of the Golden Fox Chargers, Tiana’s personal platoon. He was the first Almyran commoner she befriended and she became fluent in Almyran to properly communicate with him. He’s a big friendly jock type, and works hard to support his family on his ranch.
Nafisa (Claude’s aunt): Older sister of Boran and Farah. She was like a second mom to them and continues to have that more down to earth calm personality. She had a few suitors to pick from, and she started making mini nobles with Cassim right away. It didn’t take too long for them to bond together. Boran is a good uncle but will make it known that Uncle needs a nap after he’s been around Nafisa and Cassim’s brood.
Cassim (Claude’s uncle): The younger brother of Lord Razoul Abbas, his noble house is located on an island off the coast and fishing is its main money maker. He silver tongued his way into the royal family, promising Nafisa beach vacations which he did deliver on. He can be a bit of a pain in the butt at times because sometimes he’s a snoot. Farah likes to tease him when they’re at their guard stations but she respects him as a coworker and a part of the family.
Kamrul (Claude’s cousin): Older brother of Taslima and Abdul. He and his sister are freshly fledged asbarans (Persian term for knights). He’s cheery, jokey, and can be a doofus but handles himself properly on the battlefield. He likes to use his status as the son of a royal general and a princess as an ice breaker on dates. So far he hasn’t found someone he wants to settle down with.
Taslima (Claude’s cousin): Mature middle child syndrome. She often helps her mother with the food and some paperwork. She can also knock her father on his butt during combat training, which Cassim, for all his outward grumpiness, is so proud of. She’s usually keeping Kamrul’s head on straight and being the voice of wisdom in the younger crowd.
Abdul (Claude’s cousin): He was born during the civil war, after his parents already had two asbaran kids in their early 20s. He knows he was a holy shit baby. But in Almyran culture, kids born or conceived during times of war are known as warborns and are destined to become great leaders. He picked up the lance like his father, and chose light magic on the side, having inherited magic capability from his mother.
Jasmine (Claude’s stepmother): Boran’s political marriage, he ended up loving her too. While Tiana is his spark of flame, Jasmine is his mellow flower, and it works out well for the three of them. Jasmine enjoys gardening and can often be seen tending the houseplants and fruit trees. She’s also a skilled healer and mage. She runs both her orchard and infirmary as tight ships.
Roshan (Jasmine’s father): Boran’s father figure and former teacher. He was more of a father than Azar was. He was strict on Boran in school but helped make him into the king he is today. When his daughter was brought in as one of the queens, he smiled and said he knew that was meant to be. His expertise is in medicine and first aid and could be known as Healer Dad.
Uzair (Claude’s brother): Jasmine’s son, he’s a quiet, intelligent bookworm who enjoys chess and other board games. But he’s still also Boran’s son, so he can have his more aggressive moments of chaos. There’s only so much he can take before he, as the eventual Rain King after Thunder, monsoons. He still claims Khalid got the charisma and confidence of the family. Yet he was able to charm his navigator from when he captained the Almyran navy as required military service for princes. Danah loves him, awkwardness and all.
Danah (Claude’s sister in law): She comes from a military family, her father being a big gruff warrior and her mother being a mage. She, herself, is a fire mage. She and Uzair can often be found in the palace library cuddling and reading books on folklore. She’s small and mousey looking, like a mix between a noblewoman and a dusty librarian. Has her moments of sass. Ends up having six kids with Uzair, four boys and two girls, before they decide they’re done.
Shahid (Claude’s brother): Technically, he’s Boran’s oldest child, and a son to boot, so the throne could be his someday. But, he’s also a bitter spoiled brat, and his mother is encouraging said behavior. They are not allowed in the palace, instead they lead a rebel faction known as the Hailstones (royal loyalists are Thunderbolts) aiming to take it by force and kicking off the civil war. Shahid will listen to his mother when he’s not playing the bad boy rebel leader act, and he treats his wyvern well.
Nasira (Shahid’s mother): Boran’s ex girlfriend from his frat boy prince days. He realizes there was no actual love between them, even more so now that Nasira is keeping the son he didn’t even know he had from him. She uses her beauty to get what she wants and has raised Shahid to be bitter and vicious. She calls him her “little prince”, there’s a lot of love there. She always straps a dagger to her thigh, at one point she was caught by the Thunderbolt loyalists and Farah had to confiscate said dagger.
Aisha (Shahid’s retainer): She and her brother are high ranking Hailstone rebels. She’s good with lockpicking and breaking and entering, so Shahid sends her to raid homesteads for supplies and food. She’s having some “I can fix him” thoughts about him, but so far he’s been oblivious.
Fahd (Shahid’s retainer): He’ll tease his sister about her desire to be noticed by the boss, while thinking he’s a ladies’ man himself. Nasira scares him. He’s a fast swordsman and adds some extra muscle to supply raids.