Welcome back to another world-building post! The last version of this post started with the lovely map Grayson made for the world of The Legionnaire and I’m said to say that unfortunately that map will not be included in The Blood-Cursed. It’s complete my fault, I didn’t realize that switching to Ingram limited my ability to have images on my endpapers, and by the time I did, I had already submitted my final page count so I couldn’t add it into the book. I’m going to include it again here so that you can have it as a reference though, at least for this post.
The Legionnaire is a pretty insular novel, but we get to learn a lot more about another kingdom in its sequel when our crew travel south to the empire of Taezhali. I can’t say too much about why they’re there or what they’re doing because of spoilers, but safe to say it’s been an adjustment for everyone. I loved writing about this new country. I had some idea of what is was like when I was building the map and drafting book 1, but getting to fully immerse myself in to this new place was one of my favorite things about drafting The Blood-Cursed. (although there are a lot of things that I loved about getting to draft this book.)
The coolest part of Taezhali in my opinion is the way that its history has shaped some of its architecture, mainly the palace of the emperor. The emperor resides in the heart of a maze, with hidden treasure rooms and lots of security in the outer layers of the maze. This is because the empire started out as several bands of nomads, and was formed through cunning and wit, and the occasional forceful conquering of their neighbors.
We also get a look at magic outside of the middle kingdom, which is the only place the gifted exist. This is a complicated part of the history of both Kaizia and Taezhali that even the characters don’t fully understand at this point in time. But in the south they have their own kind of subtle magic, dependent on give and take with nature. Those women who learn are considered priestesses and are used for their knowledge and often medical skills throughout the kingdom.
The Island of the Severed Key is the last major landmark for the empire in book 2. The people living there are discontented with their place in the empire and no longer want to be a part of it. Rebellion is very familiar to our characters, and here they get to explore it from a less personal angle and reflect a little on their own actions.
Want to read more about the southern kingdom of Taezhali? You can pick up The Blood-Cursed on Tuesday and read all about it.
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