Saturday Worldbuilding is a weekly project wherein yours truly builds a world from scratch in a disorganized bid to express what I think makes a world useful and interesting.
Last week we zoomed out a bit, creating the larger world of which Deira is a part. We detailed the countries of the Aquatanian Alliance, and now we’re going to sail across the ocean and flesh out the Cydonian Empire.
Cydonia
- The seat of the Cydonian Empire is also the home of the elves. It has a fairly standard system of nobility.
- Cydonian Steel is a sought after metal crafted here. It is an alloy of iron and mithril or some other fantastical metal, allowing a lesser form of that fantastical metal to be used widely.
- It is a mountainous, densely forested country, and much of it is not well-suited to farming.
- From a Deiran perspective, it’s noble courts are filled with intrigue, espionage, jockeying for power, and backstabbing.
- Their calendar is filled with ceremonial holidays related to the emperor’s authority, the maintenance of ancient treaties and bonds, and the succession.
Gorlyna
- Gorlyna is the dwarf homeland. It is ruled by a single noble bloodline descended from an ancient warlord. The dwarf monarch is charged with filling dozens of leadership positions with their relatives and chosen courtiers. These positions are not hereditary but are held for life or until the monarch is displeased with someone’s service.
- The second child of a high-ranking Cydonian noble, often the emperor or empress, is sent to spend much of their childhood and young adulthood as cupbearer to the dwarf monarch. Typically, several members of the monarch’s family travel to Cydonia in exchange.
- Gorlyna is a cold, rugged land, but it has access to a rare mineral, probably the metal needed to craft Cydonian Steel.
Sestos
- Plains fading into desert, Sestos is actually a sprawl of several smaller elf territories conquered by Cydonia and overseen by a governor appointed by the emperor.
- Cooperative local leaders still retain some authority.
- Sestos is the source of much of the Cydonian Empire’s food and several types of textile.
- It’s the cradle of resistance within the empire.
Tegea
- I’m not sure just yet who lives here. I’ve considered minotaurs, gnolls, lizardfolk, and some sort of tigerfolk. I think I’m going to stick a poll up on Twitter later to decide.
- Tegea is a strange country regardless, home to mushroom forests (i am slightly addicted to mushroom forests in fantasy).
- It is home to Calabrasian ruins, which leads to much of Cydonia’s interest in it.
- It is ruled by two consuls, one the head of a collaborative noble family among the locals, the other a member of the emperor’s household.
That’s pretty much the world built in 10 posts. I did it over a couple of months, but I could easily get to this point in a couple of afternoons. Next Saturday, I’ll share a PDF with a more polished version of this project, and I’ll probably share some additional worldbuilding resources that I find handy.
Until next time!
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