Welcome to my A to Z Challenge 2019 posts. This year I’ll be writing about the world of Kinyal which is the setting of my epic fantasy novels and short stories. These posts offer insights into the world’s history, locations, and factions, but do not spoil any of the events or secrets from the novel.

You don’t need to read them in order, and as the challenge progresses, I’ll do my best to add links to related topics for each post.

The land of contrasts

Juamha is the eastern continent in Kinyal, and its history so far has been turbulent.
On one hand, it’s home to the kingdom of Devanshari, peaceful and prosperous, that over centuries developed into a realm that truly deserves the name its people gave it, the Land of the Light.

Yet, due to addiction to their artifact’s magic, Devanshari aren’t expansionists, and don’t care much for what happens outside their borders, and the rest of the continent is in a constant turmoil with no power significant enough to enforce stability. Small duchies and independent towns vie for influence, but none has leaders and sufficient resources to extent it much farther than their nearest vicinity, and the deeper parts of the continent with its vast forests and steppes, remain uncolonized, being home to nomadic tribes and bands of ne’er-do-wells.

Most of the continent’s population occupies the easter part of it, with ports being the center of civilized life, though with those cities’ income from trade with merchants from the western continent—Tyorane, they often change hands, with one self-proclaimed prince or other claiming his rule over them. Some of these events are as smooth as changing the flag hanging on the city walls, some end in more violent proceedings, from poisoning and assassinations to full-fledged sieges. But, in the end, war stops the trade, and everyone is interested in the coin and commodities it brings, so when it comes to the port cities, everyone tries to resolve disputes as quickly as possible.

The volatile land

As if human internal struggles weren’t enough, the continent suffered from several invasions in which demonologists led armies of summoned demonlings. Their goal always remained the same: to reach the capital of Devanshari and destroy their magic-giving artifact at the order of the demons they have a pact with. So far, they never succeeded breaking through the barrier protecting the kingdom, but it isn’t difficult to imagine what the marches toward Devanshari and the attacks themselves did to the surrounding lands. And with Devanshari’s reluctance to offer aid or get involved in any other way, quite a portion of Juamha’s landscape consists of ruins, old battlefields, and other signs of the constant turmoil.

Every now and then an ambitious individual tries to rise to power and unite warring realms, be it with claims of heritage or religious-like ideals, but if there’s a reason for most of the factions on Juamha to unite, it’s to bring down anyone who tries to bring peace and stability.

There are also whispers that one day demonologists will suceed and Devanshari will fall. If that was to happen, it would bring even more chaos into that volatile continent.

If you’d like a taste of the world, my free collection contains two of the stories from my free short story collection are set in Kinyal. The Arcanist and the Mage Killer and Scourges, Spells, and Serenades tell of the early adventures of Kamira and Veelk, the main protagonists of the upcoming novel.

You can get the collection by signing up to my newsletter.

All posts in this year’s challenge (links updated with new posts):

Arcane Magic || Barriers and Circles || The Cataclysm || Devanshari  || Essence || Free City of Kaighal || Gildya Magna || High Magic || Imbued Stones || Juamha || Kamira Altrainne || Languages || Mage Killers ||