So do not despair at the futility of mind over matter, but rather rejoice at the grace granted us of mind over what matters.
- Rayn Asaunt (As argued during a Scholastic symposium addressing the increasing number of converts defecting to their Sprettin usurper's religion)
Imagine the bio-exploratory perversions of Lovecraftian creations ( http://www.hplovecraft.com/ ) set free in a baroque world - wherein man begins to understand the true depth of his potential - with the breadth and depth of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings ( http://www.lordotrings.com/ ). Teeming with alchemists to swordsmiths, neuromancers to tourney lancers, and philosophy sages to bottom-scraping vagabonds performing devious deeds for black market wages, How Legends Lie is the First Deconstruction of D'arc Doma. Welcome!
I started writing this book (between attending University and working 40-70 hours a week) over a decade ago, with the main goals the same as today. On 9-12-09 I discovered this posting by the fantasy author R. Scott Bakker on SFFWorld:
http://www.sffworld.com/authors/b/bakker_scott/articles/whyfantasyandwhynow.html
A much better-articulated version of an argument I've been using to defend my passion since I took up pen. Thank you Mr. Bakker.
Sound good? Fill out the short form on the "want some?" page for the mailer, and use the upper-left-corner blades to get to some more maps and artwork. Enjoy the site and thanks.
All biomes on D'arc Doma were determined through the cross-referencing of tectonic plates, subsequent topography, wind and ocean currents, hurricane tracts, and climate zones. All of which were thoroughly researched to ensure accuracy of occurrence. The map below is merely a reference map, one of four: Tectonic Plates and Climate Zones, Wind and Ocean Currents, Biomes and Major Mountain Ranges (below), and Landform and Glacial Coverage. They can be seen by clicking the upper-left blade "Photos". These three maps will be used to construct a highly detailed map using the immensely powerful, map-generating program Campaign Cartographer ( http://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3_gallery.asp). The final map will include individual townships, castles, temples, outlying villages, climatically correct flora, etc..
The above image was constructed using assets from: http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/historic_cities.html
How Legends Lie is a fantasy novel set in a burgeoning, industrially infant world that wonders at the remnants of its past and what in fact left it in so much ruin. Within the occupied township of Scholasburg, where prior to the Sprettin invasion had relegated religion to fantasists and simpletons, the chemical tycoon Nathaniel Craft has discovered a lead to an arcanum of legend: an exhibit presenting artifacts discovered amidst the sifting sands of the old world. A cultural hodgepodge of an exhibit, requiring more than laymans' abilities to decipher; upon translation, has directed him to the old world from whence the artifacts had come. He'll need a captain willing to brave the South Divide Sea during the raider-riddled spice running season; take refuge with a citizen who is secretly conducting necromantic practices in order to maintain the consciousness of his mentor, whose goodwill towards Dr. Craft harbors ulterior motives; skirt the mind-meddling manipulations of an empire of Neuromancers that seek to suppress the resurgence of an ancient plague; all the while battling to suppress a swelling lack of empathy that is slowly turning him into a monster, for the arcanum he sought was much more than he expected.
How Legends Lie takes place within a meticulously constructed world wherein I have developed tectonic plates, topography based on the location of these plates (i.e., mountain ranges, plateaus, rift valleys, volcanic islands, inland seas, etc.), physically correct wind and ocean currents, physically correct hurricane tracts, physically correct climatic zones, all of which determined physically correct biomes. I have constructed this world using the computer programs Campaign Cartographer (with numerous add-ons) and Fractal Terrains, which also allowed me to create detailed maps of towns and other points of significance. All included cultures, even if only mentioned briefly, are fully developed with: culture cores, instrumental needs (laws, education), food sources and procreational practices, integrative needs (art, religion), specific rules of nomenclature, and thousands of years of history that has logically led to its practices today. All of my systems- necromancy (artificial suspension of consciousness), neuromancy (manipulation of emotions), and the Shroud's effects- were thoroughly researched and developed; and could quite possibly be executed by a more industrious scientist than I. Many of the chapters begin with successive excerpts from a philosophy thesis: The Question of Meaning: A Philosophical Defense of Objective Truth (a modification of Patrick H. Linehan's The Question of Meaning and God: A Philosophical Defense of Objective Christian Truth), which parallels my world's overarching conflict: Meaning versus The Absurd; and is attributed to a significant character within the world.
