Xardan Ta'Caran

My general opinion is that worldbuilding is simply a tool used to build a great story (which is why I tend to have a story prior to having the culture development to make that story happen). What I've realized over my years of reading and writing is that the more real something is, the more people connect to it and appreciate it. Because of this, we build worlds that could be real so that we can have a readable story that other people can connect with. If you don't build a world that makes sense to the story you're writing, you end up with something that seems half-hearted and isn't all that enjoyable to read. Outside of those very real reasons about the function of world building, I will say that world build is a BLAST. So if nothing else, the function is to have fun! ;-)

I agree 100%, but I also know that Vin was one of my favorites and she was allowed to die, so I'm preparing myself mentally now. lol.

Agreed, but with one exception. I don't think Kaladin will become Honor. I think Szeth will. Kaladin was the first to bond an honor spren in his generation, but Szeth is the most honorable man in the world right now. If he makes an oath, he keeps it regardless of the consequences. I'm not sure where it would go from there, but I do think that Szeth would be the "big man in charge" at the end of this story line. ;-)

So this may have been hashed and rehashed a thousand times already, but I need to put it out here just in case. I just finished rereading the Way of Kings and I came across a theory. That theory is based on Dalinar Kholin's first (and last) vision showed to him by the Stormfather. So here it is: I think that Honor is not asking Dalinar to unite Roshar. I think he is asking Dalinar to unite the shards of Adonalsium to overome Odium. I haven't yet decided if that means recreating Adonalsium or if it's just a unification of intent, but that's my thoughts. Please feel free to roast away if this has been addressed or if it sounds silly.

Hey there! One of the big rules you shouldn't break was actually broken by our friendly moderator, @Argent. It's called double posting. Please refrain from doing this thing. And I hope you don't mind a little friendly razzing Argent. I just saw it and had to laugh because I got zinged for it once a while back. ;-)

This kind of laziness has, on many occasions, turned out for the better in my world too. We tend to plan things for the current time period and know that somewhere in the past we're going to have to create a reason for it to happen. Then, as we come up with another idea for a new character, they fit in perfectly for the "lazy" story we had kind of left on the back burner. @Ixthos @Kureshi Ironclaw My opinion is that sometimes laziness has a wonderful home in writing. It doesn't always serve me well, but sometimes it ends up creating a level of perfection we couldn't have come up with unless we had waited.

I just found this thread and had another though for you if you're interested: One of the ideas I've toyed with over the years that can be utilized in MANY different ways is the idea that the planet itself creates the energy fields used for creating magic. In that case, magic is essentially built right into the atmosphere of the planet or, if you want it more specific, you could use lay lines as areas of concentrated magic and the farther you get from a lay line, the "dimmer" your magic becomes. With that, you can have "centers of magic" in areas where 2 or three lay lines converge where mages convene to learn and work great amounts of magic and you can have other areas where magic is almost completely non-existent. At that point no gods are needed and no further explanation is needed. Just an idea of where they physical location of the lay lines are and what the rules and limitations of the magic produced by the planet are.

Typically we try to work from "the beginning of time" forward. Meaning we take our most basic of cultures that existed at creation, then decide where the new culture would fit in physically and where in time, then we start developing the sub-culture and try to give motivation for how and why that sub-culture came to be. Sometimes we blend two cultures together to flesh it out and other times we just give a small group of one culture a good reason to branch off and become the culture we need to fit the story line. To be honest, it can be a blast to try to "reverse engineer" cultures like that. We've actually ended up creating some major villains and some major heroes by reverse engineering cultures, then realize that we have the perfect opportunity to create a new character that fits into a story we already came up with, but was missing that "special something." And honestly, I rely more on my memory than on notes. Luckily my writing partner is on the opposite end of the spectrum and checks his notes on everything, so between the two of us we're able to keep most things straight and, if not, we create the rules so we can keep the straight moving forward. On a side note, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this topic! I'm finding this to be a blast to discuss the different methods of world building and I'm seeing things that I'm very much considering doing myself as far as noes and organization goes. So thanks everyone!

Please note that when I say "I" in the following post, I mean my writing partner and I as we do everything in tandem. When I world build I tend to work my way backwards (in most cases). I come up with a character idea, then decide which culture he came from and (in some cases) how that culture came to be in the world. There are some times that we have to rework some characters to match cultures, but the world we've created is so large that it's pretty easy to work new cultures into new areas of the world. I will say this though, I'm not the best in the world at organizing thoughts and notes. My writing partner does all of that and he does it just in Microsoft Word or Excel and drops the files on Dropbox so both of us can view and review that cultures and civilizations we've come up with. I would also like to point out that this methodology can create serious issues and I don't recommend it for creating something from the outset, but once you have cultures and magic systems already in place, it's pretty easy to go back and add a new character to one of them and it can be a lot of fun trying to decide what their motivation is and how they came to be.

Thanks Wander! I've got an amazing wife who supports my fantasy plans (and makes theoretical plans for the millions of dollars I'm going to make one day when I become the next Brandon Sanderson). ;-) On a side note, if you have time you ought to go check out the prologue to my novel and let me know what you think. I posted it in the Creator's Corner and I'd love any input anyone has. I'm not planning to make any changes now, but if I can get other fantasy fans to read through it and tell me the good, the bad, or the ugly I'd love to hear about it. Thanks for making me feel welcome guys!

Thanks Ixthos! And I've heard of Anne Mcaffrey before, but never managed to pick up any of her books. It's definitely on the "to do" list though. Lately I've been finishing up the Wheel of Time series (I fell way behind and now only have the last book to go) and then I've been reading authors like Brent Weeks, John Ringo, Glen Cook, and Aleron Kong (all on audio books since I can listen while I'm at work). I've been making my way through a LOT of books. I need to get on reading Anne's. lol.

Hey everyone, I guess I'd better follow protocol and introduce myself here. My name is Josh Welch. I'm an (thus far) unpublished author who lives in Utah. My writing name is J. S. Welch and my co writer is A. L. Hardy, who is also my cousin. We've built an entire world and spent over 15 years perfecting it. We're ready to put our world in the hands of others and bring everyone else into it. If you're interested, please feel free to visit our website (which you'll have to reach out to me directly for since I'm a newbie and unable to post the link here). Brandon Sanderson has been a major factor in my desire to become an author. Between him, Terry Goodkind, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., and David and Leigh Eddings, I developed a massive love of fantasy and love reading anything that involves swords and magic. I'm also interested in starting to get into voice over work if I can find the right medium (in case anyone wants to hire me). ;-) Thanks for reading my intro!

What if the adventurer has met dad or brother somewhere? That would be a good enough reason for me to leave, knowing that my family could be found or are in danger. Plus that would give a good reason for mom to encourage the MC to leave. That way rather than it being a reluctance to go it becomes a matter of leaving to help someone. It would greatly depend on where you want your story progression to go, but you could easily have the MC be drawn away from her search for family if given other motivation.

Hey everyone, Long time reader, first time contributor. Just kidding. I've always wanted to say those words. Anyway, my cousin and I have written a novel and decided to post something here for everyone to look at and let us know what you think. As a side note, this novel is ready for publishing and we're currently awaiting cover art to self publish on Amazon (so if you know a good artist who's willing to work on commission or just for prestige, please let us know as our last attempt fell through). Please enjoy the below copy of our prologue to our book. If you like what you see, please let me know and I can give you the information for our website (since my account is so new that it won't let me post links). Prologue It had been thirteen years since the wizard's order had left their library in Illyria. Those were brighter, more peaceful days for magicians; with the high wizard and his counsel living at the library, no outside force dared to attack them. No force but Xardan Ta’Caran, Faelhart's Knight of the Black Era. A pleasant summer breeze blew past a lone man as he made his way back to the once great city of the magi. The last time he had been in Illyria was the fateful day of Xardan's attack. The nightmares of that day haunted him waking and sleeping, but the need for rare knowledge had become too great for him to put off the inevitable any longer. As the man approached the city, he accelerated his horse as though running from the memories that would soon overtake him. He was at a full gallop when the images of that horrific day invaded his thoughts. Dark bolts of Shadow Lightning announced the Knight's arrival as they extracted the heavy gate from its hinges. Dozens of soldiers passed through the gate on Xardan's heels, cutting down any mages that came within arm's reach. The wizards at the library at the top of the city sent great flaming spheres screaming toward the intruders at the gate, but the Knight reacted faster. Walls of shadow surrounded and extinguished each and every one of them as his soldiers formed into columns and pressed into the city. Rows of mighty oak trees rose to either side of the road to greet any visitors. Suspicious of a potential ambush from the many pillagers and looters seeking magical artifacts, the man slowed his tall warhorse to a walk before he cautiously approached the rubble that was once the proud gate. The city beyond was a mere shadow of its former glory. Large blocks of white granite had been used to construct the walls and buildings, with magical bonds causing the blocks to fuse together giving each building the appearance that it had been carved of a single slab of the stone. Never the less, the tall buildings and towers rose up to shattered walls and rooftops wherever the magi had made futile attempts to defend their city from the Knight of the Black Era. The man followed the destruction to the library in the center of the city; while Xardan was ruthless in his massacre of the mages, he hadn't needed to go out seeking them as they fought to defend their home. The main street from the gate to the center square was ruined, but the rest of the city was surprisingly intact. A wide staircase led from the center square to the library's front door. He dismounted and tied his horse to a fallen beam before he ascended the stairs with the practiced calm his nightmares had forced him to master. Xardan had wasted no time in the city. His Shadow Lightning carved a path through the ranks of mages and his soldiers jumped into them before the Illyrians could close their lines. He rallied his men in the center square and led them up the stairs in perfect, practiced formation. Lightning and fire lashed out at the column, only to clash uselessly against Xardan's shadowy defenses. Xardan moved mercilessly as his shadow magic both protected his men and leveled the entrance. The library had never been set right after Xardan's attack, and the man had to resist the urge to straighten the various toppled tables and bookshelves. With the door blasted from its hinges and one of the far glass walls shattered, the valuable contents of the library had become victim to the unpredictable weather that the ocean threw onto the mainland. A thin layer of dirt and dust that the wind had allowed to settle revealed a dozen pairs of footprints that would have led the man to what the other visitors had come here for, but he only paid them enough mind to determine that none were fresh enough to be less than a week old and went straight toward the central courtyard. In the brighter days, the wizards had used the stone floored courtyard to facilitate their cauldron fires as they experimented with various potions and brews. The open roof allowed the smoke to drift harmlessly upward, while the glass doors and walls surrounding the courtyard protected the books inside from the weather while still brightening the interior of the building with natural sunshine. Xardan arched his blade around to slay another wizard before he finally turned toward the courtyard. Several wizards smirked through the glass they had reinforced with their magic. The Knight of the Black Era tapped the enchanted glass walls with the tip of his blade before turning to walk deeper into the library. Cheers and shouts rose up from the wizards at the Knight's apparent defeat. One by one the cheers silenced as the nearby shadows thickened, darkened and twisted obediently onto Xardan's blade; the gleaming steel turned to a dark, forbidding black. The Knight of the Black Era shifted his foot back, turned, and threw the black blade. Shattered glass lay strewn around the courtyard among the various skeletal remains of dead wizards that scavenging animals had left alone for whatever reason, proving undeniably that Xardan's attack had scattered the wizards too quickly for them to clean their former shrine. Preparing for long hours he was planning to spend in the library, the man dropped his saddlebags, pulled various supplies from them and lit a small fire. Various ingredients and spices made their way into a pot followed by several strips of dried meat and within minutes the man had a stew simmering nicely over the flames. Pulling a torch from its wall sconce, the man lit it from his fire and turned into the deeper reaches of the library. He knew the tome he wanted was rare and powerful and could only be found in the high wizard's collection; if it was here at all. The high wizard's fire landed harmlessly against Xardan's Shadow Shield as he stormed into the office. Xardan passed the wizard a wicked grin as he spun his blade mockingly. The high wizard started casting a spell that Xardan knew he would never finish as the wizard’s shadow started rising up his legs. The Knight of the Black Era had placed dark wards of deep shadows across the door leading into the high wizard's quarters. After careful examination, the man saw that none of the wizards had even attempted dispelling them, and used his own magic to lift them. The high wizard's skeleton still lay slumped against the glass wall where Xardan had left him all those years ago. Out of the corner of his vision, the man saw a shadow run through his camp in the courtyard below. The man's blade flashed from its scabbard and the shadows bent to block his torchlight from passing beyond the windows, though he knew it was likely too late already. Cautiously, the man continued back into the high wizard's personal collection of books and shelves. Before he could react, a firm hand pressed against his back and a small blade rested against his neck. Binding spells restricted his knees, ankles, and wrists and forced him to drop down to the floor. "No gag?" the man asked. "I can't get answers from you if you can't talk," a female voice replied. "You got up here fast. You Traveled, I assume?" "Why would you assume that?" "I saw you running through the light of my camp only seconds ago." "And how do you know it was me? It could have easily been a companion of mine while I was up here all along." "A companion!? You? I would sooner believe the Trelain had left Talar!" The blade lifted from the man's throat and the Binds released his hands and legs. "You know me too well, Xardan Ta'Caran; but times are changing. Faelhart’s war is escalating uncontrollably! I have to travel with companions and you are going to have to let others help you." “So you do have a companion then?” The woman scoffed as she replied, “Not yet.” A brief moment of silence passed over the room as Xardan stood and brushed the dust from his pants. "Why are you here, Ilays?" Xardan asked. "The same reason you are, though I only stayed this long to save you time." Ilays replied, "The tome you seek isn't here, but the high wizard had notes on some of its last known locations." "And where are those?" “One is an old Lythrain city, buried in an earthquake ages ago; it is my intent to search there.” “And the others?” Xardan pressed. "There is only one other location listed: Ealthen’s Monastery." Ilays answered. "I see…” Xardan muttered, “So that’s their secret…”