My Fantasy Trilogy: The Thief Trilogy

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Kingdom of Inhabía

Native name: Quirliñe de Inhabía
Pronounciation of name: “In-Àh-byAH” (In Síac, the H is pronounced very softly, and can sometimes sound more like a pause.)
Meaning of name: Sàebtellaiac for “held within” or “contained” it refers to the fact that the country is contained by the Beticulura Mountain Range.
Capital: Háloma
Government: Feudal Monarchy but with a Sàebtellaian-style military system.
National Coat of Arms: Black and violet raven (The Dédonian Raven) on a red background, blue bordure with a pattern of alternating castles and snow-capped mountains. Inhabían royal Crown on top of the shield with mantle. Crest is supported by two oak trees and a pool of water sits at the bottom. (Representing the Bay of Esaladad)
Official Language: Lingua de Sí (“The language of Sí” that is, the language in which the word for yes is “Sí”) or Síac (Specifically Dédonian Síac on the federal level, various other languages and dialects have certain levels of recognition.)
Ethnic Groups: The Dédonians make up the vast majority of the upper class in Inhabía, but there are plenty of other large, powerful and noteworthy ethnic groups in the Kingdom.
Geography: Coastal region on the west and a bit of the south, the rest of the region is encircled by the Beticulura Mountain Range. (Betikulurra, in Adolese) The Bay of Esaladad, (Isaladad in Aldolese) a long thin bay passes through the land, slightly south of centre. The Kingdom also encompasses the small Mendalquìn Islands off the coast.
Terrain: Mostly hilly and rocky.
Climate: Mostly warm and arid. Some of the northern regions receive snow in the wintertime, especially the Duchy of Telíca and the Duchy of the Northern Aldolese.

Description:
Much of the trilogy takes place in the Kingdom of Inhabía, and when our story begins, things aren’t looking too good for the Kingdom. Háloma has just fallen, and Queen Andromé and her Royal Court are on the run, trying to re-group and gather a resistance. The Kingdom is under attack by the Waréangs, a powerful military Kingdom that currently dominates much of the continent of Occidencia.

Inhabía has a long and interesting history, in the Eastern corners of the Kingdom lie the last remnants of the country’s indigenous population, the Aldolese. Inhabía was first conquered by the Sàebtellaian Empire and became one of its provinces then, in the latter days of the Empire, the Dédonians, an uncivilized people from the north came in and took over occupation of the land. The Dédonians then settled into several different kingdoms across Inhabía, the Southern Aldolese people also rose up and established their own independent kingdom, the Kingdom of Isaladad, while the Northern Aldolese had their own lordship or duchy that, occasionally was independent, but for the most part passed between vassalage to the Southern Aldolese Kingdom, or one of the Dédonian Kingdoms. Eventually Inhabía was united under one Kingdom with Háloma as its capital. There are also several Elven colonies in the country, mostly forming a straight line stretching from the Pass of Dédonia to the coast.

In the years leading up to the beginning of this trilogy, several events had taken place in Inhabía’s recent past that would have great effects on the way the story unfolds. The first, and most devastating of all past events was a great rebellion which started off in Abèrca, and soon spread throughout the vast majority of the country; leaving only the territory surrounding Háloma, the eastern lands, and the Mendalquìn Islands loyal to the Kingdom. Abèrca was, and still is to some extant, the wealthiest duchy in Inhabía, and with that wealth came greed, corruption and scheming, soon the whole thing erupted into the uprising in question. What made the rebellion so devastating was the fact that the rebels made an alliance with the Elves. Elves are extremely dangerous, nothing more than border agreements, peaceful trade, and dealings with the Priest-Kings in the city of Reich-Heim in the Forbidden Valley, should be established between them; anything more is sure to bring about disaster. The rebels were poised and ready to march on Háloma, but their alliance with the Elves inevitably back-fired and violently, bringing the rebellion to a cataclysmic end.

The second great event that took place before the beginning of the story is actually directly related to, and happened in the aftermath of, the first event. In the wake of the rebellion, the Royal Government mandated that the duchies pass bills that, among other things, granted amnesty to certain individuals who participated in the rebellion. These bills were extremely controversial, but in Abèrca, the duchy that was at the centre of the rebellion, and suffered the greatest damage because of it, they were infuriating. Thus, not long after the signing of the bills, an angry mob descended on Abèrca’s capital of Juncción* and burned down the dukedom’s legislature building.

The third event that took place before the beginning of the main plot, was the assassination of King Sancèus. At an annual Royal banquet that gathered together all the dukes of the various regions, someone slipped poison into Sancèus’ drink, killing him almost instantly. To this day, no one knows who did it, and/or who was behind it, whether it was done by the remnants of the rebels still out there, or by the Waréangs in preparation for their invasion of the Kingdom.

Inhabía’s military consists mostly of infantry (particulary pikeman) due to the country’s rocky terrain. Preferred weapons of the Inhabíans include a small, thick, scimitar-like weapon that appears to have originated from the Aldolese peoples. However Inhabíans have also adopted the Sàebtellaian Broadsword which is common throughout Occidencia, some generals have also adopted a combined form of the broadsword and saber, and which is essentially a longer scimitar. Inhabíans also employ a lot of ranged weapons including bows-and-arrows, javelins, and slings. (A highly favoured and powerful, traditional weapon among the Aldolese peoples.) Inhabian captains wear raven-winged helmets, except for the Isaladite captains, who wear helmets decorated with peacock tail feathers.

* Like Spanish, in Síac the J is pronounced like an H, thus Juncción is pronounced “Hoong-kshun.”

The Waréang Kingdom

Native name: Dhen Kèrlengrekt fron dher Waréang Théoditch (Lirerally: “The Kingdom of the Waréang People” or “Folk.” Please note the ‘Dh” in the words “Dhen” and “Dher” are meant to be pronounced with a hard “Th” like in the word “The,” which in fact, both Dhen and Dher translate as.)
Pronounciation of name: “WEh-rEE-AYng”
Meaning of name: “Those who have made a solemn agreement” (See description below. Waré,“ Solemn agreement,” “Solemn contract,” “Oath.” -ang, compare with the English suffix “-ing”)
Capital: Eifenstand
Government: Feudal Monarchy with a Sàbtellaian-style military system and strong influence from the military leaders. There is also rising influence from the Instruktidhoraat, the oligarchic leaders of Staalland, the Kingdom’s industrial region.
National Coat of Arms: Prancing silver stag on a dark blue background. Brighter blue bordure with five white flowers in the five corners of the shield. Crest supported by five wheels, Waréangese crown on top.
Official Language: Waréangese (Also, knowledge of the Elvish language is highly encouraged and promoted.)
Ethnic Groups:The Five Tribes of the Waréangs, and their related ethnicities. (It is interesting to note, that the Dédonians, originally known as the Déodons, are actually related to these ethnic groups.) Various other conquered peoples are also part of the Waréang’s massive kingdom.
Geography: Varies due to the large size of the Kingdom, but mostly consists of forests and open fields, with a few mountain ranges here and there, the hilliest and rockiest region is Staalland in the west, a narrow corridor between two Elven territories to the west and east. The original Waréang homeland sits neighbouring the Elven homeland, and thus, there is often an over lapping of the two where there will be Waréang towns scattered throughout elven territory and vis-versa. The Kingdom occupies the northern-most part of the continent, in the northwest the coastline is warm enough for the Kingdom to establish warm water ports, while the rest of the coast freezes in the winter. At one point, the Kingdom’s territory extended even farther, reaching the southern coast, even occupying the northern parts of the Nūsca Peninsula, (Which was once the homeland of the Sàebtellaian Empire before its fall.) but this territory was eventually lost to other southern kingdoms. Due to various disputes, the Waréangs occupying the northern parts of the Nūsca Peninsula seceded from the Waréang Kingdom and became the Suùman Kingdom, (Literally, “The South-man Kingdom.”) which still rules the northern parts of Nūsca today.
Terrain: Varies, more hilly and rocky in the west, while the eastern parts are flatter.
Climate: Varies, mostly wet and slightly colder than other nations due to it being up north.

Description:
Originally a loose confederation of five tribes in the north, the Waréangs (“Those who have made a solemn agreement”) got their name by serving the Sàebtellaian Empire as mercenaries in the north, in areas beyond the Empire’s reach. Their successes were boosted by the Sàebtellaian Empire rewarding them with extra money and goods for their successful missions.

The relations between the Empire and the Waréangs became very good, but one Emperor tried to make relationships a little too good. While staying at the Waréang Royal Court on a diplomatic mission, the Emperor fell in love with a Waréang princess and married her. This caused great outrage back home, where most people didn’t approve of the mingling of the Imperial Blood Line with Waréang blood and thus, a huge rebellion erupted. During the rebellion, rebel armies invaded Waréang territory, ransacking villages and massacring Waréang peasants and townfolk. When the rebellion was put down and the rightful ruler put back on the throne; the Empire paid much compensation for the atrocities committed. Among the compensations paid, the steel Sàebtellaian Broadsword wielded by rebel Emperor was given to the Waréang king, and remains in the possession of the Waréang Royal Family to this very day.

After the fall of Sàebtellaia, the Waréang Kingdom continued to grow in power, quickly taking over as the dominate power on Occidencia. While the Elven city of Reikh-Heim is the true source, sustainer, and centre of peace, justice, and civilization in Occidencia,* the Waréangs started to become almost a policing force of sorts, quickly resolving any disputes that arose among smaller kingdoms. The Waréang Kingdom became well-known for fighting goblins and orges, as well as holding off invading peoples from the East. Historically their relations with Inhabía have been good, the height of their relationship being when the Waréang King, Karlwald V, rode to the aid of the Inhabíans in preventing a goblin horde from infesting the Beticulura Mountain Range. The invasion of Inhabía by the Waréangs, now under the reign of Kalrwald VI, Karlwald V’s grandson, was as unexpected as it was sudden, the motives for the Waréangs’ invasion is unknown.

Culturally, the two Kingdoms are very distinct; the Inhabíans have black or dark brown hair, live in stone houses with clay-tiled roofs, and have a preference for beef and seafood. By contrast, the Waréangs have lighter coloured blonde, red, or brown hair, live in wooden or brick houses,** and prefer pork and pastries. Yet ethnically, the ruling Dédonians, originally known as the Déodons, come from the exact same ethnicity as the Waréangs, and this can best be demonstrated by the fact that some of the words in Dédonian Síac bare great resemblance to Waréangese words. (And also the Elvish Language, which greatly resembles the languages of these ethnicities.) A couple of examples of similarities between Dédonian Síac, and Waréangese include, Atta and Adda for “father” respectively; (coincidentally, the word for “father” in the language of the Aldolese people is also Atta.) Vaudes and Wuuden for “forest;” and, the Síac suffix -dor and Dorf for “village.” (The Síac word for “king,” quirlos, may be related to the Waréangese word for “king,” Kerleng; but it could also derive the Sàebtellaian word Cyirilius, meaning “Sovereign,” or “Overlord.”)

Waréang captains wear helmets decorated with deer antlers, axes and halberds are the preferred weapons of the Waréangs, some of their most powerful and feared weapons employed are their Karridhorês and Turnidhorês,*** war chariots and war wagons respectively. Fortunately Inhabía’s hilly and rocky terrain makes it difficult for the Waréangs to employ their war wagons that much and thus, it’s only in the open regions of Abèrca and Dédonia that Karridhorês and Turnidhorês are used. However, the key thing that truly makes the Waréangs a superpower in Occidencia is their relationship with the Elves. The homeland of the Waréangs sits right alongside the homelands of the Elves, and thus the Waréangs have been able to cultivate a very good relationship with them. Good relationship with the Elves have enabled the Waréangs to gain access to Elven technology including weapons. Elven weapons employed by the Waréangs include, among other things, steel, a metal that, apart from the Sàebtellaians, no human being has been able to produce, and Elven Fire, a flammable liquid, that no human-made incendiary substance has been able to match.

* It’s interesting to note that the capital, Eifenstand, was originally named Newer Rykh-Ham, “New Reikh-Heim,” and was founded by a coven of Sorcerers in league with a larger secret society of Dark Elves.
** In Staalland, almost everyone except the elites live in either cheap flimsy shacks, work-barracks or occasionally dormitories built into some factory complexes. But Staalland is a whole other story for another time.
*** Turnidhor comes from the Waréangese word Turn, meaning “tower” and refers to the fact that Turnidhorês are built with a small tower on top from which men can fire arrows at their enemies.

The Forces of Evil

“Native” name: Ermyey d’Regsh Tyaduh. (Literally, “Army of King So-and-So,” the “So-and-So” being, which goblin or Troll King said army serves, so the army serving King Pûkkal would refer to themselves as l’Ermyey d’Regsh Pûccalluh, “the Army of King Pûkkal.") Also simply L’Ermyey. (“The Army”)
Government: Various armies headed by despotic warlords, often, if not always hostile to each other but united by one goal, to conquer Occidencia and summon back the Fiend Kings of old.
Coat of Arms: Varies.
Official Language: Goblinish, although the Lamiak of the native lands of the Aldolese, speak the native Aldolese language, and some even speak Síac. Some other evil creatures are also known to speak various Occidencian languages.
Ethnic Groups: None, goblins, ogres, and trolls do not have ethnicities.
Geography: All over Occidencia. Specifically at various hideouts, usually in caves, forests, and swamps, some hideouts are well known or suspected.

Description:
Goblins, ogres, and trolls, were made by the Fiend Kings to serve in their armies in the wars of the ancient past. How the Fiend Kings made these creatures is uncertain, but it’s generally believed that they made them by kidnapping and perverting the original creatures, as Fiends cannot create ex-nihilo. It appears that the goblins are some perverted form of elves* as they have many features that are similar to elves including, pointy ears, thin pointy noses, slanted eyes, light-coloured hair, and a lean body. Ogres and trolls seem to be some perverted form of giants. Goblins and trolls can have green, blue, purple, grey, or sometimes bone-white skin, while ogres just have green or grey skin. Unlike elves, goblins are incapable of using magic, only trolls can use magic, and are capable performing incredibly powerful, frightening works of magic which make them extremely difficult to defeat on the battlefield.

The trolls were made by the Fiend Kings specifically to command their armies and be their physical representatives in the world. They are much larger than humans, elves, and goblins, but not as big as orgres, their heads are big and ovular, containing large brains, and their bodies have a muscular build. Their bodies seem be made of, not natural flesh but some mysterious preternatural substance. This substance not only enables a troll to change his appearance, size and shape, but also duplicate himself into multiple figures as goblins, orgres, elves, human beings, or a combination of them, hence the difficulty to slay them on the battlefield. The only thing trolls are not capable of doing is communicating with the Fiend Kings, to do that they need to rely on a human or Dark Elf to serve as a shaman or medium to contact the Fiends imprisoned in Neiheim.

King Pûkkal is currently the most powerful and dominant of the Troll Kings, especially after the mysterious deaths of several contending Troll Kings which are suspected to be due to his scheming. It is widely suspected that the Waréang Protectorate of Staalland is where Pûkkal has hidden his current base of operations. Goblin attacks in Staalland now occur several times a day, traveling between towns now means having to travel in huge convoys, escorted by Waréang soldiers. Pûkkal’s name appears to be Waréangese in origin, how Troll Kings get their names is uncertain. Unlike goblins and ogres, trolls have not taken on Goblinish names until very recently. Instead, Troll Kings seem to take their names from various Occidencian languages, and yet correspondence between said languages used in these names and where the Troll Kings are campaigning is not always clear. There were once two Troll Kings who went by the names of Nolobarg and Mahabarg, these are Sshieglikanite names meaning “Dark Lord” and “Wicked Lord” respectively; yet their bases of operation were always far from Sshieglikan, and there is no confirmed record of any Sshieglikanite knowing of these two Troll Kings. One of the most powerful and feared Troll Kings to menace the world since ancient times, had the name of Montayìmnékyirliuz, which seems to mean “Mountain King” or “Mountain Lord” but the exact language used in this name is unknown.

Goblins, ogres, and trolls are all-male races, there are no records of any female goblins, ogres, or trolls anywhere.** Most people believe that goblins, ogres, and trolls do not have freewill and that is why they are always evil. Ogres aren’t very bright, they can have some decent fighting skills on the battlefield and know how to use their massive size to their advantage, but other than that, they’re quite dumb. By contrast, while most goblins are shallow-minded, goblins are capable of great intelligence and some have managed to become kings ruling over armies of goblins and ogres in instead of trolls.

In an event prior to our story taking place, one Goblin King by the name of Orádentuh took over a dwarven colony in the southern mountains of Sshieglíkan. King Orádentuh then went on to harass the local tribesmen and killed two Sshieglíkanite lords. Fortunately this king’s reign lasted very shortly, the widow of one of the Sshieglíkanite lords Orádentuh’s army killed, was able to rally together an army to oust the Goblin King. This army included the exiled dwarves; Sshieglíkanite warriors under a young but valiant chieftain; and a supporting army from the Waréang Kingdom. (Which included Aretza and some of his fellow-Aldolese men, serving in the foreign auxiliaries.) The allied army stormed and recaptured the dwarven colony, slaying Orádentuh and routing and scattering his army.

Goblin soldiers wear helmets that have masks on them molded in the shape of skulls, goblin captains wear horned helmets. Goblins and orges in general employ a diverse array of weapons, but by far their favourites are maces and bludgeons.

While goblins, ogres and trolls are the main evil threatening Occidencia, there are other evil creatures scattered throughout the continent that can pose a major menace to the peoples of Occidencia. One such race of menaces are the Lamiak, (singular: Lamia) a strange, all-female race that lurks in the home country of the Adolese people, as well as some neighboring lands in Inhabía, such as Porcéna and Telíca. They appear as beautiful woman, human in every appearance except for their duck-like webbed feet which they hide under their long dresses, almost all of them have golden blonde hair. Their allegiance to the Fiend Kings is evidenced by old Aldolese tales of villages, back when the Aldolese (and almost all other human cultures in Occidencia) worshipped the Fiend Kings, handing their people over to Lamiak priestesses to be sacrificed to the Fiends. (Though the exact names and locations of these villages are not identified in these tales.) The Lamiak seem to possess a very deep and cruel hatred for humanity, and delight in engaging in subtle activities that will ultimately result in the torment, and/or death of their targeted victims. Men are the easiest targets for the Lamiak, who simply seduce them with their beauty and lead away into their plotted traps. For women, the Lamiak employ more complex forms of torment and harassment, usually in the form of malicious gossip, to destroy their reputations and cause them to be held with contempt by their communities. The Lamiak seem to hold an especially deep and malicious hatred for human children. When Lamiak are able to take down an entire family, it’s usually the children that suffer greatest and cruelest forms of torture by their hands.

*It is interesting to note that when some Dark Elf sorcerers become very powerful, they under go the strange effect of having their skin colour change and become green, blue, purple, grey, or bone-white, just like goblins.

**This is probably because, among all the Fiends known in Occidnecia, only one is known to have a feminine character, all the other Fiend Kings are masculine in nature.

Believe in it, and go with it.

Thanks! Will get to it!

Probably the biggest obstacle I'll be facing is the languages, no one in the Thief Trilogy speaks English; they all speak their native languages and I present the books as translations of their original languages. Thus, I need to learn the real-life languages I'll be basing these fictitious languages off of, I'm planning on going to the foreign languages sub-forum here, sometime and starting a basic conversation in which I immerse myself these languages. However in the meantime, I guess I could and should just start writing chapters now and worrying about the native languages later, will certain save time and work.

A friendly piece of advise: I'd have at least your major characters speaking English, as having to translate the dialogue might make the reader regard the books to be a chore rather than an enjoyment. Just make mention of what languages they are actually speaking.

Yeah, that’s basically what I plan on doing, I’m basically having it be like Lord of the Rings where the characters are speaking English in the book but in the story itself they’re speaking a Middle-earth language. (Usually Westron) I plan doing that, but adding a footnote here or there letting the reader know if a character is saying something that’s a pun or rhyming phrase or something, in their native tongue.

Seems interesting.

If it was a book I'd probably consider reading it, but I take it you haven't gotten that far yet.

Complex world-building...

Write where your characters speak English but incorporate anachronisms such as kennings & the halting, rough translations as in the King James bible. That's how I'd fake it like I was doing a translation from a nearly-untranslatable language. German expressions can be roughly Anglicized and provide other areas for you to "fake it til you make it."

It should be an interesting story.