When it came to designing the world of Stattendor, the typical methods of drawing the land masses and designating which goes were was quiet a process. I had to redraw the map several times over the course of months at a time, but it took me even longer to consider the word of world I was attempting to build. I examined maps of both the real world and numerous fictional worlds to draw inspiration from. From Middle-Earth to the official Atlas of the world, I scoured countless maps examining every little detail as I drew up my own. However, the details of crafting a world meant pouring a lot of time and interest into my project but I’ve learned from other writers. Whether you are trying to produce a short story or an intrepid saga, consistent world building is the foundation of a successful series. At least in my opinion.
When it came to charting the fictitious landscapes of my mythical world, I spared little expense in the crafting of it all. Once I started to formulate stories and characters to go into the world, that was when I started to struggle with something. It was a small issue at first and so I ignored it. Big mistake I know. One I had filled the world with enough history, people and possible storylines I then noticed that the issue was that with so much going I struggled to focus on where to start my main series. With a realisation I would need to find an area where to base my work, I decided on creating a region where to begin the first few stories.
This gave rise to the Successor Kingdoms.
In this map of the region was first drawn by myself by hand but when I started posting images of the map online, I realised that I needed a better-looking map. I worked with the talented artist Alvarex to create a fantastic version of my original design. Now that a portion of the world was fully created, I decided upon the direction to take, and things slowly developed from there. In terms of the name, The Successor Kingdoms were once part of a mighty empire that spanned across that section of the continent and centuries after it fell, the kingdoms rose up from what remained of the Imperial provinces of that once mighty nation. Over the many years since, those kingdoms have waged wars with one and other and so the original boards are no more and have faded into the pages of history. Because of this, the region and the kingdoms within this region are referred to as the Successor Kingdoms.
These lands are only a fraction of what lies within the world of Stattendor and that’s not even counting the hundreds of islands within the Silver Sea to the west of the mainland. However, when we will travel beyond the boarders of this map, will be something that only time can tell.
-James David
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