A Look at the World of Wildervale
My blogs thus far have been pretty focused on general concepts, philosophies, or industry commentary. In this one, I want to speak a little bit about my own work, specifically The Wildervale Grimoire: Queen of Ghouls. If you haven't read the book, hopefully this is a teaser to get you invested enough to pick it up (It's only $0.99! And free in an upcoming giveaway!). If you have read it, maybe you'll get a little bit more insight on some of the more mysterious aspects of the world of Wildervale. I'll post a link to the Amazon page at the bottom of the blog if you guys want to give it a look!
Spoiler Alert/Disclaimer: I will try to keep any spoilers out of this blog, but sometimes what people classify as spoilers are different from what others do, so keep that in mind moving forward!
An Overview of the Story
Queen of Ghouls, the first book in the trilogy The Wildervale Grimoire, follows a young man named Eldred. He's a simple hunter in a little village called Bowen Valley, hidden away in a mountain oasis away from the strife and hardship of the newly founded country Vaule. Without ambition or curiosity extending past his little world, he goes about his days hunting deer, quarreling with the other youth of the village, and helping his father in his butcher shop.
On one fateful hunting trip, however, he ventures into the Deepwoods while tracking his prey. As darkness falls, something moves in the shadows of the ancient forest. Something lurks in the Deepwoods, a place the wise elders of the village have warned the youth to stay away from. Superstition and fear surround the depths of the woods. Tales of talking owls that lure you to your death, eyes flashing among the trees, a strange light shining from depths of the forest, and the stories go on. With his chance encounter, Eldred sets off a series of events that will test he and his village. A battle between the base instinct to survive and loyalty to family and home is waged in the young man's heart over the course of the events that follow. Not only throwing Eldred's world into a tailspin, but unveils far greater threats beyond that of the small, seemingly insignificant village. Dark secrets long kept suppressed rise to the surface as evil emerges from the ashes to complete a decades old mission.
Godsent, Paran, and Those Who Use Them
As with most Fantasy novels, I've crafted a magic system to accompany much of the story. The magic of Wildervale is referred to as Godsent, originally referred to as Godsent Knowledge as it was taught to man by an Elder God, but shortened for ease. It is the use of sigils and runes to harness the latent power leftover from the creation of the universe, the power of paran. While Godsent can be used to do great, great things, it also has some very strict rules and restrictions for its use. For instance, if there isn't enough paran around a sigil to fuel it, it cannot function. More complex sigils take more and more paran to work. The permanence of the sigils also impact how powerful they are. A sigil drawn in chalk is far, far weaker than a sigil carved into stone. As well, the limited knowledge of humans restricts what can be done with Godsent. While Godsent is only touched on in Queen of Ghouls and remains a mysterious power in the world, we'll be diving headfirst into a lot of the deeper mechanics in the second book in the series, Witchlord.
Gods, Humans, and Beasts
As I mentioned above, there are GODS in The Wildervale Grimoire. Elder Gods that existed in an alternate dimension before the Dark Expanse, in which human life flourishes, came to be. The Gods are directly responsible for the creation of the world, humans, beasts, and the souls therein.
There are a plethora of fantastic creatures in the world alongside humans as well as several different races of humanoids. Giant fire lizards ridden by soldiers, balls of slime that move of their own accord, an ancient race of seemingly immortal humans, and creatures warped by the dark will of humans using the powers of Godsent!
Powerful Artifacts and The Grimoire
What fantasy story would be complete without some neat relics or artifacts or weapons? I've always been a huge sucker for consistent writing with weapons and artifacts that are totally believable for the world in which they are written and aren't overly powerful to the point of ruining all tension. I've had trouble balancing out a few of my own creations, such as the Black Blade of the Fang, a dagger of mysterious origin and power, the Silver Sigil, and a few others. I think I've done a pretty good job thus far and I hope you agree!
Finally, the spellbook for which the books were named, the Wildervale Grimoire. Unfortunately I can't say much about the fabled journal without spoiling a large chunk of the story, but it contains the studies of one of the most powerful Witches ever to walk the face of Parth and is sought with unyielding fervor by many.
The Living World of Parth
I've thrown a lot of names at you in short order here, so let me elaborate on them a bit. Parth is the planet on which the story takes place. The eldest of the worlds created by the God of Creation for whom this first creation was named. While Queen of Ghouls only really focuses on the tiny town of Bowen Valley, the country of Vaule is large and full of mystery to be explored in the sequel. Then, in the final chapter of the series, we'll even be branching out to Kask and the other countries surrounding Vaule to get a view of the grand scheme and all the wonder the world has to offer.
If you want to read The Wildervale Grimoire: Queen of Ghouls, you can check it out over on Amazon at the following link! It's only $0.99!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YF1VBZW
If you enjoy it, please do me a kindness and leave a review! They really help with sales and rating!
Thanks for reading!