Lawgiver’s Blade

Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Four Part Four

July 31st, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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A/N: Check out this post which has maps relating to Lawgiver’s Blade and also this news post in which I talk about where I’m at.


There was a long pause and when someone finally spoke it was her father, much to Alidra’s surprise.

“There’s a school there, Mayin,” Denri said. “The Loyalists spent much of the Mage War spiriting away and training Commoner Mages before the Perfectionists found them…” he hesitated and took a breath. “It’s where I really was when I was supposedly working in Kiat Province when I was younger. I only came back to Shael because I lost my magic in the same battle that Lilat did.”

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Sunday Worldbuilding – Lawgiver’s Blade Maps!

July 29th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade, Sunday Worldbuilding

The Alait Archipelago

This map shows the whole of The Alait Archipelago where Lawgiver’s Blade is set. It is a large archipelago about 100 miles off the west coast of a large continent and lies in the southern hemisphere of the world.

It was once known as the forbidden isles because the Eight – the primary gods of this world – forbade humans to go there, but they lifted this prohibition and guided their followers there several centuries ago after the Hadrini attacked them. Now they call them “Alait” which means “Holy” or “Sacred”

As you can probably tell it was once one huge island and something very bad happened. Chances are that has something to do with why they were forbidden. Chances are that’s going to come up at some point…

Shael – circa the start of Lawgiver’s Blade

Here we see Shael as it was around the start of the story. As you can see it is a tiny place consisting of only a few households. The adult population at this point would be less than one hundred but more than fifty. However Shael is growing and by the current chapter several new houses have been added and I am currently expanding the map to show these.

Things that this map illustrates are the Benari geomancy network in which roads are very deliberate placed to channel the magical energy flows in the land and take the where they are needed. The solitary tree with the path leading down to the road is a magical upwelling and the path is feeding the energy into the system. Meanwhile the path to the fields takes not only the people of Shael there to work but the energy to enhance their fertility and keep the crops healthy.

Houses are also very deliberately placed and all construction works have to be approved by a qualified geomancer. However their placing is to make use of the network to maintain the health of the populous. This makes them less prone to minor ailments, speeds healing of minor injuries and helps prevent age and work related degenerative conditions like arthritis and dementia but cannot do much against serious illnesses like plague or cancer.

On its own this would make the population healthier, longer lived and less prone to famine than you might expect for a roughly medieval technology level. When you add in the work of the mages who bless the fields each Spring and those who heal the sick and injured the upshot is that they actually produce yields per acre similar to those found in modern industrial farming and lifespans and health outcomes similar (and sometimes better than) those granted by modern medicine.

Any questions? Ask in the comments.

Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Four Part Three

July 24th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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They found Denri and Kivit together. Kivit had healed well but he would always have a bad limp now so he had been given the task of recording the harvest as it was loaded onto the cart rather than actually helping in the fields. Denri meanwhile was loading bushels of wheat into the cart and he looked up as they ran towards him.

“Well look at you, apprentice battle mage Kilit!” Denri exclaimed with a warm smile. “Battle red suits you well.”

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Four Part Two

July 17th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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High Mage Kadriya must have taken Lilat’s message very seriously because only two days later Vessin rode into Shael accompanied by Kilit, who was wearing a set of red mage robes similar to those Lilat wore on certain occasions except that they were plain without any trim.

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Four Part One

July 3rd, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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The next year marked the turning of the Octade and even in Shael most lessons were cancelled so the children could celebrate and the adults took time from their work to feast, dance and sing as their celebrated the holiest of festivals, the only one that all eight peoples of the Alait archipelago celebrated, the Arosia – the feast of Deliverance and Arrival.

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Interlude – Benari Origin Myth

June 26th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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A/N: This week’s installment is an interlude. This is the Benari’s story about how they came to live in the Alait Archipelago. If you are curious it’s as told by Lilat to the children of Shael.

When humanity first arose from among the animals they did not yet have the Lawgiver’s wisdom to guide them for the Eight were still engaged in shaping the world. So they wandered many false paths seeking something they didn’t understand. Some fell in with the great spirits of earth, sky and nature who though born of this world are almost as powerful as the Eight themselves. Others began worshipping the ghosts of their dead ancestors – offering them gifts and sacrifice that allowed their material soul to stay in this realm instead of fading into the light.

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Three Part Six

June 19th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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“Natlin?” Tamasa said after they told them about the conversation they’d overheard. “She pious and traditional but not a bad woman. She was probably just nervous.”

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Three Part Five

June 12th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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“I knew you’d say that,” he said. “So I already cleared it with Kadria.”

He picked up the bowl of stew that Imalia had been eating from prior to the news of her husbands’s death and held it out to her. “And I know that the news has killed your appetite but you need to eat if you are to stand any chance of recovering your magic.”

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Three Part Four

June 5th, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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She must have dozed off herself because the next thing she knew her father was shaking her awake. Tamasa was standing behind him with two bowls of a rich, spicy stew. Hunks of meat floated in the rich gravy.

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Lawgiver’s Blade: Chapter Three Part Three

May 22nd, 2019  |  Published in Lawgiver's Blade

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At home they found Imalia lying on a mattress near the hearth swaddled in their winter bedding she was still shivering. Tamasa was kneeling by her and holding a steaming cup of broth to her lips.

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