Maps. History. Worlds colliding.
This post is full of story secrets and insight into the world of Their Majesties’ Pleasure, an interactive fantasy romance published by Heart’s Choice, as well as the series of novels I'm currently writing under my fantasy pen name Leia Talon.
"You're writing a series?" you ask.
Yes. Yes, I am. I'm rather excited about it, actually.
It's based on three stories I've linked together starting with the characters and some of the plot lines from Their Majesties' Pleasure and bringing that together with another epic drama set in the next kingdom over, with another cast of compelling characters. I'm on book one, adapting the first part of the game to novel form and diving deeper into character development and relationships.
I have six books planned and a good bit of that material written, though revising it all will take some doing and I have much drafting ahead.
Still, it's lots of fun. But this post isn't about the series I'm writing, it's about the world that series (and my Heart's Choice game) is set in.
Let’s start with maps. I’ve always loved books with maps.
They’re helpful, so you have the lay of the land as you read the story. Plus, it feels like the story has another layer of magic baked in.
I’ve done A LOT of world building to get my facts straight and add depth, history, mythology, interesting geography, and plenty of political intrigue to Their Majesties’ Pleasure.
The Island of Urestai.
THE KINGDOM OF RUMIA stretches down the western coast of the great island Urestai in settlements that survive by trade and toil. Wood, stone, gems, minerals that glow and explode, natural medicines and abundant food. Rumia’s resources are increasingly taken from land that does not belong to the kingdom, but to the WILDS. Where the Darkwood thickens, a curtain of magic deters most humans. Beyond that barrier live two demigods, the immortal Fae, and all manner of Wildings, many of whom have lost patience with humans and their greed. The Kingdom’s Keep sits in the north, overlooking THREASHA, a thriving port city that sprawls around the Bay of Sanera, where anything is possible at a price. By day, Threasha’s markets offer foods, fabrics, and goods found locally or shipped in from abroad. By night, the Underground Army emerges in a network of whispers and a web of players that answer to the Rogue King. The Cabaret is at the hub of the action, home to assassins, burlesque dancers, and throngs of people the kingdom has forsaken.
Rumia’s monarchs disregard growing threats from the Wilds and the Underground, largely ignoring their subjects so long as they pay taxes and don’t make too much trouble. But as their heirs run amok, with you in the thick of things, tensions come to a head. Your choices will mean the difference between civil relations and all-out war.
SOUTHERN PALACE: The Southern Palace sits along the sea north of Zenia, with an army encampment on the other side of farmland where half of Rumia’s army lives and grows food when they’re not training.
THE BRICKS: The maze of rocks ships have to navigate to get into the smuggler’s city on the undeveloped east coast of Urestai
OTHER CITIES: Serenai, and Zenia are larger cities, not quite as large as Threasha but busy trading centers. Brenata is a small fishing village south of Threasha. Trefol Bay runs between the two centers.
RUMIA’S CREST: A craggy mountain over 3 waves, encased in the circle of the sun to signify ties to Minare.
MILITARY: Once a mighty army, Rumia has had to resort to hiring mercenaries from afar to supplement its own troops after losing much of its forces in the last war with Cordova, and from supporting Minare’s ongoing conflict with Varvash.
UNIFORMS in Rumia’s military: Keep guards wear dark green with black leather armor; city soldiers wear wine red uniforms with brown leather armor; officers have dark green uniforms with wine red leather jerkins; knights wear dark blue dress uniforms in the Keep, polished armor when on active duty.
CULTURE: A relatively new kingdom, Rumia has thriving trade agreements with Minare, Forellia, and Rzskador, using resources from the island to create most of its goods, including minerals that glow. Settlements exist throughout Rumia (farming, tradespeople, homesteaders) focused around agriculture, forestry, and mining. Spellcasters make lanterns, icemakers and coldboxes, ovens, and all manner of contraptions combining the minerals of the mountains with natural magic and formulated spells.
History of Rumia and Minare
MINARE was once a peaceful island with close ties to Rzskador and the Island of Urestai. And then General Nathanel Ga’vaan and his brother Cameren committed treason against the emperor of Varvash, and stole half his army to conquer Minare.
Though many of Minare’s population had Fae blood, there had been no need of warriors in hundreds of years, and there weren’t enough fighters to stop the flood of soldiers from Varvash. Some Fae sailed to Urestai or Rzkador. Some retreated through portals into adjacent worlds. Some created worlds of their own through magic, and only those who know the way can go in or out. Those who could pass as human did their best to adapt to life under Ga’vaan rule.
Nathanel Ga’vaan declared himself king, supported by five lords he’d promised territory in exchange for their help conquering Minare. Cameren Ga’vaan sailed to Urestai with part of his stolen army, and took Threasha from the Fae. But the Fae returned, led by Nenaria, a fierce fighter and darling diva of the theater. In a single night, they slaughtered Cameren Ga’vaan and took revenge on every soldier in the city. In the morning, the only survivors were those who’d fled by sea.
Grieving his brother and ruthless to the core, Nathanel Ga’vaan ruled Minare with absolute power. As generations passed, revolutions came and went, always crushed soundly by whatever Ga’vaan king sat on the throne. After seven hundred years of trying to colonize Rumia, a Ga’vaan prince who was uncharacteristically moderate in his wrath chose cunning over cruelty. He sailed to Urestai, and with a silver tongue and a good deal of bribery, struck a deal with a Fae queen for the western territory of the island. Thus, Rumia was born and a new king came to power. But when he brought an army far larger than the treaty he signed specified, the Fae queen realized she’d been deceived. She and her kind retreated into the Wilds where the demigoddess Edenia erected a curtain of protection around the northeastern part of the island.
Now, Minare continues to suffer under the rule of King Stevik Ga’vaan, whose allies and people have tired of broken promises. Rumia’s king is equally heavy-handed and out of touch, and both kingdoms tremble on the edge of war. The only hope lies with their heirs, and the new allies they forge in order to save their people and ensure the future of their realms.
REVIEWS: What People Are Saying About Their Majesties' Pleasure.
This first review is by Tom Wacker, retired Writer and active Rider, who you might know as @bigtom13.
Leia Talon is a well established author of notable fantasy fiction, so I really expected more of the same with her new “Their Majesties Pleasure”. Her exquisite writing is the same, but she’s switched a bit. This is an interactive Role Playing Game that is just nothing short of terrific.
For those like me who have never played a game like this, not to worry’. You have to make choices quite often and each choice leads to different outcomes. It’s amazingly complex and simple all at the same time! The thing that hasn’t changed a bit is Ms. Talon’s sturdy writing. Her character development is stunning and the prose and plot lines are amazing. There is plenty of swash to buckle and lots of romantic choices. It turns out that she wrote 225,000 words to cover what would normally be about a 70,000 word novel. Mind boggling stuff to me.
To be honest, I was reluctant to start this. A new genre? A new way of reading? A statistical record of my choices and outcomes? Who needs it? I do. Turns out I had a really good time with this and can’t wait to go through it again with other choices. It’s like getting 3 novels in one. What a treat. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Buy it TODAY. It’s that good.
The Choice of Games forum has lots of players’ comments on the game. Here are a few reviews from the forum:
"This world is rich in lore and has plenty of stories to tell." - Eldensalkeld
"For a game with so much hedonism baked in, it was very sweet, which isn't a bad thing at all. And there was plenty to do outside of romance — I did a bunch of successful politicking, yay!" - HannahPS
"Great writing, very evocative. All romance options are well-developed, with very distinct personalities. Romance gets as sweet or steamy as you want." - Redknight178
"Probably my favorite Heart's Choice game so far. Immaculately paced." - Dej
"Enjoyed this one a lot! A fun time with some great characters in an imaginative and beautifully written fantasy world. Hope to see more projects from this author in the future!" - Simza
Have You Played Their Majesties' Pleasure Yet?
Did you know you can try the first three chapters for free?
This is an epic fantasy romance. When you click the link, you'll get the description of the game and can start playing right away. Don't be scared off by the saucy write up on Heart's Choice, as they wrote that targeting players who enjoy spice in their stories. There is definitely adult content if you choose that route, but because this is an RPG, every choice you make gives you options, and I wrote A LOT of options to suit as many peoples' preferences as possible. If you're into explicit spice, you can choose that, but you can just as easily avoid all the sex scenes if you want. There's plenty of political intrigue, adventuring, and trouble to get into with a pair of rebellious royals, a rogue, a demigoddess, and a Fae prince.
Demo the game at Heart's Choice on whatever device you prefer.
If you've played the demo or the whole game, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought!
Thank you for reading! 💖
Peace @Katrina-Ariel / @LeiaTalon
Parts of this article were originally posted on my author website LeiaTalon.com
Got a package! Thank you for replacing my ashes and giving birth to a Phoenix.
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You know? The one argument I have with my Kindle is the scale of illustrations. I really like these maps right here and right now. They are great and add to my understanding.
So. Let the record show that I'm just about to determine my route north next week. With a large selection of paper maps :) I really do like maps in general.
Thank you
I love maps. I spent a good part of my youth driving around the States by way of a Rand McNally map book and disorganized pages printed out from MapQuest. Back in the day. lol! Paper maps are the best.
Happy riding. And thank you!!! 💖
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