I have a civil engineering background, with a focus on municipal engineering. While I give a lot of reasons for why I went down that route, fact is, it’s my desire to expand on my worldbuilding that got me (a person who loathes math) through it all.
The Agartes Epilogues is set in a world that is more alive than I try to show in the narrative. I’ve talked about how I hate bogging down the narrative with too much worldbuilding. I’d rather let it breathe, letting the characters explore each place naturally as the plot takes thetm there. It doesn’t mean the worldbuilding doesn’t exist–far from it.
Here’s just a few of the cities or towns you may encounter over the course of the series (and any sequels hereafter).
| Aldawan | A village in the island of Agantuan in Gorent. |
| Ad Methas | A city in south central Dageis, near the mountains that border Dageis and Gaspar. |
| Akki | A port city in the island of Akki, one day south of Fuyyu. |
| Aret-ni | A Gasparian port city on the eastern coast of Gaspar. Aret-ni is also within the Al-ir province. |
| Bara | A city near Oren-yaro, currently ruled by the Baraji clan. |
| Bardes | A port city in eastern Dageis. |
| Bay-at-dan | A Gasparian city on the border of Dageis and northern Gaspar. |
| Blackwood | A city in southern Hafod. |
| Cael City | A small city set in the heart of the foreboding Kag wilderness. Cael is one of the city-states founded by Agartes Allaicras. The abundance of a smooth, white stone mined from quarries around the city helped it become prosperous despite its humble roots, and it now stands as a bastion of culture and arts in the Kag. Cael City is also the home of Yn Garr Industries, one of the largest companies in the whole Kag region. |
| Cairntown | A run-down city in the stateless region of Kago. Prostitution, gambling, and other illicit activities run rampant in this town. The mercenary group, Boarshind, founded by Baeddan Siromer and Gorrhen yn Garr, is the prominent power in the area. |
| Darusu | The city of the Hoen royal clan of Jin-Sayeng. It lies at the foot of the mountains in the northeast coast of the nation. |
| Drusgaya | The capital of the Empire of Dageis. Drusgaya is a city like no other–it takes up an entire small peninsula on the northern coast of Dageis, connected to the mainland by six bridges. It is easily ten times the size of Jin-Sayeng’s Shirrokaru. Trams powered by the agan provide transportation throughout the city. There are also numerous towers, with the four tallest surrounding the palace where the Emperor of Dageis resides. |
| Eheldeth | Not technically a city, but a large community and school founded around the education of mages. It stands on the Dageian Plateau, several days north of the Gaspar border city of Bay-at-dan. The council at Eheldeth is largely responsible for the management of mages in the Dageian Empire. |
| Fuyyu | A Jin-Sayeng city in western Jin-Sayeng. One of the cities that is not officially within warlord territory. Many of the ruling families in the area come from merchants and farmers. There is much tension between these commoners and the royal clans from the east, especially when the Ikessars elevated the merchant caste after they opened trade with the Kags. |
| Kai | A port city in Eastern Jin-Sayeng. |
| Kalthekar | A Gasparian city north of the Jin-Sayeng border near Shirrokaru. It is within the Barun province. |
| Kazfian | A Dageian colony city, once under the rule of the Shi-uin people. It is in the southwestern coast of the Shi-uin island, a day’s boat ride from Bardes. |
| Kiel City | A rougher version of Cael, though one should not let Kielers hear it. Its own city-state, Kiel trades in white stone similarly. The city borders on lands owned by various ka-eng tribes, as well as the Laidari people. |
| Lon Basden | A port city at the northern tip of the Orasmus Peninsula, formerly the Gorenten city of Gentigen. It is one of the few cities not directly connected to the airship system in Dageis. |
| Nalvor | A port town near the city-state of Cael. |
| Ni’in | A port town in Kago. |
| Oren-yaro | The city of the Orenar royal clan of Jin-Sayeng. South of Shirrokaru, it is more rural in character, keeping its rice fields and farms close at hand. It stands near Oka Shto Mountain and by the River Agos. |
| Port Greenleaf | A port city in the island nation of Baidh, west of Tilarthan. |
| Sen’senal | A small Gorenten city, the largest within those group of islands. |
| Shirrokaru | The city traditionally attributed to the Ikessar royal clan of Jin-Sayeng, currently the ruling family. Shirrokaru is formed around Lake Watu and is split into a northern and southern district. The Dragonlord’s palace, as well as a number of businesses and royal houses, is located on the northern district. Large dragontowers mark up the landscape, connected by bridges–these used to house the dragons when they were numerous enough for people to keep. A series of tunnels connects these dragontowers to many homes, with dragonfire providing warmth and sanitation in the past. With the near-extinction of dragons in the land, these systems have been largely abandoned. |
| Sutan | The city of the Jeinza royal clan of Jin-Sayeng. A harbour city that, like most of the royal clans’ cities, contains empty dragontowers. Sutan was one of the cities attacked by the Empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro (or Xiaro) during the war several years back–a war which is commonly believed to have pushed the Ikessars into considering opening trade to the Kags. |
| Tilarthan | A large port city, capital of the Kingdom of Hafod. It has fortified its northern walls to repel attacks from Dageis in the Orasmus Peninsula to the north. A good part of the city sprawls around the tall cliffs making up the landscape. A network of roads make transportation convenient throughout the city–one can usually hail a horse-driven coach for that purpose. |
| Vildar | A town halfway between Cael City and Nalvor. |
| Yu-yan | A city in the Sougen plains of western Jin-Sayeng. |
But really, read The Agartes Epilogues for the characters.
