2022 L : Landscape

 

What is a world? It is the flora and fauna, and the landscape they life in. Zoology will talk about the one, and this post the mountains, desert, plains and storms that move through them. 

The center of the continent and where Deneas begins her quest is a desert of fine, dry sand dunes surrounding the village of Darceth. A volcano dominates the ring of mountains that encircled the desert.

Image from Pixabay.

Inspiration for the field of boulders was Hickory Run State Park in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. The field's boulders range from less than 3-foot (0.91 m) to more than 30-foot (9.1 m) in length. The gritty, yellow powder blowing across the expanse of reddish yellow boulders burned the eyes and throat and left behind a metallic taste. Another difference is that the Pennsylvania field of boulders was created by glacial action. Boulders in the fantasy world were stacked by a storm.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

 A landscape is not just the ground below but also the heavens above. Deneas learned the constellations at her mother's hand. The information served more than just the purpose of obtaining knowledge. As a dragon slayer, she had to know the dragon's domain. If a star was missing from a constellation, it could mean a dragon on the wing. Serth the Mountain Goat was named for the four points of its antlers. To identify Grafanc the Cat, you had to find the strings of minor stars hanging from the three bright points of each claw.

To add a touch of fantasy to the story, in pursuit of Deneas Karst comes across a log cabin in a meadow of singing grass.

His steps cautious to avoid any serpents or other creatures hidden in the grass, he fixed his gaze on a jagged peak and headed out. The grass weaved behind him. Except for a low hum when the stalks swung past each other, no sign of his passage remained. The sound reached Karst’s subconscious and he found himself walking in time to the rhythm. Even when he took a break, he still heard the vale’s music. Only not with his ears, but with his soul.

And the flip side of the meadow.

Image by Pitsch from Pixabay

Throwing off the cover, Karst rose. A tug lifted the lock bar from its brackets, and he swung the door open. No rain fell, but a thick fog rose from the field making it difficult to tell where the ground ended, and the sky began. Any plans to head out with first light disappeared. The gauzy, smoke-colored curtain covering the field felt wrong, and although he knew he should leave, he heeded the unconscious warning and stayed within the safe confines of the logs. One thing remained the same as the night before — the alluring hum of the wind through the grass.

 

Sales Sites for Fire and Amulet at Books2Read. 

 

To make following my challenge posts easier, you can find them all at 2022 AtoZ Connections. Just remember, the next day's post isn't live until midnight.~till next time, Helen

If you're following other blogs in the challenge, here's the master list of the other participants.