Dalriya, the setting for my series The Weapon Takers Saga, is a land of many people and places with a rich history. Readers have asked me for an introduction to the lands as a reference tool for when they are reading (and especially listening to) the books. So, here we go…
Part One: South Magnia
Symbol: The Sun in Glory
South Magnia is the closest Dalriya gets to the medieval fantasy idyll. Full of rich farmland, it is prosperous and relatively peaceful.
But it is not without its dark history. A generation ago, bitter civil war tore Magnia apart, leaving two rival principalities, South and North Magnia. While that war is over and the rival families have begun to restore relations, border raids are not uncommon. Further back in their past, the Magnians fought and won wars against their neighbours. They annexed parts of the Midder Steppe, so that the east of the realm is inhabited by the descendants of Middian tribes. They were the only human realm on Dalriya to resist the power of the Persaleian Empire at its height. In the distant past, the Magnians took lands from the Lippers, an ancient race of Dalriya. During these wars they took from the Lippers a holy weapon that they named after their God: Toric’s Dagger.
Places
Magnia is a land of towns and villages rather than mighty cities.
Ecgworth – a settlement that contains the Temple of Toric
Bidcote – an estate belonging to Prince Edgar
Beckford – an estate owned by Soren
Halsham – a town to the north
Granstow – a castle on the border with North Magnia
People
Ruler: Prince Edgar
Edgar’s advisers/noblemen: Ealdnoth, a wizard and royal chancellor; Wilchard, chief steward; Wulfgar, high-priest of Toric; Otha of Rystham, a wealthy landowner; Farred, a nobleman of Middian descent; Harbyrt the Fat, Marshal of the North; Aescmar, a nobleman with lands in the west; Oslac, Mayor of Halsham
Characters: Belwynn, Soren, Herin, Clarin and Gyrmund are all South Magnians