Building Eor: Dark Fantasy Worldbuilding for Wellspring of Lies [update 1]

Wellspring of Lies is a dark fantasy about an herbalist and former soldier drawn into a series of mysterious and gruesome killings by seemingly unnatural forces. In this writing update, I want to dig into the worldbuilding behind the story: the world of Eor, its celestial mythology, its continents, and the ancient forces that shaped it.

I have been working on this story for the better part of two years mostly building the world and drafting and redrafting the first act while working on other projects. This is my fourth attempt at a sprawling fantasy epic and so far it is the most complete and enjoyable.

In this update, I want to talk a little bit about the world itself.

Wellspring of Lies takes place on the world of Eor. This world is dominated by the giant celestial body Etai, personified in the local religion as the goddess of darkness, around which Eor revolves. The life-giving star is Sulé, but because of Etai’s dominance the world of Eor is cast into darkness for half the year (locally called the Long Winter).

Each of these bodies, including Eor’s three sister moons, is represented by a goddess, and their celestial dance created life. The first such life was the vryköl, a hive mind that flowed across the surface, but when Eor began to dance with Sulé herself, the surface of her world shifted.

Mountains were raised, rivers forged, ocean basins carved. And onto this newly wrought world, the first humans emerged. And the vryköl resented them.

Eor herself is split into two major continents: Lodos, a desolated land that was once the seat of the collapsed Cartolean Empire, and Altalmia, where our story takes place. There are also the continents of Harat to the west and Namidura to the east, but these remain unexplored-at least to this story.

Sketch of Altalmia

What is wonderful about world building is the level of detail I get to paint that will hardly be referenced at all in the story. Not to compare myself with Tolkien's Legendarium, but it reminds me of that single line when Samwise stabs Shelob:

But Shelob was not as dragons are, no softer spot had she save only her eyes. Knobbed and pitted with corruption was her age-old hide, but ever thickened from within with layer on layer of evil growth. The blade scored it with a dreadful gash, but those hideous folds could not be pierced by any strength of men, not though Elf or Dwarf should forge the steel or the hand of Beren or of Túrin wield it.

There is an entire world and story about Túrin in the Legendarium, but we only get that one line. Which leaves us wondering and wanting more.

That's what I love about world building. It's not only the sense of place, but the sense of what could be.