#athelor

[bookshelf-in-progress]

8

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

I'd like to write some kind of follow-up to "Honors From the King", showing Mia dealing with being queen after Danny gets to go home to Earth and getting some help from a time-traveling Ben.

Actually, there are several snippets in this universe that would be fun to write across multiple time periods, if I could come up with moments that are vivid enough for flash fiction.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

@isfjmel-phleg

There'd be roughly one hypothetical book per sibling. Because of Ben's odd timeline, he'd mostly weave through other people's books, and be most prominent in Claire's (though maybe he could have an episodic book about some of the adventures he got up to that didn't relate to the other books' plots). Danny and Mia's stories would overlap, but Danny's story would cover his pre-Mia reign, and "Honors from the King" would serve as an early scene in Mia's story.

Part of me wants them to know Emma in the real world, but it makes their world seem smaller if she lives nearby. Perhaps they meet her by chance some years after they return home and recognize her as a fellow Athelorian.

Emma's reign was long before Danny's and came after Nora returned home, so the only sibling she possibly overlaps with is Jane--but jury's out on whether their timelines actually intersect. She definitely met Ben at least once--he helped out at that battle mentioned in her story.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Even though the story itself is short, I did have some vague ideas for a series' worth of stories about the children in Honors From the King.

Eleanor, or Nora

Was roughly sixteen when she was whisked away to Athelor, and arrived at the moments of its creation.

She was declared its first queen, and although she's a historical figure, the first monarch of the kingdom, she's also a legendary figure whose story is much more mythological than that of her siblings.

She had very close ties to the land and the creatures within it; some say her touch could heal and bring life to the land.

Thanks to certain life-giving properties in the land so close to its creation, her lifespan was vastly extended. Estimates of her time spent in Athelor range from 350 to 1000 years--it's difficult to get an exact count thanks to the nature of time so close to creation, but the best estimates put it somewhere around 725 years. During that time, she traveled and came to know every part of Athelor's landscape intimately.

Although she served as a mother (or as her siblings would say, bossy big sister) to millions of people in her lifetime, she never wed, and thus began the tradition of Athelorian monarchs remaining unwed so as to devote all their attention to Athelor.

She was aware that her other siblings had been whisked away to Athelor. One of her most prized possessions was a magical book that came to her not long after her arrival. The pages were mostly blank, but every so often, a page or two of text or illustrations would come into focus, showing her a glimpse of Athelor's far-future history, specifically moments involving her younger siblings.

After returning home, this book came with her, now filled in with all her siblings stories, thus creating one of the most complete records of Athelorian history in existence.

Benedict, or Ben

Was about 15 when whisked away to Athelor.

Landed with Claire at a moment fairly late in Athelor's timeline, where they were pulled into some kind of treasure-hunting quest in a dark forest.

Within a week or so of his arrival, found himself whisked away to a much earlier era of Athelor's history, probably somewhere within Eleanor's reign.

He then found himself pulled involuntarily through time, sometimes staying only hours in one place, rarely any longer than a week. Sometimes, he was pulled into situations that required him to undertake some heroic action--slaying a monster, helping to end a war, etc.--and he quickly fell into legend as the mysterious Wanderer who would appear in times of need.

He often found himself near one of his siblings, to provide information, help, and moral support. He was the one who informed most of them about the rules of Athelorian time--that they would be returned home to a time only minutes after they left, with all their aging reversed, no matter how long they spent in Athelor.

Though he, from his personal perspective, most likely spent the least amount of time in Athelor among all his siblings (likely no longer than two years), he has experienced the broadest range of its history.

Jane

About fourteen years old when she arrived in Athelor, about seven hundred years before any of her other siblings except Eleanor.

Was taken in by kindly centaurs and elves on the Skyveil Plains.

Trained in combat and riding, became beloved member of community.

Took to traveling, became a bit of a wandering knight--defender of the weak, slayer of monsters, seeker of lost lands. Had a vibrant, joyful approach to life and adventure.

Discovered places that had not been seen by Athelorians since the days of Queen Eleanor.

Had a special bond with the talking beasts she encountered on her travels and has a special bond with them.

Claire

About thirteen when she arrived in Athelor.

Landed with Ben at a moment fairly late in Athelor's history, and undertook some kind of perilous treasure hunt quest in a dark forest.

Was unexpectedly left alone when Ben was whisked off to other points in time. Is very, very nervous about this.

Ben will randomly return at different points on her quest, but she's frustrated by the fact that he can never remember what's going on--things that happened only hours ago for her might have happened weeks or months ago from his perspective, so she has to repeat a lot of information.

(I had some kind of idea that events could transpire that take her down a dark path so she becomes a big, bad, world-threatening villain that her siblings have to team up to defeat, but as fun as that idea is, I don't think it's as fun as the possibilities that could come later from all seven of them teaming up).

Amelia, or Mia

Eleven years old when she arrived in Athelor.

Landed in a peaceful eleven village in the Southern Forest. Immediately taken in and taught by kindly elves.

After nine months, her village was attacked by a giant. Despite having no combat experience, she was forced to take up a sword she found and join in the defense. One lucky strike with a legendary sword brought down the giant.

Afterward, she met her younger brother Danny--now the middle-aged king of all Athelor. He adopted her, taught her, and eventually named her his heir.

About five years after her adoption, Danny was whisked away back home. She had some difficulty adjusting to life alone, but she got some support from a visiting Ben, and eventually became a beloved peacetime queen continuing Danny's work.

Daniel, or Danny

Ten years old when he arrived in Athelor. Helped out by some friendly trolls.

Met an extremely old Thomas within a couple weeks of his arrival, who was able to tell him about the Athelorian flow of time. Thomas was unable to take Danny in--due to extreme age and the fact that he was being sent home soon--but he brought him to the attention of the king, who took him in as a page and later squire to one of his knights.

Daniel proved himself well on various battlefields, and was eventually named the king's heir.

As soon as he became king, he started a project to build a great library--with a motive to learn more about his other siblings scattered through history.

After the successful end to the wars in the reign of his predecessor, his reign was one of peace, ushering in a cultural golden age unlike anything seen since the days of Queen Emma.

Thomas

Landed among the trolls of the Northern Mountains. Trained as a smith and became an unparalleled master craftsman.

Undertook dangerous quests in his youth to discover new materials, techniques, or long-lost legendary weapons.

In his age, retreated to the mountains to focus almost entirely on his work. He was a respected member of a community of craftsmen, but rarely sought the outside world--which instead came to him seeking his legendary skill.

Some say some of the materials he worked with retained some of the life-giving properties of the land in Queen Eleanor's time, and extended his life so that he lived to the age of 130 with a somewhat weakened, but still very active body and mind.

I have an idea that after they returned home, they were all able to integrate back into life pretty well, but they loved sharing stories of their time in Athelor and looking over Eleanor's book about it.

Then some malicious agents managed to steal the book, travel to Athelor on their own power to a point fairly early in its history, and try to use their knowledge of the future to reshape Athelor to their own ends.

They thought it seemed like a great plan. They didn't realize that doing so would put them up against the combined might of seven of the greatest figures within Athelorian history.