So I put a buckle on my belt and a coat on my shoulder;
Rode my horse away in the stinging salt wind.
“I Traveled Up the Medity Coast,”
As sung by Afiach Bard
Relance is the setting for The Curious Tale. A world mostly rainy and green, cooler than ours, a world revered by its people in legend and song, world of wonder, a world much older than our own. If you remember just one thing about Relance, remember this: Relance itself is the story.
When I set out to write the Tale, I knew from the very beginning that I wanted the opposite of a generic fantasy setting. What does it mean when Galavar sets out to take over “the world”? You can’t really answer that question until you know what the world really is. And, so, much of The Curious Tale is a matter of revealing what Relance really is. That includes the peoples of Relance, naturally, and the artifices of their civilization, the aedes, such as the dreamlike architectures of the Fortress of Galadrim. But it also includes the scenery:
…The sweet taste of the air on a calm summer day in Western Davoranj…
…The bravery of the aiker tree that grows in the ancient till of the Howl Riada…
…The playful cawing of the pair of ravens who loop the braes at sunset above Toloeia…
…The roar of the Thousand Rivers at the bottoms of the Braids of Colla Carrangian…
…And the stinging salt wind that crashes against the rocky Medity Coast on the Sea of Somara.
If you’re the sort of person who has a good imagination and loves admiring the stuff of the Earth, then The Curious Tale may well be just the thing for you. And if scenery is not your thing, well, hopefully there’s still enough adventure and machination to hold your interest. But there’s no denying that the heart of The Curious Tale is a love of the world of Relance.
You can learn more on the About pages.
O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!
