Legends of Windemere

Yagervan Plains was designed as I went along with The Mercenary Prince.  It had always been in the back of my mind since I had only mountains, forests, and the desert region.  The jungles were there too.  It was hard to find a place for Yagervan to appear and thrive, which happened when Delvin went on his adventure.

This land is similar to the desert in that it has nomadic people.  The tribes, all of which are named after birds, follow the same route every year and try to stay on a schedule to avoid the harsh weather that can spring up.  Many follow herds of animals, which gives them a food and clothing source too.  Each tribe has their own symbols and rites, but they all have a distrust of the outside world.  Not enough that they’ll avoid trading when times get tough.  There’s only so many resources in the plains after all.  Another thing they have in common is being superstitious, which is why they don’t venture beyond the borders very often.  All contact is made on the border and their closest ally is the Snow Tiger Tribe, which is stretching the term.  At best, they have mutual respect for each other and see a kinder spirit in structure.

There are bazaars too, which act as social hubs.  Information and supplies can be purchased here as well as other things.  Sadly, there is a slave trade in Yagervan because there’s no central government.  Nobody trusts the flesh peddlers and those who buy from them.  They stay in business because of exiles and foreigners who happen to wander into the area.  It’s nobles and those with more money than morals that buy slaves.  All attempts to smash the industry has been met with an increase in activity and the merchants setting up shop somewhere else.  This isn’t to say people don’t try to cause trouble for the flesh peddlers or buy slaves to set them free right away.  This is definitely the seedy underbelly of the region.

One of my favorite parts of creating Yagervan was the wildlife.  I don’t want to reveal too many because they’re fun to stumble upon in the book.  The one I will mention is the Hooded Lion.  This predator is very dangerous and looks like a regular lion.  Only the males and females all have manes, which resemble hairy fans.  They can be folded over the face enough to block the sun and are part of the mating display.  The way to tell the difference between the genders is mostly by size.  Females also have a red tint to their manes, but you might be too busy trying to get away to notice.

You’d be surprised how much goes into planning and describing a wide expanse of tall grass.  There are factors that one might forget like the wind, the sun, and even the smell of the terrain.  Putting the occasional tree and rock formation helped break up the tedium, but its flat land for the most part.  You have to think about the borderlands too and figure out how that is maintained.  Do you have a man-made wall, a river, or a sudden change of terrain?  The area is actually bigger than the desert and jungle regions combined, so I plan on visiting it in the future.  This means I might not be done with Yagervan’s growth and there’s a touch of excitement to that.