1/15/2024 — Sometimes, my writer mind drives me a bit nuts.
A few weeks ago, I was laying in bed at 1:30 in the morning (after a 12 hour shift), and all I could think of was metal.
Decorative metal,
Metal for smithing,
Money made of metal…
Metal, metal, metal
Don’t ask me why, but I started to create distinct metals for each of the kingdoms in To Favor Blood & Flowers. I wrote up blurbs about their strength and use, then made collages to better visualize their qualities.
I thought I’d share my metal creations because I had a lot of fun making them and can’t wait to infuse them into the tools and decor of the To Favor Blood & Flowers books. If you’re uninterested, feel free to scroll past 🙂
CLEAR GOLD
This metal is found on the southwest shores of the Sens, the kingdom where Carina grows up. Pieces of this metal come from underwater, but break off from the underwater ore and beat against the waves on shore (like sea glass). This metal resembles a stone, but is more “flaky”. It is collected along the beaches in small pieces and used for decoration in poorer communities. This metal is too brittle for the royal family, who prefer true gold for their jewelry, crowns, and architecture gilding.
BLUE SILVER
This metal is mostly found in mountains of Terreial, but a thread of it can also be mined in a portion of the Sens Blade Realm. This realm makes the metal famous by producing swords of great craftsmanship that are lightly blue-tinged. The kingdom of Terreial, on the other hand, sees this metal as a precious and sacred, and they use it to make religious tokens and charms of luck. They have less ability/manpower to mine the metal, so it is not often used for swords in Terreial. This metal is very strong, and it is less prone to warping than iron (which is often used for weapons in this kingdom).
BURNT GOLD
Only true gold runs through the Sens territory, but the kingdom of the Elems has a variation that is found in their central hills. This metal is mostly used for decoration, as it is too soft for any weaponry. It can be used for clasps, belts, etcetera, but nothing that needs more structure. Crowns and royal relics in the Elems are often made from this metal or silver, which is a common metal in all three kingdoms.
I hope you enjoyed perusing around my head a bit. Writing fantasy can be odd, but so fun! What would you create in a fantasy world?
Much love and happy reading,
Gail ❤
P.S. - What else do you want to know? Send a message to let me know!
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