Worldbuilding

Do you remember how I talked about building worlds last week?

It's a rabbit hole that lasts for DAYS.

In case you're wondering.

The yellow islands are inhabited by dragons.

The blue island is the only sizable human kingdom out here.

Largest island - oldest clan. Clan name translates to "The Separate People" from their own tongue. They were originally a rebellious faction from one of the mainland colonies, and have grown so much since that point that none of them remember where they came from. They make up for this by inventing legends about their founders. The most popular is a variant of the creation myth from the mainland; that their original Patriarch (a dragon whose title was something like "He With Broken Teeth") was born from a stone on the mountain struck by lightning and given life by the elemental forces of nature. The tale of where his mate came from is... less cohesive. Different families within the clan have different versions of the story. 

Second-largest island - (triangle-shaped, southwest corner of Big Islands) second-oldest clan. Clan name translates to something like "Of the Sea" or something equally descriptive. Many of these dragons are descended from the same stock as their nearest neighbors, but deny any relation. They have been separated by so many generations that the resemblance has been lost, as those "Of the Sea" swim more often than they fly, and their physical characteristics have slowly changed to reflect this, helped along by the occasional dalliance with a Sea Serpent, with whom they share a common ancestor. 

Satellite island - (eastern island of the core four, and the smallest) third-oldest clan. Clan name means "Small Land." This clan is also a splinter group from the Separate People, and have done their best to more or less recreate the culture of the big island in miniature. Due to the separation of the peoples, some minor changes have taken place, and this results in disagreements between the clans about which is the "right" way to do things. The Small Land and the Separate People have the closest ties of any of the clans, and are more likely than the others to form an alliance in desperate situations. 

Third-largest island - (northernmost, wibbly-shaped) youngest of the Big Clans. Clan name means "Of the Stars" or something like it, indicating a grand destiny that never materialized. They are more immigrants from the mainland, more recent than those on the Big Island, and were the result of a religious squabble among the mainland clans within the last millennia or so. They refer to themselves as a "Roost" rather than a "clan," and believe themselves better than common dragons because of their close connection to "The Mother," who is supposedly the source of all creative strength in the world. Their island was the home of an active volcano* until about 700 years ago, when a largish earthquake plugged up the magma flow and allowed the volcano to cool. Many of their tales indicate that at some point in the future, the volcano will wake and The Mother will return to them in physical form, but no one knows exactly when this is supposed to happen. 

*It is because of this volcanic activity that the Small Land colony didn't make an effort to settle there. 

This is all rough at the moment, but it's beautiful and I love it so far. The best part is, of course, that none of this has anything at all to do with my main project, which is my novel. :) Yup. I'm really good at finishing things. Sure am. 

Don't judge me.