Hendra's World
Hendra’s World is a Fantasy Story in progress, written and illustrated by Stu Helm
INTRODUCTION
Hi, Y’all! I have decided to give Hendra’s World its very own newsletter, separate from my Food Fans stuff, because it’s so different, and I know that not everyone who’s into food is also into Dwarves and Goblins and such. I have already signed a few of you up for a free subscription, that’s why you’re receiving this first installment, because I thought you might enjoy it, but you can easily unsubscribe if you’d like to opt out. If you do enjoy this newsletter, please invite any friends or fam that you think would also enjoy it to please join us!
WORLD BUILDING IS HARD
I realized early on that I needed to make a map of Hendra’s World for my own reference, as well as for any potential readers that I might have. I started out by just outlining the small area that my characters travel in, but I have expanded that into an atlas featuring one hemisphere of the planet. The other side of Hendra’s World is just water. Purple water. According to legend.
I have some OCD-type tendencies, and I’m currently obsessing on building up the Human settlements in Hendra’s world, depicted in pink on the images above & below.
Most of the places I’m adding to my global map will never be seen or even mentioned in my story, but I needed to show the spread of human development in Hendra’s World, because that ‘s part of the over-all story. I’m also adding hundreds, if not thousands, of natural features, like mountains, mountain ranges, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, coves, peninsulas, jetties, etc etc. It’s a shit-ton of work.
The map isn’t even close to being finished, and I also have to face the monumental task of assigning names to all these natural features, as well as the town, cities, fortresses, bridges, walls, etc etc in Hendra’s World that are made by Human, Dwarven, or other hands.
If you’d like a feature in Hendra’s World named after yourself, your friend, your kid, dog, or granny, hit me up in the comments section!
DWARVEN NAMES ARE CONFUSING
Speaking of names, I’m kind of breaking a basic rule of writing, by introducing a bunch of characters with similar names. Dwarven names are passed down from generation to generation, changing only slightly, and repeating often. In Hendra’s maternal line, her mother & grandmother (both deceased) were named Senhendora & Hendora, respectively. Hendra’s daughter’s name is Senhendra and her granddaughter is named Senhendrasen. I know it’s confusing, but they have nicknames too, so that makes it easier… and more complicated!
The Dwarves in Hendra’s World are also physically very similar to each other, with each new generation being essentially a copy of the last, with very little variation between them. Hendra’s daughter, Senhendra, is a rare case, with her curly orange hair and light colored freckles.
FAQ
If you have questions about Hendra’s World, please ask by leaving a comment, and I will use your questions to build a real FAQ. Thanks!
— to be continued —