Worldbuilding infodump

[OutsidersEyes]

Thoughts on the history of the world:

At one point there were four races; the Dwarves, the Elves(or something similar), the Dark Elves, and a younger less experienced race called humans. War broke out between the Dwarves and Elves. The humans kept to themselves, lacking any means of standing a chance in that kind of fighting. The Dark Elves also held back until one race won, then proceeded to swoop in and finish off the weakened victor.

So then only Dark Elves and humans existed. The Dark Elves worried about the humans about as much as humans worry about flies. But still they kept away from humans and lived their lives. Until that once incident of the humans building a city in a desert on top of a Dark Elf city. This is the only instance of the two races having much to do with each other. Within the city, they actually do get along okay.

I'm sure this idea is full of holes, but it's a start.

 

[pmmg]

My only comment is that both elves and dark elves would be members of the same race. So its really just three races.

 

[OutsidersEyes]

My only comment is that both elves and dark elves would be members of the same race. So its really just three races.

I would consider them slightly separate, having forked off over time into their own thing. But also a very good reason to have something other than elves to go with dark elves.That way the dark elves would just be 'elves'.

 

[Prince of Spires]

You could also call your original elves Fae, or something like that.

As for size, most fantasy realms aren't actually very big. At least, the stories usually play out in a small-ish area. After all, in a world without modern transport, travelling 1.000km is actually a very difficult task taking months and lengthy preparations probably for most people.

 

[OutsidersEyes]

You could also call your original elves Fae, or something like that.

As for size, most fantasy realms aren't actually very big. At least, the stories usually play out in a small-ish area. After all, in a world without modern transport, travelling 1.000km is actually a very difficult task taking months and lengthy preparations probably for most people.

This is a very good point. On the map I've created, I'm imagining that dwarves would have maybe lived west of the mountains and the Fae(love that idea, thanks!) lived in the mountains. The Elves lived mostly in the desert beside the mountains and the humans had the east coast. The Fae would have been too strong for the Elves to take on until the war with the Dwarves left them victorious but drained of manpower and resources.

Following the war, the Elves would be able to spread west and take advantage of the more lush terrain on the other side of the mountains, keeping the growing human population at a distance. Not to mention they were quick to take over remaining Dwarven cities and start reverse engineering any tech they found. I'm picturing altered Dwarven tech made to run on whatever magic the Elves use.

The elves that remained of their own volition would be the ones to end up in a symbiotic situation with the humans. And the humans use crystals for their tech, like I mentioned. Either distilling aether into a fuel or charging mined crystals to use like batteries. Crystals are needed either way and that's why the humans built a place in the desert; that area is rich with crystals.

Okay, I think that works.

 

[pmmg]

As for size, most fantasy realms aren't actually very big. At least, the stories usually play out in a small-ish area. After all, in a world without modern transport, travelling 1.000km is actually a very difficult task taking months and lengthy preparations probably for most people.

Scale of the world is something I wrestle with. Worse, cause I have drawn a map. On the map, it clearly should take x amount of time to go from A to B, but in the story, it would help if that happened faster. And how far away is so far that it would be out of bounds completely? Part of the joy of being an author is I get to solve these problems, but it would be nice if sometimes there were planes and cars.

 

[OutsidersEyes]

Scale of the world is something I wrestle with. Worse, cause I have drawn a map. On the map, it clearly should take x amount of time to go from A to B, but in the story, it would help if that happened faster. And how far away is so far that it would be out of bounds completely? Part of the joy of being an author is I get to solve these problems, but it would be nice if sometimes there were planes and cars.

I'm actually toying with the idea of the humans inventing airships over time. But I'll probably scrap it.