by Emma Glass
A Witch Between Worlds #11 (SEASON TWO!)
Appendix
A Witch Between Worlds involves a vampire world very similar to our own, but with different names for many of the places, and certain striking differences. Some of my darling readers have asked that I add some sort of glossary for easy reference.
The following pages offer various details that may help you distinguish the distant regions and rulers of Elliott’s realm—along with trivia not yet touched upon.
I hope it all makes for a compelling read!
-Emma Glass
Holds
Elliott Craven’s world does not have kings, and thus any kingdoms or republics. Instead, it is divided into eight holds, which serve the same basic purpose.
In earlier times, there were more holds than the eight—but civil war and conquest has obliterated some of these places from the history books, and their history is sadly lost to time.
Each hold features an ancient vampire civilization of great power, separated by vast distances and untamed wilderness for all of history. Thanks to the discovery of chrysm, the distances between the holds have been rendered irrelevant, and the past two centuries have brought much progress in uniting the world of Vampires.
* * *
Stonehold
Stonehold, or Europe, is where our story has largely taken place so far. Characterized by its trades, all walks of labourers toil away on the mainland—from blacksmiths to wood-workers to miners. Until the past few centuries, it was a relatively poor but proud worker economy. To the distant southeastern corner lay the Far Reaches, known for untamed wilderness and mystical gypsy tribes.
The civilization is now experiencing the tail end of a renaissance period, thanks to the revolutionary discovery of a powerful ore called chrysm, located here in abundance; the Dawning Mines in the southern Alpine Ridge are of particular wealth, carefully hidden from the world.
The seat of power is Stonehold Castle on the distant Isle of Obsidian, filled with vicious forests and countryside; you may know it as the United Kingdom. The sudden abdication of the throne by the beloved vampire lord Lorelei Craven has caused a crisis around her young and inexperienced heir, Elliott.
Falvian Badlands
The Falvian Badlands, or Africa, is a wild land divided into three major regions. The northern third is a largely inhospitable desert; the center is a dangerous jungle; the bottom third is a foreboding swamp. Along the eastern edge runs a stark and dangerous mountain range, filled with volcanoes and chaotic lightning storms. Such a threatening environment has hardened the vampires into a vicious, self-serving people—the land is rife with thieves, bandits, outlaws, and all manner of renegades.
As the Middle East exists in another form in this world, the Gold Coast—what would be our world’s Cairo—rests on the shoreline as the merchant capital of the world. Of the rampant voodoo far south, the major landmark is Slough’s Descent, a mystical swamp settlement near a massive canyon of tumbling bog and glowing silt (it is known to us as our largest waterfall, Victoria Falls).
The main castle, the foreboding Tower of Scorch of the Killing Peaks, rests atop the most active volcano of both worlds, Mount Nyamuragira. The intense lava flow here is restrained by ancient magic, used as a power source.
The Drenchlands
The Drenchlands, or the Middle East, is an archipelago of resource-stripped islands above a shallow sea. Stories tell of a time that the land was fertile and rich—but that a broken accord with nature resulted in a powerful flood that trapped the vampires on these newly formed arid islands.
Eons of overpopulation and poverty resulted in a society that encouraged intelligence and shrewdness to solve their many problems. Vampiric geniuses—with lifespans far less limited by death—have dedicated their years to the advancement of science, culminating in discoveries that have allowed their society to settle beneath the waves.
Little is known of the vampires of the Drenchlands since disappearing below the surface—only that they hold the most powerful technologies in the world. Their castle is the Sunken Citadel, built near the place where our world’s Babylon sat.
Timberland Plains
Timberland Plains, or America/Mexico, is a widespread tribal land filled with every geographical option under the sun. Rolling hills, soaring mountain ranges, vast plains, parched deserts, and icy valleys fill this region.
Settlements are few and far between—the nomadic vampires of the Timberland Plains chase the hunt and move with the herds of powerful magical creatures. As a result of their respectful bond with nature, in no small part due to powerful rituals and tributes to the stars, the wildlife works in conjunction with these vampire tribes and does not lash out at them like in other holds.
Of the few permanent settlements is the castle in the desert, the Twilight Gate—an imposing clay fortress atop a massive sandstone bluff, built as a sacred tribute to nature. It was known in our world as Acoma Pueblo of present-day New Mexico, or the Sky City.
Bleakwood
Bleakwood, or Canada, is a frigid northern landmass of hunters, trappers, and miners. The endless sea of forest complicates the profession—it is haunted to the point of open hostility with all manners of wraiths, ghouls, and banshees. Furthermore, the natural wildlife is among some of the most cunning in the realm.
Vampires here seek what little warmth they can find in cavernous settlements of the western mountain ranges, such as the subterranean Cavern’s Solace. The greatest among these people are explorers, carving their legacies out in the frozen and threatening woods—but even they dare only to explore along the edges.
The hold is ruled from Blackburn Manor, owned across the ages by the eponymous family. It sits on the edge of a permanently frozen lake, what we call Lake Louise.
Selvara Karn
Selvara Karn, or South America, has been overwhelmed by their world’s equivalent of the Amazon Rainforest. Within the tropical forests breed limitless predators and swarms, empowered by unopposed magic. This greatly mystical hold, in fact, is widespread considered to be the most openly antagonistic one in the entire world. Very few to step foot there are ever heard from again.
The surviving vampires hole up in large settlements; the shamans and witch doctors of Selvara Karn harness the powerful magic that makes their lives so dangerous. It is thought that the potency of magic here is unrivaled.
World’s Pillar, a towering tree akin to Yggdrasil of Norse mythology in the heart of Amazonia, serves as the major settlement and the fortified home of the vampire lord. The tree itself rises far above the forests; the shamanic colony exists as a treetop paradise, built upon the lesser trees that spout above its greatly magical roots.
Alevorra
Alevorra, or Southern Asia, is a tropical paradise. Unlike Selvara Karn’s rainforest gone wildly amok, Alevorra is filled instead with docile grasslands, secluded valleys, and gentle rainforests. The region enjoys diverse magical wildlife and a certain level of peace not typically seen on this world—however, a natural balance is retained with the presence of strong magical monsoons.
This region is dotted with weathered temple ruins from a time long forgotten, forming most of the settlements. One such is Lights Fall, half-destroyed and falling apart, called Bagan in what we consider Myanmar or Burma.
Another easy Selvara Karn comparison is that the castle itself is the largest settlement. Our world’s Angkor Wat of the fallen Khmer Empire lives on deep in the jungles as Sunstone Temple. Despite nature’s attempts to reclaim the tempe, the widespread city center enjoys prosperity, sustaining itself with nearby agriculture and farming.
The Wastes
The Wastes, or Russia and surrounding territories, enjoys secrecy to a degree rivaling even the Drenchlands. Little is known of the hold, with only its geography—a dark, frozen scar of tundra and mountains ripped across the world—being well recorded.
Menacing and chaotic, the Wastes are considered a glum and inhospitable wasteland that forces its citizens into sa
fety below the world, a lifestyle further complicated by the many, many active volcanoes that blight the horizon. It is said that the ash in the clouds above The Wastes forever blots out the sun and the stars.
The only known place of refuge within the Wastes is the Nether Pit, a subterranean castle of unknown origin.
Vampire Lords
The vampire lords are the fearsome monarchs of their world, each ruling a separate hold. The bloodlines of the vampire lords are energized with a powerful magic that, for better or worse, strengthens their innate abilities far beyond common vampires.
Together, they form the Council of the Eight Holds. It is from a hidden neutral zone, bound by restrictive magic, that they make decisions that affect the entire world.
It is through a powerful ritual called the Ascension that a vampire lord unlocks his or her untapped potential. If a lord is toppled and the bloodline wiped out, the hold as it is known is annexed by its conqueror, and the world’s magic steadily takes care of the rest.
* * *
Stonehold
Elliott Craven of Stonehold is the newest and youngest vampire lord in the world. After his beloved predecessor Lorelei Craven suddenly abdicates the throne, her son is thrust vastly unprepared onto the world stage.
Cold, calculating, and greatly concerned with protecting his people, it is increasingly clear that his love for Clara Blackwell has radically changed his path.
His castle is Stonehold Castle on the Isle of Obsidian.
Falvian Badlands
Akachi Azuzi of the Falvian Badlands is eldest among the vampire lords. Ruling over a hold known for nearly constant chaos, warfare, and greed, Akachi has survived countless mutinies against his life for the throne.
A weathered, gnarled ebony vampire with a trickster’s smile knows that he grows ever older, and seeks greater power to secure his grip over his anarchic realm.
His castle is the Scorched Tower of the Killing Peaks.
The Drenchlands
Svetlana Lovrić of The Drenchlands respects only two things in this world: curiosity and ingenuity. Famously as reclusive as her subaquatic hold, Svetlana’s scientific conquests power the world’s technological infancy.
An odd friendship with Lorelei Craven directly led to the similarly minded vampires sharing the forefront of the recent chrysmic revolution.
Her castle is Sunken Citadel hidden beneath the sea.
Timberland Plains
Eyes-Like-Fire of the Timberland Plains is a warrior maiden first and a vampire lord second. The tribal lord, her face riddled with bone piercings and tattoos, is quite happy to abandon her own castle to lead majestic hunts.
Her region, in no small part due to a love for the hunt, experiences a disproportionate count of slain vampire lords. Second in youth and tenure only to Elliott Craven, Eyes-Like-Fire feels a reluctant, distant kinship to him.
Her castle is the Twilight Gate atop an unnamed mesa.
Bleakwood
Mattias Blackburn of Bleakwood is the most physically imposing of the vampire lords. As unspoken ruler of the Council of the Eight Holds, his impartiality has kept his more volatile colleagues in line for centuries.
After Lorelei’s abdication, his reign is now the longest in the world. Unbeknownst to the rest due to ancient law, he is secretly the father of her children.
His castle is Blackburn Manor near a solidified ice lake.
Selvara Karn
Ooktuk Krum of Selvara Karn is the most enigmatic of the vampire lords. Ooktum chooses to listen rather than to speak—with his motives unknown, an air of mystery has enveloped the shamanic lord.
Surrounded by the mystical arts, even temporary allies are nervous of this quiet lord who keeps under control—somehow—the most naturally hostile hold in the world.
His castle is World’s Pillar beneath a gigantic tree.
Alevorra
Chanda Song of Alevorra is a fairly new addition to the vampire lords, with a reign under three centuries. Equal in melodic beauty and caustic wit, the sarcastic Chanda is quick to mock—but slow to support another lord.
The peace across her hold gives Chanda a complete lack of ambition that rivals even Eyes-Like-Fire—but their conflicting hobbies keeps the two from being friends.
Her castle is Sunstone Temple in an ancient city ruin.
The Wastes
Valentine Vasiliev of The Wastes is an openly brutal and aggressive vampire lord, bordering on malevolence. The second-eldest lord to Akachi Azuzi, these two would make a formidable alliance—if they could ever agree.
Cold and antagonistic as her own bitter hold, Valentine rules an emptier realm than most. With the inexplicable arrival of the human, perhaps she senses opportunity…
Her castle is the Nether Pit below the volcanic tundra.