I want to work on The Lost Queen but I need to go to bed. And I'm not even sure that I actually want to work on The Lost Queen or if I just want to have a more interactive conversation about it with people.
Especially since I worked out some of the timing surrounding the events leading up to and past the murder. Now I'm kind of at a loss of how the characters are going to figure out what sort of happened and how they piece any of it together.
My cousin had her convocation recently and this weekend she had a bit of a get together to celebrate that. It was kind of funny but there was four of us young ones (my cousin, myself, her boyfriend, and her one friend from home) that grouped together, while all the parents and other older family members grouped together. So we joked about being the kids table, and I as the oldest in my early 30's mentioned my age as being the oldest kid more or less. My cousin's friend was shookth. She had thought I was in my early 20's, my cousin's response, "I know, right?" Meaning that I very much do not look my age. And I've known this for many years already, but I still find it funny every time.
Yay! I feel like I can finally share this! (It's been a week, not a long wait...) But because our cabin up at the lake is so mouse infested and because of how bad the Hantavirus is supposed to be this year, I am not able to sleep in the cabin (which reeks of mouse). So my mom was looking for a little trailer for me to sleep in instead, so that I didn't have to constantly be making up the very small couch or the table into a bed in their trailer. As while it's had mice in it as well, it's no where to the same degree as the cabin which has been dealing with mice for years at this point.
So my mom was looking on Facebook market place and found this adorable little trailer that was for free. (Which we liked so much that we actually offered a little bit for it.) At first it didn't look like we were going to get it. The post was pending and my mom inquired about it again and was told that the seller had a person who asked for it to be held for a week. If it didn't go through the seller would contact my mom. The sale didn't go through, so now we have it!
And I'm so excited about it.
These are not current pictures of it, just screenshots from the posting of it. It's in a bit worse of shape due to weather and having sat untended to for a couple of years, so it's extremely dirty and in need of a really good scrub down inside and out. But it's so cute, even though we need to fix the roof. The one side of the A-frame's top has come off the actual roof, so we have to drill out the rivets and screw it back into place. And I want to cover the bottom of the trailer in mouse mesh to try and help protect against them a little bit. Especially since it used to be an ice-fishing shack at some point. And while the hole is sealed, a bit more protection won't hurt it.
Ahem, as you might be able to tell, I'm quite excited about this little (or not so little project). But cleaning/scraping paint (off the roof) is going to be a project alone. My mom want to insulate it and I'm just not sure how necessary that is at this point. (Especially since I like sleeping in the cold and it's not like there's going to be any water in this trailer, though I know it can help against the heat.)
The calendar. There are 15 months, each month has 37 days (a week is 8 days but not relevant for this conversation). The months in order are Witherend, Rainspeak, Bloomscrest, Bloomswane, Goldenswell, Sunreign, Highglow, Goldenwane, Amberswell, Hazelcrowne, Harvestwane, Withertide, Frostentide, Icecrowning, Silverwane. That way you have a better idea of what the timeline is going to be as I lay it out.
🌷🌷🌷
The Sparrow sinks on Rainspeak 21, the same year that King Castor of Fernsworth starts a war with Shadowfen and Windsmere on Silverwane around the 18/19, mostly spurred on in that moment by the fact that the Crown Prince of Windsmere and the Crown Princess of Shadowfen had gotten married in the last three-ish days of Icecrowning. Evelyn is 14 at this time, her middle brother ***Tiberius supposedly died*** the year before. Augustus was not informed.
Castor travels to see the troops every so often. It’s during one of these trips/tours where Castor is killed, along with the entire or close to the entire company is killed along with him (the attack was not due to Castor having been there, as that was unknown to the other side). Because of the circumstances around Castor’s death, it’s unknown the exact date of his death, other than it was between the second and fifth day of Hazelcrowne. It takes 3-5 days for this news to make it to Calista and Evelyn. Castor's body arrives a couple of days later. His funeral is held Hazelcrowne 17.
Evelyn is about 7 months pregnant when crowned on Hazelcrowne 27. Her coronation is still made out to be an event, but is rather bare-bones in comparison to her father’s coronation, but that won’t do while they’re waging war.
Harvestwane brings no relief to the fighting. In private and secretly Evelyn and her lover’s arguments grow more heated, until the evening of Withertide the 13th arrives and Evelyn’s lover snaps and kills her because she won’t give him what he wants. He covers up her murder by stuffing and sealing her up in a wall of their rendezvous spot, a room in an older unused building near the edge of the woods. Covering her in sawdust to try and cover the smell.
As it’s not odd for Evelyn to disappear for a few days, it takes about a week before the panic really sets in that their pregnant queen has disappeared. From there it still takes about 12 days before the decision to pull Augustus from exile is made. The guard chosen to go retrieve Augustus ends up being Evelyn’s secret lover/murderer. The guard sails from Fernsworth to Rozenlenz on Frostentide the 4th and arrives in Rozenlenz on the 12th. He arrives on Augustus’s doorstep on the 14th and is potentially turned away a couple of times or even the times he’s tried, no one is home. But on the 16th, Wren (Augustus’s wife) opens the door and has her confrontation with him.
Leading to Augustus having to explain that he is actually Augustus and not Emmett like he had been going by. From there they decide what they’re going to do and start establishing a cease fire when it’s decided that he has to go. The decision to go and to establish the ceasefire (and travel) means that they don’t sail to Fernsworth until Icecrowing the 14th, which brings them into port just a couple of days before Christmas. After Christmas is when Augustus is crowned so that he can officially end the war and abdicates afterwards.
🌺🌺🌺
***What if after Castor's coronation, no more than a year or two, is when Tiberius dies from some kind of illness. But instead of admitting that their younger son died from some sort of illness, Castor and Calista cover it up by taking a maid's son who sort of resembles Tiberius and claiming that he is Tiberius. This is one of the many things that Augustus’s parents do that Augustus doesn’t agree with and plays a part of why he chooses to go into exile. The fake Tiberius doesn’t last long, by the time he’s 14/15 it’s clear that he’s not their son and they only let him be seen from a distance before faking his death and making him a guard for Evelyn. His being a guard for Evelyn gives him the idea to woo the princess, in hopes that it will lead to her marrying him and putting him into a position of power like he thought he was going to get when he became the fake Tiberius. When Evelyn won’t, even after she’s getting close to having their baby, he kills her in a rage and stuffs her into the walls of their secret meeting place, an old hunting lodge/out building near some woods.***
Has a royal family, Benteky (Ben-tee-key) is the current King and had a dramatic youth. (Was kidnapped by a man having a mental breakdown, who ended up taking Benteky’s one eye as an old practice from when royals were being kidnapped and tried to be replaced with a double. The practice has long fallen out of use due to the trauma of doing so and that it’s less of a danger.) Also Benteky followed the tradition to find a wife where those who wanted to marry him had to take a particular journey and test (a story to be told one day? Hopefully? Loosely Princess and the Pea inspired)
Geological feature of note; a large waterfall known as the Vesspin Falls.
🐉
Country 2/21
Ozbern (Ozberneze)
Pronounced Oz-bern and Oz-bern-ease
Isn’t ruled by royalty and hasn’t been for over 100 years. Known for technical expertise and fine craftsmanship of intricate gears.
Geological features of note; has famous sets of caves where caves would be unexpected
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Country 3/21
Aquaila (Aquaillen)
Pronounced A-quail-ah and A-quail-len
Has had an elected government where the leader is mostly a figurehead who is switched out yearly. All the actual governance happens behind closed doors by people you’ve never heard about unless you’ve been an elected official. Is know for being the land of sunflowers, even though they have more than just sunflowers.
Geological feature of note, their vast prairies that are centred in the country.
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Country 4/21
Imernanze (Imernanzing)
Pronounced I-mern-anze (more of a true z sound than an s or c sound) and I-mern-anz-ing
Type of government unknown. Imernanzings are incredibly secretive about who actually runs their government. All outside negotiations are done through trained delegates to speak for the country. Even visitors who come to Imernanze, cannot figure out what the government is because there’s very little obvious signs of it.
Geological feature of note, mainly fine black sand beaches being most common along the coast line.
🐉
Country 5/21
Yattan (Yattian)
Pronounced Yat-tan and Yat-tian
A democracy that has gone through many iterations over the years and are still trying to figure out the best path forward with their government. Though they are a coastal country their navy isn’t very large, nor are they a people who are particularly interested in seafaring unless absolutely necessary, like having a navy or certain trade items.
Geological feature of note, shares some of Rozenlenz's renowned forests.
🐉
Country 6/21
Umbry (Umbryan)
Pronounced Um-br-I and Um-brian
Is a monarchy, current ruling family has a long history of heirs with disabilities and instead of hiding them away from the public, the disabled heir is embraced, making Umbry one of the most accessible countries for those with a variety of disabilities. Still has some blind spots but are constantly trying to improve them.
Geological feature of note, shares some of Rozenlenz's renowned forest, has some interesting shaped rocks around its islands.
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Country 7/21
Rozenlenz (Rozians)
Pronounced Row-zen-len-zz and Row-zian
Might be sympathetic to Fernsworth, probably doesn’t have a royal family any longer. Is where Augustus (the scorn prince) takes his exile. Mainland is covered by a good portion of giant rose trees, which is where the country gets its name from.
Geological feature of note, the large rose tree forest/s that cover most of the mainland.
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Country 8/21
Brackle (Bracklen or Brackleneze or Brackleze)
Pronounced Br-ack-L and Br-ack-len
Is in a transitional government stage, leaving their monarchy behind after the current king and queen die. The royal couple never had any children and any of the other options for a chosen heir, either don’t want the position or shouldn’t be in the position whether they’d like to or not. So the royal couple is working with the people to create a government that will work for the people once they’re gone.
Geological feature of note, has a river that’s famous for changing colours with the seasons and sometimes certain weather events.
🐉
Country 9/21
Grauwerly (Werlish)
Pronounced Gr-ah-wer-ly and Werl-ish
Still a monarchy, but one that is in decline due to political strains over the years, especially the long term land dispute with Neit, and not helped when Princess Adlura ran away when she was supposed to be part of the deal to solve the land dispute.
Geological feature of note, on the largest island there are hot springs that allow a flower similar to a dandelion to grow, only those flowers have more colour variations than yellow. This area creates the only known environment for where the little bobble bird lives. The bobble bird is a small very round bird that’s very colourful and likws to hide in the mentioned flowers
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Country 10/21
Xenz (Xenzer)
Pronounced X-enz and X-enz-er
Is currently under a dictatorship, more strictly ruled than the monarchies around/nearby them. Is definitely sympathetic to Fernsworth and has helped back Fernsworth's war against its neighbouring island countries.
Geological feature of note, has the second highest mountain in Questerling only to Zostana.
🐉
Country 11/21
Neit (Neitinese)
Pronounced Knee-it (one syllable) and Knee-it-in-ese
A monarchy. Currently has a queen in power, much to the dismay of traditionalists, but there had been no other good option at the time when the queen took power. It was either her or one of her other sisters and she was the eldest. Because Neit is a landlocked country, they’ve been trying to force Grauwerly to potentially give up some of their land to get sea access.
Geological feature of note, has the lowest point of land on the continent. A deep canyon with purple and green rock layers.
In including Neit, Grauwerly, and Vessperly in the world building for these other countries that are within easier sailing distance for the Greater Windsmere Islands, it has me thinking about some of the lore and backstory I created for the first three countries mentioned.
Vessperly was always on a different continent from Neit and Grauwerly. Neit and Grauwerly were always neighbours as well, though previously they more or less shared a large island with a third country. (And didn’t have a land dispute, as they both had sea access.)
I had a whole complicated backstory for Adlura’s parents, at the barest of bones it worked out to the fact that Adlura’s mother wasn’t actually her mother but her grandmother. (Her grandmother and her grandmother's sister had been kidnapped together when they were young, the sisters were rescued, but not before Adlura’s grandmother was with child. That was kept under wraps and the daughter born from that pregnancy was given to one of the maids to raise.) So later, once Adlura’s grandmother married her father that plays a part.
For many years it seemed like Adlura's grandmother couldn’t get pregnant with an heir, so she and her husband devised a plan where he’d impregnate a maid and then they would pretend that it was actually Adlura’s grandmother who was pregnant. The maid of choice? Her own daughter. The family resemblance would be undeniable.
Only it’s not long after Adlura’s born that her grandmother finds herself with child. And after that birth she finds herself able to have 4 children in total. So she sort of resents that Adlura was born and is seen as her first born when she isn’t. Adlura’s grandmother is also resentful of Adlura’s mother who raised all the recognized royal children and ended up continuing an affair with Adlura's father, which adds to the resentment.
So Adlura’s grandmother explains all of that to Adlura to explain why she’s marrying her off to the King of Neit, who is around Adlura’s father's age or a bit older. Adlura is only about 16 at this point, so she runs. Gets on the first ship to get as far away as possible. As the King of Neit isn’t just old, but has troubles keeping his wives alive.
He’s loosely inspired by King Henry the eighth. In Neit it is customary for the King to always have two wives. At first the King ignored that. He loved his wife too much to marry another at the same time. But after she died in childbirth, then the king started following the tradition. He’s had more than one wife die in childbirth and every surviving child he has is a daughter, besides one. His son who ran away to be a sailor. Which is why Adlura is marrying the King who is down a wife again, instead of his son. So of course Adlura runs away. (Off track side tangent here… I might have named Adlura’s grandmother/supposed mother Ida or something similar, but I don’t fully remember.)
To bring Vessperly (and more importantly, Benteky into it) Benteky just misses Adlura after she runs away. He was coming to Grauwerly to come and see her in particular, because he wanted to see if she might be willing to consider him a suitor, as he and Adlura had met as younger children and he had really enjoyed the time spent together. Only they do still cross paths as they’re both leaving Grauwerly. Adlura gets swept off the ship they’re taking. (Benteky was travelling as low key as he could to not bring attention to himself, though he’s a prince.) Benteky alerts the sailors to what has happened to Adlura, meaning that he’s played a small part in rescuing her. Adlura wanted to thank him and ended up gaining work for him.
Then this was where I always struggled because I wanted to do a time jump of five years or so (while conventional writing says it’s not always the best idea). The time jump to age up the characters a little but also because I didn’t want to write the boring day to day stuff of Adlura working for Benteky.
Once the time jump happened, then it would be time for the challenge/journey to begin. Adlura would take off some time from work, not saying what for. When it’s really to participate in this event to win Benteky's heart.
The women who join have to travel from one castle to another, with minimal help. Certain modes of transportation are banned from use, as it would make it too easy. Adlura has the benefit of knowing the route well. All along the main route are knights/guards to protect the women travelling, but those men are also warned about how there might be women who try and take advantage of them, so they need to be vigilant.
Another challenge for the journey is that each woman is given a small pouch that contains some coins and a couple of small gems for emergencies. The coins are free for them to use as needed to help get them to the other castle, not telling the women that if the gems are used that will count against them. As it’s one of the metrics used to whittle the group down. Once the women arrived they’re sorted both by when they arrived and whether they have their gems or not. Those who arrived early are just as penalized as those who are very late.
Adlura arrives in the rain, but in that golden timeframe for what is expected and she still has her gems and a good portion of her coins. There is a ball or a couple of balls once most of the women arrive. Adlura intends to reveal her true identity within this time, that she actually is the eldest princess of Grauwerly princess Adlura. Of course Benteky ends up choosing her from all of the girls as he knows her and cares about her, and had been pretty disappointed by the fact that it didn’t seem like she was going to participate in the challenge. So of course the end result would be that the pair do end up together.
🐉
Country 12/21
Leemoneny (Leemonese)
Pronounced Lee-mon-eny and Lee-mon-ease
Type of government? Not sure at the moment, might end up being a monarchy. But they are known for their lemon like citrus trees.
Geological feature of note, the multiple wild lemon groves, often beside water.
🐉
Country 13/21
Zostana (Zostanizy)
Pronounced Zz-ost-ana and Zz-ost-ani-zee
This is the country where Flora's from (The Nurse and the Sailor) Has no monarchy, but I’m still not quite sure what their government system will be like.
Geological feature of note, a dragon shaped island that some say is where all dragons originated from.
🐉
Country 14/21
Jibberrance (Jibberranceling)
Pronounced Jib-ber-rance and Jib-ber-rance-ling
🐉
Country 15/21
Dravermorny (Dravering)
Pronounced Drav-er-morn-ee and Drav-er-ing
🐉
Country 16/21
Hennelbeck (Hennish)
Pronounced Hen-nel-beck and Hen-ish
Geological feature of note, their main large bay was thought to vaguely resemble a hen's beak which is where the country got its name from.
🐉
Country 17/21
Kingdom of Kernwald (Kernwaldian)
Pronounced Kern-wald and Kern-wald-Ian
Still has a royal family who are still fully in power and not a figurehead like some royals are starting to become.
🐉
Country 18/21
Quinceland (Quincian)
Pronounced Quin-ce-land and Quinc-ian
🐉
Country 19/21
Fernsworth (Fernsworthese)
Pronounced how it looks; Ferns-worth and Ferns-worth-ease
Has always had political and religious views at odds with Shadowfen and Windsmere. Is a monarchy and has many ceremonies that are of high importance where those in attendance wear decorative masks.
🐉
Country 20/21
Shadowfen (Shadefenian)
Pronounced Shadow-fen and Shade-feen-ian
Is a monarchy, has always had strong ties to Windsmere and the royal families have co-mingled many times throughout the years (not usually back to back).
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Country 21/21
Windsmere (Windsmerian)
Pronounced Winds-mere and Winds-mere-ian
Has the most political sway out of the three island countries. Is the home Country of the Ravenswood dynasty.
🐉
Country Bonus
Greater Windsmere
Greater Windsmere is the combined countries of Windsmere, Shadowfen, and Fernsworth, that happens after Augustus’s father declared war on the two nearby countries. They’re the only country that has a known mermaid/selkie settlements so close to land dwellers, most of the time sea people stay far away from populated coasts.
In having doven back into planning out some of the more behind the scenes of The Scorn Prince (and due to that one post saying that the backstory shouldn't just be sad/bad/tragic) I find myself thinking about Augustus's childhood. The high pressure of him being the Crown Prince, the differing of religious opinions between what his parents try to teach him, in comparison to his Uncle who is the King and who Augustus treasures every moment with, because his Uncle Hubert understands him better than his parents. It really only being after his uncle dies that he finds that his life isn't what he's used to or agrees with.
Writing ideas and thoughts I'll probably never use/ideas I want to read but not write.
As I was brainstorming ideas for my birthday month this thought hit me…
What about modern Windsmere being more steam/solar/wind/hydro punk than real world equivalent
It recently occurred to me that I could make my more modern eras in Windsmere have a more steampunk aesthetic and world building than the more conventional like our world option, just with fantasy creatures. Why not have wild mechanical creations powered by steam or even other sources
In including Neit, Grauwerly, and Vessperly in the world building for these other countries that are within easier sailing distance for the Greater Windsmere Islands, it has me thinking about some of the lore and backstory I created for the first three countries mentioned.
Vessperly was always on a different continent from Neit and Grauwerly. Neit and Grauwerly were always neighbours as well, though previously they more or less shared a large island with a third country. (And didn’t have a land dispute, as they both had sea access.)
I had a whole complicated backstory for Adlura’s parents, at the barest of bones it worked out to the fact that Adlura’s mother wasn’t actually her mother but her grandmother. (Her grandmother and her grandmother's sister had been kidnapped together when they were young, the sisters were rescued, but not before Adlura’s grandmother was with child. That was kept under wraps and the daughter born from that pregnancy was given to one of the maids to raise.) So later, once Adlura’s grandmother married her father that plays a part.
For many years it seemed like Adlura's grandmother couldn’t get pregnant with an heir, so she and her husband devised a plan where he’d impregnate a maid and then they would pretend that it was actually Adlura’s grandmother who was pregnant. The maid of choice? Her own daughter. The family resemblance would be undeniable.
Only it’s not long after Adlura’s born that her grandmother finds herself with child. And after that birth she finds herself able to have 4 children in total. So she sort of resents that Adlura was born and is seen as her first born when she isn’t. Adlura’s grandmother is also resentful of Adlura’s mother who raised all the recognized royal children and ended up continuing an affair with Adlura's father, which adds to the resentment.
So Adlura’s grandmother explains all of that to Adlura to explain why she’s marrying her off to the King of Neit, who is around Adlura’s father's age or a bit older. Adlura is only about 16 at this point, so she runs. Gets on the first ship to get as far away as possible. As the King of Neit isn’t just old, but has troubles keeping his wives alive.
He’s loosely inspired by King Henry the eighth. In Neit it is customary for the King to always have two wives. At first the King ignored that. He loved his wife too much to marry another at the same time. But after she died in childbirth, then the king started following the tradition. He’s had more than one wife die in childbirth and every surviving child he has is a daughter, besides one. His son who ran away to be a sailor. Which is why Adlura is marrying the King who is down a wife again, instead of his son. So of course Adlura runs away. (Off track side tangent here… I might have named Adlura’s grandmother/supposed mother Ida or something similar, but I don’t fully remember.)
To bring Vessperly (and more importantly, Benteky into it) Benteky just misses Adlura after she runs away. He was coming to Grauwerly to come and see her in particular, because he wanted to see if she might be willing to consider him a suitor, as he and Adlura had met as younger children and he had really enjoyed the time spent together. Only they do still cross paths as they’re both leaving Grauwerly. Adlura gets swept off the ship they’re taking. (Benteky was travelling as low key as he could to not bring attention to himself, though he’s a prince.) Benteky alerts the sailors to what has happened to Adlura, meaning that he’s played a small part in rescuing her. Adlura wanted to thank him and ended up gaining work for him.
Then this was where I always struggled because I wanted to do a time jump of five years or so (while conventional writing says it’s not always the best idea). The time jump to age up the characters a little but also because I didn’t want to write the boring day to day stuff of Adlura working for Benteky.
Once the time jump happened, then it would be time for the challenge/journey to begin. Adlura would take off some time from work, not saying what for. When it’s really to participate in this event to win Benteky's heart.
The women who join have to travel from one castle to another, with minimal help. Certain modes of transportation are banned from use, as it would make it too easy. Adlura has the benefit of knowing the route well. All along the main route are knights/guards to protect the women travelling, but those men are also warned about how there might be women who try and take advantage of them, so they need to be vigilant.
Another challenge for the journey is that each woman is given a small pouch that contains some coins and a couple of small gems for emergencies. The coins are free for them to use as needed to help get them to the other castle, not telling the women that if the gems are used that will count against them. As it’s one of the metrics used to whittle the group down. Once the women arrived they’re sorted both by when they arrived and whether they have their gems or not. Those who arrived early are just as penalized as those who are very late.
Adlura arrives in the rain, but in that golden timeframe for what is expected and she still has her gems and a good portion of her coins. There is a ball or a couple of balls once most of the women arrive. Adlura intends to reveal her true identity within this time, that she actually is the eldest princess of Grauwerly princess Adlura. Of course Benteky ends up choosing her from all of the girls as he knows her and cares about her, and had been pretty disappointed by the fact that it didn’t seem like she was going to participate in the challenge. So of course the end result would be that the pair do end up together.
I need to go to bed, but instead I am pondering the need to set a timeline for some of the events in The Scorn Prince so that I can use that timeline for Walawa the detective dragon's story where the pregnant young woman stuffed into the wall case can be solved. (Which I'm now going to start referring to as The Lost Queen or The Case of the Lost Queen.)
Seeing as the victim is Evelyn Faustina, Queen of Fernsworth for a short period of time.
So since the events of The Scorn Prince effect The Lost Queen, I kind of have to work out the one to get the other.
I think I might've managed to figure this out today? At least for the most part. It's still all just figured out on paper currently, but I have a pretty good idea of what the series of events is around Evelyn's murder is now. Answering many of my own questions now.
Writing ideas and thoughts I'll probably never use/ideas I want to read but not write.
Political thriller with an assassination or attempted assassination
A king is under attack and his guards try to protect him and his family through several attempts, but eventually fail when he’s killed by one of his own men.
I need to go to bed, but instead I am pondering the need to set a timeline for some of the events in The Scorn Prince so that I can use that timeline for Walawa the detective dragon's story where the pregnant young woman stuffed into the wall case can be solved. (Which I'm now going to start referring to as The Lost Queen or The Case of the Lost Queen.)
Seeing as the victim is Evelyn Faustina, Queen of Fernsworth for a short period of time.
So since the events of The Scorn Prince effect The Lost Queen, I kind of have to work out the one to get the other.
Greater Windsmere is the combined countries of Windsmere, Shadowfen, and Fernsworth, that happens after Augustus’s father declared war on the two nearby countries. They’re the only country that has a known mermaid/selkie settlements so close to land dwellers, most of the time sea people stay far away from populated coasts. These sea peoples are important trade allies as they bring items to the surface which would be hard for humans to do.
