Where the Roots Lay Buried COVER DESIGNS (1).png

KJ NICHOL

Author & World Creator

THE WORLD OF ORDAE

Welcome to the continent of Ordae, shaped by more than a century under the rule of the Protectorate. Once home to a kingdom and a common tradition of small magic, the people across Ordae today have inherited a history carefully rewritten by those seeking power. The old beliefs have been driven from shared knowledge, the stories of magic reduced to fragments and superstitions, and much of what came before has been buried or lost to time and shadow.

But history has a way of putting down roots.

In the forests, trees cling to strange remnants of magic that once moved through their branches. Old songs and sayings preserve pieces of history no book remembers. And beneath the orderly world the Protectorate has built, the past is beginning to stir.

Explore the beautiful continent of Ordae below.

The capital city and stronghold of the Protectorate is Kess, a many-colored jewel built in layers that separate the favored (Raised City) from the forgotten (The Coil).

Rhwall and Muirdarne are the center of learning and advancement for the continent. The Academy of Muirdarne trains scholars in many masteries, from the performing arts to archival histories.

The highlands and beaches of Tighland Firth are a brilliant mosaic of coastal peoples who still hold onto the old ways.

Faerhaven's cliffside ports are an architectural and engineering wonder, moving pulley barges along sheer cliff faces to transport goods and people between the city and the ports far below.

The Candene Ruins are hidden by ancient walls (heavily trapped) to prevent intruders from scavenging the oldest civilization on the continent. Long abandoned, Candene stands as a testament to the history of Ordae.

Isla Brakka houses the continent's best smithies, buried deep in the island's foundation and accessed only by a terrifying stairwell carved into the cliffs. Known as the Descent, hopeful apprentices do not earn their aprons until they can make the climb down without answering the call of the sea.

Durendelle is the now permanent settlement of a collection of nomadic peoples who made their homes and livings amongst the redgiants, the massive, ancient trees that fill the Hawys Valley.

Nyada and Tydia are towns formed in the shadow of the castle of the former monarchy. Nyada adapted well beneath the Protectorate and became a key port in the north, while Tydia continues to struggle with the transition from their beloved royal family to the heavy-handed reach of the Seat.

Experience Ordae with a short story about the breaking of the monarchy, And Tyd Fell.

Planned Works

PLANNED WORKS

What happens when the continent begins to remember its roots.

STATUS: OUTLINED

Elania has spent her life keeping the Lymena Inn, where she knows the rhythms of the small community that has grown around her uncle's establishment. It is a quiet life, but a safe one, and one she has no reason to question.

Then her uncle disappears.

Choosing to leave Lymena with a troupe of minstrels, Elania discovers that his disappearance may be connected to a past her uncle kept carefully hidden. What begins as a search for him becomes a journey through a continent she realizes she knows nothing about.

The life Elania thought she understood starts to unravel. And there are some things that, once uncovered, refuse to be buried again.

STATUS: EDITING, SEEKING BETA AUDIENCES

What decisions must be made to grow the future they've been working toward.