A group that I belong to on Scribophile recently had a worldbuilding exercise/contest. Users were encouraged to try their hand at building a world. The caveat? The piece can only be 300 words long total. It was an interesting challenge and there were some great entries.
I tried my hand, here is what I had:
With Cailin’s hand in hers, Alyssa crested the large, grassy hill that hid Aleria from view. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the valley below and the stone fortifications that held one of the most magnificent medieval cities in the world. Stone walls wrapped around a city with fields encircling the walls. Buildings made from brick, stone, and wood alike could be seen in the distance lining the streets of this massive city. Aleria, the home of Magic.
“How has this remained hidden for so long?” Alyssa asked those who surrounded her.
“For one, it is a very well-kept secret,” Cailin answered as he started to gently pull Alyssa down the other side of the hill. A tugging feeling hit Alyssa’s stomach as she started to step down. “You feel that? That is the other reason it has managed to stay hidden for so long. It is very well warded.”
Shao Island was a small town, so were a few of the other places that Alyssa had lived but none of them had fields like the ones she passed through on her way to the main gates. Growth of all kinds bordered the roads into the massive city.
Wooden gates with wrought iron adornments loomed in front of her, three or more times her height. Alyssa felt a pang of sympathy for whoever had to open and close those doors, they must weigh a ton.
Once through the tunnel, the gates opened onto a marketplace filled with vendors and shops selling just about anything. Alyssa couldn’t keep her attention in any one place. Nothing in the modern world could compare to such a city, and she had only just taken her first few steps through the gates.
If you have read some of my past work on Purple Fire, then you know that this work is about it. This is a sample from some of the changes I am planning for this year’s NaNoWriMo. While I was quite happy with this, this was a quick draft and something that I enjoyed writing. When NaNoWriMo comes this will change but Aleria will be different from past writings about it.