Map of the Kingdoms

Map reveal!

I'm pleased to reveal the map of the kingdoms in my upcoming Historical Fantasy novel, At the Border of Destiny.

Line art by dexarts95, colouring by me!

What and Who are these Kingdoms?

This is for the history buffs! Read on for a brief backstory of Britain, specifically England, and how I adjusted history a lil' bit to create my own alt timeline:

When the Romans eventually left Britain for good in 383 AD (a little over 1,600 years ago), it fractured into separate kingdoms for some time.

They are known as the Anglo Saxon Kingdoms of Britain.

My map also shows Wales on the left (emerging from the Celtic Britons).

For simplicity, my map focuses on the major kingdoms and areas that are relevant to my story, but if you zoom in, three more Anglo Saxon kingdoms would appear: Sussex, Kent, and Essex.

And if you zoom out you would see Scotland and Ireland.

Here is a full reference map of the whole of the British Isles:

Yes, kingdoms, territories and borders did change over the years. For a while, Danelaw, the Viking invasion and territories, took over most of the northeast and midlands area. Borders were always shifting! Kingdoms fought for their territory.

Here is England in the year 886 (1,140 years ago):

 

(On my map, I merged Danelaw and Northumbria into one territory; Northumbria is where my alt-timeline Vikings settled in Britain. Mercia, right below it, is where the story takes place!)

Mercia was an independent kingdom from around 527 to 879 AD, and for some time was one of the largest of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (a period also known as the Heptarchy).

Now, if you're thinking that seven kingdoms sounds familiar (e.g. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Seven Kings Must Die, and so on), yes, these are the same seven kingdoms that inspired many great stories! 

The seven Anglo Saxon kingdoms (Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, Wessex, Essex, Sussex, and Kent) would later form England.

England formed in the year 947 AD, almost one thousand years ago. That formation was chiefly of Jutes, Angles, Saxons (all of Germanic origin), and Danes (aka Viking settlers from present day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden). Collectively known as Anglo-Saxon, and the Vikings were later adopted into this as well. 

The England formation was only about one hundred years before the Normans invaded and conquered England. (Normans from Normandy, a mix of French and Viking settlers.) This Norman invasion was headed by William the Conqueror.

I'll leave it there for now with the history! 

Do you need to know all this historical backstory?

No. That's just for fun! 

For my book, I basically plucked the separate kingdoms from an earlier period, and dropped them into a much later period, instead of portraying a unified England with only one ruler.

Why?

Two main reasons. One, because lots of individual kingdoms has more of a classic fairy tale vibe, which is what I like. 

And two, the division of the land itself better represented the type of story I wanted to tell. 

Here's a little more about the alt timeline of my story: 

When does it take place?

In the 1490s, aka the late 15th Century (about 530 years ago).

This is considered the late Medieval, and peak Renaissance, period.

In our world, England had been England for a long time by then... But in my alternate timeline, England never formed. The separate kingdoms stay separate, and they generally do not get along.

Why? Because I wanted a chaotic, divided, warring people in my story to reflect the chaos of modern, post-Brexit UK; a very un-United Kingdom.

The Britain that my continental MC walks into is a chaotic hot mess. (Picture that meme of someone walking in with pizza, and it's all fire and chaos.)

Though the story starts in the kingdom of Wessex, most of the story takes place in Mercia, the middle kingdom.

I wanted my map to focus on Mercia and it's bordering kingdoms. 

What if England had never formed, and Britain was still separate warring kingdoms while the continents of Europe and Asia were pretty chill and trying to negotiate peace?

That is the central "what if...?" to the story. What if Britain was a hot mess, and the continent next door was giving the kingdoms of Britain some serious side eye? What would that look like?

This is how my MC, Murad, is sent to Britain from the continent, because he is an official messenger.

And as for his backstory, that will be another blog post!

If Murad survives his mission across the border, destiny, and possibly a prince, awaits. 

At the Border of Destiny, a M/M Historical Romance novel by C. Quince - coming early September.

ARC signups open in July! 

Signing off,

C. Quince.