This year I thought I would try something completely different. I got a large sheet of paper and used each day of the challenge to add a character to the page. Over the month the idea of a series of fantasy travelers was fleshed out and decided to call this piece “The Travelers of the Five Kingdoms.”
I thought I’d be able to finish it on one sheet of paper but the characters soon filled up one page and I had to double the size of it.
When I finished the project, I decided to make a print of it and included with the print a guide to the travelers. This little booklet was a nice addition of world building I think rounded out the project. I even included a map of the five kingdoms on the back.
1: swift
The first traveler on my page is known as the fastest messenger among the five kingdoms. They say her feet never touch the ground as she glides like a swift to her destination.
2: divided
Captain Graf was thought dead. The great fish had clamped down on his middle leaving him in two pieces. Years later he resurfaced; half man, half clockwork. He now roams the coasts, chartering boats, searching for the beast that left him divided.
3: poison
The sorcerer Vin Spiculum, master of snakes, purveyor of venom, bile, and poison.
4: underwater
Feijoo the fish-man. He's formed a tenuous alliance with Captain Graf to hunt down the fish that killed his wife.
5: long
Kanipok, a large theropod was just an abandoned egg when found and rescued. He would be raised to be a loyal steed and could cover 5 times as much ground in a day than most rides because of his long legs.
6: sword
Sheena rescued her steed Kanipok when he was still unhatched and raised him on her own. A loyal 15 foot tall theropod with massive claws and and a kick that could knock your head off, really comes in handy when you’re an arms dealer. Together they travel the countryside trading everything from muskets to swords.
7: shy
Zik & Zek keep to themselves, and when they do speak, it's in an indiscernible language that sounds like a cross between a parakeet and a guinea pig. No one knows where they're from or exactly where they’re headed.
8: crooked
Aphelion was drawn to the crooked piece of wood lying at the edge of a riverbank. It already had a fair amount of magic coursing through it. With the right spell and enhancements it became one of the most powerful brooms in the 5 Kingdoms.
9: screech
Vladicin the vampire prefers to travel in his bat form, screeching at everyone to get out of the way.
10: gigantic
Borth, like most giants, lives a solitary life. But once every 10 years he travels back to his birthland where the giants come together to tell stories, share knowledge of the countryside, and mate.
11: run
Baseel is a member of a species of small wingless griffins noted for their speed. They can go at a pretty good clip for hours at a time, easily outrunning horses. But they're dangerous. Only riders matched in their ferociousness can survive being their mount for very long.
12: shattered
Min, elf queen of a fallen kingdom, carries the shattered family sword that embodies power of her royal heritage. Welded back together with elven magic, it is now connected directly to her soul. If the Sword breaks again, she dies.
13: teeming
Borth's mane is teeming with fungusians. He doesn't mind though, they eat the vermin living in his hair and hide, in exchange he provides the small band of shroomfolk safe passage through dangerous forests.
14: fierce
Lepus Decimus, a former slave, won his freedom in a gladiatorial arena. He now rages across the 5 kingdoms freeing other animal slaves. To some he is a threat, to others a folk hero, but to all he is known as Lepus the Fierce.
15: mysterious
It is said that the gods who created Far Earth bore children and that their firstborn still preside over the planet. Rarely seen, the mysterious beings are aloof to the affairs of mortals, but will intervene when the cause is truly just.
16: fat
Kondo owns a small chicken farm in outlands of the 3rd kingdom. Every year he takes his fattest birds to the 5 Kingdom Festival to sell them. The trip can be treacherous, but even one sale makes the journey worth it.
17: graceful
The Northern Alkes, known for their graceful stride, are highly treasured mounts and the ultimate status symbol.
18: filthy
Paloodee Narsh grew out of a swamp, his body part flesh, part algae. Some say the sticks he carries are his children to be planted in other swamps, and grown into creatures like Narsh himself.
19: cloud
Princess Amelie knew that dealing with the witch was dangerous, but she was desperate. "Give me the power to save my lover!" were her last spoken words. She was transformed into one of the most impressive beings on earth: a white dragon. She had the ability to rescue her lover from the powers that held him captive, but at the sacrifice of her own humanity. Now she wisps through the sky, sometimes mistaken for a cloud, her previous life a faint memory.
20: deep
There's a great backstory for this guy but I'm pressed for time to write it out. Just know that he was a member of the Dark Horde from deep within the core.
21: furious
Grigor Bagrat, an influential land owner from the 2nd Kingdom, discovered that 3 days ago one of his southern sheep ranches was wiped out by hungry trolls. He's required by his insurance to personally travel there to assess the damage in order to make a claim. Which means he's missing the annual tri-kingdom poker tournament. To top it off, rain soaked his favorite pipe and he just can't even right now.
22: trail
The court of the fourth kingdom is known for its tradition of impressive mechanical engineering: Clockwork horses that can gallop or a golden eagle that sits atop the king's throne, crowning him as he sits. The most renowned examples are their flying machines, leaving trails of steam as the crisscross the sky.
23: juicy
Bert Fairbarn, from the small village of Hillswood, won a good sized arbillmellon in a bet at the Hillswood farmer's market. He plans on juicing it then using the peelings for compost.
24: blind
Zilmorn, one of the most sought after engineering gnomes, was born into a family of prestigious watchmakers. He left his family's trade and became the Imperial and Royial Court Mechanician of the 4th kingdom. Almost blind, he'd be incapable of working without the custom spectacles he crafted for himself.
25: ship
Klurok has had 17 failed business start ups. He's tried everything from a pro-wrestling league, to a match making service for ogres. His latest venture shows promise: shipping. For a few ducats he'll carry a package to any city along 5 Kingdom the trade road.
26: squeak
Knight Owl clanked and squeaked along the dusty road. He was still two days away from arriving at the battlefield but he was prepared for whatever future it held for him. His people said he was foolish and vain to take a job like this. But the owl knew there was no hope for a soul that lost the will to undertake the grand and awful business of adventure.
27: climb
Climbing atop Klurok's shipping containers, Augustus proclaims to everyone on the trade road that he is the Emperor of the 5 kingdoms. Never mind that the 5 kingdoms haven't been united for over 100 years and that the emperor was assassinated by his own guard. Still Augustus insists people obey his command, and promises a bright future for the empire. Klurok puts up with him because he's harmless, he staves off the boredom of the road, and he actually pays pretty good.
28: fall
Oakenfeld had just begun dropping leaves. At 100 years old he was one of the youngest of the Northern Treeple. A fire early in his life stunted his growth. Every year he makes the trek to the Winterhaven forest in the south Kingdom where he'll sleep for 4 months. The winters are shorter there allowing him to spend a couple more months out of the year growing leaves and a new coat of bark.
29: united
Shino was just a child when her village caught fire and burned to the ground. In the chaos she got separated from her family. While wandering through the woods she came upon Oakenfeld who had been badly burned. She nursed him back to health, and he sheltered and raised her. The two have a magical bond now, united in thought and desire. Their lives are intertwined each needing the other for survival.
30: found
Döpfner the old wizard is a collector. He collects trinkets, stones, spells and cures. Some he uses for himself, but most are for the benefit of others. Today though, he found something truly extraordinary: a Sight Stone. When peering through the hole in the center a world opens up to the viewer. Spirits and souls all become visible, as do a creature's true nature. He would hang on to this treasure. He would need it for the journey ahead of him.
31: mask
Pen holds the esteemed title of "Wanted Dead or Alive" in all Five Kingdoms. When he was growing up he lost both parents in a war over territory between two of the kingdoms. Instead of turning to violence for revenge he turned to music. His songs skewer political officials and royalty by shining light on their evil and selfish deeds. The mask hides his identity so that he can slip through checkpoints unidentified.
