“And so,” the Man was saying softly, with the voice of a practiced storyteller. “The great King created the Countries. He placed mountains that rose higher than the clouds themselves, and bordered the lands with a great ocean, full of all manner of creatures. And because He loved beauty, He covered the Countries with vast, changing landscapes, filling the heights with magnificent trees and the valleys with the most delicate of flowers.”
When the Stars Shine Again, my upcoming novella, is set in two locations. The desolate slums of the Unwanted, and the shining city of Ailnirha.
I’ll let the book itself explain the Unwanted to you all, but today’s post will dive into Ailnirha and give you all a small peek into the home of the elves.
Seven vastly different levels form the towering city, each with their own way of life. The higher you go, the more elite and ornate Ailnirha becomes.
With a culture built upon legends and perfection, you either belong, or you don’t. One act of defiance towards the king or High Captain, one touch of the Black Mist, will have you banished to the Unwanted for the reminder of your life.
Zandier leaned forward, pointing towards the six glowing spires crowning Ailnirha. Each twisted the shadows of the night differently, their elegant architecture crafted to fit uniquely with the Guild held inside.
The entirety of Ailnirha revolves around the sixth level. The Guilds.
The Physicians, Mathematicians, and Merchants, the Crafters, Protecters, and the Story Guild. Each fulfills the role in their name, keeping the city running and the culture of the elves alive and vibrant.
And each is a essential building block to Ailnirhian life. Apprenticeship is the highest of honors, and only the best of the best become Masters.
Only in these streets could you find the exotic scents and cuisine of the eftirl. Only along these paths would the foreign colors of the humans be welcomed. Only in these market stalls could scarves from Fellnor mingle with Castohthin spices, and all be bought by Ailnirhian elves.
Faint music filled the air, the soft strains of the elvish linur mixing with loud thumps of eftirl drums and the bright notes of a human instrument Wren could no longer remember the name of.
The elves of Ailnirha are so obsessed with their perfection, that they think of anyone not from their country, and not of their blood, as unworthy to be in their presence.
And thus, the role of High Captain was created.
The king of the elves chose a ruthless, extremely talented soldier to lead a force of elves in defense of Ailnirha. The title of High Captain was passed on to only the greatest throughout the years, and each elf carrying it became more twisted and heartless than the last. Slowly, the elves tightened the reigns on their interaction with outsiders, until eventually, the elves cut off all contact with anyone not from their country.
WtSSA is set before the elves fully shut themselves away, in the time of High Captain Oulixeus, as can be seen by the presence of non-elvish goods still in the markets.
One of the fun parts about writing Ailnirha is that I have actually written an entire novel centered partly around what the surrounding countries think of it and the elves. So I already had a ton of world-building and ideas in place, and this time I got to switch things up and write from the point of view of a elf who has spent almost her entire life in the shadows of the ‘perfect’ city.
I definitely will be coming back to Ailnirha—and maybe even the main characters of WtSSA—sometime in the future. The idea of the elves being the twisted, imperfect ones is too much fun to write only once.
When the Stars Shine Again is a YA fantasy allegory that releases January 10th.
I poured everything everything I have into this story, and am so excited by the result. If you love fantasy, beautiful settings, starry skies, and stories that can make you cry, I suggest checking it out!
You can find it on Amazon here:
And add it to your Goodreads here:
Lulu’s Library 