Fragments from the Wildlands

“Your first death is always the hardest.”

Miguela was the third-born child of a well-off merchant family and knew from around the time she could speak that her life’s path was already decided. She was to become an Orator, as was Xandran tradition. However, Miguela had an affinity with the magikal arts and somehow found herself studying at the Academy.

She did just enough to keep up with her studies but never found the motivation to apply herself and “reach her potential,” as her instructors often said. It was not that Miguela was uninterested in the arts. Rather, she knew her time at the Academy ultimately did not matter. Whenever Miguela returned home, she would become an Orator, and that would be that.

Or so she believed until, one day, an opportunity appeared that would change her life. Miguela was offered the chance to join a research team tasked with a mission of the utmost importance to the future of the Five Kingdoms. She could not turn down the prospect of regaining control of her life and finally finding a purpose for herself. Of course, Miguela might soon discover that offers that appear too good to be true are usually fraught with lies.

Welcome to Five Kingdoms of Cordizal!

Question: What is the Five Kingdoms of Cordizal?

I often get asked this type of question about my stories by friends, bloggers, and potential readers.

The Five Kingdoms of Cordizal is a high-fantasy epic universe that is the setting for most of my stories. The foundation of the universe is its multicultural, multiracial setting with several sentient races attempting to carve their legacy and survive. The world is fully fleshed out and vibrant with a rich and mysterious history not based on Tolkien mythology.

This brings me to magic. To me, magic is an essential part of the fantasy genre, so, of course, there is magic in the Five Kingdoms universe. However, one critical part of the Five Kingdoms universe is that magic is an abundant commodity that is a part of everyday life and not some plot device used to drive the story.

In short, the Five Kingdoms universe is the setting of epic fantasy stories with deep characters and world-building. I try to tell as many different types of stories as possible in the universe, and hopefully, you can find something for you in it.