Name's Nerival, at least in this neighbourhood, and this is my fantasy site. It takes you on a brief tour on the trails of Estriana, the parallel world in which my tales are set. Unfortunately, all of them are written in Italian ('cause I'm Italian, after all :-) ) and I've got no time to rewrite the whole bunch in English.
I'M SORRY. I'll try for get one of them done ASAP, my word.
For now, I jotted down some sketches of the lands of Estriana and a little summary for each cycle of narrative and its episodes. If you like the stuff, please LET ME KNOW. That's what the guestbook is for, isn't it?
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To the west and north rise the mountains that form the Stone Crescent and the West Crescent. No passes cross their jagged line except for a deep-cut, meandering valley which connects the northern reaches of the Plains with the steppe on the other side of the Stone Crescent. It is called Shady Vale and the fortified city of Yorda stands vigil to its forests and paths. It's the only way in and out of Estriana. Centuries ago, in the dreaded year of the Snake, the Eosh hordes took the garrison by surprise and stormed the defenses of Shady Vale, pouring in the Plains like lava. �n-Siliar, the Empire of Siliar, fell to their fury, soon to be forgotten and turned into nightmare. Nowadays nothing stands in the heart of the Plains and the great roads skirt them, preferring the sanctuary of the hills.
At the foot of the Teeth, one of the highest and most imposing chains of the North Crescent, lies Rig Tirien, the city of the hundred towers, the greatest market of northern Estriana and the centre of knowledge both arcane and scientific of the continent. In Tirien you can find libraries and universities and the best artists. Bards and storytellers meet in the halls of the Guild of the Bards, where any kind of information is periodically exchanged. The lore of Estriana is recorded as well as created by the masters of the Guild, among whom Indris and Nerival are to be remembered.
Rig Tirien stands at the crossroads of the mayor commercial routes of the continent: the Road of the Graise, that winds through Shady Vale and gets to the province of the Graise at the outskirts of the steppe; the North Road which connects Tirien with Redos and the Harbour Road to Rig Metra. It is a strategical position which makes Tirien the strongest power in Estriana. Sadly internal feuds tend to undermine its strength.
In the heart of the West Crescent Cathaeth guards its memories of a long-lost empire and the secrets of a lore forgotten by many. Noone ever charted the labyrinth of canyons and cul-de-sac that lies to the west of the city, but adventurers and monks wander its paths and sometimes meet strange creatures and artifacts. Science tends to discredit their tales, but it is not so self-assured as to deny them altogether.
I'm working on two different cycles of tales. The first, the Cycle of Redos, tells the story of the arrival in Estriana of Adrian, my favourite hero, a strange mix of thief and mage chiefly interested in magic and lore. He manages to get some really tough acquaintances in Redos and after a good deal of trouble steals a terrific amount of diamonds and leaves the port city, heading for Tirien.
The second cycle, the Cycle of the Bards, is centered on the friendship between Adrian and Nerival, head of the Guild of the Bards. The various episodes of the cycle are most of the time loosely connected, like different songs on a storyteller night.