Welcome to our Worldbuilding Wednesday! On Wednesdays, we will discuss the creative process behind different facets of the Twinverse, from as lofty a concept as the entire cosmology, to specific characters and their role in the setting. Worldbuilding Wednesday is meant as a behind-the-scenes column to give insight into how the setting itself changes and evolves, beyond just the events of the books.
A critical part of building a believable setting is to ensure it has a history that is not only internally consistent, but also providing elements that can appear in the story, whether obliquely or not. Some such elements can provide a feeling to the reader that the world is "lived in", and hint at a larger world than what is presented in the story. Other such elements may appear as locations or objects in the story (sometimes even characters, depending on their lifespan and importance to the story itself).
To take a classic example, one doesn't need to look far: Tolkien's Middle-Earth is a great example of this. The history of Middle-Earth is well established and even if you have never read the Silmarillion (indeed, even if it was never published), you will inevitably notice elements of its history percolating through The Lord of the Rings when you read it. Even in The Hobbit, there are elements of ancient history subtly woven through (e.g. when Elrond identifies the swords found by Thorin and Gandalf in the Troll cave and mentions Gondolin).
Some such elements actually play a role in the story: the Balrog is a critical plot point, yet its history is barely mentioned other than it is a "demon of the ancient world", implying ancient history where Balrogs were more common, perhaps. The way orcs are made was referenced in the book, and the term "Firstborn" referring to the elves is mentioned repeatedly, referring to Iluvatar's creation in the Silmarillion. Moria has a history of its own, even though we only see it as ruins. So too does Osgiliath, or Minas Morgul. And more ancient history is mentioned in the Appendices - where one can find mentions of Morgoth, the Great Enemy, as an example.
The end result is that the world feels more believable because you can "look behind the curtain" and sense there is more to it than what is immediately needed for the story. But with that being said, how do you build a story for the world?
If there is one thing worldbuilding texts have shown us, is that there is no single right way to do so. With the Twin Worlds, admittedly, I cheated a bit when I first introduced the setting to my players. The fact that the Ledhrorn had systematically erased ancient history wherever possible enabled me to build it retroactively afterwards. I found that dividing the worlds' history into Ages was helpful for two reasons: first of all, it enabled me to give a specific tone to each Age, which would then inform what should be in it. And second, I could use significant events to close each Age and begin another one, acting as the major signposts in the worlds' history.
Thus we have the War of Wars ending the First Age with the coming of the Worm of the End. The Second Age ends with the theft of divinity by the Trienorn, and the Sundering of the primal world. The Third Age ends with the slumber of the Trienorn and the Lady. The Interregnum (a mini-Age) ends with the erasure of most history on the part of the Ledhrorn, and the settling in of a new status quo. The Fourth Age ends with the War of Saints and the end of Ledhrorn and Trienorn rule.
After that, or alongside it, it's important to define when the "present" is. What year is it? What has happened shortly before the present? History needs to be more detailed the closer it is to the present time, since more people are alive that lived through it and there are more tales and legends about it (and books as well, if printing is present in your world). The further away in time you move from the present, the less detailed your history needs to be. This doesn't mean you cannot detail it, just that you don't have to beyond the broad strokes which endure in public knowledge.
But don't forget that history isn't made in a vacuum. Events have consequences, and big events have big consequences. Furthermore, don't forget that history is made by characters; there are leaders in wars and revolutions, there are martyrs in persecutions, and so on. Create some of these historical figures (again, keeping in mind that the further back in time you go, the more likely it is that any character who is remembered was responsible for something enormous, or is simply remembered in a twisted fashion).
These elements all combine together to create a history you can draw upon when writing your stories, to build your world and make it feel more alive. Plus, as you build this history, you may have ideas that can blossom into more hooks for other stories, and this is never a bad thing! Some of these hooks may simply turn into legends of your world, and that is great as well.
Granted, this is a generic post and cannot teach everything there is to teach about building a history for your world. Much of it will depend on the concept you put forward for your world, as well. But if you want to look for more information, there are plenty of resources on the Internet you can rely upon to get a better idea. Here is an example. There are forums where people who are interested in worldbuilding share ideas and information, such as here.
We'll look at history a bit more thoroughly soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed these considerations, and I look forward to seeing you at the next Worldbuilding Wednesday.
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