Jan M. Hill

Tag: Asteria: The Discovery

Last time we talked about places to go for inspiration – spiritually, physically, emotionally, or creatively.  We’re going to continue that discussion this week.

How about something a bit more serf?  Need a field?  A forest?  A quaint village?  Woodsy hillsides?  England and Ireland are two locations that can help you set the scene.  Portholland in Cornwall, England, connects the explorable hillsides with the relaxation of the beach.

Skellig Michael (Game of Thrones) in Portmagee, Ireland, offers quiet, spooky, threatening, and beautiful locations for inspiration and backdrops.

Tomb

 A wonderful Celtic backdrop can be found in Dingle Peninsula (Star Wars) in Ireland.  It’s the home of forests, taverns, museums, tombs, and lots of other sites to have fun in.

Looking for something more mysterious? 

Dark Hedges (Game of Thrones) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, forms the perfect canopy for your inspiration.  What can pop out here?  Fairies, monsters, elves, your best friend pulling a prank.  What do you think?  Search Pintrest under “Misty Forest” or “Spooky Forest” and see all the inspiration that comes up.

Misty Tunnel

This misty tunnel (Asteria: The Discovery Trailer) in Maquoketa State Park in Iowa could be the site for any number of adventures or inspirations.  Just image the things a person could find here.

How about horror or ghost stories?

 

Most counties have homes that are really old and in compromised conditions, like Bell Witch Farms in Adams, TN.

Bell Witch Farm
Turner Ingersoll Mansion

Not all haunted houses are dilapidated.  The Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, also known as The House of Seven Gables, in Salem, MA is in very good repair – and supposedly still haunted.  This is the house that Nathanel Hawthoren’s story was based on.  Both of these houses could inspire your imagination in many directions. 

For more spooky locations, check your library’s history section.  Or you can check out Pintrest.  Beartales.me is only one of the many pinners that posts images of old, boarded, dilapidated, or well-maintained haunted homes that can be the perfect setting for your mystery.

Can’t afford to take a long trip?  Check online for virtual tours.  While they won’t give you the sounds and smells, they can give you a feel for the area and a taste of the time periods.  Inspiration can be found an many places.

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   Every medieval fantasy book or table top game (ie: Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, etc.) has swords involved.  In ancient times, they were a means of defense, competition, and status.  Only those wealthy enough could own them, and only master blacksmiths could make the best kind.  After all, you don’t want your sword falling apart as you battle your enemy, right?  

     When most people think of swords, their mind immediately goes to the knights of old England or the warriors of ancient Rome.  In both cases, the wielder of the sword worked for a ruler, who in turn provided the sword.  

     In medieval times (400 – 1400 AD), it would take a blacksmith days, possibly weeks, to make a long sword.  Short swords didn’t take a much time.  Blacksmiths used hot coals and heavy hammers to pound out the metal they worked with.  It was hot and tiring work, but great for upper body strength.  Still, it required heating the metal, pounding it out, heating the metal, pounding it out, and sometimes cooling it in between.  Leather and wood were sometimes used to decorate the handle.  Other times, the handles were left polished metal.  Etchings and decorations were especially difficult during that period.

     I found a couple of good youtube videos that show how swords were made, although both use modern tools now; which shortens the process just a bit. Check out How do Blacksmiths Make Swords and Forging a Sword out of a Rusted Iron Chain.  Neither video is very long, but it will give you a good idea of what goes into building a sword.  Just remember, medieval blacksmiths did it all by hand, not power tools.

  Asteria: The Discovery 

 Asteria came to mind way back in 2014.  My middle son was having issues reading.  I sat down and wrote an adventure for him.  It evolved into Asteria: The Discovery.

     What is it all about?  Jordon and Jeremy are your typical early teen best friends.  They enjoy the same things, finish each other’s thoughts, and think along the same lines.  While they have a few individual hobbies, they do almost everything together.  Easy to do when you live next door to each other.

     Jordon hadn’t been in the area long.  One rainy afternoon, he and Jeremy find a hidden laboratory in his basement.  In it, along with books, chemicals, test tubes, and the like, is a large journal telling them about a portal in some local caves.  Jeremy immediately recognizes the caves, but the one in question is blocked off with a saw horse and a warning.  The boys immediately plan to check it out.  Unfortunately, Jeremy’s little sister hears their plans and ends up joining them (either that or she tattles about where they’re really going to her mom).    The trio jump, slide and dodge their way down the washed out path to the cave the journal mentioned.  In the back of the cave, Annese accidentally finds the portal they were looking for.

     While checking out this new cave, Annese runs ahead while the boys are amazed at the rock formations and coloring built into the walls.  Annese’s scream brings them around in time to see Annese being carried off by a gigantic bird.  Oh, no!

     As they delve into this strange land, they find their faces in a book of prophecies.  These people were expecting them to save their land.  What the heck?  Join Jordon and Jeremy as they traverse the islands, make new friends and enemies, run for their lives, develop new talents, break a few laws, and try to figure out how to rescue Annese and get home.

Asteria: The Discovery

 


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