D is for Dolennar

 

The world of Dolennar has been growing and developing in my mind for almost ten years. I love epic medieval and fantasy landscapes. Depending on the area, Dolennar as a mix of English countryside, New Zealand, the Northwoods where I’m from, and just random bits put together in my imagination. It started out rather small scale at first, focused on only three or four places, but as the story expanded so did Dolennar. I wanted Dolennar to be a believable and kind of familiar feeling place once you get to know it, so I didn’t go with anything wildly fantasyish and foreign.

 

The greatest tool I had in the development of Dolennar was the map. Right after we saw The Fellowship of the Ring and I began writing fantasy, my brothers and I got really into drawing maps. We’d draw them all the time. The map of Dolennar is one of the maps that came from that. At the time I was just starting my original Makilien, and really had no idea where everything was going to be, but that one map ended up being perfect. I’ve made very few changes to it over the years. I can’t imagine what I would do without it. I wouldn’t even know where to start if I had to draw it now.

 

My favorite places in Dolennar are Elimar and the plains of Eldor. I love Elimar for two reasons. First, I love the idea of a small peaceful city where everyone knows each other and is welcoming to strangers. And secondly, I love the forest. I always imagine it as one of my favorite places on earth with huge maple trees and evergreens. As for the Eldorian plains, I just love the idea of rolling hills with lush green grass and mountains towering in the background.