Ed: This is a guest post by James Vernon from the Eleajia project
The Eleajia project is an experiment in community village building for a fantasy world.
The project came into being because from the very moment I started thinking about The Three Moons Realm (the land Eleajia resides) I wanted to really build a relationship with my audience. I wanted readers to care not only about the characters, but the cultures, history, and races of the world. I wanted the story of the world to continue past the pages of the novels I am writing. With the Eleajia project, the world is actually growing before my first novel is finished with editing!
What is Eleajia?
Set about ten years before the starting point of Bound to the Abyss, my soon to be completed novel, Eleajia is a new settlement started by eleven men and women on the southern border of the region of Ven Khalida. The Eleajia project follows these eleven as they face the trials and successes of starting their own village. Growing from a few shacks to a colony that could possibly rival the capitol city, Eleajia has a world of possibilities ahead of it. And the best part is, the audience gets to decide how it grows!
Here’s how you can get involved.
Eleajia is currently linked to two sites.
The first site, http://eleajiafantasyvillagetmr.wordpress.com/is the main site for the village. It has an overview of the project, village roster, supplies, maps, and a spot to read about past events. The main page of the site displays journal entries from the citizens of the village. This is where the story of Eleajia unfolds through the eyes of its own citizens.
The second site, https://www.facebook.com/threemoonsrealm is how the audience can interact with the world. Eleajia grows along with the growth of the interest for the project. As the ‘Likes’ for the page increase, new members join the village and major or minor improvements are built. The following is a list of how the Facebook page affects Eleajia. Of course, the numbers will change is its popularity grows.
A) For every 20 likes, a new villager or family will move into the village. Each person will provide a service to the village; builder, hunter, fisher, carpenter, etc…
B) For every 50 likes, a minor building will be constructed. The purpose can range from woodworkers or stone smiths to stores or buildings that provide for a better life for the village inhabitants.
C) For every 100 likes, a major building will be constructed. These are major improvements that increase the overall happiness, productivity, and safety of the village.
When the milestones for a new building are met, I post a vote letting the audience decide what is built next. So far, the votes have added a road connecting to the closest village, Rensen, and a small inn, which attracts merchants and other visitors. Each addition has a positive effect on the village, and has the potential to influence the random events that I have planned. The audience’s decisions will have visable repercusions when both positive and negative events affect the village.
The potential for this project is huge, and is solely based on the interest of fantasy fans. The Three Moons Realm is a vast world filled with magic, monsters, deities, races, and cultures. While the stories I right will help introduce the world and bring about major events, I want the audience to have fun filling in the spaces. Eleajia is the perfect starting point for fantasy fans to get involved with a real world building project that focuses on the human courage and grit required to found a new settlement.
So visit the Facebook page and read more about the village on the website.
