The Dells is one of the kingdoms on the Royal Continent. It is located across a large band of mountains northeast of the seven kingdoms. King Nash is the current ruler of the Dells, having succeeded his father King Nax.
Geography[]
The capital city is King's City. The Dells is a mountainous, stormy, and rough land with lots of forests. The northern part of the kingdom is not particularly beautiful, but is gray and brown with some tufts of green in the summer. The northern soil is rocky and cold. In the middle of the country, where Fort Middle is located, the landscape very suddenly changes. The ground becomes made of rounded rock instead of jagged rock. It's smooth rock, rolling almost like hills. There are also a few fields of tall, soft grass. The west region has great crevices in the ground, some of which open to caves while others are bottomless. The south has gold mines.
The entire land contains underground passages where the black market flourishes. The Great Grays are mountains in the south and west. The Little Grays are mountains in the north. They divide Fire and Archer's lands from the land of Queen Roen. They are passable by foot and more easily inhabitable than the Great Grays. The high, flat , coastal area north of King's City is called Marble Rise. Torrential rains fall in the autumn, particularly in the north. The Dells is not known for hot summers. Towns in the mountains light beacon fires when they are under attack to call on the aid of their neighbors.
History[]
The Dells been in a lawless, decaying state for the past thirty years and is in the middle of a civil war due to King Nax and Lord Cansrel's actions. The politics are unstable with the military factions divided.
When Queen Bitterblue is eighteen, a Dellian and Pikkian delegation arrives in Monsea, led by Fire. Fifteen years ago, a landslide revealed a tunnel that brought the Dellians into far eastern Estill of the seven kingdoms. Upon discovering a land of seven kingdoms in which too many of the kings were warmongers, the Dellians chose to conduct secret explorations instead of making themselves immediately known, for they had known war and were sick of it. The Dellians have been exploring eastward as well. They have been slowly growing their navy and exploring their coastline and waters. In recent decades, there has been a great deal of intermingling between the Dellians and Pikkians.
Culture[]
The people are called Dellians. They have very dark skin and a variety of hair and eye colors. The main language of the Dells is Dellian. It's alphabet consists of thirty-three letters, with some of them being double vowels. It is Dellian tradition to cremate the dead. They believe it is a sign of respect to the idea that all things end, except the world. There are no Gracelings in the Dells, and furthermore, no one there has ever heard of Gracelings. One of the most notable aspects of life in the Dells is the presence of monsters. Many types of animals can be a monster. Monsters are marked by their fantastic coloring, telepathic powers, and unnatural beauty. It has variations of the animals in the seven kingdoms.
The Dells is more advanced than the seven kingdoms in terms of medicine, science, art, etc. Medical knowledge especially is much more highly advanced in the Dells. Medicines grow there that the seven kingdoms don't have, especially in the western part of the Dells where science is paramount. The Dells are slightly more forward-thinking regarding gender roles. For example, the country has begun allowing women to become full-fledged members of the army. Same-sex marriage is also allowed in the Dells. The Dells spy on their friends and enemies and their own spies as common practice. A palace gala is held in the second half of January every year to celebrate the lengthening of days. It's a curious matter of Dellian politics, in which everyone of any significance is invited. Loyalists and traitors come together to pretend to be friends for a week.
The Dells has the world's largest and most powerful army. The army is divided into four branches and the auxiliaries. While the branches of the army are patrolling, the auxiliaries are stationed in the forts and signal stations spread throughout the kingdom. Soldiers wear gray uniforms, except for the healers, who wear green. There are 20,000 soldiers in the four branches and 5,000 soldiers in the auxiliaries. Each branch has about 5,000 soldiers. Since Prince Brigan, who commands the army, allowed women to join, there have become about 2,500 women in the army, with 500 women in the First Branch. The branches are each a wonder of organization. They are like a moving base divided into sections with section divided into small units. Scout units ride far ahead of the army and patrol units ride to every side. Subunits race back to make reports or request support. Supply units handle the pack horses and inventories. Command units deliver messages from Brigan to the rest of the force. Archery units keep eyes open for animal and monster predators. The standard-bearer's sole charge is to stay near the commander so he can always be found, and thus must be an excellent horse rider.
Dellian Funeral Lament[]
"While I was looking the other way your fire went out/Left me with cinders to kick into dust/What a waste of the wonder you were/In my living fire I will keep your scorn and mine/In my living fire I will keep your heartache and mine/At the disgrace of a waste of a life"
Notable Locations[]
- King's City
- Gray Haven
- Roen's Holding
- Archer's Holding
- Fire's Holding
- Cutter's Holding
- Cellar Harbor
- Fort Flood
- Fort Middle
- Marble Rise
- Mydogg's Holding
- Gentian's Holding
- Gunner's Manor
Notable Dellians[]
- Fire
- Brigan
- Nash
- Roen
- Brocker
- Hanna
- Nax (deceased)
- Archer (deceased)
- Madlen
- Rose (deceased)
- Aliss (deceased)
- Clara
- Mila
- Jod (deceased)
- Garan
- Cansrel (deceased)
- Cutter (deceased)
- Larch (deceased)
- Musa
- Small
- Tess
- Jessa (deceased)
- Murgda (deceased)
- Mydogg (deceased)
- Sayre
- Welkley
- Linny
- Arn (deceased)
- Ella (deceased)
- Liv: Mila's daughter
- Aran: Clara's son
- Donal: Fire's steward
- Krell: Archer's guard
- Sofie: Fire's maid
- Tovat: Archer's guard
- Trotter: Trilling's eldest son
- Renner: Trilling's youngest son
- Margo: Fire's guard
- Neel: Fire's guard
- Edler: Fire's guard
- Cob: Palace child
- Selin: Palace child
- Midan: Palace child
- Liddy: Fire's childhood maid
- Sammit: A healer under the influence of Leck (deceased)
- Ander: Brigan's squire
- Midya: Murgda's daughter and a member of Fire's delegation to Monsea
- Toddin: Welkley's friend
- Lord Gentian (deceased)
- Lord Gunner (deceased)
- Captain Palla: Archer's captain of the guard
- Lord Trilling: Archer's neighbor
- Captain Holt: Mydogg's spy
- Lord Quislam: A southern lord and ally of Gentian
Trivia[]
- Kristin Cashore hired a linguist to help craft the Dellian language so it could be fully translated into English.[1]