Sundered Lands - Series Overview

The Prophetic Poem:

Six are they, the Badgers’ Crowns

If power ye seek, they must be found

Crystal, iron and flaming fire

Gather them, if ye desire

Ice, and wood and carven stone

The power they give

Is yours

Alone

Prologue:

The legends say that once, long, long ago, there was a single round world, like a ball floating in space, and that it was ruled over by six wise Badger Lords. 

The legends also tell that the Badger Lords were accidentally responsible for a tremendous explosion, an explosion so huge that it shattered the round world into a thousand fragments, a vast archipelago of islands adrift in the sky. 

The Badger Lords realized their terrible blunder, and in the few minutes that remained to them before the world was destroyed, they managed to put their six magic crowns onto six ships, and to send them as far away from the explosion as possible, in the hope that one day someone might bring the crowns back together again and reunite the broken world.

Then the world blew up and not one of the six Badger Lords survived.

As time passed, the survivors of the great explosion thrived and prospered and gave their scattered island homes a name – and that name was the Sundered Lands.

That’s what the legends say. 

But who believes in legends nowadays?

Esmeralda Lightfoot is a Roamany – which means she knows a thing or two about magic. Well, to be honest, she actually knows very little about magic, but she can read the ancient and mysterious Badger Blocks, a set of wooden tokens that the Roamany people have been using for hundreds of years to tell fortunes. Oh, and she can also conjure a palm-light – a small lemon yellow ball of light that can be very helpful, if you find yourself trapped by wicked pirates in the deep and dark and deadly mines of Drune. Which she did!

Esmeralda has had the truth of the ancient legends revealed to her in a reading of the Badger Blocks: the old tales about the Badger Lords and their magical crowns are true! In the few moments before the old round world exploded, the crowns really were put aboard ships and scattered to the six winds. It really did happen.

To bring Sundered Lands back together again, the six crowns need to be found – and according to the Badger Blocks, Esmeralda is the very person to do it. Except that she needs the help of someone called “The Lamplighter” – which is where poor old Trundle comes into the picture. 

But things become a bit more difficult for Esmeralda and Trundle when they find out that they have a ship-full of grim and grisly pirates on their tail. The bloodthirsty pirates are led by none other than the most evil hog in the whole of Sundered Lands, a brutal brigand by the name of Captain Grizzletusk – he is also looking for the Six Crowns – and woe betide anyone who gets in his way.

Will Esmeralda and Trundle succeed in finding the Six Crowns or will they fall foul of Captain Grizzletusk and the scurvy crew of the Iron Pig. Only by reading the six books in the Sundered Lands series will you find out!

Book One:Trundle’s Quest– available from 15th July 2010.

Book Two:Fair Wind To Widdershins – available from 18th November 2010.

Book Three: Fire Over Swallowhaven – available from 3rd March 2011.

Book Four:The Ice Gate Of Spyre – available from 7th July 2011.

Book Five:Sargasso Skies – available from 3rd November 2011.

Book Six:Full Circle – available from 1st March 2012.

See The Competition Page for ways in which you can win signed copies of these books when they are published, as well as other wonderful and exclusive prizes!

Sundered Lands Calendar:

January: Whitesnow

February:Freezymonth

March: Windrush

April: Blossom

May: Shear

June: Greengrow

July: Beetime

August: Sunhover

September:Gatherup

October: Strawmonth

November:Leaffall

December:Chillfinger

Cast of Characters

Abigail Frutch– a pirate.

Badgers of Power– ancient rules who accidentally blew up Sundered Lands thousands of years ago.

Augustus Brockwise - Highmost Chancellor of Widdershins College.

Captain Thaddeus Darkside - a steammole.

Esmeralda Lightfoot– The Princess in Darkness – a Roamany hedgehog. 

Sgt. Fawkes - a fox guard of Widdershins. Professional idiot.

Furrowman Plowplodder– founder of Shiverstones – a hedgehog.

Farmer Giddings– next farmer along in Shiverstones. 

Mistress Gleet – citizen of Port Shiverstones. 

Farmer Gossage – citizen of Port Shiverstones. 

Grand Admiral Agrocrites Firwig - leader of Swallowhaven's "invincible" fleet.

Grand Junior Warden of the Great Eastern Spice Dock - a kind of Swallowhaven police officer.

Captain Grizzletusk– Pirate Captain. 

Overseer Grunther– a mine officer in Drune.

Hacksaw Scarsnout– a pirate.

Millie Rose Thorne - Esmeralda's Auntie - Queen of the Roamanys. 

Ishmael March - a crazy pirate hare and windship's cook.

Jack Nimble– squirrel troubadour.

Percy - A hedgehog, Herald Pursuivant of Widdershins, Keeper of the Scrolls, etc.

The Glorious Phoenix Bird - protector of the Crown of Fire.

Mr Pouncepot– an officer aboard a merchant Windship. 

Puissant Castellans - the rulers of Swallowhaven.

Punchly Backbreaker– landlord of the Strangled Stoat.  

Farmer Pyepowder– owns the land adjacent to Trundle’s cottage in Shiverstones. 

Bo’sun Razorback– Grizzletusk’s second in command.

Roamanys– travelling folk – they have small magic – no one else does.

Captain Slaughter – Razorback’s pet raven. An unpleasant bird. 

Steammoles - a strange, uncommunicative race with steam technology.

Farmer Stickleback – another Shiverstones farmer.

Edwin Tilthammer - a steam-mole who used a fork and spoon to tunnel out of prison

Trundle Boldoak – The Lamplighter – hedgehog. 

Captain Dolly Wideawake - female windship captain of Swallowhaven.

Captain Amery Wilde - a windship captain.

Willie Stiggle – a pirate. 

Places in Sundered Lands:

The Bountiful Udder Inn - hostelry in Port Tentercome.

Cabbagemonger’s Hall– a grand meeting-house in Port Shiverstones.

Dangler’s Calm– a strange, mysterious part of Sundered Lands. 

Docking Street– street in Port Shiverstones. 

Miss Dolly Buckfur’s Ladies Costumiers– a shop in Port Shiverstones. 

Drune– a grim and miserable mining island, teeming with cut-throats and ne’er-do-wells. 

Gatherer’s Turnpike– a street in Port Shiverstones. 

The Goils - a region of deadly floating rocks. Beware! Avoid!

Gnashenchopper's Reef - a bad place with dark lagoons and sharks!

Honesty Skank’s Gold Star Pawnbrokers– a shop in Rathanger. 

Lamplighter’s Lane– the street where Trundle lives.

Market Square – in Port Shiverstones – where stands the statue of Furrowman Plowplodder in a great stone fountain. 

Mousehole Reach - a little island close to Swallowhaven.

Nightreef - a great bank of rocks that floats around the sun, creating night and day.

Port Shiverstones– main town of Shiverstones, cabbage-farming island.

Port Tentercombe - principal town of Tenterwold.

Port Trimble – a town in Sundered Lands.

Rathanger– town of Drune. Horrid.

“The Seven Hundred Skies”– general name for the entirety of Sundered Lands sky.

Slatterkin's Reef - a reef of rocks and boulders afloat in the sky. Dangerous!

The Slug And Cabbage Tavern– a hostelry in Port Shiverstones. 

Spadge Hopper’s Ironmongers– a shop in Port Shiverstones. 

Spire - a tear-drop shaped island with jungles at one end, a city and a monastery in the middle and snowy peaks at the other end.

The Strangled Stoat– a pub in Rathanger. 

Swallowhaven - a trading island, it's full title is The United Mercantile Principality of Swallowhaven.

Swiveltree– a place in Sundered Lands. 

Tenterwold - an idyllic island of green pastures and rolling hills.

Tippler’s Quay– part of the Port Shiverstones docks. 

Widdershins - an ancient island, home of the Guild of Observators.

Willowland– an island in Sundered Lands. 

Things in Sundered Lands:

Blackpowder– gunpowder, used exclusively by pirates. 

The Black Velvet - a steammole windship.

The Bolt From The Blue - windship of the Swallowhaven fleet.

Dark Lotus Juice - juice distilled from the dark lotus plant - sends people crazy!

The Gilded Lily - the flagship of the Swallowhaven fleet. 

The Iron Pig– the pirate ship.  

Lord Slatterkin's Fancy - a special dance.

Magic Badger Blocks – a set of ancient wooden tokens used for fortune telling.

Powerstone - special lighter-than-air stone that allows Windships and Skyboats to sail the skies of Sundered Lands.

Rebec - the musical instrument played by Jack Nimble - a bit like a violin.

The Scarlet Scavenger - Captain Wilde's windship.

Six Crowns of the Badgers of Power: Mystical crowns made of Crystal, Iron, Fire, Ice, Wood and Stone.

Skyboats– smaller flying vessels. 

Sniffer-shrews– tracking animals used by pirates. 

“Thief In The Night”– the skyboat.

Underhaven - the region underneath Swallowhaven.

Windships– larger flying vessels. 

The Worshipful Guild of Observators - an ancient assembly of intellectuals and scientists founded in Widdershins College.