The original concept for The Maven Knight came about in 2015 during a table-top rpg session between me and my friends. For a full day during our beach week, we spit-balled and came up with some loose ideas for our campaign. Ultimately, it never came to fruition and we scraped it after one session. Yet, the creation of the world and characters sparked my imagination.
The world of Pan’gea was initially called Terra, and the genre was a post-apocalyptic/steampunk style. It was very reminiscent of Mad Max: Fury Road with barren environments, hodgepodge vehicles, and eccentric characters. Most people wore leather armor, scrap clothes, and headgear with weapons like swords or crossbows. The Remnant was known as the Board, and they were primarily just a lucrative consortium rather than a warrior cult.
Sarina, or Serena as she was called, was similar in appearance and background, but she had two younger sisters who both worked to frame her. Sabrina and Satina were conniving, power-hungry, and the epitome of privileged. Similar to the book counterpart, Serena wielded a spear but made of scrap parts and owned a giant lizard mount. Her being the royal heir of Z’hart was always a part of her creation.
Tálir was referred by many aliases including T.R., Talare, and even Tál. At first, he was just a guy who wore scrap armor in a steampunk environment and had no mystical background. It wasn’t even until the second draft that he became a more detailed and prominent character.
Providence was initially called the Foundry, and the first book was meant to conclude with the party discovering it and ultimately destroying it. However, I felt that ending the Foundry quest in one book would leave the next two novels without an ultimate end goal. This mythical place helps tie all three books together with a grand overarching quest.