A map of Ruan –
“By the Queen’s blood!”– a curse that refers to the bloodline of the Warrior Queen, the first ruler of Ruan after the Cards were united and wife of the King Roese of Hearts. A variation is “By the Queen’s line!”
The Cheshire Cats- The private force from Clubs that has acted as the royal guards and silent force for the country. They have a magic and technology mix that allows them to create “mirrors” that let them move quickly between locations and spy through reflective surfaces.
Clock-Hearts– the clocks that the Queen of Hearts has put into her people’s chests. Each clock has about 3 months they can last between full winds, but there are exceptions.
Magic– Magic is very much a part of daily life and only a few types really stick out amongst the people. The entire population has magic of some sort, and there are no masters of all magics – the type of magic a person has is hereditary, so certain abilities travel in family lines (there are no witches/wizards/sorcerers/etc that are super powered and able to do anything they want).
As an example that Ida and Ladroch fall under, there are many family lines that are able to manipulate plants- encouraging growth, encouraging ripening, even encouraging rotting/death of plants. These families tend to work in farmland, greenhouses, and medicine. There are families whose magics ease the manipulation of metal- blacksmiths and armorers tend to arise from these families. There is a clan of healers where many families with differing healing magics have joined together to increase the magic healing abilities they can use.
(More on magic in this world, and how the God and Goddess fit into the scheme to come later.)
Pelna– A rural town in Hearts where Alice finds herself after being discovered in the nearby apple orchards by Ida in chapter 1. It is the town that once ran the extensive estate of the Baron of Hearts and lies not too far from the border of Hearts and capitol of Ruan.
The Queen’s Kiss- An action very similar to crossing oneself. Two fingers touch the left side of the lips then are raised for the Red Queen. Within Hearts, this action has evolved to touching the left side of the lips, then touching the clock where a heart once sat. Shown by Ladroch in page 19 of Chapter 1.
Winding Day– When they Queen of Hearts winds the clock-hearts. This is never a day set in stone, only suggested by the length left on a clock. She may arrive to wind clocks on the last day they have left, or a week before, or even longer. She likes to keep her people nervous and anxious of each visit. Each town and city within Hearts has a different approximate winding day, all according to when they got their last wind. Sometimes the warnings of an impending winding day are ignored as the people of Hearts like to forget they have the clock-hearts in attempts to pretend their lives are not bound to the whim of one woman. Clothing fashions have shifted to help keep the clocks out of sight over the years since they were put in.
World Building Wednesday topics:
Language and naming. Taboos. Music. Sports and Entertainment. Maps and the World. Region colors, and wearing them in Hearts.
Weather, Understanding Clockwork and Magic, Clocks and the Lifespans in Hearts, Steampunk Inspiration, Fashion, Architecture, Environment, Pitch, Places, and Similarities.
More to come…
