THE SHADOW SAGA / A READER’S COMPANION

Cennicus

Beyond the page.
Within the world.

Walk through the histories, peoples, and traditions behind the Shadow Saga. Begin with the world as the journey opens, then choose how much of the story to reveal.

Open the chronicle ↓Return to the Shadow Saga books

I / THE CARTOGRAPHER’S TABLE

A map for the age of the books.

The trilogy-era atlas is being revised. The existing reference map below depicts later geography, including the Bright Desert, and is not a map of the opening trilogy’s era.

The chart is still being drawn.

The revised atlas will preserve the continent’s shape while aligning places, borders, and terrain with the time of the novels.

View the working atlas · contains later-era geography

Reference only—not the final trilogy-era map. The Bright Desert shown here belongs to the Second Great War.

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Later-era Cennicus reference map, including Storm’s Nest, the Fire Grounds, Ellsted, Hornshir, and the later Bright Desert.

II / BENEATH THREE MOONS

A continent on Anduir.

Cennicus is the known inhabited continent at the heart of the Shadow Saga. Its world, Anduir, is the third planet from Sol, a blue-white star. Three moons cross its sky: white, red, and black. In the era of the novels, the black moon is whole.

The Elven sky

The celestial bodies were named by Elves. The suffix -uir means “planet.”

The worlds of Sol

In order from Sol: Theuir, Heduir, Anduir, Veduir, Rieduir, Ioduir, Yuduir, Thoduir, Liduir, Daduir, and Keuduir.

Elven knowledge beyond Cennicus · world-lore reveal

Varethia and Thalmyr also exist. During the saga, their existence is known to Elves; other peoples do not share this knowledge unless it is revealed to them.

III / PLACES THAT HOLD A STORY

From Ellsted to the wider world.

Ellsted

The town in which Namir’s story begins. Its inn, families, and civic council give the opening story its human scale.

Hornshir

The destination of Ellsted’s delegation, where a journey beyond home becomes entangled with greater dangers and responsibilities.

Storm’s Nest

Also called Trogast’s Mountain. After the First Great War, the Dwarves retreat here from their separate mountain homes.

The Fire Grounds

A desert created at the end of the First Great War. Its history is distinct from that of the later Bright Desert.

IV / PEOPLES & TRADITIONS

Many histories. One continent.

Elves

Elven history includes High, Gray, Wood, and Aquatic divisions, alongside the conflicts of Light and Darque. An early monarchy gives way to succession struggles whose consequences reach younger peoples.

Dwarves

Trogast is the first Dwarf. While he explores the world, the Dwarven goddess creates the others. Their clans develop distinct responsibilities in faith, craft, labor, and protection.

Humans

Drandmir and Kaufer unite during the First Great War. That alliance is not the complete unification of humanity; the kingdoms retain a longer and more complicated history.

Calanari

The Calanari are the children of Tumere. Their traditions and distinctive writing carry connections to the older world.

The five Dwarven clans

Pitmaster: Religious and magical stewardship.
Goldsmith: Precious metals.
Jewelmaster: Gems and jewels.
Fieldspur: Labor, mining, and large production.
Ironkeeper: Law, arms, protection, and military command.

V / THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY

The age before the journey.

Before the First Great War
Elven divisions have deepened. Dwarves inhabit separate mountains, and the human kingdoms remain distinct.
The First Great War
Drandmir and Kaufer form an alliance. The war draws together peoples whose loyalties and losses will shape the continent.
The war’s end
The Fire Grounds are created. The Dwarves retreat to Storm’s Nest. The war’s end becomes a reference point for reckoning the years that follow.
The Shadow Saga
The novels begin in the aftermath of that earlier history. Old conflicts live on beneath the friendships and rivalries of a younger generation.

Later ages · historical spoilers beyond the opening trilogy

The black moon is destroyed in An 2768. The Bright Desert is created during the Second Great War, when Drandmir consolidates the human kingdoms. Queen Ravina rules after that later war. These are later conditions, not features to project backward onto the opening trilogy’s map.

VI / POWERS OLDER THAN KINGDOMS

The divine orders.

The Lost Ones, the Ancients, the Elders, and the Young Ones are four distinct divine classifications. Their names are not interchangeable titles.

The Lost OnesThe AncientsThe EldersThe Young Ones

Relics · magical-lore reveal

Relics hold the power of the Elder Gods. Their histories, bearers, and costs are revealed through the story. A power’s promise and the price of wielding it need not be the same thing.

For character-specific discoveries, choose a completed book in the character chronicle below.

VII / WORDS THAT REMEMBER

The Calanari script.

Calanari writing most closely resembles the script of the Elders. Its text runs vertically, from top to bottom. In a bound book, columns move from the spine toward the outside edge: right to left on a left-hand page, and left to right on a right-hand page.

Formal or ancient writing keeps glyphs separate; modern writing may intertwine them. Alphabetic forms, digits, and family crests belong to the system.

VIII / THE RECKONING OF DAYS