Here are the inspirations behind the current kingdoms in Damensea…

Damensea

Although not a kingdom, I feel I should start with Damensea, my fantasy planet, which is inspired by earth. Most of the surface is covered by oceans; hence the “sea” in its name. The known area is mostly one gigantic continent, although there may be more out there. (Think the undiscovered “New World” to the historic Europeans.)

Calatini

Calatini is largely inspired by Regency England but with fantasy and modern twists. Its size is roughly the same as the main part of Alaska. The climate is inspired by temperate regions on earth. Due to its size, the various duchies have very different focuses and feels. (For instance, the northern duchies possess more magic because they’re closer to the Walle and the kingdoms of magical creatures.) Like Regency England, Calatini is the dominant world power due to its riches, sea power, and stability, although it does have the massive Tsarkan Empire to worry about.

Varkhora

Varkhora is mostly inspired by Italy and warrior kingdoms, which is why their society is so patriarchal. Their kingdom is also entirely mountainous (and landlocked unlike Italy) and less rich than Calatini, making its people fierce, resilient, and focused on practical matters rather than opulence or gentility. But Varkhorans have a unique relationship with magical pets that other human kingdoms don’t—fashionable gentlemen possess draklizards while ladies possess faebirds, and they constantly carry their magical pet on their shoulder. However, this characteristic wasn’t inspired by any real-world place; I just added it to make them more interesting.

Orandia

The magical island kingdom of Orandia is inspired by Ireland and Iceland as well as Delphi. Orandians’ coloring and culture are definitely Gaelic, and their clothing is more Medieval than Regency. Their land contains the glaciers, geysers, and volcanoes of Iceland but also the green forests of Ireland (a kingdom of fire and ice and enchanted forests!) The Orandian seer is inspired by the seer at Delphi in ancient Greece with bits of Rapunzel (the seer’s isolation/tower) and the Knights Templar (the seer’s guard) thrown in.

Tsarkan Empire

Over twice as large as Calatini, the Tsarkan Empire is the largest kingdom in the known part of Damensea. It is inspired mainly by Arabian kingdoms (think Aladdin!) However, its rapacious empire is inspired by the ancient Roman Empire (especially its starting from a single city) and the massive Chinese dynasties. The “tsar” in its name comes from the title of the Russian Empire’s ruler, although the Tsarkan Empire calls their rulers emperors (although before they became an empire, they were sultans not kings.)

Other Human Kingdoms

I don’t know much about these kingdoms, so no inspiration behind them yet. But here are the twelve kingdoms to the east of Calatini (excluding Varkhora): D’vark, Qikan, Muvia, Searyn, Rasian, Irahan, Pruzirias, Druithia, Austizar, Usrunid, and Grasea. All the twelve kingdoms combined are slightly smaller than Calatini.

Magical Creatures’ Kingdoms

Again, I don’t know much about these kingdoms yet since few humans in Damensea have ever visited them. However, most are ruled by a specific magical creature, like arctic elves or griffins or fae. Yet magical creatures live inside kingdoms not ruled by their type of creature. The magical creatures’ kingdoms combined are somewhat smaller than the Tsarkan Empire.