My WorldEmber Pledge 2022

Here we go, Star-Gazers (and guests and new friends). Inadvisable as it may be to challenge myself to a writing challenege in December of all months, I'm giving this a shot! I feel I've neglected Tahuum Itaqiin over the fall--I've been embroiled in quite a few life events as of late, some good and some not so much, but let's not get bogged down in excuses, huh?
I might as well start with my broad goals for December's grand project before I get into the nitty-gritty of it all.

WorldEmber Goals

My primary goal is to write at least 10,000 words' worth of worldbuilding on the northwest reaches of Tahuum Itaqiin (the Continent, as it's often referred to in my articles). I'll certainly try to shoot past this if it looks feasible, but I do have to acknowledge a few obstacles that'll already make the baseline 10,000 words challenging for me. Namely, I have writing and other obligations to attend to for school and work, and the second half or so of December will be pretty busy on account of travel and social plans. Ideally, I also want to spend time worldbuilding through writing as well, whether that's continuing to write my nascent first novel set in this world or cobbling together some short stories set in locales across the Continent.
A secondary goal is, through this WorldEmber project and my other worldbuilding and writing activities, to cultivate a slightly larger following for Tahuum Itaqiin, whether here on WorldAnvil, on Reddit, or on any other social media sites should I dare to stretch some fantasy writing tendrils into those spaces. At this point, quality is more important than quantity; indeed, I don't have a particular follower count or anything of the sort in mind. I'd rather focus on building a community of like-minded worldbuilders with whom I can share ideas, give and receive constructive feedback, and generally validate my fantasy-writing pursuits.
With that, let's get into the nitty-gritty of WorldEmber prep.

Week 1: Make a Plan and Announce
Your Project to the World!

1. If you have more than one world setting, which one is the most important to you right now? Why?
Tahuum Itaqiin has been my primary fantasy worldbuilding project for the past two years or so, and I intend to stick it out with this setting for the forseeable future. I've found through decades of worldbuilding as a hobby that I gravitate toward low fantasy worlds with well developed societies and cultures, settings in which humans or their equivalents struggle against each other and against forces far greater than themselves. It's here in Tahuum Itaqiin that I can best realize these interests, and the scope of Tahuum Itaqiin--an entire Eurasia-sized continent with a dozen or so distinct cultural regions--is such that I can realistically continue to add depth to the setting, neither running out of elements to develop nor being quite overwhelmed with the amount of blank space I have to fill.

2. Which area of that world setting will allow you to achieve your goals (Continuing your novel/campaign, or starting a new one)?
I plan to build out the northwestern reaches of the Continent, consisting mainly of the following regions:

• The Haifatneh Sea and Basin, the site of the Free City of Andaen. As the primary setting of my first novel I'll someday write about this world, the Haifatneh region merits being fleshed out further, both the economic powerhouse that is the Free City of Andaen and not yet catalogued settlements across the Basin.
• Vast Takhet: A mountains-and-desert-and-sea region, northwest of the Haifatneh Basin, where coastal city-states vie for hegemony and security while the leaders of Andaen seek to extend their political and economic influence there as well. Coastal Takhet (often called "Near Takhet" by those in Andaen) is the site of most Takheti city-states as well as the point of origin of kahweh (coffee) in Tahuum Itaqiin. Far Takhet is an arid strip of land pockmarked with the ruins of ancient civilizations, while Takhet Alay is a mountain range and valley--also full of ancient ruins and wonders--dividing the two.
• Saukkan-Ghat (The Saukkan Valley): A lengthy valley running through the mountains east of Andaen, Saukkan-Ghat was once a cradle of wealthy kingdoms but fell into warlordism during the early days of the Crusade and Reconquest. Now, outsiders know Saukkan-Ghat mainly for its particularly ruthless bandits and highwaymen, though many yearn for the return of its celebrated warrior-princes of old, many of whom participated in the pivotal Battle of Andaen that marked the completion of the War of Reconquest.
• The Southfold: Stretching southeastward from the Haifatneh Basin, the Southfold is an expanse of badlands long deemed undesirable by the Continent's great civilizations. However, in the aftermath of the Battle of Andaen, the unwanted land became a (somewhat safe) haven for a great many Crusader refugees from the former Crusader theocracy. Little is yet known about what secrets the last of the Crusaders may have taken with them to this place.

3. How will it help you achieve those goals?
Further developing the Haifatneh Basin region will not only make me feel better about the considerable difficulties I faced writing for the Summer Camp challenge earlier this year; it'll help immensely with fleshing out the most prominent sub-setting of my someday future novel.
Of course, nothing exists in isolation. Andaen and the Haifatnehti People will all be better developed as I make manifest the great many places and peoples with whom they interact. Building out Vast Takhet, Saukkan-Ghat, and the Southfold will all further contextualize the Haifatneh region and people (and vice versa), not to mention flesh out settings for a few more scenes of the aforementioned novel.
It is hoped, too, that developing several cultural regions and societies of Tahuum Itaqiin will better showcase the variety this world has to offer and, dare I say, give current and future audiences more reason to take interest in this grand project.

Week 2: A Mini-Meta for the Northwest

This mini-meta for Northwestern Tahuum Itaqiin hopefully fleshes out the aesthetics of this region as well as my plans for developing it on both the world-building and narrative levels.