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If you have ever seen an image of royalty or nobility, it is likely in a portrait they sat for. Be it paint or photograph, these aren't just images. These are statements, these are slogans, these are reminders of one's power, one's good traits and one's wealth. So, what do we need to know about portraits?

Why are Portraits done?

Portraits are painted for all sorts of reasons but mainly it is to convey a message. Whether it is to introduce to the masses to the face that leads them or to attract a future spouse or to prove to the haters that you're just as wealthy, just as pretty, cute and just as smart as Caesar, these images are made to relay something to anybody who sees it. Of course, paintings and photographs can take ages and can be very expensive, so no royal/noble is going to drop a lot of pics of themselves. Most monarchs would release a portrait sometime after their coronation as an introduction of sorts. Some prospective brides and grooms would sit for a portrait that would bring in marriage offers. Portraits might also be painted or taken as mementos: lovers might carry miniatures of their beloved, a loyal servant might be given a portrait of their monarch, a portrait might be sent aboard to an ally as a sign of favour.

Meaning

These were the propaganda posters of the time. But slapping slogans into pictures and portraits is a little on the nose so symbolism was often used to highlight certain messages. Take the infamous Rainbow Portrait of Elizabeth I above. Not only is Elizabeth standing there in her finest drip but every inch of this portrait is a message. The snake on her sleeve, a symbol of her wisdom. The eyes on her dress, she sees all. The ears on her dress, she hears everything. Her uncovered red hair, a mark of her Tudor lineage. Her pearls, she's the Virgin Queen. That pole thingy in her hand, well it used to be a rainbow which symbolised peace and prosperity. Portraits are often choked full of the finest jewels, finest clothes but these items are often paired with symbols. Animals are often used, dogs for loyalty, horses for power etc. Stances are important. You know that one portrait of Henry VIII? That big stance with the hands on his hips, massive codpiece? All that has meaning. Colours are important, as are the placement of people in the portrait if it is a family portrait. Images could reach the illiterate which is why there are so many visual easter eggs in many portraits.

Logistics

Like I said above, these are expensive and costly - even if it is only a photograph. The sitter will have to spend hours at least getting ready, sitting for the portrait, often for multiple sessions. It can be tiring, stressful and irritating, especially if the artist is a bit of a diva or has a habit of taking ages. Large scale portraits will take longer, especially if there are a lot of sitters. These portraits, painted ones, could be done in part with the artist taking sketches of each member and then adding them in. Dead relatives could be added in or deities or mythical creatures too, if you're delulu like Henry VIII. You're looking at weeks at least of waiting, longer if the portrait is being sent from one nation to the other.

Official vs Official-ish

Most portraits you've probably seen are official, approved by the sitter to pass on a certain ideal image they want to convey. For monarchs, it's usually a portrait of them sitting on a throne or in their crown and robes. However, in more modern times, it's become more acceptable for a royal to show themselves as more human - but these images are in themselves tailored. Nobody wants to be caught on candid camera and royals especially so. Modern royals often set up photocalls - especially if they're doing something they want attention for - or release their own photographs, which are like the portraits of their ancestors are edited to fit a certain profile - happy families for example. Even an unofficial image is an official image.

Truth is in the eye of the Beholder?

As you might of guessed, portraits are lies. They are Fairytales concocted to influence, to beguile, to lure. These people aren't wearing these clothes on a day to day business. Their hair isn't that perfect, they don't wear those jewels, they certainly don't go around with tiaras from dawn to dusk. The sitters probably woke up with bad breath or just yelled at their servants or aren't as tall or good looking but these portraits aren't there for reality. When one is looking at a portrait, one must remember that.

Pride of Place?

Where might you see portraits, you're asking? At palaces, yes. But you might see them at the houses of the noble and wealthy. Portraits were often gifted to loyal servants of the Crown, a sort of "thank you for being cool" sort of gift thst you have to have on display because of the honour attached. But with so many ancestors, there may be a lot of portraits so often they might be put into storage and taken out when desired. A new war minded monarch might pick out ancestors who were warriors. A weak monarch might surround themselves with images of powerful relatives. Shameful relatives will often see their portrait stashed away.

For the @the13thhourglass

A post Pandemic, post war world ruled by billionaires living it up with an economic depression looming - no, not the 2020s, the 1920s. The 1920s was an era known for its bold fashion, where men and women left pre-war fashion behind in order to party it up.

Have you noticed these windows?

These images showcases a beautiful set of old, possibly medieval or early modern windows, which contain distinct "bullseye" panes. These "bullseyes" were a byproduct of a historical glass-making technique called crown glass production. During this process, molten glass would be spun into a disk, and the central portion, where the rod had been attached, would form a thick, rounded distortion — the bullseye. Originally considered flawed or less desirable compared to the smooth outer edges, these panes were often sold at a lower cost.

The bullseye feature is now cherished for its historical charm and rustic character. Because modern methods of glass production allow for flawless, uniform sheets of glass, this style of window pane is no longer deliberately replicated, giving such windows a unique, irreplaceable quality. The reflection of the light in these windows, along with the subtle distortions from the bullseyes, adds a sense of warmth and antiquity to the building.

In modern settings, these features are often sought after by those who appreciate craftsmanship and history. The uneven, hand-crafted appearance of these windows contrasts with today's mass-produced glass, making each pane unique and full of character, adding not just aesthetic value but also a tangible connection to the past.

This could save your life.

BOOST.

Absolutely vital information to have if you live where the waters freeze over.

I especially appreciate this guy's commitment to actually showing the steps himself. That cold-shock response is a bitch and willingly subjecting himself to it couldn't have been fun.

This was one of my introductions to military history. I was 14 and haven't ever really looked back. Big fan of star forts and Vauban.

Sometimes it wouldn't be a bad idea to dig a mine under the fort's walls but beware enemy countermining efforts.

General points of wind

Legit Worldbuilding Tip #3

or - “Crafting Religions for Fictional Worlds”

Whether you’re religious or not, there’s no denying the cultural, political, and social impact that religion has had on the world around us. 

So when crafting a brand new world, whether it’s high fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, etc., religion can play a big part of the world that you’re building. And because of its relative importance, there are a lot of things to think about re: crafted religions. 

Religions Shape Morals and Virtues

Morals are a strange thing. People aren’t born with an innate knowledge of what to do in life, or how to act. It only makes sense, then, that people would turn to religion as a guide for how they should behave. That’s easy enough to see with the world we live in. 

The Golden Rule. Nearly everybody learns this one growing up. For Christians, it comes in the form of a Biblical quote - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But the concept isn’t unique to Christianity. Nearly every religion has this same rule, in some form or another. 

But when you get further into the details of differing religions, you see that each has its own set of morals and what it feels is “right.” This can range from Evangelicals who feel that same-sex love is a sin because of an archaic passage from the old testament to vegetarianism as a way to avoid hurting other living creatures, commonly found among Hindus. 

So What Does This Mean?

Well, this means that when you’re crafting a religion, one of the things to think about is what morals you want in your world. 

Don’t want a world with a bunch of homophobic assholes? I’ve got good news for you! A same-sex couple amongst your pantheon of Gods and you can have a world where people don’t just accept same-sex love, but celebrate it!

But that’s not the only thing to think about. Different taboos are often religion-centric as well. 

These taboos can have minor consequences on your world-building in some ways. For example, maybe you just want to make things more interesting by adding details such as characters who avoid certain kinds of metals or stones because they’re strictly forbidden in their religious texts. 

These taboos can also have major consequences on your story. For example, even in the modern day and age there are a lot of prejudices against albinism in some African countries. You can imagine the consequences for such a character.

Religions Shape Cultural Practices and Thoughts

In the West, pretty much everybody celebrates the holidays, even if they aren’t Christian. They may adapt their practices depending on their beliefs, but regardless, if you live in a country like America you’ll experience a lot of religious influence around the holiday season. Christmas, a day that celebrates the birth of a religious figure, has a tremendous cultural impact even on those that aren’t Christian. 

When crafting a religion, it only makes sense to think about the cultural impact said religion will have. Holidays, prayer, rituals, religious pilgrimages, the way that people keep track of time (as in our AD system), taboos (as already mentioned), fasting, celibacy, religious bathing/cleansing… 

These are just a few practices that exist within different religions. Many are so ingrained in our culture that people don’t even think of them as “religious” any more. 

For example, the practice of abstaining from sex before marriage. This single religious belief has created a culture that is very prohibitive regarding sexuality. A lot of people still think that fewer sex partners = a better person, even those who aren’t adherents of any religious philosophy. It’s just something that’s ingrained in our culture. 

All this to say - the best starting point for creating a religion in a fictional world is knowing what kind of world you want to write. 

With all that out of the way, let’s get on to the actual creation process. There are a few things to think about, but I want to start with something I feel is very important. 

There are a lot of religions out there. I suggest you research them and learn about them.

But please don’t just take an existing religion, especially one from another culture, slap a new name on it, give it an air of mysticism, and then be done with it. It’s disrespectful to those who actually practice these religions.

*Ahem* Okay, I’ve said my piece and now I’ll move on. 

Remember - Multiple Religions Can and Usually Do Exist in a Culture

This is the first and most important thing I want to point out. Most of the stories I’ve seen where creators do religion right is when they remember that not everybody practices the same religion. 

George R. R. Martin does this incredibly well with the different religions in ASOIAF. They are all different, they are all unique, they are very much shaped by the part of the world that those characters live in. 

Also remember that the same religion can have many different interpretations, leading to different branches and sects. They can be quite different and they may not get along that well. This is another thing that is often forgotten. 

Different Types of Religions

Throughout history there have been many different types of religions. Some have a single god. Some have an entire pantheon. Some see gods as people. Some see gods as animals. Some gods are both people and animals, depending on the story that’s being told. Some religions see gods as having no form. Some religions teach that god is the universe. Some say that there are no gods, but there is power in everything.

Let’s Talk Prophets and Stuff

Another thing to remember is that religions are often centered on a prophet, or a person’s teachings. While a god or pantheon of gods may be central to that religion, the prophet/guru/etc. is also very important. Jesus, Muhammed, the Buddha… just a few real world examples. 

This is where I take the time to point out something important. Your religion doesn’t have to have a male prophet/teacher. A prophet can be a woman. Or nonbinary. There can be six prophets who worked together, all of different gender identities. In fact, this can be a really good way to get rid of gross stuff like sexism in your world’s culture, or just plain avoid stereotypical high fantasy with Manly Men and Damsels in Distress.

Leave Some Stuff Unexplained

Another thing I want to point out is that religions don’t usually have explanations for everything. I mean, the whole point of religion is faith most of the time. 

I was talking with @more-legit-gr8er-writing-tips earlier about this. Because I still get mad about the midichlorian thing in Star Wars. The Force was an awesome (if a little underdeveloped) religion. It was focused on the power that exists in all things rather than the idea of a god. Certain people could access the Force. All was good. Then they made the Force the result of little critters that live inside people. 

No. No no no. Okay, I’ll stop. Just suffice it to say, whatever genre you’re writing in, don’t feel the need to explain everything. Even if magic exists, even if there’s science, just embrace the mystery and the wonder of the religion you’ve created.

Religious Institutions

I’ll keep this one short. But just remember that where there’s religion, there’s inevitably going to be some sort of religious institution. It may be that in your world every town has its own religious leader and group of scholars. Or you could have a vast system of temples. Or you could have the fantasy equivalent of the Catholic Church. 

(Remember also - the bigger a religious institution is, and the more influence it has on the people, the more likely it is going to be a power in its own right in your world - a.k.a. the Catholic Church basically being a governing power in our own history.)

Religion in Science Fiction

Apart from some science fantasy, I’m hard pressed to find many science fiction stories that include religion. I think there’s a general assumption that people will move away from religion, especially as we learn more about the world we live in.

But… people are people. And I’m 100% sure that there will always be some people who believe in something. Your dystopian government may not like it, but somebody somewhere will discover the last unburned copy of the Torah and a brand new religion with elements of Judaism will spring up around it. 

And that starship flying through space in the year 3277? Probably going to have Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and who knows what else on board. Though they may not practice religion the same way we do now. And who the crap knows what the aliens are going to believe in.

Common Themes in Religion

One of the final things I have to say is that, for as many differences there are in religions, there are a lot of commonalities. Things like prophets, and trickster gods, and miraculous births (such as children being found in rivers or born to virgins). I suggest you do some research on the commonalities in religions and use them if you need a bit of inspiration for crafting your own. 

Anyway, I’ve rambled long enough. I just want you to consider some of these things. This is just one way to build a little more complexity into a world you’ve created, and it can do a lot for everything from plot to making the reader really believe that your world exists. So have at it! Enjoy playing god(s). 

Creating Emotionally Devastating Scenes.

Crafting a scene that earns the total sympathy of your readers can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Most emotionally devastating scenes fail at two things, but when these are done right, the results can be powerful.

⚪ The Important Concepts for Writing an Emotionally Devastating Scene

1. The Build-Up,

2. Breaking the Dam.

Before I explain these concepts, let me share a case study.

⚫ Case Study

⚪ Explanation of Concepts

1. The Build-Up

The build-up is extremely important when you aim to convey strong emotions. Here's a secret: if you plan for a scene with strong emotions, start leaving breadcrumbs from the very beginning of the story.

Take the previous case study. I carefully built up their journey so people could easily relate and feel the pain of the older sister during her brother's sudden death.

You need to give the situation enough reason to feel utterly hopeless and devastating. Gradually cultivate the tension until it's ready to let loose.

⚫ Understanding the Use of Breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs in stories ensure you utilize the time you have to build up certain emotions around your characters.

At the beginning of my story, Jackie’s fate was already pitiable, but she survived every hurdle. This gave the readers enough to feel for her while still leaning away from the outcome. When I built enough, I introduced her brother's sudden death.

⚪ How to Properly Leave Breadcrumbs

When building up your story, consider these elements:

☞⁠ Character Relatability: The characters need to be realistic to draw readers into the story. This helps readers invest themselves in your story.

☞⁠ Realistic Emotional Pain: Just as characters need to be relatable, their emotions need to be realistic and not appear forced.

☞⁠ Create a Strong Emotional Attachment: Give them something they care about or that has the power to ruin their lives in any way. It could be something that makes them happy or something their happiness relies on. When it's time, snatch it away without remorse.

☞⁠ Have a Backstage Struggle: This struggle keeps readers occupied, so they won't see the outcome coming. For example, Jackie’s constant struggle to find food and shelter keeps readers engaged while the impending tragedy looms in the background.

☞⁠ Attach Believable Elements: For a realistic character, emotion, and struggle, attach believable elements. It could be death, ailments, sickness, disorder, disappointment, failure, etc.

Now that we've covered the build-up, let's move on to the next crucial part.

2. Breaking the Dam

This is when you make your readers feel the strong emotions alongside your characters. All the tension you’ve been building up is released, making all emotions come into play.

☞⁠ Break Your Strong Attachment: Cut off your strong attachment from your character when they least expect it or at a point when they couldn't use more struggles (i.e when they are helpless).

This will not only evoke readers’ emotions but also pique their curiosity as they wonder how the character will survive the situation.

☞⁠ Description of Sensory Details to Invoke Emotions: The advice of "show, don't tell" will be really helpful here. It's crucial to ensure that the final execution matches the build-up.

A well-crafted build-up can fall flat if the emotional release isn't handled effectively. To avoid this, blend the climax seamlessly into the narrative, making it feel natural and impactful.

Reblog to save for reference! 💜

Q&A: Fantasy Pirate Wanted, Exerience Welcome, but not Needed

So, several questions, let’s hit them in order.

I should probably preface this with a reminder: Pirates have been a part of nautical civilization since the beginning of commercial shipping. They’re a natural, criminal, response to people moving anything valuable by sea. If it’s out there on the water, someone else will see that as an opportunity to take it.

It’s common to think of The Golden Age of Piracy as, “that’s pirates,” but the truth is, they’ve always been there. Piracy still exists in the modern world. It will continue into the future. In a random tangent, there’s a lot of realism behind the idea of space pirates, even if the implementation is fantastical.

So, with that said, when you’re shaping a fantasy setting, if there’s sea travel, there’s a place for pirates if you want them.

Your character’s background could be anything. Many Golden Age pirates were naval veterans, mutineers, or deserters. They learned to operate on military vessels, and then took that skillset and made a lot of money as criminals.

So, it’s entirely reasonable your pirates would have military backgrounds, and as a result be very well acquainted with how to fight effectively.

Conversely, during the golden age of piracy, a pirate in the Caribbean could make a small fortune on a single raid. This made piracy a very attractive career, in spite of the personal danger. Even resulting in labor shortages in some pirate cities, like Port Royale, as the available workers preferred to take the risk and work as pirates.

The short answer on your pirate’s combat training comes down to the simple question of, “what did they do before they became a pirate?” As I said, it’s entirely reasonable your pirate was a sailor in an imperial navy. It’s possible they were a mercenary. It’s possible they used to work on a farm, ran away from home, found a job cleaning a tavern in the port, and hired on as a pirate at the first opportunity.

It makes sense for pirates to learn how to fight, because that is a part of making money. They need know how to operate their ship. They’ll need most of the essential positions, and some redundancies. A ship needs a helmsman, it needs a navigator. If you don’t have those two, you cannot set out to sea at all. You need deckhands, you want a boatswain to manage them. You need a cook. You need a surgeon or medic, because people are going to be injured. Golden Age pirates needed a quartermaster, though the job title is a little misleading, as they acted as a kind of dispute adjudicator, and ensured that the loot was shared equitably, they would also take command of captured vessels. In the age of sail, you needed crew to man the cannons. Finally, you need boarding parties to assault and capture enemy vessels.

Your boarding parties needed to know how to fight, because they’d be going up against armed crews. Even if your character didn’t have a naval background, it is reasonable that they’d get on-the-job training to get them up and going if they didn’t have a background. Alternately, if they did have a naval or military background, it’s quite possible they’d be tasked with training some of the new recruits.

So, would it make sense for them to fight in the style of a Retiarius? No. We’ve talked about this before, but the Roman gladiator types were not designed to be efficient. In fact, they were specifically equipped in ways that would hamper their ability to swiftly kill their foes. The entire point of gladiatorial combat was to prolong the fight, with a focus on wounding rather than inflicting fatal blows. The Retiarius was armed with a weighted net and and a trident. While both of these items would make sense on a sailing vessel. Either would allow the crew members to supplement the ships stores with fresh fish, however, neither makes a particularly good weapon, especially during boarding actions.

This loops back to the question about the sword. The term “sword,” is very generic, and includes a massive array of bladed weapons. Some of these are very well adapted to shipboard combat, and it would make sense that pirates would use those.

Polearms are, in general, less well suited to close quarters, and you’d probably see fewer of those during a boarding actions. There might be a few on the ship, and some of the crew might choose to use them if they were engaging in coastal raiding.

There might be an element of, “whatever they could get their hands on,” but remember, piracy was a very lucrative career, so while their options were somewhat limited by what’s available at the ports they dock at, and the gear they plunder, “whatever they could get their hands on,” would leave them pretty well equipped.

The one thing I’ll point out from that list is knives. Knives are a must. Not, necessarily as weapons, but they’re extremely important as a utility tool, and their combat application is secondary to that. So, your pirates probably have knives, in addition to cutlasses, muskets, pistols, and blunderbusses. They might even have some halberds and other heavy weapons squirrelled away below decks in case they find a situation where those would be useful.

Obviously, that weapon list would be a little different if your pirates are operating in a bronze or iron age setting, but the basic idea is the same. If you have pirates in a pseudo-Roman Empire, then it would make sense if your pirates are using Gladiuses, and pelting the enemy ships with arrow fire. It’s all about the technology that exists.

So, yeah, it makes sense for your fantasy pirates to have a background. It’s part of the job. It also makes sense for them to be pretty well equipped after a successful raid or two. Though, they probably wouldn’t talk like they’d just walked out of the English West Country in the early 20th century.

-Starke

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Q&A: Fantasy Pirate Wanted, Exerience Welcome, but not Needed was originally published on How to Fight Write.

FOR ANY WRITERS OR THOSE WHO LIKE GOTHIC LITERATURE

I found this. It's basically a huge list of how to write in a gothic horror-like style. It gives you words to use, and what types of adjectives to put down, and it explains them rather than just giving you a list too. I hope someone beyond myself finds this useful because holy shit am I going to use this tool

Preindustrial travel, and long explanations on why different distances are like that

Update March 1, 2024: Hey there folks, here's yet another update! I reposted Part 2a (the "medieval warhorses" tangent) to my writing blog, and I went down MORE of the horse-knowledge rabbit hole! https://www.tumblr.com/jadevine/741423906984951808/my-post-got-cut-off-so-i-added-the-rest-of-it Update Jan 30, 2024: Hey folks, I've posted the updated version of this post on my blog, so I don't have to keep frantically telling everyone "hey, that's the old version of this post!" https://thebalangay.wordpress.com/2024/01/29/preindustrial-travel-times-part-1/

I should get the posts about army travel times and camp followers reformatted and posted to my blog around the end of the week, so I'll filter through my extremely tangled thread for them.

Part 2 - Preindustrial ARMY travel times: https://www.tumblr.com/jadevine/739342239113871360/now-for-a-key-aspect-that-many-people-often-ask

Part 2a - How realistic warhorses look and act, because the myth of "all knights were mounted on huge clunky draft horses" just refuses to die: https://www.tumblr.com/jadevine/732043691180605440/helpful-things-for-action-writers-to-remember

Part 3 - Additional note about camp followers being regular workers AND sex-workers: https://www.tumblr.com/jadevine/740604203134828544/reblogging-the-time-looped-version-of-my

--

I saw a post on my main blog about how hiking groups need to keep pace with their slowest member, but many hikers mistakenly think that the point of hiking is "get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible" instead of "spending time outdoors in nature with friends," and then they complain that a new/less-experienced/sick/disabled hiker is spoiling their time-frame by constantly needing breaks, or huffing and puffing to catch up.

I run into a related question of "how long does it take to travel from Point A to Point B on horseback?" a lot, as a fantasy writer who wants to be SEMI-realistic; in the Western world at least, our post-industrial minds have largely forgotten what it's like to travel, both on our own feet and in groups.

People ask the new writer, "well, who in your cast is traveling? Is getting to Point B an emergency or not? What time of year is it?", and the newbies often get confused as to why they need so much information for "travel times." Maybe new writers see lists of "preindustrial travel times" like a primitive version of Google Maps, where all you need to do is plug in Point A and Point B.

But see, Google Maps DOES account for traveling delays, like different routes, constructions, accidents, and weather; you as the person will also need to figure in whether you're driving a car versus taking a bus/train, and so you'll need to figure out parking time or waiting time for the bus/train to actually GET THERE.

The difference between us and preindustrial travelers is that 1) we can outsource the calculations now, 2) we often travel for FUN instead of necessity.

The general rule of thumb for preindustrial times is that a healthy and prime-aged adult on foot, or a rider/horse pair of fit and prime-aged adults, can usually make 20-30 miles per day, in fair weather and on good terrain.

Why is this so specific? Because not everyone in preindustrial times was fit, not everyone was healthy, not everyone was between the ages of 20-35ish, and not everyone had nice clear skies and good terrain to travel on.

If you are too far below 18 years old or too far past 40, at best you will need either a slower pace or more frequent breaks to cover the same distance, and at worst you'll cut the travel distance in half to 10 or so miles. Too much walking is VERY BAD on too-young/old knees, and teenagers or very short adults may just have short legs even if they're fine with 8-10 hours of actual walking. Young children may get sick of walking and pitch a fit because THEY'RE TIREDDDDDDDDDD, and then you might need to stay put while they cry it out, or an adult may sigh and haul them over their shoulder (and therefore be weighed down by about 50lbs of Angry Child).

Heavy forests, wetlands and rocky hills/mountains are also going to be a much shorter "distance" per day. For forests or wetlands, you have to account for a lot of villagers going "who's gonna cut down acres of trees for one road? NOT ME," or "who's gonna drain acres of swamp for one road? NOT ME." Mountainous regions have their traveling time eaten by going UP, or finding a safer path that goes AROUND, so by the time you're done slogging through drier patches of wetlands or squeezing through trees, a deceptively short 10-15 miles in rough terrain might take you a whole day to walk instead of the usual half-day.

If you are traveling in freezing winters or during a rainstorm (and this inherently means you HAVE NO CHOICE, because nobody in preindustrial times would travel in bad weather if they could help it), you run the high risk of losing your way and then dying of exposure or slipping and breaking your neck, just a few miles out of the town/village.

Traveling in TOO-HOT weather is just as bad, because pushing yourself too hard and getting dehydrated at noon in the tropics will literally kill you. It's called heat-STROKE, not "heat-PARTY."

And now for the upper range of "traveling on horseback!"

Fully mounted groups can usually make 30-40 miles per day between Point A and Point B, but I find there are two unspoken requirements: "Point B must have enough food for all those people and horses," and "the mounted party DOESN'T need to keep pace with foot soldiers, camp followers, or supply wagons."

This means your mounted party would be traveling to 1) a rendezvous point like an ally's camp or a noble's castle, or 2) a town/city with plenty of inns. Maybe they're not literally going 30-40 miles in one trip, but they're scouting the area for 15-20 miles and then returning to their main group. Perhaps they'd be going to an allied village, but even a relatively small group of 10-20 warhorses will need 10-20 pounds of grain EACH and 20-30 pounds of hay EACH. 100-400 pounds of grain and 200-600 pounds of hay for the horses alone means that you need to stash supplies at the village beforehand, or the village needs to be a very large/prosperous one to have a guaranteed large surplus of food.

A dead sprint of 50-60 miles per day is possible for a preindustrial mounted pair, IF YOU REALLY, REALLY HAVE TO. Moreover, that is for ONE day. Many articles agree that 40 miles per day is already a hard ride, so 50-60 miles is REALLY pushing the envelope on horse and rider limits.

NOTE: While modern-day endurance rides routinely go for 50-100 miles in one day, remember that a preindustrial rider will not have the medical/logistical support that a modern endurance rider and their horse does.

If you say "they went fifty miles in a day" in most preindustrial times, the horse and rider's bodies will get wrecked. Either the person, their horse, or both, risk dying of exhaustion or getting disabled from the strain.

Whether you and your horse are fit enough to handle it and "only" have several days of defenselessness from severe pain/fatigue (and thus rely on family/friends to help you out), or you die as a heroic sacrifice, or you aren't QUITE fit enough and become disabled, or you get flat-out saved by magic or another rider who volunteers to go the other half, going past 40 miles in a day is a "Gondor Calls For Aid" level of emergency.

As a writer, I feel this kind of feat should be placed VERY carefully in a story: Either at the beginning to kick the plot off, at the climax to turn the tide, or at the end.

Preindustrial people were people--some treated their horses as tools/vehicles, and didn't care if they were killed or disabled by pushing them to their limits, but others very much cared for their horses. They needed to keep them in working condition for about 15-20 years, and they would not dream of doing this without a VERY good reason.

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UPDATE January 13: Several people have gotten curious and looked at maps, to find out how a lot of cities are indeed spread out at a nice distance of 20-30 miles apart! I love getting people interested in my hyperfixations, lol.

But remember that this is the space between CITIES AND TOWNS. There should never be a 20-mile stretch of empty wilderness between City A and Town B, unless your world explains why folks are able to build a city in the middle of nowhere, or if something has specifically gone wrong to wipe out its supporting villages!

Period pieces often portray a shining city rising from a sea of picturesque empty land, without a single grain field or cow pasture in sight, but that city would starve to death very quickly in preindustrial times.

Why? Because as Bret Devereaux mentions in his “Lonely Cities” article (https://acoup.blog/2019/07/12/collections-the-lonely-city-part-i-the-ideal-city/), preindustrial cities and towns must have nearby villages (and even smaller towns, if large and prosperous enough!) to grow their food for them.

The settlements around a city will usually be scattered a few miles apart from each other, usually clustered along the roads to the city gates. Those villages and towns at the halfway point between cities (say 10-15 miles) are going to be essential stops for older/sick folks, merchants with cargo, and large groups like noble’s retinues and army forces.

Preindustrial armies and large noble retinues usually can’t make it far past 10-12 miles per day, as denoted in my addition to this post. (https://www.tumblr.com/jadevine/739342239113871360/now-for-a-key-aspect-that-many-people-often-ask )

Some small details for a character learning sword fighting for the first time:

- sore wrists

- blisters on hands

- every movement opens you up to be hit

- they will hit the tops of their arm and own sides with the sword while learning

- there is a primal sixth sense when you know you’re being toyed with

And, for your typically nonviolent characters.

You don’t aim for the swords. You aim for the person holding the sword.

It sounds so obvious but needs to be accepted. Actively. When holding a sword you have to understand you’re attacking another person. Even to block you have to aim your blocks at the other person or they won’t be strong enough to actually protect yourself.