Worldbuilding offers so many opportunities for the creative imagination to play and design and create. This is one of the things I really enjoy about writing fantasy, in particular. An emphasis first on the type of world that’s being created. The appearance, the climate, what type of architecture might be involved. And some of that architecture must play into the personalities of the characters. Consider: geographic locale, interior design, exterior environmental conditions. What type of climate will be involved? In “Captivity,” I used desert and oasis conditions, and a certain remoteness to the environment. This ties into Lord Saratin’s personality and his desire for tranquillity and quiet balance to his everyday life, because of the position he holds in the larger world.
One of the other pieces to this world, involving Orion, and an interior environment that befits a personality that involves flight, a hint of jungle, and in a sense the Aviary is a special place for Lord Saratin to tighten his bond with Orion.
Here’s a small snippet of story excerpted from the the chapter, “The Aviary,” in Captivity.
Orion followed the master down a corridor, curious as to where he was being taken, when his master stopped at the door of the conservatory. When Lord Serratin drew a gold key from his pocket and opened the wrought iron doors, Orion’s eyes widened with surprise as he caught his first glimpse of the impressive room. It was almost as though the house had been built around a section of the oasis itself.
“I think you’ll like this place, Orion. It’s my sanctuary and I hope it will become yours as well.”
Slowly Orion stepped inside and gazed around him. He heard the click as Lord Serratin closed the door and locked it. Orion looked down at the ornate dark blue and cream mosaic floor and then his attention wandered upward once again. It almost felt like he was back in the jungle. A rush of remembered freedom wafted over him.
The aviary was truly a thing of beauty. It was filled with lush vegetation and looked to be more jungle than a room contained inside a dwelling. Exotic birds from the master’s collection, vivid in shades of reds and blues and greens flew among the greenery and flowering plants. There was even a small stone fountain with trickling water spraying into the air misting the room.
The wide room was designed as a marvelous domed conservatory with an extremely tall observation tower at the very core of the compound piercing the sky. It was completely constructed of glass, meshed screen, and black iron in swirling patterns, and rose like a tall phallic symbol, an offering reaching upward to the skygods. Every other panel of the curved walls was a scene made from intricately designed, colored stained glass. Orion looked toward the domed ceiling and saw that it was made of tinted glass, providing a spectacular view of the sky, yet shielding the room from the desert heat. Orion had never been inside anything quite like it, but then the birdman was not used to being inside rooms of any kind.
He was surprised when the master removed the chain netting over his wings and he was allowed to expand them. Immediately he spread his wings, took several running steps, and slowly lifted from the ground to land on a rocky ledge.
Ah, freedom!
He then lifted from the ledge and flew toward the ceiling. It felt good to be in the air once again. He landed on a perch and peered through the glass. The yellow, searing sun glared down from above. But what he wouldn’t give to feel the wild wind beneath his wings, sifting through his hair, feeling the chill on his face.
He circled the aviary several times, observed the other birds inhabiting the tower, each one different and unique. Just like him. He wondered sometimes if the master thought of him as more bird than man. There were moments when he didn’t know himself what he was. Except now, instead of simply existing, he was owned by a man who gave him purpose. He had a place in the world. What was freedom without a purpose?
“Come down, Orion.” The master called to him and Orion drifted down from the domed tower with some regret, to land before Lord Serratin.
“It’s time to teach you something new.”
Captivity, now available at Amazon.com.
Captive to the charisma of a powerful, sensual master – and slave to his own unquenchable desire. The winged man, once known simply as sthe wild thing, was free to roam the jungles outside Bendar City. Until he was betrayed, captured, and sold to a powerful lord who covets the birdman’s unique beauty for himself. Lord Adolpho Serratin of the Kalamadur Oasis maintains an unusual collection. Orion Birdwalker soon becomes the most precious of Serratin’s possessions, in more ways than one. The wild thing is soon named, tamed, and trained to serve his new master in all ways…
Eclectic Alchemy 
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