Underside

Underside is a continent on the same world as Paralex, though located on the opposite side of the planet, with Paralex at one pole and Underside at the other, hence its name. It was around roughly a thousand years before Paralex was even imagined, originally being where Paralex is now. But when one little girl, Lady Anita, gained the powers of a God, she led a revolt against their Creators. Dismayed that their creations had turned out so rotten, the Creators literally turned the world upside down, and made Paralex in its place. In a world without the sun, a world of perpetual night, Lady Anita rose to power, building a vast tower that stretched into the sky and creating a cluster of artificial moons to shed light on her people. And so Underside advanced, quickly gaining control of powerful and advanced technology. Enough to rival Paralex’s grasp of magic, which Underside lacked. Jealous of the Creators’ new project, Lady Anita waged war on Paralex. They’ve never managed to gain a foothold in Paralex, with most of the fighting taking place on Underside’s beaches and coasts.

That’s where our story comes in. Set about twenty or so years after Spirit Rider, we meet Alex, a seventeen year old, unemployed boy, living in Underside’s capital. He’s something of an oddball, having an imaginary friend named Adam. Certainly not by choice of course. Adam simply refused to leave after childhood.

Alex’s unemployment is soon discovered and rather than being conscripted into the army, he opts to work in the Adonium, Lady Anita’s tower. Once there he uncovers and becomes embroiled in a plot to destroy whatever lies at the top of the Adonium, the mysterious force which gives Anita her powers. Because without her, there’d be no cause for war. And the people of Underside are REALLY sick of the war.

I created Underside when Spirit Rider was ‘fully formed’ in my head. Realised that I loved my fantasy world so much – I never wanted to leave it! So what better way, than to extend the world!

The plot of Underside also went through a few different forms, at one point having the cast travel around in a big, red spaceship. I decided against the ‘crew-like’ formation because it clashed with Tall Tales (more on that series later), which was more deserving of a crew.

I made Underside out as a mysterious threat, only mentioned sparingly in Spirit Rider. I also gave Underside advanced, futuristic technology to differentiate it from the magical, medieval world of Paralex. Also I fancied writing a sci-fi story at some point.

The books planned for this series are currently as follows:

- Underside: The Gunpowder Plot

- Underside: The Infernal Prison

- Underside: The First Sun