My mini novel, "Eramenia," as a dark fantasy should be "out of space, out of time." And, indeed it is. It takes place thousands of years in the future. The present time is only a span of centuries known to the people of this time as "the ancient time." Some of the learning of this time has been retained, but most of it has been forgotten.
The balance of civilization, of family, and even gender has shifted. People still live in towns and villages, much as they did in the Middle Ages, but these centers, particularly the larger ones, bear many items passed down from the "ancients," i.e. gas lights, large and complex architecture, etc.
The concept of countries is significantly different. Eramenia seems to be a typical human state, where the Forbidden Forest just north of there is inhabited by not only humans, but gigantic creatures, witches, shape changers, strange races of beings and huge cats called "guardians" at the borders. Also, the "Keeper of the Woods," an individual who looks after the forests and those in it, is always a giant. The main characters of "Eramenia" seek refuge in the Forbidden Forest more than once.
At the time of our story, Eramenia is ruled by a ruthless tyrant, the youngest daughter of the vicious White Queen, Princess Berenia. She holds the country in an iron grip using a monstrous race of amazonian warriors know as Fremders. The central characters are Eramenian freedom fighters, who seek the destruction of despotic society of the Princess.
The leader of this group, indeed an individual bigger than life, is Trissia, who comes from the land of Lithinia, north of the Forbidden Forest. She is aided by a group of siblings who initiate the rebellion by killing a Fremder leader. The head of family here is Tara, a sixteen-year-old, who takes her younger brother, Jebe, and her younger sister, Clarissa, to shelter in the Forbidden Forest. They meet Trissia on the way to fight in the Windward Islands early in the narrative. When this is over, A small group of veterans, headed by Trissia and the siblings, return to the Forbidden Forest because the Fremders on the borders of Eramenia are looking for them.Thus, their journey really starts with a trip across the vast expanse of the Forbidden Forest, into strange and dangerous countries until the little group finally sneaks into Eramenia. Their quest for liberty begins here with contact with other rebels as well as a journey which eventually ends up at Menning Cross, the capitol of Eramenia, and the final battle.