Every world in Barow’s Tempus of Bellum starts the same way: with a question. Not ‘what does this place look like’ — that comes later. The first question is always ‘what does this place want?’

The human homeland is a realm that has been governed by the Order of Taryn for four centuries. Everything about its geography, architecture, and culture reflects the Order’s values: control, hierarchy, and the appearance of permanence. The forge cities are not beautiful — they are efficient. The roads are straight. The walls are thick.

When Hrafn’s army breaks through, it is not just a military invasion. It is an argument that the Order’s version of permanence was always an illusion.

The elven realm is built on depth rather than height. The Lionheart elves don’t build towers — they build archives. Their cities go down, not up. Three thousand years of continuous civilization means that every building is layered over something older.

High Elf Mindo’s decision to cross the Sundering Sea is, in elven terms, a radical break with three thousand years of staying put. The elven council’s opposition to it is not cowardice — it is institutional memory of what happens when they get involved in human conflicts.

We use a combination of traditional concept art, digital illustration, and AI-assisted world reference imagery to build out each location before it appears in an episode or comic panel. The lore bible for Barow’s world is currently over 400 pages. Most of it will never appear on screen. All of it shapes what does.

Behind the Scenes

Production

World Building