It’s 1742 AD, and the world of Gunwitch: A Tale of the King’s Coven resembles the middle period of colonization of the New World.
- England, the Netherlands, and the other powers of Europe have crossed the mighty Atlantic Ocean in wooden sailing ships to stake their claims on North Amerigo, and to fight wars over those claims.
- Once great Native Amerigons tribes, decimated by disease and the firepower of the Europeans, live like ghosts in the land they once ruled.
- And African slaves have been imported to build and harvest and do the other work that translates into riches for their masters.
After that, though, you might start noticing the differences…
- Steam-powered paddle boats navigate the interior waterways and lakes of the New World.
- Steam-powered, semi-autonomous mechanical men called “grunzers” are used for heavy lifting of cargo on docks and of large-bore weapons on battlefields.
- And, by an Act of Parliament in 1668, England stopped burning witches. Instead, both men and women who are convicted of witchcraft are conscripted into the newly formed 101st Pistoleers. In the 101st Pistoleers, also known as the King’s Coven or “the witches crew”, the gunwitches–and gunlocks–are trained to use their magic for war.
It’s a whole New World.