Guest post written by The Divide that Binds Us author Michelle J
Michelle’s writing journey started when she received her first video game, Kingdom Hearts on her 8th birthday. As she learned about storytelling through video games, she explored gameplay and writing as ways to express herself.
About The Divide that Binds Us (out May 16, 2025): In a world dependent on dragons, their sudden deaths plunge Zeala into chaos. When 19-year-old Alice Reid is sent to secretly investigate, she becomes a target for a rival, Rio Shackler. As they clash over the cause of the dragon deaths, they uncover a conspiracy threatening the world’s survival.
Zeala is divided into six islands the characters travel to throughout the story. To get a sense of what they’re like, read about them below!
Garnet Island
Nuzzled around snow-capped mountains and luminous sparkle lakes, Garnet Island is a sanctuary for wildlife and vibrant, lush greenery. Meadows, community gardens, and dense forests bloom throughout the island as the water glistens from the sun’s kisses.
Eco-friendly architecture, such as solar panels and wind turbines, brings a sense of pride to the towns and villages. Buildings welcome sprawling vines, growing mushrooms, and sprouting trees. Ecological, self-sufficient practices are highly regarded with recycling programs and communal composting.
The community works together to maintain a safe haven for wildlife, allowing butterflies to dance, melodic birds to sing, and elusive creatures to roam in their habitat, whether on the land, in the sea, or in the sky.
Lit lanterns weave through trails at night to reduce artificial light pollution, giving stargazers the perfect view of the blanket sky above them.
Garnet Island exemplifies a harmonious coexistence between the resilient beauty of nature and its kind inhabitants.
Amethyst Island
The economic pulse of Zeala is none other than the elegant grandeur of Amethyst Island. A majestic symbol of wealth, luxury, and utter materialism, high-rise condos, penthouses, and skyscrapers adorn the island lines with sleek glass and dazzling lights.
The metropolis hub harbors as many yachts as there are taxis. The wide streets are home to luxury vehicles as they peruse through the canyons of commerce, lined with upscale boutiques, restaurants, and theaters. The forest of towering skyscrapers features the headquarters of financial institutions, corporations, and entrepreneurial businesses.
Socialites gather and revel in their material successes as they pursue the endless race of prosperity and social status. Their refined tastes glide through the businesses that cater to their every want and need.
The extravagance of the island exhibits a rather soulless success many hope to even dream of achieving.
Sapphire Island
Nestled in the smoky embrace of perpetually gray skies, Sapphire Island emerges as a place struck by poverty but with the warmth of community.
Towering smokestacks and factories litter the landscape, creating a thick stream of an industrial, dystopian haze. Machinery and distant hums echo from ceaseless production.
The warmth amid the desolation comes from the collectivist community, bringing life to the muted island with splashes of color in the makeshift neighborhoods. The island’s backbone is the tireless work ethic where generations of families work with a shared purpose and palpable unity. Echoes of friendship in improvised playgrounds blend into the bonds of craftsmanship and resourcefulness.
On the surface of the technological wasteland also lies the people bounded by hardship, love, and an unyielding commitment to their work and each other.
Emerald Island
In a tapestry of culinary delight, vibrant greenery, and agriculture abundance, Emerald Island is a picturesque blend of farmland, vineyards, and gentle slopes cascading down into its terraced rice fields.
With wineries sprawled across the landscape, their endless rows of grapevines emit a sweet, ripening scent, inviting the locals and tourists to savor the aroma. Farmlands reach through the valleys, creating an intricate quilt of colorful crops tended by farmers’ nurturing hands.
Reflective pools of the sea spill through the rich soil, with fishermen gathering at ports to fuel the buzzing seafood markets. Food enthusiasts travel to Emerald Island to study gastronomy. Culinary workshops are hosted, and some locals volunteer to take visitors on farm tours in tractors.
Harvest season is celebrated through festivals, collaborations, and celebrations. Locals unite to rejoice with their fresh ingredients, quaint restaurants, and culinary creations. Vegetable towers are built, herb bouquets are assembled, and fruit sculptures are forged from the delicate craftsmanship only gifted from the island.
Topaz Island
Divided into distinct districts, Topaz Island awaits as the vibrant oasis dedicated to colors, music, entertainment, and hedonism.
Performances are nonstop while parades and dancers wiggle through. Specks of glitter litter the faces of the natives, surrounded by endless balloons. Sugar and caffeine power the blood of those who lose themselves into the culture, carousing becoming second nature.
As the sun descends for its slumber, the colorful cityscape becomes a panorama of neon lights and illuminated signs. Music pulsates through the island’s veins, drawing out the unrestrained night owls.
This island never sleeps. A kaleidoscope of parties ebbs and flows throughout the reveling nightlife. Underground venues in unsuspecting places are discovered as scattered giggles backdrop the busy streets. Fireworks burst overhead, reflecting off the shimmering waters that surround the island.
Topaz stands as an embodiment of the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment, where every street corner, every venue, and every moment is an invitation to revel in the joyous spirit of life. It’s an island that embraces the philosophy that the party never ends, and the pursuit of hedonistic delights is not only encouraged but also celebrated.
Onyx Island
A haven of wisdom, Onyx Island blends health, education, science, and magic into a meticulous spectacle.
Cold, detached stares linger as residents engross themselves in the pursuit of knowledge. Interactions are measured, conversations are purposeful, and emotions are monitored. The collective belief is that knowledge is the ultimate power.
Citizens believe the fusion of science and magic is the key to unlocking unparalleled understanding. Grand observatories pierce the sky, allowing scholars to study and explore the secrets of the cosmos. The landscape is carefully dotted with experimentation, creating a surreal environment. Blue grass, violet trees, and iridescent flowers contribute to the island’s sense of controlled beauty.
A place true to its intellectual achievement, Onyx fosters a currency of influence in learning, and inhabitants approach the quest for enlightenment with calculated precision.
