Or rather, I have no idea how to show it in a good way. While I may know about what could cause instability like, heavy taxation, no representation in the government, cultural differences, loyalty to the home region, poor quality of life, a lack of citizenship for some people, too many poor people, bad communication, lack of resources, lack of trade, some people not being allowed to take part of commerce, racism towards different (fantasy) races, different religions, too many legitimate heirs to the throne, no heirs to the throne, no common national identity, too many slaves, economic instability, easy access to knowledge, bad propaganda, and one hundred other things I don't have the time to mention. My point is, I know all these things, but I do not know how to show them effectively in my story. My two POV characters live two very different lives. One is a monster slayer in training that lives in the cold and desolate, but proud, north. The other is a slave living in the rich and beautiful, but oppressive south. In the middle of this southern territory and northern territory, we have the capital and its surrounding land. While my monster slayer would travel around in the north to bring some sort of relief to the villages would my other POV character remain in the same city throughout the whole story. (Badly made world-map for visual aid) World-map of Albion While I could show instability to my northern character through seeing broken infrastructure, poor people, heavy taxation, and the upper class owning all the north's resources I don't know how I would do it well. The instability should be in the background, noticeable but not in plain sight. The climax of the story will show both the north and south rebelling, with the instability throughout the book has set up these thoughts of revolting against their king or masters. I just wish I knew the best way to subtly or at all show off these themes and events since they are the most important part of the external conflict.
For the northern part I like the idea of the heavy taxation. While travelling, your MC could witness a visit of the tax collector in an especially poor village. In order to fulfil their tax debt, people must give up things they urgently need for their own survival. For the southern part I would approach from a different direction. Perhaps a few people want to change the system (perhaps even the established slavery) and start talking about it in public, delivering speeches etc.. In an oppressive society I think this could easily lead to arrests. These arrests could be mentioned by your MC’s master, perhaps like ‘What do these fools think they are doing? Serves them right!’. Just ideas, hope I could help.
Thank you for the suggestions, I will use it during the novel. Though I am uncertain about how I will show them growing up in this world and how much time I should spend during their childhood and teens. Currently, they are both around 8-10 years old and I haven't even gotten to the part where the male character starts training to become a monster slayer. I want to show off the magic system through the male character and some lore while the female character will see more of the trade, politics and economic side of the world.
You’re welcome, it sounds like an interesting story. You could use their childhood to describe the current state of the society/country. Perhaps the bad situation in the north is the reason why your male MC starts his training? At the same time the female MC could start her work as a slave. Maybe she gets an introduction at her first day by her mother or the person who oversees the slaves. I think the age (8-10) would be fitting. They could get the most relevant information (magic, lore/economics, politics) at the beginning of their ‘new lives’ (starting his training/starting her work life). If there aren’t any major events which influence the development of the MCs, I wouldn’t spend too much time on these years, but I think it also depends on how old they are supposed to be when the main plot starts and if the training itself is supposed to be part of it.
It sounds like you're assuming that these countries were stable, but are becoming unstable as your story starts. But could they be historically unstable? Maybe there was a major civil war a generation ago, a peasants' rebellion a few years ago, only two of the last four kings died of old age rather than being overthrown, and so on. Jane cut a bite from her pie. "Don't be silly. I'll be working for the King." "Uh, huh," said Jem. "And what makes you think that makes you safe? "Well...he's the King. Soldiers. Guards. Where else would I be safer?" "And was his daddy the King?" "Well..." She paused. "No, but..." "And the one he overthrew, was his daddy the King?" "This one's different. The people support him." "You remember I had the tinker for supper last time he came through? He told me there was food riots in the capital." "Oh, shut up."
I am not a fan of talking about things, particularly riots or slavery, or corruption, or oppression, because they put a remove between reader and experience. How often have you read in the news about the state of affairs in e.g. Venezuela? Did it move you? Can you feel through those headlines how it is to live there, why those people become fed up with their system? Headlines and talking are 'clean'. They don't tell about the human experience. But if you as writer want to show what drives people to protest, to put everything—the well-being of their families, the safety of their homes, the health of loved ones—on the line for something sterile like a 'revolution', telling is not your best approach. Sorry, but this topic pushed one of my buttons. On topic: Watch documentaries about slums and poverty and gang-related violence. About corruption and historical-grown violence like the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. And then put your MCs through similar experiences and let the reader judge for themselves.
I was thinking that there had been rebellions before, but that the center of the empire have had peace for some time when the story starts. The capital and its surrounding land is the nation's breadbasket while the south provides gold, slaves and gemstones. The north has silver mines, rare animals, and land. However, the north is mostly unpopulated as much of it is inhabitable and filled with monsters. I'm thinking the north has been isolated for such a long time that most see themselves as northerners than part of the empire.
Partially why the male MC starts training is to bring order to the north, so yeah I should show that. The female MC's first day doesn't show off much of the higher politics or economics of the world. Her first day is more or less arriving at her new master's home with five other slave girls. Since one of the slave girls acts with disrespect towards the master she loses a finger. The female MC is then forced to take the bleeding girl to an old elven man that patches her up and gives them a warning about what happens to slaves that don't obey.
