The Ys That Make Writing Hard

Here are some words starting with Y that cause problems in a story.

First off is the word Yum. Yum as in tasty food and this is something I must be careful about when writing, especially when it is a story full of adventure. What I mean is that I sometimes forget to feed my characters, so thus they will at times go days on end without food. Thankfully for me they don’t complain much, but this is definitely a problem I have to fix in the editing stage.

Another word is yea, as in “O Yea!” This is one of those revelations that hit you all of a sudden in the middle of writing. For instance when you have your character perform some elaborate stunt then remember, “O yea, this character just broke his leg in the last chapter.”  This definitely causes problems, but then Hollywood seems to get away with it all the time.

The next word is You. For example when you have to ask one of your characters, “Who are you again?” This happens when you throw in a minor character somewhere along the way then have to recall their name later on in the story. Often times I forget what the characters name was and end up getting it messed up. This is another editing chore that can prove problematic if not taken care of.

Then finally there is the word “Why.” Now this does not start with the letter Y, but it does make the sound. This is the problem you encounter when you need something to happen, but you don’t know why it would happen. Maybe you need one of your characters to do something but don’t know why anyone in their right mind would do it. This is a problem I often face, and it is something that can at times take me a while to figure out. 

X, No More

X can stand for something that once was but is no longer. For instance x convict. So I am going to talk about something that all three of my main characters in my WIP are not any longer.

First off is Isaac Kierken. He is an X ICON agent. He use to work for the International Control agency, which is basically a world police/military force, but quit after the international powers collapsed due to the Rebirtha attack. Isaac is now working with the Rebirtha though they were his most hated enemy at one time.

Mathew is an X soldier for the town of Ambern. Now that’s not what most retired soldiers are called, but I’ll have to go with it in order for it to work with X. Mathew use to work for the military but took a job with the local Bionine facility as an escort for a team of scientist. Of course his first job with them never got under way before the town was attacked.

Then Levi is a X member of the Klitar clan. The Klitar was a group of humans that sought refuge in an old fortress in the mountains. Levi was enlisted into their military after he woke up without his memory. Fort Klitar was destroyed however by a Rebirtha attack, and now Levi is on a journey that will determine the fate of mankind. 

Waning, Why I have Nothing to Say

W is for waining, and my ideas for the A to Z challenge is waining. I am running out of ideas, and there is nothing in my WIP that starts with W, except for WIP.
I suppose my work in progress could be my subject for today, but I think that that could become repetitive as I have been talking about it throughout the whole challenge. So anyhow I guess what I'm saying is that I have nothing to say in today's blog post. Perhaps this is just laziness on my part, but I'll try harder to think of something worthwhile in tomorrow's blog concerning the letter X. Wow, this is could be a challenge!  

Vailen

For today’s A to Z challenge I will be talking about the character Vailen in my WIP.

Vailen is a minor character, being the older brother to Philip who is the best friend of Levi. He has his role to play though mainly in the second book which is to help the main character, Levi, to track down the raiders who heading to sea. They have something of utmost importance to Levi, and though once he was trying to escape from them, he is now hunting them.

Vailen assists Levi in this expedition, which is short lived, but without his help Levi would never have gotten where he needed to be.                                                    

Undead

U is for undead, and because I cannot think of anything in my story to fit the letter U, I will have to go with it for this A to Z challenge.

The undead is a subject I have always been interested in and in some ways they have influenced my WIP concerning the Rebirtha. However my point for this blog will be on different plot ideas for the undead.

There are quite a few undead creatures that have been used over the years like zombies, vampires, and even ghost. What I have not yet seen though is a story using all three creatures. What happens when a zombie bites a vampire or if a vampire bites a zombie? Would a vampire even want to bite a zombie? Then what about a ghost?

You could basically classify a zombie as a body without a spirit, leaving only its rotting flesh, and then classify a ghost as a spirit without its body. If this is the case then what do you get when a ghost possesses a zombie. A living human? I don’t know but maybe my presuppositions are wrong concerning what a zombie is.

Here is an idea though. What if you had a story where a ghost ran into its zombie turned body? What would that be like to see your old body rotting but living? What would the ghost do? Perhaps try and repossess it if it could.

What of vampires then? How do they fit into the mix? They too are considered dead or without a soul, depending on which movie you watch, but no one would consider them a zombie. What defines them separately from the zombies?

Here is an idea. What if vampires are the cause of zombies? Maybe a zombie comes from a sick vampire that bit someone, but instead of the victim turning into a vampire he turns into a zombie. This new plague quickly begins to spread as sick vampires contaminate the human population as well as the zombies who too spread it. Think of the consequences. Vampires would begin to lose their food supply to the living dead, and thus they would have to team up with the human’s to find a cure. This however would cause quite a bit of conflict for the humans.

Perhaps the ghost would be the only winner in this situation. 

Tierikium

Tierikium is a large land mass, six hundred miles in length and around eight hundred miles in width. I have talked a little about it in a previous blog about the island of Dritheena which is a few miles south of Tierikium. This land mass will be my A to Z topic for today.

Tierikium was formed by a volcanic eruption in the Pacific nearly sixty years before my story takes place. It was different than other volcanic islands though because of its quickly established ecosystem. Trees were fully grown in a matter of weeks along with other vegetation and rivers were already carving their way through the land. Within a year the ecosystem was stable and Tierikium was quickly colonized by the current governmental powers.

Tierikium is known for its abundant mountain ranges and forest. There are the Eastern Mountains which travel up the eastern coast of the land, then the Groamine mountains towards the north west, and the another short but large range at the northern tip of Tierikium. I have not yet come up with a name for these mountains.

There is also the large Saranbleem desert which takes up a large portion of Tierikium, and it is known as the glowing desert. Though barren it is quite rich with colors in the night ranging from deep red, orange, and yellow. The desert also has many rocky structures which tower into the sky and the rounded Humped Mountains toward its northern edge.

There are also the swamp lands spanning the area between the Groamine Mountains and the northern most mountains. The famous slave city of Stilathrone is in the center of these swamp lands, built upon a large rocky mesa overlooking the swamps.

Much more land lies to west of Tierikium but I have yet to develop it in my story. These are the major characteristics though and hold a great deal of adventures for my characters.   

They Mystery of Shorkmeth

Shorkmeth is another character in my WIP and is a Rebirtha. He is a part of the very species that has pushed mankind into hiding and enslaved the rest.

Shorkmeth carries many scars on his face like most Rebirtha, including extreme burns on one side, but according to Isaac Kierken Shorkmeth looks strangely more human than other Rebirtha. He is also one of the Akilian’s best soldiers, the Akilian being the leader of the Rebirtha.

However Shorkmeth’s main role in the story is to mentor Isaac according to the ways of the Rebirtha. He helps Isaac gain acceptance from the skeptical Rebirtha and guides him to his rightful path according to the Akilian’s plans.

Isaac finds Shorkmeth different than the other Rebirtha, but he is not sure what the difference is. He does not know why the Rebirtha is so dedicated about helping him but as the story goes on Isaac discovers a shocking truth as to who Shorkmeth really is. 

Rebirtha

The Rebirtha are a race of creatures that look somewhat human, but over time become more mutilated looking. This is due to the fact that Rebirtha can be repeatedly raised from the dead, but their scars remain to bear witness of their death.

No one Knows where the Rebirtha came from or what they are but people fear them. The Rebirtha have taken over the land of Tierikium, pushing the surviving humans into hiding. This is the known enemy of the land though there are other factions that begin to rise up to confront the Rebirtha and humans alike.

The Rebirtha are known for wearing leather and metal armor along with a leather mask. Iron buckles go up the front of the mask while two small holes are left for the eyes. They carry a wide variety of weapons including a machete, strapped to their backs, and rifles. At the current time they are technologically superior to the humans as mankind has been forced back to a medieval type age. 

Quit, Quiet, and Quite

I could not think of anything in my WIP for the letter Q so I have decided to describe each of my main characters with a word that starts with Q. So here I go for this A to Z challenge.

Quiet—My main protagonist, Levi, is more of a quiet person. He cannot remember who he is or where he came from, and thus experiences a lot of confusion as to what he should do. This tends to keep him quiet as he tries to figure things out. Levi is also non-confrontational but it seems to find him nonetheless. Levi must learn the courage he needs to accomplish his task and find out who he really is.

Quit—My next character Mathew will not quit for anything. He is determined to find out what’s going on in his town, and will not stop searching for his father who went missing when he was a kid. There are people and monsters that that seek to hold him back, but he refuses to give up.

Quite—Isaac Kierken is quite the fighter. He is a super soldier and, unlike Levi, always seeks a good challenge. He looks for confrontation and eliminates anything that could be a possible threat to him. He often times becomes cocky due to his enhanced strength and never turns down a challenge, even if it’s a trap.

Pieriom

I already talked a bit about the mountain Pieriom in my blog on Dritheena, but I have no other topic that starts with P to use. So I will be talking a bit more about it today on this A to Z challenge.

Pieriom is the tallest mountain on the island of Dritheena, and has two tall spires on the top of it. Between these two spires is a long and wide valley filled with all kinds of strange plants and structures. A lot of the plants glow in the dark and wield a large variety of color. The stones too will at times glow giving off a yellowish light in the night. All of this combines together and creates a beautiful canvas of colors.

There are also strange structures that look to be hundreds of years old, but couldn’t be any older than sixty years since the island was created by a volcanic eruption. The builders responsible for the structures are nowhere to be seen either which leaves an unknown world at the top of Pieriom. Only those who dare to venture to the top know about what exist up there. 

Oam

The Oam is a bizarre anomaly in my WIP that will substitute for the letter O in today’s A to Z challenge.

The Oam is one of those things that I decided to throw in last minute just to make things more interesting. It wasn’t until later that I figured out what it was exactly, and how it related to the story. Now it is a vital part of the plot and without it my story would be incomplete.

You cannot see an Oam, but you can feel it. It is more like a presence that you sense than a physical object. When one finds themselves in the presence of an Oam they will feel a strong sense of anxiety and dread. People must be careful when in the presence of one of these things because they are known to drain any will to live you might have. Thus when you give in to its influence you will lose all motivation and find yourself idling under its presence. This is not good as it next eats you alive.

What is the Oam, and where does it come from? People aren’t really sure, but they are a common phenomenon on Tierikium and its sister islands.  

Nigarious

Nigarious is known as the prince of raiders on the island of Dritheena, and is a constant terror to some of the human fortresses in the area. He is the adopted son of Aleejin, the king of the raiders, and gets all the credit for his raids unlike Aleejin who remains unknown for the most part.

Nigarious is a proud man and carries a sword and revolver wherever he goes. He his loyal to his father, but at times gets irritated at him when he isn’t told everything that there is to know.

The raiders are more than simple crooks that go about the mountains pillaging cities. As time reveals they have a much darker agenda behind them, and it is up to the protagonist, Levi, to stop them. 

Mathew and the Morgni

Here is a last minute blog for the A to Z challenge. I'm cutting it close for this one.
The Morgni (with a long I sound) are an unknown entity that dwells on Tierikium and its sister islands. They protect the humans from the Rebirtha, but no one knows who or what they are. There are many theories however. Some say they are spirits, guardians of mankind, while others say they are only humans who hunt the Rebirtha. Still others just don't believe they exist, but there is no doubt about the fact that something is killing the Rebirtha when they get to close to threatening mankind's final strongholds.

Mathew is a Morgni sign reader which is somebody that reads the signs left behind by the Morgni. These signs warn people about traps and direct them to important supplies.
Mathew was abandoned by his father around the age fifteen, a year or so before the Rebirtha invaded. His fathers disappearance has always remained unexplained but most people assumed the worse while he assumed there was something more going on. He and his father had always had a close relationship despite the fact that his mother died while giving birth to him. His father never blamed him though and always made sure that his son wouldn't blame himself for his mothers death.
Mathew doesn't know what happened to his father, but he refuses to believe that he abandoned him. What he does remember though is that his father had grown considerably paranoid about something shortly before his disappearance. This leads Mathew to believe that something more was going on with his father.  

Levi

Levi is the main protagonist in my WIP and has many peculiar traits. First off he is considered an outsider to the people of the fort in which he dwells. Many people are superstitious in those days and trust doesn't come easily to the people who have been hiding for their lives in the mountains.
This doesn't help Levi considering that he just one day woke up in the fort. No one knows how he got there or how he got past the guards and city walls. He just seemed to appear there one day, and whats even worse for him is that he has no memory of who he is. Levi is just as confused as the people are, but that doesn't ease anyone's nerves.
Levi also has certain abilities unlike the others which he keeps to himself in order to avoid more conflict. He can feel things move around him whether it's ants scurrying across the ground or a bird dashing through the air. This of coarse lets him sense things that the others cannot, and he soon realizes that not everything on the island is as it always seems.    

K

K is for knowledge which has a verb form of know. Know as in, "I do not know what to write about K in this A to Z challenge. I can not think of anything in my story that starts with K and now that I think of it I can not think of many words that do. There is the word knife and knack, but these are all I can think of at the moment.
Another thing I noticed is that every word that starts with K, at least every word I can think of, does not make the k sound but it is silent as in know, knife, and knack. I find this peculiar as every word that does make the k sound at the beginning starts with a c rather than a k. For example cat, can, cube, cake, cool, cathode, camera, etc.
What is the deal here? Why is the letter c, which makes more of an s sound, always taking the place of k? K is bigger looking after all so why is it always being taken advantage of by the c? The letter k even as two legs which I believe would give it an advantage over the little c which has the shape of a broken wheel. So why is it that c beats k all the time?
I do not know why k is so silent at the beginning of words, and I guess it just has a knack for being taken advantage of.  

Jethrim

In today’s challenge I shall talk about Jethrim Brass.

Jethrim is another minor character in my WIP that has only a couple scenes. He is the father of the protagonist’s best friend Philip. Jethrim’s family treated Levi well unlike the other people in town who distrusted him which gave Levi a sense of duty to protect them when the time came, and his time did come as he had to protect Jethrim’s wife from a Rebirtha attack.

Jethrim is a thinly built man and wears a white goatee on his face along with his thick white hair. He is married to a woman named Lodan and has two sons. The first born is Vailen who helps Levi out later on in the story and the youngest is Philip who is Levi’s best friend.

This is the Brass family and though not a significant one, Levi would never have been able to get where he is now without their help.                    

ICON

ICON is an acronym for International Control which will be the subject for today’s A to Z challenge.

ICON is basically an international police slash military force. They are responsible for managing the affairs of the international powers which includes the international science organization Bionine.

Bionine is the lead scientific community of the world and was established to pioneer the future of the government’s scientific industry. It accomplished its purpose by bringing the space industry to new levels by establishing the first colonies on the moon and Mars. It is also responsible for revolutionizing the worlds technological age by bringing computers to an all new level of prestige. Bionine however is only one aspect of the international powers, being one in many.

The ICON branch is the group responsible for enforcing the powers agenda as well as making sure the governments don’t over step there bounds. It is known to butt heads with Bionine at times due to certain disagreements. 

ICON, though a symbol of peace, is often involved with covering up things that the leading powers don’t want the public to find out about. Thus ICON is the agency responsible for containing the darker secrets of those in power and managing the other international agencies.                      

Hector

We are now in the second week of the A to Z challenge and this Monday will be starting off with the letter H. In today's blog I will be talking about the character Joniah Hector.
Joniah Hector is a mysterious fellow who keeps to himself most of the time. Most people make an effort to avoid him because he has an intimidating personality, and thus very few know what it is he does. Hector is known to disappear from the town for weeks at a time, but no one knows where he goes. This is especially strange due to the fact that most people do not dare venture outside of the town's protection as there are Rebirtha roaming the lands.
Later on in the story, Hector reveals something about his past that might explain his coldness towards people. He tells a story about his long ago love for a girl he had adored as a child. It all started when his father, who was a military general, was put in charge of a refugee camp that was meant to provide safety for the nearby locals who were under a harsh dictatorship. Joniah was only a boy there with the rest of his family and came to have a crush on one of the refugee girls, but things soon went downhill as the camp came under attack by the dictator's soldiers and his entire family was killed, except for his father who was away at the time.
Joniah was one of the only survivors while the refugees were taken prisoner along with the girl he had a crush on. In his desperation he decided to go rescue this girl and managed to track the soldiers down and find her. However, to his dismay, he learns that the girl is in fact the daughter of the dictator who had sent her in as a spy to bring down the refugee camp. Hector then learns that he had been used by her to ensure the destruction of the camp.
As a reward for what she did, her father gave here a section of land to rule and thus became one of the youngest and harshest dictators ever known in the land. She then threw Joniah into prison where he was beaten on a daily basis and humiliated for the amusement of her people.
One day, Joniah Hector contracted a rare disease due to the beatings, which rapidly spread throughout the land killing nearly every living thing, including the girl he once loved. Hector was ironically the only survivor from the epidemic and lived on to be reunited with his father.
This is one of the few stories Joniah ever tells about his past. Mathew, one of the main characters in the story, however wonders if what Hector told them was true, or if he had just made it up to shut everyone else up.     

Grandis

G for Grandis Maximus

Grandis Maximus, the man mentioned in my previous blog, is one of those characters that I threw in at the last minute. I never had much plans for him but created him at the spare of the moment to place in my climax.

Grandis is described as a brute or a giant as he is nearly nine feet tall, and massive in size. He carried two large handguns which to the protagonist, Levi, looked like cannons.  He is a bald headed man with almost pale white skin, and his personality is a bit shallow, showing no fear even in the bad circumstances he finds himself in.

Who is Grandis though? What was his point in the story and what is he up to? Well Grandis is really a prelude to a future enemy that appears in the second book. Grandis doesn’t last long, being killed in his first scene, but there are many like him to follow.

This isn’t the first time this enemy has been seen though. In my story line are two other characters named Mathew and Isaac who are just experiencing this new enemy’s uprising. They know very little about them, but what they learn is that the Rebirtha, whom they feared, were not the only things to fear.

Grandis Maximus is the first encounter with the new enemy that Levi has in the book, but he can expect many more encounters throughout the series. 

Final Fight

The letter F is in for today and I am here to talk about the Final Fight. Every story has one and every plot is incomplete if left out. It can either be a physical fight, emotional conflict, or something else entirely, but no matter what it is the final fight always presents a challenge for the hero of the plot. This is the climax of the story.
For today I have posted a scene in my WIP which precedes the final fight between my character Levi and the mysterious voice. Its technically still a rough draft but I've smoothed it over a bit.


Grandis looked down towards Levi’s hand that still held onto the disk. Levi pulled it closer as if to protect it, but he didn't know whether he was willing to risk his life for it. He stared into the brutes eyes waiting for what would happen next.

“Go forward.” The voice spoke. “Kill them and take the key. Then your mission will have been accomplished.”

“Is this some kind of trick?” Grandis responded, still with no hint of fear in his voice.

“Of course not, these raiders are trespassers here in my fortress. You on the other hand can be considered my guest because I brought you here.” Fear pushed Levi’s heart to a race. Frantically he began looking for a way out. 

“Now all you have to do is take the ring from his hand, and place it up there where the beam of light is emitted above the door," the voice continued. 

“Why don’t you show yourself you coward, instead of hiding?” Shaefgan shouted.

“Kill them Grandis.” The voice barked. “And take the key for your prize.”

Not responding Grandis seemed to ponder his situation. Levi and Shaefgan stared in horror as the giant stepped forward with his guns out. Levi squinted as he prepared to have his brains blown out, but without warning a loud whoosh sounded followed by a loud grunt. Grandis stumbled forward as an arrow shot straight through his back and out his chest on the floor between Shaifgan and Levi. The brute was still up though and swung around towards the position of its shooter, but another arrow pierced through the shadows and shot him straight through the forehead before he was able to pull the triggers.

Levi watched as the brute stood where he was. It seemed like slow motion as the guns dropped from his hands while his large body fell backwards. It made a loud thud when it hit the floor between Levi and Shaefgan.

Another laugh followed afterwards, but this time it came from one area on the balcony in front of them.
“Never mind, I have a better idea.” The voice said as a shadowy figure appeared stepping forward toward the balcony edge.
 A large bow was in one hand while a spear like arrow was in the other. The figure spread his arms open before slowly swinging them behind his back. He then moved them back to his sides, but the bow and arrow was gone. 

The Crutch of Entertainment

Now I know I am straying from my normal WIP theme for this A to Z challenge, but I feel I must address some things I have recently read concerning the new movie The Hunger Games.

I watched the movie a couple of weeks ago when it came to a nearby theater and I enjoyed it quite thoroughly, and now I am working through the books which I find to be interesting. The story has a lot of aspects that make you think and a lot of truth that can be applied to the real world; however, not everyone agrees with this.

I had heard that there was some controversy over this movie due to its violence, but I wasn’t aware how large of a controversy it was, especially among Christian circles, until recently after reading some articles on it.

The controversy is stirred up by the fact that the movie is about innocent children killing each other in a large game meant for the amusement of the watchers. The arguments are that the movie glorifies cold blooded murder and violence. The main arguments seem to boil down to this simple conclusion, “Has our society really fallen so far as to see the killing of innocent children as entertainment?”

My response to this question however would be this, “Has our society fallen so far as to expect nothing but entertainment?” Unfortunately, I see this as a weakness in today’s society. Our culture is so bent on being entertained by television, internet, etc. that very rarely do we watch something for intellectual purposes. People don’t like to think anymore, but only turn off their minds in front of the TV, and I think this is the issue with those that find movies like the Hunger Games intolerable. 

People go in to see the movie with the sole expectation of being entertained that they are horrified when the movie depicts controversial content and thus they miss the underlying message that the story was trying to get across. People expect to be able to turn off and mindlessly zone out in front of the TV, but this is the problem. We should never allow ourselves to go into a movie with that kind of mindset, but unfortunately it’s all anyone ever wants anymore.

I do not recall any point in the movie or in the books that glorified the death of children. Yes, there were children dying by the hands of other children, but this was never set on a pedestal of glorification. The people responsible for the games were not the children or the families, but it was the Capitol who in this plot are the bad guys. If anything could be learned from the movie it is the absolute depravity of man. It does a great job showing how morally inept people can become without realizing it.

It never even crosses the minds of the people in the Capitol that what they are doing could be wrong. They are totally blinded to their guilt and this is so true in today’s society. Sure, the movie is fictional but what it depicts has been going on in the world since the beginning of man’s demise.

In the past, Christians were thrown into the arena to die at the hands of gladiators all for the entertainment of those who watched. Today, kids are put through horrible circumstances due to the sex slave trade, and in some African countries where they are tortured and forced to kill their own people. In our own nation, millions of babies are murdered at abortion clinics, while society turns its eyes away making excuses as to why there is nothing wrong with it. We claim that it is for the benefit of the mother, or even the benefit of the child. Human life is so looked down upon in our modern society that we are not that far from the Hunger Games scenario.

So many people are blinded to this reality though because they are so easily appeased by entertainment. We don’t care what modern leaders are doing in the world as long as we are entertained. This is a problem that must be dealt with.

In conclusion, we should never watch a movie with the sole expectation of being entertained, but we are to take captive every thought that enters our mind. Movies have messages and we need to be aware of them. Thus, rather than watching the Hunger Games for pure entertainment, watch it and analyze it. Use it as a teaching experience.  What is it about, what is its underlying message, and is it Biblical? These are the questions we should be asking ourselves no matter what kind of movie it is. Unfortunately they rarely get asked because we are a people seeking only entertainment. It is because of this that you get two different responses. First, some watch it and enjoy  it missing the entire point, while secondly some see the violence and are turned off by it, still missing the point.

As a final remark, I just want to say, yes, we should be careful about what we watch as some things are better not to be viewed, but we should not call something unholy or evil just because it presents a detestable subject.                

The Island of Dritheena

What constitutes an island as an island? When does an island become a continent? I'm not entirely sure what the answers to these questions are though I do remember taking a geography course on the subject before, but like so many other subjects in school I have forgotten them. However for this segment today I will be talking about the island of Dritheena, whether it is an island or not.

Actually I'm pretty sure Dritheena would be classified as an island, but it is its sister island, Tierikium, that I am unsure about. Tierikium is nearly six hundred miles long and probably four hundred miles in width but it is surrounded by water. For a better picture it is about the size of Alaska if not bigger, but this is getting off subject. I am talking about the smaller Dritheena which off of the southern coast of Tierikium. 

Dritheena along with its sister islands, and maybe one continent, was created in a large volcanic eruption in the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately the western coasts of the U.S. were obliterated by the tsunamis that occurred due to the explosion, but a new landmass was formed in the ocean. The largest mass came to be called Tierikium while its smaller sister was called Dritheena. 

These newly formed masses were not normal however, as in a matter of days, vegetation could already be observed. Trees grew at an accelerated rate, and streams formed into rivers which further carved out the land. In a year the land masses had fully stable ecosystems as well as a large variety of climates all pressed together.  The large Saranbleem dessert would quickly turn to lush green plains with the icy mountains farther to the north. Once again, I have become side tracked with Tierikium so lets return to Dritheena. 

The smaller island, though not as spectacular as its sister, has its peculiar traits. It has an almost crescent moon shaped appearance, and has an abundance of mountains including the largest mountain, Pieriom. This mountain is probably the most significant trait for Dritheena as it jets straight up into the air like a tower where two large spires peak at the very top. 

The mountain, though peculiar looking, is much more spectacular once one reaches the top between the two spires. A whole new world seems to form nearly hundreds of feet in the air. Forests that literally glow in the dark with many vibrant colors, spread across its terrain along with sparkling pools of water. A large bridge can be seen hanging between the two spires above the forest where it leads to a hidden castle. This is perhaps the biggest mystery of all, as the island is only around sixty years old, but it is littered with man-made architecture that looks to be hundreds of years old. As if this wasn't enough to boggle ones mind, there is also no trace of the builders of these structures. It is as if these structures appeared out of nowhere forming from the land masses themselves.

This is the big mystery of Dritheena as well as Tierikium which has similar characteristics. No one really knows what the origin of the islands are except for the volcanic eruption which had taken place nearly sixty years prior, but obviously this eruption was more than volcanic. Some even wonder if it was more than an accident. Whatever the truth behind these islands are, there is one thing for sure. They have become the final refuge for mankind as a new enemy arises from the darkness.                  

Carthus

It is now day three of the A to Z challenge and the character Carthus is up next to be profiled as the letter C is the letter of the day. A Google search on this name would bring up the following image, but the Carthus I speak of is not this Marvel comic book character.

                                    

Now the Carthus in my story has no resemblance to this guy whom I have never heard of before, but he does have his unusual qualities. The subject of Carthus is a tricky one however, but I will do my best to describe the situation without giving away to many details.

The first time Carthus's name is brought up is in the prologue where one of my characters has a type of vision of the future. This character, Kinie with a long i sound at the end, overhears two men having a conversation in his vision. He does not know who these men are except for one named Archaies whom he has heard of in previous visions. Archaies seems to be looking for something and the other man sets out to give him directions on how to find what he seeks. Thus the man begins to speak about two Levis that are rivals with one another. He talks about how both these men share the same name, but one is an impostor while the other is the real Levi. One of them is also a master of death with the power to kill thousands while the other goes about unseen. He goes on to explain how the impostors real name is Carthus, but it is up to the man named Archaies to figure out which one has what he seeks. Is it Carthus the impostor, or is it the real Levi?

Anyhow this is how the story starts off as the rest of the book covers the life of one of the Levis. Whether this is the real Levi or the impostor is to be determined as the story progresses, but the name Carthus soon reappears as things get complicated with the characters.

     

B is for Braliks

For day two on the A to Z challenge I will be writing about the Braliks from my WIP. This of course will be for the letter B.

The Bralik family is a family line filled with sorrows and ills. Their name in history is unknown, having no wealth, fortune, or power, but instead have been a common people like most others. They have no royal blood, significant influence, or noteworthy accomplishments. The Braliks were just another family trying to live fulfilling lives, but then a tragedy struck mankind as a whole.

The Rebirtha attacked pushing mankind into hiding and enslaving the rest. Life changed for everyone and the Braliks were among the affected. They were seized and put into captivity, but shown special favor by the Akilian, which is the leader of the Rebirtha. Why they were shown such favor is a mystery to most, but as Mr. Bralik comments in the story, he reveals that he is as much a slave as anybody else.

The Braliks are not normal, and they do have secrets despite their being common. The thing that sets the Braliks apart from everyone else is their ability to see into the past, present, and future. There is no explaining how it works, but what they know is this: Their minds are connected through time thus giving them the ability to see what each other has seen, will see, or currently is seeing. They have no control over their abilities thus causing a great deal of information overload in their brains. Very few times can they understand what it is they are seeing.

All of this constant information throughout time adds up to cause a great deal of turmoil for the Braliks, and if being connected with your family's mind wasn't enough, it gets worse. Not only are the Braliks connected together, but they are also connected with an endless amount of other beings with the same abilities. All of this interconnectedness becomes unbearably painful to the Braliks as they are unable to control the flow of information.

This is ultimately what makes the Akilian interested in the family as they have access to information that he seeks. However, progress with using the family as a source of intelligence proves to be slow, and tragedy after tragedy continues to strike the family.

First, their only son disappeared with no knowledge of his whereabouts. This brought Mrs. Bralik to the edge as her little boy was seemingly taken from her. She did not share her husband and children's abilities to see things, but this incident brought her closer to a breakdown.

The second tragedy was soon upon their doorstep as Mrs. Bralik would soon find herself in a world of agony. It is said that at one time Mr. Bralik gave her a simple touch, and that was when all his agony and all that he could see was somehow imprinted upon her mind. Mrs. Bralik could for an instance see what her husband and children could see, but it brought her to ruin. She went crazy and had to be admitted to the Rebirtha Psychiatric ward.

This only further tore the family apart as one more member of the family was gone. Now Mr. Bralik is left with his three young daughters, trapped in an adorned mansion which proves to be their prison.                 

Aleejin, The Man With The Plan

For my first blog on the A to Z Challenge, I will be talking about the character Aleejin from my WIP. This obviously is for the letter A.

 
So who is Aleejin and what's with the name? Well as far as the name goes I actually derived it from the name Legion in the Bible. I overheard someone talking one time and they were mentioning something about the story of Legion in the gospels when they had a short pause before the word legion came out. Within this quick pause was the typical "aaa" sound when your mind is trying to pull out the necessary  information while leaving your voice to fill in the gap. From this odd combination I heard the sound aaa legion, and this was when I thought, "Hey, that would make a cool name!" Thus I came up with the cool name Aleejin, or at least I think it was cool.

Now we know the history of the name, but the question of who still remains. Who is Aleejin, and what's so significant about him? These are the questions that so many characters in my WIP would love to have the answers to. Aleejin at first seems like another obstacle and enemy to overcome to the story's protagonist Levi, but as time goes on he realizes that there is more going on with Aleejin than first meets the eye. However what that might be is the big question that drives Levi nuts.

So here is what's known about Aleejin. He declares himself as the King of the Raiders, which is a band of crooks that pillage the surrounding fortresses of mankind. He has kept himself hidden for the most part letting his adopted son Nigarious take all the credit for the raiders misdeeds giving him the title, "Prince of the Raiders." As far as anyone is concerned, it is Nigarious that leads the raiders.

Another fact about Aleejin is that he keeps many secrets. His men trust him because he knows things that most do not. He always seems to know what's going on, and always has a plan to implement. How he can know so much despite the fact that he is isolated on an island with no form of modern communications is a mystery to even his son who admits his frustration about the fact. Aleejin never reveals much about himself or how he knows what he does, but constantly speaks of a coming event that will arise in the near future. It is this event that he has been preparing his men for, though not even they know what it is.

Levi, at multiple times, attempts to escape Aleejin, but constantly finds himself falling into his traps. He does everything the man wants him to do whether he likes it or not, realizing  that his every move has been predicted and used against his will. This of course frustrates Levi as he wonders if there is anything he can do that hasn't already been expected and planned for by Aleejin.

Aleejin is the man with the plan, whatever that plan may be. He has the characteristics of a professional con man making people do what he wants them to do, and unfortunately the protagonist finds himself under the man's influence. However, there is one thing that Levi seems to have over him. A symbol marks Aleejin's face, and for whatever reason Levi is the only one that can see it. What it means remains a mystery to Levi, but he soon begins to learn that he is involved with something bigger than he at first thought.