Maasai

Nine times out of ten, a fantasy novel depicts a world full of civilized people that are constantly under the threats of the war hardened, desert-tested "savages". You could say that writers are predisposed to placing these people into their work, creating some sort of extra tinder to fuel the flames of dissent, war and strife throughout their world - I can't say I blame them. These groups add mystique, create a greater feeling of the unknown and help further the validity of said universe. Furthermore, these "savages" always turn out to be far more civilized, advanced, and wise than they've been given credit for.

The Maasai warriors have always piqued my interest, from their religious beliefs to the patriarchal structure of their society. Fierce warriors, diligent cattle herders, and ceremonially strict individuals, the Maasai would be right at home in the world of Hierarchy. These brave people will serve as a model, a base mold, for the culture that I'm striving to create.

Happy new year!

Well folks, it seems as though blogging while home for the holidays was a near impossible endeavor. As you all can see... I didn't get much done. But, seeing as though I've been re-introduced to my self inflicted exile, words will soon flow from my finger tips like insults from Jeramy Clarkson's oversized British maw.

As I mentioned last post, a certain Loki Blodweud has been begging to be introduced. A peculiar fellow, and quite a mischievous one at that, his name hales from both Celtic and Norse mythology. I'm sure many of you are aware that the name Loki belongs to the Norse God of trickery, a fellow who switches his allegiances on a regular basis and can't decide which lot to throw his cards in with. As I said, quite a peculiar fellow. Blodweud isn't much better - the name hails from the Celtic/Welsh myth about a woman, made of magic and flowers, who has an affair while her husband is away and tricks her lover into murdering him. There's a bit more to the story but, in short, she's a representation of deceit.

A rabid gambler, an intelligent yet careless individual, an honor-less and morally broke thief, Loki Blodweud is about as predictable as the wind and as trustworthy as a drunken dog. Indispensable, irresponsible, and completely irrational, Loki will long stand by Zuriel, more than happy to supply ample reason for headaches and certain hypertension.

Through with chapter two!

For now, chapter two is complete. Complete, like good and evil, is an objective term however...like with chapter one, I'm betting that the next time I take a look at chapter two I'll start to revise, rewrite, and add to it considerably. But thats a bit farther down the path. I've found a great name to replace Abaddon (one without satanic origin) and its definition is even more fitting than "to destroy" - and not as corny.

Abaddon's replacement is Asteraoth; an angel, already a stand out in the crowd of riders, Asteraoth supposedly "thwarts power". Who better to play a judge, an enforcer and stickler for the rules, than one who thwarts power? Hopefully, he'll gain a little angelic sense of duty from his namesake and will remain impartial, even if the other riders begin to falter. He may become blinded by justice every now and then, his good judgement tossed to the wind if someone does something wrong...but I think Asteraoth's got the potential to really be a key character.

The world of Hierarchy is starting to grow and with every inch of ground it gains, a few characters come to light...two of which I've yet to mention. One I'll hold out on discussing till I finalize what role he may play, and the other I'll explain soon. In the next post, I'll introduce to you Loki Blodweud, our residential joker and thief in the night.

The Leviathan

I spent a bit of time trying to figure out names for my 4 horsemen - after a bit of trial and error, I've named the majority. I tediously scoured the web for the names of all the fallen angels (paradise lost helped a bit here), and eventually came out with some good, useful names with meanings actually applicable to plot and character persona! However....I'm still on the prowl for rider number four. Rider number four is actually..well, he's number one in the hierarchy of riders so to speak, a leader whose superiority is unspoken, unchallenged, and simply understood.

I had a name for him that I thought quite apt: Abaddon. It roughly means "to destroy" and I figured that with a name like that, there was no way another rider would try to usurp him...this was until a friend informed me that Abaddon is a particularly bad fallen angel who is regularly worshiped in satanic rings... said friend watches allot of history channel specials, particularly about free masons, so I didn't really question exactly WHY he was so informed... Anyhow, Abaddon is now far far away from Hierarchy. As to the rest of the riders, I've come up with Bathin, Gadreel, and Valefor - thankfully, none of them are the points of worship for those satanic people out there and all of their definitions are pretty vague (which, blissfully, leaves much up to my artistic interpretation).

Bathin is described as the fallen angel who rides a pale horse, Gadreel meaning "God is my helper" and Valefor, a fallen angel who appears as a "many headed lion". I'm quite pleased with myself here - with these little snippets, I've got enough info to really base a character off of yet, the're still all my own. The only conundrum I've found myself with, other than the last riders name, is how to have them interact with Zuriel and Tarlin. Social contract theory would say that the Leviathan has to be the absolute power and governor, the absolute enforcer, and as a result, a neutral party. I don't really fancy making them impartial...I need some unfathomable, evil force tromping around.

We'll see how things turn out. If anything, I could make two groups of riders, 4 light and 4 dark (keeping in mind that good and evil are objective terms), constantly waring with each other while enforcing the rules of Hierarchy on their own terms. I suppose it depends on how big of characters I want my riders to be. Once again, only time will tell.

Possesed

I was possessed. Like a wolf on the hunt, I was possessed. Last week, I believe it was Friday, I picked up a copy of Robert Jordan's Towers of Midnight - and I was gone. Lost to this world, syphoned off into another, I had disappeared.

Every second of my free time, up to about 30 minutes ago, was spent with that book. And I enjoyed every second of it. Besides the pleasure of jumping back into a world I've grown to love, traveling through Towers of Midnight let me take a step back and really evaluate the world of Hierarchy. Studying, if I can even call it that, the character development that the Wheel of Time series does so well has set my mind a fire. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a third protagonist.

So we've got a new character...what else? Towers of Midnight gave me perspective. Something that has plagued my mind for some time has been the question of length - how on gods green earth am I supposed to have enough material for a 300-500 odd page book? Other than describing every single stone in the world of Hierarchy so thoroughly that readers would come after me with flaming sticks and large, ugly looking pitchforks...I had no clue. But now I do!! For a story to be truly encompassing and in order to make a real case for an alternate reality, there needs to be a vast collection of detailed characters. I know...once again I've somehow managed to state the most obvious thing in the world. It's true though...the character thing. Tower's of midnight changed focus every chapter, always switching from one character to the next. By using this technique, not just in Towers but in every single Wheel of Time novel, Jordan made the world believable. I don't just mean his characters believable...I mean his ENTIRE WORLD.

The whole is the sum of its parts, and in order for the whole to really seem complete, all of the parts need to be visible. Hopefully, as I push on and persevere through the darkness of the unknown, through the shadows of Hierarchy, the people I need will show themselves. Random events, unexpected discoveries, and enlightening details are bound to find themselves into my life and with every little tidbit that comes my way, someone new will be born. The main protagonists are all here, all thats left are those in between. And hell, there's a whole bunch of them.

Apocalypse

The four riders of the apocalypse have been galloping around in my head recently....as to why, I'm not totally certain. Premonition? I hope not.

Conquest, war, famine and death usually pop up in epic fantasies at an alarming rate but rarely are they personified. In fact, more often then not these signs of impending doom serve as vehicles for character development and absolute necessities to plot. I know I know.... obvious right? The point I'm getting to is that I've been admiring the IDEA of the four horsemen rather than what they foreshadow, of the four physical entities that serve as a final battalion themselves. Because, in truth, thats what they are - the final wave of cavalry.

This whole business of the four riders translates, as far as Hierarchy is concerned, into a band of enforcers. Thomas Hobbes wrote about the "leviathan" in 1651 and used this idea to illustrate social contract theory - a theory which I am too lazy to fully explain. In short, Hobbes stated that chaos and civil wars could only be avoided by a strong central government or some sort of enforcer - a leviathan.

The Hierarchy needs a leviathan, and its looking like there will be four of them.

Deadlines

In the future, I think I'm going to stay away from saying things like "chapter two will be done by next friday". These things just don't happen. Wishful thinking isn't the word... hopeful isn't either...lets just go with misinformed.

My misinformed self can be somewhat delusional. But no more! A good friend told me to write at my own pace, for these words are my own. This is brilliance. Not to say that I won't be setting goals for myself... I just won't be publicizing them.

Logistics aside, the Wheel of Time series has just released a knew book: Towers of Midnight. I mention this only because this series, written by the late Robert Jordan, was the original inspiration for my writing. The world that Jordan created was so in depth, so interesting, so full of people I wish I could meet... its a world that I have come to know and love. I've reread all 11 of his books on multiple occasions and I can't help but revel in his genius. Not just his genius for story, but also for the voice that he carries throughout his writing.

Torr fantasy put a chapter from Towers of Midnight online about a month ago as a way to reward the multitudes of fans for their support - I've spent hours dissecting this thing and studying just how Jordan writes. Trying to find my voice in my writing, my own fluid style and signature, is no easy feat - I'm hoping that going over Jordan's writing will help guide me.

So far, it's helped, but at the same time its got me second guessing myself every step of the way. Remove this word here, change sentence structure there...delete this and that..start over here and there... it's frustrating. But good. I suppose, in order to grow, I need more practice. I need to write more. And soon! This here is a story itching to spring from my mind to the paper. The skills aren't there quite yet..but they will come with time.