In the Spirit of the Season!

So this is not really related to TRoL, but I thought I'd post about it anyway.  For most of the month, I've felt a distinct sense of surrealism - how could it be Christmas time already?  (Autumn really flew by for me this year.)  However, about two weeks ago, I wrote the first installment of a Sherlock Holmes story (fanfiction), and ever since, I've been whipping out seasonal stories.  Unfortunately for my wallet, they are all fanfiction, i.e. based on pre-existing stories.  But six Christmas-related stories ("fics") in two weeks is quite an accomplishment.

There are four Christmas fics for Sherlock Holmes and two for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.  [I know it's a kids' cartoon - so what?  :-)]  Check them out at my FF.N profile.  (Plus, if you scroll down to the bottom, you can find an old Lord of the Rings Christmas story entitled "The Child.")

Once again, wishing you all a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

FIFTY PERCENT FINISHED!!!

'Tis true!  Ironically, though Chapter 10 should be the halfway mark, Chapter 11 is finished first and thus makes the mark.  Even so, hurray!

Now if my co-conspirator just needs to give me the battle-edited next chapter to work on...

Oh, and:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

9 Down, 11 to Go!

Chapter 9 is finished, and Chapter 10 is almost done!  This is nearly the 50% mark!  At this rate, I could be done by the end of January!  Pray that I can be, please!

The action editing is coming up.  That's not going to be fun - it's definitely going to bog down the progress.  Here goes nothing!

8 down, 12 to go

WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD.

Eight chapters down, twelve to go—plus an epilogue.  *cheers*

I have finally finished the chronologically first battle in the book.  Originally, this battle was anticipated, reported on, but not seen—now it takes up a sizeable portion of Chapter 7.  Credit for that (and for the battle scenes and strategies in general) goes to my brother, without whom this book would certainly be much less than what it is now.

I am currently progressing through Chapter 9 and tackling a scene that I might move to a later chapter, due to a character who originally first appeared in Chapter 1 and now does not appear until much later.  *sigh*  Shifting dynamics…

What IS The Phoenix and the Dragon?

 What IS The Phoenix and the Dragon?

The story is fantasy, certainly, but its future audience will discover that The Phoenix and the Dragon (PaD) series is not as a “normal” fantasy by any means.

Prototypes of PaD certainly drove for the genre of High Fantasy, the most epic type there is, best exemplified in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.  TRoL may still be considered High Fantasy by some people, but it’s certainly less magical that it used to be.  Probably the greatest reason for this development was the transformation of the Rioti’ordane.

Readers of this blog may recall my comparison of Uruk-hai becoming Numenorians.  That conversion changed everything.  The epic emphasis of the story turned from magic to, incredibly enough, politics.  In a very large sense, politics is what the war of PaD is all about.

And PaD is all about this war.  This is a series chronicling a huge, worldwide war in another world set in its own Middle Ages.

This is a story that could almost be considered historical fiction—simply put, it’s the history of a fictional world.  And yet, there’s still an aspect of fantasy, still an aspect of the supernatural.  In fact, the supernatural is perhaps more important now than ever, because Providence has a visible hand in the motion of events.

Some characters in TRoL have telekinetic and telepathic abilities simply as genetic trait of their races.  This is considered a less magical and more practical matter—it’s simply natural for these people.  Something akin to magic is touched upon in the later pages of the book, but even this is very far removed from spells and wands and even Rings of Power.

The Phoenix and the Dragon is still an epic.  It is also a war story.  And this epic war story not only concerns itself with the fates of nations, but with the hearts of the men and women that shape the war.  War brings out the best and worst of men, and this story is going to give you that.  Despite the different non-human characters, this is a very human story.

I dearly hope that you stay tuned for more, and that you’ll be willing—and maybe even excited—to read the first installment of this epic when it’s finally released.

The Players in the Game, Part II

The Rioti’ordan Domain

The Riot’ordan Domain is an empire, unquestionably Anira’s greatest superpower.  The Domain possesses many territories and several allies—the most important of the latter is Rayda.

Eyráne

Official name: Homeland of Eyráne

Flag: rearing gold dragon spewing red flame on a black field

Capital: Atar’ante

Official language(s): Rioti’ordan (Aniran widely spoken, as well as Raydan and Correthaen)

Demonym: Rioti’ordan (singular), Rioti’ordane (plural)

Ethnic groups: Rioti’ordane, Dragons (less than .0001%), mixed due to empire (less than .05%)

Population: approx. 20,000,000

Government: constitutional empire/parliamentary monarchy

Head of State: His Royal Majesty and Heir of the Great Prince, King of the Rioti’ordane

Legislature: High Council

Overview: Eyráne is the heart of the Rioti’ordan Domain, the home of the Rioti’ordane.  “They wanted to swallow up Anira with their grand military, their twisted beliefs” (TRoL—Prologue).  The Domain has long been the most militant of nations, holding the largest empire in the world.  Long since allied with them are the Dragons of Karanai and the Roesh of Roesha, the latter a race of minotaur-like people.  Many Rioti’ordane who subscribe to the Dominionist beliefs wish only for material power over the world, but there are many more Rioti’ordane who see the coming struggle as a holy crusade and their future worldwide power as their God-given destiny.  Not all Rioti’ordane hold these beliefs, however: there are still many more that have a much different sort of faith in secret—and this Remnant will be incredibly important in the years to come.

Karanai

Official name: Dependency of Karanai

Flag: the two moons (gold and silver) in crescent stage on a black field

Capital: Zhihkohn

Official language(s): Dragon, Rioti’ordan

Demonym: Karanaian(s)

Ethnic groups: 25% Dragons, 75% Rioti’ordane

Population: 100,000

Government: democratic republic answerable to an empire

Head of State: Lord of Karanai

Legislature: Assembly of Elders

Overview: Karanai is the homeland of the Dragons, long an ally of the Rioti’ordane and now codependent with the Domain.  The name Karanai is a Rioti’ordan word, for the Dragon’s name for their land is too difficult for humanoids to pronounce.  The Dragons mostly govern their own affairs via the Assembly of Elders, the patriarchs of the race.  The Lord of Karanai is merely the governor of the Rioti’ordane living in that land, and he remains answerable to the Assembly as well as the Rioti’ordan King.  There is a lasting bond of love between the two peoples, as well as an incredible advantage to the Domain, which is the only nation in Anira to have its own “air-force” due to Dragons in Domain military.  General Acvez, commander-in-chief of the Army of the Domain, is the son of the current Lord of Karanai, and being his father’s only male heir, is destined to become the Lord of Karanai himself.

Rayda

Official name: League of Raydan Provinces

Flag: pale gold sun radiating seven beams on an ice-blue field

Capital: Petensja

Official language(s): Raydan (Aniran and Correthaen spoken in different regions)

Demonym: Raydan(s)

Ethnic groups: 98% human, 2% misc. races due to commerce

Population: approx. 9,000,000 (in homeland)

Government: empire

Head of State: Kevsik or Kevsiki (currently Kevsik [often translated “emperor”])

Legislature: Kevsiketade (roughly translated to “emperor’s council”)

Overview: Rayda is one of the most northern nations in Anira, and a fair percentage of the vast land lies in tundra above the arctic circle.  By reason of its cool summers and inhospitable winters, it is sparsely populated—could every acre of the land be inhabited, it could hold far, far more than 9 million people.  Rayda, despite its longstanding empire of trade, has not until more recent years become a world power.  Rayda, bountiful in natural resources, holds a trade alliance with the Domain, which can provide military assistance should Rayda require it.  Rayda’s possession of Yleka and her alliance with the Domain are the primary reasons for the commencement of the imminent war.

The Players in the Game, Part I

Anira is full of different peoples and nations, but the ones we’ll concern ourselves with here are those directly involved in the outbreak of war in The Rise of a Legend.  Warning: certain details may be subject to change.

The Tri-Alliance

The Tri-Alliance is a military coalition comprised of the neighbor nations Cineach, Auden, and Correthae on the Raydan continent.  The alliance was first officially formed roughly two centuries before the events of TRoL, against the Rioti’ordan Domain in one of their several wars of conquest.

Cineach

Official name: Republic of Cineach

Flag: white tri-ray star ("knotted flames") on navy-blue field

Capital: Stess (population approx. 450,000)

Official language(s): Aniran, Evayan (native language)

Demonym: Cineachan(s)

Ethnic groups: 50% human, 48% Evayan (largest Evayan population [3,840,000] outside Aodh), 2% misc. races due to commerce

Population: approx. 8,000,000

Government: constitutional republic

Head of State: traditionally Cullan (literally "Chieftain," but translated to "Governor")

Legislature: traditionally bicameral Oireacht na Senans ("Council of Senators")

Overview: Cineach is one of Anira’s oldest nations, and the homeland of the original Árd Ríon, or High Queen, of Anira.  So in YBK 15, the head of one of the largest clans—Meldia—brought his family and his friends’ families and their neighbors together to form a unified entity that they called Cineach.  In Old Evayan, the word literally means “born of fire.”  (Unfinished data draft)  The race known as the Evaya is strongly tied to Cineach as their homeland, the origin of their language, art, and overall culture.  Cineach has also long been recognized as a land of freedom and opportunity (as well as the breeding ground of many of the finest horses in the world.  As a result, the first race of the Ríanyan Stakes is held just outside the capital Stess, the Stessian Grand Run).  Cineach was formerly a constitutional monarchy, with her Rí Ruirech (lit. “Provincial King”) bowing to the High King and Queen as the direct sovereigns of Cineach, a political situation unique to that nation.  However, with the fall of the High Kingdom, the last Ríon (queen) Ruirech stepped down from her throne and helped the Oireacht form the Republic of Cineach, the oldest lasting republic in Anira.

Auden

Official name: Kingdom of Auden

Flag: gold eagle with wide wingspan on russet field

Capital: Denster (pop. 500,000)

Official language(s): Aniran (Evayan fairly widespread but not official)

Demonym: Audenian(s)

Ethnic groups: 83% human, 15% Evayan, 2% misc. races due to commerce

Population: approx. 8,500,000

Government: constitutional monarchy

Head of State: King or Queen (currently Queen)

Legislature: Assemblage of Ministers

Overview: Auden is a younger nation than Cineach, having been formed out of smaller kingdoms that were fought over repeatedly in centuries gone by—however, it was in this land that the oldest human families lived before spreading out across the world.  Auden is Cineach’s ethnically-closest neighbor, with a large portion of Audenians holding a strain of Cineachan blood.  The nation is also ideologically closer to her neighbor than most other nations, in matters of politics, religion, and ethics.  Auden has the unenviable distinction of being the only nation facing Eyráne, homeland of the Rioti’ordane, across the Kidrin River—and has long lived in fear of being the Rioti’ordan Domain’s next target for conquest.  Auden is called a kingdom but is technically a small empire, with several southwestern territories.

Correthae

Official name: Realm of Correthae

Flag: silver crown with an inscription in white below the crown on a pale green field

Capital: LuMiare (population approx. 900,000)

Official language(s): Correthaen (Aniran widely spoken but not official)

Demonym: Correthaen(s)

Ethnic groups: 94.5% human, 5% Evayan, .5% misc. races due to commerce

Population: approx. 9,000,000

Government: feudal monarchy

Head of State: King or Queen (currently King)

Legislature: House of Lords

Overview: Correthae is about the same age as Auden for similar reasons, and is ethnically separate from Auden and Cineach.  Correthae is the only member of the Tri-Alliance that does not hold Aniran as an official language, and is the largest nation by population.  The country is one of the wealthiest northern realms, with the economy fueled by mining, artisanship, and the medieval stock market—and Correthae is also said to possess some of the finest culinary artists in Anira.

Yleka

Official name: Province of Yleka/Free State of Yleka

Flag: white star on a black field

Capital: Stalabeck

Official language(s): Ylekan, Raydan (Aniran widely spoken but not official)

Demonym: Ylekan(s)

Ethnic groups: 92% Ylekan, 2% Raydan human, 1% Zharatzhan, 5% mixed

Population: 2,600,000

Government: League of Raydan Provinces (empire)/Council of Representatives (republic)

Head of State: Kevsik of Rayda/none yet for the Free State of Yleka

Legislature: Council of Representatives

Overview: Yleka is not a member of the Tri-Alliance, but it is because of Yleka’s declaration of secession from Rayda that the coalition has been renewed.  The northern nation-state is not large, but it is the only home of an entire race of humanoid people, the Ylekans.  They have been under Raydan domination for centuries in payment of an old debt, but with growing tyranny from Rayda, the Ylekans have chafed more and more under their submission until now, when they are declaring their independence at last.  “They are known for being hardy and industrious, and, of late, have rivaled the Rioti’ordane in their militant nature” (TRoL Glossary—Races).  Yleka lies on Cineach’s northern border.

Aodh

Official name: State of Aodh

Flag: gold phoenix on a royal blue field

Capital: Dún Sairse

Official language(s): Evayan/Cineachan (Aniran widely spoken but not official)

Demonym: Aodhan(s) (also known simply as Evayans)

Ethnic groups: 94.5% Evayan, .5% human, 5% mixed

Population: 4,750,000

Government: constitutional republic

Head of State: Cullan

Legislature: Oireacht na Senans

Overview: A nation never even actually seen in TRoL, Aodh is nonetheless important, not only as the homeland of Gwilym Fire-of-Skies but as a staunch Cineachan ally.  Aodh is the one nation in Anira that is strictly Evayan, and was created less than a hundred years ago in the southern deserts.  Since then, Evayans from all four corners of the world have flocked to Aodh to unite under one banner, hoping to grow strong enough to be a world power in their own right in the inevitable war.  Aodh’s hot desert/steppe climate is a startling contrast to the wet, temperate, green North to which most Evayans gravitate, but they endure and thrive here, nevertheless.

Dramatis Personae, Part V

Here we are—our last day in exploring the dramatis personae.

Tri-Alliance

The Tri-Alliance is a military coalition formed of the nations Cineach, Auden, and Correthae.  The Fire-of-Skies and Rider-of-Stars families reside in Cineach’s capital, Stess.

Sir Holden Crofter: human; knight, horse-owner and trainer

Character Development: Sir Holden has been around since ’05 and has always been Aleine’s “boss.”  He’s a jolly sort of fellow, and treats Aleine rather like a favored niece.

Jon Irkenbrande: human, Cullan of Cineach

Character Development: Irkenbrande (ir-ken-brand) first appeared sometime before TRoL, though the date is uncertain.  There is actually a minor character in The Lord of the Rings with the name Erkenbrand, but by the time I remembered this fact, the Cullan’s name had become too ingrained to change.  Originally, Irkenbrande’s title as head of state in Cineach was Governor, but when Cineach became much more “Celticized” in ’09, a more Gaelic title was called for.  The name Cullen is a diminutive for the name Coll, which means chieftain.  Hence, in this world, Cullan (kuhl-lahn) holds a similar meaning: TRoL’s glossary of terms’ definition says Cineachan Head-of-State, originating as “chieftain”.

Lotte Jreine: human, Director of Cineachan Intelligence

Character Development: (loht zhrayn) Jreine was born with TRoL, an intelligent woman in a high position (like LotR and Narnia, The Phoenix and the Dragon is not completely medieval).  Lotte actually comes from the name Charlotte, and the surname Jreine is rather feminine on purpose.

Shea Muirechadh: Evayan, second-in-command of the Cineachan Army

Character Development: (shay moo-rah-hoo) Originally a barely-seen supporting character, General Muirechadh is now receiving much more screentime as the general to whom Fælen and Gwilym now report.

Kyeth Portsom: human, Commanding General of the Audenian Army

Character Development: The hardest part in creating General Portsom was naming him—that was tough.  Other than that, there’s not much to say.

Ita Seeve: human, General Wood’s aunt, unofficial head of the Audenian Resistance

Character Development: Ita is something of a mother-hen figure, both to her nephew and to the whole Audenian resistance.  Her name actually comes from Ida.

Bret Weylin: half-Evayan/half-human, Commanding General of the Cineachan Army

Character Development: Weylin (way-lin) is the “Old Man of the Army,” a soldier unsure of whether or not he believes in a higher power.  General Weylin was originally purely human, but when further development of Cineach as both a place and a people decided a fair percentage of the population to be a human/Evayan mix, I decided to make one of the higher-ups a half-blood.  The honor fell to Weylin.

Jym Wood: human, Lieutenant General of the 2^nd Corps, Commander of the Audenian Resistance

Character Development: Wood was originally second-in-command, but one issue that I can’t specify due to spoilers made it so that he couldn’t be quite so highly placed.

Next time, we dig into the various nations and political entities in TRoL!  Stay tuned!

Dramatis Personae, Part IV

Rioti’ordan Domain

In’06, a race of hideous creatures, the Tiords, appeared on the scene to be the servants of the primary villain.  The reason for their transformation is one of those details unfortunately lost amongst a mess of drafts and emails, but transform they did, and magnificently.  Tolkien fans will appreciate the significance of a comparison of Uruk-hai becoming Numenorians—for those of you don’t know Tolkien, suffice to say that grotesque humanoids became almost superhuman beings, to put it simply.  The Rioti’ordane are now a people of beauty, pride, and power.

Da’el Acvez: young Lord Supreme (Commanding General) of the Rioti’ordan Army and son of the Rioti’ordan Lord of Karanai, bondmates with Eytan

Character Development: (dah’el ahk-veth) Acvez is the oldest and only surviving Rioti’ordan from their earliest incarnation.  His original name was Bordacvez (bor-dahk-vehz), which became Bordan Acvez in the ’08 TRoL.  His given name, however didn’t really sound Riot’ordan, so after a while of playing with the surname, I came up with Da’el, based on Daniel.  Acvez has always been a man of honor, even in the early days, and is even now not a true villain.  He’s a general (actually Commander-in-Chief) who is passionate about his job and is doing his duty to his King, his people, and his Maker.  Acvez is also rather inspired by Star Wars’ Grand Admiral Thrawn, as well as a good friend of mine (with his blessing).

Mikai Aryn: Lord, Minister of War, Dienri’s maternal cousin

Character Development: (mih-keye ah-dhin) Aryn, like most of the Rioti’ordan characters, was created in ’08 for TRoL, and rather inspired by Gordon Currie’s performance as Nikolai Carpathia in the Left Behind films.  Yes, he’s one of the bad guys.

Eyanza Serezen Beitel: Princess of the Rioti’ordane, Resistance operative in Atar’ante

Character Development: Eyanza (eye-yahn-thah) was another character created in ’08.  She was a very new type of character to me: a Princess right around the age of 40, the mother of a teenager, and a widow.  Plumbing Eyanza’s depths is never easy, but always interesting.

Jeseya Beitel: 17-year-old Prince of the Rioti’ordane, son of Sir Kalev and Eyanza Beitel

Character Development: Jeseya (jeh-say-ah) is classically prince-who-doesn’t-want-to-be-prince, much to his mother’s chagrin.  His name comes from King Josiah, the boy-king who returned the Southern Kingdom of Judah to God.  However, Jeseya’s name can also be derived from another Hebrew name, Yesha’yahu, or Yeshaiah.  In English, that name is Isaiah, and means Yahweh is Salvation—a fitting name for the young prince.

Sir Kalev Beitel: late husband of Princess Eyanza and son of the lord of Geyona, knight, Resistance operative in the Domain

Character Development: (kay-lev bay-ih-tel) Unfortunately, not much—the only times we ever actually see Sir Kalev are in flashbacks.  Kalev was named after Caleb, one of the two Israelites of the first generation who survived the forty years of wandering in the wilderness to enter Canaan (Joshua was the other).

Deno: Lieutenant General of the 5^th Corps

Character Development: Deno (day-no) is a character whose existence was slightly inspired by Admiral Piett from Star Wars: a supporting role, a man who is not evil but is on the wrong side.

Eytan: black Dragon, member of the Karanai Corps, bondmates of General Acvez

Character Development: Eytan (eye-tahn) is an interesting character to work with, considering what he is.  The rules are slightly different with him—“he’s not a tame Dragon.”  Eytan, believe it or not, is derived from Ethan.

Lycana: 19-year-old Royal Agent, favored by Dienri

Character Development: (lih-kahn-ah) Her name is derived from Lycaonia, meaning she-wolf.  Lycana has only a small role in the first installment of The Phoenix and the Dragon, but her character will become more important in future episodes.

Dienri Serezen: King of the Rioti’ordane

Character Development: (dee-en-ree ser-eth-en) The readily evident villain.  One might not call him evil right off the bat—nevertheless, his philosophies are completely wrong.  He and his daughter Eyanza are two of the very few Rioti’odane with completely made-up names (Dienri was originally Dienre).

Yanna: Rioti’ordan with a trace of Evayan, operator of an orphanage in Atar’ante, Resistance contact in Atar’ante

Character Development: Yanna (yahn-nah) is inspired by a real-life person, the Irish missionary Amy Carmichael: Yanna’s orphanage parallels Amy Carmichael’s work with the orphans of India in the 19^th century.  Yanna was originally fully half-Evayan, but that changed when it was decided that the Fire-of-Skies children would be the only people living who were half-Evayan/half-Rioti’ordan.  Yanna is the feminine form of the Breton and Cornish Yann, or John, meaning God is gracious.

Dramatis Personae, Part III

In which we continue to explore the characters and their developments:

Fælen and Gwilym’s Resistance Team

Karadoc Colter: 25-year-old Audenian human, archer and optimist

Character Development: (kair-a-dok col-ter) Originally twenty-six, and I don’t remember why I changed his age by one year.  Anyway, Karadoc is the kid-at-heart of the team, somewhat inspired by Wes Janson of Rogue Squadron from Star Wars.  He’s also the foil to the team pessimist, Sulian.

Niadh Daely: Kintian human, archer

Character Development: (nee-ath day-lee) A sharp-shootin’ archer, Niadh didn’t receive his surname (along with most of the team) until the ’09 rewrite.

Ky Dren: 19-year-old Sakimin human, adopted brother of Karadoc

Character Development: (keye dren) Ky’s name was originally Elidr, and an Aodhan (Gwilym’s homeland) human.  But to give the too-Celtic team a little diversity, Elidr’s background changed.  Ky now hails from Sakimi (comparable to Japan).

Trenien Ice-of-Moon: (nickname Tren) 19-year-old Kintian Evayan

Character Development: (treh-nee-en) Trenien has been kicking around the story almost as long as Fælen has—originally, he was older, and his early character was comparable to the Elven lords Gildor and Glorfindel of The Lord of the Rings.  Now, he’s younger, and a companion to Evynn Rider-of-Stars.  Trenien is one of the very few characters with a name not related to any real-life language.

Jos Kiarin: Cineachan human, retired Lieutenant of the Sommer 58^th Regiment

Character Development: (johs kee-ar-awn) Originally named Jor Rane, Jos has always been the veteran of the group, possibly a bit stereotyped.

Torin Moorey: Cineachan human

Character Development: (tor-in moo-ree) Shamelessly inspired by both Thorin Oakenshield and Beorn of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Torin is also classic 19^th century Irish soldier.  He’s huge, strong, jolly when in a good mood, and a sight to behold when in a temper (though you’d better make sure to stay well away).

Devlyn Sirzhain: (nickname Dev) 18-year-old Zharatzhan

Character Development: (dev-lin sir-zhayn) Devlyn’s character originally died young, sometime in ’05 or ‘06.  His original purpose was to be a friend of Evynn’s who was killed in a skirmish, but as time went on, he survived as a living character.  Devlyn remains Evynn’s friend, but is now a calm, aloof, sensible sort of young man, rather inspired by Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars character Thrawn, Grand Admiral in the Galactic Empire.  Devlyn was also once an Evayan, but with the arrival of the first draft of TRoL, his nationality shifted to Zharatzhan (originally called Jordien).  Devlyn and Trenien, alongside Faelen and Gwilym, are two of the rare characters who have had the same name from conception.

Sulian Urcart: Kintian human, pessimist

Character Development: (soo-leen-en irk-art) More shameless inspiration is taken from C. S. Lewis’s Puddleglum, a supporting protagonist from The Chronicles of Narnia.  Like Puddleglum, Sulian is terminally pessimist but with a heart of gold.  He and Karadoc clash often but good-naturedly.

Dramatis Personae, Part II

In which we continue to explore the characters and their developments:

The Rider-of-Stars Family

Fælen: (nickname Fay) 40-year-old Evayan, member of Resistance High Command, Captain in the Cineachan Army, partner of Gwilym Fire-of-Skies

Character Development: Fælen (fay-e-len) has existed longer than his partner has, being conceived only a couple of months after the first draft of the Elaine story (see previous post for dates).  His name is one of the few “good-guy” names without Celtic origin, though Celtic parallels can still be drawn—his name actually originated in the girls’ name Faolan (fah-len).  Fælen’s original appearance was very comparable to Orlando Bloom’s Legolas in the LotR films, but with the rewrite of TRoL, his looks and even his personality changed drastically—actually to differentiate between him and Gwilym, as they were much too similar.  Fælen and his firstborn son were originally portrayed as a father-son team, with varying back-stories as to the mother in the family, ranging from “at home” to dead.

Rhian: 40-year-old Evayan, wife of Fælen

Character Development: Rhian (hree-an) made her first true appearance roughly the same time that Gwilym did, and eventually ended up Gwilym’s cousin, lending a back-story as to how Gwilym and Fælen met.  Rhian is very much a supporting character rather than an acting character, but her role of support is what her friend Mairéad Fire-of-Skies needs.

Evynn: (nickname Ev) 18-year-old eldest child, member of his father’s Resistance team, volunteer in the army

Character Development: Evynn is only other character besides Aleine surviving, in different incarnations, from the original ’04 story—interestingly, a combination of two characters, Lenirvas and Erridyn.  Both characters had their origins in The Lord of the Rings: Lenirvas, a blond Elven archer-prince like Legolas, and Erridyn, a human king-in-hiding like Aragorn.  In later stories, the characters merged, though I really don’t remember how.  The main-hero-throughout-the-years remained blond and a world-class archer, but also became a king-in-hiding, and the name Erridyn eventually became Evynn.  In this transitional  period between ’04 and ’08, the hero also became a man one could identify with Robin Hood.  Evynn used to be an exact physical copy of his father, but in ’09, Evynn retained his father’s facial features and original coloring while Fælen’s physical appearance changed almost completely.  Originally 16 in TRoL, Evynn became 18 in the ’09 rewrite so as to maintain the longstanding 2-year difference between himself and the twins.

Maiwen: (nickname Mai) 17-year-old eldest girl, scientist-in-the-making

Character Development: Maiwen (meye-win) was born in ’08 with the majority of the younger characters in TRoL, and quickly became similar to the character Mary Ellen in the ‘70s family show The Waltons: feisty, outspoken, tomboyish, and a bit obnoxious.  Like Evynn and actually half of the children of both families, Maiwen’s age changed when the twins’ did—originally 15, she became 17.

Caddell: 15-year-old

Character Development: Unfortunately, there’s not much to say about Caddell.  He’s rather something of an extra, almost—the character that you know has to be there, but just doesn’t make it on-screen very often.

Deniel: 14-year-old

Character Development: Just about ditto, sorry.  He (den-yil) and Caddell are pals with Duncan Fire-of-Skies, but that’s about it.  Except that his name is Brittany’s form of Daniel.

Sibéal: 11-year-old

Character Development: Sibéal (shib-bayl) is sort of a companion for Duana Fire-of-Skies.  What I really like about her is her name—Sibéal is actually the Irish form of Elizabeth (Hebrew Elisheba: God is my oath).

Kenn: 8-year-old

Character Development: He’s a sweetheart, just like one of my brothers when he was little.  At least the younger children have some background in that all the little ones in both families were inspired by my youngest siblings.

Neil: 6-year-old

Character Development: …I hate not having much to say about my characters, but honestly? these are child extras.  These are the kids that you pay a lot of money for in a film just so that you can see them for all of five minutes total.  Probably less.

Miach: 4-year-old

Character Development: Miach’s (mee-ach/mee-ahk—“ach” as in “Bach”) name was originally Cullen.  Then it came to be that the Governor of Cineach became the Cullan (Gaelic coll, or chieftain) of Cineach.  So little Cullen had to get a new name to avoid confusion.

Bridey: 3-year-old

Character Development: Cute little girl and holy terror.  Bridey (breye-dee) is a “made-up” diminutive of the name Brigid (Irish saint Brigid of Kildare).

Dramatis Personae, Part I

In which we begin to explore the characters and their developments, starting with:

The Fire-of-Skies Family

Gwilym: (nickname Gwil) 37-year-old Aodhan Evayan, member of Resistance High Command, Captain in the Cineachan Army, partner of Fælen Rider-of-Stars

Character Development: Gwilym (gwil-lim) is a relatively young character to the story, some two or three years younger than his own daughter is in real life.  He was fully conceived as a character back in late ’06 or early ’07, when I decided that the heroine would no longer be an adopted orphan and that I would explore the history of her parents.  Gwilym is one of the very few main characters that have never undergone a name change—and his name is the Welsh version of William.

Mairéad: (birth name Mairah) 35-year-old Rioti’ordan, former Resistance operative

Character Development: Mairéad (mah-rayd) has been in the game ever since the fantasy turned from the original LotR cop-off to something a bit more like Eragon.  Her name has always begun with an “M” (originally Mereäré), and she initially featured only in a prologue in which she delivered her daughter to safety before being killed.  With the advent of Gwilym’s entrance, however, she managed to survive as a living character.  About the time the first draft of The Rise of a Legend (TRoL) was beginning, I decided that she would be a Rioti’ordan—the Rioti’ordane being the primary antagonists of the story.  This added a whole new dimension to the Fire-of-Skies family: most importantly, that the children (crucially important in the case of twins Aleine and Aidin) are half-Evayan, half-Rioti’ordan.  These are two races that have been at odds with each other since ancient times, making the marriage an extremely rare one.  Mairéad is the Irish form of Margaret (actually inspired by the Irish fiddler Mairéad Nesbitt of Celtic Women fame), and Mairah is derived from the Hebrew Marah, meaning bitter.

Aleine: (nickname Leine) 16-year-old eldest child, twins with Aidin, eochaidh, militia volunteer

Character Development: Aleine (a-layn) is one of the oldest surviving characters of the first attempt at Anira, and the reigning heroine throughout.  Her first incarnation was as Eläené, the princess-like daughter of the lord and lady of angelic beings that were a direct take on J. R. R. Tolkien’s Valar of The Silmarillion.  Several months later, the story changed drastically, and the angelic Eläené became an Elvish thirteen-year-old by the name of Elaine.  Elaine’s early story could be summarized as an orphan discovering her heritage and growing to live up to her destiny, similar to Tolkien’s hero Aragorn.  Around the conception of The Rise of a Legend, Elaine became Aleine, now fourteen and no longer an orphan.  In the redraft of TRoL, Aleine became a more realistic sixteen, and in this third draft of the novel, she takes on the more realistic role of a young woman who wants to fight but does not see full-pitched battle (originally, she did and was quite the fighter).  Eochaidh (yoch-hee) is Gaelic for horse-rider, from which we get our English word jockey—hence, Aleine is a horse jockey.  Aleine is the Welsh form of the name Elaine, related to the Greek Helen: helios, meaning sun.

Aidin: (nickname Aid) 16-year-old, twins with Aleine, militia volunteer

Character Development: Aidin (ay-din) was conceived in the fall of ’05, originally going under the name of Nathien, and then Arthur, before finally ending up Aidin.  With the focus of the story on a young girl, I didn’t want to lose the attention of a young male audience, and Nathien was born into the story as Elaine’s twin—unbeknownst to them in true Luke-Skywalker-and-Princess-Leia fashion.  Despite the fact that Aidin had a good deal of screen-time at the start of his career, it was not until The Rise of a Legend that he finally received better character development in-universe.  His name, strictly speaking, does not exist in reality, but is related to the Gaelic aodh, or fire (ironically, pronounced “may”).

Duncan: 14-year-old

Character Development: Duncan is a little younger than his brother, both in-universe and in real life.  Originally, he was the eldest child of the family that had adopted Elaine, and therefore of no biological relation to her at all.  With the advent of living parents for the twins, however, Duncan became Aleine’s little brother in blood as well as in fact.  Duncan has always been rather a stereotypical little brother, but no less fun writing for that, despite the small amount of screen-time he now receives.

Duana: 11-year-old

Character Development: Duana (doo-awn-ah) was the first of the “new batch” of children conceived as the twins’ younger siblings, in filling the blanks from 14-year-old (originally 11) Duncan to an at-the-time unnamed toddler.

Rae: 8-year-old

Character Development: Rae (ray) was next in line, and became the unfortunate sibling to be bestowed the role of “trouble child” (at least one of them had to do it).

Galvin: 5-year-old

Character Development: Rather inspired by a real-life little boy, Galvin was created as the sibling in that wonderful stage between toddler-hood and early adolescence.

Kelly: 3-year-old

Character Development: Not a little girl—Kelly happens to be a boy’s name as well.  The wee laddie is as much a darling as he is a holy terror—and though he gets very little screen-time, you can easily imagine that he doesn’t exactly make life easy for his older siblings (nor does his brother Galvin, who practically taught him everything he knows).

Possible Dust Jacket Blurb

She saw men picking up their weapons and bidding their families farewell, saw boys in fields shaking hands as some among them put down their tools and heft shoulder bags.  Saw wives anxiously reading letters from their soldier husbands, girls collecting supplies to send their men and wondering whether or not the boys they loved would be returning home.  All across Anira—the places, the people, were all different, but the scenes were ever the same.

Aleine Fire-of-Skies is a young horse jockey growing up in the capital of one of Anira’s greatest nations, a gifted girl born of two very different peoples.  But she and her family are about to be plunged into one of the most devastating conflicts her world has ever seen, and she herself is about to enter into the adventure of a lifetime.

Even as the storm breaks loose, a ray of sunshine is ready to chase the darkness away…

(I am merely experimenting with writing blurbs here—the story is so multifaceted that it was difficult to compress it to something so concise.)

The Genesis of an Adventure

Early 2004, a fantasy realm was created, populated by angelic beings, mythical creatures, and magical jewels.  Over the years, that realm has grown slowly into the world now known as Anira, the world of The Phoenix and the Dragon.

I was a young teenager with an obsessive love for The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and that love culminated in my first attempt at a fantasy novel.  Needless to say, that first attempt failed, mostly due to my realization that I was copping off of The Fellowship of the Ring.  As time went on, my subsequent attempts continued to reflect my reading habits, resembling not only Tolkien’s works, but Star Wars, Eragon, The Chronicles of Narnia, and various other books at different points.

In July 2008, I was a homeschool graduate trying to gather my fresh ideas together to create a story that used many old elements but was itself very much original.  Then my father happened upon the Christian Writers Guild, and their Operation First Novel contest.  The winning novel would be published by Tyndale, with a $20,000 check to the author.  It was a good incentive to write the first complete draft of my book, with just one little problem: all entries were due October 1^st.  And it was the third or fourth week of July.

I had only two months in which to write a complete 75,000-word novel, and I had never even come half that far before in my various drafts.  This challenge required drastic measures.

For two months, I was often exempt from my normal chores, and I often typed away late into the night—sometimes as late as 11:30 pm.  I did very little else in those two months.

But, miracle of miracles, I completed the draft in time, spent about two weeks working out the kinks, and mailed it off a little over a week before the deadline.  I didn’t harbor high hopes of winning, but I did allow myself to wish for the semifinals.

In November, I received a notification that I had not made the semifinals.  I was disappointed, but not surprised.  The next several months were not at all productive in the realm of original writing, but all was not lost.  I was still writing stories, and my skills were ever improving.

The next summer, I recovered sufficiently from a brief bout of depression concerning my book, enough to produce another draft for the ’09 Operation First Novel.  Once again, I lost the round.  This time, however, the experience was liberating.

This time, my family and I decided I would self-publish.

In the past year, various elements have been picked up, analyzed, and edited to improve the story.  In an all-the-way-through edit of the book, I have rewritten/edited 6 out of 20 chapters, and cut out a superfluous introduction.  It would be nice to say that the book will be finished this winter, but I don’t want to give anyone false hopes, so my tentative release date is Spring 2011.

This blog will track the progress of the edits being made on The Phoenix and the Dragon, Book I: The Rise of a Legend.  Stay tuned for more!