The Children of Light are the true rulers of the Sandleyr. There are supposed to be two in each kingdom, the Day and the Night Kingdoms. If there is only one Child of Light in a kingdom, they are going to be very busy trying to handle the emotions of every creature in the Sandleyr. They can feel the pain of someone dying, and they can sense if someone is sad or frightened. If there is only one Child of Light, this empathic sense is stronger. That is probably one reason why the Fire Queen kills humans; it keeps Lady Rulsaesan weak, and possibly prevents the lost Child of Light from gaining his or her powers.
One positive thing about being a Child of Light is that they sense all of the good emotions as well. Love is the strongest of these emotions; luckily, Lady Rulsaesan has been surrounded by it. If Jena and Senraeno are going to defeat the Fire Queen, they must rely on love...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Music in the Sandleyr
Though the Onizards do not have music apart from percussion (from flapping their wings and stomping their feet, of course), I have found myself playing around with music editing software to create some for them. Idenno the Watchzard has his own theme song, as does the sick version of Mekanni. Perhaps one day I'll create theme songs for all of the characters, but writing music is more challenging for me than writing a novel. Some of the music I've created sounded fine when I was editing it, but when I played it back I got frustrated by the arrangement and had to rewrite almost everything. When I'm ready to share it, though, I'm not going to mess with the arrangement any more. I'm not trying to be Bach or Mozart here; I'm just trying to have a little bit of fun.
On that note, let me share a recent composition, with an excerpt from "The Zarder" as a bonus:
On that note, let me share a recent composition, with an excerpt from "The Zarder" as a bonus:
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Spotlight On: Jena
Aliases: "the brightest star in the heavens", the Zarder, "the red-haired girl", "the daughter of a troublemaker"
Race: Human
Age: 16
Sex: Female
Notable Things About Her:
* At the beginning of the novel, she managed to escape the Fire Queen's leyr alive by pretending to be incredibly happy to be there. Since this was the site of her mother's death some six years before, saying this was not an easy feat would be like saying climbing Mount Everest is not a nice stroll.
* As the first human Bonded to an Onizard, Jena must have a mind strong enough to handle the emotions and pain of a growing dragon-like creature and keep them separate from her own emotions. Senraeno's brain is eventually going to be twice her size; this means Jena must have a deeply hidden but strong psychic power. The Onizards would call this the "light".
* Jena is one of a select few beings who has met all three of the current Children of Light (no one knows where the fourth one is).
Notable Quote:
“I only hope that I can do the best I can to prove my worth. I think that’s what my mother would have wanted.”
Excerpt: Prologue, or A Tale the Onizards Tell Their Children Under the Starlight
At the beginning of time, the Great Lord of the Sky created the world. Upon his command, the barren rock turned to precious fields of oats, vast forests, mighty seas, and the tall, proud mountains. Then, when the world was finished, the Lord realized that there was something missing in the world. For, though he was mightier than the seas and taller than the tallest of mountains, he was lonely. Without any living creatures, the world itself was a waste of effort. Thus, when all was prepared, he created the Onizards, humans, and other creatures of the world.
The Great Lord of the Sky loved variety, and so he made certain that the world was populated with many good elements. From the deepest part of the mountains, he created the Children of Fire, Onizards with the power to breathe flame. From the soil he created the Children of Earth, Onizards with incredible powers of healing. From the strongest gusts of the first storm he created the small but swift Children of Wind, and from the rain itself he created the Children of Water.
All seemed right in the world at first, but there was no light. The Lord had saved this for the right time, but without the light the Onizards could not see they were all the same race with different abilities. Demons amongst the various Children persuaded them to be heartless and cruel toward the other elements, and many unspeakable crimes occurred during that time that would cause the majority of modern Onizards to hang their heads in shame. In one terrible battle, the Children of Fire destroyed the homes and nesting grounds of the Children of Water. When hope for the Water Children seemed lost, and the last daughter of the Water Chieftain was about to be incinerated along with the rest of her clan, Senbralfi, son of the Fire Chieftain, threw himself between the two clans and sacrificed himself to save her life.
The Child of Fire had been the first being in the world to truly love another, and this did not go unnoticed by the Great Lord of the Sky. Instead of letting the young Onizard die, the Lord bestowed in him the light so desperately needed in the world, and he became Senbralni, the first Child of Light.
While Senbralni lived, all saw that he was a blessed Onizard, and they became united under his command. He guided them in building a new home where the homes of the Water Children once stood, and they built a new nesting location high above the ground. They called the new home the Sandleyr, and they called Senbralni the Leyrkan, heart of their home. The few who did not accept him were driven out of the united Onizard clan to be killed by the human tribes.
When all of his work was finished, Senbralni relinquished his physical form to become part of the sky itself. Though this new sun was a powerful source of light for half of the time of the world, it was not all of the light that had been given to Senbralni. The remaining light divided among all of the creatures of the world, though it did not divide equally. Most of it went to Senbralni’s four children, who became the new Children of Light.
It was then that they discovered their father’s secret, both a blessing and a curse; with the powers of Light came the power to feel the emotions and pain of all around them. Together they decided to divide their ruling duties, for none of them could handle their new powers on their own. Telgrasan and Marulsan ruled during the time their father was in the sky; Maraeni and Mebralni ruled when their father was not in the sky. This system of a Day Kingdom and a Night Kingdom worked well throughout the years to maintain order and stability in the Sandleyr. When one Child of Light died, his or her chosen heir would gain the powers of Light. The chain continued unbroken until Ammasan of the Day Kingdom died without naming her heir.
In the resulting chaos, Deybralfi, daughter of Ammasan, claimed the title of Queen and turned the Sandleyr toward a dark path. Human beings were captured and forced into slave labor for the self-proclaimed Fire Queen, and Onizards neglected to give respect to the remaining Children of Light, even going out of their way to avoid the Leyrkan of the Night Kingdom. Some would say that they even forgot how to love, for during that time there were no mothers tenderly guarding their eggs.
Throughout this, the saying of Senmani, a former ruler of the Night Kingdom, entered the hearts of those still loyal to the path of good Onizards: love will keep you strong, even when all strengths fail. Perhaps that can explain the strange tale of the Zarder.
The Great Lord of the Sky loved variety, and so he made certain that the world was populated with many good elements. From the deepest part of the mountains, he created the Children of Fire, Onizards with the power to breathe flame. From the soil he created the Children of Earth, Onizards with incredible powers of healing. From the strongest gusts of the first storm he created the small but swift Children of Wind, and from the rain itself he created the Children of Water.
All seemed right in the world at first, but there was no light. The Lord had saved this for the right time, but without the light the Onizards could not see they were all the same race with different abilities. Demons amongst the various Children persuaded them to be heartless and cruel toward the other elements, and many unspeakable crimes occurred during that time that would cause the majority of modern Onizards to hang their heads in shame. In one terrible battle, the Children of Fire destroyed the homes and nesting grounds of the Children of Water. When hope for the Water Children seemed lost, and the last daughter of the Water Chieftain was about to be incinerated along with the rest of her clan, Senbralfi, son of the Fire Chieftain, threw himself between the two clans and sacrificed himself to save her life.
The Child of Fire had been the first being in the world to truly love another, and this did not go unnoticed by the Great Lord of the Sky. Instead of letting the young Onizard die, the Lord bestowed in him the light so desperately needed in the world, and he became Senbralni, the first Child of Light.
While Senbralni lived, all saw that he was a blessed Onizard, and they became united under his command. He guided them in building a new home where the homes of the Water Children once stood, and they built a new nesting location high above the ground. They called the new home the Sandleyr, and they called Senbralni the Leyrkan, heart of their home. The few who did not accept him were driven out of the united Onizard clan to be killed by the human tribes.
When all of his work was finished, Senbralni relinquished his physical form to become part of the sky itself. Though this new sun was a powerful source of light for half of the time of the world, it was not all of the light that had been given to Senbralni. The remaining light divided among all of the creatures of the world, though it did not divide equally. Most of it went to Senbralni’s four children, who became the new Children of Light.
It was then that they discovered their father’s secret, both a blessing and a curse; with the powers of Light came the power to feel the emotions and pain of all around them. Together they decided to divide their ruling duties, for none of them could handle their new powers on their own. Telgrasan and Marulsan ruled during the time their father was in the sky; Maraeni and Mebralni ruled when their father was not in the sky. This system of a Day Kingdom and a Night Kingdom worked well throughout the years to maintain order and stability in the Sandleyr. When one Child of Light died, his or her chosen heir would gain the powers of Light. The chain continued unbroken until Ammasan of the Day Kingdom died without naming her heir.
In the resulting chaos, Deybralfi, daughter of Ammasan, claimed the title of Queen and turned the Sandleyr toward a dark path. Human beings were captured and forced into slave labor for the self-proclaimed Fire Queen, and Onizards neglected to give respect to the remaining Children of Light, even going out of their way to avoid the Leyrkan of the Night Kingdom. Some would say that they even forgot how to love, for during that time there were no mothers tenderly guarding their eggs.
Throughout this, the saying of Senmani, a former ruler of the Night Kingdom, entered the hearts of those still loyal to the path of good Onizards: love will keep you strong, even when all strengths fail. Perhaps that can explain the strange tale of the Zarder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)