So, What Is The Deeper Story Here?

Grand, complex stories have always fascinated me. I love J.R.R. Tolkien. I love how his vision of Middle Earth was complete. Different people groups, different languages, histories, mythologies - no detail was overlooked in his books. Stephen R. Donaldson does the same with his Thomas Covenant stories. Deep layers of entire cultures maintained inside the minds and imaginations of excellent storytellers.

Once of the premises I created in CATALYST and the Guardian Stories is that mankind has been re-populated with limited genetic difference. When only 40,000+ people survived on the planet, in widely spread Sanctuaries, certain genetic traits would be eliminated. (Evolutionists don't cheer too quickly!)

The most predominate trait on the planet is dark hair and dark eyes, mainly black/brown hair and brown eyes. Therefore a large percentage of the new human populations would have dark hair and eyes. As the blood began to change from the radioactive exposure, the new traits were not physical changes, such as hair or eye color. These radioactive treatments gave rise to powers of consciousness. So, let's explore these newly created powers.

Can being a warrior be a power? Of course, there are aspects to warfare that lend themselves to enhanced psychic powers. Night vision without mechanical enhancement, the ability to track the enemy by visualizing their tracks on the ground, these are only a few examples of where natural ability amplified would benefit. What if you could anticipate your opponent's moves? Is that an unfair advantage?

Healers represent the other end of the spectrum, the most wonderful reward mankind could be given. To read a person's energy, to reach into their hidden places and determine what illness or malady afflicts them without the assistance of a machine or labs to decipher a magnitude of test - oh what doctor wouldn't want that ability? To use natural rhythms of the earth and to help the body heal itself is the highest goal of a Healer.

In the next update we will discuss Mystics and their scheming to control mankind and the world they live in.

What About A Villain?

OK, so I have introduced our hero and our heroine. But what about a villain? That is going to be more complicated.

Villain is a hard term to describe. For our purposes, you must follow the old joke:

A small bird fell out of a nest. Lying on the ground wondering how he would ever get back up into the tree, a horse came along and pooped on top of the little bird. Indignant, the bird began to tweet for help. Soon a hawk came along, cleaned the poop of the little bird and then ate him. The moral of the story (and what you need to keep in mind here):

Not everyone who dumps on you means to hurt you, and not everyone who helps you out is working for your benefit!

Cryptic, but appropriate!

The Kingdoms

The aftermath of the nuclear holocaust on the earth caused many geographic changes to all seven of the continents. Land masses moved, rivers changed their course and mountains arose where previous only hills existed. While the Sanctuaries were mostly immune to these geographic shifts, the land changed in other ways. The mighty river which split the Five Kingdoms into two distinct areas was now a large Inland Sea. This separation caused not only a physical slit in the land, but a split among the people of the Kingdoms as well.

Originally the people housed in the Central Valley Pinnacle were genetically close to Northern and Southerns. All had common ancestors from the old world from the First Families of North American. The major differences would not begin to surface until many generations had already been raised. Differences in physical changes were few, but major differences came through in their philosophy.

For centuries since the rebirth, the four contiguous Kingdoms began to share opinions in the important area of what direction the remnant of humanity should take to rebuild and repopulate the planet. Prior to the desecration there were close to 8 billion humans crawling across the face of the earth. The first estimate placed the Creator's children after the holocaust at around 140,000. That did not count people groups such as the Northerners who had no regard for the Druids or their creations and had not participated in the Sanctuaries, preferring instead to trust their own histories for survival.

Divided from their fifth brother by miles of turbulent water, the Four Kingdoms learn to trade and band together as a four pronged unit. Now the Eastern Kingdom stands alone from the others, unsure of their place in this alliance and highly distrustful of the new young queen of the West and her supposed 'witch' powers. That caution will become fodder for those who seek to destroy the fragile evolution of humanities' regeneration.

Talent Is In Our Blood

There are three major talent categories: Mystic, Warrior and Healer. Each has their own physical characteristics and each has their own set of codes and regulations under which the Druids have dictated they may function. Not all become full Druids, most function within the wider context of the Kingdoms.

Healers range from full empathic to those who can diagnose and treat illness by merely running their hands over the patient. Some deal with children while others prefer the company of the elderly. Healers are born with grey eyes, which vary in shade by the intensity of the illness.

Warriors come in two types: Blood Warriors and War Masters. Blood Warrior is the term given to the Northern Tribal Warriors, recognition of the purity of their human blood and the evolution of their natural skill into an inborn trait. While not all Northerns are Blood Warriors all Blood Warriors are Northerns. (Say that fast five times!) The most identifying characteristic of Blood Warriors is their eyes. At night, the white of their eyes, along with their iris, become black to help absorb the maximum ambient light. The night vision of a Warrior is regarded as the keenest eyesight among humans.

War Masters are those from the other Kingdoms who demonstrate a natural ability with a variety of war related ares: tracking, battle strategy, swordsmanship, assassination, etc. Although these are skills which can be taught, to be a War Master the acolyte must show talent above and beyond that of regular humans.

Humanity has changed, grown beyond their restrictive natures, to embrace these new traits as simply a continuation of man's existence. This was only partially true. Genetic differences between them and us would be non-existent. The thousands of years of nuclear exposure, though filtered through the air systems in the Sanctuaries. still infused humans with new abilities. Each person is cataloged as soon as they being displaying their particular talent. this is another duty of the Druids, maintaining a roster of each talent and bloodline.

Our Hero - Devon

With an intriguing heroine, I needed a special hero and found one in the person of Devon, a prince from the Northern Tribal Kingdom, youngest brother of the king, Der. Physically he is similar to all the Northern people, tall with dark hair and ruddy complexion. His eyes are green whereas most Northerns have dark brown. They have no individual talents, such as Mysticism or Healing. They are called "Blood Warriors" because they have developed skills which allow them to excel in War Craft. Chief among these is exceptional night vision. The whites of their eyes will darken to black at night to allow them to capture enough ambient light to see through the darkest night.

As the third son of a king, there were no expectations Devon would ever sit on the throne, so he was steered toward more military careers and during his time of study prior to the age of sixteen excelled at Tracking and Reconnaissance. A suitable marriage was arranged to a talented Healer named Hana, from the Hawq Tribe. While several years older than Devon, Hana was a warrior who desired to make a change to the Healing discipline. Everything was running according to plan until the night of the Princess Vivienne's birth, at the winter house of King Der and his wife, Mari. Devon and Hana were home from the Druid Fortress and the middle brother Theirran was also home from his assignment to the Western Army.

That night only Devon and Hana were present for the birth of the baby princess followed soon after by the death of Queen Katarina of the Western Kingdom. Devon was dispersed to reach his brother and King Philippe of the West at their battle field tent. That was the diversion needed to bring Minnlin to the house to deliver Katarina's child. By the time Devon returns, the Queen is dead, Hana is dead and the renegade Druid is holding the moments old infant Vivienne. A small argument ensues and Minnlin shoves the baby girl into Devon's arms, swirls his arms above their heads and created a binding so intense nothing can break them apart.

Bound now to a child through Mysticism he does not understand, Devon become the Life Protector and Commander of the Princess's Guard.

Who are all these people?

My model for saving a remnant of the human race is the creation of Sanctuary. For centuries sanctuaries have been centers of refuge in time of trouble. Scientists, mathematicians, writers, artisans of all trades will build 40 different refuges able to withstand long periods of time after nuclear apocalypse. Within these centers they preserved not only human life, but also plants, animals and knowledge.

The original inhabitants of each Sanctuary numbered 1000, representing 20 distinct ethnici groups While some centers were populated by favoritism, a few were more insightful in their selection methods. These decided to include a cross section of society as a whole, from the rich and powerful to the meek and talented. This increased their chances of success tenfold. The centers which found themselves full of scientists soon found themselves drawing straws to complete menial tasks.

All centers were outfitted with water and air purification systems, controlled farmland, animal habitats, living space and most important, computer centers outfitted with specialty constructed generators. Alternative forms of communication between centers was created, knowing that satellite reception and transmission would be almost nil after the bombs fell. The locations were carefully selected based on geographic stability.

Over the centuries, individual labels such as 'scientist' or 'farmer' disappeared and experts in all fields began to be called 'Druids' after the legendary ancient priests. Men studied all areas of knowledge instead of specializing in one. Things from before the destruction were pondered and debated upon to see if they would contribute to society or lead men down the road to ruin again.

After the air was bearable again and humans returned to the surface for a permanent residence, the Sanctuaries slowly began to fall into disrepair. Most have been lost to time but a few remain. Only the Central Plains Sanctuary remains intact both in structure and in contents. For that reason the exact location of the Sanctuary has been kept and protected by the Central Plains Nomads, direct descendants of the scientists who became Druids after they decided to save the world.

Presenting The Main Characters - Vivienne

Vivienne is the heroine of my story. First of all, any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidence and not intended. I'm not that kind of person. That said: our heroine is nineteen years old when our story begins, tall (5',9"), thin but well muscled, good old fashioned lean I would say and very much a tomboy child. She was raised to one day govern a country so her education was wide ranging. Archery, swordsmanship, politics and diplomacy were are intended to prepare her to one day be the Queen of the Western Kingdom.

Many years before Vivienne was born, her grandfather Minnlin began planning the genetic combination required to handle the emergency he had foreseen. In the process he gave this royal child two distinct traits. Her eyes waiver from deepest purple when working with elemental energy to the grey of a stormy sky when her Healer traits are required. Vivienne's normal everyday eye color is lavender.

Her second and most remarkable attribute would be her silver white hair. Some describe it as moonlight captured in her hair, but it was actually the silver white of lightning streaking across the night sky. No dye would change it, no cut by scissors remained for long. Whether hanging to her waist or as most often braided it could be seen like a beacon from afar. She's also possessed of a queen-sized case of self-doubt and it takes a lot for her to be convinced of the special talents Minnlin bred into her.

Minnlin was an enemy of the land known as the Five Kingdoms. As a young man he had led an uprising against the established order to obtain the Books of Knowledge left by the Sanctuary located withing the Central Plains. In actuality he was setting in motion a very long game which would culminate in the deeds his grandchild would accomplish. That child was his main concern.

On the day of Vivienne's birth, many things went wrong. These range from the death of innocent people to the loss of her mother in the process of childbirth. But it was the actions undertaken by Minnlin after the delivery that scarred her more than all the other events combine. In order to complete the vision Minnlin had seen of the child as a young woman, he was propelled to twin the information into an older teenager to assist the child with all the tasks she would be required to undertake. That teenager would become Vivienne's lifelong protector and eventual husband - the Prince Devon of the Northern Tribal Kingdom, age sixteen at the time of her birth.

Vivienne is a complex character. Carrying the guilt of her mother's death, even though nothing was her fault, has warped her sense of self-worth. Kept from playing with other children because of her royal status, her only constant companion was Devon. They created between themselves a connection above and apart from simple protection. While many considered them strange, the relationship helped Vivienne in more ways than it harmed.

Having Devon close helps when Vivienne is assaulted by one of her many dreams. For her dreams and nightmares are both memories and visions, sometimes terrifying and sometimes confusing Vivienne needs Devon's maturity to see through the dreams to the truth contained within them.