Charistmatic and strict. Terrible and mighty. Clever and honorable. Brutal and powerful. Usor'An is the current king of the demons and rules the demonic nation which is on Jindaria. The demonic nation is the main source of the problems in the series and are the main antagonists (there are others, but the demons are the worst). Usor'An fills the role of monarch and military commander as did many real world leaders.
He has a very militant personality as do many villains. He is a very intelligent man who takes a good long look at something before acting. His charistmatic personality is one of his greatest strengths and weaknesses. He is an excellent leader of his people, but he is also very concerned about his impression on others. He worries about "losing his honor" and can sometimes be driven into spasms of rage if things aren't going the way he wants them to. In other words, his massive ego can slow him down, and it does throughout book 2. Usor'An isn't crazy, he is just too concerned about how he appears. He's more than willing to delay an important attack just so he can arrange to lead the army personally (as he does in book 3).
Usor'An is very clever and can arrange elaborate plots to defeat his enemies from behind the scenes (as he does in book 1). He rigidly adheres to law because he would look poor in the eyes of others if he didn't. He is somewhat chivalrous in his upholding of the laws and wouldn't break a promise even if it compromised one of his plans.
While he may be a minor character in book 1, he is the main villain in the other two books. He fights with a huge war hammer and a small sword.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
All about one of my characters: Usor'An (Summation)
Destroyers are a type of demon. They live to be centuries old, age slowly (a 300 year old destroyer man looks like a 60 year old man) and look very humanlike. The only difference is that they have cloven hoofs for feet and sport a pair of horns. Some but not all have batlike wings. They are organised into various households which are like family clans but far bigger and with more influence on politics. Below are some symbols for five of the thirteen destroyer households. (left to right: Usor, Skeert, Cro, Wisha, Killia)
A destroyer has two name which form their name. The first is their house's name and the second is their personal name. A girl could be named Sue, but if she was in the Cro household she would be named Cro'Sue. Usor'An's personal name is "An", but since he is of the Usor household the name he goes by is "Usor'An".
Usor'An looks like a well built man of about fourty (he is 200 years old). He doesn't have wings and keeps his white hair long. Being a demon he is spiteful and wicked. He is not the insane madman that some villains are, but rather the witty and clever villain who is always one step ahead of the hero and is an expert at talking down to people. He's a warrior who fights with a huge war hammer and a small sword which is stored withing the hammer's hollow shaft. His black armor is decorated with a short cape of dark blue (to reflect the Usor symbol) and to show his status. He is almost completely fearless and the only person who can frighten him is Rook.
Usor'An is a typical villain in that he has a straightforward goal and that he is an object of fear to his enemies and friends alike. He is completely ruthless as villains should be and all-round evil. He plays a minor role in book 1, but when book 2 begins, he is thust into the spotlight as the arch enemy of Anar.
Thus far, my favourite thing he has said is "know that there are things, things such as you, that do not win the right to exist"
The Setting
The following is an in-universe description of the setting that my stories take place in.
The universe was created eons ago by a massive fluxuation of space and time. Where there was once nothing there was now space and matter. From an unknown source and through unknown means a typhoon of energy the size of billions of suns tore across the void of immaterium. This energy, which had the capacity to create material out of nothing and the capacity to change the very nature of space and time would one day be known as mageforce. It forged the stars, the comets, the sky and time itself. At the beginning of time there was nothing but a storm of mageforce which gave birth to everything. With the universe now in existance, mageforce began to vanish from the universe though much would never disappear and float around the void for eons.
Around one star there were two worlds. From their seas and oceans crawled life which began to evolve into complex animals. The worlds they lived on were close enough to be seen by the inhabitants of the other but not so close that they could easily be accessed by the other. They were twins, but one of them had an advantage over the other. Jindaria, as the planet would be called, was flooded with mageforce that didn't disipate. The mageforce reacted with the world and the creatures on it, creating strange and unnatural properties within the creature living there and within the world itself. One species, for instance, gained the ability to live unnaturally long while another lost the ability to feel pain. One even acquired the talent to set all it beheld spontaniously aflame.
Eray on the other hand gave birth to a variety of mundane and unsophisticated people. They were mostly unintelligent and primitive. The exception were the dragons, who cononized Eray and kept all its simple peoples under a constant rule of peace and harmony. The most numerous of these peoples? Humans. For thousands of years peace ruled Eray, but on Jindaria things were different.
The ambitious Jindarians were busy forging empires and battling one another in their quest for supremacy. A vast coalition of Jindarian peoples known as the demons, whose very nature made them fierce and sinister, were crushed by the other Jindarians and banished to a lifeless continent in the middle of the largest Jindarian ocean. The demons had been driven from their homes and hate burned in their hearts. As the other Jindarian races battled, the demons prepared...
1986 years later...
Eray had changed. It is now in the beginning of the Renaissance era though Jindaria is still in the middle ages. The Eray peoples were now very prosperous and clever though were ignorant of their violent neighbours, the Jindarians. The humans had built cities and castles all over the land alongside other Erayic races. They could forge swords and shields. The peaceful reign of the dragons had ended and was replaced by a peaceful but restricting reign of a race called the drem who consider themselves the "superiors" to all other peoples. The Higharc, the drem government, had some control over all governments on Eray. All respected the drem but resented them for their dominance. Now someone is rebelling against the Higharc. Anarasorian Viex is joining the army to battle the rebels....
The universe was created eons ago by a massive fluxuation of space and time. Where there was once nothing there was now space and matter. From an unknown source and through unknown means a typhoon of energy the size of billions of suns tore across the void of immaterium. This energy, which had the capacity to create material out of nothing and the capacity to change the very nature of space and time would one day be known as mageforce. It forged the stars, the comets, the sky and time itself. At the beginning of time there was nothing but a storm of mageforce which gave birth to everything. With the universe now in existance, mageforce began to vanish from the universe though much would never disappear and float around the void for eons.
Around one star there were two worlds. From their seas and oceans crawled life which began to evolve into complex animals. The worlds they lived on were close enough to be seen by the inhabitants of the other but not so close that they could easily be accessed by the other. They were twins, but one of them had an advantage over the other. Jindaria, as the planet would be called, was flooded with mageforce that didn't disipate. The mageforce reacted with the world and the creatures on it, creating strange and unnatural properties within the creature living there and within the world itself. One species, for instance, gained the ability to live unnaturally long while another lost the ability to feel pain. One even acquired the talent to set all it beheld spontaniously aflame.
Eray on the other hand gave birth to a variety of mundane and unsophisticated people. They were mostly unintelligent and primitive. The exception were the dragons, who cononized Eray and kept all its simple peoples under a constant rule of peace and harmony. The most numerous of these peoples? Humans. For thousands of years peace ruled Eray, but on Jindaria things were different.
The ambitious Jindarians were busy forging empires and battling one another in their quest for supremacy. A vast coalition of Jindarian peoples known as the demons, whose very nature made them fierce and sinister, were crushed by the other Jindarians and banished to a lifeless continent in the middle of the largest Jindarian ocean. The demons had been driven from their homes and hate burned in their hearts. As the other Jindarian races battled, the demons prepared...
1986 years later...
Eray had changed. It is now in the beginning of the Renaissance era though Jindaria is still in the middle ages. The Eray peoples were now very prosperous and clever though were ignorant of their violent neighbours, the Jindarians. The humans had built cities and castles all over the land alongside other Erayic races. They could forge swords and shields. The peaceful reign of the dragons had ended and was replaced by a peaceful but restricting reign of a race called the drem who consider themselves the "superiors" to all other peoples. The Higharc, the drem government, had some control over all governments on Eray. All respected the drem but resented them for their dominance. Now someone is rebelling against the Higharc. Anarasorian Viex is joining the army to battle the rebels....
Christmas Day
Today is Christmas and I am now sitting in my living room surrounded by unwrapped gifts and other such things. For those of us in the West, this bastardized pagan holiday means presents. I don't care how many times you've read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" there are very few who see it as anything but a trip to the mall as they scramble to fill the holiday quota.
What about my quota? Am I so pathetic that I should spend 25th of December tapping away at my keyboard working on my novel instead of spending time with family? Should I spend the most wonderful time of the year trying to keep up with my writing schedule? The simple answer to that is no.
I may be doing my best (and am failing) to stay up with my standard of one-page-a-day . I typed three pages the day before yesterday and no pages yesterday so if I don't type anything today on December 25 then it'll all even out. I mean, it's Christmas! I'm not supposed to be working, I should be playing with the toys that Santa left me, with my little wooden train and my new toy drum. That's what Christmas is all about!
Who knows? I might type stuff up today and I might not. I do not like to procrastinate but it is just so easy to do so with the holidays right here. I probably won't get much writing done today. I'll leave it for Boxing Day.
What about my quota? Am I so pathetic that I should spend 25th of December tapping away at my keyboard working on my novel instead of spending time with family? Should I spend the most wonderful time of the year trying to keep up with my writing schedule? The simple answer to that is no.
I may be doing my best (and am failing) to stay up with my standard of one-page-a-day . I typed three pages the day before yesterday and no pages yesterday so if I don't type anything today on December 25 then it'll all even out. I mean, it's Christmas! I'm not supposed to be working, I should be playing with the toys that Santa left me, with my little wooden train and my new toy drum. That's what Christmas is all about!
Who knows? I might type stuff up today and I might not. I do not like to procrastinate but it is just so easy to do so with the holidays right here. I probably won't get much writing done today. I'll leave it for Boxing Day.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Writing During Christmas
The Christmas holidays (holiday holidays for the politically correct) have given me big chunks of time to do some writing. Though I average a half page to a full page of new text per day on Microsoft Word sometimes I can write many pages in one sitting, which ends in my inability to continue once the cramps set in. The ideal time for writing is when I am undisturbed, in a comfortable room, and have the creativity flowing. Of the those three points the most important is the third since I simply cannot write when I am feeling uncreative.
The problem I am facing is that during the long idle hours between outings during the holidays, I am faced with a problem: I am idle for so long that I begin to lose my creative flow. I am most creative when active which is why I chew gum when thinking or ride my bike to overcome writer's block. But during the days of Christmas I can get SOOOO bored when not with others. This ends with me sitting for long hours playing unproductive video games to kill off the boredom when I know I could and should be writing.
However, there are times during the course of my precious days off when I feel quiet creative and sit down to type. The next time I stand back up, book 3 -which is the book I am working on today on December 2007- is two or three pages longer. I get the creative flow going and I sit down and after a while my creative high has either run its course or I've got to eat. I am aiming to type as many pages as possible to make up for lost time I experienced during the beginning of the year. Despite the long hours of boredom I am prone to face when alone during Christmas, I am still accomplishing all the typing I need to do.
The problem I am facing is that during the long idle hours between outings during the holidays, I am faced with a problem: I am idle for so long that I begin to lose my creative flow. I am most creative when active which is why I chew gum when thinking or ride my bike to overcome writer's block. But during the days of Christmas I can get SOOOO bored when not with others. This ends with me sitting for long hours playing unproductive video games to kill off the boredom when I know I could and should be writing.
However, there are times during the course of my precious days off when I feel quiet creative and sit down to type. The next time I stand back up, book 3 -which is the book I am working on today on December 2007- is two or three pages longer. I get the creative flow going and I sit down and after a while my creative high has either run its course or I've got to eat. I am aiming to type as many pages as possible to make up for lost time I experienced during the beginning of the year. Despite the long hours of boredom I am prone to face when alone during Christmas, I am still accomplishing all the typing I need to do.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
All about one of my characters: Rook (Evolution)
He wears a cloak of dark brown that never seems to get dirty. Upon his back is emblazoned an outline of a bird that he claims to be a rook. The black metal mask he wears moves as though it were his face and it wraps around his head like the mask of Loki from the film "The Mask" starring Jim Carrey. He wears a hood and keeps a sword sheathed at his waist.
As I have already said, Rook was originally a Dungeons and Dragons NPC. He underwent some extensive changes from his days as a D&D character to the Rook of book 1. Originally he had a cloth mask which I liked because it reminded me of Leatherface. But a problem arose when I was writing book 1. I wanted it to be impossible for him to remove his mask until he learned all that there was to learn about his forgotten past and a cloth mask could be cut off with ease. The mask became metal. His personality also went through some changes. Originally he was a leader of an orginisation of an adventuring army and although it suited him for D&D I wanted an anti-hero. I made him ammoral to give him the frightening aspect of unpredictability and cruelty. Though he got no other cosmetic changes, I do think he has changed a lot since original conception, mostly in his goals and moral values.
He was also killed at the end of the quest he was in for D&D. This obviously would not happen in the end of book 1 yet I knew he might have to pay for his sins one day. I don't know if I'm going to kill him but he will pay one day. Will he inherit the death of his previous incarnation? Maybe... But if he dies, he won't die like V did.
It's odd, but I never read "V for Vendetta" or saw the film until long after book 1 was finished. When I saw the film, I saw Rook in almost every single aspect of V and now feel compelled to state that all similarities between V and Rook are coincidence. I want to be original, and though the idea of a masked anti-hero may not be original I would not model a character after another person's work so deliberately.
As I have already said, Rook was originally a Dungeons and Dragons NPC. He underwent some extensive changes from his days as a D&D character to the Rook of book 1. Originally he had a cloth mask which I liked because it reminded me of Leatherface. But a problem arose when I was writing book 1. I wanted it to be impossible for him to remove his mask until he learned all that there was to learn about his forgotten past and a cloth mask could be cut off with ease. The mask became metal. His personality also went through some changes. Originally he was a leader of an orginisation of an adventuring army and although it suited him for D&D I wanted an anti-hero. I made him ammoral to give him the frightening aspect of unpredictability and cruelty. Though he got no other cosmetic changes, I do think he has changed a lot since original conception, mostly in his goals and moral values.
He was also killed at the end of the quest he was in for D&D. This obviously would not happen in the end of book 1 yet I knew he might have to pay for his sins one day. I don't know if I'm going to kill him but he will pay one day. Will he inherit the death of his previous incarnation? Maybe... But if he dies, he won't die like V did.
It's odd, but I never read "V for Vendetta" or saw the film until long after book 1 was finished. When I saw the film, I saw Rook in almost every single aspect of V and now feel compelled to state that all similarities between V and Rook are coincidence. I want to be original, and though the idea of a masked anti-hero may not be original I would not model a character after another person's work so deliberately.
All about one of my characters: Rook (Appearance)
Dark and brooding. Mysterious and wise. Shy around strangers and bold around enemies. Faceless, amoral, devoted and cruel. Rook the Cloaked.
According to wikipedia, an anti-hero is a protagonist "who is lacking the traditional heroic attributes and qualities, and instead possesses character traits that are antithetical to heroism." Rook once smiled as he thought about breaking someone's neck, pinned a man against a wall and threatened to kill him if he didn't act more maturely, beat up an innocent man because he didn't like what he was saying, and killed his best friend to save himself. Yet he is a good guy who seeks the destruction of the antagonists and the safety of the innocent.
In the story, Rook needs the most forgiveness and is the one who seeks it the most through the destruction of evil. It is possible that he cannot help but be sinister and cruel to some even when he is trying to help others. One possibility is that he only fights for good to further his own agenda. Very little information is given on his motivations in Book 1 other than the fact that he strongly dislikes demons.
There is a lot of mystery surrounding him and his past. In the beginning, when he has no menory of who he really is, he and Anar are journeying around the country and Rook is slowly realling bits and pieces of his life. It is not known how he lost his memory although he can regain it by looking at things or visiting places that have something to do with his past. For example, if he had a favorite toy when he was a boy he could recall things he had done with the toy if he ever saw it again. I wanted the reader to want to know more about this man and what lurks behind his moving mask. His backstory is slowly revealed over the course of the series and it is the desire to know more about Rook that I hope will keep the reader reading. Although the full details about his past are still unknown by the end of book 1, we can trust him a bit more by then.
According to wikipedia, an anti-hero is a protagonist "who is lacking the traditional heroic attributes and qualities, and instead possesses character traits that are antithetical to heroism." Rook once smiled as he thought about breaking someone's neck, pinned a man against a wall and threatened to kill him if he didn't act more maturely, beat up an innocent man because he didn't like what he was saying, and killed his best friend to save himself. Yet he is a good guy who seeks the destruction of the antagonists and the safety of the innocent.
In the story, Rook needs the most forgiveness and is the one who seeks it the most through the destruction of evil. It is possible that he cannot help but be sinister and cruel to some even when he is trying to help others. One possibility is that he only fights for good to further his own agenda. Very little information is given on his motivations in Book 1 other than the fact that he strongly dislikes demons.
There is a lot of mystery surrounding him and his past. In the beginning, when he has no menory of who he really is, he and Anar are journeying around the country and Rook is slowly realling bits and pieces of his life. It is not known how he lost his memory although he can regain it by looking at things or visiting places that have something to do with his past. For example, if he had a favorite toy when he was a boy he could recall things he had done with the toy if he ever saw it again. I wanted the reader to want to know more about this man and what lurks behind his moving mask. His backstory is slowly revealed over the course of the series and it is the desire to know more about Rook that I hope will keep the reader reading. Although the full details about his past are still unknown by the end of book 1, we can trust him a bit more by then.
The Plot of Book 1
The first book focuses around the experiences of a boy on the verge of manhood (surprise) and his experiences. His name is Anarasorian (or Anar) and he lives a simple life with his wealthy family on their farm in a region of the world of Eray called Dynorak. Anar is the youngest of his brothers. The world he lives in is called Eray and its people are in a level of technology somewhere around the end of the Middle Ages. It is a round world that orbits around a sun and it shares its orbit with a similar planet called Jindaria. The most important thing to note about the relationship between these two planets is that the inhabitants of Eray know nothing about the existance of life on Jindaria and most of the inhabitants of Jindaria know nothing about Eray life. The only people on Jindaria who know about life on Eray are the demons, who are the main villains in the series.
At the time that the story takes place, there is a war going on. A nearby kingdom called Rusherson has decided that it will disturb the peace and try and forge its own empire across the oh-so-innocent-peace-loving kingdoms of Eray. Anar and his brothers join the army in order to get out and live a little. His parents do not want him to go and fight in the war against Rusherson but he is determined to get out and have an adventure.
Eray is a very peaceful planet and it has had almost no wars ever. Because of this the Eray people have a very naieve view of the subject and undertake it with greater enthusiasm than most would be willing to go to. The reason why this is so is because I wanted the world to seem oblivious and in-the-dark about a lot of things. This makes them easier to manipulate. Unknown to Anar, the kingdom of Rusherson is being exploited by a demonic king from named Usor'An (more on him later).
Anar goes out to fight in the war that has started with Rusherson as a militiaman. I know very little about medieval training and since I didn't want to write three chapters about how Anar trained to be a soldier I merely gave him a small role in the army. The idea was that the war was so sudden and the kingdoms of Eray so unexperienced in combat that they had to scrape up armies of militia and conscripts out of eager young men and equip them like full-time soldiers. The unit of militia Anar is in gets sent to fight the Rushersonics who are devoted to their new war. From there, his entire unit is slaughtered by three demons who are allied with the Rusherson soldiers. The demons attack Anar's unit while they are behind enemy lines and he the only survivor. Alone, Anar has to survive and figure out what is going on with the Rushersonics and their demonic allies. He meets the mysterious Rook and the two of them form a friendship not because they find the other to be an enjoyable person to be around, but because they are forced to be together. The conflict and danger that ensues forms the rest of the story and since it may very well one day get published, I don't want to post information regarding how it ends nor do I want to post any spoilers.
Most fantasy stories are about the coming of age, light defeating darkness, and companionship. Not so with book 1, nor book 2, nor book 3. The world of Eray is not black and white with an absolute evil fighting an absolute good. The government that helps control the kingdom that Anar lives in who serve as a protagonistic force are the Eray equivilant of the Nazis. Rook, the second most important protagonist, is a complete anti-hero. I want the series to focus on critical thought, forgiveness, and basic morality. I also want the series to be original. This first book is the first chapter in the series which I work on.
On Microsoft Word it is 237 pages long on font 11 with the resolution at 1280 X 800 pixels and thinned margins and 1 1/2 spaced. It took me four months to write and has been the only manuscript that has thus far met the eyes of a senior editor. I started writing it in September of 2006 and I finished on December of that same year mere days before the Christmas holiday began.
At the time that the story takes place, there is a war going on. A nearby kingdom called Rusherson has decided that it will disturb the peace and try and forge its own empire across the oh-so-innocent-peace-loving kingdoms of Eray. Anar and his brothers join the army in order to get out and live a little. His parents do not want him to go and fight in the war against Rusherson but he is determined to get out and have an adventure.
Eray is a very peaceful planet and it has had almost no wars ever. Because of this the Eray people have a very naieve view of the subject and undertake it with greater enthusiasm than most would be willing to go to. The reason why this is so is because I wanted the world to seem oblivious and in-the-dark about a lot of things. This makes them easier to manipulate. Unknown to Anar, the kingdom of Rusherson is being exploited by a demonic king from named Usor'An (more on him later).
Anar goes out to fight in the war that has started with Rusherson as a militiaman. I know very little about medieval training and since I didn't want to write three chapters about how Anar trained to be a soldier I merely gave him a small role in the army. The idea was that the war was so sudden and the kingdoms of Eray so unexperienced in combat that they had to scrape up armies of militia and conscripts out of eager young men and equip them like full-time soldiers. The unit of militia Anar is in gets sent to fight the Rushersonics who are devoted to their new war. From there, his entire unit is slaughtered by three demons who are allied with the Rusherson soldiers. The demons attack Anar's unit while they are behind enemy lines and he the only survivor. Alone, Anar has to survive and figure out what is going on with the Rushersonics and their demonic allies. He meets the mysterious Rook and the two of them form a friendship not because they find the other to be an enjoyable person to be around, but because they are forced to be together. The conflict and danger that ensues forms the rest of the story and since it may very well one day get published, I don't want to post information regarding how it ends nor do I want to post any spoilers.
Most fantasy stories are about the coming of age, light defeating darkness, and companionship. Not so with book 1, nor book 2, nor book 3. The world of Eray is not black and white with an absolute evil fighting an absolute good. The government that helps control the kingdom that Anar lives in who serve as a protagonistic force are the Eray equivilant of the Nazis. Rook, the second most important protagonist, is a complete anti-hero. I want the series to focus on critical thought, forgiveness, and basic morality. I also want the series to be original. This first book is the first chapter in the series which I work on.
On Microsoft Word it is 237 pages long on font 11 with the resolution at 1280 X 800 pixels and thinned margins and 1 1/2 spaced. It took me four months to write and has been the only manuscript that has thus far met the eyes of a senior editor. I started writing it in September of 2006 and I finished on December of that same year mere days before the Christmas holiday began.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
All about one of my characters: Rook (Summation)
Chapter one is called "Rook" and there is a good reason for that. It is the chapter where we get to meet one of the most impotant characters in the series. He is also my personal favourite. Why?
He was originally created to be a Dungeons and Dragons NPC and when I first described him I saw one of the players look a little creeped out and asked him what he was.
Rook looks like a masked man who wears a dark brown robe. his feet are armored and it is impossible to see anything but shadow beneath the eyeholes of the black metal mask that covers his face. When he speaks, the mask moves and flexes with his face to give the impression that the mask IS his face.
I conceived him because I wanted to make the scariest most sinister "good guy" possible. I drew some inspiration from No-Face from "Spirited Away" though I was mostly motivated by the iconic image of the cloaked-stranger. I wanted to name him after a black bird but all the good names were taken. I wanted to be original, so Raven was out. Honestly, Raven has been done so many times in so many things. I could get away with naming him Crow, but it was out because of Crow T Robot from MST3K. I wouldn't be able to think of my character without thinking of Crow! Ah!!! The only other birds that suited the role were sparrows (Johnny Depp) magpies (not scary) and Rooks. By process of elimination, Rook won. In the end I like the name Rook more than Crow or Raven.
But who is he?
Rook is a tragic anti-hero who cannot escape his dark past and now must redeem himself. He never takes off his mask around others (indeed, in the beginning of book one it was impossible for him to do so). He was involved in some very bad things in the past (what he was involved in, I shall withhold). He tries his best to be good and needs help doing so. He sounds likeable, right?
He is also completely ammoral. He sees nothing wrong with dealing out death to those who he thinks "deserve" it and is unflattering and doesn't get along with those he finds in the least bit detestable. He has no respect for tradition and hates with a villainous fury. If he wants to get the job done, he does it without obeying the laws. He's a bad cop, a vigilante, a hero who does things his way, a Robin Hood.
His greatest weakness is the constant fear he has of someone finding out about all the bad things he did before he began to wear his mask. Because of this, he stays away from most people and sulks in background, doing what he can to escape notice. He wants to be good, but if anyone finds out about his past crimes then he will be forever pursued by the very law that he wants to fight for. He may be a death-dealing vigilante but he doesn't want people to hate him.
Throughout books one and two, he sticks by the main character and acts as his second hand man, providing the muscle needed to get through a situation.
He was originally created to be a Dungeons and Dragons NPC and when I first described him I saw one of the players look a little creeped out and asked him what he was.
Rook looks like a masked man who wears a dark brown robe. his feet are armored and it is impossible to see anything but shadow beneath the eyeholes of the black metal mask that covers his face. When he speaks, the mask moves and flexes with his face to give the impression that the mask IS his face.
I conceived him because I wanted to make the scariest most sinister "good guy" possible. I drew some inspiration from No-Face from "Spirited Away" though I was mostly motivated by the iconic image of the cloaked-stranger. I wanted to name him after a black bird but all the good names were taken. I wanted to be original, so Raven was out. Honestly, Raven has been done so many times in so many things. I could get away with naming him Crow, but it was out because of Crow T Robot from MST3K. I wouldn't be able to think of my character without thinking of Crow! Ah!!! The only other birds that suited the role were sparrows (Johnny Depp) magpies (not scary) and Rooks. By process of elimination, Rook won. In the end I like the name Rook more than Crow or Raven.
But who is he?
Rook is a tragic anti-hero who cannot escape his dark past and now must redeem himself. He never takes off his mask around others (indeed, in the beginning of book one it was impossible for him to do so). He was involved in some very bad things in the past (what he was involved in, I shall withhold). He tries his best to be good and needs help doing so. He sounds likeable, right?
He is also completely ammoral. He sees nothing wrong with dealing out death to those who he thinks "deserve" it and is unflattering and doesn't get along with those he finds in the least bit detestable. He has no respect for tradition and hates with a villainous fury. If he wants to get the job done, he does it without obeying the laws. He's a bad cop, a vigilante, a hero who does things his way, a Robin Hood.
His greatest weakness is the constant fear he has of someone finding out about all the bad things he did before he began to wear his mask. Because of this, he stays away from most people and sulks in background, doing what he can to escape notice. He wants to be good, but if anyone finds out about his past crimes then he will be forever pursued by the very law that he wants to fight for. He may be a death-dealing vigilante but he doesn't want people to hate him.
Throughout books one and two, he sticks by the main character and acts as his second hand man, providing the muscle needed to get through a situation.
How it all began...
I am writing a series of fantasy novels that I am currently trying to get published?!
Yeah... I am
But how did it come to be? Why did I begin writing? Howcome? Where did I get the idea/inspiration?
I'll tell you...
Fantasy has always been an interest of mine ever since I picked up my first Dungeons and Dragons rulebook. I love the genre. Am I a nerd? Possibly though I don't look like one. I am no fan or Star Trek but there is something about fantasy that gets me going. I consider myself a good writer for the age I am and am able to devote large swathes of time to writing.
The series I am writing got started in a very surprising place: at work. I hate the work I do and know I will one day leave it. As I work I ususally pass time by thinking about stuff to keep my mind off what I am doing. There are times (such as after seeing a movie when my imagination is running) when I tell myself queer little stories in my skull while at work. During those long idle hours at my job I let my mind race while my body endured the crushing boredom. There was one funny little day when I was working and I conceived this idea of two planets, side by side, completely unaware of life on the other. Although the story had no resemblance to what it would one day be, the basic idea had started then: two fantasy worlds side by side.
By the end of the day I had devised a whole little cast of species which would live in the worlds and interact with each other. I decided that, for the most part, one world would be peaceful while the other one wasn't so much. The original races I created in my head for my little pair of fantasy worlds were as follows:
Demons (a bunch of different types of humanoids who are hateful and evil by nature)
Beasts (a race of minotaur-like people)
Effigies (living statues)
Quezzelians (snake people)
Xendi (Ant people)
Drem (Dragon people)
Goblins (garden gnomes)
Ivvids (plant people)
Valkyries (humanlike race of warrior-women)
Griffins (griffins)
Dragons (dragons).
(the list would eventually shrink significantly, but this was the beginning)
The idea was complete! By the time I was out of work for the day, I wanted to write it all down. To keep myself from falling asleep at work, I had come up with this cute little setting. I was a writer back then and knew that I wanted to turn it into a book. The problem was I had a setting, a list of peoples, and places. I had no characters, plot, or story. All I had was a stage, but no script and no actors.
If you remember the beginning of this article, you'd know that I play Dungeons and Dragons. I am a Dungeon Master and am thus good at storytelling. I could give my setting a problem to solve at the drop of a hat, all I needed was time and thought. But there was one more problem: commitment.
'Writing a book will take effort and time. Can I afford to expend so much effort and energy on something like this' I asked myself. 'Do I have the patience to write a book?' I didn't answer that question. Instead I told myself that the task of turning my cute little fantasyland into a serious piece of work would take effort, hundreds of hours, and more than a few sleepless nights. I said 'If you really want to do this, you will have to undertake a great responsibility'.
Then I said 'bring it on, I can give it my all'.
Sometime in September 2006, just before I had to eat dinner, with my new laptop, I sat down and began to write.
"Chapter one" I typed. I paused and thought. Then I typed a single word: "Rook".
More to come soon!
Yeah... I am
But how did it come to be? Why did I begin writing? Howcome? Where did I get the idea/inspiration?
I'll tell you...
Fantasy has always been an interest of mine ever since I picked up my first Dungeons and Dragons rulebook. I love the genre. Am I a nerd? Possibly though I don't look like one. I am no fan or Star Trek but there is something about fantasy that gets me going. I consider myself a good writer for the age I am and am able to devote large swathes of time to writing.
The series I am writing got started in a very surprising place: at work. I hate the work I do and know I will one day leave it. As I work I ususally pass time by thinking about stuff to keep my mind off what I am doing. There are times (such as after seeing a movie when my imagination is running) when I tell myself queer little stories in my skull while at work. During those long idle hours at my job I let my mind race while my body endured the crushing boredom. There was one funny little day when I was working and I conceived this idea of two planets, side by side, completely unaware of life on the other. Although the story had no resemblance to what it would one day be, the basic idea had started then: two fantasy worlds side by side.
By the end of the day I had devised a whole little cast of species which would live in the worlds and interact with each other. I decided that, for the most part, one world would be peaceful while the other one wasn't so much. The original races I created in my head for my little pair of fantasy worlds were as follows:
Demons (a bunch of different types of humanoids who are hateful and evil by nature)
Beasts (a race of minotaur-like people)
Effigies (living statues)
Quezzelians (snake people)
Xendi (Ant people)
Drem (Dragon people)
Goblins (garden gnomes)
Ivvids (plant people)
Valkyries (humanlike race of warrior-women)
Griffins (griffins)
Dragons (dragons).
(the list would eventually shrink significantly, but this was the beginning)
The idea was complete! By the time I was out of work for the day, I wanted to write it all down. To keep myself from falling asleep at work, I had come up with this cute little setting. I was a writer back then and knew that I wanted to turn it into a book. The problem was I had a setting, a list of peoples, and places. I had no characters, plot, or story. All I had was a stage, but no script and no actors.
If you remember the beginning of this article, you'd know that I play Dungeons and Dragons. I am a Dungeon Master and am thus good at storytelling. I could give my setting a problem to solve at the drop of a hat, all I needed was time and thought. But there was one more problem: commitment.
'Writing a book will take effort and time. Can I afford to expend so much effort and energy on something like this' I asked myself. 'Do I have the patience to write a book?' I didn't answer that question. Instead I told myself that the task of turning my cute little fantasyland into a serious piece of work would take effort, hundreds of hours, and more than a few sleepless nights. I said 'If you really want to do this, you will have to undertake a great responsibility'.
Then I said 'bring it on, I can give it my all'.
Sometime in September 2006, just before I had to eat dinner, with my new laptop, I sat down and began to write.
"Chapter one" I typed. I paused and thought. Then I typed a single word: "Rook".
More to come soon!
Introduction
Greetings everyone who may read this post. My name is Sean Sakamoto and this is my blog.
I am trying to be a novelist and am currently writing a quadrillogy of fantasy novels which I hope will one day be published. As of this writting, I currently have the attention of a senior editor at Scholastic who I contacted through a personal contact. I am working on my second draft for my first book (I am working on three at the moment: I have the first drafts for two finished and am working on the first draft for the third while a fourth is being planned).
Throught this blog I hope to record the following:
Ideas and stuff that I just would enjoy having on the internet that relate to my writings.
The progress of my work
Details and thoughts about my writings (in universe details, ect).
I am trying to be a novelist and am currently writing a quadrillogy of fantasy novels which I hope will one day be published. As of this writting, I currently have the attention of a senior editor at Scholastic who I contacted through a personal contact. I am working on my second draft for my first book (I am working on three at the moment: I have the first drafts for two finished and am working on the first draft for the third while a fourth is being planned).
Throught this blog I hope to record the following:
Ideas and stuff that I just would enjoy having on the internet that relate to my writings.
The progress of my work
Details and thoughts about my writings (in universe details, ect).
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