Carahil’s Busy Morning
July 9, 2013
It’s odd. I’ve been working on the latest LoE manuscript: The Shadow tech Goddess for almost three years. It’s been, by far, the longest slog I’ve ever had in writing a book.
“Carahil’s Busy Morning” (Artwork by Carapalou)
Well, not so fast, let me explain…
I’d learned a few things going to shows over the years. One: books that really sell are YA and children’s. I hate to say it, but that does seem to be the case. Most of the people browsing around are parents looking to buy a book for their kids. My science fiction books (richly illustrated by Carol Phillips) tend to catch the eye, People passing by often stop, pick one up, and ask “Are these books for kids?”
Kids?? Of course I could have lied and said “Sure … kids will love these.” My LoE series is not for kids–too much violence, too much darkness floating around. It is what it is.
But then I thought about it. One character that is a continual ray of fresh light in the series is Carahil, the Great Nargal Spirit and patron god of the House of Blanchefort. Just a big kid himself, Carahil would do well in a children’s series, and if I ever got around to writing one he would be the subject matter. I put that thought on the back burner and let it simmer.
Carahil and Mabs beginning their life together (Carol Phillips)
It occurred to me that all the weirdness in the world really doesn’t matter much, as long as there is a familiar framework in which to paint and give it perspective. And, what could be more familiar than a nuclear family setting–a father, a mother, the kids and all the pressures and situations that come along with such a setting. A family of odd creatures in space is really just the same as the family next door. I began thinking about Carahil’s family.
I knew that Carahil had taken up with Mabsornath, the Cat Goddess seen in LoE Book II: The Hazards of the Old Ones. Mabs was actually the main bad guy in the book, plotting the destruction of the planet Xandarr. Being the straight shooter that he is, Carahil managed to turn Mabs around. In the end, they became close, eventually committing themselves to each other and mutually sharing their secrets (a very big deal among the gods). As the LoE Series progresses, we see Mabs pregnant, and, eventually, the proud mother of seven children. In a vision, Captain Davage and Countess Sygillis see them playing at her feet.
Atha, as a sultry adult and as an innocent child (Fantasio and Carapalou)
So, then I had it, all at once. I had the characters and I had the setting. In five minutes of working on my manuscript, I also dreamed up a 1000 word story of Carahil and Mabs raising their seven children at the Top of the Universe, encountering surprises, and teaching their kids important lessons. It was the easiest writing I’ve ever done. It just felt right.
Dreaming something up and writing it down is the easy part, turning it into a living, breathing story is hard. As it’s only a 1000 words, the story would need to be driven by the artwork, and that would take an artist of exceptional skill. My good friend BeaKimera, an amazing Manga artist and a representative of many others soon had the solution. Bea embraced this project and showed real enthusiasm. She had a whole portfolio of artists for me to look at, all of whom were immensely talented–one, though, was the clear choice, with a clean Manga style and a flair for story-telling: Carapalou.
Seven months and a lot of hard work later, here we are with a finished book, each page a masterpiece. The end of a long, hard road in publishing is an ISBN and a barcode. CBM now has those things and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
Carahil’s Busy Morning will be available in late June from Loconeal Publishing.
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia, Carapalou, Fantasio and Carol Phillips.
LoE Characters: Queen Ghome
June 9, 2013
After Seven books and counting, the LoE Universe has grown by leaps and bounds. It is bursting with characters and places, most of which were created in mere passing and then expanded upon at a later time.
Queen Ghome, by Carol Phillips
Flash forward six books. As I puzzled out the plot for LoE Book VIII (or IX depending on which gets published first) is need a villain character and, for some unknown reason, the name Ghome flashed into my head. Without knowing anything about the character, I decided Ghome would be the main villain of Book VIII. I spent a bit of time thinking about the character, and then it hit me all at once.
RULER OF TRIMBLE:
Bad guys are so fun to play with, the possibilities are truly boundless. Queen Ghome’s roots are lost to the ages. She entered Xaphan social circles from nowhere in 000701AX. She had all the assets one would need to thrive in Xaphan society: she was beautiful, had money, was ruthless and cunning and brimming with ambition. Where she came from was always a topic of speculation, most believed she was an exile from the League. She flirted with The Court of George for a time, and even picked up their habit of casual cannibalism.
Queen Ghome’s appearance changed frequently, but, her eyes with their terrible, withering stare, were always the same
Her lore grew quickly. For one, she was a tyrant of the most despicable sort. Cruel and despotic, she was given to fits of rage, paranoia and occasional madness. She carried a spiked scepter forged of iron and rarely hesitated to use it when the mood struck her. Also, her appearance changed often, not simply changed in terms of hairstyle, hair color or wardrobe, she looked like a completely different person with only her scepter and her eyes giving her away.
She planted and designed her infamous Garden of Zama, a gigantic garden and reflecting pool near Trimble Palace off the west lawn. The garden was huge, with many intricate paths leading in a bewildering, maze-like tangle. It was populated with an endless host of deadly carnivorous and poisonous plants cultured and developed by Queen Ghome herself.
WAR WITH THE LEAGUE:
Many suitors came to Trimble seeking Ghome’s hand, and her price for entertaining these suitors was invariably a quest to fetch some item or parcel of land which would end up in war with the League. Many Xaphan Houses were severely weakened, and a few went extinct altogether as a result of these wars.
VEHELM OF WAAM AND GHOME II
One of the suitors for Ghome’s hand was a tiny man from Gothan named Vehelm of Waam who was a noted maker of fabulous jewelry. Ghome created a workshop for him in her Garden and compelled him to make for her a new treasure every month otherwise she would allow him to starve or be killed in the depths of the Garden. To the surprise of many, he survived and became a favorite in her court.
An odd change came over Ghome at that time. She appeared to have experienced some sort of revitalization or rebirth. She cast aside her thuggish ways and became a true visionary and leader for her people, with Vehelm of Waam at her side. The people began referring to her as Queen Ghome II as she led them into a new age of prosperity and learning. Ghome II stopped carrying her iron scepter and had the Garden of Zama walled up tight.
THE END OF QUEEN GHOME:
The Horvath Creeper and the Aboleth Lilly were just a few of the deadly plants Queen Ghome cultivated
But, by this point, Ghome had alienated too many Houses and the end was near. The House of Sorrander came in force and subjugated Trimble. They toppled Queen Ghome’s palace and burned the Garden of Zama to the ground. The Sorranders then occupied Trimble for five centuries.
What became of Queen Ghome after that was unknown. It was assumed that she was killed during the Sorrander attack, though her body was never found.
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia and Carol Phillips
Schools of Magic in the League of Elder
May 9, 2013
As with many things in the League of Elder, the concept of Magic is a rather odd thing. It is the purview of a few, yet it can be had by any with the temerity to claim it.
THE THREE SCHOOLS OF MAGIC:
There are three distinct schools of magic in the League of Elder: TK, Vortex and Gellar.
TK Magic is practiced almost exclusively by the Sisterhood of Light (Eve Ventrue)
A course in TK magic was once taught at Sarfortnim College, where it was said students began demonstrating great mastery of it. The Sisters abolished the course and forbade its further teaching. The Hertogs, a hidden sects of scholars and other professionals who are frequent critics of the Sisters, seek to uncover the secrets of TK magic.
In Xaphan Space, the Black Hat Sisterhood also makes use of TK magic, though their mastery of it is not in the same category as the Sisters.
Sygillis of Metatron using Silver tech (Vortex magic) to assist Captain Davage.
The study of Shadow tech has been illegal in the League since the ouster of the Grand Abbess of Magravine in 144670AX, therefore Vortex magic is practiced mostly in Xaphan Space. The Black Hat Sisterhood makes great use of Shadow tech, often clashing with the Sisters. Their Shadow tech can often match the Sisters’ TK magic.
All schools of magic can vary depending on their application, however Vortex magic manifests extreme differences in terms of Good (Silver tech), Neutral (Emplosser) and Evil (Shadow tech). The use of Silver tech was recently legalized by the Sisters and is studied and practiced by the Xandarr 44 and a social circle of married ex-Black Hats known as the Silver Circle.
GELLAR: Gellar magic, or Acquisition Magic is the largest and most widely practiced magical school in both League and Xaphan Space. The prime tenet of the school states that objects, both arcane and technological, have power, and to collect a vast number of objects imparts magical power on the owner of said collected objects. The more objects acquired the greater the power. The word “Gellar” comes from the godlike legendary beings outside the League said to be able to control man, animal, and plant.
Admiral Pax, by way of his vast personal collection, is able to influence the thoughts and feelings of those around him via Gellar Magic (Eve Ventrue)
The Old Vith were said to have achieved great strides in the development of Gellar magic. They devised the Gellartron, a structure housing their arcane objects, focusing it into vast power. Most of the Old Vith castles dotting the north of Kana, including Castles Blanchefort, Durst and Bloodstein, were functioning Gellartrons wielding power approaching that of the Sisters. To protect their cashes of treasure, the Vith invented the Bowerchest, a great animated construct usually in the shape of a mystical creature, where they kept their prize posessions.
The Sisters became quite fearful of the Vith and began an active campaign to take their arcane items, seize their Bowerchests, and deactivate their Gellartrons. The Vith were said to have hidden their Bowerchests in a distant place known as Edamathrombo to protect them from the Sisters. In time, the Sisters were successful, the Vith were reduced in Gellar power and their Gellartrons were deactivated. Edamathrombo, and the riches kept there, was largely forgotten in Vith lore.
Though the Vith Gellartrons are all non-functional, the Sisters strongholds of Westron, Valenhelm, Kurtiss and Kentaro are all said to be functioning Gellartons granting the Sisters vast power.
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia, Eve Ventrue and Carol Phillips
The Many Faces of Carahil
April 20, 2013
“Carahil”, by Felipe Montecinos
There are several aspects of the character you may or may not be aware of:
Carahil 1 (Carol Phillips)
Carahil 2 (Carol Phillips)
Carahil, as a human, with a pregnant Mabsornath (Carol Phillips)
Lady Poe was delighted with Carahil and considered him to be her first child. She created a number of medallions which would summon carahil when needed. Carahil 2 brimmed with power. He loved rescuing small animals and nursing them back to health. He also had a love of jokes and pranks. His favorite prank was stealing gowns from Countess Sygillis’ wardrobe and hanging them from a flagpole.
Carahil’s abilities have never been fully tapped or displayed. He is powerful enough to be invited to join the Celestial Arborium, an organization of gods seeking to maintain Universal Balance. Carahil follows the rules of Universal law preventing him from using his abilities to their full extent. He is known to change his shape at will, become larger or smaller, use TK, control the weather, control animals, travel vast distances in moments, become ethereal or astral, ward away evil and destroy Shadow tech.
XANDARR:
Carahil took an active role in saving the Planet Xandarr from a Black Hat attack. Ever after Carahil was considered the protective patron god of the planet.
Carahil and his family (Felipe Montecinos)
CARAHIL’S TEMPLES:
There are a number of mystical places associated with Carahil. The places are usually fun and filled with Carahil’s light. The Mystery Library in Castle Blanchefort, 1000 Carahil Park and its Gift Shop on Xandarr have both been confirmed as temples dedicated to Carahil.
There is another place associated with Carahil that is very frightening and dangerous, the Cathedral of Bone and Wire where a hideous demonic beast resides. How Carahil could be associated with such a dark place is not currently known.
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia, Carol phillips and Felipe Montecinos
Against the Druries available on Amazon
March 14, 2013
Finally, LOE Book VII: Against the Druries is out!!
This book is the triumphant conclusion to the “Belmont Saga” and all of the concepts and plot threads introduced in “Sands” are dealt with and answered in detail.
An author naturally puts a great deal of themself into any particular work–with this book it’s even more so. I normally try to keep myself out of the proceedings, but this book encompasses many of my hopes and my dreams, my fears and my wants. There is a great deal of friendship and discovered love in this book, and there is vile cruelty too. This book is me with the curtain pulled aside, and it’s my favorite so far of the series.
LoE Book VII: Against the Druries , from Loconeal Publishing, is available on Amazon.com
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia
ATD: Places–Bazz
January 18, 2013
In LoE Book VII, Against the Druries, the destination of Paymaster Stenstrom and his friends, Private Taara and Lord A-Ram is the planet Bazz.
Let’s learn a little bit more about Bazz.
Bazz, like many League worlds, was terriformed from a lifeless body to a fully functioning ecosphere in 744ex, when the planet shed its technical designation (Nu-12Gamma) and was given the name Helios. The terraforming process took over two hundred years to complete, the planet rather stubbornly clinging to its lifeless primordial past. It is twelve stellar units from its parent star, Nu Torriander, or Ole’ Scrub as it is known on Onaris, its planetary sister-world. Nu Torriander is a blue super giant, and its habitable zone is much farther back than many systems supporting life. It also has a dwarf companion star known as Lil’ Whiteface.
Bazz is known for cold winters and hot, humid summers. Those hot summers dissuaded the Vith, the usual explorers in the League and normally the first to populate a new world, from settling it. Helios sat empty for nearly three hundred years. After the Great Betrayal on 000000AX, it was occupied by the House of Sorrander for a short time.
Eventually, Helios began attracting settlers, mostly tax exiles and other people looking to get lost. From the beginning, the settlers found themselves seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. It was believed that there was some sort of gas or nerve agent in the air causing the hallucinations, though nothing of the sort was found. Eventually the planet became known as Bazz, short for the Vith word for Bazzal, or “Nightmare” in the common tongue. The name “Bazz” was officially given to the planet in 000022AX. It’s capital city is Helios-Mason.
Bazz, unlike Kana, Onaris and Hoban, never developed a feudal Great-House system of governing. instead, it developed a pure democratic system. For centuries, the place was considered barbaric and rather Xaphan-like. Its name became a metaphor for being rude, crass, noisy, profane and generally lacking in proper manners. As of late, its exotic culture, spicy food and distinctive architecture have given the place a new standing in the League.
Some notable facts:
–All cities and villages on Bazz have two names. This tradition hails back to the antiquity of the planet.
–Likewise, Bazzers also have two names instead of just one as seen in the Great House system.
–Women on Bazz wear their hair with distinctive “sideburns” known as Mollucks indicating their marital status. Married women do not wear Mollucks.
–Currency on Bazz consists of a computerized monetary unit known as a “Credit” or “Cred”. Bazzers transact business using a “Cred Stick”.
–Bazz’ most popular hero in antiquity was Darius Jones, the “It ” man from the south.
–The Hospitalers on Bazz are known as “The Jones” in honor of Darius Jones.
–The symbol of Bazz is a ferocious bear-like beast known as a Gallian Torr, which is said to eat nothing but human flesh.
LoE Book VII: Against the Druries will be available February, 2013 from Loconeal Publishing.
copyright 2013, Ren Garcia
ATD: Legendary Objects–The Paramel
December 24, 2012
There are a number of legendary objects floating around the League and Xaphan space, however, none are more sacred and potent as the objects known as the Noabs. The Noabs are 25 objects pertaining to or collected from the 25 departed Elders, one object for each Elder. All of the Noabs are currently in the possession of the Sisterhood of Light in their stronghold of Westron in western Vithland. Many of the great Noabs are not known to the general populace of the League.
The Paramel, by Eve Ventrue
The attributes of the Paramel are in dispute outside of the Sisterhood of Light, though it is generally acknowledged by those learned in its lore that it is very powerful and not to be trifled with.
The Paramel provides power to the Missive’s Panel on the Seeker (Carol Phillips)
The Paramel has, at various times, displayed a cantankerous, wandering nature. It has escaped from the Sisterhood in the past, moving on its own like a living thing and “hid” in plain sight hanging like an ordinary lantern on Goddown Street in the city of Saga. It powered the Lighthouse of Tuk for several years and lit the Hall of Ethers in Alderveryl Convent. On those select occasions when the Paramel does escape, the Sisters relentlessly pursue it, though it sometimes takes them years to catch back up with the artifact. Any caught in possession of the Paramel are punished by the Sisters, though the Paramel itself has intervened on their behalf in the past, sparing innocent people the Sisters’ wrath.
copyright 2012, Ren Garcia, Carol Phillips and Eve Ventrue
Carahil’s Busy Morning
December 3, 2012
As the LoE Universe has expanded, Carahil has become one of my more popular characters. Smiling and affable, his pure soul and innocent spirit just tends to make people happy.
Carahil and his family, by Felipe Montecinos
I did a show in Cleveland last year. A question that kept coming up: “Do you have anything for kids?” Of course, the answer to that question was a resounding “NO!” As the rest of the day progressed I thought about it and, slowly, ideas entered my head.
A children’s story?
Should such a thing exist, the clear candidate for such a story immediately presented himself: Carahil, as he is basically a big kid himself. I had written in a small sub-story in the Temple Trilogy about Carahil, that he had taken up with Mabsornath, the Cat Goddess , and that Mabs was pregnant. I decided to develop Carahil and Mabs’ children, coming up with seven of them. In a sort of Lady and the Tramp, moment, all of their sons are seal-type creatures and all of their daughters are cats, except for one: Atha. I saw Atha in my head as the youngest of the group and the most chaotic. Of all of them she is the only one who prefers to appear as a goggle-wearing human child instead of in their usual animal shapes. In the novels, Atha is a seductive, rather unpredictable siren, for the children’s book, she is simply an innocent, precocious kid who, unlike her brothers and sisters, isn’t afraid to make use of her goddess-like power.
For the first book, Carahil’s Busy Morning, Chilean artist Felipe Montecinos will be doing the drawing. It should be ready by June, 2013
copyright 2012, Ren Garcia
Video X1 Xaphan Tropism
November 13, 2012
After six books, going on seven, the League of Elder Universe has gotten pretty big. I pride myself on creating as original a world as possible, and that often entails dreaming odd and perplexing institutions as a part of world-building. Often times, the energy of the author can help propel new ideas into being. I usually try to keep myself out of the mix and allow my creations to do the talking, however, my cover artist, Carol Phillips mentioned that I should do short movies. She listened to me blather on for hours and made the suggestion.
Videos of me talking … is she nuts?
So, I thought I’d give it a try. Armed with my laptop and a basic editing software, here it is, my first attempt. I’ve come a long way from the time when I was so shy I could barely look a stranger in the face.
In this first video, we discuss the topic of Xaphan Tropism.
copyright, 2012 Ren Garcia
ATD Characters: Morgan-Jeterix
November 9, 2012
“Morgan Jeterix” by Eve Ventrue
She is a lady of the House of Thompson, a family of Hala stock. Being a Hala, her family were well-known farmers owning vast tracts of fertile land in the central Hala-lands about three hundred miles east of the Killbane River. The Thompsons are publicly acknowledged and certified by the Sisterhood of Light as being Empathic. As such, all Thompsons are registered and painted with a 4-D tattoo marking them as empaths that only the Sisters can see. Among the House’s various empathic talents is the ability to see through complex illusions.
Morgan was the twelfth of fifteen Thompson children. She is typically of sturdy build with tanned, swarthy skin and burnished blonde hair that she most-often wears braided. When she was thirteen, a fire broke out in the Thompson manor which eventually burned the structure to the ground. Morgan was rescued and carried to safety by her father, though he suffered terrible burns in the process. Seeing her father suffering from his wounds, Morgan decided to join the Grand Order of Hospitalers and become a healer.
Morgan Jeterix in her Hospitaler uniform (painting by Eve Ventrue)
After nearly being killed in the fire as a girl, Morgan decided that life is precious and was determined to live it by following her heart no matter where it might lead. Her behavior afterwards was shocking by conservative Hala standards, earning her the epithet “Jeterix” which means Unmarried and Unprincipled in Hala. The “Jeterix” tag was normally a mark of shame for a woman in Hala society, but Morgan wore it with pride, officially adding it to her name. Morgan was well-known for her steamy and rather messy love affairs. She was constantly beginning a new relationship and ending an old one: her brief love affair with fellow Hospitaler and ex-Black Hat Bethrael of Moane was an A-List scandal in the city of Bern. Morgan did not confine herself to class, age, station or gender–any who caught her eye was a potential lover. Morgan was seductive and charming, and she had secretly learned the art of Xaphan Tropism (the art of inducing a sexual climax using minimal touches on non-erogenous parts of the body such as the wrists). Her touch was said to be “electric”.
Morgan would eventually teach Private Taara how to fight like a Hospitaler and the secrets of Xaphan Tropism (painting by Fantasio)
When Morgan met Paymaster Stenstrom and his friends Private Taara and Lord A-Ram, that’s when things really got interesting.
copyright 2012, Ren Garcia, Fantasio and Eve Ventrue
The Temple of the Exploding Head 