LB:RR: A Bit of History (The People Between Light and Darkness)

Well, as I promised, I'm going to give you a history lesson! This is about the People Between Light and Darkness, otherwise known as the People of the Gray.
I'll also tell you about the beginning of the world, in Evagren's general area.

Starting off, Planet Crichianadiie was first formed and created by 15 of the Ancients: Time and Light, Life, Space, Color, Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Electricity, and, when humanoids and animals walked the planet, Emotion, Wisdom and Knowledge, Willpower, Love, Peace, and Strength/Power.
But then rose Raxron, the being of Darkness and Death. With him came four others, the embodiments of Monochrome and Ambivalence, Weakness and Ignorance, Hate, and Chaos.
When Raxron became consumed and obsessed with the evil that resided in the hearts of men, he and his four fellow Ancients began to wage an all-out war against all of the goodhearted.

It was then that Takuna (Ancient of Time and Light) instructed that Chellanarnon (Ancient of Life) would create three different beings, two of which were immortal. They were human.
However, Raxron realized what Takuna's intentions for these humans were; to seal him away. He confronted him face-to-face and has his dark powers over these humans, but alas for him, only one and a half were effected.
An immortal being turned to the dark side, while the mortal one remained with the light.However, the second immortal being became caught between Light and Darkness, thus marking the beginning of the People of the Gray.
The one who took to the dark side was a woman named Lenora Midnight. She went along her own way and picked up magic, eventually becoming a skilled witch, and soon to create the Mask.
The one who took to the light side was a man named Lyrune Bahonan. He eventually became the one who sealed away the Lord Shadowfang (on his first attack). Takuna, in that time, had managed to seal Raxron away in the Rift, too. Lyrune Bahonan is, obviously, Lirin's first ancestor.

But the man between light and darkness lacked a name.

Since that day, the People of the Gray were created by dark and light magic combined, in large numbers, and these people were to take no side; they were bound by countless laws which forbade them from ever loving another, befriending another, expressing any kind of positive or emotion, or sorrow, and other things of the sort.
The people between would serve either side deceitfully; they only did so to serve themselves, and that was their way.
Should one of these people defy any of these laws, they would be punished with death. Throughout the years, more and more defiant people faded from existence, and with them, so did the entire clan of People of the Gray.
However, some even began to be claimed by both the light and dark sides, freeing them from their binds, but it was very difficult to slip past the eyes of the law... so very few could make it.
Those who did, however, would receive a name, as they all lacked one before.

The first of them all remained, however, among very few who did. In his time, he had received a name (Bain) without even taking a side, and he received it from...
Hold it, not telling! You'll find out later in the series.

Anyway, Bain has been around since nearly the beginning of planet Crichianadiie, so he knows practially everything including a lot about the Ghost Ship that appeared later after Lord Shadowfang's first defeat. He wanders the world and observes, going unnoticed as he does.
After he made an attempt to defy the law, however, that was when he was caught and punished. He was transformed into a hideous Riksha wolf and sent to an ancient prison in Tanakosk, where the worst criminals went to be devoured by a horrible, insect-like beast called Ahnkyraq.
Bain escaped, however, and slipped away to the cold, unforgiving Dragon Mountains of Laghathia. He lived there for many years, until Lenora called him to aid her in giving Lirin Bahonan the Mask.
Bain saw this as some kind opportunity, so he assisted Lirin in his journey to seem like he was just helping him for some reason, but Lirin did not know what his true intentions were...

...And that's just some rough history. If you have questions, ask!

Wolf

LB:RR: The Ghost Ship

Indeed.
I backtracked in my novel and deleted several scenes in order to keep going at a flowing pace. I removed all scenes up to the point where they reached the west, and instead of looking for the second rock right away, they set up camp because they were clearly quite exhausted.
However, the following morning brings great misfortune. Lord Shadowfang makes a new appearance and attacks Lirin and his friends, but my, our hero makes a fine display of foolish resistance.
Lirin manages to manipulate all of Lord Shadowfang's assailing spheres of evil energy, tossing them to and fro, and when Shadowfang tires from this, he attacks Lirin with his claws instead.
Lirin doesn't give up here. He lunges at the enemy, summoning all of the Mask's power he can muster, thus slipping right through Lord Shadowfang's dark veil. After ripping away several of the beast's scales, he discovered and old wound underneath that resembles a strange mark, before he is thrown out of the barrier and onto the ground.
Enraged and seething, Lord Shadowfang leaves Lirin with haunting remark, telling him that his days are numbered, for he, Lord Shadowfang, shall let the land become rent asunder under his own brutal power.
Lirin soon becomes miserable. Time and time again, he had been warned of the horrible effects of using too much of the Mask's power, and since he did so, grief and anger rules him over...

However, it isn't long before his friends encourage him to rise again. When he does, they agree on splitting up temporarily to find the Lost Rocks in two groups.
As Anastasia, Kikki and Leaf all head to the northwest to find the second rock, Lirin heads off by himself (and his horse, newly-dubbed Elana) to locate the third rock.
After discovering countless monsters in the field, Lirin realizes he can't just race through and avoid them, but Bain appears and lends him a hand, and the two of them fight their way through the field and soon reach a seaside town, which was where Prakon had dropped him off after he escaped from Lukamakari's island years ago.
Lirin has to rub charcoal all over Bain in order to hide the wolf's strange, white swirls. Bain, much to his annoyance, must pose as Lirin's silent dog as well, but they contact each other between telepathy, made possible by the Mask's power.
Lirin discovers that a legend speaks of a ghost ship that carries the Rock of Lost Water on board, and it only appears on the night of a new moon.
To both of their surprise, they realize that tonight is night, but of all places, would it appear here in the Sea of Prakon? What are the chances?
The ship does arrive after they wait long into the night, and Bain recalls the reason behind it, and here I quote:

"There was one thing I had just been reminded about the Ghost Ship; as long as the Rock of Lost Water is aboard it, it will sail in the direction of the one who wields the Mask, or any power connected to the rock. I recall hearing that the sailors who had sought the Rock of Lost Water had gotten a hold of it, but as they returned home, the rock began to kill them one by one. Soon, there were so many angry, tainted spirits on board that the ship itself became cursed and like a ghost itself. The ship now seeks to destroy everything and everyone related to the rock to avenge its deceased passengers, which explains why it did come tonight... they want to kill you, Lirin, because they think you are partially responsible, but if we can take the rock from the ship, the ghosts may be able to depart to the afterlife... ah, this will be a bit difficult, as we cannot see them."

Creepy, huh? They have get on that ship and find that rock without getting killed by ghosts, because these ghosts definitely have the ability to kill...

If you're wondering why Bain knows so much about this, let's just say he's been around for nearly forever. I will give you some "world history" about that later on, yes?

Wolf

Hmm, what to do...

What should I write for NaNoWriMo? Sure, it's about five months away or so, but still, I'm clueless...
I think I'll finally write "The Dawnwolf", but it needs more development in order to move along smoothly. Five months is a fair amount of time for that (maybe too long, even!), so I think I'll get to work on that sometime soon... maybe when I finish writing "LB:RR"'s first draft, which will actually be kind of soon! Kind of...
So, yeah, it's never a bad idea to start planning early.
I also heard of Camp NaNoWriMo, but I don't plan on doing it... not this year, that is. Maybe next year!

I just want a fresh idea, you know? Maybe one will come to me soon....
In the meantime, I'll be working on my other novels! I have to important first drafts I need to finish ("E: ROD" and "LB:RR") and edit, but I'm setting my sights on only one for now.

Nothing new today, but I'll tell you what; keep in touch, man. Something big is bound to come up sooner than later.

Wolf

Whoa.

Dizzy yet? I'm currently messing around with my blog's settings and design, so this current one (of Takuna and Raxron) will probably be temporary. XD
I'm thinking I'll likely do a "Lirin Bahonan: Rising Rage"-themed one, since it's my current project.
Speaking of which, I overcame a writers block and the story's flowing nicely, now.
That's all, though.

Wolf

LB:RR: AHA!

AHA! I'VE GOT IT!!
*cough*
Too much enthusiasm. Actually, I "got it" a few days ago, in fact.
Got what? Well, what, aren't you telepathic? Can't you already tell what I'm going to say?
Enough of that. I won't say much for now, but I think that Lirin's background story might be changing again...
This will change only a little bit in the series, like different references, different events, etc.. This will also allow me to get rid of the vast amount of time I kept passing to get to the point.
These changes will mainly effect the first novel, "Rising Rage", since the beginning of the story will be vastly different. I'm thinking of making him be in his mid-to-late teens instead of a little kid, or a swordsman working for the castle or military or something instead of a forest-dwelling simpleton... I wont make these changes until I finish the first draft, though.

Yeah, the difference will make it better depending on what I settle for... We'll see!
...Actually, I think I pretty much told you everything. Oh, well... BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?
I didn't tell you about my new ideas for the books 4 and 5! HA! Too bad; you'll have to wait.

With that, I am off!
Wolf

LB:RR: Latest Updates; the Power of Rage

Hello folks, it's me again after my such-and-such-amount-of-days absence. It was probably less than a week, though...

Anyway, I have no idea what I last told you about in "LB:RR", so let me give you a basic update:
After meeting his brother and training in the way of the sword, Lirin eventually left six years later and returned to Evagren, having a couple of unsettling incidents with Harthun, before he meets Anastasia, and eventually, his mother's spirit.
She tells him how to break Lord Shadowfang's barrier; to gather the Lost Rocks of cursed elemental powers, hidden among specific areas that do not belong in Evagren. She tells him he must gather them in correct order, then return to the barrier that blocks Lirin from entering Lord Shadowfang's realm.
He soon sets off to find the first rock, and is persuaded into bringing Anastasia along, who is only eight and he doesn't think bringing her is a very good idea, but both she and his mother insist, so she end up coming along anyway. The main reason, aside from Anastasia wanting to see the world and learn from experiences, as well as witness what Lirin has to go through, will become clearer in later time.
Bain soon warns Lirin, like Terra had said, that the Lost Rocks are imbued with the horrible energy known as Rage, which Lord Shadowfang is the embodiment of.
Rage is also what powers the Mask, and this energy is known to taint the light and empower the evil, and have no side effects for those between light and darkness, like Bain himself.
Not only will carrying these rocks around eventually make people in general of a very dark and sinister-mind before long, but the fact that Lirin's Mask is closely connected to Lord Shadowfang and the power of Rage itself will make the effects swifter and fer more powerful, so he must hurry.
After retrieving the Rock of Lost Fire from the Raging Mountain of Flames (or whatever its called; everyone in the book keeps messing up its name), he's soon blown right out of the volcano (he was protected by a large rock when he was blown out) and whacks his head on a rock during the fall, passing out.
He's rescued by Takuna and comes to, and Takuna gives him another prophesy before he leaves:

"I see it! 'An imprisoned, swift-footed beauty who will take you far and wide, and in order to gain her trust, you must see, feel and hear her, and she must... smell you'. That was fairly obvious to me yet strange-sounding to you, Lirin, but the obvious is not always obvious to obvious people like you. See if you can figure all of that out. Until next time, young lupine hero!"

Takuna may seem like a noble, 100% serious deity, but he's not. He's about 75% serious most of the time, and sure, he's noble, but he's an Ancient; not a deity. There's a difference. XP

When Takuna tells Lirin that his friends are in the hands of captivity as well, he leaves. Lirin sets off back to Greenwood, delivers the latest news to his mother, before he tracks down Harthun and returns to human form, since Harthun has only seen him in wolf form.
After a series of ridiculous events among the drunken men, all of the men decide to try and wrangle the horse that Harthun captured, which doesn't go well, until Lirin does another method of taming; with caution, care, a gentle touch, food, and of course, Lukamakari's scent.
This is relating to Takuna's prophesy.
The following day, when Harthun decides he's going to display Anastasia and Kikki before he kills them and sells their hair and skin and the like, Lirin has to step in, since he was invited to the event, after all.
He frees the horse and tells the hunters that she escaped, so they all fall for it and flood outside, and that's when Lirin saves Anastasia and Kikki and flees.
The hunters notice and shoot at him, but he eventually escapes when the horse comes to aid him.

Currently, after another encounter with Bain, who tells him that Lenora wishes to speak to him, Lirin sends Kikki, Anastasia and Leaf to go look for the second Lost Rock while he heeds Lenora's request... with disdain.

That's about where I left off. I don't even know why I'm telling you about the novel when you just have to read it yourself, but whatever. XD
I've been busy improving my writing skills, as well as handwriting, and brainstorming with a friend who needs help with her novel so that she can finish it up and send it out into the world.
We talked for hours the other day and overcame many writer's blocks... but it was all her, really. I was only partial!
So... let me know if you need help, too. Even if you're an official, already-publishing writer, I might be able to help SOMEHOW... without a fee, of course!

So, that's that!
Wolf

That's about