Ring Realms Cosmos Master Glossary

The All-Worlds Contests have 16 ranks of combat ranging from un-enhanced humans with normal weaponry (Ring 1 class) to immorts and enhanced-humans with full magical augmentations, armor, and weaponry (unlimited class). Mercenaries wanting to make a name for themselves will often enter these contests to receive belts and other awards that authenticate the rank they placed in.

Sir Laramis De'Falcone is a 7th rank veteran of the All-Worlds, consistently placing in the top 8 in six tourneys. By this reckoning, he is among the top 5% of warriors in all of Sharikaar. For comparison, Wren Kergatha successfully qualified for unlimited class competition, and was able to make it to her fifth bout before being disqualified. Wren's ability prevented her from being injured, and thus her opponents could not beat her. However, Wren's ability is such that she can only use an opponent's strength against them. Once a skilled opponent discerns her mechanism for utilizing an opponent's power, as her later opponents did, they are not likely to give her potential to use against them. Without that extra energy to assist her, Wren was never able to score against opponents of this caliber. The judges ruled that while she could compete in unlimited play, she did not actually possess unlimited class fighting ability. She was granted 12th rank status for her ability to score accurately with thrown weapons before her opponents could get into hand-to-hand combat.

The 13th rank and above are reserved for those warriors with truly phenomenal skills and abilities. Talorin Falor, Beia Targallae, and Lord Algernon D'Tarin all members of the Band of the Crescent moon all rank in the 16th circle.

CREDIT: Kaye Boardman's was the first to propose and sketch in the alliances and the war between tech and magic.

In 1070, backed by Corwinian funds and military advisers, Iggerd, began an aggressive take-over of South Realm. South Realm, without the benefit of funds and military experience, could mount only a token resistance and resorted to desperate measures simply to keep from being overrun. South Realm did eventually fight back and win when King Tradeholme lent the support of the Ivaneth regulars and cavalry. By the time the conflict was over, both kingdoms were in ruins and the people in chaos. The territories of North and South realms eventually ended up being absorbed into the Monarchy of Ivaneth.

Cassandra, Keven, and Skyweir were the anchor members of new group that eventually came to include Karsk, Algernon, Desiray, T'Gor, Edrick, Oorcee, and Giquikor. This group was far more successful than the previous and went on to some fame. Later, Tab, and the dwarves rejoined, along with Rogon, Ranfast and others whose lives were to end prematurely. Some fifteen cycles later the band was still operating out of Ivaneth. Their membership grew again with the addition of Gondor Degaba, DacWhirter Ironfist, Beia Targallae, Bertram Tarrantil, Damrosil Terranath, and Ivan Bluefoot. By this time several of the original members had married, some with children who were approaching adventuring age themselves.

By the time the band confronted Hellzan, Terra Karlin and Cerilaan Mercend had also joined; Karsk, Tab, Gimli, Talcabot, and Keven had moved on to pursue other interests. During the events of A Knot in Time, the active membership of the band currently consists of Beia Targallae, Damrosil Terranath, Desiray Illkaren-Felspar, Cassandra Kel'Ishtauri Felspar, Dorian Degaba Ishtarvariku, Algeron D'Tarin, Bertram Tarrantil, T'Gor & Tigress D'Shar, Tal & Terra Falor. The Band is without a doubt the most powerful force on the face of Titaan. The treasure troves of its core membership outstrip the coffers of even the biggest kingdoms. Four of its warriors possess Shaladen blades. If that weren't enough, though venerable, some of the older membership are still alive and able to create havoc. Because of their kingdom crushing power, the Band opted in recent years to take their operations off world to prevent having to play favorites with the different kingdoms where they do trade and have family.

CREDIT: The ORIGINAL Band of the Crescent Moon go back to 1976 and are the combined invention of The Big House and the players of the combined families that lived there-- the Boardmans and the Langleys. The original cast consisted of Glenn Boardman, Kaye Boardman, Jeff Boardman, and Linda Boardman, and Tony Langley. In later games, Kaye's daughter Jamie, and Linda's son Jeremy became participants. At some point after, Don D.J. Allen also joined. Multiple campaigns were launched, and during the peak of play, three campaigns were rotating and progressing each week.

In the early 80's, through Jamie, Will, Lee, and Lyn Greenway joined the gaming rotation. After that Brad Trusso and Robert Schreffler also engaged.

Contributions to the Ring Realms narrative.

Ostensibly, the world of Titaan was the co-creation of Jeff and Linda Boardman (the map). The Silissia campaign and the continent of Silissia and the deadly challenges there are the formative history later alluded to in the stories of the Ring Realms.

Accounts of Baronian culture is that they are a slave race to a group of beings known only as the 'masters'. Within the Baronian hierarchy, females are primarily considered chattel, with certain prominent members able to earn free status through outstanding service to the various war causes. What little is known about the Baronians was gleaned when a party of Protectorate warriors accompanied Vatraena Marna Solaris and her aides to the Kriar Homeworld of the Karanganoi. There they discovered a force of Baronians had over-run and enslaved the entire Kriar civilization. In return for information and cooperation, Tal Falor made an agreement with a group ten Baronian slave women to help them escape. Tal kept his word and these slaves were broken free. These females now work in the employ of Isis. Notably among this group is a female warmage named Luthice who is the blood sister of Senalloy who Corim Vale frees from Rakaar.

translation: "I am Sekhmet, blood of Bast, clan of Rhad. We of Rhad lead, our power is great, our thoughts are deep, our blood is true."

Books of the Ring Realms

Books in chronological order with blurbs and links

Title Summary

1099 Savant's Blood: Shadow of the Avatar

1103 Savant's Blood: Hecate's Bounty

1105 Aesir's Blood

1112 Shaladen Chronicles: A Knot In Time

1112 Shaladen Chronicles: Anvil of Sorrow

1113 Reality's Plaything

1114 'Neath Odin's Eye

1115 Gaea's Legacy: Eternal's Agenda

1115 Gaea's Legacy: Savants Ascendant

1115 Gaea's Legacy: The Infinity Annihilator

1116 Conscript of the Eternals

1116 Consort of the War Goddess

1117 The Shapestealer Conspiracy

1117 Shaladen Chronicles: Who Mourns the Creator

1117 Gaea's Blood

1130 War of the Genemar: Child of Ascendants

1130 War of the Genemar: The Karanganoi Gambit

1131 War of the Genemar: The Chyrith Agenda

1132 War of the Genemar: Gaea's Revenge

1132 War of the Genemar: The Infinite Child

Detailed Listings * Spring 1099 N.I.S (New Ivaneth Standard)

Savant's Blood Series

Book 1: Shadow of the Avatar

Hecate, goddess of the moon and dark magic, wants a new body and eight summer old savant Liandra Kergatha is it. Torn from her mother's arms, the young girl is spirited away to another world to undergo the ritual of succorunding, the creation of an avatar. Before the procedure can be completed, the temple is attacked and Liandra escapes into the city with the bindings half complete and her name and memories of her former life wiped clean.

Possessing great natural skill and many hidden powers, the young girl perseveres on her own and a decade later becomes Wren, one of the greatest master thieves in Corwin. Unfortunately for Wren, lost is not forgotten, and after a bloody encounter with an avatar, Hecate's baneful attention is drawn to her once again.

What started with a decade old kidnapping becomes a war that escalates into a conflict involving powerful immorts, wizards, and otherworldly creatures as Wren seeks help and wins favor with the legendary clan of the Felspars. To survive this conflict Wren must learn her origins, befriend amazing allies, and tap into the secret powers of her birthright. Even as she rises to the challenge, she discovers that Hecate is not the only foe she must watch out for...

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Shadow-of-the- Avatar.html

Author Notes : The Genesis of Savant's Blood traces back to a series of 1st person novellas written between 1989 and 1997, _Ends Against the Middle_, _Savant's Blood_, and _Immortal's Treasure_. Treasure was never completed due to creative differences between myself and writing group moderator. Originally, the stories started with Wren and Irodee, with Wren's origins being more nebulous. I had invested so much in Wren that I was committed to having a completed work with her as the central character.

I scrapped the first person approach, and adopted a first- person-like 3rd person technique and completely re-imagined the character origin and events of the story. Scenes and characters from the original novellas were preserved as scenes in the new book, particularly the gem theft from Ranfast's, and the upside down tree rescue of Irodee outside Cosmodarus.

Early chapters and versions of what would become this book overlapped the novellas and revisions exist as old as 1995. The completed book was 150 chapters. 130 of those chapters were done by 2002, but competing work dragged the last 20 chapters out until late 2003. Realizing it was too Goliath to market I split the beast into Shadow of the Avatar, and Hecate's Bounty. The completed re-edits were done around 2004.

* Fall 1103 N.I.S

Savant's Blood Series

Book 2: Hecate's Bounty

Imagine that you are one half of a cosmically powerful being. Wren Kergatha, a savant of forces, is heir to the incredible powers of the first ones. The big problem is, separated from her beta half, her abilities provide little more than token defense against demons and avatars. To make matters worse, the stronger half is bent on devouring her.

Hecate's Bounty continues Wren's epic quest to regain her memories, family, and heritage. Even with the potent help of the Felspar clan, the young savant of forces finds herself and her allies on the run from the minions of a pantheon lord.

In order to rescue her parents and brother, Wren must find the lost city of Cosmodarus and confront the evil goddess of the moon. How will she defeat a creature able to ravage worlds???

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Hecates-Bounty.html

Author Notes : In 2004 the 150 chapter completed Savant's Blood book was chopped into two books. The epilogue ending as well as the bridging problem with Vera were grafted into the story on a third revision upon reflection of stuff I had written in Reality's Plaything.

* Spring 1105 N.I.S

Savant's Blood Series

Book 3: Aesir's Blood

Wren Kergatha defeats Hecate and reclaims her family, only to face new challenges. The Kriar have infiltrated Starholme, Vera her mentor in G'yaki combat, suffers a breakdown, and her grandmother Idun the pantheon lady wants to start a god war.

The third installment of the Savant's Blood Series sees Wren embrace her Aesir heritage, becoming a general like her mother and grandmother, and fighting a ground war in order to find Vera's G'yaki clan in order to help the woman heal decades old wounds.

Being far stronger and accompanied by army of allies doesn't stop Wren's enemies from causing trouble. She must fight dragons, gods, and even a rogue member of the firsts, before she can set matters right with Vera, herself, and her family.

Ebook: https://www.writers- exchange.com/Aesirs-Blood.html

Author Notes : Aesir's Blood marks a end 4 year hiatus from Wren as the star of her own book. The first contributions to the volume were begun in late 2008. I was still working on Gaea's Legacy (which would later be split into three books). Wren's origins and the whole direction of the Ring Realms saga was taking form. I had also started Child of Ascendants, where I was fleshing out where the culmination of the first generation characters was leading. The book had me tearing out my hair at times trying to figure out how it would fit into Knot in Time and Reality's Plaything. The book ended up being an exercise in pushing the envelope in a number of ways that would spoilers were I to detail them. The book was completed in early 2014, six years after its initial inception.

* Summer 1112 N.I.S

Shaladen Chronicles Series

Book 1: A Knot in Time

Corim Vale is a man of contrasts, a scholar and a warrior. a treasure hunter and a historian, an educator in search of a patron school. This landless, loveless tournament competitor has come to the cross-world institution called the Falorian Academy in hopes of winning a tenure, and learning the secrets of the outer-realms explorers. Corim is going to get his wish, just not in the way he expects...

The grand wizard of the Death Spectacles, Meridian Arcturus has wreaked havoc across dozens of worlds. One by one the outposts of his realm-spanning syndicate has been systematically destroyed by Beia Targallae, Tal Falor, and the agents of the Eternal Protectorate. In hiding and under threat of discovery, hatred and desperation have given the evil mage the psychotic drive to carry out a retribution of cosmic proportions: destroy time.

For Corim, what starts a test becomes a time-spanning fight for life, when he stumbles upon Meridian's base of operations and his captive Kriar chronomaster. Calamity strikes and he becomes a castaway trapped by the paradox of a timequake that eradicates his chronology. He and a few other survivors must find a way to undo Meridian's knot in time before dimensional instability destroys all of reality!

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/A-Knot-In-Time.html

Author Notes : The inception of this book goes back to before 1990. There were older versions of the early stage manuscripts lost to the era of floppy disks. This was not my first book, but it is the first of the Ring Realms modern era professional quality stories. I originally approached this as a vehicle to showcase characters from our role-playing group. A draft of the book was complete in 1993. However, I was still tinkering with it until as late as 1997. It sat in the drawer couple years, when I pulled it out again it was to polish it and search for a publisher. During, I traded books with another writer named Roshoud Brown, who read it and gave me shellacking over consistency and drama issues. This resulted in my yanking out big chunks of the book and rewriting them. Among them, the scenes with Annawen and Corim in Eternity's Heart, and the origin story of Aarlen. The most important of the changes that Roshoud influenced me on was the pivotal scene where Dulcere tries to kill herself. Roshoud urged me, and it resonated true, that a warrior unwilling to sacrifice themselves to save an entire universe is no longer a character worthy of respect. As with all my works, it is a living document, and I've applied additional tweaks in 2013 and 2014 for the revised releases.

* Winter 1112 N.I.S

Shaladen Chronicles Series

Book 2: Anvil of Sorrow

Saving the collapsing timeline cost Corim Vale his right arm and half of his soul, proving that the best of intentions can lead one to the abyss. In Corim's case--literally.

For the Protectorate, things have gone wrong in a big way. Meridian's attempt to destroy time has left Eternity's chronology in a mess. Aarlen Frielos the most skilled time diver of the Shael Dal lies in a coma, along with Beia Targallae, and three other women. To restore them all Corim needs to do is retrieve Aarlen's missing spiritual essence. Finding the lost soul is simple, it's getting it back from the death goddess who has it that might offer a challenge...

As a newly appointed gamma class Protectorate enforcer, Corim Vale has a lot to learn. He must hit the chronology running as Eternity is besieged by marauding extra-universal aliens, Kriar insurgencies, and mad wizards who simply refuse to die. If that wasn't enough to deal with, the mind patterns of an ancient magestrix is inexorably overwhelming his body...

Author Notes : This work was finally completed on Jan 16, 2016. The last 16 chapters (56,000 words) written during a two month writing "sprint". Many of the things I envisioned for this book when I was only 18 chapters in ended up in a whole other realm. Foundating ideas for this work were first committed to paper in 2007. I didn't really start serious work until 2010. Even then I tinkered with it because I was working on Aesir's Blood. The character of Senalloy hadn't really crystallized as a character until I used her in the Reality's Plaything Saga. With that opportunity to refine the character, she is much more interesting in this volume. I take extra time with her in the early chapters to establish her as a truly credible romantic threat to Dulcere. While I am loathe to admit it, this book and the one before it ARE modeled after harem anime. The main difference is the hero ISN'T wishy- washy. He commits. However, because of their differences and various difficulties he begins to question his commitment. His struggle with that is more interesting to follow I think. By the time I got to the wrap up on this book I decided that I really needed to deliver on the romantic tension. The graphic (for me) depiction may end up making me the goat but that was what I thought really fit the build up.

* Spring 1113 N.I.S

Reality's Plaything Series

Book 1: Reality's Plaything

When you fall in love with royalty, you might as well stick your head in a noose. So Bannor Starfist learns, at the end of a rope. Then things get worse.

Now a target for an insane moon goddess Hecate, Bannor must learn to control his enormous but newly recognized power, or he will be consumed by it. Time is against him, Hecate's minions are closing in on him, devastating the land and world that he loves.

In this clash with evil he is joined by Elves, Savants, Humans, and Dwarves in their efforts to resist Hecate's assault. Outnumbered and out maneuvered at every turn, it is a losing battle that drives Bannor closer and closer to capture and confrontation with the goddess herself.

How does one man fight a god? Armed with little more than an axe and a love for his Elven wife Sarai, Bannor must find out or lose his soul to darkness.

Ebook: https://www.writers- exchange.com/Realitys-Plaything.html

Author Notes : This book has a close relationship with Shaladen Chronicles: A Knot In Time, but not the relationship you would expect. In 1993, I had finished Chronicles, and was work-shopping the chapters to get the book ready for publication. I was something like 20 chapters into the rewrite when the workshop leader, Joan Oppenheimer, and her then second-in-command (Matt Pallamary [who is formidable writer whose work you should check out]) decided to call me out. For no reason that I can recollect, they decided to pile on me and proceeded to tell me in no uncertain terms that I did not know how to write. They unequivocally stated I did not know structure, character, plot... I basically didn't know ANYTHING and that I should look to fix my fundamentals.

I was stunned. I was not exactly a noobie at this point. I had already been writing for thirteen years and had completed 5 novels, 3 novellas, and a bunch of short stories. If I was so egregiously off course, where was this critique months if not years before that surly day at Jerry Orton's house in Point Loma, San Diego? Yes, I remember when and where. When something you toil over for five years gets called trash, it STINGS and you remember it.

Reading anymore of the book to that group after such a tainting was pointless. I was really and truly pissed off. I could have quit the group but rather than do that I decided on a different approach. Over the course of the next two weeks, I wrote the first chapter of Reality's Plaything. I wanted to demonstrate a lot of things with this chapter. An opening hook, so I started with a man being hung. Setting detail while in tense situation, physical/emotional registers and numerous other elements.

The opening scene involves six characters in a fairly complex interaction. This being one of the main critiques leveled at me was that I had too many characters and nobody could FOLLOW that many characters through a book. ((This was, is, and _remains_ ABSURD. Had they never heard of Lord of the Rings where there was: Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Borimir, Strider, Gimli, and Legolas? I'm counting 9 main characters is anyone else counting 9?))

So, how did the group respond to this knee-jerk I-dare-you experiment? Quite suddenly, I was a genius. It was great. They loved it. Completely forgotten were the previous comments that I was a no- talent unskilled hack. Since I feared the taint on Chronicles, it would be years before I would pick up and truly finish that book.

There are three distinct revisions to Plaything, all of them involving Wren. As Wren evolved in her own series, I had to track those revelations in this text. The most recent changes came after I finished Aesir's Blood and all the new things from that book.

* Winter 1114 N.I.S

Reality's Plaything Series

Book 2: 'Neath Odin's Eye

Surviving a battle to the death with a god would tax the greatest of heroes, but for Bannor Starfist it is only the beginning of something much worse--a war with a whole pantheon of gods!

The death of Hecate has triggered a rumble in the Vanir pantheon. Allfather Odin is not happy, Bannor and all his friends must be brought to justice for the crime of murder.

For the already battered Bannor, the ordeal is only beginning. Sarai's mother and sister, and all the rest of his friends have been captured and imprisoned in Niflheim, the land of the dead. Somehow, he must find a way to get them out without Odin catching him as well. To add to the challenge, the battle with Hecate has a taken away his powers...

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Realitys- Plaything.html

Author Notes : Earliest contributions to this book started in 1998. However, it was heavily influenced by some of the plot revelations going on in the later stages of my writing of Savant's Blood. Yes, I work on multiple projects at once. I always planned to explore Wren's relation to an Asgardian goddess, so this book became the first such exploration. This really helped a lot as I worked out Wren's relationship to her mother and grandmother in Aesir's Blood. From the get-go I wanted the resolution of this book to go in unpredictable ways. Especially the confrontation with the high jury. Sif's valkyrs and the characters themselves grew on me and their part in the story became bigger than I originally intended, especially Millicent who plays a key role in the end. The appearance of the Eternals was the lynch pin to tie all the books I had thus written together into a single saga. The first revision of this book was completed around 2001, but I did not have the release edits done until 2004.

* Spring 1115 N.I.S

Reality's Plaything Series

Book 3: Eternal's Agenda

Always a catch...

For Bannor Starfist, the savant of reality, nothing is easy... including getting married.

Fresh off a duel with Allfather Odin, Bannor tries to start a new life in Malan with his cherished betrothed, Sarai. He hopes the worst of his troubles will be preparing for the elaborate royal marriage ceremonies. As usual, things don't go according to plan...

Creation, annihilation, perpetuity... the words boom in Bannor's mind through his magical nola powers. The message is just a pre-cursor to another big mess done Garmtur style. Daena, the savant of attractions turned immortal goddess, is up to something and Advocate Eternal Koass is anything but happy.

Bannor goes to Eternity's Heart to speak on Daena's behalf and ends up the Shael Dal's latest draftee. The Protectorate has a problem. A million blood-thirsty war-mages are running rampant through the Ring Realms destroying everything they come in contact with. The difficulty is, nobody can find them... except maybe someone with the reality bending power of the Garmtur Shak'Nola.

Bannor decides to help but learns the hard way. No good deed goes unpunished...

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Eternals-Agenda.html

Author Notes : The first contributions to this volume were made in Jan 2003. Note, I was still wrestling with the Goliath Savant's Blood, and because of that did next to nothing on Agenda until the final edits were complete in 2004. I immediately jumped on the original incarnation which I work-shopped as Gaea's Legacy. These books took shape fast and I wrote fast (comparatively speaking). By mid 2007 I had 90 chapters complete and was already realizing a had enough for two if not three books, not one. So, I decided to split off everything before the birth of Gaea. I eventually decided the original Baronian invasion of Kul'Amaron made a great break-point for a volume. From that decision, Eternal's Agenda became the narrative it is now.

The introduction of Quasar in the story took me by surprise. Originally, I had stealthed Baronians following them around at the way-point. It occurred to me since the second volume of Chronicles (Anvil of Sorrow) was in limbo, that she was left kind of unresolved. She was kind of a great anti-hero so I decided to have the confrontation in way-point trade center be with her. Her participation and juxtaposition with Aarlen (a true villain) provided some interesting points. It also allowed me to tie in the ultimate enemies a little more easily through her relationship to Eclipse.

Quasar's intent to sacrifice herself ties this book into Ascendant. I didn't originally have her kidnap Wren and Azir, but when I looked at splitting the book and getting the company to Homeworld. A more antagonistic (tension) reason for them doing it came to mind. Ultimately, it added more meat to the middle book and caused me to explore avenues I wouldn't have otherwise.

* Spring 1115 N.I.S

Reality's Plaything Series

Book 4: Savants Ascendant

Bannor and Wren are on another adventure doing what they do best... getting into and out-of trouble. The two savants embark on a simple reconnaissance mission with their new friends from the Shael Dal. Naturally there are the little bumps that make the danger duo's life so interesting--massacres, spies, and hostile alien assassins...

At the behest of Koass the eternal, Bannor has pierced the veil of secrecy around the Baronians, and the soldiers of Baronia have a single response:

Destroy.

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Savants- Ascendant.html

Author Notes : The content for this book was actually in progress in late 2005, but much of the material was shifted around and changed in the final revisions. At one point it was part of the 90 chapter mass that was the whole legacy arc. I was while I was in the process of looking for splitting points I knew Gaea's birth would be one. Unfortunately, that still left a giant book. So, I decided on the Baronian assault as the break-point. I restructured around that.

As I was writing this book, I wanted to cross out of fantasy into science fiction. I did it mostly for a feel. I deliberately split the milieu between Fabrista Homeworld and Kul'Amaron (technology and magic) and then started stitching the two closer and closer together. I risked losing the fantasy audience for the express purpose of trying to win science fiction converts. I thought the story compelling enough that people would follow along. They do this in Japanese Anime so I thought, why the heck can't I do it?

* Spring 1115 N.I.S

Reality's Plaything Series

Book 5: The Infinity Annihilator

The rogue Kriar Daergons have the ancient Jyril genemar, a weapon capable of destroying all the magic in Eternity. A device so destructive it can slay any creature from a universe away. Bannor is just lucky enough to have the weapon aimed at him.

Infinity Annihilator is the fifth and final volume in the epic of Reality's Plaything, as the ultimate powers meet head on in devastating battle.

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/The-Infinity- Annihilator.html

Author Notes : All but the last twenty chapters of this volume were complete in 2007. I wouldn't actually have it all down until late 2008. The wrap up and resolution gave me fits. As a result the denouement drags on for more than a dozen chapters. I think readers will enjoy this closing volume for nothing more than the fact is that I simply leave nothing dangling. As a reader, that has always driven me crazy and I was determined that nobody would experience that in an saga written by me.

I'm particularly proud of the Elven ceremonies and their depiction. Along with the final confrontation between Bannor and his father (oops, spoiler).

* Winter 1116 N.I.S

Ethermancer Series

Book 1: Conscript of the Eternals

Author Notes : Started in late 2018 because I got stuck on Gaea's Blood. I felt there was something missing in the Liandra's story arc and how she and the other children of Gaea fit in. Ethermancer is just crazy loaded with connect the dots and story complications.

* Winter 1116 N.I.S

Ethermancer Series

Book 2: Consort of the War Goddess

Author Notes : Around the time covid hit I was STILL working on Ethermancer thinking it was one book. I had got Dae and Gaea hooked up in Conscript of the Eternals and now needed to UN-hook them. That's when the whole relationship with Idun jumped at me and a way to explain all the changes in Gaea that occur before the second generation.

* Summer 1116 N.I.S

Ethermancer Series

Book 3: The Shapestealer Conspiracy

Author Notes : Ethermancer was now too flarging long. So, I ended up breaking it into 3 roughly equal length volumes. Since I had already written a large chunk of Gaea's Blood I decided drag parts of that arc back into this book in terms of the Chyrith, and their shape stealing insurgency and the chimeras.

* Winter 1117 N.I.S

Shaladen Chronicles Series

Book 3: Who Mourns the Creator

Still to Come

Ebook:

Author Notes : Senalloy has found a place where she feels needed. As a competitive Baronian, she still doesn't like to lose. I plan to get a lot of mileage out of merger of the Shael Dal, Fabrista Shrike Legion, and Gaea's children. There's still villainy to clean up, and lots of potential friction. Dulcere will have to find her emotions or find Corim taken from her. NOTE: Originally, slotted for Winter 1116 the Ethermancer series introduced new twists and shows more observational detail of Corim and his mates through the eyes of Dae Silvarron.

* Winter 1117 N.I.S

Savant's Blood Series

Book 4: Gaea's Blood

After a showdown with Hecate, a war with Odin, and the star-spanning conflict with the Kriar and the Baronians, Liandra "Wren" Kergatha has had to become an ascendant simply to cope with the threats. Championing the resurrection of Gaea, the true all-mother of the firsts, Wren has become a powerful leader charged with organizing the ascendants into an army to fight the universe spanning Chyrith.

Possessing truly world-shaking power, the savant turned ascendant, faces a new set of trials that strength and ability cannot defeat. Politics, alliances, and a meddlesome cadre of mother figures set on getting her married!

The fourth and final installment of the Savant's Blood series focuses on intricacies and entanglements of Gaea's children, the Felspars, clan Yggdrasil, and the Protectorate and their preparations to defend Eternity from the Chyrith.

Ebook:

Author Notes : I had the opening chapter for this book completed in 2009. The scene where Wren wakes up in bed with general Kirran Sunglory just came out as an inspired piece of humor that perfectly sets the tone for what I want to do with the book. The novel will explore the relationships of the savants and further tie up things for the integration into the next generation of books. NOTE: With introduction of the Ethermancer books written between 2018 and 2023 Gaea's Blood has to be refactored. Dae Silvarron becoming Liandra's step-grandfather turns everything on its head.

* Spring 1130 N.I.S

War of the Genemar Series

Book 1: Child of Ascendants

For Vhina Starfist-T'Evagduran, 4th Princess of Malan, adventure is a hereditary trait. With a reality controlling savant for a father, and an elven mistress of elements for a mother, Vhina has lived in the shadow of her parent's legend. Trained almost from birth in the arts of battle, she can only wonder why-- because there is no war... not even a hint of one.

Until today.

Child of Ascendants carries on the story of the children of Gaea, and their struggle to protect the realms from the threat of the Chyrith, a race so powerful, entire universes fall under their sway...

Ebook: https://www.writers-exchange.com/Child-of- Ascendants.html

Author Notes : I started on Child of Ascendants even before I was finished polishing Infinity Annihilator. I had eight chapters in by the the time 2009 was rung in. This book was intended as a radical technique shift and was intentionally aimed at young adults. Unlike the other books it is almost exclusively science fiction, however, it will lead into volumes where the magic is fed back in. I had this book tied up in 40 chapters which was comparatively short for me. I had the draft completed by November of 2010. Two years is not a record for me, but for a book of this size (116,000 words) it's still pretty fast.

* Spring 1130 N.I.S

War of the Genemar Series

Book 2: The Karanganoi Gambit

Still to Come

Ebook:

Author Notes : I have a smattering of this book committed to the page. Based on reader feedback they like the character of Dray Cartha, which is a good thing she's the adult co- star through the rest of war. These books aim at tying my very oldest and first works into the stuff that came long after. Back in the 1977/78 (as a teenager) I completed Factor 10, which was a sci fi harem novel before I even knew what harem fiction was. It was horrible (I know that now), but I was 14, so cut me some slack. A teenager completing a 119,000 word narrative (slightly longer than Child of Ascendants) is still an achievement. I would go on to write a novella called the Icy Savior where I prototyped a race called the Lell. They are the precursor to what later becomes the Lokori. After Savior came a fantasy book called Tides of Light and Darkness. This went all over the place. I put 200,000+ words down and the ending just never jelled.

The important thing that came out of that book was the prototype for the pantheon lords. I started on a work tentatively called Wrath of Yadiz, which was a more skilled execution and continuation of the story I set down in Factor 10. It had literally dozens of characters, multiple teams and crap going every which way. I just wasn't mature enough in my writing at the time to pull it off. I knew it wasn't working and I moved on to something else.

At the same time I was pulling an epic fail with Wrath, I started on a Taste of Magic, and Pinch Me If You're Real (two dramatically different stories). Pinch was my take on Urban fantasy and was a exploration of 4th wall distorted narrative where friends and relations were all mixed together with fantasy characters from a Dungeons and Dragons game. The chapters alone were wildly successful but the entire narrative never jelled. A Taste of Magic starred Dray Cartha, and worked the premise of what does an out of luck surfer girl do when she gets a djinni (as in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie). It went in weird directions but I FINISHED it somewhere in late 1990. I went on to write a sequel (To Turn The Mystic Clock) which mixed in the characters I failed to manage in Factor 10 and Wrath of Yadiz. The main character (and the book) melted down by the end. (Dray makes allusions to the meltdown in Child of Ascendants.) By this point, I'm immersed in many things (I have my own business, I'm attending writers conferences, and a part of a writing collective). Dray's books, immature as they were, still left a mark on me. As I was working on Child of Ascendants, I decided how I could go back to those old books and breathe new life in the characters and ideas of my teens and early 20s.

* Winter 1131 N.I.S

War of the Genemar Series

Book 3: The Chyrith Agenda

Still to Come

Ebook:

Author Notes: None yet.

* Spring 1132 N.I.S

War of the Genemar Series

Book 4: Gaea's Revenge

Still to Come

Ebook:

Author Notes : None yet.

* Spring 1132 N.I.S

War of the Genemar Series

Book 5: The Infinite Child

Still to Come

Ebook:

Author Notes : None yet.

The appearance of these characters in the Ring Realms is at the consent of their creators, and you can be certain that these people are fairly picky about the portrayal of their alter egos. Something which is both a delight and a headache to yours truly. Sometimes actors

just don't get it-- they can't ALWAYS be the hero! Sometimes a little artistic license is necessary for the sake of the story...

At the time of this writing, the notables whose personalities appear in different works include:

Brad Trusso : Talorin Falor-- Brad was (is) the player for whom the term "brute force" was invented. Many of Talorin Falor's memorable first liners are direct quotes from Brad. "Dammit, these dandelion eaters gotta learn that 'force' is fraggin verb, not a noun!"

Don "D.J." Allen : T'Gor & Tigress D'Shar-- he also engineered the "escape" of Beia Targallae from death spectacles, put the "bite" on Daladar, and breathed real fear into the enemies of the Shaladen Korvel.

Glenn Boardman : Giquokor, Oorcee-- Put simply, a brilliant role-player who can create some of the most memorable (and annoying) personalities you will ever come across. The author hopes that Glenn will pursue writing in a more traditional format someday. He does some great things with scripted dialog.

Jamie Hoyt : Damrosil Terranath-- Jamie is the undisputed Queen of Chaos. Nothing was sacred and certainly nobody was safe. Voted most likely to do something unexpected. She's also famous for surviving in situations where someone less lucky would have simply expired. "Crazy Luck" barely begins to capture the odds she bucked on numerous occasions. For those not familiar with gaming, it can be made clear with this example: Take a twenty-sided polyhedral dice. Now, roll it six times and have it come up 20 every time. Do the math. (It's 1-in- 64 million if you were wondering). To do it once in your life would be miracle enough, she strung together six one night, and five on another occasion, there were at least five other evenings with 3 in a row (1-in- 8000 chance). It's not just crazy luck-- it's downright scary.

A memorable quote: "That bastard! I kick him in the GROAN!"

Kaye Boardman : Aarlen Frielos, Algernon D'Tarin, Annawen Felspar-Ishtarvariku, Bronawyn Illkaren-Shadowstalker, Cassandra Kel'Ishtauri, Darin'Kel & Everia Degaba-Ishtarvariku, Desiray Illkaren Felspar, Elsbeth Crowninshield, Gabriella Sarn Ariok, Jolandrin Illkaren-Steelwood, Sebenreth Illkaren, Sindra & Drucilla Frielos, Vulcindra Skybane... Others...

Kaye is a special contributor in that she invented many of the socio/political frameworks in which some of these narratives play out. She can be credited with the idea for the guardian triumvirate, the alliance star-systems, the techno- magic war and more. She described so many ideas and fleshed them out to such an extent that the author wishes she write her own darn books! ;-)

That's a good question, Kaye, why *AM* I writing your stories for you? Fans of her characters should email her and ask her themselves. I think I'll hide a link to her email someplace...

Lee Greenway : Meridian Arcturan's early guises-- and the idea for the "Death Spectacles". Where Jamie was the homecoming Queen of Chaos, Lee was the King. Some would argue that he was the Queen of Chaos as well (but that's another story). When those two were together, and they were on MANY occasions. Plan for a story to get a little- bumpy.

Robert Schreffler : Halaren Ranfast, Ranfast Shadowstalker-- who has a certain emporium in Ivaneth... That Wren knocks off. Robert was (and probably still is) the model of the temperamental "artiste". Though the characters he created are not in the stories, many of his ideas and insights into magic (and shape-shifters in particular) are the fundamental framework for behaviors of many personalities in the different novels and stories.

Virginia "Lyn" Neylon: Tiernia Nirvanae - While Jamie and Lee lent chaos and instability to the story mix. Lyn was the Cyndi Lauper (girl's just wanna have fun) of the adventurer set. Tiernia hasn't made it into a book- YET. She was in on some of the most memorable moments of humor in the history of many of these collected characters. "Tiernia leaps off the cliff arcs out over the desert floor and... oh, yeah, I forgot- I lost my ability to flyyyyyyyy...!!!"

One of the difficulties of the chronicling the Realm's stories is playing fair to the various heroes and heroines when it's their turn to take center stage and acquit themselves in battle. In the Realms (and anywhere else for that matter) fighting ability is a synergy of five core traits: talent, skill, experience, speed and strength. The danger or threat an opponent poses (purely from a hand-to-hand, weapon-to-weapon, or weapon-to-hand standpoint) can be derived from a knowing the measure of these particulars.

TALENT: Talent is the catch-all for a number of intangibles in assessing a particular fighter's ability. Some individuals simply possess a natural intensity (whether it be pure naked viciousness, preternatural calm, incredible instincts, or some other character trait) that allows them excel in combat, especially in times of crisis. Talent can also come from certain innate abilities unique to an individual (see below). A warrior's inherent fighting talent generally gravitates toward a particular aspect of fighting, usually offense or defense. Talorin Falor and Beia Targallae are excellent examples of natural-age warriors who possess extraordinary offensive capabilities. These warriors are noted for their ability to hold their own against enemies who are sometimes vastly more skilled and experienced . Good examples of this are Beia's battle with Dulcere Starbinder, and Tal's fight with Rakaar Steelsheen (both in Shaladen Chronicles: A Knot In Time).

Wren Kergatha, the Kel'Varan Nola, is another uniquely gifted scrapper, while not possessing the reputation of the two aforementioned fighters, she has demonstrated time and again an ability to "get a shot in" when it really counted. Brilliance on-the-run best describes her athletic survival instincts in combat against superior opponents. This is epitomized in the great game (Savant's Blood: Hecate's Bounty) when Algernon D'Tarin, Tal Falor, and Damrosil Terranath all end up losing points to her. T'Gor D'Shar, arguably one of the best defensive fighters in the Realms almost lost a point to her in close-quarters hand-to-hand.

On the flip side of offensive talent is the natural ability to defend. As mentioned earlier, T'Gor D'Shar is noted as possibly having the best defensive instincts in the Realms. He is, as Wren describes, a "nightmare of hard-bones and weaponry always being in places they shouldn't be." Death Spectacle trained, T'Gor is respected even by elders for his abundant gifts in this capacity.

Of special note in this category are two lesser known fighters; Bannor Starfist and Ziedra Skyedoom-Felspar. Bannor's frustrating ability to, as he says "simply get out of the way", is an extension of his innate understanding of patterns. Without realizing he is doing it, he recognizes subtle cues and body language to anticipate attacks well ahead of their actual execution. Bannor's almost non-existent training makes this unique foresight only truly effective against lower echelon opponents. It has, however, kept Bannor alive against extremely formidable enemies who did not expect the level of defensive resistance they received. The best examples of this are Bannor's battles with Odin.

Ziedra Skyedoom-Felspar is mentioned last in this section because physical combat is usually a last resort for her. As a savant of magic, Ziedra's immense abilities with spell-craft generally ensure an opponent never gets close enough to take a swing. The ishtar-nola like Bannor's garmtur gives Ziedra an innate talent for patterns. In Ziedra's case, the patterns are in conjunction with recognition and muscle memory. With fighting, and nearly all sports, mastery is usually associated with being able to reproduce, at will, particular body movements. Prime examples of this in the real world would be a golf swing or a tennis serve where numerous nuances and variations in the overall execution affect consistency (i.e. it doesn't matter how HARD you hit the ball if doesn't go where you want it to go). The ishtar-nola enables Ziedra to exactly reproduce a given movement or series of movements after observing them only one or two times. This eidetic memory coupled with Kriar quick teach enabled her to catalog a vast array of "text-book responses" to various attacks. As such, only the most skilled and powerful of opponents can touch her combat. Strength has minimal effect on her because she executes re-directive (slipping and dodging) defenses perfectly. Speed is the only attribute that nominally effects combat with her, as a warrior who can throw enough attacks fast enough can outpace her ability to recognize the threat and perform the appropriate defense. After Ziedra received the abilities of an ascendant, one wonders if this is any longer even possible...

SKILL: Skill differs from talent in-as-much as it is an acquired attribute. Skill is a measure of training. Skill is differentiated from experience because experience is measured in terms of actual life-or-death combat as opposed to practice in a controlled environment. Skill and experience are where the elders and great elders of the Realms have the advantage. While vast life experience give most elders the edge in this category, certain combat devotes like the G'yaki must be noted. G'yaki training is cradle to grave—it is eating, sleeping, and puking combat efficiency to make the impossible almost commonplace for the highest level masters of this devotion. The best example of this is Vera Hoshihana's demonstration bout against Senalloy Corresont (The Infinity Annihilator). Though smaller, weaker, and less experienced, she more than held her own against a great elder Baronian war-witch. Of note, this was bare-handed combat which is probably Senalloy's weakest fighting skill. Had this been a weapons exchange the outcome might have been markedly different. During a short period when Vera was granted shaladen powers and mind-shared with Bannor Starfist, she successfully engaged multiple Kriar warriors, and easily matched command level Kriar in toe-to-toe straight up combat (The Infinity Annihilator).

G'yaki examples aside, skill is definitely the bailiwick of the immortals. At the top of this pack are the eternals, Kriar, and other long lived races. One of the best examples of pure naked skill belongs to Eclipse Shargris of the Kriar, the best warrior in the entire history of their race. He is the eldest living soldier of the Fabrista, and responsible for much of the training regime honored by various regular and elite units. Eclipse is a grand master of 471 distinct weapon forms ranging from blow guns to nova-cannons. He is a bare-hand devote of 17 distinct forms of martial arts and his skill is only surpassed by Kriar Mistress Sornai who is a martial arts specialist. Eclipse routinely makes those of his own kind seem feeble. This is aptly demonstrated in his fight against the Daergons when defending Cassin (A Knot in Time). Another notable combat is his fight with Vratague (The Infinity Annihilator), one of the Daergon elite, where he embarrasses her in combat. This is after Vratague has destroyed poor Sarai even with the elf lady having the powers of Shael Dal and having the magical support of her mother Kalindinai.

While the Kriar technically own the skill category, the eternals are essentially untouchable in terms of all-around fighting ability. No amount of skill can avail you against a nearly invulnerable being with virtually limitless strength and endurance. Garn Ellon and Nethra Argos the eternals live in the nightmares of the Kriar who survived the Protectorate war. These two being responsible for the slaying of entire ships full of Kriar.

Below the "cosmic" level of skill come the great elders. At the head of this pack is Vulcindra Skybane, a grand elder elite and member of the Dreel race. Vulcindra is credited with creating the G'yaki martial arts discipline (The Infinity Annihilator). This powerful combatant easily fights at the level of the Kriar and eternals and is pretty much in a category by herself. Vulcindra stays in shape by sparing with eternal Sroth.

Aside from Vulcindra there is group of elite warriors that stand in the "untouchable" skill category. Notable members of this group are Aarlen Frielos, Aleesha and Zedar Cloudseeker, Loric Felspar, Senalloy and Luthice Corresont. Numerous pantheon lords, especially those known as "war-gods" also fall into this category (Ares, Athena, Inanna, Indra, Set, Thor, Tyr, Vidar). The Aesir and Vanir courts (Odin and Ukko) are of special note because practically every member of their respective pantheons are noted for their battle capabilities.

The Realms histories are filled with the ranks of the "nearly untouchable". Most of these are elders like Sindra and Drucilla Frielos, Damay Alostar, Euriel Kergatha, the daughter of Idun, Dominique Ariok, and Terra Karlin-Falor. Also in this circle are elite fighters with extensive training and experience, key examples being Algernon D'Tarin, Skyweir and Giquikor of the sects, Beia Targallae, Tal Falor, and T'Gor D'Shar.

EXPERIENCE: Like skill, experience is a factor that heavily favors immortals. Unlike skill, experience is not the exclusive bailiwick of the long lived— it just generally is. In a fighter's overall threat assessment, experience is the single largest mitigating factor. If a person lives for a thousand years and trains three days a week, they will have a high amount of proficiency, physical dexterity and endurance. However, unless this training is of a highly specialized nature there is a maximum plateau (combat effectiveness) that can be reached without actual in-combat practice. This is because that actual field combat involves a number of intangibles not the least of which is the fear of dying and the effects of wounds and spilled blood. In life-or-death situations, enemies do crazy things, and until faced with such responses one typically doesn't know they exist.

A key object lesson in the skill versus experience argument is Beia Targallae's training of Corim Vale. Corim was an excellent warrior, with significant talent, extraordinary discipline, mental clarity, speed and strength. Tal Falor saw this right away when indoctrinating him into the Scarlet Talons. While Corim had a great deal of tournament fighting "experience", his skills centered largely on techniques for success in non-lethal jousts. Consequently, Corim barely holds his own against pit fighters with a fraction of his actual combat knowledge. The "experience" issue is particularly illustrated in the Myrmigyne's lesson of the con'gorot. Corim, who has heard of practically everything, is unaware of this infamous "death move" commonly used in the death spectacles because lethal attacks are neither taught or used in jousts.

The amount of hard war-time battle is what distinguishes particular individuals above others in terms of their threat. Aarlen Frielos personally fought in wars for a third of her forty-five millennia of life. This amounts to literally tens of thousands of conflicts. In simple parlance she has essentially "seen everything". Little an opponent did would take her by surprise. Everything is derivative of something she's experienced dozens, if not hundreds, of times. By this same token Loric (who fought in the god wars), Aleesha and Zedar (who fought in abyssal campaigns), and Senalloy and Luthice (who fought in the Karanganoi wars) all have similar battle hardening. Of particular note with elder experience is the concept of "renewal". While some of these creatures may have actually been wandering the realms for thousands of cycles their actual accumulated knowledge is less than their age might indicate.

Memories tend to attenuate and drop away to maintain an immortal's sanity. By the same token, one typically does not need to fight day-in-day-out when you live to be a thousand cycles old. Eventually, you run out of enemies or you get bored and you get underlings to do your fighting for you... By this token, the highest levels of skill begin to atrophy from lack of use thus blunting the massive advantage these creatures might otherwise have.

Some immortals like the Kriar and the pantheon lords go through a "renewal" process which cleanses old unnecessary memories in order to refresh that individual's psychological outlook. In terms of the Kriar, when cleansed, the old memories are archived in artifices associated with the individual Kriar's matrix stones. The mind no longer feels or is actively aware of the history removed. Mechanisms in their matrixes allow Kriar to treat archived memories and "active" memory as a single aggregate. Thus, a Kriar might not immediately be aware they know something but with concentration will become aware of it as the "offline" memories are scanned. It is this process that allows the incredibly old Kriar to maintain a fairly "young" outward personality by dint of not feeling that exhausting sense of having done something for the "millionth" time.

It is the above described memory attenuation and the simple fact of physical limitations such as reaction time, flexibility, and coordination are what allow younger experts like Beia Targallae to fight on a fairly even footing with grand elders. Beyond a certain point, the differences between an elder grand master and mortal grand master are small indeed. Under optimal conditions (same weapon, level floor, no magic) a warrior like Beia can be quite dangerous to someone even of Loric or Aarlen's skill level. However, this situation would almost never occur except on a practice floor. Grand elders, in addition to their skills typically possess an array of special items, powers and abilities increase their combat effectiveness by tens or even hundreds of times.

It is the use of devices like the krill weapons and shaladens that can close the skill and experience gap between elders and youngsters. In the case of the shaladens, specific powers in the weapons (such as telepathy, strength enhancement, and resistance to injury) are specifically for that express purpose.

STRENGTH: Where the other sections have been fairly elaborate, the entries on strength and speed will be considerably more modest. At low levels of fighting strength and speed can take the place of talent, skill, and experience. At moderate levels of skill where the opponents are fairly evenly matched, strength is more of a factor of intimidation and endurance. Beyond this point, the importance of strength wanes. Once master and grand master levels of skill and experience have been achieved a certain amount of physical strength is taken for granted. One does not arrive at master level skill without being able lift their own body weight (at least at some point in their career) for example. G'yaki masters have made an art of "body tuning", determining the optimal balance of strength versus speed. Vera Hoshihana is a grand-master G'yaki and is able to lift (press) about fifteen stone—nearly three times her body weight. Coupled with her small size and lightning fast movements Vera is a truly fearsome opponent who can seem at times "everywhere at once".

Generally, strength does not have a serious impact on battle effectiveness. However, as strength rises to super-human levels, it starts to become a factor again. For instance, even an average Kriar can lift twenty or thirty stone. This is true of several other races like the pantheon lords and derivatives where tissue density is significantly higher than is normal for a human. It's not that these creatures are inordinately strong, they simply have muscles acclimated for moving their increased mass around. Also true with these other races is that male and female muscle density tends to be not as differentiated as in humans. Cassin and Annawen who engage in fairly intense regular training can lift two or three tons with effort. The larger and stronger Eclipse is the pinnacle of Kriar condition and without using enhancements can lift approximately five tons.

For warriors the greatest advantage that strength lends is endurance. The less effort it takes to swing a weapon, raise a shield, or take a step, the longer you can do those actions. Because of this, there are numerous devices and magic that enhance strength far into the superhuman spectrum. The belts of strength used by Corim and Ceraph in Shaladen Chronicles are typical examples of this. Utilizing the belt borrowed from Beia, Corim could lift approximately one ton. The caveat of such an item is that the rest of the body isn't necessarily stressed to exert this kind of strength. The act of actually lifting a ton overhead would probably cause grave physical injury. The shaladen blades used by the Shael Dal actually imbue the wielder's body with the necessary structural integrity to use the full extent of the strength granted. Typically, this involves an actual increase in tissue density and numerous other biological optimizations and enhancements. Of the Shael Dal, Algernon D'Tarin is probably the most extraordinary example. He can increase his physical density to the point he weighs close to a ton and has the power to easily lift as much as ten tons.

SPEED: Speed is very similar to strength in that at the lowest levels of fighting it can be substituted for skill and experience. Unlike strength, typically the faster a fighter is, the more it tends to disguise deficiencies in skill. Mistakes in tactics and strategy can be covered up by sufficiently quick reflexes. However, at a certain level of speed, such quickness can actually become a liability. This is mostly because of physics and the formula energy equals mass times velocity (E=mv) . A body moving too fast typically can't change direction effectively enough. This gives rise to various "flash" techniques the emphasize the ability to develop speed and control simultaneously. The Kriar with their time-awareness, synapse training, and highly augmented reflexes are Eternity's reigning speed-demons, few creatures can match front line elite class Fabrista agents for pure foot-speed and general reaction time. Mistress Sornai of the Fabrista covered a one league segment of Karanganoi Homeworld on foot in about 80 revs (a little more than one 60^th of a bell).

A few notable figures have dealings with or are part of Coormeer. The Justicar Sir Laramis De'Falcone hails from there and his family owns one of the major vineyards. Lord Mazerak Duquesne the savant of storms also hailed from Coormeer. Lastly, Princess Janai T'Evagduran of Malan holds the title of Baroness in Coormeer, and owns extensive lands there as a widow of one of the Kingdom's nobles.

On Homeworld, committing a crime against the cyber community is perhaps the most foolish and desperate mistake an individual can make. Being connected in a vast network, when slighted the cybers can put an individual on a 'denial of service' blacklist that can make the simplest aspects of everyday life difficult. (Imagine a situation where living and temperamental computers control everything including the light switches, water spigots, sidewalks, escalators, etc... Imagine further that all of them know who you are and that you've pissed off a friend of theirs...).

After eons of coexistence, the Kriar and cybers rarely have ego collisions, however it is not uncommon for visiting guests to run afoul of the often eccentric and typically over-sensitive cyber community. It is really not known exactly why the Kriar allowed the cyber-citizenry to become such 'sensitive' and often snobbish characters, but the best guess is that it was simply to keep things 'interesting'.

The upper echelon cyber entities of Homeworld are based on a asynchronous parallel tasking hardware architecture that typically uses 1024, 2048, 4096 phased-FTL (faster-than-light) generalized attotronic quantum q-bit central processors hooked to an 'organic' room temperature super-conducting load-balanced bus. Each processor is capable of a calculating 368 Attoflops (quintillion (10¹⁸) floating point operations) per second. When performing molecular phase calculations, q-bit state mechanics increases this performance to 10 ²¹ vector calculations per second. While this may seem like a tremendous amount of calculating power, one should remember that an average human body consists of approximately 8 x 10²⁷ atoms that must be identified and analyzed for Heisenberg vector correction to perform the load analysis for a matter-to-energy transfer (teleportation). This means that even at that incredible computational speed a single attotronic processor would take close to 10 hours to calculate the variances!

Even with a 1024 processors working in tandem this tremendous feat requires close to one minute if a lower echelon cyber performs the calculations alone. Fortunately, loads are balanced across the 1000s of cyber-entities on Homeworld. There is typically enough spare processors so that between 16,000 and 32,000 processors can be scheduled/sliced to a particular task. Accounting for network lag it typically takes approximately 5 seconds to analyze every atom in a human-sized mass. Such analysis is one of the most computationally intensive of the tasks that cybers are called upon to perform. Since total matter/energy transforms are not needed every instant of every day, a cyber typically spends most of its time 'idle' and since they have an 'organic' nature' they often get bored.

While not an obvious consequence, cybers lead a somewhat 'lonely' existence in terms of 'cyber-time' to 'real-time'. At the speed of a typical cyber's thoughts, a person's spoken words would seem (to the cyber) to be (subjectively) decades or even centuries apart. Because they spend so much subjective time amongst each other, they highly value the companionship with other types of intelligent creatures.

The D'klace are actually a branch of the "all-world's" or "masters" guild lead by half-god drow Adorne Doonweir. Membership in any branch of the over-world guild is a measure of status because of the rigorous initiation that must be passed in order to join. There is a close association between the masters guild and Dream Merchants. The rogue Kriar, Theln Azygos, is said to have ties in both organizations.

Algernon and T'Gor D'Shar frequently work together as scouts for the Protectorate. Algernon and Talorin Falor are known for their cooperative brute force tactics and teamwork. As such they have a reputation as meatheads preferring violence over more nuanced solutions.

Outside of the Protectorate and in a more civilian role, Algernon is awkward but diplomatic, and is surprisingly deferrential to his wife Angella.

CREDIT: Kaye Boardman's portrayal of the character across many years of roleplay is the inspiration of this character. He is portrayed with Kaye's consent.

With proper training, the Da'Jhamack can use the forces of gravity and magnetism to fly, and can levitate others to fly with them in the same manner. Since Daena Sheento assumed the powers of a first one, it is unknown what the true limits of her powers are.

The term comes from old Dracon (the original language spoken by the pantheon lords). The translation literally means free-walk-dark, or more poetically those who walk freely in the shadows.

After an assassination attempt depicted in the Ethermancer: The Shapestealer Conspiracy, Araceli, her sisters and mother stage their deaths. They assume identities as Valkyr loyal to Idun, and become her avatars to avoid the suspicion of Kriar kayyars and insurgent elements on Fabrista Homeworld. In her new identity, she goes by Cici Skylark.

It is unclear who or what founded the Dream Merchants or how they came to possess Kriar technology. Many site Theln Azygos as being the chief architect of this organization. Others say that this is not possible, because she only became involved with them late into their development. Other sources point to the eternal Yi Esperantil as being responsible for their initial creation as a research cadre trying to restore the lost eternals to life and find a means to defeat the Kriar creation Garfang. This particular line of reasoning would support how the core membership of the group who would become the Dream Merchants gained access to the abandoned Kriar way-points, and how they learned to operate the equipment. Others say it was not Yi, but Garfang himself who formed this group for his own reasons. The truth may in actuality be a combination of the three, an endeavor started by one entity and abandoned, then later taken up by another...

Whichever author was responsible for their inception, and despite their seemingly selfish intent, the Dream Merchants were chosen to be the guardians of Eternity's soulname cache. A repository of the true-names of all the living beings in Eternity. This "right" was jealously guarded by the merchants, and if they could be said to be faithful to any task, the soulname right of passage was the one they remained most true too. The merchants would sell anything BUT soulnames. However, for the right price, a creature could be allowed to take the "Eternity's Right of Passage" and try to acquire their name. A few in recent Ring Realms history have succeeded in doing this through various means: Aquada Demonorian, Tiernia Nirvanae, Talorin Falor, Desiray Illkaren-Felspar, and Dorian Degaba Ishtarvariku being among those significant to the tales.

The Dream Merchants are credited with countless crimes as arms dealers who would sell anything to anybody. They were the chief supplier of equipment for Meridian Arcturan's Death Spectacles. Many people say that Meridian was in fact a member of the Dream Merchant cadre who broke away to seek his own fortune. This would explain his close ties to them.

The truth was there were indeed factions within the Dream Merchants that did not distinguish between clients or the goals of those clients. However, there were other more scrupled groups that tried to maintain a sense of balance. It was because of this dichotomy that the organization often worked both sides of the street so-to-speak. Selling weapons to one nation, and the defense against those weapons to the rival who they were targeting with them.

Possibly the most famous (infamous) figure associated with the Dream Merchants is Theln Azygos. For several centuries, she served in a leadership role, managing the affairs, resolving disputes, and acting as a liaison for the organization. It was well known that Theln was not very fond of what the merchants did. It was also fairly well known that she had no particular love of humans from some traumatic experiences in her past. It is uncertain WHY she agreed to do this job for so long, but it is surmised that she did it to temper the Dream Merchants and ameliorate some of the harm the organization was doing.

In addition to the other powers mentioned, Eboneye can speak audibly, sub-audibly through bone contact, and through a form of short range telepathy. Eboneye can read most languages, and understands the various rune-tongues of magic. During an encounter with a group of void dragons, Corim accidentally 'kills' Eboneye. The name 'Eboneye' is Cassandra's intentional self-reference, referring to the space black eyes possessed by the gold-skinned members of the Kriar race. The reference was intended to remind Beia of who created the eccentric weapon. The blade of this weapon is ultra sharp and considered to be 'vorpul' quality. The weapon can detect the emanations of life-forces within approximately 50 paces. It can particularly determine if those lives it detects have hostile intent. Eboneye provides a significant amount of protection from energy based attacks of all kinds. Depending on the strength of the assaults, this protection may only extend to a few hits. Once per day the weapon can be called up to heal the wounds of a single creature.

CREDIT: Don Allen is the inspiration of this character, he was an early crescent moon monk that suffered in a difficult campaign that claimed a lot of characters.