Answers to Questions- Ascension

Okay, so I've been working with shaping the story of Ascension to how I like it, and I've come down with a brief rundown of how things work. I would've posted it sooner but...well, I've had a bad week. Not going to get into the details, but its been some the crappiest collection of days I've had in a while. Anyhow, if you can excuse the horrible title above, here is the (hopefully) last stage of planning before I really start writing.

- Story takes place on a world known as New Eden, a world that was once part of a massive human empire thousands of years past, before it was destroyed by a race of beings from a separate realm of existence known as The Void. What is left of humanity now resides on this planet, and have since been warring with an arcane species known as the Intai'sei.

- The Intai are the forsaken remains of the guardians of the galaxy, an arcane race of immortals who were sworn to protect the galaxy, and its mortal inhabitants, from the Void. However, thousands of years ago The Void launched a massive invasion on the galaxy, overthrowing the Intai and causing the elimination of every other sentient being in the galaxy, including humanity.

- However, The "homeworld" of the Intai was spared, its arcane barriers warding off The Void's every assault. The few Intai who survived were but shadows of their former selves, loosing their immortality and forced to rebuild of waht little was left by their ancestors. But they were not alone. Before the extinction of their species by The Void, a group of humans had found this world, calling it New Eden, and took sanctuary from The Void's invasion. Since then, the two factions have waged war, fueled by hatred for each other that was kindled by the Void's invasion. Humanity believed that the Intai'sei had abandoned them, and had left them to die by the Void's hands. The Intai, on the other hand, believed that it was the recklessness of man who brought along the Void invasion, that their hatred and warlike ways had fueled the Void's power until it could break through the arcane powers that guarded the universe from the Void's presence.

- To clarify on a few things, the Void is a timeless race that has existed beyond the bounds of the universe, held at bay only by the Intai's arcane wards. When a living being is born, it takes a part of the arcane energy that makes up the Void to give it life, but since a living body builds up this life energy as it ages, it typically releases more energy then it takes, so the Void it always growing stronger.

- The Void is one being, one immortal force of the universe representing Chaos where the Intai represented order. It is what we known today as Dark Matter, and it can create a dark mockery of any sentient being (generally, anything with the intelligence of a dolphin or higher) that touches its power to fuel life. Basically, it can create an army of demons infused with its energy that can invade the universe at its bidding. But each "demon" is one and the same with the overall Void consciousness, if that makes any sense. which it doesn't. Look, it lies beyond our comprehension, its not supposed to make sense! lol

Does to sound like a good "ultimate evil"? or do you hate it? don't spare my feelings, just tell me what you do or don't like

Questions that Need Answers- Ascension

Well, I've e finally found a story that I really enjoy writing, but there is a number of questions that need to be answered before I really get the story going. I would highly recommend reading the (very) rough draft below, though I'm undoubtedly going to change it entirely soon.

- First off, I need a way to blend both sci-fi and fantasy into one setting..I'm not too sure that my prologue does it justice. It seams more like a sci-fi military story than I would like, which needs to be changed

- Ascension is a cover name, So I really need a good name for the series and the book. Thoughts?

- Lightning is another cover name, but I want her name to be something mysterious and shadowy. She cast aside her name long ago, and is now a legend towards her people...and a feared myth to the humans. 1) it could be a name in the native tongue meaning "shadow" of "unknown one", or 2) it could be a name which the humans gave her, which I would prefer (shadow, lightning, ect.)

- What caused Lightning to have so much hatred towards humanity?

- How should the story be told? Should it have interweaving chapters showing the different perspectives of the human male and the elf-alien female, or should both their stories come together in the middle, even though their loyalties still belong to their own species (forbidden love, anyone?)

- Lightning's species is almost an exact duplicate of humanity evolutionary wise, though they evolved from the planets birds instead of apes (For the story, I'm putting evolution in, but I'm not completely casting aside religion, k? Not trying to tread on any toes) 1) How should they look? I'm trying to create the elf-like species of a Fantasy, Sci-Fi setting, but they do have to look distinctly alien, though still human-looking and even beautiful to the human eye. My description below was vary, very vague. 2) simple, yet heard to do. What is the species name??

- What other alien species should be on the planet that still contribute to the Sci-Fi Fantasy setting? I only have one other, the Arascole, which are a brutish tribal race from the mountains (somewhat like the dwarves, as in they live in isolation, but much more clan-like and...taller. As in 10 feet tall taller.)

- How should the actual story begin? Something traumatic has to happen to the Main Character (Alexander Glidewell)for him to encounter Lightning.

-Is there an ultimate evil? What is the end goal for Lightning and Alexander? Why is this goal challenging their faiths in their own species?

- Lastly, who are the other characters int he story? Any interesting character you would like to see?

Thought on any of these would be very helpful.

Prologue- Ascension

So, here goes the first entry that will (hopefully) go into a book and perhaps a series...fat chance, i know, but here goes nothing. it has kind of a sci-fi/fantasy setting (kind of a mix between James Cameron's Avatar and the Eragon/Eldest/Brisingr series) but I hope it works out well. anyways, here goes nothing:

*btw, lightning is a placeholder name, and the story is a very, very rough draft. I would really appreciate some pointers on how it could be better :)

Three figures stepped out from the shadows, their forms illuminated by the bio luminescent plant life around them and by the light of the two crescent moons hanging in the sky, though their faces were hidden in the shadow cast by the hooded cloaks wrapped around them. With a subtle look around itself, the leader threw back its hood, revealing the sharp- almost predatory –angles of its jaw, complemented by the blue-green tint of its skin and the rich black hair that shimmered shades of blue in the moonlight as the figure broke into a cool, determined stride. It was a creature of intense beauty, but also one of predatory mind and skill.
With an almost imperceptible gesture, Lightning signaled her companions to follow, and they matched their stride to hers, hands casually resting on the kiedral Gunswordes hidden beneath their robes. As they moved forward, more of her shadowed companions emerged from the darkness, until the numbers around her swelled into the dozens. A faint smile played on her beautiful features as she casually viewed the warriors positioned around her. They were ready for battle, and battle they would receive. Tonight, the war would truly begin.
Without breaking stride Lightning pulled out a simple staff, roughly a half long, and balanced it within her hand. With a flick of the wrist, two Kiedral blades folded out from each end, easily doubling the weapon’s size. The duel blades glinted in the moonlight, the Woodsteel they were made of allowing nearly unlimited control and finesse while simultaneously hard enough to puncture steel without fracturing. The Insetii, it was known as, a weapon crafted individually for the bearer, a weapon requiring great skill, concentration, and years of practice.
Fortunately, Lightning possessed all three, and something more: the wrathful vengeance of her people residing within the inky blackness of her soul, a darkness that suppressed any feelings of hope, guilt, mercy, or love, kindling the rage and passion in her heart until the moment she struck. It was this inner calmness at the face of death that made her a legend amongst her people and a feared myth to the Sìtral- the humans residing in their sanctuaries of glass and steel, decedents of an invading race who fled their dieing planet for this one, unknowingly triggering the seeds of war with their first steps onto the planets surface thousands of years prior. They were strangers, invaders, harbingers of war and destruction- at for that they had to die.
Raising a hand to halt the war party, Lightning sent telepathic link to the other war bands, some 2 dozen of them, each consisting of up to 40 warriors. Nearly a thousand warriors, an army with numbers hundreds above anything Lightning had commanded before. Still, even with their knowledge of the land and the ever prevalent rage in their hearts, they were vastly outmatched. Whereas the warriors around her consisted of a few hundred, the humans had thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, and no one could survive those odds for long. They would either succeed quickly, or die as another martyr to their cause. She nodded to the few warriors armed with pulse rifles, quickly signaling them to move into support position, then readied the rest of the war party to advance.
The sky had since changed from the black of night to the faded red of early morning, and a hazy mist had draped the plain before them. Lightning broke into a steady run, the rest of the 600-some other warriors fallowing suit. Within a matter of minutes they had broken through the veil, and with the distinct war cry of their people, they charged.
The first of the humans were struck down before they could ready their weapons, their combat exoskeletons made to withstand the pulse rifle blast of the warlike Arascole and were defenseless against the shape edges of the Kiedral blades that plunged through their kinetic barriers as if they were non existent. Unleashing the hidden fury and hatred that had been smoldering within her since for countless years, Lightning struck like an avenging ancestor on the battlefield, weaving in and out of the pulse rifle fire from the second wave, vanquishing two or three soldiers with each sweep of the double-edged Insetii. Every childhood horror, every long-held hatred and silent oaths of revenged were unleashed in a fury of blades, carving a way through the battlefield as her kin followed behind, striking down the human scourge with almost as much hatred and vengeance as she felt- they too, had lost much to the humans, too much to be ignored.
The inevitability of victory was short-lived, however, and with the element of surprise lost, Lightning and her fellow warriors were slowly loosing their momentum, allowing the humans to swell around them and attack them from all sides, an idiotic mistake Lightning had made while in her initial bloodlust. She cleared her head and regained her initial composure, but it was too late for her war band. The golden white of the human’s armor surrounded them, and one by one her fellow companions fell to the deadly burst of the human’s pulse rifles. They fought valiantly, extinguishing five human lives for every one of their deaths, but in the end their numbers proved too many. Lightning had been foolish to think that their initial strike would be powerful enough to cripple the human’s ability to retaliated, and now she –and all her people- would suffer do to her stupidity.
The bodies of her war band lay scattered around her, bodies of the kin she had fought so valiantly to protect, now reduced to lifeless husk to be trampled underfoot by the rapidly advancing human soldiers. Backed into a corner, and with no way out barring an inevitable death, she flung herself towards her sworn enemy with a last, defiant exclamation of “Akiera!”

The world erupted into fire


*If I really get this going (i'm into this story more than any others) I may put up another blog just to archive it..no promises though, we'll see how it turns out.

*Edit #2: This is two pages on word, but, as a prologue, it seems like it should be longer. suggestions?

Christmas Pictures, Movies, New Year's Resolution, And A Whole New Blog On Its Way

That was my Christmas. No water, heat, electricity, internet, ect. It was nasty. Didn't get everything back until a few days ago and even then..been busy cleaning up the mess. Plus, the fog stayed around 'till new years, which means we didn't see the fireworks go off or see the blue moon that would have happened that night. *sigh* what a way to end the year.

Hopefully though, 2010 will be better. My new years resolutions thus far are:

- Get A's and B's throughout the next semester

-stop the god-awful nail chewing habit

-Deal with the blog. Because, seriously, this things been dieing off until summer.
So to bring it back on its feet, I have to do one of three things: find something to write about, change the blog into an entirely new direction (what direction, I have no clue) or delete it. And I'm not too thrilled on the last one. More on that later.

Just finished seeing three epic sci-fie movies within a week of each other: Star Trek, District Nine, and Avatar. Short reviews on each below.

- Fist off, Star Trek. being a sci-fie nerd myself (I'm not ashamed to admit it) IT was amazing...but it may be a different for non star-trek geeks out there. basically,its star trek, which means it has a horrible plot line, and the characters aren't the best (though their not bad at all) either. However, the special effect are just stunning, and the movie has plenty of epic scenes to complement that. Even if you can't tell a Vulcan form a Romulan, its defiantly worth seeing, just don't mistake it for being the next Lord of the Rings of Movies.

-District 9 was...intense. Its rated R, but its just for (a lot) of cussing and a few sexual references, though nothing too bad. And it has plenty of gore. basically, its a kind of documentary in film about slums in Africa/Asia, but its places aliens in the role of humans in poverty. The beginning 30 minutes are kind of strange (its like a long news cast)but the rest is intense, has some shocking moments, and basically makes you feel bad for being human. If you don't mind movies such as The 300, its worth seeing...but its defiantly made for a "mature' audience.

- I'm saving the best for last. Avatar was one of the best sci-fie movies I've ever seen, and that's an understatement. Basically, its the cow boy and Indian story in space: Human corp from earth is trying to expand past earth, and is settling the "wild frontier" of the jungle planet Pandora. The air has too high of an oxygen count for humans to breath, and that leads too some pretty big (and amazingly real-looking) indigenous wildlife, but the coperations can deal with that if it means getting this certain mineral, something that worth 40 times as much as gold on earth. However, theirs a race of giant (10-12 feet tall) blue-skinned aliens called the Na'vi resting on top of the largest deposit, and their not too happy about the corps barging in. So the crops make these sleeper agents called "avatars" which function as living Na'vi bodies that can "infiltrate" Na'vi settlements. The scientist want to use these for diplomacy, but the military wants to use them to drive the Na'vi off the military reserves.
So there's this guy, Jake, who lost the ability to use his legs in some war on earth. He comes to Pandora and enters the Avatar of his twin brother, who died before he could got there. When lost in the jungle (as his avatar), he meets a beautiful Na'vi woman, who brings him to her camp after witnessing some spiritual "sign" (it makes sense int he movie, but is too hard to explain here). So Jake gets a crush on her right away but, wallah! She happens to be the chiefs daughter, and he's not too happy to bring on of the "dream walkers" into his lands. But he agrees to show Jake their waves, and the Na'vi girl is instructed to teach him..which she isn't happy about, because she thinks that he's a moron. Ah, Love. Problem is, Jake's suppose to drive the natives off their home for the corporations, but he finds that hard to do after the Na'vi girl falls in love with him and he is accepted as a true member of the tribe. I'm not going to spoil in story any further, but lets just say that theirs some pretty epic moments and some of the best special effects that I've ever seen. And its long, like, three hours long.
But its worth it just for the way that the characters are made. Ever grown so attached to a character (Harry Potter, Rue in The Hunger Games, ect)that you feel a kind of sadness (best word I can use) when the character dies of the series ends, because you grew so attached to their personality and feelings? That what happened at the end of this movie for me, the characters were THAT good. And that the major reason why no-one should bother to miss this movie...and If you can find a theater with enough tech to show it in 3D, then go for it...even if its 45 minutes away. its worth it.
And one more thing: Blue aliens are hot. had to be said, sorry ;)

Okay...enough with the super-long review, on to other stuff (this is probably the longest post I've written yet). First off, I need to get this blog back on its feet. I've come up with several story Ideas, and I want to see which one you like the best (poll on the side). Here it goes:

-The Last Days. Small "fallen angle" child (looks 6 years old) comes to earth, and though she's innocent, she's bringing on the Apocalypse. Main Character finds his way to (reluctantly) become her protector, and they set off to end the end of all days before the world comes to ruin.

-Ultimatum. haven't thought much on this one, but here's the idea. World War III breaks out due to some major terrorist activity across the globe. Story divided into three arcs, which weave through each other throughout the chapters. One story focuses on a SAS special forces soldier dealing with a rush of terrorist attacks throughout Europe. Second campaign focuses on an American soldier who's fighting a guerrilla war in America after it is overrun by a Chinese Invasion. Third arc focuses on a Russian commander whose dealing with a massive civil war in his home country.

-Subject Zero. story of a girl who is the root of a massive pandemic sweeping across the globe due to some (illegal) biochemical studies to her and her fellow "experiments", plague that is now turning humans into mindless, feral husk. She joins her fellow "experiments' and seek to destroy the ones who did this to her. Finding a cure is second on the list.

-Origami Killer. Ex-FBI agent is just settling down when one of his 8 year-old sons is killed and the other kidnapped before his eyes by an illusive serial killer known as the "Origami Killer". After emerging from a coma caused by said incident, the FBI brings him back in because he's the only one who's seen the murderer's face. Starts on a quest to find his son before the origami killer kills the kid. Kinda stolen off of another source, so needs to be tweaked for it to be unique

-Enslaved. Main character Cole (either 19 or late 20's)is living on his own in a world consisting of only a few million humans after war and famine lead to a massive population crash 500 years before (only around 100,00 left in the U.S).This puts humankind at a sort of backwater stage as the race scavenges to survive of what little was left. His home village was abducted by these massive robotic slaver ships (the remnants of a long-past war)that are gradually picking off the last of the human population and dragging them off the who knows where. He's lives the rest of his life on the run, never straying to close to other human settlements, as they are the prime targets for the machines. However, he does get caught eventually by New York, but he escapes with he help of a girl known as *insert name here*. He is knocked out in the escape, and when he wakes up he finds that *placeholder* has places a headband on his forehead that will make his brain explode if he tries to attack her. She uses him to help her get to her home town in present-day California, as she is pretty much screwed on her own. Reluctantly, Cole agrees (he has to, or she kills him) and together they begin the long trek west, their relationship growing stronger as the months past. Huge-tragic ending that ends up (somewhat) victorious. Stole it form another source, again,s o it needs to be majorly changed, but I think its by best shot so far.

thoughts? Ideas? ways to tweak the last two entries? any help would be appreciated.

Here ends the longest post I've written yet. Im going to get a glass of water :P