The Paradigm Shift

When considering many different things in the Kylis Fers world, it is important to understand the paradigm shift. Explained in some detail in the Introduction I wrote for the series and elaborated on in a more personal way (personal for the characters explaining it) in various books in the series (such as Hawk-Eye, The Tome of Kaerez Zur, and Jurad Origins), the paradigm shift marked a pivotal turning point in the world of Kylis Fers.

Before the paradigm shift, their world was the exact same as ours was a few thousand years ago. Due to a cataclysmic accident that takes place in our future, a massive amount of energy burns through the fabric of the universe (due to a time-space distortion) and blasts into a universe that is our past (a few thousand years before the present day). Here the energy reshapes and totally alters our world. Much of the life on earth dies, only to be reborn in different forms all over the planet. Many humans were killed, but quite a fair number survived, many of which gained amazing powers. Many of the human beings who were killed or disintegrated by the energy cataclysm came back to life or rematerialized due to the energy of the wave (though virtually none of them had any clear memories of what happened before the paradigm shift). Most of the life that survived or formed during the Juyrte event (the word used by the people of the Kylis Fers world to reference the paradigm shift) was completely new, and the life that endured the Juyrte were reborn organisms (more or less the same body, but altered mind states). Basically, very few things that survived had a fully intact consciousness from before the Juyrte event (people like Ririke, Keris, Nyker, Saralos, Bareos and Darisus are some of the only ones who fit this category).

The paradigm shift affected the earth as well. The entire geography of the earth was changed and rearranged, with little to nothing remaining of the old continents and landscape. It left energy nexuses that would continue to play a dynamic role in the surrounding areas, and created things around the world that would not have come into existence normally. The Ilare were also formed, and whole regions of the world have been developed or created using the Ilare crystals. Life forms were also altered by the Juryte energy event, leaving radically different organisms in its wake. The Juyrte event was a paradigm shift in virtually every sense of the word because almost everything on earth was drastically or completely changed by the event.

The paradigm shift would come to have profound implications for humanity in their world. First of all, their conceptions of the divine would be quite different. While many humans in our world associate the divine as something that supercedes our existence, people in their reality have no concept of the divine because they have experienced, manipulated, and survived the forces that give rise to their world. Though they perceive the paradigm shift to be of special significance, they don't have specific gods or deities that they worship. Because they perceive and some even manipulate the energies that permeate reality, they understand all of reality to be of equal status. Basically, they do not revere people or things to be superior to other people or things.

Other implications abound. There are too many to go into here, and I also have not specifically determined some of them. Most of the changes are implicit in the ideas that I have for the stories, and really would not be interesting or useful to explain. I have written pages about the culture of the Kylis Fers world, most of which I actually have in writing (meaning the majority of it is not typed). The important thing to understand is that the Juyrte event is the pivotal event for the Kylis Fers world. They understand it as the cause of their world, and everything in their world is understood as flowing forth from it. They know the world existed before it (there are a small number of creatures and people that remember the world as it was before), but most of what they remember is largely inconsequential. Basically, understand that they know their world as being the result of a major change at most levels of reality, and thus have radically different concepts of reality.

The Zwix: Children of the Stars, Parents to the Universe

The Zwix are something of a fascination of mine, representing my desire to turn part of my series into a sci-fi epic about sentience meeting with the boundless dimensions of space. I originally conceived of the Zwix as a more minor detail in the greater plot of the Lo'itian Conflict. Basically, they were the first of two planets that the Kylis Fers team was to visit during their voyage to the Lo'itian homeworld. The Zwix were supposed to supply the team with a better and faster ship that would get them to planet Nyleri more quickly.

There were not many details originally contrived for the Zwix. The only important details were that the Zwix had the best transportation technology known to most societies and that they were pacifists when they had the choice. These served merely as filler and as random points of interest in the book, allowing for possible future details to be created.

Luckily, more fully fleshed out ideas for the Zwix eventually came, and today my ideas concerning the Zwix are quite well developed. They went from having just great transportation technology to being one of the most advanced races in the universe. They came from a planet whose location is unknown, being born in a turbulent ocean. The Zwix are actually amphibious, though most of them no longer live near bodies of water. For various complex reasons, the Zwix were motivated to become spacebound, despite the fact that they spent almost their entire lives prior to that jump underwater.

Once the Zwix discovered outer space, their technology exploded. They developed methods for surviving in space, for generating artificial gravity, for manipulating the theories of space and time all so that they could travel vast distances. Eventually, the Zwix developed space stations that could travel at great speeds when compacted and then expand to fully functioning space stations. The Zwix began to send space station after space station out into the universe, eventually developing a presence among many cultures and societies across the universe.

The Zwix have some problems though. First of all, they spontaneously developed immortality at the genetic level. As newborn Zwix began to live indefinitely, they began to put off having children. Eventually, most of them became infertile from living too long, and as such their population growth declined, eventually reaching zero. The end of the reproductive cycle was a turning point in the Zwix culture. This was when they really decided to shoot off into the stars, because without children of their own their societies were stagnating. They became parents to new races in the universe, watching over them from their cities in the stars.

Because the Zwix can't reproduce though, they can't take risks with things like war. Though they have extremely developed technologies, they rarely make destructive technologies. Most of their inventions revolve around transportation and general functioning. When it comes to outer space, their technological skills are nonpareil. Though the Zwix can occasionally culture children through complicated processes, they generally opt not to because they don't want to create their own people. Their only descendants become those who work with them and benefit from them.

The Zwix are ancient though, and before most races were alive they were already swimming around the tumultuous oceans of Zwix. Though they eventually lost contact with their homeworld and mounted an expedition to go find it, the fact remained that they eventually forgot where their home was. The Zwix are more or less a planetless people now, living among the stars, watching over other planets, setting up trade routes and exchanges between planets across the universe. Though it's taking some time, the Zwix are becoming adept with their work, excelling in unpredictable ways with their slow dispersion through the universe.

The important thing to understand about the Zwix is that they are immortal, brilliant, peaceful, and lacking a central home. They have made their homes throughout the universe, becoming a staple of any planet with a great population. With their space stations scattered throughout the universe and their great presence, the Zwix have proven to be one of the most influential races in the universe. They manage to exist all over up until the universe's end. Their wisdom and intelligence prove important in many of the different stories of the Kylis fers universe.

Recent Ideas (03/15/2006)

Random and recent ideas will constitute this entry. (Already bored? Good for you.)

One of the things holding me back from truly working on my novels is my desire to mature as a writer and to mature my writings and ideas before I actually begin to try to write anything definitive. For instance: the love relationships between my characters has been largely undeveloped. Examples: Juris (the main character) loved Alysa at first sight, with her loved returned; Sirice falls in love with Seryn quickly, and Seryn somehow ends up returning that love by the end of the first book; Lije and Tirya immediately hit it off. There is no distinct complexity or depth to any of this. Lately though my ideas have been developing a bit more. For instance, Tirya's interest in Lije is initiated by his fierce devotion, loyalty, bravery, and sacrifice for her during the battle with Dionis, and greatly enhanced by Lije's similarities in appearance and personality with her first love, Darios.

Sirice and Seryn have been getting this treatment too. Sirice is attracted to Seryn due to the instant attraction people often develop for each other. Seryn has an interest in Sirice, though initially most of her attention is given to Juris, the primary reason for this being that Juris and Seryn had been communicating telepathically for at least 2 or 3 years prior to all of them meeting in person. Juris and Seryn already have a deep bond (one that last millions of years until Sirice and Alysa are both dead and Juris and Seryn become lovers again), but Juris, due to personal reasons (which will be explained shortly) tries to not love in that way and tries to make her think of him as a brother. With her primary interest put on hold, Seryn does actually develop a love for Sirice, a love that blossoms as she more greatly understands Sirice's commitment to and love of her (evidenced in more clear form when he's willing to die rather than defend himself from her when she's being mind-controlled to attack him).

Juris and Alysa have also grown. By the time of the third book, Juris is firmly held by the belief that the people that he loves all too often die. He does not wish to commit himself to anyone because he fears that he will suffer the pain of watching another loved one. Alysa has an initial attraction to Juris, and though he has an interest in her, he acts put-offish because he does not want to fall in love nor does he want her to love him (because he believes that if she fell in love with Juris, it would put her in danger). It is Alysa's radiant joy however, that gets Juris to eventually open up his heart. Though he fears the possibilities in the corner of his battered mind, Alysa manages to get Juris to love her. When she is later thought to be murdered but "returns" from the dead, Juris feels as if he can't live without her. She becomes a symbol of earthly peace and love for him, fulfilling Juris' needs as a mortal.

Eventually in the story (we're talking a few million years, because Juris and the others are by and large immortal), Juris and Seryn do hook up at Sirice and Alysa's request. Though Sirice and Alysa are dead when they actually become true lovers, it was more or less known that the two of them had loved each other since they met. Juris and Seryn are a completion of each other at the most mature and deep levels of their souls. Seryn represents Juris need for an eternal companion who will help him find and understand the whole spectrum of human existence (more than just joy, like Alysa was for him, but all emotions). The two of them bring some amount of peace to each other in a dieing universe, though Juris' aspirations do prevent him from being fully happy.

Basically, the romantic relations in my books are maturing, and though they still have a ways to go, the foundation has been laid, even if only in my mind. I'm trying to make my characters as human as possible, even if not in obvious ways. A truly great narrative makes characters who are so extraordinary that they seize our attention and imaginations while simultaneously being just as human as we are. It is in this way that the reader becomes closer and more in tune with his/her own humanity, understanding more and more of the bigger picture that all writers unconsciously (and maybe consciously) aspire to collectively paint. Anyways, good night.

I'm Back

After a year long hiatus, I'm back on this blog. I had issues posting stuff on this particular blog in the past, partially due to my fear of people copying my material. Eventually I realized this to be arrogant, because it assumed my ideas were worth stealing. With that fear aside, and my need to flesh out my thoughts in a free manner, I've decided to try and post on here again. There's really no reason for me to post this entry (since nobody reads this blog anyways), but I still felt the need to explain myself (because I'm weird). Anyways, new entry to follow this one shortly.

A Brief Explanation of the Energies

Though I originally classified these things as the Occult Realm energies, that designation is more institutional (within the stories) than it is realistic. At any rate, I mentioned 11 energies which permeate our world but appear in far more dramatically huge quantities in the world of my book series. NOTE: I am not seriously advocating these are necessarily present in our world, but for the sake of this fiction, they are.

Within the 11 energies are four basic classifications that you can assign them: elemental, atomic, occult, and miscellaneous. The atomic energies consist of the 3 energies that comprise matter: electron, proton, and neutron. The five elemental energies are the result of atomic interaction, and include fire and ice, earth (mind, or life) and ki (organically produced energy), and electro-magnetism (gravity, or the force of attraction or its opposite force between matter). There is only one miscellaneous energy, and that is time-space. It is totally unique because it has no relation to matter and therefore none of the other energies. There are 2 occult energies: occult energy and silver energy, both of which are combinations of different energies, though this excludes time-space.

Now I will explain each energy in brief, and what it's effect can be when amplified.

The Atomic Energies: The atomic energies hardly merit individual explanations because they are similar in their effect and cannot be used to great effect without usage of all three. Manipulation of the three energies can be used to create new matter, and complex usage can result in the creation of entire objects. A skilled user of atomic energy can create whole items, be it a rock, or anything made of matter. Atomic energy is harder for the human mind to understand and create usages for because it is the energy of things we rarely perceive (micro-particles).
The Elemental Energies
Fire: Though fire and ice are connected at the center, they have slightly different properties. Fire is the result of the excitement of matter, usually through movement. It is heat. When used in amplified quantities, fire energy can create the obvious: fire. A skilled manipulator of fire energy can create fire, end fires by draining the fire energy from it, control fire like an artist moving a paintbrush, and at a very advanced level, they can manipulate the weather with a precise and careful enough manipulation of the temperature. Technically, a fire mage could make an area cold by removing all the heat (fire energy) from it.
Ice: Though connected to fire, it has its own properties. Ice is the result of an inaction in matter. It's effect is the slowing or even virtual halt of matter. A skilled user of ice energy can create extremely cold temperatures, conjure up ice by using slight atomic manipulation (to create water) or by just using latent water vapor in the air, sculpt anything out of the ice they create, and manipulate weather through very advanced and careful manipulation. An ice mage can also make an area warmer by removing all the cold from it (as crude and unintelligent as that sounds), but the area will not warm as quickly as a warm area would cool if it heat were removed from it. Actually...it might be about equal. I'll have to get back to you all on that one. Whatever.
Earth: the sister energy of ki, in the sense that it is related to living things. When it comes to living things, earth energy is that life force that seems to be the force that once lost in a living thing, can never be regained. In things with any kind of consciousness, it is consciousness. Manipulation of earth energy allows telepathy (due to earth energy's relation to thought), very powerful healing (because the mind is ultimately the source of a body's well-being), creation of life (if one is supremely advanced and skilled), and an interaction with living things that nothing else can have.
Ki: the sister energy of earth energy, ki is the energy that organic processes make. Living things produce their own kind of energy, and ki is at the core of it. Ki energy can be used to heal the body, greatly augment the power of the body (heighten the senses, temporarily increase muscle and body capacities), and manipulate the body (through regulation of the body's energies). Ki is often used by warriors to heighten their powers, which is why earth mages tend to heal more than ki mages do, because ki mages have greater utility in combat than earth mages do.
Electro-magnetism: the force of attraction or repulsion in matter. Basically, it is the force of gravity or anti-gravity, and can be used either way. Electro-magnetic mages can use telekinesis (by manipulating the gravity around an object), move at speeds matter cannot (by nullifying the gravitational weight placed on matter), create electrical charges and impulses (due to the conflict matter has with matter), and manipulate gravity in any way imaginable. Electro-magnetism has a high variety of uses, but is less frequent in humans because it is more removed from a human beings inherent existence or understanding (as compared to fire and ice, which are very palpable to human sense, or earth and ki, which comprise human existence).

Miscellaneous
Time-Space: the energy of time-space, or the fabric of reality in which matter exists. It is the rarest of energies that appear in living things because it is anti-matter, and therefore its presence in matter is an anamoly, but not impossible. A skilled manipulator of time-space energy can corrupt, corrode, or destroy matter, create wormholes from any point in the universe to another, create their own universes, tamper ours, and disintegrate or weaken any other energy by corrupting it. It kills matter and anything not of its own ilk. We exist in it, even though it is a poison for us.

Occult Energies
Occult Energy: an energy that is a conglomeration of all the other 8 energies except time-space and silver. It is made up of all the atomic and elemental energies. It is called occult energy because it is highly unpredictable and unknown. Because it covers so many energies, it has fantastic powers of manipulation of them. It can do anything that the elemental or atomic energies can do, but it can also mix these effects to create radically unique effects. In the hands of a skilled occult mage, occult energy can be used to devastate virtually anything else, or create and manipulate things in totally unprecedented ways. Occult mages are almost like gods among humans, especially if they are powerful.
Silver Energy: an energy that is a conglomeration all the 5 elemental energies. Basically, it is occult energy without the atomic energies. Silver energy is a bit more palpable to human senses and comprehension because it is more focused on the elements. Silver mages have the ability to manipulate the elements in an unprecedented way, and mix them together to create unknown effects. Though these effects are more limited than occult energy, they are still terribly powerful.

The most powerful among these is time-space, then occult energy, then silver energy, then the elements, and then the atomic energies. The reason that elemental energy is more powerful than atomic energy is because we live in a world of matter, so manipulation of the energies of interactions of matter go a much longer way than just creating matter. Occult energy and silver energy surpass the others because they are mixtures of the others, and therefore have much more potential. Time-space trumps these because it is anti-matter, and therefore supreme to all that results from matter. Because of this, time-space is the hardest for humans to manipulate, and therefore used the most infrequently in the books. But when it is used, it has insane consequences.

It should be noted, however, the role of power of an energy over another is limited. An energy, when being used by a person, is only as powerful as there imagination and scope to use it. A fire mage could easily overcome an occult mage if the fire mage has far more intelligence, cunning, and creativity with his power than the occult mage. The energies do not work like rock-papers-scissors, because the factors of human creativity, not to mention other factors in a battle between humans outside these energies would come into play. I won't go into all of that here though. I hope this has been semi-helpful. Good night.

New Immortal: Kirona

Though I haven't even expounded much on my books here, I just created a new immortal, and I figured I'd add her here, so that the list of immortals would be complete. She will probably be the last of any great immortal added who is still alive as of 2083, or the present day of the main novels.

Kirona: a woman who was alive the day the world changed. She was living on some continent, and the wave hit her with the force of an explosion. The wave destroyed her matter, and for a brief short time an apparition of her survived on the wave. As the wave rushed off around the world, it neared a massive forming energy Nexus. She reached for the giant powerful sphere, and in a split-second, became enjoined to it. The Nexus turned out to be the Nexus that formed where the energy hit the earth, and turned out to be the most powerful source of energy on earth. The Nexus actually has a power that far surpasses any of the Ilare. Basically, the Nexus became sentient, with the sentience being that of Kirona's. Kirona gained the power of a deity. Unfortunately, she had one severe limitation on this power: the Nexus cannot be moved and therefore she is bound to a certain area. There she created an island where she used all her power to create. Because she is made of energy, she began to understand matter and existence at a supreme level. Unlike Nyker who died before gaining his power, she never died, so she cannot see beyond reality here. But her knowledge of how things here operate is not yet surpassed. At her island she began to understand matter and science and the mechanics of reality, and from there created the most advanced place on earth. Her island is hidden from all she doesn't want to see it, and therefore most people don't even know about it. Her actual appearances are a bit rare (b/c she is confined to the island), however, her influence in the books is notable. Her philosophy is more important, as she teaches the Kylis Fers team something important in The Lo'itian Conflict. She believes that her confine to the island is important, due to the nature of her power. She worries that she could unleash a devastation upon humanity, and accepts her fate and imprisonment.

Other Immortal Characters

These characters are all immortals, and show up in many novels, but have not been around since the paradigm shift. As such, they are not nearly as traumatized as the other immortals.

Immortals (who have not been around since the paradigm shift):
+Dionis Sinod: the central villain in many of the books, Dionis was a man born w/ extraordinary powers w/ regards to the occult. He is an occult god (god meaning that the energy that flows through him is so great, it is life force), and his eyes are black as a result. He knew from an early age that he was gifted, but it wasn't until he accidentally absorbed a nexus that he developed his lust for power. Dionis' supreme desire (which is somewhat cliched) is to take over the world. He uses his own devastating occult powers to wreak much havoc on his personal quest for power, but has also generated an enormous following by promising rewards or telepathically forcing people to join his cult. At an earlier point in the series however, somewhere around the transition from B.C. to A.D., he was knocked into a portal to another dimension by Tirya, causing both of them to be trapped in another universe. He still maintains contact using his telepathy, which allows him to manage his cult. His cult works avidly to free him (by obtaining the Ilare crystals, which are the only things powerful enough to reopen the portal). He and his cult are responsible for the destruction of 2 of the 3 great cities of the ancient world, as well the Cult Uprising (a massive war sometime around 1800 A.D.). He carries a massive sword w/ him, which he sometimes uses.

+Tirya Kirire: the beautiful daughter of Ririke, who was born years after the shift, Tirya is gifted w/ the abilities that both her father and her mother had. Tirya is a fire and ki master, and is also gifted w/ extremely powerful telepathy. Her mother was a warrior, and when she died in combat it motivated Tirya to become a warrior herself, simply so that she could protect other people from having to lose loved ones due to war. She is tall and strong, and her weapon is almost a sort of scythe affixed w/ other blades and points, giving her a weapon w/ many uses. She quickly rose through the ranks of the Jurad Army (the Jurad is a powerful global organization; kind of like a much more powerful U.N.), until she became a general. During an epic fight w/ Dionis, she attempted to knock him into a portal, but had to tackle him into it, thus causing her to be trapped. She too maintains contact using telekinesis, usually conveying messages about Dionis' intentions. She is also often thought of as the Angel of Death by warriors, because she uses telepathy to calm the souls of dieing warriors. She is also called that because she deals death to the enemies of justice.

+Ek'Litaso: a character one another planet who only appears in 3 of the books, Ek'Litaso is an alien who has more intelligence than any other thing that has ever lived. On his home planet of Lo'itia, he quickly rose to popularity as a brilliant tactician when another planet invaded his. He also uses his insane genius to create powerful technology. But when the other planet's army kills his family in an effort to lure him into a trap, he uses technology to empower his own body w/ insane powers. Not too long afterwards, he becomes the dictator of Lo'itia, and haunted by the deaths of his loved ones, he vows to ensure Lo'itia's security at all costs. He ends up conquering or destroying multiple planets, until his sights become set on earth. Around the year 2083, he sends an asteroid to earth. The asteroid is actually just a massive factory for powerful monsters called Eks. When the world manages to save itself, they send the Kylis Fers team to Lo'itia to overthrow him, and Ek'Litaso allows himself to be killed. His genius is so powerful that he can predict the future w/ almost 100% accuracy, as well as know what people will think (w/o the use of telepathy). He is not evil, but he is misguided. He hopes for death to stop his torment.

+Rauryt Tyrus: not much is known about Rauryt's origins, except that he appeared one day in Hwer Valley and begin to muster support for the creation of the Jurad. Rauryt has considerable power over the occult and other energies, and knew offhand the secret art of portal/dimension creation. After the creation of the Jurad, he became it's primary leader and overseer. He created a special dimension designed specifically to protect the Electron Ilare, as well as a number of other artifacts. He is somewhat impatient, but his intentions seem to be good.

The Immortal Characters

This entry will contain a brief description of all of the major characters. In future entries, I may devote an entire entry to discussing and exploring all the aspects of one character. Some characters transcend multiple timelines and novels, and I will state so if they do.

The Immortals (who have been around since the paradigm shift):
+Nyker Reikyn/Kaerez Zur: one of the most important characters in the series, he is the one who is farthest removed from the effervescent existence of our world. When the world changed, he died, but due to the massive quantum activity that was occurring, he was brought back to life after having become enjoined w/ eternity. As such, he has seen both our reality and the eternal reality that transcends our own. He is in touch with the energies that permeate reality more than anyone else. He is actually blind and deaf, but since he perceives the actions and movements of energy within his own mind, he actually has greater sensory perception. Nyker is the most powerful character in the series due to his limitless knowledge of how reality works and the fact that the level of energy within his body is tremendous. He is limited though by his calm nature and powerful conscience. Most of his power lies with the Occult, giving him tremendous power over all the energies. He does not sleep, because he fears another paradigm shift.

+Keris the Hawk: a hawk who, due to the events of the paradigm shift, was the receiver of thousands of dieing souls whose minds were carried by the quantum wave. Keris gained a consciousness greater than that of most humans, and an almost unrivaled power. Keris can understand both animals and humans, and since she soars the skies most of the time, she acts as a sort of messenger and mediator between many different parties. She is involved in everything that goes on in the world. She communicates through telepathy, and her powers lie in the five elements (fire, ice, electro-magnetic, ki, and earth). The multiple souls that consume her subconscious used to give her trouble, but now work toward one common goal: to ensure that peaceful life continues. She does not sleep, because she fears the world might change drastically again while she is asleep. Many people revere her as a goddess, though she claims to be no such thing.

+Ririke Kirire: a man who lost his whole family to the paradigm shift, and nearly lost his life. He nearly disintegrated, but managed to pull himself back together atomically. Now he has greater speed than anyone else, but using it causes him to become atomically unstable. He gained tremendously potent ki and earth powers, making a powerful warrior, healer, and telepath. Despite this, Ririke does not like to fight, and therefore does not do so usually. He is in charge of one of the most powerful energy nexuses on the planet, and is also the most diplomatically-powerful person. He commands more influence than anyone else. He has a great understanding of people, and is tormented by the paradigm shift. He too, does not sleep.

+Saralos the Tamer: Saralos was a lone hunter whose sole companion was his wolf, Bareos. Together they survived the paradigm shift, and were changed forever. Saralos was not imbued with energy powers like the other immortals, but the potential of the human body was pushed to the max with him. All his muscles, senses, and abilities are tenfold that of humans with or without powers. He also gained a telepathic link to the minds of animals, making him one of the only beings able to communicate with non-human minds. He lives on the island of Seraq w/ Bareos and thousands of other animals his island has become a sanctuary for. He rarely participates in world events, but when forced into combat, he uses the powerful beasts of the world and claims to draw on the power of the spirits of animals when he fights personally.

+Bareos the Wolf: the wolf companion of Saralos who also survived the paradigm shift. Bareos' mind expanded so greatly on that day that he gained all the mental capacities of a human, as well as the telepathy to communicate with both humans and animals. He also gained the dual power of fire and ice. One eye glows red for fire, the other blue for ice. Bareos leaves the island of Seraq far more frequently than Saralos to interact in important global events on Saralos' behalf. Bareos is more intelligent than most humans, and though he and Saralos are best friends, he leaves Seraq at will.